Reviews

Reviews about interesting gadgets, gear, mobile technology and lifestyle products.

Brando Power Jacket for Nokia Lumia 920 – 2200mAh review

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The Power Jacket for Nokia Lumia 920 from Brando is an extended battery/case that can nearly double the battery life for the Lumia 920, if you’re willing to accept the trade-offs that come with it.  So what are the trade-offs?  Let’s look at them.

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INOVA Microlight STS keychain flashlight review

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A few days ago I posted a news item about the INOVA Microlight STS keychain flashlight. We’ve all seen similar looking flashlights small enough to easily fit on a keychain, but the INOVA Microlight STS Swipe to Shine from Nite Ize has something I’ve never seen before with any flashlight… touch/gesture controls. That’s right, there are

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Mio Alpha Heart Rate Watch review

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No one would ever mistake me for an athlete; nevertheless, I was intrigued by the Mio Alpha Heart Rate wrist watch from Mio Global because I’ve been attempting to get in better shape.  Anything to help me prolong my  life is a good thing, and in conjunction with my Fitbit and Aria devices, I figured

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NuForce NE-600M and NE-770X earphones review

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The NuForce NE-600M and NE-770X earphones are two examples of what can be achieved by a desire to create something that is both affordable and that can still blow away free earbuds. Since they are only $25 – $35, these earphones beg the question: Where is it written that earphones have to be prohibitively expensive?

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BlackBerry Z10 smartphone review

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To be honest, I can’t remember the last BlackBerry device that I reviewed. It’s been many years ago and they’ve been off my radar until recently. The announcement of the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone caught my eye because of the phone’s good looks. But can this smartphone run with the iOS and Android big dogs, or

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iHome IH-IM1106 Composition Book Case for iPad mini review

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As I’ve said before, I do like a quirky case for my electronics.  The IH-IM1106 Composition Book Case for iPad mini from iHome certainly meets the quirky criteria.  It’s about the same size and certainly has the same appearance as those composition notebooks so familiar to school children.  You could even fill in the label

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IPEVO Perch Side Security Stand for iPad review

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The IPEVO Perch Side Security Stand (shipped in safe but bland cardboard boxes) is a fixed height, adjustable orientation/angle, table/chair-side stand for your iPad (versions 2-4). You can opt for either the snap-in top or a secure top that locks the iPad in place and prevents access to the Home button, which makes this version

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Jawbone Up activity tracker review

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When you’re trying to increase your fitness level, lose weight or just keep a log of your physical activity, finding the right tool to help can be a challenge with all the activity trackers currently on the market. The Jawbone UP originally came on the scene back in 2011 to not so great reviews. Jawbone acknowledged

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Fenix LD22 LED flashlight review

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Several years ago, Julie reviewed the Fenix LD20 LED flashlight (see related links) which, for the most part, received a positive review. The only negative comment she gave involved how Fenix engineered its brightness/mode switching feature. With the LD20, you had to twist the cap to switch between modes. Well, it looks like their designers listened

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AutoAnything Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex review

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The Bracketron Universal USB Power Dock Pro Flex (from AutoAnything) is a 12-volt power adapter/device holder for most any car. The dock itself can hold devices up to 5.25″ high by 3″ wide. The long neck and sturdy base, along with standard USB port with high capacity 1.5A power, will support and charge just about anything, from any

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Divoom Bluetune-solo portable Bluetooth speaker review

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The Divoom Bluetune-solo is a portable Bluetooth speaker that will let you enjoy your tunes wirelessly, while also providing speakerphone capability, all in a package that is half the size of a can of soda. There are a lot of portable Bluetooth speakers on the market right now, let’s see if this one is worthy

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Griffin Twenty Digital Audio Amplifier for AirPort Express review

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In the Cloninger family, we keep all our music in iTunes, so it’s accessible from our iPhones or iPads.  Music sounds great through earphones from an iOS device, but sometimes you don’t want to use earphones.  The built-in speakers in both the iPad and the iPhone are weak and wimpy, so we’ve tried various speakers

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Arömo “Bounce” espresso bean review

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So you have the espresso machine, portable hand pump, stovetop brewer, demitasse cups, thermometer, all forms of sweetener, and a refrigerator full of milk.  But something still appears to be missing: a worthy bean for all those new toys and accessories.  (By the way, check out the Related Links at the bottom of this post

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WHITE STONE The Stylus ARCPEN review

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Trying to choose your perfect stylus is a tough task due to the huge variety of capacitive styluses to choose from. There are tiny ones like the MicroStylus that stores in your device’s headphone jack to long ones like the Joy Factory Monet Stylus that looks more like a drumstick than a stylus. I think the

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Photo-Canvas photo canvas print review

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I don’t consider myself a true photographer, but I love taking pictures and every so often I manage to snap one that I’m really proud of… like the one above, which I captured last year on a vacation to Lake Michigan. When London based Photo-Canvas.com asked if I would be interested in reviewing their photo

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