Andy Jacobs - The Gadgeteer

Stash Tags give you a place to display your patches (and hide a few things!)

By Andy Jacobs / January 28, 2018 / News / Leave a Comment

Velcro-backed “morale patches” were born out of changes to military uniform insignia in the past few decades and they have spilled over into many civilian circles. Sew Strong saw an opportunity to combine a portable display area for Velcro-backed patches with a keychain (their original Patch Tag) and now have taken it a step further […]

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IOGEAR Compact USB-C Docking Station with PD Pass-Thru review

We recently bought a new Apple MacBook Pro for my wife. It’s a fantastic device, but one of its limitations (I’m sure Apple would say advantages) is that basically the only ports on it are four USB-C ports. I do like USB-C and I’m looking forward to the day when old-school USB is phased out

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Optoma NuForce BE Free8 Bluetooth wireless earbuds review

By Andy Jacobs / December 25, 2017 / Reviews / Bluetooth earbuds / 2 Comments

Two words: wireless earbuds. If there has been one product one that’s absolutely exploded in the past few years, it’s probably been these little buggers. And, since Apple released their AirPods, the competition has become increasingly sophisticated. I’ve had the opportunity to review several wireless earbuds here at The Gadgeteer, and always up for trying

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Look casually sharp (or sharply casual) in an UNTUCKit shirt

By Andy Jacobs / November 30, 2017 / News / Clothing / Leave a Comment

Ever tried to leave your smart-looking dress shirt casually untucked? Yeah, for most dress shirts, it looks sloppy because their tails are just too long. The folks at UNTUCKit wanted to solve that, so they did a ton of customer research to determine exactly how long an untucked dress shirt could be before it went

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Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting review

By Andy Jacobs / November 2, 2017 / Reviews / LED lighting, TV accessory / 4 Comments

Every once in a while, a gadget comes along that, at first glance at least, appears to be basically superfluous and unnecessary…but cool and fun, nonetheless. That was exactly what I thought when I first saw the Power Practical Luminoodle Color Bias Lighting. Heck, just the name “Luminoodle” had my attention. Truth be told, I’d

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Spoke Pencil Model 4 is a bespoke update to its predecessors

By Andy Jacobs / November 1, 2017 / News / Pencils / Leave a Comment

Way back in 2012, we posted a news article about the Spoke Pencil, which at the time was the first foray into Kickstarter campaigns for inventor, designer and maker, Brian Conti. Brian has since launched several brands and Kickstarter campaigns which all sprang from the success of his original Spoke Pencil. Brian has recently released

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Catalyst Waterproof Apple AirPods case will protect against bumps and splashes

By Andy Jacobs / October 26, 2017 / News / Cases and Covers / Leave a Comment

I don’t have an Apple Watch (yet), but if I did, I’ll probably have it in a Catalyst Waterproof Case to protect it. Why do I mention this? Because I don’t have a pair of Apple AirPods (yet), but if I did, I’d probably have them in a Catalyst Waterproof Case for AirPods, as shown

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Add storage to your water bottle with PACELid

By Andy Jacobs / October 25, 2017 / News / Beverage, EDC / Leave a Comment

Fortune may favor the prepared, but sometimes survival depends on it. PACELid grew out of this philosophy when creator Chris Way, a backpacking, mountaineering and all-around adventure expert, thought about how he could customize his gear to make it more useful. He realized that one of his pieces of kit—his Nalgene bottle—was with him at

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Dango Products Loop Hook + Wall Mount lets your stuff safely hang out in style

By Andy Jacobs / October 22, 2017 / News / Bags / Leave a Comment

I like multi-functional gadgets, ones that can serve multiple purposes. I stumbled upon the Dango Hook and Wall Mount, and they seem to fit that bill. The Hook portion is in the shape of a capital letter “C” and machined (in the USA) from aluminum. It allows you to hang your bag or purse all

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SmartOmi ANT Bluetooth Wireless Portable Speaker review

By Andy Jacobs / October 21, 2017 / Reviews / Bluetooth speaker / 1 Comment

Sometimes one portable audio is a bit more portable than other portable audio. What the heck am I talking about? I’m talking about little speakers, people. Really little. I’ve reviewed a few other portable speakers here at The Gadgeteer, and I’d had varying degrees of satisfaction with them, so I hadn’t really been looking to

