Review - Kitsound Cadet Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker from MobileFun.com

I love playing music during my off days to unwind. I love listening to various genre of music but I hate playing them on my Macbook. I just feel that the speaker of my laptop does not do much justice on the beautiful music that I am playing. So, I tried the Kitsound Cadet Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker from MobileFun.com to amplify the crispness of the songs I am playing.

What I like:

• Compact size that makes it easily portable
• Bluetooth connection that is universal. You can connect to any device as long as it has Bluetooth.
• For a small size, the sound it makes is perfect for outdoor usage as well. It is loud enough to be used outdoors. And while you play your music in the highest volume, the sound coming from the Kitsound Cadet Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker is still crisp and does not sound "clangy" or metallic when played on the highest volume.
• The controls are on top of the speaker.
• The design is simple. I like uncomplicated stuff.
• It is easily chargeable using the USB port plug that came with the bluetooth speaker.
• It has a metal casing that is coated with rubber, making it more durable and can withstand the outdoor elements.
• Sound quality is really superior! I like how it has good bass without sounding like it would give someone a heart attack.
• It comes with a carabiner so you can clip it on your bag strap or belt making it easily transportable.
• It has a micro SD slot so you don't actually need a phone to play your favourite tunes. It can play straight from the micro SD.
• It has a universal compatibility with most devices and operating systems like iOS and Android for smartphones.
• In case it does not connect with with a certain device or gadget, it comes with a jack that can be connected to the incompatible unit.
• Another great feature is that, it can be used as a hands-free calling unit when you receive a call while it is connected to your phone. It has a small microphone that serves as a hands-free speaker which you can use even on conference calls.
• The  battery life lasts approximately 5-6 hours. I used it to watch 3 full length movies at home and it was still working just fine.

What I don't like:

The only thing that I did not like much is that it took a while for my Mac to discover the bluetooth unit before my laptop connected. I made sure that both the laptop and speaker's bluetooth were switched on. I have tried several times to connect both my laptop and the unit and were not successful. Then I restarted my laptop and tried another time to connect the bluetooth speaker. It finally connected.

Once connected, it was easily discoverable each time I switch my laptop's and speaker's bluetooth on.


My recommendation:

The Kitsound Cadet Wireless Bluetooth Portable Speaker is a small, round bluetooth speaker that you can carry around.  It weighs approximately 0.20 kg so it's not very heavy. It's small enough to fit the pocket of your backpack or bag. You can even hang it as it comes with a carabiner.


This portable bluetooth speaker is available at MobileFun.com.

XNSPY – A Compact and Powerful Target Device Monitoring Software

Introduction:

When looking for monitoring or tracking apps people usually look for several things – features, stealth, price, and customer support. Today we are reviewing a target device monitoring software called xnspy, this small yet powerful app has been around for quite some time. It fulfills the criteria mentioned above and is steadily rising in the ranks of tracking and monitoring software; parents, employers and even regular individuals will find this app very useful. The app can be installed on both Android and iOS devices and it works on rooted/non-rooted and jailbreak/no-jailbreak devices. We will start off with mentioning the app’s pros and cons and then proceed to mention its features and functionalities.

Pros:

·       Small and discrete: The app is small in size and has a great stealth mode that keeps its functioning hidden.

·       Extensive Features: it has great features and offers an array of functionalities, some of which are close to that of professional spying apps.

·       Great Failsafe System: For worst-case scenarios it has a remote lock and remote delete feature that deletes all your personal files and data from your device.

·       Competitive Price: Xnspy offers all the great features at a bargain price.

·       Great Customer Support: The app’s customer service is quick to respond and always willing to help and go the extra mile.

Cons:

·       Cannot delete individual files

·       Have to get a license for each device you wish to monitor.

·       Does not work on Windows mobile, Blackberry OS, and Symbian

Installation and Features:

Xnspy being a comprehensive target device monitoring software has a long list of great and useful features, some of which we will list and discuss below. Before we go on to the features let us mention some things regarding installation. When you purchase Xnspy you are sent an email with your login credentials, an activation code, and an installation guide. For installing on Android devices, regardless of root status, you will require physical access to the device once only. Once you have installed the app, it goes into stealth mode and that is it, you will be able to monitor the device remotely through the online web-based dashboard. The same process is required for jailbreak iOS devices, but for no-jailbreak devices you do not need physical access to the device and just require the iCloud credentials for installation.

