Category Archives: Design

12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 9

Follow my daily 12 tech days of Christmas. The words of the perennial 1909 festive song by Frederic Austin’s original have changed slightly, but the meaning is all the same. Merry Christmas!

“On the ninth day of Christmas my tech love gave to me, nine stocking stuffers, eight vacuum cleaners, seven image catchers, six shiny laptops, five top-tier smartphones, four odd collections, three streaming players, two instant photos and a java in a pear tree”

Here are some of my favourite affordable gift guide stocking stuffers that offer great value.

 

  • Tile Mate Bluetooth tracker, $30 for 1-pack or $90 for 4-pack, tracks your stuff live up to 100 ft away using low energy Bluetooth technology. Simply attach Tile to an item and find it through your phone App. Activate the Tile app to see the last location of your item on a map. Built in Li-ion battery keeps Tile fully functional for an entire year. Pressing the Tile also finds your phone! Available at Best Buy and London Drugs.

  • Samsung Gear Fit 2 (Bluetooth and WiFi) automatically starts monitoring where you go, specific activities like walking or running and heart rate, all while you are away from your phone. This includes setting alarms. When you carry your Android phone (unlike other Samsung personal wear, the Fit 2 works with all Android phones) the Fit 2 updates the stored workout info on your phone. It also notifies you with incoming messages like email, social sites and more on its generously sized AMOLED bright screen. You can upload music to its 4GB of memory for wirelessly listening to music when away from you phone vi Bluetooth speakers. You can also control more music playing from your nearby phone using the Fit 2. Download the S Health app to your smartphone to compete against a friend and push each other toward your fitness goals (requires connection to mobile device). Available in several ccolours for $130 at Best Buy.

  • The Philips Vacuum Beard Trimmer, $50 at London Drugs and the Bay, is unique with its built-in vacuum which catches cut hair as you go along for a mess-free trim. It includes accessories for beard, moustache and sideburn It has 20 precision lock-in length settingsfrom 0.5 – 10mm and is easy to clean by water rinsing. Double self-sharpening steel blades lasts a long time, with no oil requirement and it even works while charging. It’s compatible with all world-wide voltages.

  • This is cool. The Black & Decker Lithium-Ion GYRO rechargeable screwdriver is small enough to fit in kitchen drawers. It has no on/off or speed control buttons! Instead, you simply twist your wrist clockwise or counter clockwise and vary for speed control. Smart? A small light guides your work in dark places and the battery charge lasts over long storage times. Available at Lowe’s or Amazon.ca for $40.

  • Logitech Illuminated Keyboard Living-room Bluetooth Keyboard for wirelessly controlling your laptop when connected to you TV. It features a large gesture capable touch pad with left and right mouse-like buttons. Auto-adjusting backlit keyboard is handy when you dim the lights for TV watching. One charge lasts more than a week of use and only takes three hours to re-charge. The Tiny Logitech Unifying receiver is plug-and-play, allowing you to start typing immediately. Available at the Bay for $99.99.

  • The Samsung Gear VR (2016) headset gets you into the world of 360 VR online. It easily connects with Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, and Galaxy Note5 phones for an immersive gaming and viewing experience available online. In the VR world with 2D and 360-degree videos, photos, and games you simply turn your head around to view additional action above, below and around you. It’s large enough to be worn with most eyeglasses. Available at Samsung Experience Stores in selected Canadian cities and currently on sale for $99.99 at Best Buy till Dec 23.

  • Ventev makes attractively designed mobile phone accessories. They feature a smooth, almost velvet-like touch on their two-tone grey surface with orange highlights. Although US-based Ventev will be in Canadian stores soon, you can order their eclectic collection on Amazon.ca. Like all things online this week, you can alternatively buy Amazon gift certificates instead at  Check out the smart Ventev Desktop charginghub s500, $79.12 which features two surge protected outlets and three USB charge outlets (two 2A and one 2.4A) as well as a neat device stand for several devices. Smart!

 

  • Running out of memory on your iPhone? The Leef iBridge 16 GB Mobile Memory, $89.99 for 16GB to $399.99 for 256GB, is a smart way to expand your iPhone or iPad memory. It unobtrusively inserts in the lightning port and can either automatically back up your files or capture video and photos directly while you shoot. Alternatively, you can load your Leef with more movies and music to enjoy when travelling.

  • Luci Inflatable Solar-Charged Lanterns, frosted $25.95, clear $19.95, are waterproof, feather light and compact. They charge up during the day with natural light and provide night light for anywhere at home out outside like camping. They have two intensity modes and an SOS alternating white and red color flashing feature. You can inflate them from 2.5cm – 9cm tall and enjoy up to ten hours of illumination from the ten LED lamps. Available at Lee Valley stores across Canada. leevalley.com

12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 8

Follow my daily 12 tech days of Christmas. The words of the perennial 1909 festive song by Frederic Austin’s original have changed slightly, but the meaning is all the same. Merry Christmas!

“On the eighth day of Christmas my tech love gave to me, eight vacuum cleaners, seven image catchers, six shiny laptops, five top-tier smartphones, four odd collections, three streaming players, two instant photos and a java in a pear tree.”

Actually, it’s one high-tech vacuum cleaner on steroids with eight attachments! The Dyson V8 Absolute might seem too pricey, at $699.99 but its features fast become apparent the first time you try it.

Continue reading 12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 8

12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 6

Follow my daily 12 tech days of Christmas. The words of the perennial 1909 festive song by Frederic Austin’s original have changed slightly, but the meaning is all the same. Merry Christmas!

“On the sixth day of Christmas my tech love gave to me, six shiny laptops, five top-tier smartphones, four odd collections, three streaming players, two instant photos and a java in a pear tree.

