During Apple’s announcement earlier this month of new products, there was also something for users who are happy with their old devices: A new version of the company’s operating system for phones and tablets, iOS 11. However, one handy feature of the new operating system — a menu that lets users quickly access certain functions at any time by swiping up — doesn’t actually work the way it appears to. [More]
bluetooth
Apple Granted Patent For Crowdsourced Bluetooth Lost And Found
By 10.25.16
Imagine this: you run some errands after work, and don’t realize until after you get home that you left your umbrella… somewhere between work and home. Instead of checking every store’s lost and found, you just open up an app on your phone and report the umbrella, which has a low-energy Bluetooth tag on it, missing. The app responds with the approximate location of your item, and the last time it was spotted there. [More]
Class-Action Suit Accuses Honda Of Selling Acura Vehicles With Battery-Draining Defect
By 8.4.16
Connecting your phone to your vehicle via a Bluetooth link can make driving safer. But for thousands of Acura owners, they claim this convenience — a HandsFreeLink Bluetooth phone-pairing system — contains a defect, that results in dead car batteries and the need for frequent battery replacements. Today, those owners came together to file a class-action lawsuit against Honda, the maker of the vehicles. [More]
Bluetooth-Enabled Pregnancy Tests Are Now On The Market
By 4.19.16
Is there any everyday item that wouldn’t benefit from adding some electronic components and Bluetooth connectivity? Of course not! That’s why you can now buy, in actual stores, a pregnancy test with Bluetooth connectivity. This is apparently because Millennial women are in their peak child-having years, and are incapable of sitting for three minutes without syncing our smartphones to something. [More]
Rite Aid Will Deploy Thousands Of Beacons To Beam Deals At Shoppers
By 1.20.16
In-store beacons are low-power Bluetooth devices that let stores or brands push promotions out to customers smartphones. They only work when the shopper has opted in by installing an app. Do you really want your favorite shampoo brand beaming coupons at you every time you walk by a shelf? They haven’t really caught on, but Rite Aid is deploying them in 4,500 stores. [More]
Amazon To Make Echo Available At Home Depot, Radio Shack, Other Retailers
By 11.10.15
Three months after Amazon announced it would allow Staples to offer its high-tech, sort-of assistant speaker online, the company says it will allow retailers to sell the Echo at thousands of locations across the U.S. [More]
Updating To iOS 8? Remember To Turn Off Your Bluetooth Afterward
By 9.18.14
In advance of the new iPhones coming out this week, Apple has begun rolling out iOS 8, the latest iteration of its operating system for iPhones and iPads. With some who’ve updated their devices already complaining about inefficient battery use, we wanted to remind you of a power-draining annoyance that occurs with every recent update of iOS. [More]
Pay Restaurant Tabs From The Comfort Of Your Table
By 10.4.09
If you dislike handing your credit or debit card over to restaurant employees and letting them wander off with it for a while, you’re not alone, and that’s why some restaurants are experimenting with mobile pay-at-the-table technology.
Panasonic Solves Gadget Problem Sent Through Generic Email Address!
By 1.28.09
Emailing a company about a product problem via their front-facing email address usually has about as much effect as wishing your way out of debt (just don’t tell the producers of The Secret). But Steve emailed Panasonic and instead of getting nothing or a generic response back, he actually ended up sending a series of emails back and forth with a product engineer who solved his consumer conundrum. Amazing! Here’s his story.
Morning Deals
By 8.4.08
- Amazon: 3 months of Amazon Prime free with $100 worth of textbooks in cart (No actual purchase necessary)
- Froobi: Refurbished SanDisk Sansa e270 6GB MP3 Media Player w/ FM/Voice Recorder for $55.95
- Amazon: “Narrow Stairs” by Death Cab For Cutie, $5 DRM-free MP3 album
Highlights From Dealhack
- REI: Summer Sale: Up to 40% or More off Apparel, Footwear, & Gear
- Staples: Envision 22-inch Widescreen Dual Input LCD $200 Shipped
- Design Within Reach: Save 15% off Upholstered Furniture & Free Shipping
Highlights From Bargainist
- Headsets.com: Free Bluetooth headset if you get cited driving while on phone (a promotion that incentivizes breaking the law, um ok)
- Yves Rocher: 50% off select beauty products
- Busted Tees: After Christmas in July Sale: Select shirts $10
Best Buy Won't Match J&R's "Wholesale" Prices
By 3.8.08
The Best Buy in Secaucus, NJ refused to match J&R’s price for a Bluetooth headset, claiming that J&R was not covered by Best Buy’s price match guarantee. Best Buy employees first called J&R—a large New York electronics retailer—a wholesaler. A manager later insisted that J&R was a Mom & Pop store and refused to match the lower price. When reader Steven attempted to cut through the absurdity by calling corporate, he was told that the price match is provided at each store’s discretion. Read his full story, inside.
8 Bluetooth Headsets Reviewed
By 10.4.07
A professed non-early-adopter has reviewed 8 different Bluetooth headsets in a range of prices, scoring them on design, functionality, sound quality, and value. Her favorite from the group: the huge Plantronics Voyager 520, which sells for around $100. Coming in last was the $100 Samsung WEP410, which kept falling out of her ear.
Coming Soon To Paris, Bluetooth Ads For Mobile Phones
By 9.14.07
Marketers in France are planning to beam location-specific ads to your phone via Bluetooth, the common short-range wireless transfer technology that’s now included in nearly every new cellphone, reports Reuters. Currently under consideration is just what sort of ad would be compelling enough to tempt consumers to opt in on such messages, since there’s no way advertisers can force you to accept Bluetooth communications.
Buy.com Sells Refurbished Bluetooth Headsets Listed As New
By 8.12.07
Buy.com sold Chris two Jabra BT350 bluetooth headsets advertised as OEM, but one arrived with a broken charger and headset. When Chris contacted Jabra, as per Buy.com’s instructions, he was told that because the headset was refurbished, its warranty was void.
Kensington Sends Free Replacement Of Discontinued Trackball
By 5.17.07
Kensington customer service is nice. George searched all up in the internet’s biznatch but could nay find another trackball just like the one he had.
Man Forces Best Buy To Sell Him $1999 PlasmaHDTV For $1499
By 12.13.06
By insisting on his consumer rights, Sandar got Best Buy to sell him a $1999 plasma HDTV for $1499.
Cingular Prude, Verizon — And Staff — Puts Out
By 10.9.06
Rick needed a replacement earbud gel on his Jabra Bluetooth headset. He’s a Cingular customer so he went into a Cingular store to buy one. They told him he would have to buy an entirely new headset.
Morning Deals Round Up
By 3.27.06
• Today’s Woot! is a pair of fancy-schmancy Bluetooth phones for $65, which integrate with your PC, PDA, or cellphone to do…things. Marvelous things, like unto a regular cell phone. In fact, why do you still have a landline?
