The Tap Keyboard has no keys and no board

The venerable computer keyboard has been around for about 140 years and hasn’t changed much. Even individuals who are unable to see may use a keyboard because of its familiar layout. However, to use a keyboard requires a fixed and unmoving position.  Keyboards on modern mobiles are almost all images on glass. Their small size enables keyboard input almost everywhere (even, unfortunately, while driving) but are almost impossible to use without the sense of sight.  The Tap Strap is a keyboard alternative which allows mobility and input without having to see what your doing.

What is it?

The Tap Strap is a gadget that has a polyurethane ring that fits over the base of each finger, kinda like a tech version of brass knuckles. Each ring contains motion sensors which can detect finger taps against a hard surface. Entry is made by tapping against a hard surface either individually or in chord combinations. The finger sensors are all wired to the thumb which has a Bluetooth module. The unit emulates a standard Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, so no special software is required, but it does come with several apps for managing the device and learning the proprietary keyboard input. Moving your hand around a flat surface and lifting fingers to click turns the Tap into a virtual mouse. 

What’s it offer?

One of the most significant benefits of this system is for those who require accessibility for typing. Recently Tap integrated support for Apple VoiceOver accessibility feature for iOS. This means that blind and low vision users are able to effectively use many iOS applications. Another foreseeable use is to provide input while experiencing virtual or augmented reality. It’s unlikely that many users will approach the 50 word per minute speeds attainable by most typists. Therefore, this won’t replace the keyboard, but it will give those who prefer an alternative a whole bunch of new options.

The Tap Strap sells for $179.99. Visit the Tap site here to find out more info and to purchase.

The post The Tap Keyboard has no keys and no board appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

The Tap Keyboard has no keys and no board originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 3, 2018 at 8:30 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Dyson vacuum, Bitplay iPhone lenses, Invisible Shield screen protectors, and more – Weekly roundup

It’s Saturday afternoon. What does that mean? It means that it’s time for me to post a list of all the news and reviews that were published on The Gadgeteer this week? Browse the list, look for things that sound interesting to you and enjoy!

PhotoSpring is the digital picture frame you’ve been waiting for

Get “inspiration insurance” with the Gibson GC-R05 Memory Cable

The Polk Audio Assist Smart Speaker lets your music speak to you in every room

With Apple Watch bands, the choices are epic

Your home is smart – now with Elgato Eve Aqua, your lawn can be smart, too

Have an espresso anywhere using Nanopresso

Shain offers a complete storage system for woodworkers

The Revesun HDMI 2×1 Multi-Viewer with PIP is an affordable seamless switching solution

Never have to dig around inside a dark bag again

Catit Flower Fountain – a water fountain for your cat

1More goes Quad by adding 1 more to their Triple Driver earphone

The Westcott Strobelite Plus Monolight might just be the right light to complete your kit

Come up to the lab for some cold-brewed coffee

It’s never too early to prepare for Shark Week!

Let Dad show off his team pride at the grill this summer

The Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens is the new beast in their lineup!

Expand your Philips Hue system at a price that won’t break the bank

The Studpop Magnetic Stud Finder nails it every time

Save the Earth – recycle your chewing gum!

Give Dad a toiletry kit bag that could sail the Seven Seas

The new Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro Art Lens may be the best of the best!

WaterField’s new Pro Executive laptop backpack is designed by experts

The Haven Lock Connect is the deadbolt that keeps you safe!

Make sure each pet eats only her own food with these bowls

The BoomBottle MM wireless speaker pops tunes and bottle caps

With the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker, you get the perfect dish every time!

