Reviews

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

Zibra Open It! review

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It’s probably no surprise when I tell you that I get a lot of products in the mail each week. With the receiving of these products, comes the task of opening the package that they were shipped in. More often than not, these products come encased in clear plastic sealed containers that defy easy opening. Today I want to show you an easy to use inexpensive tool that can help you open those #$@!@ plastic packages with ease. It’s the Zibra Open It!

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Southwing SH505 Bluetooth Headset and SC310 Bluetooth Car Kit

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As of July 1st, Washington State is mandating the use of hands-free devices
while driving. This law makes it illegal to have a cellphone up to your ear
while driving a vehicle. So Bluetooth cellphone accessories are becoming more
and more the rage (when little old ladies are wearing them at the shopping mall,
you know a technology has left geekdom and hit the mainstream). Southwing
has created several in-the-ear and hands-free speakerphone car kit options enabling
you to focus on driving while talking on your cellphone. In this article I will
be reviewing one of each type by Southwing, the SH505
Bluetooth headset and the SC310
Bluetooth car kit.

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Mvox Duo All-in-One Wearable Smart Communicator

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In today’s world, it seems that we are all trying to do three things at once, all while talking on our cell phones. I know that multi-tasking is part of my daily life, even though at times I wish it was not. Juggling multiple tasks at once is fine, except when one of those tasks is potential deadly if you are not paying attention, for example, driving a vehicle.

Some states, like California have even adopted laws against using a cell phone without a handsfree device. The Mvox Duo is an apparatus that allows users to communicate without holding their phones. Look ma’, no hands.

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Amazon Kindle

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A couple of weeks ago, Amazon made a huge media splash with the introduction of the Kindle, their entry into the field of e-book hardware. With bundled wireless access to its online store, a keyboard for searching, and Amazon’s clout in the publishing industry, the Kindle is not quite like any of the other e-book readers available today. But how does it actually stack up, and will it bring e-books to the masses who have never used them before?

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Intelli IMT-500 Clip-on Digital Chromatic guitar tuner review

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Back in the stone age when I was learning to play guitar, there were only two ways to tune an instrument. By pitch pipe, or by ear. I wasn’t good at either method and was always frustrated that my guitar sounded ‘funky’ when I would play it. Years later, when the first electronic tuners were introduced, I was over joyed. Finally an easy way to keep my instrument in tune. They only problems with those tuners were the fact that they were somewhat bulky and required either a quiet room or a patch cable to connect to the instrument’s pickup. Things have changed since those days. Now we have nifty strobe type tuners like the Waves Strobe-On-String tuner that I reviewed not long ago and the Intelli IMT-500 Digital Chromatic Tuner that I’m going to show you today.

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DVD Stripper

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Picture Christmas Day. You and your family are sitting in the living room. Everyone is stuffed from the awesome dinner and exhausted from too many starches. Then, the little one comes over and wants you to open her brand new video. Grrr, you cannot even think about dealing with the stupid security tape and plastic wrap. Not to mention, your hands are cut from all the chopping and late night wrapping of Santa’s gifts. Here to make your life easier is Lori Power’s DVD Stripper.

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Palm Centro Smartphone Review

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Fans of Palm smartphones and PDAs continue to wait as days, weeks, months and years drift by without a major update to their favorite mobile operating system. It’s not far from the truth when I say that the Palm operating system hasn’t changed all THAT much since it’s introduction back in the late 1990’s. It still has the same look and feel, which is both comforting and let’s face it, kinda boring. While the OS side of Palm remains the same, they have offered hardware updates on a semi-regular basis. The latest one in the stores is the Palm Centro. This is a CDMA EvDO smartphone running on the Sprint network. How does Palm’s most affordable (when purchased with a 2yr contract) smartphone stack up? Let’s find out…

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Audioengine A2 Desktop Speakers

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Earlier this year, Audioengine was
kind enough to send me a pair of their wonderful
A5
speakers to review. These speakers have turned out to be a favorite of mine
and still occupy space on my desk at Gadgeteer headquarters. Now Audioengine
have created another set of speakers for people that don’t want to devote as
much desktop space and money in order to own a great sounding pair of speakers.
The A2’s work great with both PCs, Macs and other audio devices. Let’s take a
closer look.

