Reviews

If you are on the hunt for a powerful outdoor Bluetooth wireless speaker, one that can pump out massive volume and is also well-equipped to handle extreme environments, then the following head-to-head review of these two behemoths will be for you. I'm putting two of the best modern Bluetooth boomboxes to the test, to see which one of them fares the best.

Over the decades, I've heard some call iOS gaming escapism, while others may call it a distraction from the headline news on any given day; but as a lifetime core gamer, I've found myself extremely grateful on more than one occasion for the comfort, the exhilaration, the competition ,and the break from the day-to-day, real-world ups and downs that some of the more deeply immersive iOS game can provide. Mobile gaming has come a long way over the years and we now have plenty to choose from when it comes to core iOS games. On that note,  it's my pleasure to present iPhone Life's picks for best core iOS games.

The original console-based version of Jade Empire scored an 89 on Metacritic, a remarkably high score for a game. The follow-up Special Edition for PC released a few years later scored an 81 which is still admirable. Since the actual game's story, interface, and gameplay mechanics in this iOS version  of Jade Empire: Special Edition ($9.99) are identical to original game, I won't spend much time on going into those aspects of this conversion.  For those interested in a review of the core gameplay experience, there are a number of reviews for the game already on the web such as this one from Gamespot.

Christmas shopping on a budget is essential for most. And, of course, we want to get presents for as many of our friends and family as we possibly can. But it doesn’t have to hurt your budget to get gifts for everyone—even good gifts. No candles here. We’re sticking to a budget of $25 and looking for the best tech gifts we can find. There’s still time before the holidays to check off gifts for all the people on your list. These stocking stuffers will please your friends and family without bursting your budget; here’s our best tech gifts under $25 for this holiday season.

What good is a rugged, waterproof wireless speaker if you have to carry it around with you while on an adventure? That's the thinking behind the Braven BRV-1M ($99.99), an attractive, solidly built outdoor Bluetooth speaker that is designed for on-the-go use. It's waterproof (IPX7) and quite rugged. But unlike most competing outdoor Bluetooth wireless speakers, it has a GoPro mount built-in, so you can easily attach it anywhere a GoPro camera would go, such as on a bike, boat, or motorcycle. I just wouldn't mount it to a helmet since it is somewhat heavy.

I have seen the future of online mobile gaming, and it is MOBA. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena is a term familiar to any core, hardcore, or professional gamer. If it's not already a common term in your vocabulary, popular iOS MOBA titles like Vainglory and Ace of Arenas plan to change that, as they help usher in a new renaissance of mobile gaming.

Who doesn’t like getting cool technology gifts? A hundred dollars in tech gifts goes a lot further than it used to. Whether you’re looking for fun tech gifts to give this Christmas, Hanukkah, or another holiday— we’ve got you covered with our gift guide to tech under $100. Filled to the brim with great gift ideas, we’ll cover everything from headphones and wearables to cases and e-readers. There’s a lot to choose from on a tight budget. Here’s the best tech gadgets and gifts under $100 to get your favorite people this holiday season.

With the elimination of the headphone jack, Apple has effectively thrown its full weight behind Bluetooth technology. After years of being considered a faulty and glitchy transfer medium, Bluetooth has finally come into its own after years of refinement and technological advancement. The quality of playback that a Bluetooth speaker can pump out can easily be CD quality, depending of course on the source. Certainly it's been consistent and of a high enough caliber to fool die-hard audiophiles in blind acoustic tests. The following speakers are all top of the line Bluetooth speakers, each with its own merits and unique characteristics.

Black Friday falls on November 25 this year; it’s the perfect time to save money on tech gifts for the holidays. Whether you’re looking for Black Friday iPad deals or Amazon gadgets, there’s plenty of Black Friday specials to go around. Target, in particular, has some of the best Black Friday deals this year, with Best Buy and Walmart tying for second. Amazon will feature its Echo at a great deal and cut back on tablet prices for Black Friday too. From iPhone and iPads to Apple Watches and the Amazon Echo, here’s the best deals you can expect on tech for Black Friday 2016.

