Monday, November 26, 2012
Patch kicks off its holiday gadget gift guide with a look at the best headphones available.
Thanksgiving is over, the leftovers are dwindling and December is almost here. That means the holiday lights will start appearing, the Christmas music will be blasting through department stores for the next month and, most importantly, it's time to start shopping for gifts. Each Monday, Patch will be throwing some gadget gift recommendations your way. Your Gadget Gift Guide kicks off with a look at headphones. Best full-size headphones: The Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones are comfortable, sport a balanced sound and, at $105, are a bargain. CNET gives these headphones a four-star review (out of five). The only downside is there's no integrated microphone, so you can't use them to take calls on your cellphone. Best Bluetooth headphones: If…
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Apps to help you navigate and find the great deals on Black Friday.
Black Friday sales require a good strategy, comfortable shoes and a lot of coffee. There’s one more thing to add to the list: your iPhone or Smartphone. A variety of apps can turn your phone into a shopping tool that will help you navigate stores, get coupons and find the best prices. Wired reports more apps are being rolled out as retails “acknowledge the new reality of anytime, anywhere retail, a reality in which getting someone to tap an app on Black Friday is at least as important as getting them through the door.” A few recommendations from PCWorld.com includes: Google Maps Google Maps provides maps for stores like Macy’s and Nordstrom. This app can also be used to help you plan out your route and find items on store shelves. Google …
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Are you eager to get your hands on Apple's latest gadget? Here's where to head near home.
The next generation iPhone has arrived. Can't wait to buy it? You can head to the Apple store at Old Orchard, or there are a few options in Evanston if you'd rather stay close to home. The Apple website points customers to the Sprint Store at 1735 Maple Ave, the Radioshack at 716 Church St, the AT&T store at 1620 Chicago Ave., and Sams Club Store at 2450 Main St. The smartphone officially went on sale Friday. The new iPhone is thinner and lighter than the last two generations, but it is taller to accommodate the bigger screen, which is up from 3.5 inches. Apple says its processing speed is much faster than its predecessors, as well. The iPhone 5 starts at $649.00, but the price can come down to as low as $200 with a cellular plan …
Monday, June 4, 2012
How does 22-year-old Evanston tech company APTE, Inc., survive despite the odds? Credit CEO Sally deVincentis, whose accomplishments include teaching e-mail to the Clinton White House.
What do you do with a tanked U.S. economy compounded by an increasingly corporatized educational system? If you’re Sally deVincentis, owner of tech firm APTE, Inc., you evolve. The Evanston resident is an early female pioneer in the field of information technology, where only 11 percent of U.S. firms are owned by women, according to the latest data from IT industry group CompTIA. DeVincentis co-founded APTE, Inc.—a developer of educational products—22 years ago in 1989 after working toward a Ph.D. in Special Education/Psychology at Northwestern University. She enjoyed computers and felt they leveled the playing field for kids with disabilities. Since APTE, Inc.'s beginning, however, deVincentis has seen the business model change. Whereas …
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Evernote's mobile app lets you record audio notes, photos and text.
I'm sure you've experienced it too: Someone recommends a time-saving mobile app to you. And life is busy, so you put off trying it out. But when you finally download it, you can't imagine life without it. That was my journey to Evernote, the all-in-one brain in your pocket. Now, as an editor for Patch and an (occasional) author, I'm always taking notes. I take photos of places I want to visit again, jot down memorable quotes and talk to myself on my audio recorder almost constantly. Before Evernote, I'd use the iPhone's built-in yellow pad Notes program or, most recently, Genius Scan (a very good scanner app) to keep track of my thoughts. Evernote (which is free for the iPhone and Android) made them both seem redundant very quickly, …
Sunday, February 26, 2012
This week's review includes a look into the TonePad and Songify apps.
I am not musically inclined. Or, rather, I'm not much anymore. When I was a teen, I played trumpet in a touring jazz band, but my ability to hit a high C has long since past. Which, I suspect, is why I'm in love with the free TonePad and Songify iPhone apps. With TonePad, there's no instrument to learn, or even music to read. You simply open the app up and run your finger across a field of dots--and voila, music! Now, it takes a little tinkering before you're making anything but pleasant-sounding noise (the simplicity of the program makes it difficult to create pure cacophony). But once you start lining up dots (aka, notes) in vertical lines, the player recognizes them as chords. You can build on the chords and the progressions to create…
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Mobile applications created for local businesses and by entrepreneurial Evanstonians.
1. Passport to Downtown Evanston Price: Free Availability: Android, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Potential Users: Coupon cutters, downtown Evanston frequenters, Northwestern students, tourists Ever been walking through downtown Evanston, had a craving for pizza and wondered where you could find the nearest slice? Or desperately wanted an ice cream cone on a sweltering summer day but wanted a discount in price? The Passport to Downtown Evanston app aims to solve these minor yet frequent problems by allowing people strolling the city’s downtown area to find, sort and use digital coupons for nearby businesses. Customers redeem offers by using their smart phone cameras to scan on-location QR code matrix barcodes, which sit on display near store …
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Starbucks' iPhone app is robust and useful — but in need of streamlining.
This job takes me to a ton of coffee shops. Mobile journalism means mobile offices, and for me, that means local cafes and caffeine dens. Oftentimes, I find myself at Starbucks locations for hours on end, which is why I was excited to try out the Starbucks iPhone App. What does it do? For starters, the mapping function allows you to not only find the Starbucks near you, but also its hours, which is handy for us suburban nighthawks. You can also buy drinks by scanning your phone, which deducts money from gift cards you've stored in there. And you can keep a log of your favorite caffeine addictions (mine: chai latte — but does that even have caffeine?) Earlier: Eliminate Rewards Cards Clutter with CardStar Other features let you browse food …
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9:25 am on Friday, November 30, 2012
Ferrari sealed second in the http://www.coachoutletonlinegg.com constructors' championship, holding off McLaren while Caterham overtook http://www.coachoutletonlineaol.net Marussia for the lucrative 10th place in constructors http://www.coachfactoryoutletwy.com when Vitaly Petrov overtook Charles Pic, who is http://www.coachoutletstorefc.com driving for Caterham next year, on lap 65. http://www.… more ›