Just a few years ago, laptops were doomed to extinction along with desktops as iPads and multi-tasking smartphones got more attention. Not anymore. Laptops are back, as gaming devices and more importantly, consumer targeted as innovative, thinner, lighter and portable computers with sharper multi-swing screens, especially for Windows 10.

Continue reading 12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 6

12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 5

Follow my daily 12 tech days of Christmas. The words of the perennial 1909 festive song by Frederic Austin’s original have changed slightly, but the meaning is all the same. Merry Christmas!

On the fifth day of Christmas my tech love gave to me, five top-tier smartphones, four odd collections, three streaming players, two instant photos and a java in a pear tree…

The best smartphones today are getting so good, it’s hard to choose between them. Let’s take a quick look at the top five. First, let me pre-empt with one phone feature I am particularly fussy with…photography. On the long run, cool camera tricks each phone has don’t hold value because as time goes on, what matters more are the plain pictures of the folks important to you. What do I look for in a good phone camera? Natural colour, deep blacks, less digital noise when shooting in dark scenes without flash and the best red colours, the Achilles Heal of digital cameras.

Decisions, decisions – the LG V20 superwide, normal view lens or Hasselblad 10X zoom Moto Z Mod add-on.. I want both!

Continue reading 12 TECH DAYS OF CHRISTMAS…DAY 5

Dyson V8 Absolute…a cordless vacuum on steroids

The new Dyson V8 Absolute cordless vacuum will suck the money out of your wallet as fast as it does dust and dirt.

Is it worth it? Compared to its previous more affordable siblings, as low as $299.99 on www.dysoncanada.ca , the V8, $699.99,  seems to be following Moore’s Law, that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

The Dyson V8 Absolute is big on performance, looks and price
The Dyson V8 Absolute is big on performance, looks and price

Continue reading Dyson V8 Absolute…a cordless vacuum on steroids

High-Tech GMC Acadia includes Low-Tech life saving feature

The re-imagined Acadia 2017
The re-imagined Acadia 2017

I recently attended a media “driving adventure” for the “re-imagined” 2017 GM Canada Acadia crossover in Whistler. Although the new Acadia was launched earlier this year, GM Canada, creates media driving experiences to familiarize us with new cars, including a similar driving adventure on Vancouver Island last spring with the 2017 Chev Malibu.

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New HP Jet Fusion 3D print technology is beyond rocket science

If you think 3D printing is cool, then get ready for 3D printing HP style. This week HP Inc. unveiled the world’s first production-ready commercial 3D printing system. It’s a 3D print prototyping and manufacturing system on steroids, using the HP Jet Fusion 3D 3200 and 4200 printer.

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Stumped for Valentines Day Tech?

Valentines Day is about expressing kind thoughts about folks you care about. Here is some enduring smart technology gifting, much of which can be shared. It is a click or a drive away. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or outlandish tech. It simply cuts to the chase with smart design and value.

And needless to say, fun to give, receive and share!

SMARTPHONES

The HTC ONE A9 comes unlocked and can duke it out with top tier phones for less
The HTC ONE A9 comes unlocked and can duke it out with top tier phones for less

-The HTC One A9, available for $649 at HTC’s site only,   comes unlocked. You get what you pay for and its a lot, matching tier one phones costing hundereds more. It looks so much like an iPhone but it runs Android Marshmallow with cutting-edge features like optical image stabilization for it rear 13 MP camera, Full HD video for both rear and front UltraPixel camera which outshoots any phone selfie camera, with one of the widest lens views. The Corning Gorilla Glass full HD screen is plenty crisp with wide angle viewing. The slick touch finger reader is an unexpected bonus as is the extra powerful (loud) built-in DAC 24-bit, 192KHz – better than CD quality audio. You have to pair the BoomSound technology in this thin metal and glass beauty with the awesome HTC Pro Studio Earphones $107.99 at Amazon.ca.

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CES 2016 shows thousands of global technology gizmos and ideas

The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the Mecca of inventiveness. More than 3,800 vendors ranging from tech giants Samsung, Sony and LG with booths the size of several ice arenas to one person 4 square meter single table booths swayed more than 170,000 attendees including some 50,000  outside the U.S.

Check out my coolest YouTube linked products at CES by clicking on the linked names.

Samsung Family Hub Fridge at CES commanded much attention. Priced at more than $6,000 CDN, it will be in Canada later this year pending negotiations with online grocery venues in Canada.  It features a 21.5 inch 1080p touch screen, three interior shelve cams, self digital food labelling with expiry dates, screen photo albums, online grocery ordering, weather and more. You can also see what’s in your fridge, live, with a phone app and switch the lower right compartment to a freezer when needed.

LG Signature series features semi transparent glass door
LG Signature series features semi transparent glass door

Continue reading CES 2016 shows thousands of global technology gizmos and ideas

THE CES 2016 TECH GRIND PROMISES SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS

More than 3,500 booths to check out at CES
More than 3,500 booths to check out at CES

My annual tech mecha to the  Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show  begins from Edmonton. Follow me here as I update my experience discovering new gadgets and meeting interesting industry shakers and movers.

What does CES have in store for us this year? Lot’s of small startups from around the world on smart personal ware and ways to help us eat, drive, even shower better.

Here are some examples on Day One at CES Unveiled, an early pre-show peak of smart tech.

  1. P1030064-1

The self powered Eco-Sensitive Smart Shower head from hydrao.com connects to iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth. It tracks your water consumption and monitors your progress or not, by changing colours.

Continue reading THE CES 2016 TECH GRIND PROMISES SURPRISES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS