"Gadget" Greg Gazin Demystifies Tech & Life in a useful, fun & practical way!
Labour Day is almost upon us but there’s still time to have a little bit of summer fun before back-to-school and the Swann Xtreem Bubble Bomber RC Helicopter can help you do just that. Instead of firing bullets, it dispenses bubbles. How much more fun could it be? Read full article at CanoeTech Blog.
After having recently reviewed the iRig Voice, IK Multimedia’s basic voice recording microphone which pairs nicely with karaoke apps and their own EZ Voice, I was pleasantly surprised when they skipped over to the other end of the spectrum and unveiled iRig Mic HD, a high-def digital handheld condenser mic.
This changes their microphone game in that, unlike their other two handheld analog offerings, this one is totally digital – meaning audio goes right to your device in digital format. As you speak or sing into its electret condenser capsule, it’s built-in pre-amp and the built-in 24-bit audiophile grade analog to digital (A/D) converter gives you good crisp clean audio sound eliminating any added noise or sound degradation of analog mics and doing away with the need for a separate A/D box.
Check out the full review at Canoe Tech Blog Read more…
It never ceases to amaze me as to how creative manufacturers can be when trying to differentiate a product from the thousands already available. This is particularly true right now with the Bluetooth wireless speaker market. There are so many out there, many of which I simply gloss over, but the 808 Hex XL Portable Bluetooth Speaker by Voxx International, did catch my attention.
Depending on your perspective, the Hex XL can either look like a miniature version of a speaker monitor that you’d find on stage at a concert or perhaps the latest fashion purse on display at a downtown boutique.
Since I rarely talk about purses, it must be closer to the former. The 808 Hex XL (SP920) is a Bluetooth wireless 2.1 stereo speaker featuring two mid-drivers and a mini down-firing subwoofer at the bottom. It’s adorned with a black mesh grill, with mini honeycomb shaped cutouts that you can see right through to the speakers. I suspect the origin of the name Hex comes from “hexagonal” and that fact that honeycombs have six sides. READ FULL REVIEW at CANOE TECH BLOG
James Dyson is about to make headlines once again. You’d probably be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t seen his famous face in a TV commercial, starting about 20 years ago, telling us how inefficient vacuums are because they lose suction because of this culprit – the ugly dirty dusty vacuum bag. And now there’s a new story.
Back in 1993, Dyson realized that bagged vacuums lost suction as the bag’s pores clogged even before it was full. So they did away with them by introducing cyclonic technology that spins the dirt right into a bin. The technology evolved over time but they realized that they were still losing suction – the blame now was put on the clogged filter that was still necessary to capture the dust. Fast forward two decades and the filter, which we hate to clean or change and is also a culprit in the war against suction loss, is now too going the way of the dodo bird.
No More Filters
Dyson is making this possible by the introduction of their next generation vacuum in North America that uses its newly patented Dyson Cinetic cyclone technology.
“Getting rid of bags solved the frustration of my vacuum losing suction. But washing filters – or worse – buying them, is still a nuisance. Dyson Cinetic cyclones are so efficient at separating microscopic particles that everything gets thrust into the bin, and you can forget about fussy filters,” says James Dyson.
Read more…and Full Review at CANOE Tech Blog
The previous models were specific for an iPad model. The latest reincarnations are designed so regardless as to whether you have a 1st gen iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air or even an Android tablet, iKlip Xpand will fit all of those. The same holds true for your iPhone 4S, 5S, iPod touch, or Android smartphone – iKlip Xpand mini is for that. The secret, well it’s not so secret, is the new expandable spring-loaded design that can stretch to accommodate the varying sizes of the devices.
Read more…At Canoe Tech Blog
When I first heard about the LD WEST Holster, I was intrigued – anything that can be used to save valuable pocket space must be a good thing. When I first saw it, held it in my hands, I didn’t know exactly what to make of it. You can easily surmise by the name that it’s a holster; combine that with the name and you’re thinking Cowboys and the Wild West. As it turns out neither is the case although, if you look at its curved cutouts, you may wonder.