Make your MacBook stand out in a crowd

Reviews

Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds review

Bitplay Premium HD lenses and SNAP! X iPhone case review

Harber London Slim iPad Pro EVO with Apple Pencil Holder review

Lasso Compression Sock review

TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp with Fast Wireless Charger review

Powercard Slim Power Bank review

Ouh Snap Folding Photography Lightbox review

Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute stick vacuum cleaner review

Rocketbook Everlast Mini Notebook review

BatchPhoto software review

LifeProof Goa 22L Backpack review

ZAGG InvisibleShield Glass Curve Elite Samsung Galaxy S9 screen protector review

Sengled Element Classic Smart Bulb review

The post Dyson vacuum, Bitplay iPhone lenses, Invisible Shield screen protectors, and more – Weekly roundup appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Dyson vacuum, Bitplay iPhone lenses, Invisible Shield screen protectors, and more – Weekly roundup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 2, 2018 at 4:36 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds review

What is it?

The Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds are wireless Bluetooth earphones that are optimized for ease of use and use during exercising and sports activities.

What’s in the box


Package contents:

1 x Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds with neck loop
4 x loops (2 black, 2 lime)
4 x Large fins (2 black, 2 lime)
4 x Small fins (2 black, 2 lime)
12 x cushions (6 black, 6 lime)
1 x Instruction Booklet (This was missing from my sample)
1 x USB to Micro USB (This was missing from my sample)

Specifications:

10MM Driver
16Ohms Impedance
99DB Sensitivity
20-20,000 Hz Frequency
Bluetooth 4.2
Range 32ft/10M

Design and features

The Wicked Audio Shred 2 earbuds are nicely designed and built, and they make it easy for you to swap out the fins and loops as desired. The inclusion of both the black and lime colors add a sense of style.

I was able to use the setup right out of the box since they were a perfect fit for me.

The neck loop opens and closes magnetically, and this makes it very easy to hang around your neck.

These earbuds are very comfortable, and I wore them at about 45 minutes to one hour each time with no issues. As a matter of fact, they are so lightweight and comfortable that their presence is hardly noticeable. I tested them speed walking, jogging and with excessive and wild movement, and they stayed in place at all times.

Now on to performance and sound:

I normally listen to music on my iPhone for approximately 45 minutes each way to and from work, for a total of 90 minutes daily. When I first received the earbuds, I charged them fully on a Monday evening and started using them from the next morning.
The control part of the earbuds has 3 buttons for all of the music and phone functions. The bottom has the Micro USB port for charging. There is also the LED that is blue when on and when fully charged, and red when charging.

When you press the power button there is an audible click in the earbuds that indicate that the power is on. It is the same for powering off. Pairing is accomplished by holding down the power button for about 5 seconds until it blinks blue and red, which is typical of most earbuds. Pairing was very simple and without issue. Once the paring is done, there is an audible voice confirmation that says “connected”. If the earbuds disconnect from the Bluetooth connection, there is an audible voice confirmation that says, “Disconnected”. (This only happened when I was in an area with high interference where any and all of my Bluetooth headsets usually disconnect). What I did find to be strange is that when powering off, there is just the click and no voice confirmation. All of my other headsets with voice commands say “Power on” and “Power off” and “Connected” and “Disconnected”.

The power button also works as the “play” and “stop” button when listening to music. The top (+) button in music mode works as “volume up” and “track forwards”, and the bottom (-) button works as “volume down” and “track backwards”.

When using these earbuds for phone functions, the calls were crystal clear on both ends, with no distortion or unwanted frequencies.

These earbuds have better battery life than almost any earbuds I have owned. At 90 minutes of use each day without recharging, the first voice notification to charge them occurred on Friday afternoon after a total of about 5 ¾ hours of playing, and they were still at 40% charge when the alert first started. I was wondering why it alerted at 40% which seemed a bit early, but after approximately another 20 minutes of playing the charge dropped to 20%, and then the earbuds shut off after another 15 minutes. The total play time was over 6 hours at almost full volume, which to me is quite incredible.

