This weekend, young men around the U.S. are whittling, sanding, carving, painting and weighing their 5-ounce Pinewood Derby cars in hopes of taking first prize in the Boy Scouts of America Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. As this post goes live, my youngest son — a 2nd grade Wolf Cub Scout — will be racing an iPhone-shaped car down the 32-foot tracks hoping for the blue ribbon!
Continue ReadingThe AppCrayon by DanoToys is the first stylus I’ve ever seen with a triangular shaft designed by teachers and therapists for use by kindergarteners still working on their tripod writing grips. The stylus is plastic, slightly over sized and has a bit larger tip then most styluses making it perfect for kids. This stylus feels very much like a triangular crayon, but looks different enough that a child should confuse a real crayon for the stylus on the screen. Its designed with a small loop on the back to attach to a lanyard or hook if there are worries about misplacing it. The stylus is completely universal so even though it was designed in conjunction with an Apple app, the stylus can be used with over 300,000 apps and is compatible with nearly every touchscreen device.
I’d highly recommend the AppCrayon for any child with a touchscreen device, especially for young ones still practicing a proper pencil grip.
Continue ReadingWhen the new iPhone 5 was announced, I immediately wanted one. I’m not an Apple computer person, but when it comes to their phones and other devices, I’ve found them to work great for what I need. Part of my job involves purchasing and setting up company phones for employees. I was curious to know how my new iPhone would hold up to my previous model (4s) as well as another popular smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S3.
Continue ReadingThe Griffin Beacon combined with the Dijit app make it easy to turn your phone or tablet into a universal remote.
Continue ReadingThinkGeek has some amazing stuff. One item I’ve had my eye on for a while now, is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle backpack. It’s 16″ x 18″ of pure half-shell awesomeness. Perfect for everyday use, it also doubles as the perfect halloween (or cosplay) accessory.
Continue ReadingIon’s iPics 2 Go gives iPhone users the ability to take their cherished photo memories from paper to digital. With the help of a free app and a little black box, you can transfer your hard copy memories into digital treasures.
Continue ReadingI’m always worried about my son draining my iPhone battery with too much Angry Birds (or myself with too much Facebook and e-mail), so when I had the opportunity to test out a new battery case I jumped on it. On a busy day, I can drain my iPhone battery pretty quickly, so having an extra battery on hand for my iPhone is a must.
Continue ReadingAs with most technology, when smart phones first came out they were supposed to make our lives easier and less stressful. After having three different types of phones, I think that it’s actually the opposite. With every phone upgrade I’ve had, my life seems to get more stressful and I become more afraid of losing or being without it (aka…nomophobia).
Continue ReadingI sometimes wish that my iPhone was my remote control for everyday life. I want it to do everything for me, or at least make life easier. Ever since I started taking an interest in photography, I’ve wanted to be able to link my iPhone to my DSLR camera to extend my reach and take self portraits. As you can imagine, I was thrilled when I received a review copy of the ioShutter cable to try for myself from Photojojo (a photographers haven of awesomeness)!
Continue ReadingIf you depend on your phone and use it constantly, then you’re also constantly worrying about its charge. The latest entries in the myCharge line of power packs offer the same easy, portable power but with improved functionality and a greater variety of options.
Continue ReadingThe Braven 625s Bluetooth 3.0 speaker is an impressive addition to any household both because of the ease of setting it up and the clarity of the sound coming from it.
Continue ReadingLast week, iHome released the newest addition to its line of Apple products: the iHome iP76 color changing speaker tower. The system comes complete with Bluetooth capability, remote, and a wide range of color changing choices to play with. I was given the opportunity to receive a review sample, the day before they were released into stores.
Continue ReadingPhones do not like water and tend to sink to the bottom of things like lakes, which makes snapping the perfect picture very risky. LifeProof has two great solutions to the problem of taking your iPhone into less than friendly environments.
Continue ReadingThe Yellow Jacket iPhone Stun Gun case is exactly as its name implies. It’s a case for your iPhone that has a built in stun gun feature. With a 650K volt stun gun built in, this is not a case to be taken lightly by its user. Currently just an Indiegogo project, the Yellow Jacket has already made its minimum goal to start production.
Continue ReadingBetween constantly checking my e-mail, sending out information via twitter, helping out with the Florida Garrison’s Facebook page and my son’s love of Angry Birds, my iPhone battery doesn’t last a full day. I loved the reviews on the Mophie Juice Pack Plus for the iPhone and I really wanted to try it out. My only issue with the case was the lack of protection the case gave the screen. As soon as I learned they had a rugged version in the making, I jumped at the chance to check it out.
Continue ReadingIt can be a pain when you’re on the move and don’t want to stuff a charger and a bunch of cables and connectors into your bag. That’s where the Powerbag Backpack 3000 comes into play. It provides not only a sturdy backpack with plenty of pockets for all your stuff, but a built in charger and connectors so you can charge no matter where you go.
Continue ReadingThese days, most of us have several electronic devices that have specialized charging cables. Keeping track of them, and remembering to bring them when we travel, can sometimes be a challenge. One solution to this problem is to use a specialized charger that can charge multiple devices at once.
Continue ReadingThe iCade mobile is the newest addition to the iCade line. Designed for iPhone / iPod touch devices, this little guy is a nice addition to my pile of iDevice accessories.
Continue ReadingIt’s a problem when you have one device running low on batteries, but it’s even more difficult when you have two or three all in need of a little juice. I’ve run into this on road trips with my family. We’ve each got a gadget but the car only has two outlets so that means a spiderweb of wires and splitters. It also means we’re all searching for outlets at hotel stops and then trying not to leave anything behind the next day. The myCharge Portable Power Bank 6000 is an easy solution to this problem.
Continue ReadingOn Mother’s Day, they tend to advertise a lot of things like vacuums and ironing boards. I think that’s a little mean. It’s like giving someone a gift that says, “Clean my house!” I’ll admit that I’m occasionally guilty of doing this for Father’s Day, although my gifts usually say “Cook for me!” He likes cooking, and I like eating, so I refuse to feel guilty about it. This year, I received a review model of the iDevices iGrill, and I wanted to see if it qualifies as good gift encouragement for tasty smoked meats.
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