Hasta La Gadget!

This post sponsored by Best Buy

The holidays are upon us and it’s time to hunker down and get our shopping done. But there are so many choices in the market these days, it’s hard to decide what to buy. We’re here to help, with a list of 10 gadget gifts which not only are great on their own, but help cut the cord, and move us towards a truly wireless world.

Google Chromecast
This tiny, inexpensive, easy-to-use gadget plugs into the HDMI port on your TV set, and allows you to stream HD content from Netflix, YouTube, HBO Go, Hulu, and the Google Play store. you can browse and control content using apps on your iOS or Android smartphone, or via Chrome on your Windows PC or Mac. [Buy]

Canon PowerShot SX280 Camera
In addition to providing great image quality in a pocket-sized point-and-shoot, this compact 12.1-megapixel, 1080p/60 camera offers wireless connectivity, so you can quickly share images on social networks, or send them to your PC, iOS or Android device. Plus, with a Wi-Fi compatible printer, you can print images directly from the camera. [Buy]

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mobile Phone
Arguably the best mobile phone on the market today, the Android Jelly Bean powered Galaxy S4 has a gorgeous 5-inch, 1920×1080 Super AMOLED display, a 13-megapixel camera, and is powered by a lightning-fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.9GHz quad-core processor. 4G LTE connectivity ensures fast connections wherever you go, and a built-in mobile hotspot allows you to tether up to four other devices and share the S4′s connection. [Buy]

Sonos PLAY:1 Wireless Music System
A great sounding, compact wireless speaker, the Sonos PLAY:1 can stream digital music in just about any format you can throw at it. The awesome Sonos Controller app lets you switch between your music library, and services like Rhapsody, Amazon, SiriusXM, Pandora and Spotify from a single interface on your smartphone or tablet. Connect more than one PLAY:1 to create a whole house audio system, or pair two for stereo sound. [Buy]

Logitech K750 Solar Wireless Keyboard
Say goodbye to changing batteries with Logitech’s solar rechargeable keyboard. This thin, lightweight keyboard can run for up to three months in total darkness, and even a small amount of ambient light from a window or desk lamp will keep the wireless keyboard running indefinitely. Also available in white for Mac users. [Buy]

Samsung HW-F450 2.1 Channel Soundbar with Wireless Subwoofer ($299.99)
Crank up the volume of your living room TV with Samsung’s slimline home theater sound system. Adds a room-filling 80 watt- per-channel of power to movies, video games and TV shows, and thundering bass thanks to its 120-watt wireless active subwoofer. Its Dolby Digital and DTS decoders help create depth without the need for rear speakers. As a bonus, it works as a Bluetooth speaker too. [Buy]

ASUS RT-AC66R Wireless AC-Gigabit Router
I’ve been using this router in my house for a while now, and it’s the first wireless router I’ve used that manages to blast through every wall and difficult to reach spot on all three stories of my home, providing excellent range without need for network extenders. Offering state of the art 802.11AC capability, it’s lightning fast on devices that support the new standard, and rock solid and fast with 802.11a/b/g/n devices as well. [Buy]

ZTE Verizon Jetpack 4G/3G Mobile Hotspot (Free w/2-year contract)
This pocket-sized, 3.5″ square gadget lets you share a single 4G LTE connection with up to 10 devices, or a 3G connection with up to 5 devices.Great for traveling, it provides up to five hours of use per charge, and works with 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi devices. [Buy]

Seagate – Wireless Plus 1TB Mobile Device Storage
Transport a huge volume of movies, music, games, and other files on this portable file server, which not only allows you to wirelessly share files with up to eight users, it can stream content to DLNA-enabled TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles. Offers up to 10 hours of use per charge when used wirelessly, it can also connect directly via its USB 3.0 port. [Buy]

SOL REPUBLIC x Motorola -Tracks Air Wireless Headphones
Listen to your Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, tablet or media player via these high quality, full-ear headphones. They work from up to 150 feet away, and work for up to 15 hours on a charge. Built in dual microphones let you make and receive phone calls, and you can simultaneously connect to two devices – for example a tablet for games, and a smartphone for answering calls. Plus, they pair instantly with NFC-enabled gadgets. [Buy]

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” Technabob received compensation for writing it, however, we only recommend products or services we find newsworthy or have used personally, and believe will be good for our readers.

