"RF3 LIVE Natural Wood Stereo Earbuds change how we think a headphone should work and act"

If someone ever tried to tell me, that the use of wood in headphones was a brilliant idea I would have probably laughed in their face. Typically wood is in large speaker cabinets, and metal or plastic is used in headphones. I recently had a chance to try out the RF3 LIVE Natural Wood Stereo headphones, and I’m definitely shocked. The sound quality is unique and actually quite pleasant. Continue reading to see how wood makes for a good pair of headphones.

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"The BlackBerry Mini Keyboard is an awesome setup that has me using my BlackBerry PlayBook more than ever."

The BlackBerry Mini Keyboard for the BlackBerry PlayBook is one of those accessories that everyone wanted at launch. I remember my excitement over the BlackBerry PlayBook Convertible Case; had there been a keyboard tucked into that package - I can only imagine how pumped I would have been. At the core, the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard is a Convertible Case just tweaked in various areas with a stand and bluetooth keyboard/trackpad combo. The keyboard itself looks great as the black/white/blue color scheme fits in with the rest of the case. As first glance you can see the keys will be a bit rough for those of us with bigger hands due to their small size. With its good looks and portability, I found the BlackBerry Mini Keyboard has me using my PlayBook more than ever. Read on for my full review.

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"NoiseHush NX22 Hi-Fi Stereo Headphones - a modern take on a classic design. "

The wired versus wireless war has been raging for years, with my ears being the battleground. The major players have always been comfort, sound and functionality. For the longest time, I’ve been sporting the ear bud design. They’re lightweight and subtle. Now perhaps it’s the fact that my ears are oddly shaped, but I could never find that perfect fit- they kept popping out. The Bluetooth option intrigued me, as it provided a greater range of movement (zero chance of whiplash or strangulation while dancing). With the lack of wires, came the added responsibility of making sure they were charged – which I often neglected. After checking out Jared’s review of the NoiseHush NX26, I fell in love. Not with Jared (mind you, I hear he’s a great guy), but with what the large headphones had to offer. I decided to check out a pair of NoiseHush NX22 Hi-Fi stereo headphones to see if they, and my colossal cranium, were a perfect fit.

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"Like many families, mine is a multi-platform mobile device household. Thankfully there are chargers like the Qmadix USB Mobile Duo for the car that keep our batteries full."

Picture a 16 hour car trip with your Blackberry device, a spouse and his iPhone 4s, two teenagers both with BlackBerry devices, iPods and gaming consoles. Now add to the mix a four year old that refuses to sit in a car for longer than 15 minutes without her DVD player on or my BlackBerry PlayBook in her hand. Usually this wouldn’t be a bad thing. Everyone is occupied with a device and the car ride is pretty peaceful. The problem starts when devices start the low battery warning all at the same time and my SUV only has 3 power outlets. Welcome to my personal nightmare. The husband and I fight over who charges their phone first, one teenager and the four year old bicker because to charge his devices he’d have to unplug her DVD player and one teenager in the back enjoying an outlet all to herself. Keep reading for the review.

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"The Powerbag Business Class Pack is an awesome backpack with built-in battery power. You can keep up to four devices charging on the go which is a tech geek's dream!"

Right after the hectic days of Christmas die down and the New Year comes, tech bloggers, journalists, press and any other interested geeks start gathering their toys and packing a bag to head off to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). I have a stash of travel gear tucked away, so when I start packing for any conference it's never too much of a chore. My cables are tucked away in my Skooba Cable Stable, all my devices (phones, tablets, iPod) are in one drawer for easy access and my "conference bag" is pre-stocked with my Moleskine, some pens, business cards, power cords and my retractable USB cables so I never have to worry about forgetting them. Now typically I just toss my gear in my bag and I'm ready to roll -- but this year I had a slight change of plans before heading off to Sin City.

Not two days before leaving for CES I had a visit from UPS who dropped off a larger than normal box for me. Upon opening I saw a backpack inside. I immediately checked my Amazon history (I order a lot of stuff and sometimes forget what's coming) and noticed nothing unusual. As I pulled the contents, a quick note let me know that I was now the proud owner of a Powerbag and was welcome to stop by the booth at CES to pick up my battery. Intrigued and excited (and somewhat disappointed that I had no battery) I hopped over to mypowerbag.com to check out the details on my new toy bag. Keep reading for my expierence and real life use of the Powerbag Business Class Pack.

