"Gadget" Greg Gazin Demystifies Tech & Life in a useful, fun & practical way!
Google Maps Android and iOS app users will be able to more than just search with Google’s new ‘Explore’ feature that will help Canadians uncover their surroundings with the tap of a button.
According to Google Canada, App users will be able to use Explore to see different places and activities that adapt to each area and moment throughout their day, whether they’re searching for a new lunch spot, travelling to a new country or wondering what time their train is scheduled to arrive.
While there’s no shortage of gadgets and techie things we can take on a summer trip, there’s always a shortage of space – whether it’s room in one’s backpack, suitcase, trunk of the car or your smartphone’s memory. Nevertheless, here’s an eclectic mix of eight things that may come in handy and you might want to consider taking along for the ride to ensure smooth sailing this summer.
They take up very little room, so take along an extra pair of earbuds or if you must, extra headphones. There’s nothing worse than forgetting your earbuds somewhere, having them accidentally destroyed or developing a loose cable connection by having them get tangled and torn up by the armrest on the plane. Now if your tunes are a must, you could possibly buy another pair, but you might be overpaying or not really getting the ones you want.
If you’re traveling with a companion, another good thing to throw into your carry-on is a headphone splitter like the Wicked Audio Splitter, which we reviewed last December. This little accessory could come in handy when you want to share your audio with a friend or significant other, or in the event your onboard entertainment doesn’t work and the two of you want to enjoy a movie on your iPad. READ FULL ARTICLE at CANOE Tech Blog
EDMONTON, AB, Aug 8, 2014/ Troy Media/ – The bigger smartphones get, the less likely we are to see people opting to wear them on their hips. And the need of the latest and greatest for even more power and bigger and extra batteries is another reason to simply sock them into your pocket or purse.
But sometimes (think if you’re working out in the field or up on a telephone pole), a phone on your hip still makes perfect sense.
The Seidio Innocell Plus Combo is a nifty little accessory for your iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S that acts as a case with a battery plus holster in an all-in-one combination.
The case is a snap-together sleek slim protector for your phone. It features Seidio’s signature soft-touch coating, that feels nice to handle while keeping your phone free from scratches, and doesn’t add too much excessive real estate to your phone. It has a built-in 2000mAh battery which, in effect, doubles your iPhone’s battery’s capacity, with an extra 25 per cent more to boot.
Your Innocell Plus case clips right into the perfectly matched felt-lined Innocell Plus Holster, which you then simply need to clip it right onto your belt. It allows quick access to your phone and swivels in seven different directions to accommodate almost any type of hip. The belt clip also has a lip on it to make it less likely that the phone will fall off your belt. READ FULL ARTICLE at TROY MEDIA
IK Multimedia begins shipping today iRig Mic HD, the successor to their popular iRig Mic. iRig Mic HD is the first affordable high-quality handheld digital condenser mic for singers, podcasters, online radio broadcasters, journalists, videographers, home studio enthusiasts and anyone else who needs to record high-definition digital audio on the go. And it connects directly to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch or your Mac/PC! How’s that for convenience?
iRig Mic HD sports a 24-bit audiophile-grade A/D converter, a 44.1/48 kHz sampling rate and a low-noise/high-definition pre-amp. iRig Mic HD to give you professional quality results, anytime and anywhere and it can handle the most demanding professional needs in the field or in the studio and is comparable in quality to what you’d get in a mic that costs three times as much.
The most significant feature that iRig Mic HD has is that it plugs directly into the digital port on your device or the USB port on your computer. When you speak, sing or record any audio into iRig Mic HD the sound first goes through a high-definition, audiophile grade preamp and then is converted to a digital signal with a 24-bit analog-to-digital converter.
The result is an extremely accurate recording, with no added noise, and no sonic degradation. The mic comes with a Lightning connector cable and a USB cable. This covers you for the latest generation of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices, and it also gives you the flexibility to connect directly to your Mac or PC. If you have an older 30-pin iOS device, you can easily order a cable from the IK Online Store, and you’ll be up and running in no time.
With iRig Mic HD now anyone can now afford a professional-quality handheld digital condenser microphone for recording and performing on the go. And like most IK products, it comes with a suite of applications.
Pricing and Availability
iRig Mic HD is now available from music and electronics retailers worldwide for $129.99. An exclusive silver version is also available from the Apple Store.
For more information, please visit www.irigmichd.com
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
Ahead of the Fall release of the latest Mac OS reincarnation, Mac OS X Yosemite, Apple has refreshed the MacBook Pro with Retina display models by upping the processing speed and doubling up on the memory on both of the entry-level 13-inch and 15-inch models.
“People love their MacBook Pro because of the thin and light, aluminum unibody design, beautiful Retina display, all day battery life and deep integration with OS X,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The MacBook Pro with Retina display gets even better with faster processors, more memory and a free upgrade to OS X Yosemite this fall.”
13-inch Model
The 13-inch model with Retina display will now start with 8GB of RAM upgradeable to 16GB along with a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz, 128GB PCIe-based flash storage and Iris Intel Graphics for $1399 and with 256GB PCIe-based Flash storage $1599.
Read more…AT CANOE TECH BLOG
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
If you’re a comic junkie with very deep pockets, you might want to get ready to bid on this ultimate find – Action Comics #1, from June 1938 and the first time Superman is featured in a comic book. The item goes up for auction exclusively on eBay starting August 14th for 10 days.
It’s estimated there only 50-100 (fewer according to some) unrestored copies of this issue still in existence and this one is being touted as being the finest known copy available.
According to a recent announcement, the comic received a rating of 9.0, the highest ever received, from the Certified Guaranty Company (CGC), a leading 3rd party grading service.
Read more…at CanoeTech Blog
Also available via AMAZON