Continuing along the theme of revisiting apps that have been essential since the early days of iOS, Reeder 3 ($4.99, iOS, $9.99, macOS) by Silvio Rizzi is a feature-rich RSS reader for iPhone currently in its third incarnation. The RSS feed reader app has greatly expanded its support for a variety of third-party services and kept up to date in the modern era of iOS devices. Do these enhancements offer enough value to continue using it above other RSS feed apps? Read on to find out.

I've had the opportunity to test the best Bluetooth headphones over the past several years and one thing is for certain; Bluetooth technology has come a long way since it first went mainstream. No longer is it a laggy, unpredictable medium by which to transfer audio data. These days a good pair of wireless Bluetooth headphones can reproduce sound with remarkable clarity and accuracy. Whether or not you like the fact that Apple eliminated the headphone jack, it's not surprising that the company would consider Bluetooth reliable and mature enough for their iPhone 7 series to rely heavily upon it.

Last summer, I was very lucky to be able to take a three-week road trip with one of my best friends on the planet. During the entire trip, we both worked remotely. For the most part, we stopped in coffee shops found all along our route, using their free Wi-Fi and ordering awesome coffee while we worked. However, there were multiple occasions when our devices ran out of power on the road with no power outlets in sight. Had we brought a RAVPower Bank ($39.99) with us, we wouldn’t have needed to frantically look for a place to charge our devices in every place we stopped.

Looking for a way to stay focused and disciplined on completing a task on time? The Pomodoro Technique  is a proven approach to time management that has been programmatically captured in a number of iOS apps. Some are simple timers while others offer much more. This review takes a closer look at Be Focused Pro ($1.99 iOS, $4.99 macOS), one of the more comprehensive, Apple-hardware-friendly programs available on the App Store today.

Jaybird Sport's latest headset offering represents the company's latest ongoing evolution of its original X series.  Now in the third generation, the X3 Wireless Sport Headphones ($129.99) are a culmination of what the X product line has been striving for since its inception, namely an awesome, lightweight, hassle-free audio experience on the go. Does the X3 reach a new high in the wireless headset market, or is it a mild, incremental iteration on an already winning formula? Read on to find out.

Why would you line all your tablets, smartphone (and whatever else charges) on a dock in front of you? There are a few cool reasons that you may not have thought of, besides just charging them. If it seems silly to even have a tablet anymore (or an iPod), hear me out. In the right conditions, two tablets are actually better than one. Two tablets with an iPhone sandwiched in there is majorly empowering (looks cool, anyway)! Udoq, which is being featured on Kickstarter launch in the U.S. gets more than a few things right to make multi-device docking interesting.

Old-fashioned thermometers require contact. Either the thermometer must be kept under the arm or under the tongue until a little beep lets you know it has a reading. If you have multiple sick kids on your hands, the last thing you want to do is spend thirty minutes checking temperatures and cleaning the thermometer each time. Instead, meet Flo by Zeraph ($49.99). It’s a contact-free smart thermometer that can tell you instantly whether or not someone has a fever. No need to hold it under the tongue, simply hold it up to a forehead and let the green or red light be your guide. Or open the Flo by Zeraph app on your iPhone or Apple Watch to see their exact temperature. 

Apple introduced AirPods, its wireless earbuds, to deal with the lack of a headphone jack on the new iPhone 7. But those earbuds come with their own problems. As separate left and right pieces, you could easily lose one (or both) and ruin your day. Many competing Bluetooth earbuds are sold in one piece with a strap connecting both sides. This helps keep them together, and if one falls out of your ear, it might not hit the floor because the other earbud is tethered to it.

The iHome mini iBT82 ($49.99), the mid-sized iBT35 ($69.99), and iHome's largest boombox, the iBT9 ($99.99) are three excellent alternatives for those in search of a reliable, affordable, and portable Bluetooth speaker solution. These rugged Bluetooth speakers are part of iHome's Weather Tough line of Bluetooth speakers, all of which are waterproof, shock proof, and dirtproof. They also float, even the biggest of the lot, the iBT9.

If you want a nicely designed, protective iPad case, there are a lot of options; but not many can also let you mount that iPad and case on a wall or refrigerator. That's exactly what the MetaCover iPad Case ($74.95) from Moshi does. The iPad is safely ensconced in a protective case that can lock in to an origami-like protective cover that supports the iPad's auto-sleep and auto-wake function. 

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