Category Archives: Entertainment

From Cool to Sophisticated, Philips Has Headphones for You



Philips True Wireless Bluetooth HeadphonesIt’s no secret that the Gibson Brands tent is one of our most favorite stops while attending CES. Being able to get a first-hand look at the new line of Philips Headphones is definitely one of the reasons. This year we got to spend a few minutes with their product manager for headphones to learn what’s new.

First up is the UpBeat Range, and they are exactly that. This range has been specifically targeted to an audience that is young and fun. They are cool and exciting with a unique, two-toned gradient coloring that comes in red, blue, grey and purple. You can choose between standard earbuds and in ear models that block out external noise. Both come in either corded or Bluetooth versions. You can also get Bluetooth neck bands that rest right on your neck and make it really convenient between usage. It was important to Philips for them to make this line fun and affordable, but also have the great sound that they are known for. This line has the best sound in this class on the market today. Prices will range from $20 to $60.

Next up is the Bass+ Range. For this line, they wanted to offer a more stylish and sophisticated headphone that still has great bass. They come in earbuds, all the way through to full-cup headphones. The dark, deep colors are classic and suitable for both men and women. The Bluetooth version comes in white and black with a three button remote. They are comfortable and were designed with a fin that ensures they securely stay in your ears. Also in this line are over ear headbands that sit around the ear. They are compact and have a fold system for easy storage and transport. Both corded and Bluetooth versions are available. And of course, there is also an on ear selection that comes in in blue and maroon.

And, of course, we were also really excited to see the True Wireless Earbuds in the Bass+ Range. These have a tiny design and play time is an impressive 6 hours. This is more than just about every other brand out there. They come with a nice pouch that is also rechargeable and gives an extra 6 hours, so you’ll have true all day playtime. Prices on the Bass+ Range begin at $20 for the corded earbuds and go up to $130 for the True Wireless.

Check out all that Philips has to offer by visiting their website.

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Klipsch Sets The Standards For High Performance Speakers



Klipsch C SeriesKlipsch is redesigning one of their highest performance sound systems: the Reference Premiere Line. This system has been on the market for several years now with a high satisfaction rate, so Klipsch decided to step it up by making the speakers look as great as they sound though the new generation called the Reference Theater Pack 5.1 surround sound system. These speakers are aesthetically pleasing with copper accents in a walnut wood veneer with a cast aluminum base and a vent-in tweeter to give you a more dynamic sound than the previous line.

Klipsch is also displaying their newest line of compact and high-performance subwoofers with The C Series. Klipsch really focused on performance in a smaller body therefore, the C Series comes in two sizes that are smaller than your average subwoofer: the square 10 inch and the 8 inch. Each subwoofer can be connected to the Klipsch mobile application to give you the ability to adjust the sound the way you like it straight from your phone! This application allows you to adjust five bands of parametric EQ, all the parameters and inputs, and even offers a room correction option.

You can learn more about these product as well as purchase them for yourself by checking out the Klipsch website or see the whole lineup on Amazon.

Interview by Chase Lowery of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Light It Up and Enjoy Great Sound at the Same Time



ION Audio Solar StoneAt ION Audio, their catchphrase says it all.. Sound Experiences. ION is known for their unique lighting and sound products that enhance any space. Whether you have a peaceful, elegant outdoor setting or a complete party palace, you are sure to find inspiration when browsing their product line. We particularly liked two of their new additions for 2018.

When spending time in your outdoor space, lighting is key. Tiki torches are always a fun addition to the backyard but we’re not always in the mood for that bamboo look, and filling them up with oil all the time can really be a pain. A nice set of elegant electric torches would be great, but who wants to spend a fortune and then hassle with the installation process. That’s where ION has come to the rescue with Tiki Sounds. They use a warm-white LED bulb with realistic flicker effect. And don’t worry about installation. Not only are they solar, requiring no wiring at all, but they are also designed to fit into your space in multiple ways. They can be staked into ground, placed on a table, or hung on a tree. Also built in is a 10W full-range 360° Bluetooth speaker with Multi-Link. This enables you to pair unlimited Multi-Link enabled speakers together for an all encompassing sound experience that completely fills your entertaining space.

