Review

Kids loving playing with tablets like the iPad. And some of the latest toys, like the Tiggly Geoshapes and Counting toys, interact with apps to make the experience fun and interactive. I, and my 3-year-old son, spent some time with both sets to give our take on them.

In the world of fitness and activity trackers, Fitbit dominates. With sales of these wearables taking off, Fitbit—which has been selling the devices since 2008—holds nearly 70 percent of the market. The new Fitbit Charge HR is a prime example of why the company has been so successful. Add in a vast ecosystem of app partners and supporting hardware like its Aria smart scale, and going with the Fitbit Charge HR is a good bet to help you to be successful in reaching your own fitness goals.

The M-Audio Producer USB was one of the first USB microphones to hit the market a few years ago – ushering in an era of minimalistic mobile recording solutions. You no longer needed a host of middleware hardware to deliver decent audio into your computer or mobile device. USB microphones allow you to plug directly into your computers USB port and start recording. As a solid, professional-looking microphone that’s simple to setup and use, the M-Audio Producer USB is a decent choice in this category of microphones.

What has been the most attractive Android smartphone for the last two years is back, and the HTC One M9 sticks to the same design principles of its predecessors. The familiarity extends throughout the hardware and software, making this phone an iterative update from last year, rather than a major upgrade. There’s more speed, along with some refinements to HTC’s software overlay and the camera, but there’s no sign of an overhaul here.

In the last couple of years, iPads have become such a popular tool and toy for kids, and there are so many apps now available for fun, learning and gaming. For even more fun, there are interactive apps with gaming accessories like Osmo.

Need headphones to block out the world while you watch TV? These Sennheiser versions should do the job, but do they deliver? Read our review.

Ten years ago, few would believe that we could become so reliant on streaming media but these days many people are taking advantage of streaming HD video content from web services at an increasing rate. So much so that new services and options keep popping up continually. Recently I had the chance to spend some time with the new Roku 3, a streaming player tailor made for those who want to take advantage of all these video streaming services. There is no shortage of competition here either. If you’re into Netflix and YouTube, for example, there seems to be a way to stream that content from virtually every device out there. Many of these devices are multitaskers, that are primarily game consoles, or other sorts of gadgets that just happen to integrate a few streaming services. With the Roku 3 you get a dedicated device that specializes in streaming online content. With that focus comes a certain simplicity and clarity to the device.

Sometimes when I’m sent a product to review, the first thing that comes to mind is: “Really? People want/need/buy this/these? Wow.” More often than not though, within a few minutes of using the product I realize that YES, people DO want/need/buy this/these! How in the heck did we live life without this/these for so long?! This is exactly what happened when I was asked to review Sengled’s Smart LED Bulbs … with perhaps a little more enthusiasm. Maybe I’m getting older, or maybe it’s just becoming increasingly difficult to “wow” me in such a techno-savvy time, but let me tell you something – Sengled’s Smart LED Bulbs are by far one of the coolest products I’ve reviewed in a while. 

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a kick with gaming laptops. They’ve really been coming in to their own as of late. There are so many great options and people’s interest in having enough PC muscle to game, in a laptop form factor is definitely increasing. For most people something like an Ultrabook or Chromebook is basic enough to get work done day to day, but when you want to do multimedia creation, or enjoy the latest PC games without having to sacrifice on graphics or performance, a gaming PC is tough to beat. If you can get the power of a gaming PC with the mobility of a laptop you’ll have something that has been the dream of many gamers for years. These days it’s not that farfetched and you have a few options. The latest model I’ve looked at is the Electra 3 from Eurocom. I’ve been a big fan of Eurocom’s laptops in the past so I was curious if this latest model would continue their winning streak.

Here’s the American Standard Stratocaster electric guitar by Fender. This beauty had the privilege of spending some time in my studio for a little routine check. And what a ride it was! For some rock chords, blues riffs, funky rhythms and lots of modern jazz, this Strat is a versatile, high-end guitar. The American Standard I personally tried is equipped with three single coil pickups, features a black body finish with a classic white pickguard. The sexy curves of this solid body (it has contours that fit the musician’s arms) makes this guitar a gem of modern electric instrument manufacturing. The Stratocaster model, with its two asymmetrical horns continues to be the most imitated guitar body amongst all lesser brands of electric guitars. Thousands of timeless albums feature the tones of this american musical giant. Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie (and many more) used the Strat as their main instrument. We shouldn’t take this lightly!