GeekSugar

Knit Yourself an iPod Cozy

Kelly Schwarze — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:12:55 PST

In the midst of Winter we're gravitating toward cozy knits aplenty, and that includes our go-to gadgets. Despite the iPod or smartphone's industrial aluminum coating, the devices also deserve a seasonal home which can be crafted in the earbuds cozy knitting kit ($25) from Uncommon Goods.

Perfect for knitters trained in the basics, the kit provides circular bamboo knitting needles, 160 yards of wool, pattern, and all the necessary tools to craft a 3-inch by 5-inch pouch and headphone sweater. Yep, even earbuds get the knitted treatment, with stitches that claim to reduce the dreaded cord tangle.

Have you knitted gear for your electronics? Kits like this make the geeky DIY easy!

Gear Review: Motorola's MotoACTV Fitness Tracker

Leta Shy — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:55:36 PST

Is getting fit one of your New Year's resolutions for the coming year? Whether you're just diving into a new regimen or need a better way to track your workouts, you'll love the new MotoACTV fitness tracker from Motorola.

Released in November, the MotoACTV promises to be your constant fitness companion, and with good reason. It can track calories burned, pace, speed, steps taken, and GPS route out of the box, and holds up to 16 GB of music and workout data. All features that will make anyone's workouts better, so I was happy to test out the 8 GB version that Motorola recently sent over ($250; the 16 GB version goes for $300).

The MotoACTV is slightly bigger than the iPod Nano, and like the Apple product, it has a simple interface making it completely intuitive as soon as you power it on. You can use it as a pedometer, and the home screen shows the time, steps taken, and calories burned for the day. By swiping left and right you can navigate to four more screens with different options. Five tactile buttons and one designated back button on the touch screen work all the main functions, which I appreciated since having easy-to-feel buttons made pausing music or finding my way back to my workout screen much faster than if I were fumbling my way through touch screens. And after entering your height and weight stats, the MotoACTV tracks the amount of calories you burn throughout the day, including your basal metabolic rate. When on the workout screen, you can choose between five styles - running, cycling, walking, elliptical, and step machine - and what type of workout you want (like racing against a previous personal best or setting a time and distance goal). During a workout a pleasant voice keeps you updated on certain milestones and how long you have left in your workout.

Keep reading for more on how the MotoACTV performs.

Remembering Steve Jobs - See All the Stars Who Love Their Apple Products

Kimberly Timlick — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:56:41 PDT

Apple visionary and genius Steve Jobs passed away yesterday. From the first iPhone to the iPad, his creativity and innovation changed the world we live in and our everyday life. Stars swarmed to the products he helped create as well - take a look back at all the celebrities and their Apple devices over the years.

Latest Photos and Updates For iPod Touch and Nano

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:47:43 PDT

During today's Apple "Let's Talk iPhone" event at the company's Cupertino headquarters, Phil Shiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, announced some exciting updates for the iPod Nano and iPod touch.

The latest iPod Nano offers compact design, multitouch display, volume buttons, integrated clip, internal pedometer, and FM radio. As of today, Apple is currently selling two nano sizes: 8GB ($129) and 16GB ($149) in seven different colors.

With the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple has made some drastic updates to the iPod touch. The 960-by-640 backlit LCD display screen now consists of 326 pixels per inch, making this the highest resolution iPod to date – a must for mobile gamers. iPod touch cameras are equipped to shoot 720p HD video, even in low-light conditions. Most notably, the iPod touch now uses iOS 5 software which sports 200 new features, including iMessage, a new free WiFi texting service, and Twitter integration. The updated iPod touch with iOS 5 and iCloud will be available Oct. 12 in classic black or white in 8 GB ($199), 32 GB ($299), or 64 GB ($399).

Click through to see the latest images as well as new, drool-worthy features.

Steve Jobs's Keynote Style Through the Years

GeekSugar — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:27:46 PDT

Love him or leave him, you've got to admire Steve Jobs's public speaking skills. Over the years, he has cultivated an iconic and imitable keynote speaker persona: black turtleneck, relaxed jeans, and the newest, hottest Apple product in hand. So while he rests up post-CEO status, let's reminisce at his past keynote style!

Functional Workout Gear to Make Life a Little Easier

Heather Dale — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 02:44:42 PDT

Dates with the gym are far from low maintenance. Remembering to grab your shoes, socks, water bottle, hair elastic, and more requires some good organizational skills. Less is always best, which is why I'm ecstatic that companies are designing products with multitasking features. Have a look at the following workout gear to see what I mean!

DrSugar Explains How Easy It Is to Lose Your Hearing

DrSugar — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 00:35:49 PDT

DrSugar is in the house! This week she's teaching us all how to protect our hearing.

Ever wonder if listening to your portable music player of choice could be detrimental to your hearing? New research, published in the International Journal of Audiology and reported by WebMD, suggests that up to one-fourth of college students may have evidence of early hearing loss and that it's possible that portable music players may play a role.

The researchers made this discovery after recruiting college students with normal hearing for a study on whether the use of portable music players can lead to temporary hearing loss. Several of the students who reported normal hearing were actually found to have signs of hearing loss when tested formally. To learn more about hearing loss and its possible correlation to portable music players, keep reading!

5 Earphone Designs That Stay Put While Running

Heather Dale — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:20:24 PDT

There are pros and cons of running with an iPod, but for most of us, it's hard to imagine getting our run on without some sort of background music. I'll admit that I'm a bit of an earphone diva who needs just the right pair: some are too big, some are too small, and some just never manage to stay put in your ears - which can be distracting and frustrating all at the same time. To make your running lives a bit easier, I've compiled a list of some of my all-time favorite stay-put earphones, so you can focus on your run time, rather than your technical difficulties.

Pros and Cons of Running With an iPod

Kristen Hawley — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:30:56 PDT

When going solo, I always run with a new iPod Nano. It doesn't matter if I'm running outdoors or inside on a treadmill, I love running with music. I even ran the NYC Marathon with two iPod Shuffles: one for backup just in case (though I only listened to music for the last 10 or so miles). Running with an iPod is a great way to zone out, but it's not without drawbacks. Here, a list of pros and cons to keep in mind when running with an iPod and headphones.

Pro: It's a great distraction. Listening to some music can really pump you up for a run and get you into a zone.

Con: It's a distraction. If you're running on a road, especially a busy road, or anywhere that fast cyclists may zoom by, listening to music at too loud a volume could put you in serious danger.

Pro: It can help you with your pace. Create playlists of songs with similar tempos to keep yourself going through a difficult run. Or, choose songs with a beat slightly faster than your pace if you're hoping to increase your speed.

Con: It could turn into a crutch. If you rely on noise from your iPod to mask your heavy breathing, footsteps, or just to help you get through a run, you might have trouble not listening to music. Many races have banned the use of iPods (or strongly discourage them), so if you're training, try a few runs sans iPod so you know what it feels (and sounds) like.

5 Gear Gifts For Marathon Runners

Michele Bell — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:00:31 PDT

On your mark. Get set. Go! When the leaves start changing colors, I know it's marathon time. Long-distance runners are getting fired up for Washington DC's Marine Corp and New York City marathons. As they quickly approach, participants are fine-tuning their last lengthy runs and stocking up on their gear. Lend your running friends a helping hand and make sure they are ready for race day with these five essential items.