Todd Bernhard

Author Details

Todd Bernhard's picture

Author Details

Todd Bernhard

Todd Bernhard is a bestselling (6+ million downloads) award-winning (AARP, About.com, BestAppEver.com, Digital Hollywood, and Verizon) developer and founder of NoTie.NET, an app developer specializing in Talking Ringtone apps including AutoRingtone. And his profile photo is of the last known sighting of Mr. Bernhard wearing a tie, circa 2007!

An iPhone is almost always attached to his hip or in his pocket, but over the years, Mr. Bernhard has owned an Apple Newton, a Motorola Marco, an HP 95LX, a Compaq iPaq, a Palm Treo, and a Nokia e62. In addition to writing for iPhone Life, Mr. Bernhard has written for its sister publications, PocketPC Magazine and The HP Palmtop Paper.

I have reviewed quite a few car mounts over the years, and a few years ago, the Easy One Touch Connect ($69.95) that iOttie sent me to try would have been the best ever. It does things no other car mount I've tried does, namely integrate the Alexa voice assistant. This is a luxury that I now consider a necessity. I love being able to request navigation or music or weather without pushing a button or swiping a screen and taking my eyes off the road. 

I go to a lot of trade shows, not just technology ones like the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas but also the NY Toy Fair, hoping to find smartphone-related gadgets that would be of interest to iPhone Life readers. That's how I discovered BLOCKERZ Camera Covers ($13.99) from Zorbitz. They are a wholesaler but you can find their products at Amazon, Urban Outfitters, and other retailers. They gave me a sample to try and it turns out, it's not just for iPhones.

While others may have more name recognition, Ecovacs is a strong contender with nearly a dozen different models to meet the needs of specific customers. They sent me their most popular model, the DEEBOT 500 ($259.95), to try. For me, with primarily hardwood flooring, it works well. This particular model travels somewhat at random, stopping at walls and other obstacles and changing direction, but Ecovacs has more advanced models that can be programed via the app based on your floor layout.

Nex202 Wired Earbuds Review

By Todd Bernhard

There's a lot to like in the NEX202 Dual Drivers In-Ear Headphones (starting at $47.99) that RevoNext sent me to try. They have an elegant, twisted cable, which is a good point to remind readers that these are wired earbuds. The earpieces are built well with a metal housing and rugged-looking Torx (star) screws to keep the gadgetry in place. There are rubber cord protectors for ear comfort and to prevent fraying. They include different size ear tips and are sold in a couple of variety of matte finish colors, black or gray, and with or without microphone ($2 extra for the microphone.) And they sound great thanks to dual dynamic drivers.

Just when you think there's no way to innovate when building a charging dock, along comes the Wireless Charging Station ($92.99) from Choetech. This thing has everything; an integrated Apple Watch charging port, a Lightning port, and a Qi wireless charging pad. If that weren't enough, there's a USB port on the back so you can add your own cable, for another Apple Lightning item or a USB-C or microUSB device. All of this could generate heat, so the charger has two cooling fans that expel heat from the bottom.

The folks at Ausounds just announced, and sent me, their new AU Stream ANC ($149.95). The design clearly emulates the Apple AirPods, but that's a good thing. Apple has had several generations of the AirPods by now, yet they still have some deficiencies. And that's where the AU-Stream ANC can shine. They sound, look, and feel great, but so does the Apple version. So here are some differentiators.

I am a big fan of Qi-based wireless charging and I have a wide variety of chargers from a bunch of different companies spread throughout my home and office. But I think I may have found the best versions around. In fact, Apple doesn't have an offering of its own, as the AirPower failed to be delivered, so Fuse Chicken has stepped in. The company sent me a review unit of its Gravity Touch wireless charging base (starting at $39.95).

I've adopted wireless charging throughout my home and am always looking for the ideal Qi charger for the car. The MagMount Qi ($44.99) that Pitaka sent me to review is a leading contender. First, it's quite compact compared to many other competing models, so it won't obstruct too much of your dash or vents. And it has a built-in cooling fan so it won't overheat. The charger's surface uses aramid fiber plus a chrome exterior so it will look right at home in any sports car.

Security and privacy is in the news, as it should be based on recent breaches, so SecureData has a way to help you keep your private stuff private. The company sells a variety of hard drives in capacities from 1 TB using a mechanical hard disk drive (HDD) all the way up to an 8 TB solid state disk (SSD) although they get expensive at that size. SecureData sent me their SecureDrive BT (starting at $285) to try.

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, in January 2019, I got a sneak peak at the Pivo Tracking Photography Mount ($179). The Pivo is a slick automatic phone or camera mount that can rotate via Bluetooth controller. The free companion app allows the mount to automatically track a user by face or action. I was really impressed, and now that the Pivo is real and I've tested a sample unit, I can finally vouch for it. 

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