While we patiently wait for services like Apple Pay to proliferate and eventually eliminate the need for plastic credit and debit cards, a new type of solution has emerged. Dubbed “smart cards,” these devices are capable of storing multiple credit, debit and membership cards in a single swipeable device, theoretically allowing users to empty out their wallets and just carry a single payment card.
Right now, sadly, these cards do not exist as far as consumers are concerned. The most promising among them is called Plastc, and it doesn’t yet have a firm ship date. Also interesting is a device called Coin, but its creators have run into a slew of problems and the current beta device isn’t always reliable.
Now there’s a new player on the scene called Stratos, and it touts one key difference compared to earlier smart cards: This one is actually real, and it’s shipping next month. More →
Apple’s rumored ultra-slim and light 12-inch Retina MacBook Air is far from being official, but there’s already one accessory ready for it, as announced at MWC 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. Though to be fair, it’s not just future 12-inch MacBook Air buyers who will be happy to see it in stores. More →
Samsung on Sunday announced two gorgeous Galaxy S models. Our early impressions of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge is that they look and feel better than anything Samsung has ever done when it comes to smartphones— probably because they had good inspiration, some would say. But like any gadget, they’re not perfect, and some people will quickly find things to criticize, with one particular missing feature coming to mind that hardcore Android users will find hard to adjust to. More →
Smartphone and tablet chargers are far from being exciting accessories, yet we have to constantly carry them with us on the off-chance that our beloved mobile device runs out of battery life when we least expect it. FlexCharger, however, is a different kind of charger for mobile devices — in fact, it’s the only charger in recent memory that we might even call exciting. More →
The Gear VR is probably the greatest thing Samsung has created in a long time. The simple but well-made virtual reality headset blows minds young and old. I have personally shown it to a number of people, and so far I have yet to come across anyone whose jaw didn’t drop. It’s awesome.
And it looks like Samsung’s biggest competitor may be getting ready to launch a rival device. More →
Every time a new Android-based gaming console pops up on Kickstarter, I assume it will be the last, but ZRRO has something more to offer than what we’ve seen from the endless parade of Ouya knockoffs that have dominated the crowdfunding scene over the past few years. More →
For third-party accessory makers, Apple’s iPhone lineup is a gold mine. This is especially true for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which are by far the most slippery and accident-prone iPhones to date. There are tons of options out there, and we try to cover some of the best of the bunch from time to time, simply because a protective case is such a necessity for Apple’s latest iPhones. In the recent past, for example, we’ve shown you some beautiful iPhone cases you’ve never heard of as well as 3 awesome iPhone 6 cases that are perfect for people who hate iPhone cases.
Now, we’re back with a creative new option to protect your iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, and it might just render one of my favorite iPhone accessories obsolete. More →
We’re starting to think there’s something seriously wrong with Sony these days. In addition to its ridiculous looking new Google Glass rival, Sony this week unveiled what might be the single stupidest tech product in history: A $155 memory card that promises to deliver “premium sound.” More →
It’s a safe bet that Nest CEO Tony Fadell is not too happy with Google staff engineer Brad Fitzpatrick right now. Fitzpatrick last week posted a video that showed Nest’s Nest Protect smoke alarms badly misbehaving in his home. In fact, despite the fact that his house was not on fire, the alarms kept going off and he was unable to find a way to get them to shut up. Fitzpatrick says he posted the video for one reason: To warn people away from buying Nest Protect. More →
In case you were looking for an out-of-the-box smart projector, then Beam might be worth looking into. The unusual-looking device has just been listed on Kickstarter and it needs to raise at least $200,000 by March 24th to become a real entertainment-ready accessory. More →
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s Watch production for the first quarter of this year is on track for 5 million units. Of that 5 million, half are expected to be the less expensive Apple Watch Sport which starts at $350, and one third are the stainless steel watch, which could sell for $500-$750, most likely. That leaves about 850,000 Apple Watch Edition pieces, the more expensive gold model. I believe the watch will sell for around $3,000 or less, though let’s assume it sells for $4,000 as The Wall Street Journal is hearing, for the purpose of this exercise. Let’s also assume a 35% margin on each Apple Watch model on average (conservative), and including extra bands, an average selling price of $400, $650, and $4200 for the Apple Watch Sport, stainless, and Edition models respectively, and also conservative. More →
