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Transform your cassette deck into a wireless receiver

December 30, 2014 by · 2 Comments

IONCassetteAdapterBluetooth

If you’re still driving an old or classic car, chances are as long as it’s not too ancient, it’s equipped with an AM/FM Cassette Deck. Now while it still might sound pretty good, likely most of your cassettes have been more than sunbaked and it’s still not up to today’s digital standards. So here’s a little gadget, the ION Cassette Adapter Bluetooth that transforms your cassette player into a wireless music receiver allowing you stream tunes from your portable device through to your car’s speakers.

It’s shaped like a cassette tape; obviously, as it would need to fits into a cassette player. Looking directly at its front face, the microphone and the micro USB charging port are both on the left-hand side along with the on/off sensor which automatically powers the adapter either on or off when you insert or eject the adapter from the player.  READ MORE at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, New Product, Product review · Tagged With: , ,

More last minute tech and not-so-tech stocking stuffers

December 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

SensoGlove Alone Photo - New VersionEDMONTON, AB, Dec 24, 2014/ Troy Media/ – Looking for some last-minute unique gift ideas? Here are a few, some of which are high tech while others not so much, you might want to consider.

There’s more than one way to help your loved ones get an edge on their golf game – using the right club and positioning it properly, swinging and standing just the right way. But one element I wasn’t aware of is how getting just the right amount of pressure in your grip is equally important in getting better distance and accuracy. I typically hold onto my club for dear life to ensure it doesn’t fly off as I swing my wood, much like Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore. Read full review at Troy Media.

Filed Under: GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Signs of the Times, Troy Media · Tagged With: ,

Last minute gadget gift ideas

December 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Epson LabelMaker Jar smallMany of us wait for the last minute to pick up our gifts for loved ones so here’s a few 11th hour ideas to help you get through that special day. If it’s too late to get them in, think of them as ideas for Boxing week, which in some places, has already started.

Ultra Portable Mini Groove Controller

If you’re looking for a great gift idea for a budding music producer, music lover or someone who just likes to tap out a beat, cue up loops or mix like a DJ, then check out one of the newest gadgets from IK Multimedia – iRig Pads, a full featured ultra-portable universal MIDI groove controller.

One huge feature is its size. It’s a little smaller than an iPad, less than 1″ thick and really lightweight – ideal to port around. It’s designed to consume very little power – in fact it draws peer from whatever it’s plugged in to.  READ MORE at Canoe Tech Blog

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review · Tagged With: , ,

Linksys Dual Band Router and Gigabit Switch get your wireless home network up to speed

December 21, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

1 Linksys stacked Router on topEDMONTON, AB, Dec 21, 2014/ Troy Media/ – Your household has made it through the year, but somehow the Internet connection is not as responsive as it could be; in fact, it’s brutal even doing a Google search. You’ve added new devices, with more likely to come by Christmas morning.

Your original router was great when you got it but now barely serves its purpose: it’s time to step things up a notch.

Just what the doctor ordered

The Linksys WRT1900AC Dual Band Gigabit Ethernet Router along with Linksys WRT 8-Port Gigabit Switch (SE4008) might just be what the gadget doctor ordered.

Instead of a single antenna, the Linksys WRT1900AC router has four. This allows you to position the router for maximum signal strength, of course, but also allows you to position each individual antenna to help minimize areas in your home void of a good signal.

And rather than just sending out a general signal, the router, through its own proprietary BeamForming technology, can single out a specific device and boost its signal. This can be handy particularly for that one device, maybe your laptop that always seems to get a poor connection in the living room. READ FULL ARTICLE at Troy Media.

Filed Under: accessories, GadgetGreg, Hands On, Product review, Review, Troy Media · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Yantouch Diamond+ Light, Sleep / Wake & Music Device

December 21, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

If you’re looking for a gift for that someone special who seems to have everything, chances are that he or she doesn’t have the Yantouch Diamond+, a 3-in-1 mini entertainment system that’s a sound, light and a sleep/wake device all built-in to a desktop diamond-cut shaped globe. This latest model from the Taiwan based company is a new and much improved follow up to their previous Diamond II and Diamond 3 models.

