Phones

Review: Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker

Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker SystemKinivo sent the Geeks a sample of the Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker system which is a 2.1 speaker system designed for computers, smartphones and tablets for testing. I’ve tested the Kinivo speaker system using Bluetooth from a Mac, iPhone, iPad and Samsung S4 as well as NFC on the Samsung S4… yes, Bluetooth AND NFC. If you are looking for either a budget or nice wireless speaker system that plugs into AC, you should read on.
 

Review: Dark Energy’s Reservoir – 8000 mAh Portable Charger

Reservoir portable USB chargerAnother portable charger you say? But wait, you’ll want to read about this one. The $129 Reservoir from Dark Energy is an 8000 mAh monster that can do double duty charging either 2 phones at once or 1 phone and 1 tablet.

I love the design – the all black, rubberized look with the pattern of indented circles immediately reminded me of the monolith slab from the book/movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. It does also come in white, and it would be nice to see other colors in the future. Unfortunately, the first photograph doesn’t do it justice. Take a look at the one below.

I was really surprised and happy about the weight. I completely expected it to be a great deal heavier given its capacity. I have another portable charger that could recharge my 2300mAh phone about 1.5 times that is at least as heavy as the Reservoir. Obviously, material choices make quite a difference.

OtterBox Commuter Series Wallet

OtterBox, who we’ve featured multiple times in the past for their waterproof cases, has a new product feather in their cap – the Commuter Series Wallet. We all carry around a wallet or money clip or handbag or purse or in the worse case, haphazardly stashed stack of money and cards.

But we also carry around smartphones and we never leave home without those either. What if we combined them in some way? Well that’s what OtterBox has done. The Commuter Series Wallet attaches to either your iPhone 5/5s or your Samsung Galaxy S4 phone. It slides out to reveal your money and cards and closes with an audible click.

Available now directly from OtterBox or other retailers like Amazon.

Review: SpeeCup Bluetooth Speaker

SpeeCupBluetooth speaker maker SpeeCup recently sent me their eponymous product. We’ll describe both their name and the product in one go – when you say SpeeCup, say it quickly and somewhat mute the ‘p’ and you’ll send up with something that sounds much like ‘speaker’. The ‘cup’ part is due to the SpeeCup being shaped like a large travel coffee cup. Clever.

Of course, this is meant to fit in your car’s cup holder and it does in mine with a little room to spare, so no forcing it in or out. …

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Sony Xperia Ultra Z Phablet Specs Showdown

If you’re in the market for a phablet (phone tablet, i.e. a smartphone that approaches the size of a tablet), then the 2 hottest models today are really the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra. To help you decide, we’ve put together this specs comparison table.

Top 5 Back-to-School Apps for Android Tablets

Summer is going to be over before you know it and that means scholars from middle school to grad school will once again be hit with heavy homework assignments and reading materials that don’t exactly qualify as beach-worthy thrillers. Filing back into the classroom can be a shock to your system after a few months of lazy days or working – suddenly everyone expects you to keep it together, show initiative and know your stuff. Luckily there’s an app for that. Here are five apps for Android tablets that will help keep you organized in and out of the classroom.

1. My Class Schedule

my-classroomThis is the app that is going to save your life because it will be running your life for the next 10 months or so. No need to waste valuable brain space remembering where you need to be or what you ought to be doing when you’re using this app for Android tablets. You probably guessed that it knows your class schedule. It also knows when exams are coming. And it knows what homework is due when. My Class Schedule can even remind you to hit the books when you have unfinished assignments or a test next Tuesday so you never have to convince a prof that your dog ate your essay. (Free)

Apple Readying To Announce New iPhone?

iPhone 3GS, 4S, and 5

On the back of the recent announcement, from Apple, regarding the flatter but more “depthy” version of iOS, Internet rumors abound that the company may be preparing to announce one or more new iPhone product(s).

This kind of speculation does the rounds on an almost annual basis but this time the rumors are supported by the likes of Reuters and Stuff. Whether there will be an iPhone 5S before a full-blown 6 is not yet known but it does sound as if another new physical display size is likely to appear – with a possible 5.7” display reportedly in the works. Whatever the speculation we can be pretty sure a new iPhone will be announced at some point and our best guess (wish list!) of features is likely to include: a 12 megapixel camera, an A7 processor, NFC, and longer battery life.

Apple iPhone sales “remain resilient” against other brands, according to a Tech Trader Daily report, including Windows Phone 8 which IB Times are reporting has seen sales growth, in British smartphone sales from February to April 2013, of “up 4.4% on the same period last year”.

What features would you like to see in a new iPhone from Apple?

3 Amazing Gadgets for your Home

Our homes are our castles and, it’s fair to say that we love to fill our castles with technology and gadgetry. While there is a myriad array of gadgets out there that you can get today, today we figured we’d give you a quick look at three (3) that we feel are particularly cool.

floor plan light switch The Floor Plan Light Switch

While only a concept idea, the contemporary-styled Floor Plan Light Switch by Taewon Hwang lets you control the lighting in your home from a single switch, with each room in the home represented on the floor plan shaped light switch.

How many times have you left a light on upstairs just as you’re rushing out the door for work and don’t have time to switch it off? No more running back upstairs or the other side of the house to turn it off to save on electricity. Here’s to this being produced!

6 Awesome Android Apps for Gadget Geeks

swiss-army-knife-androidThe app world for Android (and iPhones/iPads) is ever-changing, so don’t be too annoyed that this is still yet another list of apps. This list is on the practical side of life, so you should find at least one in here that’ll be of some use to you. Personally, I use ColorNote myself at least daily.

1. ColorNote Notepad Notes

Here is a free app that will help you become more organized. You can color code your notes (or lists) to keep track of them more easily. There are widgets to display them in your launcher and reminders can be configured to remind you either once or on a recurring basis.

Best new upcoming features in iOS 6

When iOS 6 arrives, it will be much more than a simple update. Instead, it will be Apple’s vision of what a mobile operating system should be. There are many great new features of this update, basically in the areas of accessibility and convenience. The ultimate goal is to make mobile computing as easy as possible for users of all ages, technical skills, and physical abilities. Here are what Apple considers to be the most important aspects of iOS 6:

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