Here’s some fun news! The people at ZAGG were kind enough to offer me five, yes FIVE, ZAGGSparq 2.0 units to give away! The ZAGGSparq 2.0 is one of the latest gadgets I reviewed and one that I absolutely love.
You can check out the review here. To get the details read on. Continue reading
Around a year ago, Ryan bought a Samsung Epic™ 4G Android phone which, at the time, was pretty much the coolest phone in town, at least on Sprint. He loved it for its bright screen, slide-out keyboard and 4G data speeds. That last part had even me jealous. My iPhone 4 was blown away by the data speed on the Epic 4G.
Problem was, the battery life on this phone was dreadful. It got to the point that his phone was only getting a few hours of standby power. Even with 4G turned off, and the supposedly incredibly efficient AMOLED screen, battery life was abismal. So when Zagg had a 50% off sale on just about everything on the site, I picked up a ZaggSparq 2.0. Continue reading
Two months ago I purchased the Headroom Total BitHead with the intention of both enjoying the sonic benefits it would provide me and to review right here. It is a device I have been dying to play with for years. That being said, unless you found this post by Googling the gadget, chances are you have no idea what this $149 device is or does.
The Headroom Total BitHead is a portable headphone amplifier and digital audio converter. It plugs into your portable music device using a headphone jack or into your computer via USB to provide you with a superior audio experience.
When plugged into a computer it uses the USB port for power, otherwise it runs on three AAA batteries. It’s important not to use rechargeable batteries or cheap batteries. That is covered in the Clipping section.
So you ask yourself, “Why would I need or want one of these?”
This audio gadget resolves these issues. The high quality Burr-Brown digital audio converter (DAC) bypasses the noisy sound card in your computer. Onboard sound cards (like those found in cheap computers and laptops) are the most prolific offenders. Meanwhile, the (also Burr-Brown) amplifier boosts output signal; helpful for bigger headphones like my Sennheiser HD600s which simply can’t run off an iPhone with much gusto.
For those of you who want a quick answer on whether they should buy the Total BitHead. Yes, it is worth purchasing, especially if you have any of the three problems listed above. In some cases, however, it is a waste of money. To learn if it meets all its claims of magically better audio, my pet peeves on its design, when it is a waste of money and why it’s worth every penny, I suggest you keep reading. Continue reading
Hats off to my friend Jimmy [Twitter | Tumblr] for catching the article from the New York Times, At Long Last, Facebook Releases an iPad App, announcing the release of Facebook’s native application for the iPad.
Why it took so long to get Facebook to release an iPad app is up for debate. Some say it was Apple wanting content agreements with Facebook (remember iTunes Ping?), some say it was Zuckerberg contending that the Facebook website was already iPad friendly and then there was the leak that turned your regular iPhone Facebook app into the iPad app, which Facebook patched up lickidy split.
There was even a Facebook programmer, Jeff Verkoeyen, the lead developer for the Facebook iPad app, that ended up quitting the company due to frustration over the delays. He is now at Google. Their first iPhone developer went through the same thing a few years ago and quit. Continue reading
After years of battling cancer and recovering from a liver transplant, Steve Jobs, the innovator of my time, has passed away. The news hit me like a freight train in the form of a tweet from @BreakingNews.
At first I was certain it was another cruel joke. Just last month CBS mistakenly reported Steve’s death and rumors of this kind have been going around for years. He actually made fun of it at his 2008 WWDC keynote address saying, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” A nod to literary genius, Mark Twain.
It wasn’t until I read the report on Apple‘s own website that it really sank in. Steve is gone.
I know there are many people who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, and even those that just stumbled upon this post, that might be reading this and thinking, “He was just a dude” or “He wasn’t an innovator, he was a borrower” etc.
All I can say to you guys is that this post probably isn’t for you. Continue reading
Life has been pretty busy for me over the last few weeks. I’m sure has been similarly busy for all of you as well, so you understand. For me it’s been travelling for work to pitch new business, renew contracts with current clients and work with new clients on how to best make things happen for them.
Most people don’t know what I do for a living. In short I do marketing and public relations for companies and organizations. The majority of the people I work with are non-profits while others are luxury resorts. That’s not what this post is about though.
I wanted to give you guys an update on the gadgets and gizmos I have been playing around with for a while with intentions to review. In no particular order:
To say I got excited when I read the news today that Klipsch was releasing a new, on-ear headphone with noise cancelation is an understatement. Klipsch has long been one of my favorite audio companies starting with their perfect Klipsch ProMedia v2-400 speakers which I got around 8th grade.
When Klipsch first started making headphones a few years ago, I got an early listen at their headquarters in Indianapolis. I was excited then to learn of their cutting-edge engineering and design. They were about to conquer in a whole new world of audio. And they did.
The Klipsch Image S4i is the headphone that first really got the attention of the masses. I reviewed it on this site as you will remember. There were of course other headphones that were superb but these had the all important iPhone features that made them stick out from the rest of the pack.
Then came the Klipsch Image X10i, my pride and joy. These headphones are more like an implant into my body than something I put on (in) to enjoy music. The world’s smallest headphones, so small that most people hardly even notice I am listening to music.
After that, the third Klipsch headphone for me to review and fall in love with was the Klipsch Image One. Their first, on-ear headphone which I praised for responsible audio reproduction, comfort, great remote control and for finally showing the rest of the high-end consumer headphone companies that you don’t have to out bass and out price Beats by Dre to make a great headphone (actually, please no one ever do that).
Finally, yesterday Klipsch announced their latest headphone. The Klipsch Mode.
Klipsch Mode Noise Canceling Headphones
This is their second on-ear headphone and their first noise-canceling headphone. In so many ways this headphone is truly unique from it’s super sexy design to its use of four total drivers, to best present high and low frequencies simultaneously. That’s not easy task. One 40mm driver for the lows and a 15mm driver for the highs.
Unlike most noise-canceling headphones, these will run as regular headphones even without battery power, which lasts 45 hours by the way. They have removable cables and a three-button, Apple remote control.
You can be sure that I will get my hands on a pair of these as soon as I can for a review. These headphones are tied with the Klipsch Image X10i as their most expensive headphones, at $350. That $350 is buying you quite a bit of technology and design savvy.
I haven’t been this excited about a headphone since the S4i was released.
SPECIFICATIONS:
