By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

As important as your cup holders are in your car, gadget-crazy families will find it easy to give one up for the Energizer 180W Cup Inverter to charge up to five portable devices at once.

After you plug it into your 12V outlet, it transfers the power to the cup, which has a standard AC outlet along with an amazing four USB ports.

With all these plug outlets, it’s more than you should need while on the road but to test it I had my GPS unit, iPhone, iPad and an older cell phone all charging simultaneously from the compact coffee cup-sized (3.3 x 3.3 x 3-inches) device.

A thermal fan built into the device keeps it running quiet. It produces an output of 180W of continuous power so running a refrigerator, microwave or other high power devices won’t be an option.

The Energizer inverter also comes with terminal clamps to run directly off your car battery.

www.energizerpower.com $36

If you need a burst of power on the go, Rayovac has a few new innovative charging solutions with the Portable Power Family.

The pocket-sized 2-Hour Power ($8.99) mobile charger provides a fast burst of power to micro USB and Apple portable devices to give you a few additional hours of talk time.

There’s not a lot to it;, just plug it in and charge away. When the battery itself needs a charge, any USB source will do the trick.

The 7-Hour Power charger ($14.99) is outlet-free since it works with four AA batteries. Obviously they want you to use Rayovac’s, but others will also work fine to give your device a full charge on the go.

Both chargers worked great to power up an assortment of USB gadgets and come with an amazing 10-year warranty from Rayovac.

www.Rayovac.com

The Bracketron NanoTek stand can be used with any smartphone for hands-free use or just to get a charge. What makes this stand as handy as any other is an exclusive mounting technology with NanoSuction pads to hold your device in a portrait or landscape position.

When your phone is removed the pads do not leave anything sticky or messy on your device.

The base is made with aircraft-grade aluminum with a matte finish and sits on any flat surface. A cable management system is built into the bottom to let any charging cable run through the stand for easy access.
www.bracketron.com $34.99 in black or silver

The RHA MA350 earphones are a good choice in the very crowded earbud category, which can sometimes cost you as much as a house payment.

The cost-friendly MA 350‘s sound great, delivering a nice crisp sound with the right amount of bass.

A 10mm driver is the root of the great sound, along with a very comfortable fit of a great looking earphone.
They even look good with an aluminum finish and one of my favorite feature for head-phones; a fabric braided cable, which won’t get tangled.
You get three size tips (small, medium and large) for the right fit along with a carrying case.

www.rha-audio.com $39.95

Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

SanDisk Corp. has announced what it calls the fastest microSDXC card to hit the market with SanDisk Extreme microsSDXC, which has read speeds up to 80MB/sec and write speeds up to 50MB/sec.

Combine this type of card with the advanced digital SLR cameras today and photographers will get continuous burst modes along with lightning-fast transfer speeds.

With a high performance speed class rating of 10, it is also ideal for capturing video in full HD or 4K recording.

The microSDXC card can be used in any device that accommodates the fingernail-sized memory, or use the included adapter for an instant SD/SDHC/SDXC supported device.

The cards come with a lifetime warranty (not any lost digital content), are shock and waterproof and come with a download offer for SanDisks RescuePro Deluxe recovery software to recover images that may have been accidentally deleted.

www.SanDisk.com 16GB to 64GB capacities carrying MSRPs of $59.99 to $199.99

The Jabra Motion headset is promoted by the company as a high-end Bluetooth (4.0) and it’s true to its word.

It’s a little larger than most Bluetooth headsets but after using it for a few minutes you forget it’s even there.

It’s built with an over-the-ear design and a boom microphone for the big-time talkers of the road.

The in-ear speaker can be adjusted (includes three different ear gels) for the perfect fit and when it’s not in use, just fold it up and you have a pocket-sized portable device.

Pairing for Bluetooth devices should never be difficult but the Motion seems to do it easier with it’s Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This includes connection it to smartphones, tables or computers.

The impressive technology continues with built-in motion sensors to control just about everything in the headset. including battery life, voice controls and audio.

The headset allows multimedia streaming including audio from a GPS and or your favorite tunes.

In addition, with it’s latest Bluetooth features, you’ll have a range of of up to 100m/300ft from your your connected device, which is 10 times the range of similar headsets.

A microUSB charge should be good for about six hours of talk time or 10 days on standby.

The free Jabra CONNECT app (iOS and Android) lets users customize the headset from your LCD.

www.Jabra.com $129.99
Every time I see a new handheld GPS unit, such as the Megellan RoadMate 9250T-LMB, I’m amazed that fold-out maps ever existed.

Every feature you would want from a device like this is included, including the option to add a back-up camera. When you add the camera, the navigator automatically switches to it when your car goes into reverse.

Physically, the RoadMate 9250T has a 7-inch HD display with responsiveness and clarity second to none and connects to your Bluetooth phone to work as a handsfree device.

Magellan’s Bluetooth SafeTexting helps in the handsfree mode, which lets a driver respond to a text or call with a pre-written text message along with estimated time of arrival and your location.
After you plug in where you want to go, the directions are read to you well in advance of your turns along with naming local landmarks as turning points.

You can program the routes to avoid specific roads, stay on highways and it even tells you where parking lots are near your location along with the hours of operation.

The 9250T comes with free downloads of lifetime maps and traffic alerts. A windshield mount and car charger are included.

www.magellangps.com $222.29
www.carbonaudioinc.com $99.95, available in nine colors
Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

 The new myCharge Freedom Power Case for iPhone 5 has a 2000 mAh battery inside the case, which can give your more than double the power of your existing phone battery.

Depending on how you use your device, it can give you upwards of 44 extra hours of audio, 11 hours of video or 9 hours of talk time.

What’s unique about the case, in addition to the power, is a proprietary Apple Lighting charging cable. The cable, built into the case, tucks away in the back when you are not using the additional battery power.

When you do need the boost, just take it from the case and plug it into your phone.

As for the one- piece protective case, it’s built with a high-density foam interior, rubber sidewalls and a hard exterior shell to wrap around the iPhone 5 like a glove.

A microUSB cable is included for charging the myCharge battery itself.

www.mycharge.com $79.99

Ultimate Ears, a Logitech brand, has launched the UE Boom portable speaker that offers incredible 360-degree sound.

The 2.5-inch rounded speaker is just 7 inches long so it’s built for portability with a 15-hour battery inside.

After you make your Bluetooth wireless connection there’s nothing to do but cranking up the volume.

You can even connect two UE BOOMs, using the UE BOOM app (free for iOS and Android devices). This allows the pair to play in traditional left/right stereo or stereo-to-stereo modes.

The top of the speaker has a microUSB port for charging, a clip to hang the speaker and a 3.5mm input port.

The speaker is designed with a specially developed water and stain resistant acoustic skin – not waterproof.

www.ultimateears.com $199.99

My first thought after opening my Chillout mini tower fan was “what am I going to do with this?”

With the 100-degree days upon us for the summer season I have found a few uses for it, both indoors and out, although it is not weather resistant.

It works off standard AC power, has two speeds and a carrying handle on a 10.5 x 3.5-inch rounded body.

www.Kaz.com $16.99, exclusively at Target stores, in black, blue, green or pink

A recent Kickstarter project from OneHundred is stainless steel pucks, which you freeze and then use as regular ice cubes.

They keep cool long enough to consume your beverage without melting and diluting whatever your mixture is.

According to the company’s website, the Pucs are precision machined from solid stainless steel, will not add or subtract from the flavor your drink in any way, will not absorb smells or flavors from your freezer and will not degrade or dissolve.

www.onehundred.co available in sets of 3 ($19.99) or 6 ($29.99)

www.carbonaudioinc.com $99.95, available in nine colors
Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

If you’re serious about your health, the Withings Smart Body Analyzer is so smart, it can tell the world its findings almost instantly.

It looks like a standard bathroom scale, which you could tuck away in the corner of any room but does a whole lot more.

Along with the basics of recording up to eight topics such as users’ body weight, heart rate, air quality and fat mass percent, the device can connect to WiFi or Bluetooth and send out a tweet or a Facebook post with the results.

You can use the Withings Health Mate app (free in iTunes) or more than 80 other third-party apps (iOS and Android) and websites with a computer or handheld device.

Setup depends on which app is chosen, but regardless it’s pretty simple. It uses four AAA batteries (included) for power.

www.withings.com $149.95
Goal Zero’s Yeti 150 and Yeti 400 Solar Generators are the company’s latest portable power solutions designed to keep lights, phones , laptops, tablets and just about anything else needed a boost of power away from an AC power source.

The bigger 29-pound Yeti 400 (459.99) delivers a whopping 400 watt-hours of power on the go, equivalent to recharging a smartphone more than 30 times, a laptop 5 times, or running a TV for 3 hours

It features an internal pure sine wave inverter (grid equivalent) with 2 AC outlets, 2 USB ports, and 3 12V ports. The Yeti 400 itself is powered from a wall outlet in 5 hours or from the sun in 30 hours with the Nomad 27 Solar Panel.