Coming back to the features, as mentioned earlier xnspy has many functionalities but we will focus on the main ones.

Calls:

The app user will be able to see all call records with details such as contact name, number, date and time, and duration. Call recordings are available as well along with the location the call was made from or received at.

Messages:

All messages regardless of the channel used can be monitored. SMS, IM chats, and Emails all can be viewed and read from the convenience of the online control panel. IM chats such as WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, etc are some of the IM chats whose messages can be read.

Location Tracking and Geo-fencing:

This app would not be considered a Target Device Monitoring Software if it did not have location tracking. With this feature, you can know where the device is currently and where it has been. A geo-fencing feature allows you to set up alerts so that whenever the target device enters or leaves a pre-defined area the software will send you an email alert.

Internet Activity and Calendar Schedules:

The app user can monitor browsing history and any saved bookmarks and can also view calendar entries and any meeting schedules that have been posted on it.

Watchlists and Alerts:

Watchlists for specific words and contacts can be set up as well. This gives the app user a certain amount of freedom, instead of viewing and reading all messages, they can mark certain words that when used in messages send an alert to the app user and he can read them. The same way if a certain watchlisted contact communicates with the user of the target device, xnspy sends an alert to the app user.

Pricing:

There are two packages offered, one is the Basic Edition the other is the Premium Edition, this allows the customers to choose according to the functionality they require. The customers will not have to pay extra for features they do not need. The price itself is relatively cheap as compared to other apps with similar features. The Basic Edition costs as low as $8.32/month and the Premium Edition costs as low as $12.49/month

Remarks and Conclusion:

Xnspy is a pretty serious and feature-rich spy app that is a definite must for someone searching for target device monitoring software. The competitive price and the multiple packages and payment plans make this a bargain monitoring app. The app also has another great feature that you can control multiple devices using the same online dashboard but as mentioned earlier you need to purchase a separate license for use on each device and there is no bulk package as such.  Overall, given its numerous features, ease of use, and stealth functionality this is a definite app to have.

Easy And Fast Way To Install Instagram Widget On Your Blog

Have you been in a site or blog that captivated you because of the Instagram widget displayed on the side or footer of their site? Did you fancy it? I have visited many blogs with Instagram widget displayed and I have always wondered how they got that. I find it very interesting and engaging, making me stay longer and check out interesting photos (and articles they have!) in their Instagram collection. I even ended up following some of them. And I thought to myself, why don't I showcase mine as well and make my blogs more interesting than ever?

I found several free sites that will create the code you need to install to have your Instagram displayed accordingly either on the sidebar or on the footer of your website. These free app sites are easy to follow and you don't need any coding experience or expertise to do it.

I tried the SnapWidget, Websta, Intagme, and Uptsi and all of them gave me the same result I want with settings I can modify as per my preference. I decided to use SnapWidget.

1. First of all, you should have an Instagram account to link to your widget.

2. Open the widget creator. Fill in the necessary details required and choose your display settings.

3. Copy the HTML code to you blog and it will look like this. And place where you want it to show on your blog, either on the side or on your footer.

For bloggers:

Go to Layout and open an HTML widget and paste the HTML code. Then save the widget after you have arranged the Layout.

And here's how it looks like in my Blogger blog:

For Wordpress:

Go to your dashboard and open the "appearance." From the appearance, you open a widget and select a text box to place your HTML.

And this is how it looks like in my Home Is Where The Heart Is blog. I tweaked the SnapWidget setting to only show 2 columns of photos.

And this is how it looks like when you install the HTML code to your blog's footer after tweaking some SnapWidget settings. This is in my The Mommalogues blog.

And after you have done all the above, you now have your very own Instagram widget installed!

Info on Daniel Burrus #BurrusBlog

Daniel Burrus is a known influencer who dabbles in the field of research to find better ways for innovation and technology to become a part of companies and societies.  More articles about his firm, Burrus Research, Inc. is published in LinkedIn as one of the many platforms of spreading his and Burrus Research's expertise.

