Archive for: gadgets
- September 15, 2011 1:58 pm
Having to constantly think about when your next charging session will be is a massive pain. Mobile devices are supposed to free us from the confines of physical boundaries. So why are we spending even more time with them? The problem according to University of Michigan computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang is that idle usage on mobile devices is almost as high as if they were fully awake. They have a fix (naturally). By using their new technology E-MiLi (Energy-Minimizing Idle Listening), up to 92% of mobile devices could see a 44% increase in battery life…
- September 15, 2011 10:46 am
Nothing is more important to a die-hard gadget lover than battery power. The demands we place on our beloved phones, tablets and PMPs is simply growing too fast. There are options, however. Certain phones have cases with built-in batteries allowing additional runtime. And to cover all bases (phones) there are external battery packs with varying types of ports that allow users to plug in a myriad of gadgets for on-the-go charging. Unfortunately the most resourceful (read: biggest) battery packs aren’t always the most portable.
Seeing as how geeks/techies usually carry spare batteries, cables, devices, etc, there’s a bag involved. With that said, what if your bag was the power source?
Join us today as we take a look at the innovative PowerBag mobile charging solution and see if it is truly a geek’s best friend…
- September 13, 2011 7:21 am
Changing residences or offices can be a very exciting time, given all the ‘new’ you’re surrounded with, but it’s crucial to keep your wits about you when preparing for a move. Faster than you might believe, a plan that seemed flawless can go awry, just as the seemingly organized can easily get disordered. Enlisting the help of friends who are sticklers for detail, as well as the professional services offered by moving companies, can help you keep everything in line. Begin a move with a clear idea of what should happen when and find your way to your new location with few problems.
Hop inside for a few tips on keeping your sanity (and gadgets) in check…
Love gadgets, technology, all things nerdy, and happen to live in the Michiana (northern Indiana/southern Michigan) area? If so, stop on by Between The Buns in Granger on Monday, May 16th from 6-9pm for the first official Michiana Tech Meetup. We’ll talk about tech, show off tech, and of course eat. Hope to see you there!
For more information and future events, check out the Michiana Tech Meetup Facebook Fan Page.
Facebook Event Page: Michiana Tech Meetup #1
Directions: Google Maps
What would a consumer electronics show be without at least a few iPhone/iPod accessories? And as we’ve come to expect, 3rd party manufacturer, iHome, isn’t letting us down as they revealed a slew of new products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.
While there are well over a dozen new products, our focus gravitated towards one particular model all night. Dubbed the iA100, this model makes use of an accompanying iPhone app that allow you to control alarm clock, display brightness, playback volume and much more. As for the rest of iHome’s line up, it’s pretty much business as usual.
- December 20, 2010 7:53 am
I wouldn’t say Google TV is dead, but things certainly aren’t going well for the new web-infused line of TVs. Early reviews from around the web have more or less brushed off Google’s web-enabled TV efforts, with the NYT’s David Pogue calling it “a major step in the wrong direction”. Complicating matters, only Logitech and Sony are shipping Google TV’s as of writing. And if Google has their way, it’ll stay that way for the foreseeable future. According to a new NYT article, Google is apparently asking TV manufacturers such as LG, Toshiba, and Sharp to delay Google TV demos and releases so the company can work out some of the functional issues of the web TV service as well as lock in more worthwhile content — two big complaints with Google TV thus far.
I’ve only had an hour at most of hands-on time with Google TV, so I can’t really comment too heavily on it. From what I did witness however, I can say that it is fun and “new”. But I’m left feeling that once the new feeling wears off, it’ll lose it’s luster pretty quickly. Hopefully Google doesn’t request such delays for too long. Once TV manufacturers start losing interest it will pretty much be game over for yet another Google experiment.
- December 18, 2010 2:37 pm
In a move that will hopefully spread to other retailers, Best Buy quietly announced today via their website that their will no longer be any restocking fees, save for special orders:
Best Buy continually listens to our customers, and they told us they want to give confidently this holiday season and every other day of the year — and with that comes easier returns. Effective Saturday, December 18, Best Buy is improving its return policy by removing restocking fees for all products except special orders.
However, the website Consumerist was able to snag a copy of the email being distributed to Best Buy stores nation wide, detailing the new restocking fee changes as well as touching on refunds for users who were charged restocking fees between November 17th-December17th:
Effective Saturday, Dec. 18, the 15 percent restocking fee will no longer apply to computers (including notebooks, tablets and iPads), projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, radar detectors, GPS navigation, in-car video systems, DJ equipment and lighting, or Pro-Audio equipment. The 10 percent restocking fee will no longer apply to iPhones. Restocking fees shouldn’t be charged for any returns of these products going forward.
This policy change is being made because we want to be the best destination for gifts and technology. To do that we need to make it easy for our customers to return product when they need to, which will give them one more reason to love Best Buy.
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If customers who were charged a restocking fee between Nov. 17 and Dec. 17 come into the store for a refund, process a return transaction for the restocking fee amount.
With online shopping becoming more prevalent year after year, big box retailers are having to take drastic measures to keep people away from the world wide web and walking in their physical doors.
Will such a move work on you?
- December 17, 2010 7:16 am
We may all drool over the latest and greatest PC hardware as it trickles onto the web, but quite honestly, it’s the same story year after year. More transistors, more cores, more efficiency combined with more processing power. The real excitement however, will come when scientists finally unlock quantum computing for the masses. The potential of such technology has far reaching and incredibly powerful potential. And thanks to the help of several intelligent physicists at the University of Utah, we are now one step closer to such technology…
If you’re familiar with the Samsung Alias currently available on Verizon Wireless, the Samsung Zeal is the obvious successor. Featuring the same dual-hinge desgin and E-ink display means a nifty transforming phone that takes to physical tricks to adapt to the variations life offers. As far as specs go — we don’t have any quite yet. But it’s not exactly a “smart” phone. With that said, the featurephone market is still quite important to millions of people. If I weren’t such a gadgety freak, I might even find this particularly exciting. Though a 2.6″ QVGA, 2-megapixel camera, and Skype aren’t exactly the most exciting things I’d lust for. Nevertheless, a solid device, no?
