Mike Riley is a frequent contributor to several technical publications and specializes in emerging technologies and new development trends. Mike was previously employed by RR Donnelley as the company’s Chief Scientist, responsible for determining innovative technical approaches to improve the company’s internal and external content services. Mike also co-hosted Computer Connection, a technology enthusiast show broadcast on Tribune Media's CLTV.
By Mike Riley
In the Spring 2017 of iPhone Life magazine, I wrote a roundup of HomeKit-compatible home-automation gear, which included Elgato's Eve Room indoor temperature and humidity sensor, its Eve Door & Window wireless contact sensor and the Eve Energy electricity toggle switch. This brief post reviews two more members of the Eve family, the Eve Motion ($49.95) wireless motion sensor and the Eve Weather ($49.95) wireless outdoor sensor.
By Mike Riley
With the success of the recently released Nintendo Switch portable gaming tablet, there has been a resurgence of interest among iPad gamers to bring their iPads to parity with what the Switch has to offer. One standout feature of the Switch is its analog joysticks on the left and right side of the screen. Perhaps Nintendo got its inspiration for this design from GameVice, a company that announced the first iteration of its iPad game controller back in 2014. Now that its iPad game controller idea has been amplified by Nintendo's success, read on to find out how the current version of the GameVice Mfi controller ($99.95) works with the iPad Pro and Mini form factors.
By Mike Riley
Another day, another headset review. Or so I thought when the Monitor Bluetooth Headphones ($249) from classic amp brand maker Marshall showed up at my door. That blasé attitude quickly disappeared once I opened the box to discover a degree of design and material quality rarely found on wireless Bluetooth headphones these days. To learn about the most important aspect, how the Monitor Bluetooth Headphones sound, read on.
By Mike Riley
With Apple's release of its HealthKit API, the company has put the spotlight on its customers' health and wellbeing. Doing so has also encouraged manufacturers of third-party health-management devices to utilize the iPhone as a data hub, assisting users and even medical practitioners with monitoring and supporting healthy initiatives. One such device is the QardioArm Smart Blood Pressure Monitor $(99).
While surveying the iOS health device monitoring landscape, I came across an inexpensive and somewhat compelling body temperature thermometer from Kinsa. Called the Smart Stick Thermometer ($19.99), this non-Bluetooth-enabled device uses the audio port on pre-iPhone 7 iOS devices to capture and record temperature.
By Mike Riley
Building on the success of the initial Rome Total War iOS conversion, the first expansion for the series, ROME: Total War - Barbarian Invasion ($4.99), has also made its way to the iPad. Has developer Feral Interactive struck gold again with its latest effort? Read on to find out.
By Mike Riley
Based within the Fallen London alternate Victorian age universe, Sunless Sea ($9.99) has been recently ported from the PC to iOS. Like the previously released Fallen London (free) game on iOS, Sunless Sea is considerably text heavy. This intentional design choice gives the crew of your vessel adequate background history and private motivations that help you understand their behaviors and reactions to the events that transpire throughout the game. If this sounds like your cup of tea, read on to find out if it is worth the price of a few boxes of biscuits as well.
By Mike Riley
Thanks to the growing popularity of real-world board games these days, mobile conversions of these games is almost becoming an expected outcome of the more successful titles in the genre. One of those highly popular board games is Tokaido ($6.99), an adventure game where players compete to acquire material goods while traveling along the East Sea Road. The player who has acquired the items and experiences worth the most value at the end of the journey wins the game. Read on to find out how the mobile conversion fairs compared to other board game conversions in the App Store.
By Mike Riley
At its foundation, Kingdom: New Lands ($9.99) is a tower-defense-style game. Build up your kingdom's defenses in order to fend off attacking monsters. If you survive to the next level, you will continue to expand your kingdom and strengthen your defenses while exploring the 2D pixelated lands for the required resources to succeed. You start the game with a queen, a crown, and a horse. Moving your mounted horse left or right reveals landscape that may contain characters to recruit and structures to build. You need to recruit and build to shore up your kingdom's defenses against the night-time raids of demons, ghosts, and other nasty surprises. As you progress and survive, you will level up to even more challenging and enchanting environments. If you die, you start over at the last level reached. Does this mobile port retain the wide appeal it achieved with its PC game fan base? Read on to find out.
The number of Bluetooth wireless speakers available on the market is staggering, and choosing which one to buy is like choosing which outfit to wear. Depending on the occasion, the right speaker can make the difference between an enjoyable experience and an infuriating one. While some manufacturers have designed for very specific use cases, others, like 808 Audio, have opted for a kitchen sink approach. Hence, its Hex Encore XL Wireless Speaker ($399.99) is the Swiss army knife of speaker units. Does it accomplish these objectives successfully and, more importantly, does it sound great doing so? Read on to find out.
Zugu’s iconic iPad case is sleek and modern while providing military-grade drop protection. As a result, Zugu has amassed an impressive following as Amazon’s highest-rated iPad case. Just one of its 75,000+ five-star reviews calls it ‘The absolute best…I actually feel safe around my kids with this case.’ Far from an overnight success, Zugu has focused on making one product, and consistently improving. For over twelve years, Zugu engineers have toiled away in pursuit of the perfect iPad case. They’ve refined, tested, and refined again - and it shows.
Keeping your tech safe and organized while you are on the go can be tough, but CASEBUDi Electronics Organizer Case has your back! These nylon bags keeps your electronics from getting lost in large luggage and safely stored to prevent damage. Available in Midnight Black, Sunset Orange, Cool Grey Fog, and Bright Sky Blue, this compact bag is stylish and practical. This case is 9.5 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 3 inches tall, so it is small and size and lightweight, yet it fits cords, cables, charging blocks, and other small accessories with ease. Stop wasting time digging through your purse or bag once and for all!
Hearing well can transform the way we experience the world, and with Eargo 6, no compromises are necessary. These virtually invisible hearing aids are comfortable, water-resistant, easy to charge, and automatically optimize your experience for changing sound environments! The new Sound Adjust feature with Eargo 6 identifies background noise and automatically reduces it, which helps the wearer hear speech more clearly without extraneous noise. It also adapts to loud environments and lower-volume situations. Start listening to your full potential with Eargo 6 today!