Burrus Research, Inc. provides services to clients who would like to have research done on:

• Global innovations in all areas of science and technology
• Cyclical and Linear Changes
• Hard and Soft Trends
• Disruptive technology and the industry they will disrupt
• New product and service opportunities that are enabled by technology advances
• Technology-driven trends that change consumer behavior
• Strategies for capitalizing on rapid technological and social change
You can find more information about him and the company he represents here: https://www.linkedin.com/today/influencer/48342529-Daniel-Burrus

$20 Off The iPhone 5s At Gazelle

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

   

Looking for a great replacement phone or Christmas gift? Consider a Gazelle Certified iPhone 5s. You can now get one for up to $20 off when you shop Gazelle's selection of certified pre-owned iPhone 5s'!  That is a good savings and a bargain deal not to miss!

With a Gazelle Certified iPhone 5s, you're able to get a like-new phone that has impressive features, such as a blazingly fast 64-bit A7 processor and the M7 motion co-processor. And photography buffs will love this phone's camera features. Plus, all Gazelle Certified devices go through an in-depth 30+-point inspection process to ensure their quality and include a 30-day return policy. What's more is that there are no contracts or strings attached. 

Shop Gazelle's selection of iPhone 5s' today and give yourself, a friend or family member a gift that can be enjoyed well into the new year! You can also add to your gift-giving budget by trading-in your old devices to Gazelle for cash! Check out their trade-in page to see just how simple it is!

Only shop for the Certified pre-owned iPhone 5s

Buy Certified Pre-Owned Devices From Gazelle

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. 

 

I was going through Gazelle's website and came across interesting information that I thought you'd find interesting.

Remember the Motorola RAZR? That was actually the first trade-in that Gazelle accepted. Shortly thereafter, Apple released the iPhone 3G, which created the first generation of obsolete phones (iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, anyone?). Since then, Gazelle has paid out more than $200 million to customers for their devices!

Although there are a number of options for purchasing pre-owned smartphones and tablets online, I know first-hand that there are key things that Gazelle offers that helps ensure you won't waste your time or money buying a gently-used device. For instance:

• Gazelle performs a 30+-point inspection on all their devices (iPhones, Galaxy phones, and iPads), which guarantees that every feature of the device is tested and is of the highest quality before it's sold to you. This is also backed by a 30-day return policy.
• Because Gazelle Certified devices mean no contracts or strings attached, you can upgrade your device at up to 40% less than buying a new one and avoid being tied to an expensive two-year contract that you might not need. You can keep your carrier, or go with a new one. The choice is yours.
• You can also easily trade-in your used iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook, AppleTV, and other smartphones and smart devices to Gazelle for cash in three easy steps.
  
  Step 1: Select your gadget from a list of options on Gazelle's "Trade-In" page, answer a few questions, and then Gazelle provides you with an offer for your device.
  
  Step 2: For items worth $1 or more, it's free to ship your device to Gazelle. Once your trade-in is received, the device is inspected to make sure its condition matches your evaluation.
  
  Step 3: Payment. If the device matches your description, Gazelle will pay you in the form of a check, an Amazon.com gift card, or via PayPal. Payment takes about a week once Gazelle receives your device.

Have you made your choice? Buy your next smart device through Gazelle Certified

If you want to sell your old phone or device and get a fair, cash price for it, Gazelle is the safest, easiest, most reliable way to go. And if you want to upgrade your device without having to pay retail rates or deal with a poor-quality purchase, make your life easy and shop Gazelle Certified.  This is the place where you can buy Certified pre-owned devices from Gazelle.

Shop Gazelle Now - Click Here

The Essential Christmas Bundle Apps for Mac Users

IObit, a young and promising software producer, specializes on developing products with advanced technology in the fields of system fixing, performance tune up as well as security protection. Now this great software developer has just scheduled a joint bundle promotion with PearlMountain to celebrate the upcoming Christmas, to combine its MacBooster 2 with PearlMountain’s big page layout designer Publisher Plus as a Christmas gift pack.