Another great Multi-Link product coming out soon is the Solar Stone Multi, and upgrade to their current Solar Stone series. These 6.5-inch, 20 watt speakers offer dynamic power and since they look like a stone, they add a great aesthetic to your yard as they are designed to fit right into the landscape. They are also Bluetooth enabled and can easily pair with the Tiki Sounds, as well as any other Multi-Link enabled speaker. Like the torches, they are IPX4 water-resistant and they recharge by embedded solar panel or with the included AC cord.

The Tiki Sound will be available later in Q1 2018 and will be priced at $69.99 for one or $119 for a pair. The Solar Stone Multi will go on sale in Q2 2018 and be priced at $129 each.

In the meantime, take a look at some of their other amazing products on Amazon:
ION Tape Express Plus / Cassette Player and Tape-to-Digital Converter
ION Holiday Party / Multicolor Projected Lights
ION Audio Party Starter MK II / Pocket-Sized Bluetooth Speaker with Built-In Beat-Sync Light Show

Interview by Chase Lowery of PLuGHiTz Live Special Events.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Crazy Cool New Sport, You Can Go Big or Huge



Furrion mech robotEverybody loves robots. And what’s better than a robot? An absolutely humongous robot. But make no mistake, this large, robot-looking mega machine is not a robot. It’s a Mech.

Along with their other product lines here at CES 2018, Furrion is highlighting their Exo-Bionics Division while presenting Prosthesis. This is the world’s first, purposely built, off road racing Mech. Standing 15 feet tall, it is a human piloted machine that is intended for competitive sport. With its four (huge) legs, it was designed with the experience of the pilot in mind. None of the controls are automated. There are no gyros. It is completely dependent upon the skill of the pilot.

With this flagship project, they are looking to form a full fledged league, called The X1 Mech Racing League. At this stage, they are perfecting the Mech, and figuring out the format of the competitions, as there are many directions that they can go with the sport. As they learn more and figure out all of the capabilities of the machine, they will be able to fine tune the actual sport.

The next stage is to start seeking investment partners and sponsors, as well as professional athletes to get in there and actually start bringing up the performance level of the machine from an engineering and pilot skill perspective. And as they continue to develop the technology, they can move forward towards improvement of mobile electric power sources.

For more information, please check out their website.

Interview by Jacob Cannon of FIRST Looks.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Don’t be Satisfied to Just Hover, Get There



Hover-1 Electric Hoverboard and Cart AttachmentWhen it comes to hover boards, you don’t want to leave too much to chance. If you are in the market, you want to go with a company that is tried and true when it comes to safety aspects and testing. You should also take a look at the spec list to make sure that you aren’t just purchasing a toy. Make sure it can actually get you where you are going… and in style.

Hover-1 prides themselves on being the solution to alternative transportation. They innovate their products to make traveling not only easy, but exciting. Their technological enhancements have stepped them into the transportation market to reach the next level in mobility. And in doing so, they also do their part to take care of the environment. Their eco-friendly products are powered by electric motors, producing zero CO emissions.

The Hover-1 H1 Electric Scooter features 3 skill level riding modes and is app controlled. There is also a built-in Bluetooth speaker, is IPX4 water resistance with customizable LED headlights. It has a max distance of 12 miles with max speed of 10 MPH. The built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery takes up to 2.5 hours to charge and has included safety features of overcharge and discharge protection.

Our favorite parts of their product line are the available attachments. The only thing more fun than having a hover board is being able to turn it into a go cart in a snap. The go cart attachment is compatible with most electric scooters with 6.5″ wheels. Hand-operation gives you full control of your riding experience with independent rear wheel drive allows for quick turns and reverse driving.

The Hover-1 H1 board is available now in both black and blue for around $299, and the go cart attachment runs only $69.99.