The 12-pound Yeti 150 Solar Generator ($199.99) can provide up to 15 smartphone charges, 50-hours of light, 6 tablet recharges or 2 laptop recharges.

Overall with the Yeti 150, you get 150 watt hours of power from two 12V ports, a USB port and an AC port.
It can be fully recharged in 24 hours of full sun with the Nomad 13 Solar Panel or just 5 hours by plugging it into a standard wall outlet.
www.GoalZero.com 
Carbon Audio’s Zooka wireless speaker is a handy device that works with any Bluetooth enabled media player.

Although it’s well designed to fit on the side of an iPad or other tablet to function as a speaker and a hands-free stand, the usefulness doesn’t there.

Most any other handsfree player will slip into the open slot, slip it over the top of your laptop screen and it makes a great partner for movie watching. If you don’t slide your device it you can pair ’em up and just let them work as a pair up to 30-feet apart.

It’s rounded in an egg-shaped oval and measures just over 9 inches long so it won’t take up much space in a laptop bag. A pair of 30mm speaker drivers are on opposite ends to create an omni-directional soundstage, as the company calls it.

A built-in rechargeable battery is good for about eight hours of play, depending on your volume settings.

Volume controls, a charging port and 3.5mm aux in for non-Bluetooth devices, are all on the back.

www.carbonaudioinc.com  $99.95, available in nine colors
Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

The iHome iBT4 boombox brings you back to high school days, at least for me.

After connecting with any Bluetooth-enabled device, music is streamed to the hand-held speaker.

The old school look, complete with dial knobs on top, makes you want to carry it on your shoulder with the moveable handle on the 3-pound device.

Inside the rubber-coated box are iHome’s Reson8 speaker chambers along with an internal lithium-ion battery for up to 7 hours of sound, depending on volume levels. A universal AC adaptor is also included.

If broadcast radio is still your thing, there is a built-in FM radio you control on top along with a line-in jack for plugging a media player directly from it’s headphone port.

As with every iHome product I’ve tested, this one once again falls into the same category as all the others; well built, easy to use and sounds great. Boombox are generally meant to crank up the sound and the iBT4 lets you do just that.

Oh, it’s also reasonably priced for a portable Bluetooth sound system at $99.99

www.ihomeaudio.com available in purple, dark gray and neon green
The iSider from Rain Design is one of the most useful and compact iPad/iPhone stands I’ve seen.

There isn’t a lot to it, except that it works well. Measuring about the size of a smartphone (.5. x 3 x 1-inches).

The slick-designed device has an anodized aluminum cover to make a nice match with the iPad or iPad Mini. Under the cover is a base that slides out, which has rubber tips to protect your device from scratches when they are connected.

There’s an opening in the bottom for your charging cable, if needed.

From there you adjust your viewing angle, which can go in landscape or portrait modes in multiple angles and attach to your iOS device.

With my Apple Smart Cover on my iPad I had it in portrait mode, along with a Bluetooth keyboard, as I wrote this column.

www.raindesigninc.com $49.90 and it includes a carrying bag

Scosche has unveiled seven new charge and sync solutions for both Apple’s Lightning connection and microUSB-powered mobile devices, which are great for everyday use along with being travel-friendly. That eliminates the need for multiple charging cables for different devices.

Five feature a patent-pending 2-in-1 connector, which can be used to charge nearly any new smartphone, tablet and many other USB powered portable electronic gadgets.

Among them, the 3-foot long smartSTRIKE ($24.99) has the new connector to charge and sync both the new Apple Lightning connector devices and microUSB devices, all with one cable.

A retractable version of the same cable, smartSTRIKE PRO ($29.99), extends up to three feet with the 2-in1 connector on one end and USB on the other.

The strikeDRIVE PRO ($49.99) car charger has two 12 Watt USB ports to give you the fastest simultaneous charge possible for a pair of devices. It’s built to utilize universal charging circuitry, which has been optimized for use with all tablets and smartphones.

The strikeBASE PRO ($39.99) is a dual five watt wall charger and the strikeDRIVE SMART ($34.99) is a tablet friendly, 12 watt low-profile car charger.

