Bedphones for bedheads

There are times when I am in bed and I’d like to lie on my side to listen to music or a podcast, etc. However, my earbuds stick out of my ears and make this uncomfortable. DubsLabs Bedphones are small on-ear headphones designed to allow you to listen to your music while lying on your side.

These headphones have “memory-wire” ear hooks to allow you to bend them around your ears to obtain the correct fit. They also have 23 mm full-range drivers and will last up to 13 hours on one charge.

The Bedphones also come in wired or wireless (Bluetooth) versions. Additionally, there are a couple of Bluetooth versions. One is a sports version, called Versafit, which has a silicone sweatproof covering over the headphones and the other is a sleeping version, called Bedphones, which has a foam padding covering them. The DubsLabs Bluetooth Bedphones are available from DubsLabs for $99.95 while the wired pair is available for $59.95.

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Bedphones for bedheads originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 30, 2018 at 11:30 am.

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Urban Armor Gear Plasma iPad Pro 12.9″ case review

The iPad Pro 12.9″ has been reviewed and discussed all over the Tech Press, and, love it or hate it, everyone agrees on one thing: it’s a big, thin, fragile slab that is a bit unnerving to handle. Adding a case to the already 1.5-pound unit is almost a given, but then it’s hard to schlep around. Enter our friends from Urban Armor Gear. They have designed a case they dubbed the Plasma, which protects this beast of an iPad while not significantly increasing the weight or the visual impact. Not an easy task.

Note: Photos may be tapped or clicked for a larger image.

What is it?

The UAG Plasma case combines the protection of a larger case with the features of a traditional iPad case – full back coverage, a pop-out stand, and access to the smart connector. They threw in a pencil clip for good measure. (Since I’ve taken to writing out my articles in Nebo with one of the iPads and my Apple Pencil, this ease of access is not lost on me!)

What’s in the box?

Just the case – no frills.

Design and features

The back cover of the Plasma is a hard, clear acrylic with the traditional UAG pattern of angular lines and open spaces etched in a clear v. frosted finish. I know it went against everything they consider holy, but the UAG logo was not emblazoned front and center in the large, silver type it usually comes in! It was instead writ small at the top center of the vertical orientation, under the pencil clip. (I give these guys a hard time about their logo, but their stuff is really kick@$$!) The photo below is the other side of the table from the photo just after the break above. I wanted to post it to show the difference in the stand between the Plasma (right) and other methods of holding an iPad at a good typing angle. That’s an iPad Pro 10.5″ on the left, but it takes up quite a bit more space due to the WedgeStand that’s supporting it.

As expected, the mics, camera, charging port, speaker grills, and earphone jack are all left open and accessible. Even the volume controls and the sleep/wake button are uncovered. The sleep/wake button and the earphone jacks are somewhat covered by overhanging protective eaves, however, which was a welcome touch. The power port has a large enough opening to easily allow an Apple Pencil to “assume the position” for charging.

While a nice feature, I found the Pencil clip a bit difficult to use. Putting the Pencil in is not a problem, but when I tried to remove it, I was always afraid of it breaking in the center as I pried up a loose end. I could probably just slide it up and out, but I’m still quite paranoid about hanging a $100 piece of plastic in an exposed loop in my bag. I have a case where I keep it nice and safe. For the record, I also never clipped good pens to the rings of spiral notebooks back in the day, either. You do you.

On the long edge opposite the pencil clip, there is a pop-out stand which gives the Plasma the ability to stand at a 16º slant from vertical. This position is quite nice if you’re watching a video, or writing in split-screen view with a keyboard. The frame below this pop-out prop can also be removed before installing the case, exposing the side of the iPad Pro that contains the smart connector, as well as those clever magnets that allow screen covers to be attached. Different from some covers on the market, this choice is reversible-you can leave it off on one trip where you want to add a smart keyboard or cover, then clip it back in when you want full coverage of the bumper. I like choices.

One oddity I found was the lanyard tether attachment point just under the earphone jack and the opposite side. As heavy, unwieldy, and awkward as I sometimes find the 12.9″, I have not once imagined threading a lanyard to it and having it hang around my neck. But, if that’s your thing, you can do it with the Plasma case! Might be good if you’re using it for field work and having to do something else with your hands with no good place to sit your iPad between annotations.

What I Like

  • Excellent protection around the rim and scratch-proof coverage for rear of the iPad.
  • Pop-out stand to allow the use of a keyboard.
  • Pencil clip for the daring.
  • Removable cover on Smart Connector/Magnetic Smart Cover edge.

What needs to be improved

  • Nothing, really.

Final thoughts

The iPad Pro 12.9″ continues to be a bit of a puzzle. Most users I know love theirs, but rarely take them out of their homes or offices. This case, with its open side for smart covers/keyboards and the kickstand, gives me enough protection that I have been taking mine out more. Look for it in your local Best Buy and consider how you could use your iPad Pro, rather than that heavy laptop. You may start a new trend!

