Accessories
Review: NoiseHush Noise-Cancelling Headphones
By Brian Faulkner
NoiseHush offers two great pairs of affordable noise-cancelling headphones. The i9 BT comes with Bluetooth connectivity while the i7 does not. Check out the pros and cons of both of these pairs of headphones in this in-depth review.
FUNKtional Makes Wearables Fashionable
By Todd Bernhard
FUNKtional Wearables sent me a couple of FUNKtional Bracelets (Starting at $24.99) to try. When the package arrived and I opened it, my fashionista daughter exclaimed "OMG!" That was enough to tell me FUNKtional is on to something. So what are these things anyway?
The Brookstone HDMI Pocket Projector Pro ($249.99) was a wonderful surprise for me; an extremely functional, portable, and practical creation that is well worth the extra $49 investment for the required Apple A/V adapter — if you don't already have one that is. Once you've got the Apple A/V adaptor, connecting your iPad or iPhone to the projector is as simple as plugging it in and turning it on. With this projector you can instantly view your iDevice's high-definition videos and images, games, and even native iOS apps like Keynote or FaceTime, all on a variable sized viewing screen the can enlarge the image to a 115-inch diagonal size.
If you own an Apple Watch, you already know that the built-in speaker it comes with is not designed to deliver high-quality audio, at any appreciable volume. Yet with a respectable onboard storage capacity for your music, the Apple Watch has the potential to store and deliver great sounding audio wherever you go, if you have a quality Bluetooth speaker that is. A good Bluetooth speaker can also work wonders when it comes to phone calls and FaceTime chats, as most Bluetooth speakers these days also house a built-in microphone for such purposes. Here are three of our favorite Bluetooth speakers that serve as perfect complements to the Apple Watch.
Even though the Apple Watch has a speaker, it's really only designed to play tones or for short calls. Since we can't listen to tunes on the Apple Watch using traditional wired headphones, a good pair of Bluetooth headphones (or speakers, but that's another article) are called for. There are a huge number of choices available, so to help you decide I've picked three exceptional pairs of headphones, based on their unique individual functionality, to feature as worthy accessories for Apple's first foray into wearable tech.
Review: The Timbuk2 Rogue Laptop Backpack
By Tommy Ly
For the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to test out the Timbuk2 Rogue Laptop Backpack ($79) loaded with everything I need for a mobile office and more. Of course, there are things I like and things I don't. Let's dig in.
Headphones, Headsets & Earbuds, Oh My!
By Daniel Rasmus
There is nothing like the post-Consumer Electronics Show fulfillment of promise, as things that were just demos in January start to ship. I spent the last month reviewing a wide variety of headphones, earbuds, and other audio devices. Here are my thoughts on a dozen ways to bring audio into your life, categorized by type: mono earbuds, stereo earbuds, on-the-ear headphones and over-the-ear headphones.
Review: Jot Script 2, Evernote Edition Stylus
By Abbey Dufoe
You have a stylus. You subscribe to Evernote. But did you ever think to combine the two?
Well, Adonit did. They recently released the Jot Script 2 stylus ($74.99), which ships with a free six months of Evernote Premium.
DNA pro: A Powerful Pair of Headphones from Monster
By Todd Bernhard
I had the opportunity to try the DNA Pro 2.0 Over-Ear Headphones ($299.95) courtesy of Monster. I liked the use of high-end materials like carbon fiber and, most importantly, it does the job that headphones should do: produce great sound. I also liked that they are easily collapsible for travel, as I'm on the road a lot. The DNA Pro headphones offer Noise Isolation, which is like noise cancellation but no batteries are required. Again, as a frequent traveler, noise cancellation is great and no battery worries is terrific. I tried these on a six-hour train ride to New York City (and back) and they really helped cut out the background noise.
They say you can never have too much money. I don't know if that's true. Shakespeare had King Richard shouting "A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" I don't ride a horse, but I do have a couple of old convertibles that have had the battery die on occassion, so I can relate. All the money in the world won't help you if your car and phone batteries are dead and nobody is around to help. That's why I was very excited to see the JumperPack mini from Cyntur.
IK Multimedia made the iRig 2 ($39.99) product available last week and sent us a review unit to test out. The iRig is a guitar interface that allows you to process signals from any electric guitar and listen to the output on your headphones. It now can send signal out to an amp or PA. I tested the iRig with several of my guitars running into a Line 6 Flextone and a Roland guitar amp, as well as with headphones. I also tested it up against the iRig Pro HD model, and have to say it performed nearly on a par with the fancier iRig model!
This is the follow-up post to our first edition of the Indie Project corner, where we talk to indie product developers who are crowdfunding and implementing a new project related to iOS. In Part 1, we interviewed Gene Aikens of the Power Company on the early success involving his recent campaigns on Indiegogo. In this edition, we are following that up with a product review of his iPocket Drive.
This is the first Indie Project Corner post, a regular feature we will be undertaking to showcase noteworthy indie development efforts (mostly iPhone-related). It's not easy to get a crowdfunded product off the ground, as any who have done it will tell you, and iPhone Life wants to help by interviewing entrepreneurs and getting the skinny on what makes their products the best. In this first edition, we interview Gene Aikens of The Power Company, maker of the Smart Card, and the iPocket Drive. Gene sent us an early review sample of the iPocket Drive to check out. If you are looking for an alternative to network or cloud-connected storage, you will want an iPocket Drive! Gene shares some great insights in part one of this edition.
Serious Speakers are Sporty, Splashproof, and Ready for Summer
By Todd Bernhard
I saw Fugoo's speakers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Recently, Fugoo gave me the opportunity to try its Sport Wireless Speakers ($199). Fugoo offers a wide variety of speakers, with different materials, textures, colors and capabilities, but they all have one thing in common. They are substantial both in weight and sound quality. And these speakers are waterproof, not just splash proof. At CES, Fugoo drenched their speakers in water and they kept on rocking!