You are here: Home / Archives for 2015

Archives for 2015

Never too late to give a gift of Music (lessons)

December 30, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

You may have put musical instruments under the tree last year but everyone was just too busy to take the time to learn to play them. So why not start the New Year off on a new note; convert those IOU stocking stuffers into a gift of music (lessons) they can take on-line, anytime and right from home.

If you think that’s a great idea, the new MusicSchool On-Line is the kind of gift that doesn’t require shipping. It was launched this past summer by Grammy nominee multi-instrumentalist, producer and 20-year veteran Ken Lewis, seen above, whose experience extends to major artists and record labels. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

 

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

Last minute Musician and music lovers tech gifts

December 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

IrigAcousticFor the Musicians, future artists or music lovers in your life, here are a few last minute gift ideas for the holiday season all of which I had a chance to test-drive. If you find it’s a little too late to get them in, add a little IOU if necessary in his or her stocking. This can give them something to look forward to after Christmas Day. [Read more…]

Filed Under: accessories, GadgetGreg, Product review, sound · Tagged With: , , ,

Last minute family friendly holiday gadget gift ideas

December 23, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Sonos PLAY5EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 23, 2015/ Troy Media/ – Gadgets make great gifts and many seem to fit in the personal technology category. It’s nice to know that you can find some this holiday season that expand the personal to the entire family.

Family Printing

First up is the Epson Expression Premium XP-830. It’s a small versatile compact family five-cartridge inkjet all-in-one printer that also copies, scans, faxes, and more but won’t break the bank.

What’s cool is that it’s wireless, so no cables are required to print and you don’t even need to be hooked up to a computer. You can also print from a USB drive or SD-Card and, through Epson’s Connect software, you can print directly from your iPhone, iPad, and most other smartphones and tablets.  Read full post at Troy Media.

Filed Under: accessories, GadgetGreg, New Product, sound, Troy Media · Tagged With: , ,

Review: Latest Kindle Paperwhite right for you?

December 22, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Kindle Pencil

As an avid iPad user, I never thought I’d ever have a need for an e-reader until I actually spent some time with one. I love books, all kinds of books, physical print books and e-books and when I need to read the latter, I always have an iPad or iPhone within arms reach. But after spending some time reviewing the newest Kindle Paperwhite, I realize it doesn’t have to be one or the other; this e-reader can certainly find a home alongside your favourite tablet.

For those familiar with the Kindle Paperwhite, the revamped 2015 model, replaces the original 2013 offering. Physically, the changes are hardly noticeable. The new incarnation still features a 6-inch greyscale display with e-ink, but it’s now 300 ppi (pixels per inch), up from 212 ppi with a resolution of 1430 x 1080, twice the number of pixels than before. They’ve also doubled the storage memory to 4GB.  [Read more…]

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

Personal quiet sound amplifier helps you hear better

December 18, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Single BEanAs we get older things like your hearing start to deteriorate, especially if you worked in a noisy environment or went to too many “WHO” concerts without wearing proper hearing protection. To help out in these times Etymotic Research developed The BEAN – Quiet Sound Amplifier; it’s not a hearing aid that corrects hearing loss, but rather a personal sound amplification device that requires no prescription.

The company’s literature likens the BEAN “to wearing store-bought reading glasses that you only need to use part of the time.”  Read Full Review at CanoeTech Blog.

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

IK unveils Miroslav Philharmonik 2 for Mac/PC

December 17, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Miroslav Philharmonik 2

IK Multimedia has announced that Miroslav Philharmonik 2 for Mac and PC is now shipping. Made in conjunction with master                         musician, jazz legend and sampling luminary Miroslav Vitous, Miroslav Philharmonik 2 is an emotionally charged orchestral workstation that takes the groundbreaking virtual instrument used on countless classical productions, film scores and pop hits to new levels of expressiveness and realism. It provides over 2,700 instruments with over 55 GB of samples with beautiful new sounds recorded in stunning high-resolution at the prestigious Czech National Symphony Orchestra Studios in Prague.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Announcements · Tagged With: , ,

FlashXpress double infrared heating toaster oven

December 17, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

PanasonicFlashXpressFor a gadget enthusiastic household who might be in the market for a new Toaster Oven, the Panasonic FlashXpress Toaster Oven might be a good one to add to the list. No, it doesn’t send notifications to your smart watch when your toast is ready, but it does offer double infrared heating (i.e. dual quartz and ceramic elements so it heats up fast, and efficiently gets your food to your plate.

Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

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

Winter Inspired Holiday Headphones

December 15, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Let’s face it, we take our music seriously and take it everywhere – rain, shine or even in the dead of cold. So with the holiday season right around the corner here are a few winter inspired holiday headphone gift ideas, ideal for keeping the tunes streaming and some to take and make calls when the temperature drops below zero.


Wireless Earwarmers

At first glance, the 180s Earwarmers look like simple earmuffs, but under that insulated poly-spandex shell with polyester lining is a Bluetooth enabled set of wireless headphones, so you’re just as likely to find them in a place that sells gadgets as one that offers outdoor wear.

They don’t have a lot of bells and whistles but they also don’t add a lot of bulk to your winter attire. But don’t let that fool you. Under the padding are high definition speakers plus they are Siri and Google Now friendly so your hands can keep more time in their mitts. They are also designed to sit behind your head than over the top so you could call them “toque-compatible”. The headband is adjustable plus they fold down for quick storage.  SEE FULL POST at G4TV Canada.

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Signs of the Times · Tagged With: , , , ,

Hi-Tech holiday headphone roundup

December 10, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

Web
Not all headphones are created equal so if you’re looking for some really hi-tech headphones to pop under the tree this year, then here are a few ideas that you just might find sound pretty good – pardon the pun.

Mo-Fi Powered Hi-Fi Headphones

To start off, for the devout gamer, musician or the discerning audiophile, the Blue Mo-Fi Powered Hi-Fi Headphones with built-in amplifier marries todays hi-tech with tried and true old-school technology.

At first glance they look like they would be right at home as part of a Transformer, but the robotic like look is purposeful; the formed ear cups, the multi-hinged design and adjustable headband allows the headphones to be adjusted for any head or comfort level while staying completely parallel so you block outside sound and hear the music as you are supposed to.

In fact, there’s no digital signal processing on this puppy. It has a built-in 240mW amplifier and it’s totally analog, baby! It also has three bass modes to choose from, so you can decide between passive, active or enhanced bass.  Read about all Holiday Hi-Tech Headphones at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Hands On · Tagged With: , , ,

Review: iRig Mic Lav monitoring lavalier mic

December 5, 2015 by · Leave a Comment

irigmiclav_filterIK Multimedia’s tagline is “Musicians First,” but many of their offerings including their iRig Mic line of high quality microphones are also suitable for presenters, podcasters and videographers. But one selection missing from their line-up, until now was a lav (lavalier) mic. Keeping with their naming tradition, it’s called the iRig Mic Lav. Beyond a clip-on, this latest offering  gives you the capability of monitoring what’s passing through it, as well as chain two mics together and simultaneously record to one device.

Dual-Purpose Jack

At first, it looks like your typical clip-on mic with a foam wind/pop shield, but look further down the cable and you see a dual-purpose connector that ports both a 3.5mm male and female connectors. The male goes to your recording device. The female serves two purposes depending on which selection you make to the toggle switch. Selecting the headphones option enables the monitoring option. Plug in a set of headphones or earbuds and you know that you are actually getting a recording. Toggle the switch, plug in another lav mic and now you can record two people and even monitor through the 2nd port.  Read full review at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Audio, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Review, sound · Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »