Brad Moon

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve heard of the Pebble (no pun intended). When it comes to the smartwatch category of wearable technology, Pebble is a rock star and with the Pebble Steel, this smartwatch now looks the part too. I just wrapped up a few weeks with the Pebble Steel and here’s what I think of the latest Pebble, from battery life to customization.

When you think of robotic building sets —not just toys you assemble, but kits that allow you to create robotic models that interact with their surroundings— LEGO Mindstorms probably come to mind. There’s a new option, though, a Kickstarter success story that’s now going mainstream. My kids and I had the chance to try out a MOSS Zombonitron 1600 set. Here’s what I we thought about what Modular Robotics calls its “futuristic building blocks of ingenious invention.”

There’s a huge mass of Star Wars geeks out there (myself included) watching every move Disney and J.J Abrams make as a new crop of Star Wars releases draws ever closer. If there’s one thing guaranteed to get the attention of these Star Wars fans, it’s a peek at what Abrams is working on. And if there’s one thing guaranteed to get pop culture geeks in general in a froth, it’s a mash-up between franchises. J.J. Abrams just managed both in one shot with his HUNKA JUNK YouTube clip of the new Millennium Falcon from his forthcoming Star Wars film—with a very unexpected Easter egg.  

Motorola kept everyone guessing about exactly when they were going to do their official product announcements at IFA 2014, but it finally happened on Friday. That’s okay, we pretty much knew what was coming. The Moto 360 —the round-faced Android Wear smartwatch that everyone’s been talking about for the past six months— is finally official and coming to Canadian launch partner Best Buy this fall. Also announced were the next generation Motorola smartphones, the Moto X and Moto G and the tiny Moto Hint earpiece.

IFA 2014 was the location for yet more high tech announcements as Sony got in the game. Among the new products from Sony are the Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact (billed as the world’s slimmest and lightest compact tablet), new smartphones led by the new Xperia Z3 flagship, a new Android Wear-powered Smartwatch 3 and the SmartBand Talk fitness tracker.

If a growing horde of smartphones, tablets, game consoles, laptops, smart appliances, connected cameras and video streamers is congesting your Wi-Fi network, Netgear has a solution. The Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band Wi-Fi router offers a total of 3.2Gbps over three Wi-Fi bands to maximize the wireless performance of each of those devices. I plugged one in to my home network and here’s how the stealthy looking, six-antenna router performed.

If there’s one thing better than sitting on the beach, it’s sitting on the beach with a good book. An e-book, preferably. Unfortunately water, sand and e-readers don’t mix and protective cases can be a pain. Kobo has fixed that problem once and for all with the all new Kobo Aura H2O, a waterproof, sandproof and dustproof e-reader.

Technology is a big part of student life and a computer has become integral to the educational experience. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 is a powerful device that can physically transform into a laptop form factor, becoming a true ultra-mobile alternative to a laptop or desktop PC —while offering all the advantages of a tablet.

One of the rituals of going back to school these days is choosing a new smartphone. I’m going through it myself as my daughter starts high school. Which smartphone is the best for students? The answer depends on many factors, and ultimately everyone is going to come up with a different pick depending on how much importance they put on things like price or app selection. In this post I’ll walk you through factors you should consider and offer a few contenders as the best smartphone for students.

When it comes to our mobile devices —whether that be a smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, iPod or even a camera— the component that causes the most worry is usually the display. Scratches and cracks make for a subpar experience and expensive repairs. That’s why screen protectors are so popular. But these products have their limitations too, primarily the fact that they’re only available for current and highly popular devices. There’s also the matter of installation, which can be sticky and nerve-wracking. ClearPlex is exciting because it brings tough, invisible film first developed for auto windshields to consumer electronics. The company’s agreement with Best Buy has high tech ClearPlex equipment onsite at GeekSquad facilities. GeekSquad handles the programming and installation, you get ClearPlex protection customized for your device. I visited a Best Buy location in London to see the system in action, and it’s pretty cool.