Interview by Jacob Cannon of FIRST Looks.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Gibson Crafts Outstanding Instruments That Look Like Masterpieces



Gibson Guitar and Gibson Custom ShopThis year at CES 2018, Gibson Brands is focusing their attention on modern finishes that stand out apart from the traditionalist look. These instruments have gorgeous colors that pop and make a statement. One of our favorite interviewees at CES, Aljon Go showed us some of his favorite pieces of the new year as well as announce the newest ambassador, Slash. He also showed off the 2 Million Dollar Guitar, a guitar from the Gibson Custom Shop.

Rock icon and world-famous guitarist Slash now represents Gibson Global Brands with his own line of his favorite guitars refinished to match his style and edge. These limited-edition guitars were aged to resemble their vintage counter parts that were Slash’s personal favorites. Gibson is proud to have him on the team representing his relationship with Gibson along with his story.

The company meets their 2018 goals with two modern beautiful pieces: the ES-335 Semi-Hollow Guitar in Aquamarine and the High Performance Les Paul Guitar in Hot Pink. These two different styles both show off a flashy color that highlights the wooden undertones. Each one has a unique design to give any modern player the look and feel that they need along with the comfortable playing style for which Gibson has always been known.

Aljon takes us over to the Gibson Custom Shop section to then show us the most expensive guitar we’ve ever seen: a $2 Million, hand-crafted, hand-painted, work of art that took years to finish. This guitar is one of a kind and has been kept hidden from the world for far too long. The design showcases the most iconic pop culture figures from the 1900s to the year 2000 including influential presidents, TV shows, historical figures and moments in exquisite detail.

The company guarantees a guitar that you will adore specified to your style and preferred music genres. Experts like Aljon can work with you to create your dream guitar. You can find all these pieces and more by going to the Gibson website.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


The Most Amazing Chess Board… EVER!!



SquareOff electronic chess boardSo, you see a nice wooden chess board while walking around a large tech show. You glance at it, give a little smile and almost walk right by to the thing that has all of the bells and whistles down the row, because it’s just a chess board, right? Luckily our team didn’t just keep walking when they came up to this one. I have to say that with all of the technology out there and after years of coming to CES, it is pretty rare for us to see a new product demo and have our jaws actually drop. But that’s what happened when we saw the sorcery at the Square Off booth in Eureka Park this year at CES 2018.

Square Off is an automated chess board that allows you to play against the built-in artificial intelligence. So, big deal, right? Electronic chess has been around forever. Well this isn’t your grandpa’s electronic chess. This game is played on an actual, physical chess board with real pieces. And after you take your turn, the built in intelligence not only calculates its next move, but it actually moves its piece on the board. It accomplishes this via built in pressure sensors, magnets and an electronic arm built inside. You have to see it to believe it. It even moves around other pieces and removes your captured pieces from the board itself.

There are 20 different levels of difficulty for playing against the computer, and you can also connect with it online and play with anybody across the world. They have connected with Chess.com so you will be able to challenge any of their 16 million users to a game, at any time, whether or not they have the board as well. The accompanying mobile app connects to the board via Bluetooth. The app is where you set the difficulty levels and search for friends. You can also analyze your games, record and share them and check the leader boards, among other features.

Don’t know how to play chess? No problem! There is a training mode that will not only teach you to play but also how to up-skill your game. Go take a look at the two different models they offer on their website. Pricing for the Kingdom Board will be $330, and the Grand Kingdom Board will be $400.

Interview by Marissa Schiereck of The New Product Launchpad.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Captivated by the Invasion with the Head Monster



Monster SuperStar speakersThis year’s Monster Takeover was nothing short of a Sound Invasion and we were so excited to be front and center for all of the fun at CES 2018! It kicked off with the press conference that showcased the new and exciting products for this year. Then, during the show itself, getting to see everything in action at the Monster Booth in Central Hall, including the Pure Monster Sound that has been integrated into the Volkswagen R. Also at the booth, we were lucky enough to chat with Peter Miller and then see Iggy Azalea when she stopped by to say Hi to the press and take a brief tour of the booth.