MacBooster 2 is originally priced at $59.95 while Publisher Plus can be regularly purchased at $39.90, totally $99.85. However, the Christmas bundle will bring them together at a substantial discount of 70% off, saving you as much as $69.95. Every Mac user can get the bundle at only $29.90 from Dec. 8 to Dec. 30, 2014.

Why is it the essential Christmas bundle for Mac users?

Christmas is just coming on the way. Many people would like to make some awesome Christmas cards or DIY some art works to memorize the most joyful holiday in the year, then Publisher Plus is possible to make it easy.


When immersed in the holiday happiness, don’t you want be interrupted by the slow speed of your Mac? MacBooster 2 will help you free up your disk space for faster function and better protection to your Mac. It will give you a secure and smooth environment for digital creations. Let’s see what the two apps can do exactly.

MacBooster 2

MacBooster 2 is an amazingly simple and easy-to-use application that specializes in finding ways to free up hard drive space and fully control a Mac. Some of its heightened features can be seen as:



· Scan & remove the unnecessary files.

· Re-organize the login items to give your Mac OS a quick start.

· Protect your Mac against potential threats.

· 100% uninstall the unwanted apps.

· Quickly track down duplicate files and delete them.



It aims to protect you from potential threats, and speed up your Mac to make it run like new. It becomes ever more popular today!

Publisher Plus

Publisher Plus is a powerful desktop publishing and page layout app on Mac for creating all kinds of beautiful cards, invitations, brochures, catalogs, flyers, newsletters, posters, etc. Some of its brilliant points are listed below:



· Hundreds of professionally designed templates for all kinds of use.

· Wide choice of art resources like clipart, background, mask, frame, etc.

· Fully manipulate various objects like text, photo, clipart, calendar and shape (customized shapes included).

· Other top features such as Profile, multiple pages, margin, iCloud integration, page setup, layer, etc.

· Print, export and share it anywhere.



It will spur your creativities eaier than ever to make some professionally designed works of art in a few minutes this holiday season. Tons of more features are waiting for you to try out.



The elite Christmas bundle for Mac users is scheduled to be active on Monday, Dec. 8, 2014. That’s awesome to get it at the price of $29.90, especially if you’re planning to send wishes and invitation cards to friends this Christmas. The bundle would come in handy.


To know more about the Christmas bundle for Mac, please check its website.

Review - Watermark Plus for Mac App from PearlMountain Soft

One of the grueling things bloggers do when they post articles with photos is to put their "digital stamp" of ownership and copyrights on the photos. I find that time consuming and really cumbersome at times because I do product reviews and I always put pictures of the products when I post about them.

I usually use another program to stamp my credits on my photos one by one. It takes me a lot of time to do that especially when there are plenty of pictures to be posted. This app called Watermark Plus for Mac from PearlMountain Soft is a great software to use because:

• Saves me a lot of time in stamping my credits to each picture
• It stamps your watermark on all the photos you uploaded in the app
• It supports a lot of image formats when importing various images
• You can add text and image watermarks to a collection of photos in one go
• It has a "smart fit" capability where watermarks will be assigned to different sizes of photos
• You can batch resize and rename the photos
• There is a features of real-time preview
• You can zoom in and out
• Easy to use
• Lots of  ready made watermark designs to choose from

This app is available for Mac and you can buy it for $4.99 from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/watermark-plus/id904186384?mt=12

Check out this tutorial on Watermark Plus for Mac here: http://www.pearlmountainsoft.com/watermarkplus/tutorials.html


This is a handy app to use especially when you are posting plenty of pictures using similar watermarks. I will certainly use this for my review photos so I don't have to type my credentials in all my photos next time.

Music Apps in Gadgets

It's very surprising how technology has changed the way we do things and how we use our gadgets. It is a far cry from the analog handsets and phones I used to have back in the 90s.

Now, most of the population owns not just 1 smartphone but more and aside from that, people own tablets, iPads, iPods, e-book readers and so much more just to access their favorite apps and carry on with their day to day social life.