A small group of DMCA activists and device accessibility advocates are raising funds to reward anyone who comes up with an free, open source and untethered iOS 7 jailbreak. In case you’re not familiar with the term, jailbreaking iOS devices opens it up to software modifications that Apple would never officially allow. They can be as big as file managers, new gesture commands and even shortcut settings (which Apple clearly copied in iOS 7).

The prize was the idea of Chris Maury, an entrepreneur who believes that iOS devices will be more useful to disabled people if combined with jailbreak apps. The other proponents of the fundraiser are Boing Boing editor and author Cory Doctorow, iFixit co-founder and CEO Kyle Wiens and professor and author Biella Coleman.  Head to the fundraiser’s website if you want to donate or check out the criteria for submissions.

[via Boing Boing]

I love speakers, but I have to say that I’m impressed by some of the acoustic amplifiers that have been made for iPhones and iPads over the years. They certainly do amplify the sound, and it’s always surprising how loud the resulting sound can be. Check out this gramophone acoustic speaker, which will be a perfect contrast to your shiny new iDevice.

The Gramophone for iPhone & iPad is available from Restoration Hardware. You simply set your device into its handcrafted, solid wood base. The iron and brass horn will amplify the volume of your iDevice by three to four times.

Prices vary from $199 to $299 (USD), and you can decide between walnut and dry oak, in sizes that will fit your iPad or iPhone.

[via Uncrate]

You might not be able to write for a living for one reason or another, even if you wanted to, but that doesn’t mean you should stop writing. Let off some steam, talk about your dreams, share funny anecdotes – there are so many things you can do with words.

They don’t have to be extremely long. In fact, there’s an app that lets you write short blurbs and share them with friends and random people when you’re done with them. That app is called Spine.

It’s a neat little app that lets aspiring writers publish five-sentence stories. You can basically consider Spine as a social network for micro-stories where authors and readers can connect and share stories with one another.

Users can post and browse stories in nine different categories, which includes literary staples like action, horror, sci-fi, and mystery.

Users can rate stories and share the ones they love to others on their networks. In short, it’s a community of writers and readers doing something they love: reading and writing.

Spine is available free for iOS devices and can be downloaded here.

[via Laughing Squid]

While I prefer to carry playable SEGA Genesis games in my pocket, I suppose the next best thing is to carry a bag full of gadgets that look like SEGA consoles, right? Thanks to this new line of mobile gadget accessories you can.

Tommo Mobile recently unveiled a line of iPhone cases which look like the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, Saturn and Game Gear (where’s my beloved Dreamcast?) In addition to the console cases, they’re offering a couple that look like the Genesis and Mega Drive controllers too. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but these aren’t just flat skins, they’re actually contoured to replicate the dimensionality of the systems they’re based on.

Each case fits the iPhone 5 or 5S and includes a SEGA-themed screen protector as well. They’re also offering up a couple of powerful battery chargers with SEGA themes, including Genesis and Saturn designs. Each one offers a large 9000mAh battery, which should provide plenty of juice for your mobile devices.

Last, but not least, there’s the SEGA Genesis Bluetooth speakers, which offer stereo sound and a look that yet again complements the Genesis console. It’s too bad that the original Genesis doesn’t have Bluetooth wireless audio.

All of the SEGA mobile accessories should be available by the end of the year. The iPhone cases sell for $24.99(USD), while the Power Partner batteries go for $69.99 and the Bluetooth speaker is $89.99. Keep an eye out on Amazon to pre-order.