But the definite highlight of the show for us was getting to speak with the Head Monster himself, Noel Lee, before the Monster Concert featuring Joe Perry and Friends. After Noel took a few minutes to address the crowd at the pre-show cocktail party and give a first-hand look at the whole lineup, including the Expanded Blaster Family, he took a few minutes to sit down with us to discuss the new Monster SuperStar Series. With the S200 speaker in hand, Noel discussed the features that makes this line of speakers outstanding. For example, V Sound, which plays from both sides of the speaker to provide an all encompassing sound at any angle, and Monster Talk which allows you to request any song (or genre) from any of the streaming services, or from your own playlist, instantaneously. And we love the aesthetics of the line. They fit in with the Blaster Series just like family, which is exactly how Noel and the entire crew at Monster make us feel.

If you’d like to be a part of the family as well, pick out which SuperStar(s) would best fit into your lifestyle, starting at just $59. Take it from us, you will love the way they sound!!

SuperStar S100
SuperStar S200
SuperStar S300

Interview by Scott Ertz of F5 Live: Refreshing Technology.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


Energize Your Tunes with Sound That You Will Treasure



Nahimic headphones softwareAlready a name in the gaming world, Nahimic has now produced software to take the sound from your computer/laptop to incredible heights. This processing and software is aimed at sound correction. They want to make the sound from your games, music and videos better and to also make it 3D.

All speakers and headphones, no matter how expensive, contain some degree of default, especially when connected to a computer. Nahimic’s software will measure and automatically correct for these defaults, no matter how big or small. They accomplish this via a full database of every device built in. The software is installed onto your computer, and once the listening device is detected, it makes the digital corrections instantly. This technology, which is now available for macOS and directly to consumers, improves the sound of the internal speakers or any speaker or headphones that you use. It can increase the volume over 100% and give a full dynamic 3D sound as if you were in a home theater, rather than on a regular pair of headphones.

This software is due to launch in Q2 2018 and will have an annual subscription fee of $34.99.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.


The Bliss of Full Musical Freedom in Working Out with Vinci



Vinci 2.0 headphonesHaving interviewed Max Wu with Vinci a couple of times already for their 1st generation headphones, we knew it was a must to stop-in and say hello when we saw him in Eureka Park this year at CES 2018. We loved their headphones that debuted last year, which were the first in the world to incorporate standalone voice command. They allow users to take them on the go and pull up their favorite music without having to reach for a cell phone. So we were really excited to see what’s new.

They did not disappoint. This year they are even more geared towards sports and working out with Vinci 2.0 Earbuds. They have added all of the functionality of the headphones into a much smaller form. These earbuds only weigh 80 grams, fit comfortably on the neck and in-ear and offer all of your music without the need to even have your phone on you. So you will be able to go out jogging and be able to listen to your tunes as well as take phone calls without having to lug around that bulky phone, which is great since lots of workout gear don’t have pockets.

Setup is simple and also the only time that you need to use your phone along with them. The app will take you through adding (or changing) your favorite music streaming services and libraries. From there, these 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth earbuds will automatically synch with your phone when they are together, to keep all of your information up-to-date. And don’t worry, it doesn’t only synch up your music, but it also gathers your health stats and adds them to the health centers in you Apple and Android phones.

Classic to Vinci, there is still a screen, but it is much smaller and designed to blend in to the aesthetic. It is definitely a more passive system for power preservation, but you can still customize it to your preferences. The screen makes it easy to check the on/off status, battery life and signal strength. The battery will last for up to 14 hours of continuous play and it comes with a USB docking station that will give a full charge in about 2.5 hours.

The Kickstarter for Vinci 2.0 recently ended and they should start shipping in Feb 2018. Pricing starts at $89 for 8GB and goes up to $249 for the 32GB. Check out all four colors and choose a pair of your own on their website. You can also pick up a pair of the full size headphones on Amazon.

Interview by Daniele Mendez of The New Product Launchpad.
Sponsored by:
Support our coverage by shopping Amazon here.
Declare war on crappy earbuds and treat yourself to a better headphone experience with new Monster headphones.