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"The Trident Aegis Series case is of such high quality, Hephaestus must have made it himself. "

The Aegis, in Greek mythology is the shield of Zeus that was forged by Hephaestus. During the Iliad, he once lent the Aegis to Apollo and it appears as though he has also lent it to the folks at Trident. The Aegis series is their mid-range line, which offers moderate protection and a unique style. Today, we are looking at the Trident Aegis case build for the BlackBerry Torch 9810 and 9800. With a name like Aegis, this case has a lot to live up to. I was hoping that the Aegis proved to be as formidable as the one Zeus used, or else I would have had to release the Kraken!! Read on to see if it came to that.

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"With such convenience, the Powermat Wireless Charging System should be a standard for all BlackBerry smartphones. "

I am not a big fan of cables – I try to avoid them when I can. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard, I have a Bluetooth speaker phone in my car and I have a stereo Bluetooth headset for when I’m taking the heel-toe express. The one cable that seems to keep me tied down is my BlackBerry charger. I know, it seems petty, but it’s not so much when I’m half asleep, in the dark, fumbling with the charger and charging port. Anyone with extremely active kids knows that the less time you take to plug in your phone, the less time they have to do things they’re not supposed to do (like playing hockey IN the house).

That’s why I like a wireless charging system from the good folks at Powermat. No wires, just power and convenience. While not available for the BlackBerry Bold 9900, it is available for other BlackBerry smartphones, including the BlackBerry Torch 9800 and 9810. For simple charging in a not so simple lifestyle, Powermat is a must have.

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"The Seidio Charging Vault has proved to me its worth as an external battery. Without this backup power supply, I'd probably still be wandering the Las Vegas strip, looking for a familiar face."

At CES2012, we saw a good deal of mobile charging solutions; quite a few companies had portable power packs on display. From among this diverse crowd of options - and believe me, I've tried a number of these charging solutions - the Seidio Charging Vault stands out from the rest. The battery pack features not one but two UBS charging ports. In the Charging Vault Kit, Seidio has kindly included a retractable USB cable with multiple tips: microUSB and a 30-pin connector for iOS devices. Most importantly, the Charging Vault proved its importance by saving my BlackBerry Torch 9860 on day one of my trip to Las Vegas. Without this backup power supply, I'd probably still be wandering the strip, looking for a familiar face.

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Contest: Win a Free Ballistic Endo Case for your BlackBerry Torch 9800/9810. Leave a single comment to this post for your chance to win!

To be honest, I'm brutal on my BlackBerrys. They've been dropped in the street and bounced off all kinds of floors. Needless to say I've gone through quite a few since owning the Torch 9800 probably because I am a chronic klutz and hate using pocketbooks. it's a horrible combination but I prefer having my device holstered on my hip then packed away in a bag. While it makes my load lighter it increases the chance of serious injury to my BB. So I went for the case/holster combo.

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The BlackBerry J-Series Extra Battery Charger Bundle

When I was using older devices I was always happy to have an extra battery at the ready thanks to my external charger. While the Bold 9780 didn't really need a spare battery given the great battery life, the BlackBerry Bold 9930 and Bold 9900 don't share the same luxury. There are plenty of ways to increase your battery life, but sometimes even that's not enough. Thankfully the BlackBerry J-Series Extra Battery Charger Bundle came to the rescue. This setup allows you to charge a spare battery at the same time you charge your device so you can always have a spare ready to go. 

The BlackBerry J-Series Extra Battery Charger Bundle for the BlackBerry Bold 9930 / 9900 and Torch 9850 / 9860 comes with everything you need to get rolling. Included is the external charger, microUSB splitter and spare JM-1 battery. The spplitter plugs into your current wall charger that came with your device so you can charge both your phone and the battery at the same time. You won't have to fumble for an extra outlet to charge this guy up so you'll save both time and effort. Drop the battery in the charger, plug it in and wait for the green light -- that's it! The battery charges up in about the same time as your phone (unless you use the PlayBook charger) and when it's done, just pull it off, stick it in your pocket, purse or briefcase and you'll have a fully charged spare battery ready to go. 

