Janet Cloninger - The Gadgeteer

Propellant-free briquettes burn hotter and cleaner than normal charcoal

If you like cooking outdoors on a grill but don’t like the chemical aftertaste in your food, you’ll be interested in the Afire Koko Coconut Charcoal from Williams-Sonoma. Afire makes this charcoal from renewable coconut shells (left overs from other coconut uses) with no added propellants or other chemicals, fillers, glues, or nitrates. The hole in […]

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Hone makes it easier to keep up with your keys

By Janet Cloninger / June 27, 2013 / News / Gear, Keychain, Pocket Gear / Leave a Comment

If you are always searching for your keys, the Hone key fob will help you quickly find them. The fob will begin to flash and beep when you use the app on your iPhone (4S, 5) or iPad (3, 4, or mini) to issue a command, alerting you to the location of your keys –

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Just washing your hands is no longer enough

By Janet Cloninger / June 27, 2013 / News / Gear, screen cleaner / 7 Comments

According to WHOOSH! President Jason Greenspan, “Maintaining personal cleanliness doesn’t end with washing our hands anymore. It should also extend to our phones and tablets, as we touch them all day long. We call it Tech Hygiene.” WHOOSH! is introducing a cleaning product that promises to be safe for your skin and for every touch screen.

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Winegard FlatWave Amped indoor antenna review

By Janet Cloninger / June 26, 2013 / Reviews / Antenna, Audio, Video, TV / 12 Comments

We have three TVs in my house, but only two of them are connected to cable boxes. I have the TV in my bedroom connected to a Roku 3 box (see related links for my review), so I can access the Time Warner Cable programming they make available through Roku’s TWC channel. Unfortunately, the TWC

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Razor-thin card case for your iPhone

By Janet Cloninger / June 26, 2013 / News / Cases and Covers, iOS, Wallets / Leave a Comment

For a truly minimal wallet case for your iPhone, you need look no further than the Remora. This case from Outpost Labs is made of polycarbonate for strength. It snaps over your iPhone, leaving the camera and flash – and most of the rest of the phone – uncovered. You can slide two cards between

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Charge up to four devices with your Bluetooth handset

By Janet Cloninger / June 25, 2013 / News / Batteries and Chargers, Bluetooth, Charging station / Leave a Comment

Here’s another product from Hammacher Schlemmer that will organize your charging setup. The Bluetooth Handset Quad Charger comes with four microUSB and two 30-pin Apple cables to connect smartphones and tablets for charging. The built-in dock areas keep everything tidy. The Bluetooth handset connects with up to two devices simultaneously, so you won’t miss calls while

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Not-quite-steampunk bumpers for iPad and iPhone 5

By Janet Cloninger / June 24, 2013 / News / Cases and Covers, iOS, iPad, iPhone 5 / 6 Comments

These are the most unusual bumper cases for iPhone 5 and iPad that I’ve seen. Stone Jelly Ltd. makes these bumpers by hand, using brown oak, precision-engineered anodized aluminum, and custom fittings. Everything is made in their UK-based shop or by a few local suppliers. They are lined with cork for increased protection of your

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Charge up to six devices with your alarm clock

By Janet Cloninger / June 24, 2013 / News / Android, Charging station, Gear, iOS / 5 Comments

This device from Hammacher Schlemmer lets you optimize what a single wall outlet can do. This speaker dock with a clock radio lets you charge up to six devices in a space that H-S says is less than the room occupied by a toaster (11 1/2″ L x 10″ W x 7″ D). The Six

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Celebrate 20 years of Bill Nye the Science Guy!

By Janet Cloninger / June 21, 2013 / News / Apps, iOS, Kid Gadgets / 2 Comments

It was 20 years ago when Bill Nye introduced his PBS TV show that taught kids about science. His show may be off the air now, but your kids can still learn from him with the newly introduced app for iPhone and iPad. The Bill Nye the Science Guy app is free in the iTunes

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The perfect Oxford shirt for tech users

By Janet Cloninger / June 21, 2013 / News / Clothing, Gear / 1 Comment

This Summer Oxford shirt from VoyVoy is perfect for the gadget user. While it looks like a typical Oxford, this shirt has a couple of extra features. When you use the tail of this shirt for cleaning your glasses or touch screens, you’ll have a microfiber cleaning patch to make cleaning easier and possible less

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Daily use apps – Janet Cloninger

By Janet Cloninger / June 20, 2013 / Articles / Apps, iOS / 1 Comment

Since readers seemed to enjoy our lists of daily-use gear, Julie thought readers might be interested in reading about the apps used daily by The Gadgeteer’s writers. I mostly use apps on my iPad, so I’ll talk about some of my favorite apps on that device. Some of these are used daily, but others earn

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Hide your valuables in plain sight

By Janet Cloninger / June 20, 2013 / News / Home and Kitchen, Security / Leave a Comment

This wall clock acts as a wall safe for your small valuables. It doesn’t have sophisticated locks or alarms, but it camouflages your items behind an actual working wall clock that could be found in any room. The Embassy JB4985 Wall Clock With Hidden Safe is 10″ in diameter and 3″ deep, so it won’t hide

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This may be the most beautiful iPad bag ever designed for women

By Janet Cloninger / June 19, 2013 / News / Bags, iOS, iPad cases and bags, Tablets, Ultra Portables, Universal tablet accessory / 5 Comments

The Brahmin “Theo-Melbourne” iPad Crossbody Bag is the most beautiful iPad accessory I’ve seen. The bag is made of crocodile-embossed leather, and it has two exterior pockets (one open and one flap-covered). Inside the front section are organizer pockets for your phone, cards, and pens, a zippered divider pocket, and room for more of your

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A watch that can tell you how drunk you are

By Janet Cloninger / June 19, 2013 / News / Watches and Clocks / 1 Comment

The new Kisai Intoxicated Breathalyzer Watch from Tokyoflash Japan has the normal watch functions: time, date, and alarm. It also includes a breathalyzer function that can give you an estimation of your intoxication and a Sobriety Game that tests your reflexes. The time has an always-on LCD and is shown in the negative spaces. The

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Every car can be the Millennium Falcon

By Janet Cloninger / June 18, 2013 / News / Car Gear, Star Wars / 5 Comments

Okay, this is a little hokey, but it’s perfect for the die-hard Star Wars fan. This Plasticolor 003700R01 Star Wars Accordion Sunshade keeps your car cooler, and it makes it look cooler, too! The accordion-fold sunshade is made of plastic, so the colors are more sun-fast than those cardboard sunshades. It’s $21.99 at Amazon. That’s a

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