LDWEST is actually a sleek fashionable holster system that wraps around the backside of your neck and snaps together allowing you to sling your smartphone under your right arm and your wallet under the left. It’s more like a half a pair of suspenders worn by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones or Clint Eastwood rather than John Wayne or Matt Dillon.
Read more…at CANOE TechBlog
Say it quickly and it sounds like you’re saying “freeze frame”, but it’s actually Fritz Frame. It’s a cleverly designed video stabilizer, stand and case that allows you to position your iPhone 5 or 5S virtually any which way, even hang it, so you can do Facetime, watch videos and even take those must-have selfies, totally hands-free.
Frank Mansfeld, Fritz Frame CEO and director, and hisdesigners have exploited almost every viewing angle. Fritz Frame is hinged at the bottom, pivots at the centre and can rotate a full 360 degrees in any direction. Movement is smooth and precise on both the hinge and pivot, each with a six-step stop position.
Fritz Frame is amazingly sturdy, yet light, CNC machined from aircraft grade aluminum. It has a fine finish and even where there are square corners you’ll find them smoothly finished. The attention to detail down to the locking pins and countersink screws, of course, is something you’d expect from German Engineering. READ MORE at G4 TV CANADA
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DMONTON, AB, Jul 25, 2014/ Troy Media/ – With all of the innovations in telephone communications, home entertainment and computers over the last 500 years, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed – the electrical outlet.
Until now that is. Thanks to San Francisco-based Living Plug and its Inlet, the outlet will never be the same.
Now, we’re not talking about modifying or rewiring an existing outlet. That would require a major overhaul and a change to electric standards around the world.
Instead, the Inlet gives the outlet a simple but very useful makeover. It comes in the form of a 5” x 5” x 1 1/2′” square housing that fits over the outlet plate and plugs into an existing socket. It moves the two room-facing sockets to a safer location – the bottom of the Inlet, making it safer for children. (There’s also an additional safety screw that you could use to secure Inlet to the actual outlet so the kids can’t pull it out of the wall.) They’ve also added a third tamper-proof outlet, rotated 90 degrees, making it a triplex outlet.
READ FULL ARTICLE at Troy Media
I do keep my office reasonably clean, but truthfully my office is usually covered wall to wall with gadgets, cables, books, magazines, manuals, boxes and more. I’ve never really thought about all the dust bunnies and other allergens that might be lurking in the dark crevices behind and beneath all my gadgetry. Enter the 2-in-1 Satechi USB Portable Air Purifier & Fan. It can eradicate the bunnies, remove those nasty allergens and provide for a little breeze or air circulation.
It looks like a small desktop speaker, measuring 11 x 11 x 9 cm, small enough to be portable and weighs a mere 350g so you can use it in the home, in the office, on the road and even in your car.
No drivers to install; it’s plug and play and runs off 5V USB, so you can power it from a USB compatible wall charger or even your computer.
It has two modes – compressed and expanded. When compressed it takes on the role as a purifier, designed to grab those ultra-fine particles like dander, dust and pollen from the air; when expanded by pulling out the front, it runs like a personal fan.
Read more…AT Canoe TECH Blog
IK Multimedia has just released iRig MIDI 2, the first portable Lightning/USB MIDI interface for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch as well as Mac and PC. iRig MIDI 2 adds a whole new level of portability and connectivity thanks to its detachable and interchangeable cable inputs, standard MIDI connectors and pocket-sized form factor. It’s the perfect mobile MIDI solution for the musician on the go.
iRig MIDI 2 is so flexible because all of its cables are fully detachable and interchangeable via its Mini-DIN connector: Users can swap out Lightning connector, 30-pin connector and USB cables on the fly, which allows for quick switching while on the move. All cables are bumper friendly, which means that iRig MIDI 2 can be plugged into mobile devices without having to remove any protective case. [Read more…]
Also available via AMAZON
