It’s not a party without music and we know that sometimes, the party doesn’t end where it began.  In times like these you need the music to be as mobile as the party, and a solid set of on the go speakers makes enjoying your favorite tunes effortlessly convenient. The problem with portable speakers is that their size takes away from their sound quality. Their speakers simply aren’t large enough to produce the wide range of frequencies of the music. Ever listen to small portable speaker and not hear any bass? It wasn’t big enough to make the sound.  Party logic says that inferior music leads to an inferior party, so take the superior route and enjoy these five quality on the go speakers that will sound great and keep the festivities festive – no matter where they may take you.

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I’m sure you have heard of cars with TV screens installed in them, or even a small pool on a super-stretch limo, but Italian automaker Fiat has introduced something that no one has thought of yet: a built-in espresso machine.  Fiat made headlines during the Superbowl this year as it introduced a new line of stylish compact cars.  Fiat’s been making headlines again with its 500L model, which will come with a built-in espresso maker when it  hits the market this  fall.

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It always seems like some manufacturer is ushering out their version of an Ultrabook.  Always packed to the brim with the newest technological advancements, manufactuirers will take advantage of the light design as a way to charge big bucks.  Lenovo has stepped up recently with their newest Ultrabook, but instead of breaking the bank, they offer an incredibly powerful Ultrabook as an incredibly affordable price.

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It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Apple started to leverage their cult following to launch an Apple-specific social networking service.  Appleinsider.com reports of a recent Apple patent application titled “Social Networking in Shopping Environments” that may hint at thefuture (or current) development of a network that connects shopping shoppers. It was only a matter of time.

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We got the pleasure of getting our grimy little fingers on Google’s impressive new 7-inch tablet – the Nexus 7.  Google’s first attempt at designing and building a tablet from the ground up was essentially everything they said it would be; smooth like butter.

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Battle of the Big Screens

Tonight’s main event puts two home theater mainstays head-to-head in a competition of great entertainment wonder.  When building your perfect home theater do you go with a large screen, flat-panel television or an authentic projector and screen set up? Let’s put them in a ring and let the best screen win. (more…)

Garmin is upgrading its Navigon navigation app for iPhones and iPads.  Version 2.1 of the Navigon app adds such features as Google Street View and a Cockpit in-app purchase that displays driving data while looking at the map.

The new version also improves start-up time and map-rendering speed.  It also speeds up zooming and panning in map view, and it enhances graphics for display on the iPad’s Retina display. An option called manual route blocking lets users manually block off certain roads or highways or sections of a map to avoid them while driving.  Current owners of the app can expect the upgrades to be completely free.

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Before I started writing about this stuff I sold all of it, not at Abt, but I sold it all – computers, televisions, stereo systems, and every other home electronic on the shelf. This included the shockingly large amount of sub-standard tablets that, being priced under $100, attracted a lot of attention, and consequently, a lot of returns.

The issue was simple, when you hear “tablet” you automatically expect more than you are probably going to get. These low-end tablets run a watered-down version of Android that’s essentially a 2010 cell phone on knock-off, expired steroids.  They just simply didn’t deliver and customers (and customer service) quickly found this out.  However, we’re saved; the introduction of the Google Nexus 7 (although not under $100) will forever alter the tablet market landscape by delivering a premium experience at a price that has those posers shivering in their polycarbonate. (more…)

A completely “connected” home is becoming easier with the new line of Cisco routers designed to expand the experience of a home network while making set-up, monitoring, and controlling it easier than ever before .  As people’s habits of consuming bandwidth-heavy multimedia increase, Cisco has developed a router to keep up with this data demand and just because they made their products more advanced, doesn’t mean they are more difficult to use – quiet the opposite in fact. (more…)

Trying to name all the possible distractions  we counter on our daily drives is near impossible. We eat, drink,  sing, smoke, and even “put our face on” from the drivers seat.  We don’t always mean to let our mind’s eye stray from the road ahead but let’s be honest – it happens.  This MobilEye system, sold exclusively in Chicago by Abt, is a  third eye watching over all the critical information surrounding your vehicle and alerts you if anything seems out of line. It won’t take action by slamming the breaks or veering left or right but, will simply let you know something isn’t as it should be. Who couldn’t use a little safety support behind the wheel these days?

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