The BlackBerry J-Series Extra Battery Charger Bundle retails for $79.99 but you can get it for less at ShopCrackBerry.com. We're also giving away one battery charger bundle (details below). Keep reading for more images and info on this bundle.

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The BlackBerry JM-1 1230mAh Standard / Replacement Battery!

Hopefully thanks to our Ten Tips and Tricks to Extend Your BlackBerry's Battery Life article you're finding yourself able to get through the day on your new BlackBerry Bold 9930/9900 or Torch 9850/9860 with juice to spare.

If you're not finding that to be doable, you basically have two alternatives: re-charge part way through the day, or swap in a spare replacement battery. And as you might guess from the topic of this article, here we're talking about the latter, which is necessary if you're an always on the go type person.

The BlackBerry J-M1 battery is the standard battery that ships in the new BlackBerry Bold 9930/9900 and Torch 9850/9860. It's a super slim battery, allowing the new Bold to acheive the status of thinnest BlackBerry to date. That thinness comes with a cost though. Compared to the 1500mAH battery in the previous generation BlackBerry Bold 9780/9700, this battery clocks in at 1230mAH, which immediately means that all things being equal, you have 18% less power to work with.

The BlackBerry JM-1 Battery has a list price of $49.99, but you can get it for less at ShopCrackBerry.com. We're even giving away a chance for you to win one for free JM-1 battery (details below). Keep reading for more photos and info on this battery.  

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If you've caught any of my other Bluetooth device reviews (even back to my very first CrackBerry Idol review), you know that I have a certain... dislike of wires. They tangle. They limit and tether your device. Any technological thingamajig that can take the place of those wires is a good one in my book, and the MOTOROKR T505 is a welcome addition to my car.

Motorola MOTOROKR T505 is, for whatever reason, difficult for me to say, the words don't trip lightly from the tongue. The device itself though couldn't be easier to use. After a simple and standard pairing with my BlackBerry, music; podcasts; and phone calls come over the speakers of my car.

Like many newer cars, I can now stream music from my phone - even web services like Pandora - over the speakers in my car, free from the tyranny of wires.

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The Vulkano Flow is the latest and greatest from Monsoon Multimedia in the Vulkano product line. The Flow allows the user to watch and control television programming they receive at home on their BlackBerry Smartphone, PC, Mac, and soon to their BlackBerry PlayBook.

Summary of Vulkano Flow features:

• Mark channels as favorite for quick access on your mobile phone
• Watch and control your live TV on the go via Wi-Fi or 3G
• Change channels just like at home
• Browse EPG for shows and episode descriptions
• Connect to all major TV sources - cable, DVD, satellite, DVR, TiVo
• Stream high-quality video at H.264 standards at 150kbps
• Connects to set-top box analog output and wirelessly to home router (802.11n)

The Vulkano Flow is similar to the Slingbox, but it is avaiable at a fraction of the cost. Continue reading to see what it has to offer.

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In looking to lighten my daily load when travelling to and from university, I wanted to leave my Macbook at home and just use my BlackBerry. It was fine for a while until I had to start writing essays and pages and pages for coursework. The Torch keyboard wasn't going to cut it. Of course there was the option of using the university computers but you weren't always guaranteed to get one so I had to get myself a bluetooth. That's when I got the Freedom Pro Bluetooth Keyboard. Small and light enough to join my books and notebooks and not kill my back while doing so. In fact, most of this article was written using the keyboard with my BlackBerry Torch. So, let's see how it faired with daily usage.

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Want to win a BlackBerry Charging Pod for the Torch 9800? Keep reading for contest details.

When it comes to my BlackBerry I am a certified addict. From the moment I wake up to the minute I go to bed my BlackBerry Torch never leaves my side. The only problem is that my constant use puts a significant drain on the battery. I'm sure you're all familiar with the utter frustration that follows finding a dead battery. For me I don't even make it to lunch. This makes me one unhappy camper.

To get me through the day I use the BlackBerry charging pod. It is the first accessory I purchase for each and every device I own. I hate to say this but I never go anywhere without it. At home it's either on my nightstand as an alarm clock or connected to my PC for syncing and charging. At work it's never more than an arm's length away to make sure I have enough juice for the journey home. I love that I can dock my device and spend all day listening to my music library or stream my favorite radio stations. 

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