Todd Bernhard

Author Details

Todd Bernhard's picture

Author Details

Todd Bernhard

Todd Bernhard is a bestselling (6+ million downloads) award-winning (AARP, About.com, BestAppEver.com, Digital Hollywood, and Verizon) developer and founder of NoTie.NET, an app developer specializing in Talking Ringtone apps including AutoRingtone. And his profile photo is of the last known sighting of Mr. Bernhard wearing a tie, circa 2007!

An iPhone is almost always attached to his hip or in his pocket, but over the years, Mr. Bernhard has owned an Apple Newton, a Motorola Marco, an HP 95LX, a Compaq iPaq, a Palm Treo, and a Nokia e62. In addition to writing for iPhone Life, Mr. Bernhard has written for its sister publications, PocketPC Magazine and The HP Palmtop Paper.

Sennheiser is a well-respected headphone and earbud maker, and I've used its wired headphones in the past. So I was happy for the opportunity to try the Momentum True Wireless 2 Earbuds ($299.95) when Sennheiser offered a review unit to test. The Momentum True Wireless earbuds deliver impressive sound thanks to the built-in equalizer and are still remarkably small. Despite the size, they still manage to offer 7 hours of use and 28 total with the charging case.

I am always on the lookout for the ideal docking station for my MacBook Pro. I just upgraded from the 15-inch to the 16-inch MacBook Pro and decided it would be a good time to go all out and have two 4K monitors as well. That might have required two different docking stations as it's rare to find one that supports two 4K screens at the same time, but the folks at iVANKY came through with their iVANKY Docking Station (starting at $119). It's on Kickstarter, so the price will go up, but it's still quite attractive and it is a real product, as iVANKY sent me a review unit to try.

The folks at Igloohome have been making smart door locks and lockboxes for a while, and they keep getting better. They sent me their latest, the Smart Keybox 3 ($189) to review and it improves over version 2 in multiple ways. This is not a door lock; it is a lockbox that hangs on a doorknob or gate. The circular keypad is used to unlock the lockbox using a PIN. You can also use the companion app to unlock the box via Bluetooth or generate more PIN codes for construction workers, cleaners, and other folks. It could also be helpful for Airbnb guests or keeping motorboat keys near the pier or a storage shed, etc.

When the folks at Michael Louis sent me a Personalized Embossed Leather Cases ($74) to review I thought I was getting special treatment. A leather case with my initials stamped in silver on the back? Pretty cool. Then I realized they offer free personalization to everyone, when ordering online! You can specify up to six characters and even choose emojis and the color. This is a nice touch and will certainly set your phone apart in a crowd.

One of my favorite takeaways from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is finding gadgets that have no batteries or circuitry of any kind but exist to enhance our use of electronic gadgets. One example is the JURA ANCHOR carabiner for AirPods & AirPods Pro (starting at $24.99). It's not an AirPods case but it adds a carabiner key chain through some clever magic. The carabiner has a Lightning connector that has no electronics, instead it acts as an anchor that supports up to 15 times the weight of the AirPods case. You plug the JURA into the Lightning port, again with no electronics, and the molded connector keeps it in place. Then you can use the carabiner on the other end to attach your AirPods to a backpack, keychain, etc.

I am spoiled by wireless charging. I want everything to charge simply by putting it down on a flat surface. For example, my remote control, toaster, blender, etc. In fact, I did see a blender that charges wirelessly at the Consumer Electronics Show. Clearly wireless charging will be available for more than just smartphones and AirPods, And now wireless charging is available for gaming mice. Logitech sent me the Powerplay Wireless Charging System Mousepad ($119.99) to try.

I travel a lot and am always looking for the ideal battery pack, and the Mophie Powerstation Plus XL Wireless ($99.95) comes close. The company sent me a review unit to try. There are a few features that set this charging battery apart from the rest. First, it charges via Lightning. This means iPhone owners can carry one less cable. In fact, the second differentiator is that it has a Lightning cable built-in, so you can charge your iPad (not Pro) or iPhone. But you would still need a separate standalone Lightning cable and wall plug to recharge the Powerstation.

If you're worried about losing your expensive AirPods you will want to connect a Bluetooth tracker to the AirPods case, but there's no practical way to do so. Fortunately, the folks at Trackeroo have developed the simple but brilliant Trackeroo AirPods Case (starting at $6.95). Trackeroo gave me a case to try, but at that price, the company probably paid more for postage sending it to me! It's truly a bargain given that it could save you $150 on a lost set of AirPods!

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