A low-profile design ensures that the charger fits neatly in most vehicles. This car charger utilizes universal charging circuitry that has been optimized for use with all tablets and smartphones. strikeBASE PRO ($39.99), a dual five watt wall charger for smartphones includes flush folding wall prongs for convenient portability.
www.scosche.com 

Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

The olloclip photo lens is now available for the iPhone 5, bringing photography to new levels for iPhoneographers.

A pair of durable lenses give you a fish eye, wide angle and a macro view. Each lens is built on a clip, which fits right on the phone to cover the built-in lens.

To get from one lens to the other, just take the clip off and flip it around; you unscrew the front element of the wide-angle lens to get the macro lens.

The fish eye provides about a 180-degree field-of-view; the macro gives you a focal distance of half an inch and the wide angle expands the viewing angle by 2X.

Since the lens is designed to work on a phone without a case or screen protector, olloclip has launched a new Quick-Flip case.

The case is designed so the corner, which covers the lens, swings open without the need to remove the case. This gives you instant access to attach the lens, and the open corner can now act as a shutter release.

It also has a threaded connection on the case for tripods or other accessories to use in landscape or portrait modes.

The kit includes lens caps and a lens bag, which doubles as a cleaning cloth.

The quality from the lenses is excellent, although they will never replace a digital SLR or even a point and shoot camera.

But having the access to your phone is what makes camera phones so popular and the ollclip is a great pocket-sized attachment.

www.olloclip.com  olloclip kit for the iPhone 5 – $69.99, quick-flip case $49.99 or get both for $99.99

The latest tablet from COBY (MID8065) has 8-inch screen and will do all the basics people want from a tablet without taking a big bite out of your wallet.

There isn’t a lot on the setup; the main part is setting up your Wifi (b/g/n). Then set up your email, surf the web or watch YouTube video’s.

It’s built with dual core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM along with AndroidTM 4.0.

You get 8GB of internal storage but unlike some other leading tablets, it has a microSD card reader. This lets you expand the storage to whatever you want it to be with your own memory cards up to 32GB each.

There’s also 5GB of cloud storage, a built-in microphone, Bluetooth, headphone jack, internal speaker and a high speed HDMI port.

The home screen has all the basics including flash memory and access to the Google Play Store with an app on the home screen.

If your looking for low cost tablet to do all the basics, this can be a great choice. The touchscreen is responsive and switches between landscape or portrait instantly.

I used the tablet for all the basics; email, web surfing and YouTube with ease. An internal Rechargeable Li-Poly recharges with the included USB cable.

www.CobyUSA.com  $157

ZAGG was right out of the block with available accessories for the new Samsung Galaxy S4.

They include the invisible shield to make your device’s touchscreen scratch resistant while maintaining full functionality.

Cases include a versatile lineup from the Zagg iFrogz lineup that are both durable and attractive. If I had to pick my favorite, it would be the the Breeze cover ($24.99) with its form-fitting design and gray/black mesh design.

Other accessories include the ZAGGsparq ($99.99), a portable power supply with a 6000mAh battery.

A pair of USB ports lets you charge two devices at once and a built-in retractable AC power connection eliminates the need for a separate charging cable.

www.zagg.com
www.myblueant.com  $99

Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

After my mom sent boxes of my family’s photo albums years ago we found a nice space on my closet shelf with hope of one day digitizing them.

Ten years or so later, one of the boxes has finally seen the digital era, with no thanks to my scanning ability.

I recently tested a company called ScanMyPhotos.com and I wish I had found them sooner.

The system is pretty simple; just choose what service you want from a variety of choices including scanning for slides and prints with prices per image. I chose one prepaid photo scanning box for slides and one for prints.

I registered on the site and the next day received a prepaid and addressed United States Postal Service flat rate shipping box in the mail.

Now all it took was for me to choose and organize the photos I wanted scanned since I was limited to how many photos fit in the box.

In my case I was able to pack in 2,297 photos, all 4 x 6-inches or smaller. This option does allow sizes from 3 x 3 up to 8 x 10-inches.

My slide box was filled with 523 35mm slides, although I could have fit in a few more.

The company does a good job communicating during the process, especially considering that you are sending a box whose contents are impossible to value since the contents are irreplaceable.

I got an email confirming they thy received my boxes and just a few days later an email announced my scanning was complete.

Later that week my images arrived on my doorstep along with a DVD of my newly digitized images. Orders are advertised to be completed in most cases in about 2 or 3 weeks.

ScanMyPhotos.com has commercialized a new type of super-fast scanning technology, which results in 300 or 600 DPI scans for prints. Slides are scanned into medium or high resolution files.