I am an Audiophile, and I enjoy several genres of music. I tried these earbuds with Soul, R&B, Rock, Country, Gospel, and Jazz. They performed reasonably well across all genres. I decided to test them without any equalization to make all things equal. I found the Mids to be very present and very pleasant to my ears. The Highs were a bit overwhelming on most genres, and the Lows were ok but not as present and as deep as some of my other earbuds. After I was done with my initial testing, I did try using an equalizer to adjust the Lows, but the threshold was not much lower than without any equalization, and very quickly became just noise.

What I like

I like the fit and comfort of these earbuds. While the overall sound is not Audiophile grade, it is decent. The fact that they remain in place no matter the movements, and that the battery charge lasts very long, makes me a fan.

What can be improved

The only improvements that I would like to see, are with the sound in terms of more capable bass, more balanced Highs, and better voice commands. I would also like to see a volume control included with the controls.

Final thoughts

The Wicked Audio Shred 2 Bluetooth earbuds are very nice. While not perfect, they are great for sports and working out, as well as casual listening. Their long lasting battery life along with the short 1.5 hour charging time make them great for daily use.

Price: Currently not listed
Where to buy: Wicked Audio
Source: This sample was provided by Wicked Audio.

The post Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds review appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged:

Wicked Audio Shred 2 wireless earbuds review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 2, 2018 at 1:30 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

PhotoSpring is the digital picture frame you’ve been waiting for

PhotoSpring is a new kind of digital frame that also doubles as a photo album.  Unlike other digital frames, it doesn’t require a memory card. Instead, PhotoSpring uses companion apps (compatible with iPhone or Android phones and Mac and Windows computers) to load photos and videos from your smartphone and computer. With the apps, you can choose to have pictures automatically displayed as they are taken, or select which photos to upload whenever you like. 

It also reformats your photos to fit the screen. And you’ll see a different set of photos every day.

It’s a frame. It’s an album.

A rechargeable battery and charging stand make PhotoSpring conveniently portable.

In album mode, you can use PhotoSpring’s 10” HD touchscreen to browse or find your favorite photos.

You can even invite family and friends to share photos directly to your PhotoSpring. 

The PhotoSpring is available in three memory configurations. 16, 32, and 80GBs.

You can choose from six different colors. White, Black Mat, Maroon Red Mat, Sky Blue Mat, Turquoise Mat, and Sea Foam Green Mat.

The PhotoSpring is available for $149-$199 (16GB-80GB) from PhotoSpring or Amazon.

The post PhotoSpring is the digital picture frame you’ve been waiting for appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

PhotoSpring is the digital picture frame you’ve been waiting for originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 2, 2018 at 12:30 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Get “inspiration insurance” with the Gibson GC-R05 Memory Cable

Whether you’re an amateur or a professional musician, you probably have been inspired by something you’re noodling around with, but you’ve lost it before you can get it down.  You’ll never lose your ideas again if you replace your current audio cables with the GC-R05 memory cable designed by TASCAM for Gibson.  In addition to being a high-quality 16′ audio cable, the GC-R05 cable has an in-line solid-state microSD recorder built right in.

With a push of a button, you’ll be able to save a file to the included 4GB microSD card for later reference.  There are two recording modes: continual or recording triggered only when you play.  You can record 13 hours of music with uncompressed WAV-format 16-bit, 44.1kHz CD-quality files on the microSD card.  Transferring your files to a computer is easy with the included microSD-to-SD card adapter.  Gibson says “thanks to the studio-quality A/D converters, if you record a ‘keeper’, you can bring the file into any recording software, then build the song from there.”

The in-line recorder is powered by one AAA battery.  The audio cable is compatible with guitar, keyboards, bass, and electronic drums or even a mixer bus output.  You can expand the storage capacity by replacing the microSD card.

The Gibson GC-R05 Memory Cable is $51.00 at Amazon.

The post Get “inspiration insurance” with the Gibson GC-R05 Memory Cable appeared first on The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Get “inspiration insurance” with the Gibson GC-R05 Memory Cable originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 2, 2018 at 11:30 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.