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Latest Gear Live Videos
2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Aquafarm
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Smart Home, Family, Women, Men, Under $100, Under $250, Under $500,
We love finding quirky, cool things that are worthy of being featured in our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide, and the Aquafarm certainly fits the bill. You get a pet and some healthy food, all at the same time. You don't even have to clean up after it! Thanks to magic aquaponics, the plants use the fish waste as food, keeping the water clean. Impressive, right?
You can pick up the Aquafarm from ThinkGeek for $59.99.
Read More 
| Aquafarm
Gallery: 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Aquafarm
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2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Family, Men, Techies, Under $100, Under $25, Under $250, Under $500,
iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will be big holiday gifts this year, make no mistake about it. The Apple TV is actually a fantastic complement to Apple's handhelds, worthy of being featured in our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide. A nice little device in its own right, the Apple TV gives you access to Apple's iTunes Store entertainment content right on your television. In addition, you get Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, sports networks, and plenty of other entertainment options. Connect it to your iTunes Home Share, and you can use your iOS devices as remote controls for the Apple TV. The best part, though, is AirPlay. You can beam audio and video content right to the Apple TV with ease from your iOS device, or your Mac. You can also mirror the display of these devices as well, all wireless over your home network.
You can pick up the Apple TV for $99, or $94.95 on Amazon.
Honorable Mention: Roku 2 XS Streaming Player
Read More | Apple TV
Gallery: 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple TV
Thinner. Lighter. Anyone familiar with Apple keynote events knows that these two words mean a lot to the company. In essence, Apple aims to reduce the bulks of its products, stripping away any unnecessary heft while simultaneously packing in as much power as possible. It's quite a task, really. The company has backed itself into a corner where it's now expected that anything that's a newer version of a previous thing will be smaller, thinner, and lighter.
Back in 2008, Apple did this with the jaw-dropping MacBook Air. Fully a Mac, but so thin you could slid it into a manila envelope. It was hard to believe that a Mac that thin, with a full-sized keyboard and display, was possible when PC makers were all focusing on grossly underpowered netbooks with cramped keyboards.
Now, Apple has done the same with its tablet lineup. Three-and-a-half years after releasing the original and iconic iPad, Apple has now made it almost impossibly thinner and lighter with the iPad Air. Sporting a new, slim design that borrows heavily from that of the iPad mini, the iPad Air bezel has been reduced by over 40%. Thickness has been reduced as well--20% thinner than the iPad 4 at 7.5mm. Perhaps most importantly, the iPad Air sheds almost half a pound of weight when compared against the two iPads that preceded it, all while maintaining the same impressive 9.7-inch Retina display.
So, the question now is, is the new iPad Air worth your time, attention, and hard-earned cash? Read on for our full iPad Air review as we explore Apple's latest flagship tablet.
Click to continue reading iPad Air review
Gallery: iPad Air review
The history of Mac OS X pricing: How we got to free
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, PC / Laptop, Software,
We had a few readers email in yesterday after it was announced that OS X Mavericks would be free, a first for a major desktop operating system release. It seems a few of you are curious about how Apple got here, and what the history is as it relates to the pricing of OS X. So, here's a quick history lesson.
- 10.0 Cheetah: Released March 24, 2001 for $129
- 10.1 Puma: Released September 25, 2001 for $0
- 10.2 Jaguar: Released August 23, 2002 for $129
- 10.3 Panther: Released October 24, 2003 for $129
- 10.4 Tiger: Released April 29, 2005 for $129
- 10.5 Leopard: Released October 26, 2007 for $129
- 10.6 Snow Leopard: Released August 28, 2009 for $29
- 10.7 Lion: Released July 20, 2011 for $29
- 10.8 Mountain Lion: Released July 25, 2012 for $19
- 10.9 Mavericks: Released October 22, 2013 for $0
So, as you can see, both OS X 10.1 Puma and 10.9 Mavericks were released as free updates, however, Puma was released just six months after 10.0 Cheetah, so that would have been ridiculous if Apple has chosen to charge for it. Other than that anomaly, OS X updates remained at $129 each until Snow Leopard in 2009, which sold for $29. The last $129 version of OS X was Leopard, which saw massive delays due to Apple pulling engineers from it to work on iPhone OS 1.0 (now known as iOS.) Lion was also sold for $29, and was the first version of OS X to be available as a digital download from the Mac App Store. The following year, Mountain Lion debuted at just $19--the best bargain in OS X release history until yesterday, when Mavericks launched for free. The trend has always been that OS X updates would cost the same as the previous year, or less--never more (discounting the Puma issue, which was a huge bugfix patch.) As this point, it appears that OS X has gone the way of iOS, where all updates from here on out will be available for free, on an annual basis.