Price: $89.99 for 12.9″, $79.99 for 9.7″and 10.5″ iPads.
Where to buy: This is a Best Buy exclusive.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Urban Armor Gear.

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Urban Armor Gear Plasma iPad Pro 12.9″ case review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 30, 2018 at 10:30 am.

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Winter is coming. Arm yourself!

They do say that the pen is mightier than the sword, so these beautiful Montegrappa pens inspired by HBO’s Game of Thrones should prepare you to face the White Walkers.  The pens are available in ballpoint, rollerball, or fountain pen.  They are the second edition of Montegrappa pens inspired by the show, and these represent the primary noble houses of Westeros, plus a fifth pen for Westeros itself.

The pens have resin bodies and are accented with precious metals.  The pocket clip takes the form of the animal associated with the family; for example, the Stark pen has a direwolf clip.  The ballpoints deploy with a twist, while the fountain and rollerball pens have a twist cap.

I found these pens at Levenger.  They offer the ballpoints for $295 each or a set of four for $944.  The rollerballs are $325 each or a set of four for $1040.  The fountain pens are $350 each or a set of four for $1120.  Pens can also be purchased directly from Montegrappa.

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Winter is coming. Arm yourself! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 30, 2018 at 9:30 am.

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The Kokoon takes rest and relaxation to a whole new level.


As far back as I can remember I have struggled with insomnia and restless sleep. As time has gone by and my life has become more filled with work, and family responsibilities, rest and relaxation and effective sleep have become an elusive goal. It seems that my insomnia has become par for the course. Because of these challenges, I am always interested in any product that attempts to help in a safe way.

I just came across a device called Kokoon that claims to be the world’s first sleep sensing headphones and the Ultimate Sleep Sanctuary. According to the manufacturer, “Kokoon uses movement and EEG data to understand and analyze your individual sleep pattern”. (“Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrophysiological monitoring method to record electrical activity of the brain”)

It uses active noise cancellation for complete quietness, along with an audio seal that works to stop external noise from penetrating the enclosure and reaching your ears. In addition, it effectively introduces white noise as you sleep, to ensure a better quality of rest.

If you would like to try out the Kokoon, you can head over to the Kokoon website and pre-order one for $299.99.

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The Kokoon takes rest and relaxation to a whole new level. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 30, 2018 at 8:29 am.

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Julie’s gadget diary – My MacBook has to go to the hospital

ARTICLE – Sadly, my 12-inch MacBook is sick and needs surgery. It’s suffering from a debilitating SKD (Stuck Key Disease). Yes, it’s one of the 1000’s, maybe millions of Apple MacBooks with the newer generation keyboards that are obviously flawed due to their thinner mechanisms that are susceptible to breakage.

I’ve been dealing with a sticky spacebar for many months, but recently my delete key started exhibiting the same behavior. It’s annoying when you’re a fast touch typist like myself and have to stop in mid-sentence to back up (when the delete key works) to add a space between words.

Our own Dave Rees had his own 12-inch MacBook keyboard replaced a couple months ago. His was under AppleCare though. I bought my MacBook as a refurb and didn’t buy the AC. A repair without AC was priced around $600 and I didn’t want to shell out that kind of money to fix a 2016 MacBook who’s battery capacity is starting to show signs of aging.

I decided that I could live with my come and go sticky spacebar issues until I decided that it was time to upgrade to a new laptop. But then the delete key problems started and I feared I would need to upgrade sooner rather than later. But then, Apple caved in to the pressure of a class action lawsuit last week and owned up to the problem and began offering free keyboard repairs and refunds to people who had paid to have theirs fixed. Lucky me!

Since the closest Apple store is about 70 miles away, I’m taking my MacBook to an authorized repair store in Bloomington, IN tomorrow and will leave it there for the week and return the following Saturday to pick it up. That means I’ll be without a laptop for Gadgeteer writing for the next 7 days. How will I survive? I plan to use my HUAWEI MediaPad M5 Android tablet for casual tasks like checking my email, approving site comments, and reading my news feeds. But for real work, I’ve busted out my 3-year-old Dell XPS 13.

I rarely use this laptop, so I took it with me to work today to install all the updates (there was at least a dozen!) so it would be ready to go tomorrow once I turned my MacBook over to the doctors at the MacExperience store.

I used it a little bit today and was surprised by how nice the keyboard felt compared to what I’ve been living with lately. Even the trackpad which gave me troubles back when I was first reviewing this laptop felt fine to me.

Of course, this is a Windows 10 laptop and even though I use a Windows 8 laptop all day long at my day job, I have been firmly planted in the macOS camp when it comes to my Gadgeteer/home use computing. So I think this will be a fun trial by fire experiment for the next 7 days and it might even make me seriously consider switching back to a Windows laptop when it comes time for me to buy my next computer.

I’ll be sure to let you all know how things are going in a few days. And please send get well thoughts to my MacBook 🙂

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Julie’s gadget diary – My MacBook has to go to the hospital originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 29, 2018 at 5:25 pm.

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