Hands On — Page 8

iLoud Micro Monitors deliver big studio sound – Review

October 27, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

iloudmm_sl_macbook_hands Desktop speakers are plentiful, but if you’re a musician, producer, podcaster or maybe you’re just particular about sound reproduction it’s a good idea to have a decent set of monitors for accurate audio playback like the new iLoud Micro Monitors by IK Multimedia.

If the name sounds familiar, we reviewed the original iLoud brand speaker back in 2013 here at Canoe Tech Blog. It is a small footprint four-speaker wireless portable personal monitor that featured a 40W amp, guitar input and could run on battery power; this new model isn’t replacing it, it’s just different. It’s AC powered, comes in a pair, can sit right on your desktop and yet still small enough to be portable. Read Full Review at CanoeTech Blog.

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, sound · Tagged With: music, New product, Review, speakers

Review: Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal canister vacuum never stays down

October 20, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

I have to admit it’s been a while since I reviewed or regularly used a traditional canister vacuum. However, I can remember eons ago, not so fondly mind you, how often the darned thing tipped over and the hose became twisted and tangled. I had no choice but to stop, put it up right and untangle myself. So it piqued my curiosity when I heard that Dyson had developed a new Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal vacuum which they said self-rights itself when toppled.

Remember the Weebles?

I have to admit, at first, I had an immediate flashback to the 70s. The TV commercial forever ingrained in my brain and the slogan, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.” Anyone old enough to remember? If not, I’m sure it’s on YouTube.

Apparently, I’m told, the team at Dyson had the same experience when founder James Dyson really put his engineering team to task to come up with a solution for the toppling canister. Read more…Full review at CanoeTech Blog.

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Review · Tagged With: Dyson, home appliances, New product, product review

Review: IK Mulitmedia iRig HD 2 digital guitar interface

September 15, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

IK Multimedia has finally unveiled their sequel to the affordable pocket-sized iRig HD digital guitar interface and not surprising, it’s called the iRig HD 2. This low-noise, high-definition guitar preamp offers the same functionality as its predecessor plus a whole lot more, adding some much needed features to the original and new additions to keep up with advancing technologies.

The new iRig HD 2 has a solid build quality and is just slightly larger (by 9 mm) and a touch heavier by (15 g), so it is still nice and compact and pretty much still fits in the palm of your hand. It draws power from the host and is designed for use with iOS devices including the new iPhone 7 as well as Macs and PCs. It features a 24-bit analog-to-digital converter plus a 96 kHz sampling rate for an ultra high-definition, high-quality signal.

It has an onboard gain control dial so you can control the pre-amp signal input from the 1/4″ Hi-Z jack when playing or recording to make sure you’re at the right level. There’s also a multicoloured LED to monitor that level. Read Full Review at CanoeTech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Apple, Apps Alive, Audio, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Hands On, New Product, Product review, sound · Tagged With: accessories, Digital Music, interface, New product, product review

ResQBattery disposable smartphone battery pack

September 10, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

With the number of rechargeable battery banks available one would think that a pocket disposable battery pack like ResQBattery may not make any sense. However, the fact is even spare batteries lose capacity over time and often we forget to charge them, so having a spare in case of emergency or in the event there’s no where handy to recharge, may not be such a bad idea.

This is the concept behind ResQbattery, the brainchild of entrepreneur Idit Hoter-Ishay and founder of Nofet LLC who conceived the idea a few years ago after her battery died and she urgently needed to use her phone while travelling in China. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Android, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Hands On, New Product, Product review, smartphone · Tagged With: accessories, Android, battery, battery charger, New product, product review, windows phone

Review: Braven Lux – a wireless speakerphone and not a purse

July 30, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

One would rarely think of describing a Bluetooth speaker as having a luxurious feminine style, but when you look at the Braven Lux you just may smile and nod your head in agreement. In fact if you come across a lady holding one in her hand you might mistakenly take it for a clutch purse.

Created by accessory maker Braven, the LUX wireless speaker is part of a limited edition for the Braven Design Series, so I’m sure the purse look was created rather by design and not pure by accident. Read Full Review at G4TV Canada.

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Hands On, Review · Tagged With: accessories, bluetooth, portable speaker, product review

Review: Jabra Halo Smart Wireless earphones

July 28, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

When Jabra announced the Halo Smart – wireless Bluetooth earphones and smart nonetheless, it truly piqued my interest – and in particular that they were also designed to give both voice and call, top priority, something often forgotten about in other sets.