You can download OS X Mavericks, for free, right now.
Gallery: The history of Mac OS X pricing: How we got to free
SOL Republic Tracks review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Wearables, Features, Music, Product Reviews,
SOL Republic is still a relatively new headphone company, but buyers of consumer-level headphones should pay attention. The company is aiming to sit between the cheap, horrible tolerable headphones and the expensive luxury brands with cans that look and sound good for a nice price. How do they fare in the real world? Join us for our SOL Republic Tracks review to find out.
Click to continue reading SOL Republic Tracks review
Gallery: SOL Republic Tracks review
What we expect from tomorrow’s Apple iPad event
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Software,
Apple is set to go out with a bang this year with its big October 22 event. The obvious product announcement that everyone is expecting belongs to the iPad line, with the iPad 5 and iPad mini both seeing significant upgrades. What else can we expect from what will likely be the final Apple event of 2013? Join us after the break for our analysis and expectations.
Click to continue reading What we expect from tomorrow’s Apple iPad event
Gallery: What we expect from tomorrow’s Apple iPad event
Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Product Reviews,
Now that I've been using the Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard for over a week, my search for the ultimate keyboard might be finally over. It might be one of the strangest looking keyboards Microsoft has ever put out.
The Sculpt combines the curved ergonomic structure the company has been making for almost 20 years with a raised wrist area and a completely empty middle. Couple that with something Microsoft has barely done with their keyboards—laptop-style, easy-to-press scissor key set that's way less stressful on the fingers than anything previous--and you've got a keyboard that's vying for the title of "best keyboard they've ever made."
Click to continue reading Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop review
Gallery: Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop review
iPhone 5s review
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos,
According to Apple, the iPhone 5s is the most forward thinking smartphone ever created. Of course, being that this is an S-model iPhone launching in a year that ends in an odd number, and that means that we'll find plenty of naysayers who dismiss Apple's flagship smartphone as simple and iterative. It looks just like last year's iPhone 5 on the outside, so what can be so different, right?
Well, being an S-class device, the iPhone 5s follows a now-familiar pattern. The iPhone 3GS in 2009 doubled the speed of the iPhone 3G from the year before and added video recording and basic voice commands. The iPhone 4S brought Siri, 1080p video, and dual-core processing. This year, Apple has highly focused the iPhone 5s on three big changes. The iPhone 5s is the first smartphone to ship with a 64-bit processor, and includes the first 64-bit version of iOS in iOS 7. It's also the first smartphone to ship with a capacitive fingerprint sensor, and includes a greatly improved camera system. Sure, these things may not be important to those who are just fine with their current iPhone (or competing device, for that matter,) but for Apple, these moves are a big deal and set up the future.
But is a phone so focused on a future worth your attention today? Join us for our full iPhone 5s review as we seek out the answer.
Click to continue reading iPhone 5s review
Gallery: iPhone 5s review
iPhone 5s Silver gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds,
The white and silver iPhone 5s is the only model that maintains a color that was introduced with the iPhone 5, with the other two colors (gold and space gray) being brand new for this model year. Our iPhone 5s review is now live, but if you're interested in seeing the silver 5s up close, we've gathered a bunch of images of the silver iPhone 5 body for your perusal in our iPhone 5s Silver gallery. Be sure to also check out our iPhone 5s Space Gray gallery as well.
You can pick up the iPhone 5s now from Apple.
Gallery: iPhone 5s Silver gallery
iPhone 5s Space Gray gallery
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Features, Handhelds,
The space gray iPhone 5s replaces the black & slates iPhone 5 color that Apple released in 2012. Some users complained about how easy it was for the slate anodization to peel, wear, or chip off of the aluminum, so Apple made the call to go with the gunmetal gray hue, which is easier to anodize, and should result in far less complaints. Our iPhone 5s review just went live, but if you want a look at some images the gray iPhone 5s body for your perusal, they're in our iPhone 5s Space Gray gallery. Be sure to also check out our iPhone 5s Silver gallery while you're at it.
Gallery: iPhone 5s Space Gray gallery
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