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 […]
Ronin Energetics’ Quanta Clip to benefit OpenBuilds Read More
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
FLECTR 2.0 bicycle wheel / spoke safety reflector review Read More
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
First impressions: Apple’s watchOS 3 Read More
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
Zero Grid Electronics Travel Organizer & Tech Dopp review Read More
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 that 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
Lucrin Apple Pencil case review Read More
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
MOS Stash iPhone Wallet Case review Read More
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
Distil Union Wally Wallet iPhone 6/6s Plus case review Read More
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
OxyLED P03 Portable LED Camping Lantern review Read More
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
Bosch GLL 30 Professional Level review Read More
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
Helping our less gadget-savvy Android using friends Read More
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
IP ratings of devices Read More
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
Toffee Centennial Backpack review Read More
So, you’ve asked your iDevice’s voice assistant to do something for you and it did something completely different. Who’s to blame – you or Siri? Like most relationships, it may have a lot to do with how you phrase your questions. A new site – hey-siri.io – tries to cover the ever-growing lexicon of Siri commands.
Siri dictionary, anyone? Read More
In the world of portable USB chargers, there has been one constant: every one that I’ve seen uses a microUSB port for charging. Doesn’t matter if it’s a device dedicated to an Apple product that uses a Lightning connector, or even the older 30-pin connector. Charging them meant you had to have a USB to
EliveBuy iMiX 20800mAh external battery pack review Read More
A few weeks back, I reviewed the Collins vertical iPad/laptop bag from Brenthaven that I’d bought a while back for my iPad Air 2. I was looking for a similar bag for my iPad Pro. They now make one in that size, but I was hesitant. The two things I had mentioned that I would
Brenthaven Medina vertical messenger laptop bag review Read More
Kickstarter campaigns continue to come and go. I’ve only ever had one that did not get funded. I love being a part of the excitement as designers and makers go through the stages of learning and shipping. Recently, we were offered a carbon fiber multi-key holder called the KeyMik that is part of a Kickstarter
KeyMik Carbon Fiber key organizer review Read More
I’m not much of a drink mixer. I like cocktails, but don’t do much mixing myself. Part of the reason is that, other than a knife, a shot glass, and a corkscrew, I really don’t have many of the tools needed to make those fun concoctions. But, as an intrepid gadgeteer, I knew we shouldn’t
Barbarian Bartool review Read More
Bluetooth speakers are all over the map, it seems. You can get small ones that recharge, large ones that have battery or plugin power options, weatherproof, multi-speaker, and ornate ones that try to blend in to your more formal living areas. Firmly in that latter category, the Arina, from Muemma, is both a Bluetooth speaker
Muemma Arina Bluetooth Speaker review Read More
The iPad Pro (12.9″) is a bold move for Apple. Being a huge, thin slab of glass, and being a bit heavier than previous versions of the popular tablet means that damage from that ever-present enemy of all things technical – gravity – is a potential issue that needs to be taken into consideration. CaseMade
CaseMade iPad Pro Thin Case review Read More