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Coast LED Lenser LED Lantern (TT7105CP)

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Although I’ve never been camping in my life, I seem to have an unnatural fetish for outdoor gear like pocket knives, compasses and flashlights. I enjoy going into stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods and spending time looking at all their gear. If you prefer online browsing, a store that specializes in knives and flashlights is Discount LED Lights and Knives. In the past, they have sent me several LED flashlights to review and the most recent product that I’ve had the opportunity to try out is the Coast LED Lenser TT7105 LED Lantern. While I didn’t get a chance to test this product on an actual camping trip, I did test it a couple of times during my version of a ‘roughing it’ activity… power failures at home ;o)

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Apple iPod classic

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The globally popular Apple iPod video has been updated with a new face, a new interface, higher storage capacity and even a new name. It’s now called the iPod classic, which may sound like a name that would be given to a low end model, but this isn’t the case with the new iPod classic. This
classic may not be tiny like the new “fatty” nano, or have a touch screen like the new iPod touch. But neither of those devices are available in capacities of 80 or 160GB, enabling you can carry your entire music and video library with you in your pocket. Today I’m going to tell you about the 160GB version of this device.

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Dream Cheeky USB Fridge

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Every geek has their own personal arsenal of tools. For me they happen to be my 24″ iMac that I sit in front of every night pounding out reviews, a smartphone, iPod and last but not least, a can of Diet Coke. Yes, Diet Coke is a very important tool in my role as The Gadgeteer. Without it, I might not be able to type into the
quiet  hours of the night. There isn’t anything better than a nice cold can of DC to keep you wide eyed and perky. Unfortunately it doesn’t stay cold very long when it sits on
a coaster on your desk. What about a can cozy? Ummm, no ;o) Lucky for me,
Brando sent me an interesting “tool chest” for my Diet Coke. It’s the Dream Cheeky USB Fridge.

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Saddleback Leather Company Briefcase Review

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I love leather gear bags. Not the froo-froo kind though. I’m talking about the more rugged style of leather bags. The kind that Indiana Jones might appreciate if he was a real person. The kind of bag that might be able to tell stories if it could talk. The kind of bag that isn’t made on an assembly line, but in a more personal setting. Bags from the Saddleback Leather Company of Texas fit this criteria and according to owner Dave Munson, these are the kind of bags that your grandkids will fight over when you’re dead. Sounds good enough to me, let’s take a closer look…

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honestech VHS to DVD Deluxe 3.0

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The vast majority of consumer have gleefully accepted the digital video wave with DVDs, DVD players and digital video files on computers, iPods and PSP devices, to name a few. So it may come as a shock that analog video equipment is owned and utilized in some households.

In my house, we have an old VCR in our loft for our daughters to watch the occasional out-dated video. Even if your household is one without an analog video device, I bet you have at least one VHS tape that, even though you have not touched in years, you are not ready to throw away.

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Oral-B Triumph with SmartGuide ProfessionalCare 9910 Electric Toothbrush

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I hate going to the dentist. I joke around and say that I’m still dealing with post traumatic stress from when I was a kid. It seemed like every time my sister and I went to the dentist, we had a cavity. The hygienist used to yell at us saying that if we didn’t open our mouthes wider, she’d have to start all over again. Yikes, I get goose bumps just thinking about it. These days you practically have to drag me to go to my annual cleanings. I usually make them biannual just because I don’t want to go. I must be doing something right though because I haven’t had a cavity since I was a teenager and my dentist never yells at me for waiting so long in between visits.

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Vaja BlackBerry 8800 Classic Leather Case

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Perfection. That sums up the Vaja Classic Blackberry 8800 case.
Currently, the Blackberry 8800 is my device of choice (with me 24/7). Every
cool piece of personal technology deserves a case that compliments its form
and features while protecting it from the hazards of day-to-day life. This Vaja
case does both with style & craftsmanship second to none.

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