While this was the best choice for my photos, scans can be done on a per image basis or a variety of bulk scanning options so check the site for what works best for your family archives.

Other upgrades include duplicate DVD’s or having images saved to thumb drives, or even hard-cover bound photo index books.

With the index books, you can flip through pages of contact sheets to easily locate a specific image. You can also have your images rotated so they are all upright or digitally upgraded to make them look perfect.

All I can say is be prepared to spend hours staring at the images on your screen. The scans were great quality, more than enough for prints. But why do that since it will put me right where I started!

You also might want to warn your relatives your doing a project like this – you’ll be filling their inboxes with photos instantly.

www.ScanMyPhotos.com

WD, a Western Digital company has announced the pocket sized My Passport Ultra portable hard drive is a perfect candidate to put a backup of these scans on for safe keeping.

The drives (3.25 x .5 x 4.25-inches) are available in 500GB ($99.99) and 1TB ($129.99), with a 2TB model expected out later this year.

It’s built with fast USB 3 speeds, but is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.

With the innovative hard drives, WD SmartWare Pro back-up software can automatically back-up up to five computers to the drive and will even integrate with cloud services such as Dropbox for backups.

Everything stored on the hard drive can easily be protected with a password along with hardware encryption.

www.wd.com  available in black, blue, red and titanium

The stylish BlueAnt Q3 premium smartphone earpiece is HD voice compatible and does everything you would want from a Bluetooth device.

The headset comes with a bunch of earbuds to get the right fit in either ear and a hook ensures it stays in place, which is my my personal pet peeve for these gadgets.

A shinny black metal body cover is built with a power switch. There’s a multi-function command button for pairing the device along with volume controls, a port for USB charging and obviously a microphone.

Setting it up is as easy as any Bluetooth device; just turn it on and a voice walks you through the setup. After your initial setup, just press the multi-function control and say the words “pair me.”

Up to three phones can be connected but one of the coolest features is the commands you can speak to make your handsfree experience easy.

For example, once you press the command button, say “Am I connected?” and the Q3 checks for a connection and if there isn’t one an attempt is made.

Google voice actions and iOS Siri actions are integrated in the device along with an iPhone battery meter and a call back command.

www.myblueant.com  $99
Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman.
2013, Gregg Ellman.

By Gregg Ellman
@greggellman

 The tech world has an endless supply of gift choices for this season’s dads and grads celebrations. The only problem you’ll have is narrowing your choice so I’ll make it easier with my random list.

Portable devices are great but many limit the amount of storage for digital files. Kingston’s wireless pocket sized Wi-Drive extends the capacity of your portable devices up to 128GB.

The drive lets you store digital files including documents, videos and photos on the handheld device, which can be shared with up to three users simultaneously.

The Wi-Drive creates a WiFi network between the devices and once connected your streaming is just like the content is on your device itself.

To load data onto the drive, plug it into a computer via USB and it acts like an external drive.

A rechargeable battery is good for up to four hours of use before a USB charge is needed.

www.kingston.com/us  128GB $149.99, 64GB $89.99, $32GB $84.94

Canon’s PIXMA MX922 Office All-In-One (AIO) printer does it all, including my personal favorite feature _ an AirPrint wireless printing from an iPhone or iPad.

It’s built with a seemingly endless number of features including printing (WiFi, up to 8.5 x 11-inch borderless and PictBridge), copies, fax and dual sided scanning.

Scanning and copying can be done directly to a flash drive connected to the front side USB port or connected to a computer (Mac or Windows).

A 3-inch LCD is easy to read and navigate for setup and general use. It has a five-ink system with two blacks, cyan, magenta and yellow.

One of the black inks is a high-yield pigment black. This allows more documents to be printed without having to change the pigment black ink nearly as often.

Other features include direct CD or DVD printing, a 250-sheet paper tray along with a separate tray for 4-by-6 or 5-by-7-inch paper.

www.USA.Canon.com  $139.99

The pocket sized Lyrix Duo is a 2-in-1 Bluetooth speaker, which comes along with a removable receiver.

Once the receiver is connected to any Bluetooth enabled device, the speaker can be placed up to 33-feet away for crystal clear sound. Volume can be controlled on your device or on the receiver.

The speaker has a suction cup to secure it to any flat surface including windshields for handsfree calls while driving.

A built-in battery charges up with a USB connection and will last for about 4 hours of sound.

www.digitaltreasures.com  $49 available in red or blue