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.

The Senstroke Drum Sensors (starting at $190) could have helped back when I had a roommate who played the drums. France-based Senstroke sent me its virtual drum kit sensors and I have a new appreciation for the drums. Instead of bothering others, you can play drums on just about any surface and "hear" the percussion from the companion Senstroke iOS or Android app, including via headphones. The app supports Basic and Expert modes, with the advanced option allowing customization of your virtual drum kit.

While I have a Ring video doorbell, it has some drawbacks. First, I had to physically hardwire it into my house. If I lived in an apartment, that would not be an option. The other issue is that I have to find and open my phone to see who is there. If I'm at the door, a peephole makes more sense. The folks at Brinno have a solution, with the Brinno DUO Smart Peephole DoorCam ($199.95). Brinno sent me the peephole camera and, sure enough, no heavy duty tools were required to install it.

At the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I picked up a pair of ThinOptics Glasses and Case (starting at $19.95) from ThinOptics. The company has a novel design for reading glasses (and computer glasses) that rest on your nose without temples, so the glasses are quite small. They are also flexible and durable.

If the Apple Watch is too geeky and a typical fitness tracker doesn't do enough for your overall health and well-being, the GoBe 2 ($169) from Healbe may be of interest. They sent me their "Smart Life Band" which is something inbetween a smartwatch and a fitness tracker. The GoBe 2 measures (or recommends) calorie intake, energy balance, sleep quality, emotional states, water balance, burned calories, heart rate, stress level, steps, and distance. In short, it addresses all or most of the health benefits of a smartwatch, and perhaps more, but without the excess capabilities many fitness users wouldn't bother with.

A big theme at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was "Retro" and yet the cutest item I saw was both retro and futuristic at once. The folks from Divoom gave me a Tivoo ($59.90) to try and I love it. It looks like a small, old-fashioned CRT television set from the 50s or 60s, without the rabbit ears. It's sold in assorted colors for a reasonable price.

I've used and recommended Urban Armor Gear iPhone cases for years. They are the right mix of rugged protection and cool style. UAG sent me the Plyo Series iPad Case ($69.95) to review and it offers the same rugged protection as the iPhone cases. It protects all around the edges, including the ports, and has a cover lined with microfiber that keeps the screen clean.

Over the years, I've reviewed the different iterations of Jamstik portable guitars from Zivix so I was interested to see the latest model, the Jamstik 7 Fret Edition ($199.99). when Zivix offered to send a review unit. As with previous models, the Jamstik is lightweight, comfortable to hold and use, and battery powered. The Jamstik 7 Fret Edition lasts for 72 hours using four AA batteries, included, which is a nice touch. It's small, at just 18 inches, but you can buy the Add-On Body to make it more like a full-size guitar, if desired. Since the neck is shorter, the touch-sensitive rubberized buttons can be used to move up or down in both Capo and Octave. 

If you're like me, you have probably seen and maybe even purchased those rugged, foam-filled shipping crates from Pelican. I use them all the time to ship computer and audio equipment. Well, what if you could have that level of protection for your iPhone? That's the idea behind the Pelican line of iPhone cases. The company sent me the Adventurer Case ($39.99) to try.

I've reviewed a number of accessories from Nyrius before, so I was excited to see the company's latest item, ORION Home Wireless HD Video Transmitter & Receiver ($149.99), had arrived. I liked the previous model, but it used miniUSB and the newer model is microUSB-based, which is a step up. It's also easier to set up; indeed it is set up by default, out of the box. The Orion Home is two boxes that look alike, but one is a transmitter and the other a receiver. They are both similar in size to the Apple TV, but with a perforated top, which probably helps with reception.

I had been considering using an old iPhone as a car dash cam, but when Autowit sent me its Front & Rear Dual Dash Camera Recorder Mirror ($69.99) I gave up on trying to make my own! It's much nicer to have a device that is purpose-built for recording. And the price makes it attractive. Plus there are features an iPhone or even other dash cams can't match.

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