First of all, Diamond+ get its name from its rounded diamond shape. It’s a 2.1 stereo Bluetooth 3.0 speaker system, that allows you to stream your music wirelessly from various devices including Android and iOS. It can also work in wired mode too. It has a pair of drivers, one on each side and a bass resonance tube to give you bigger sound from the smaller form factor. Built into the globe are eight RGB and two white LED lights that offer illumination that range from a bedside reading white light to a kaleidoscope of over 16 million colours.  READ FULL REVIEW at G4TV Canada

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, sound · Tagged With: , ,

Oral-B Bluetooth toothbrush keeps your teeth white

December 17, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Oral-B BluetoothEvery day we hear about some new device now equipped with Bluetooth. The latest, are Oral-B’s 5000 and 7000 series of interactive smart toothbrushes. Now back in March here at Canoe Tech Blog, we had a look at their latest plaque fighting tooth brush technology and learned the secret about how it all came about because a German engineer had an epiphany while brushing snow off the driveway. Their latest models, Oral-B SmartSeries with Bluetooth 4.0 Connectivity 5000 and 7000 still incorporate the ridiculously fast oscillations and pulsations and still include their remote SmartGuide, but now you’re able to monitor and track your progress and even share the data with your dental professional because there’s now an app for that.

To get the lowdown on the brushes capabilities, have a look at the original article, as today, I’d like to focus primarily on the model’s Bluetooth connectivity and the app it brings to the table. What’s interesting is that not only does the brush send data to the app; the app also has customization capabilities that allows it to communicate back to the brush for personalized brushing.  Read full review at Canoe Tech Blog.

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Great gadgets come in small gift packages

December 15, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

1 MusicProGifts come in all shapes and sizes, but bigger isn’t necessarily better or more desirable. So here are a few gift ideas all of which I had an opportunity to test-drive, that are all much smaller than a bread box and some of which might actually fit in the palm of your hand.

High Fidelity Electronic Earplugs

This first one certainly fits the criteria, but it’s designed for your ears. The Music•Pro High-Fidelty Electronic Musicians Earplugs by Etymotic Research as the name says is ideally suited for musicians, but equally sensible for anyone to find themselves in environments where hearing protection is without trading off sound fidelity, which something like typical passive earplugs can’t accomplish.  READ FULL ARTICLE at G4 Canada.

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, New Product, Product review · Tagged With: ,

5 holiday gadget gift ideas for a dorm or small space

December 12, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

nimblstand

They say that all good things come in small packages and sometimes “small” are what we need especially if our loved ones live or work in a tight space. And whether it is in a dorm room, condo, and makeshift office or for simply sitting on your couch, here are five gadgets that make ideal gifts for this holiday season that just make sense. 

Nimblstand Instant Workstation 

The iPad has become so versatile that many people are replacing their notebooks with these Apple tablets. The reality is that one never knows when or where it’s going to be used, but fear not, there’s a Nimblstand for that!   All you need to do is slide in your Apple Wireless Keyboard horizontally through the form-fitted slot, drop in your iPad in either landscape or portrait mode and you have an instant ergonomic compact two-piece workstation to help you play more comfortably and work more productively, almost anywhere. Read more… at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg · Tagged With: , ,

NewerTech NuGreen desk lamp features 50 LEDs

December 12, 2014 by · 1 Comment

nugreen_gall2Desk lamps are not typically something in this Gadget Guy’s repertoire or even on my list of tech gifts for under the tree but I was happy to make an exception for the NewerTech NuGreen energy efficient flexible neck LED desk lamp.

The first thing you’ll notice is that it looks pretty cool. It has a flat aluminum base, a bendable 12-inch gooseneck, which allows you to position, it depending on where you need the light and an equally flat disc-shaped head that matches the lamp’s base quite nicely.

What’s even cooler is how it puts out the light. The lamp head features an impressive 50 5mm light emitting diodes (LEDs), producing a very bright (4500K) white light similar to what natural daylight would look like. This makes it ideal for almost any room in the house. It’s not designed to light the whole room, but more in a concentrated area like a desk. Still, you wouldn’t want to switch it on and looked directly at it, as it would be truly blinding. What’s even more amazing is how energy-efficient it is. With all that light it puts out, it only consumes a mere 3.6 W total power and the LEDs remain cool to the touch.

According to the company, the LEDs are designed to last for up to 45,000 hours of use, which they say is up to 22 times longer than a traditional bulb. And they’re eco-friendly too. They contain no mercury and therefore can also be recycled.  READ FULL Review at G4TV Canada’s Tech News.

 

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Hands On, Product review, Review · Tagged With: , ,

Wink makes home automation easy

December 11, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

1 Wink HubEDMONTON, AB, Dec 11, 2014/ Troy Media/ – In the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a Babel Fish is a fictitious creature which, if you stick it in your ear, immediately converts any language into one that you can understand. This makes the Wink Hub, recently introduced to Canadians by The Home Depot, the “Babel Fish” of Home Automation.

The Wink Hub is a hardware (hub) and app solution designed to bring all of the different “smart” brands, most of which operate within their own eco-system and protocols, together under a single platform to allow them to work together. Currently, Wink is compatible with over 70 products from a dozen or so brands, including Philips, GE, DropCam, Honeywell, Schlage and more.  READ Full article at TROY Media.

Filed Under: accessories, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Signs of the Times, Troy Media · Tagged With: ,
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