The Creative D80 Bluetooth speaker requires only one wire: for power. (Credit: TigerDirect) Once upon a time, I thought Bluetooth was a useless technology that would never catch on. Turns out it’s awesome for one thing: sending audio from your smartphone to a speaker. For instance, my car has a Bluetooth-capable stereo, and I revel [...]

The Arkon MG178 is a universal dashboard mount for smartphones. (Credit: Meritline) Recently I asked if it still made sense to buy a GPS, what with smartphones more than capable of navigating folks from point A to point B. Many readers commented that, yep, their phone gets the job done. Of course, there’s one small [...]

(Credit: Amazon) It was just over a month ago that Amazon slashed the refurbished Kindle Fire to $139. Since then, it’s been selling for $169 — still a great deal, but not this great. Today only, and while supplies last, Amazon once again has the refurbished Kindle Fire tablet for $139 shipped. Now’s the time [...]

(Credit: Wondershare) Any mom will agree: the best Mother’s Day gifts (other than jewelry, a spa day, and a Kindle Fire) are the homemade ones. They show that you appreciate her enough to invest your time and effort on something personal, something unique, something special. For example, you know all those photos in Mom’s camera, [...]

Got an old MagicJack lying around? GVJack App can link it to your Google Voice account for free calls. (Credit: MagicJack) Things I didn’t know existed until just recently: the Obihai OBiTalk, a gizmo that plugs into your router and pairs with SIP-based voice-over-IP services like Google Voice; and GVJack App, a Windows utility that [...]

Flowers are all well and good this Mother’s Day, but let’s face it: they’re ephemeral. And cliche. And not terribly practical. That’s probably why a recent survey showed that moms covet tech gear nearly as much as they do spa trips and jewelry. If you want to get Mom something that’s useful, entertaining, and long-lasting, [...]

(Credit: Symantec) Norton Identity Safe is not a password manager in the traditional sense. It’s more of a log-in manager, able to automatically plug in your username and password when you sign into various sites that require them — all the while keeping that info secure and synced. Originally, the software came bundled with various [...]

The Obihai OBi100 phone adapter works with Google Voice to give you free calling for life. (Credit: Amazon) Yesterday I wrote about the Ooma Telo phone system, which for $109.99 allowed you to ditch your landline and make nearly free phone calls for life. (Your only obligation: a few bucks’ worth of monthly taxes and [...]

The Optoma HD20 brings full 1080p goodness to your home theater. (Credit: Amazon) Want a really big TV? Forget LCDs and plasmas — get yourself a wall. Just last night, while watching the incomparable “Planet Earth” on Blu-ray, I thought: “This is pretty nice at 55 inches, but it really deserves to be 10 feet.” [...]

The Canon EOS Rebel T3. (Credit: 1SaleADay) It’s a Thursday three-fer! Deal No. 1: Convenient though it may be to snap photos on your phone, there are times when you want a real camera — one with interchangeable lenses, a big image sensor, lots of shooting modes and manual settings, and so on. In other [...]