Many apps are being developed to cater to every Tom, Dick and Harry of the world. And it's not surprising to see the boom in various apps in gadgets proliferate the technology scene. An example of this is the myriad of music apps in the download centre of various providers. These music related apps have very cool interface and some are even offering tutorial so you can develop a skill and learn some techniques and some you can create beats. Examples are:

DJ App

Garageband

Propeller head

(Photos are not mine)

Review - Picture Collage Maker 3 App for Mac From PearlMountain Technology

Do you fancy making collages of your photos to create memorable projects to save and share to family and friends? Do you use a complicated program to make collage? If so, time to switch to a more user-friendly and fun-filled features app to make pretty, fun, interesting and colorful collages to show those beautiful pictures to everyone!

Picture Collage Maker 3 is an app from PearlMountain Technology. It is a very user-friendly app for Mac which creates collage projects.

Here are its key features:

• More template to choose from!
• You can create photo collages, greeting cards, scrapbook pages, posters, CD covers, photo calendars, photo books, flyers, and so much more!
• Import photos directly from iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, etc. Export to iPhoto directly.
• Share to iMessage, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr within the app on Mac OS X 10.8.
• Templates are suitable for any occasion – Travel, Birthday, Graduation, Baby Announcement, Anniversary, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Wedding and so on.
• Drag and drop photos in collage. Import photos directly from iPhoto, Aperture, Lightroom, etc.
• Add and edit multiple pages to create photo albums and scrapbooks with numerous pages.
• Move, rotate, and resize photos with a few mouse clicks.
• Crop photos to make them fit well in frames.
• Zoom in/out on editing area to view details of collage. You can also edit collage in full-screen mode.
• Decorate collage with embellishments
• Apply photo effects/filters to beautify your photos.
• Use various background patterns to produce good looking collages. Customize background with your own images.
• Apply special frames, masks, and clipart, etc to personalize your collage.
• Make collage looks even better by resizing, dragging and positioning clipart.
• Add text – resize; rotate; apply shadow & text effects of Stroke, Glow, and Background to make your text unique.
• Add calendar to create personalized photo calendars.
• Save collage as image formats – JPG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, GIF, PSD.
• Save collage as PDF file.
• Export collage to iPhoto directly.
• Set collage as desktop wallpaper.
• Share collage with friends and families via Facebook and E-mail. Share collage to Message, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr within the app on Mac OS X 10.8.
• Print collage directly.

The app have plenty of features and functions even ordinary John and Jane can use without any difficulty. I enjoyed using this product because now, with the number of features I can use in so many ways, I can create a lot of projects just using the Picture Collage Maker 3 app. I don't have to use other softwares for different purpose.

This app is also available in Windows system.


Price: $19.99 * * * 30% Off Time Limited Holiday Offer * * * (original price is $29.99)

Compatibility: OS X 10.6 or later, 64-bit processor

You can download this wonderful app from iTunes or check this site for more info:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picture-collage-maker-3/id715483503?mt=12


To know more about PearlMountain Technology's apps, please visit their website.



Disclaimer:
I have not been compensated in this review. I received this full version as part of an advertorial/evaluation purposes. My feedback and evaluation is based on my findings and experience with the use of the app. My opinion is 100% mine and may vary from yours. I only review product/services that  like and will use.

Tips To Help Dad Thrive In The Digital Age

Well, not all dads are tech-savvy as the others and we can't blame them. They are too busy at work or they have their own assistants to do the complicated techy stuff for them. So, how will the less-tech savvy dad thrive in today's Digital Age?

Let's help them, shall we?

Tip# 1 - Tutor your dad during weekends. Teach like you're teaching a kindergartener. Make those technical words simple. You don't want to overwhelm him now. Treat that tutorial time as bonding time too with the good ol' man!

Tip# 2 - This tip is related to Tip# 1. Now that he's familiar with the basics, give him stuff to do like, make him type simple emails, open a program he would normally leave to his assistant to do or to you or better yet, let him try the social media scene and understand how the world has evolved with technology.

Tip# 3 - If he's having trouble with the keyboards and the commands to use when typing a simple correspondence using a word processing software, teach him the shortcut keys. Let go of the "mouse" once in a while. It's good for his hands. Keeps the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at bay too!