To review the set, I thought I’d give them the test drive as I do others by taking them along with me along with my iPhone 5S for a week during my daily walks.

The first thing you notice about Halo Smart is its unique shape. Rather than just cables running to each bud or to a control module, each earphone is attached by a short cable to an almost squared off light-weight, U-shaped rubberized neckband, which sits quite comfortably around your collar. And should you need to adjust the fit, the arms have flex zones where you can bend them. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Audio, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, sound · Tagged With: accessories, bluetooth, earbuds, New product, product review

Zus Kevlar Cable – is it bulletproof?

July 15, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Zus Kevlar Cable While the world has gone wireless, we still need to rely on cables. Sadly, these necessary links all too often become the weakest link as they can easily tear, fray and subsequently fail usually at the worst possible time. That’s why Nonda (No NDA Inc.) created the Zus Kevlar Cable, which they tout as, “The world’s most durable cable and the last cable you’ll ever need.”

Kevlar is a trade name of Dupont, and a type of Aramidfibre. It’s commonly used for bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets, but somehow I had my doubts that a cable would survive the actual impact from a bullet. I’m also sure our city’s finest have better things to do than have me bother them asking them to shoot up a defenseless cable, so I opted for other test methods.

While I didn’t exactly go crazy, I did put the cable through a number of paces but opted not to involve the jaws of neighbour’s pooch. Read full Review at G4TV Canada.

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

iKlip A/V smart mount makes you a mobile broadcaster

July 13, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Grabbing mobile video is pretty easy these days, but to really capture both high quality video and audio quickly and easily on the go, can be a little more cumbersome. This is where the new IK Multimedia iKlip A/V comes in. It’s the first all-in-one broadcast smart mount designed to do both by integrating an ergonomic handle, a mic pre-amp and wireless support into one handheld gadget.

Designed in Italy with guidance from mobile broadcasters and field reporting professionals, iKlip A/V features a mounting platform consisting of a slightly curved metal bar. In the middle is a standard UNC ¼” threaded camera mount with thumb wheel. There’s also a removable rubber reinforced double spring-loaded expandable clamp that allows you to securely attach any 3.5”-6″ iPhone, iPod touch or Android smartphone to it. Read more…and get full review at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, Going Mobile, Hands On, New Product, Product review, Review, smartphone · Tagged With: Audio, digital video, video accessories

Cel-Fi PRO boosts your cell signal at home

June 26, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

A dropped cellphone call can be a real annoyance, but even worse might be an interrupted data transfer due to poor LTE, 4G or 3G coverage. And while we may be at the mercy of whatever location we’re at, there is something we can do about improving our voice and data coverage at home by using a plug and play smart signal booster like the Cel-Fi PRO Smart Signal Booster by Nextivity.

Five Minute Install

The beauty is it’s a solution that consists of just two wireless AC powered boxes – a Network Unit (Sender) and a Coverage Unit (Receiver) and you don’t have to climb up on your roof or install antennas nor do you need to schedule a technician to get it up and running. It takes about five minutes.

Basically, how it works is you place the Network Unit (NU) at a location in your home where you have the strongest signal, which I would suspect for most is likely by a window. Having four bars of signal is ideal, but the booster will work with as little as one. Then, place the Coverage Unit (CU) where the signal is weakest but close enough to the Network unit so they can talk to each other. It will likely be somewhere in the middle of your house. Of course the building’s materials will affect the signal. Read full Review at Canoe Tech Blog.

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

BoostCube is an iClever little 4-port charger

June 18, 2016 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

The iClever BoostCube 4-port is a smart 40W/8A USB wall charger whose claim to fame is that it can up charge to four USB devices simultaneously at full power from a single plug. At 2.45” x 2.45” x 1.12” it has a small and sleek form factor with a nice quality finish that’s about the same width and about 1/2” bigger than an iPad charger but smaller than a MacBook AC charging block.

iClever BoostCube features SmartID. This means it can recognize the type of device plugged into it and deliver up to the full 2A per plug and charge the likes of the iPad Pro, iPhone 6S Plus, Samsung Galaxy S7, LG G5 and others at the same rate as their original chargers but up to four at a time. Read full review at Canoe_Tech Blog.

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