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Forget Fruit of the Month Club – here’s a subscription service for pop-culture fans!

NEWS – Fall is here, and it’s time to start dropping hints about the gifts you’d like to receive this holiday season, and this is a great gift idea!  Culture Fly has some subscription boxes that fans of DC comics or shows like Game of Thrones and Supernatural would love.  Culture Fly partners with best-in-class brands to deliver “pop culture experiences” directly to your door. They also work at designing and developing limited-edition collectibles that can never be found in retail.  Each box will be filled with over $100 worth of collectibles like apparel, bags, stationery, housewares, figurines, and other items.

Boxes are offered for Supernatural (Santa, this is my favorite show!), Game of Thrones, World’s Finest (DC collectibles), Jay and Silent Bob, The Nick Box (Nickelodeon), and several others.  Boxes ship quarterly and are $50 per box.  Some subscriptions allow you to pre-pay for a year (4 boxes) at a discounted price per box.

Learn more and get your subscriptions started at the Culture Fly website.

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Forget Fruit of the Month Club – here’s a subscription service for pop-culture fans! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 9, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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Gadgeteer Team EDC 2018 updates – Elizabeth Rodriguez

It’s EDC time again! I tend to swap out a lot of what’s in my bag depending on what I’m doing that week. I commute to New York City from Long Island so I try to keep the backpack lightweight. Lately, I’ve been working on my web developer portfolio, so here’s what I bring:
My favorite bag is still the Incase Reform backpack. I reviewed this bag in 2015 and it’s still going strong! The contents inside are:
  • New 13″ MacBook Pro with touch bar and charger
  • Google Pixel 2 XL smartphone
  • Metallic rainbow business card holder (purchased from Blick Art stores) because hey, you never know who you meet!
  • Audio Technica ATH-SR5BT Bluetooth wireless headphones
  • Logitech MX Anywhere 2S Bluetooth/wireless mouse
  • Archer and Olive “Night Sky” dot grid notebook/bullet journal
  • Tons of pens and pencils that I swap out depending on mood
  • Freepeople studded leather wallet
  • Tortoise & Blonde eyeglasses
  • Inexpensive sunglasses in case the sun pops out
  • My book of the month for my book club. This month we’re reading Crazy Rich Asians
  • Little rubber duckie to help me debug code 🙂

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Gadgeteer Team EDC 2018 updates – Elizabeth Rodriguez originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 8, 2018 at 12:14 pm.

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Free up counter space by storing your Keurig K-Cups on the wall

NEWS – If your kitchen is like mine, counter space is at a premium.  Using this K-Cup storage caddy, you can free up some space on the counter, because you’ll be able to store up to 22 K-Cups on the wall!  You won’t need to drill holes in your backsplash.  Instead, you’ll use the existing outlet cover to anchor the Cafe Wall Caddy.

The Cafe Wall Caddy consists of three parts.  The base unit holds 12 K-Cups.  If you have room, add the two attachments to hold an additional 10 K-Cups.

The Cafe Wall Caddy is available in white for $11.99 from the BeraTekIndustries shop on Etsy.  If you need a color other than white, just ask.

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Free up counter space by storing your Keurig K-Cups on the wall originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 8, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Blackloud Soundot AF1 FM radio earbuds for iOS review

REVIEW – Do you still enjoy listening to FM radio? I listen to it every day on my drive to and from work. But have you ever wanted to listen to FM radio with your smartphone but not using a streaming service like iHeart Radio which uses your data? Then you will be interested in learning more about Blackloud’s Soundot AF1 earbuds for the iPhone or iPad.

What is it?

The Soundot AF1 earbuds from Blackloud look like any other pair of wired earbuds, but there are two notable exceptions. First of all, they have a lightning connector instead of a 3.5mm headphone jack. So right away, you know that these headphones are for iPhones and iPads (USB-C version coming in 2019). The other difference is that you can listen to FM stations using these earbuds and your iOS device, without using any of your data. Kinda…

What’s in the box?

Blackloud Soundot AF1 earbuds
2 extra sets of eartips
Drawstring storage pouch
Quick start guide

Design and features

From all outward appearances, the Soundot earbuds look unremarkable unless you count the snazzy red color of the aluminum housings. The earbuds have an in-line 3-button control for volume adjustments and play/pause operations. The earbuds also have an in-line microphone so you can use them to make and receive calls as well as listening to audio.

The app




To use the Soundot earbuds to listen to FM radio, you have to install the Soundot app and you’ll have to log in to the app using your existing Google, Twitter, or Facebook account, or by creating a Soundot account. Then you can plug in the earbuds and you’ll be greeted with a simple interface for tuning FM radio stations.

There’s a tuning dial in the center of the screen that you can use to zero in on a known station, or you can also use the scanning buttons to find stations. At the bottom of the screen, there are 6 presets that you can use for your favorite stations.

The app also features an EQ for fine tuning the sound and a lock screen widget for quick control.

What the app doesn’t feature is RDS (Radio Data System) to display the song title and artist info. That is a feature that is coming soon. Another thing to be aware of is that you have to have a network connection (cellular or WiFi) in order to first set up the app which requires that you sign in either with your existing Google, Facebook, or Twitter account, or you can create an account with an email address.

Then when you do want to use the Soundot when you have no cellular or WiFi connection, you will have to click past the No Network error message, which is a little confusing as it leads you to believe that the product is not going to work without being on the network.

If you can get past these caveats, the FM radio sound quality is decent, but that all depends on how strong the FM stations are in your area. I was able to pull in the biggest stations without any issues.

I can see how an accessory like this one would come in handy during a natural disaster when cellular, and internet connectivity isn’t available, but a mobile device like an iPhone only has so much battery life and in a disaster, electricity is probably the first thing to go. I think a regular battery-powered radio or one with a crank that you can use to generate a few minutes of use without needing batteries would be a better option.

What I like

  • Good sound quality
  • Dongle-less lightning connector earbuds

What needs to be improved

  • Don’t require a login or account
  • Add RDS capability
  • Price is too high

Final thoughts

Some phones (maybe all of them?) have a built-in FM chip, but the carriers don’t allow you to use that chip to listen to FM radio. Why? I’m sure it has to do with money like everything else. The Blackloud Soundot AF1 earbuds give you back the freedom of listening to FM radio on your iOS device as long as it has a lightning connector and you can log in to the internet for the initial setup which for me seems to defeat the point… but if you don’t mind these restrictions, or the price, head over to Blackloud.com and check them out on your own.

Price: $79.89
Where to buy: Blackloud
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Blackloud.

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Blackloud Soundot AF1 FM radio earbuds for iOS review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 8, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Keep your gear looking dapper with this storage accessory

NEWS – Cables and chargers are usually in the “don’t leave home without them” category, but they can make a mess of your gear bag if they aren’t contained.  The Dapper Wrapper Storage Accessory from STM can keep that snake’s nest straight and tidy in a roll.The Dapper Wrapper is made of a water- and dirt-repellent C6DWR-coated, environmentally-friendly 100% polyester fabric.  It opens up to 5.7″ x 10.2″ x 0.4″.  Inside, there’s plenty of elasticized pockets and zippered mesh pouches for your chargers, charging cables, earbuds, flash drives, and other small gear.  When rolled up, a belting strap and clip holds it closed.

The Dapper Wrapper is available in slate blue, granite black, or windsor wine for $29.95.  Order at the STM website.

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Keep your gear looking dapper with this storage accessory originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 8, 2018 at 8:00 am.

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