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Case Boss Heavy Duty Protective iPhone Case might be better for touchscreen touchiness

By Andy Jacobs / October 19, 2017 / News / Cases and Covers, iPhone Case / 7 Comments

I’ve tried a few über-protective cases for my iPhones, with mixed results. Most have protected well, but their downfall is often a thick, plastic, built-in screen protector that severely reduces the touch-sensitivity of the screen. Perhaps Case Boss has solved that with their Heavy Duty Protective iPhone Case. In addition to being armored against bumps, drops

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Rhinoband Rhino Runner is like a tank for your Apple Watch

By Andy Jacobs / October 18, 2017 / News / Apple Watch, Watches and Clocks / 2 Comments

I’ve posted on this before: I don’t (yet) own an Apple Watch. When they were first released, I thought they looked very stylish but delicate, and I felt that I’d be afraid to engage in the types of heavy-duty fitness and other activities that I tend to favor. But as usual, 3rd-party companies have stepped

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Memobottle is a slim way to stay hydrated

By Andy Jacobs / October 16, 2017 / News / Beverage / 5 Comments

I’ve been trying to get better about staying hydrated throughout the day. In addition to the fitness and health benefits, I just feel better when I’m hydrated. To that end, I’ve been on the lookout for unique containers to carry water, and I stumbled on Memobottle. Its unique shape is what caught my eye. Memobottle

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Midori Memorandum Card might be the world’s smallest notebook!

By Andy Jacobs / October 15, 2017 / News / Notebooks / Leave a Comment

Always on the lookout for small items that I can use in an emergency, I happened upon the Midori Memorandum Card and just had to share it. Made by Midori in Japan, these tiny 31-page notepads are only 2.25 x 3.33 x 0.1 inches, which makes them about the footprint of a standard credit card,

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SmartOmi ACE Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds review

By Andy Jacobs / October 6, 2017 / Reviews / Bluetooth earbuds / 18 Comments

The quest continues! For my perfect set of wireless earbuds, that is. Well, for me, anyway. I’ve tried out multiple products, but none has been the “perfect” one yet. Would the Smartomi ACE Bluetooth Wireless Earbuds be “the” ones? With their small size and charging storage case, they looked sleek and all, but would they survive

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Baron Fig Squire rollerball pen review

By Andy Jacobs / October 4, 2017 / Reviews / Pens / 2 Comments

As with many of us Gadgeteers, most especially our fearless Gadgeteer-in-Chief, Julie, I like writing implements of all kinds, but I really like pens. Something about a well designed and built pen elevates the experience of handwriting, which feels increasingly like a lost art, to a higher plane of enjoyment. That said, I’ve been a

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JooJoobs American Flag Wallet review

By Andy Jacobs / October 3, 2017 / Reviews / Wallets / 8 Comments

I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a leather wallet guy these days. I typically find them to be a bit on the thicker and bulkier side, and I’ve become more of a minimalist wallet EDCer. But something about this JooJoobs American Flag Wallet drew me in. America may not be perfect, but I love

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Bit Bar is the “Pocket Friendly EDC Screwdriver”

By Andy Jacobs / September 26, 2017 / News / EDC, Tools / Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of space-saving EDC tools, and if you are too, have a look at the Bit Bar from BIGiDESIGN, maker of lots of cool and useful EDC items. The Bit Bar is essentially a slim, compact screwdriver that carries its own bits in a spring-loaded, magnetic rack inside it. Just push on

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808 Audio EarCanz TRU Wireless Earbuds review

By Andy Jacobs / September 18, 2017 / Reviews / Bluetooth earbuds / 10 Comments

Wireless audio: Folks like their music, podcasts, audio books and other sonic entertainment and information, and increasingly they the delivery method to be small, lightweight and long-lasting. I’ve reviewed several models of Bluetooth earbuds here at The Gadgeteer over the past few years, and I’m still searching for that elusive set that works best for

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Mpow Bluetooth Selfie Stick review

By Andy Jacobs / August 16, 2017 / Reviews / Photography / Leave a Comment

“Selfie Sticks” were all the rage a few years back. And although the craze has dwindled a bit, they are still in use and can definitely still be useful, especially in certain situations. Our family had tried a selfie stick a few years back, but we were very unimpressed with it—it had a cable that

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