One of the most interesting innovations that the Apple Watch brought, in my book, is the method for attaching bands to the main unit. Rather than loop materials through a spring-loaded pin inserted into the ears of the watch body, you simply slide the band into place and it locks there. To remove it, there [...]
Smythe Richbourg
About a year ago, Nomad, those folks who understand wandering Gadgeteers and their need for on-the-go charging, released a product called the Pod for Apple Watch. It's basically a battery that has an internal spool to hold a charging puck (not provided) in a compact, hockey-puck sized case. I was working at Apple at the [...]
A while back, I reviewed the KeyMiK, a key holder/smartphone stand/carabiner from Ronin Energetics. It was a Kickstarter campaign at the time, and is now funded and fully delivered. (I can't say that about some other projects I've backed! Still waiting...) They have a new project, the Quanta Clip, and this one's going to benefit the [...]
Most of us who bike, work and live in places where we have to interact constantly with motorized vehicular traffic. Since it's very important for the drivers to know you are present, safety reflectors are a part of almost every bike sold. And most of them are cheap plastic things that get easily damaged, look [...]
I upgraded my first generation Apple Watch the night after updating all my iOS devices to iOS 10. (For those who have never done it, you have to have the watch charged to at least 50% and it has to be on the charger. Also, your phone has to be on wifi.) While the initial [...]
Managing cables and dongles is getting easier, but the curse of mobile battery usage and the need for chargers is still with us. Traveling with your full kit for a few days can really escalate that, since you usually have to dig out the chargers that live under your desk, or under/beside your bed. As [...]
The iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are a formidable duo. The iPad Pro is fast, has a crisp, bright display, and the response of the Pencil on than display is something to behold. I don't use the pencil much, but I do like to have it with me. If you've not seen it, it is [...]
Wallet phone cases have been around for a while. Not the slip-a-few-cards-in-the-back cases, but the fold-over, cover-the-screen type wallet cases. Most have an elastic band to hold them closed, but they are all fraught with difficulties, not the least of which is holding your entire wallet up to your ear during a phone call. Enter [...]
The iPhone 6/6s Plus, the largest of Apple's iconic smartphone, has gotten a bit of a raw deal in the case market. Time and again, Julie has sent out review product notices, and they will be for every iPhone on the market - except the iPhone 6/6s Plus. Well, the artisans at Distil Union have [...]
I have this conversation from time to time with people when they see the name of my iPhone: "Final Fantasy?" "Yeah." "What's that mean?" "Well, when I got this phone, it completely checked off everything on my whiz-bang gadget list. I don't have anything else that I really want a phone to do." Sometimes I [...]
Ah, LEDs! The darlings of everyone from makers to artists to environmentalists. Low energy, low heat, long life, high output - what's not to like? So it hasn't surprised me that most of the battery-operated portable lights that have come across my desk in the last few years have used LEDs as a source. Most [...]
Hanging pictures, wallpaper, and leveling furniture is tough sometimes. For those who live in an older home, it's even worse, because sometimes, there's not really a level or plumb surface to reference and you have to furnish your own. For those jobs, a regular spirit level just doesn't cut it. You need to use a [...]
We've all seen FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) spread by various competing vendors to lessen the allure of their competitors. Today, however, a huge flaw was revealed about Android devices using chipsets from Qualcomm that should make everyone take notice. Dubbed QuadRooter by Check Point, the company that discovered and documented it, the exploit gives complete [...]
I've been doing reviews for several years, and more of them seem to be coming with varying levels of resistance to ingress of foreign matter and water, usually given by an IP rating or code, such as IP64. Curious, I searched for the term and read several articles, and found a couple of charts that explain [...]
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Carrying things around has certainly changed in the last few years. Knapsacks used to be for school books or camping equipment. People in the work world carried briefcases. Then, suddenly, laptops happened, and slowly, the knapsack/backpack became ubiquitous. I've carried them off and on for years, for work and for pleasure. Toffee (spelled with reversed [...]