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.

My bio underneath the articles I write for iPhone Life Magazine say "an iPhone is almost always attached to his hip." And that's true, but I'm not satisfied with most of the holsters I've used to date. They are typically plastic and prone to breaking, or they don't swivel, leading to inevitable jabs to my side or stomach when entering or exiting the car. I'm always on the lookout for something better.

My hometown of Rochester, NY, is a golfing town. Despite its smaller size, Rochester has hosted the 1995 Ryder Cup, the 2003 and 2013 PGA Championships, the Senior PGA Championship, and the annual Wegmans LPGA event, and even the Xerox Classic. With a number of world class courses, such as Oak Hill and Locust Hill, residents squeeze in as much playing time as they can, given the harsh winters, and are thrilled to welcome professionals with regularity.

To help you enjoy the PGA Championship experience taking place this weekend, I've tried to compile a list of Rochester and golfing apps and websites. But first, I'll give you more details about the town hosting this year's event.

The TabletStage from Mighty Dwarf has a split personality... and that's a good thing! Aside from splitting apart to form an easel for iPad, iPad mini, or other tablets, it also includes stereo speakers and can accept audio via Bluetooth, NFC (with supported tablets), or 3.5mm audio jack (cable included.) It charges via Micro USB (cable included) and, at least for my review unit, ships pre-charged and ready to use!

The TabletStage folds into a compact form for easy stowage in your gadget bag. When you unfold it,  the device forms a full-size "stage" for your tablet. The audio quality is surprisingly strong, thanks to a pair of clever slits in the base that act as a subwoofer. If you cover them up, you'll hear the difference.

I recently had the opportunity to speak via Skype with Iliya Yordanov, one of the founders of SilverWiz. The company is the maker of the well-regarded personal finance app, MoneyWiz, which competes with Quicken, Microsoft Money, and iBank to name a few. Yordanov is a four-time entrepreneur, and is currently focused on scaling SilverWiz.

MoneyWiz is the company's sole app, and it’s available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS. While pricey as far as iOS apps go, it's $4.99 price tag is nominal compared to Quicken and Microsoft. The app has hundreds of great reviews, all four and five stars. I asked Yordanov what his secret was!

Growing up, I was a pretty good math student. And while my oldest daughter is holding her own, my youngest, the artist, doesn't really get why math is so important. Since she loves playing with apps on the iPad, I thought a math app could be just the thing.

I bought iMathGenius ($2.99), hoping she wouldn't object simply in principle; fortunately she gave it a good try. And guess what? She liked it!

Many iOS users are also Mac users, like myself, so if you have a Mac, and an Apple wireless keyboard, and an Apple Magic Trackpad, pay attention! I have all of the above, but I found that I didn't use the trackpad that much. Rather than slide my hand off to the right, past my Magic Mouse, to the trackpad, and lose time, and risking Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, I prefer the design of Apple's laptops, with the trackpad just below the spacebar.

I've written, glowingly, before about the HMDX Jam Wireless Portable Speaker that uses Bluetooth to pump out solid sounds and act as a speakerphone.  And it does so in a solidly built, beautiful design, that, when packaged in its clear jar, is suggestive of jelly, hence the name Jam!

 

My traditional 30 pin iPod speaker docks are pretty much obsolete now, thanks to the new Lightning connector. But that's okay, because I can use the audio jack and Bluetooth to enjoy audio from my new iPhone 5.


I've come across a number of gadgets that make the transition easy. Suppose you prefer a speaker, to share your audio with others. I got to try some compact devices from Matrix Audio that fit the bill. They offer both a Bluetooth model, called nrg, and a wired model called one.

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