Watch this video prepared by the great folks at Dollar Shave Club for more tips for the tech-challenged dads out there. You can also check out their nice products especially for men and daddies of course! If the tech-challenged dad passes his test with flying colors, give him a reward such as the Dollar Shave Club razors.

Dollar Shave Club is an online site to get your dads awesome blades for their shaves or get the whole shaving kit with matching shave butter, moisturizer and wipes! The blades are made of stainless steel blades that are durable and high-quality. Your dads certainly deserve nothing but the best. To know more about Dollar Shave Club, feel free to reach them out here:

• Follow Dollar Shave Club on Twitter
• Like Dollar Shave Club on Facebook

Press Release on VideoGif 2.0 from PearlMountain

Below is a press release from PearlMountain Technology Co. Ltd, the maker of some great apps I use for my Mac.

VideoGIF 2.0 Updates with Smashing Features of Stickers, Managing overlays and More

PearlMountain Technology Co., Ltd announced an important update of VideoGIF 2.0 for Mac recently. The easy-to-use GIF creator now enables users to add stickers, rotate stickers, and manage overlays, etc.

VideoGIF is the most agile app for creating animated GIFs by trimming any part from a video/movie. Users can add video from video files or Webcam. Next, they can effortlessly adjust color, apply filters, crop and resize the GIF. And they are able to insert and customize text, adjust the GIF speed and preview the result in real-time. Better than ever, the latest VideoGIF 2.0 even allows users to add stickers, rotate stickers & texts at ease, manage overlays and more.

After a satisfying GIF is done, users are able to share the GIF with friends via Mail, iMessage, Tumblr or to simply save it in Finder.

New Key Features:

l  Add stickers: Users can choose from 40+ preset stickers to refine the GIF. Their own images can also be used as stickers.

l  Free to manage overlays: With this feature, users are able to set opacity, adjust layers and customize frame range for stickers & texts with incredible ease.

l  Rotate texts and stickers at will: VideoGIF 2.0 empowers users to freely rotate texts and stickers to fit their needs much better.

Other Fantastic Features:

l  Trim the video freely: Customers can trim any part of the video at ease to create their GIF. Even if users load a video over 1-2 hours, they can trim their favorite part easily.

l  Crop, resize and fine-tune Functionality: Crop the video clip by ratios or custom to make the GIF fit better. In order to adjust the GIF size, VideoGIF also makes it possible to resize the clip by scale.  Customers can further adjust colors by setting Saturation, Hue and Exposure, etc. and apply popular filters such as Black & White, Sepia, Vintage and more.

l  Insert and edit text: VideoGIF has been integrated with powerful text editor for customers to insert text and customize text font, size, alignment, color and shadow, etc.

l  Customize GIF speed with real-time preview: VideoGIF makes it possible to adjust GIF speed intuitively. More importantly, with VideoGIF’s real-time preview functionality people could view the GIF immediately on the left preview panel.

l  Save and share GIF: Quality optimization is available when users export the GIF. People can just save it in Finder, share via Tumblr, iMessage (only for Mac OS X 10.8 or above) and Mail, etc. Do whatever to suit their needs.

VideoGIF is the new solution for people to create lively and amazing GIFs from funny videos or their favorite movies. Given the powerful features and intuitive interface, users of none experience in photography can create wonderful GIFs from videos with VideoGIF.

Pricing and Availability
VideoGIF requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later. It is fully compatible with Mac OS X Mavericks. The original price of this app is $19.90. However, during the limited time promotion, users can get the app from Mac App Store at only $4.99. 

Links

Product page on PearlMountain:

http://www.pearlmountainsoft.com/videogif

Product page on App Store:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/videogif/id807363401?ls=1&mt=12

About the Company

PearlMountain Technology Co., Ltd is a dedicated graphics software developing company founded in 2006. Over the past 7 years, it has released products enjoying great popularity among worldwide users like Picture Collage Maker, CollageIt and PearlMountain Image Converter.

Its products have been well received all through North America, Europe and Asia software markets for their ease of use, reliability and superior performance.

Media Contact

David Lin

PearlMountain Technology Co., Ltd

CEO

Email: info@pearlmountainsoft.com