Sony

Flexing the Form & Fun Factor of the 2013 Ford Flex SEL AWD

by Michael Sheehan on November 5, 2012

in Auto, Ford, General, Opinion, Review, Sony, Video

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Back in 2010, I had the pleasure of reviewing the Ford Flex. I always had my eye on this unique looking SUV/Crossover. It truly is sort of a blend between both of these styles. The distinct body reminded me of the old Woodie style and as I mention in my video review below, I really think that the Flex would be right at home carrying a longboard to the beach somewhere.

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Fast forward to 2012 and my family and I got to drive the 2013 Ford Flex SEL AWD up to Lake Tahoe. We took several mini roadtrips around the lake and truly got to enjoy the fun and flexibility that makes up the Flex.

I didn’t immediately notice to many large changes to the design. It still has the elongated boxy look and, unfortunately, it still has limited rear cargo space for luggage. But there were some other more subtle changes that are worth mentioning. For starters, the middle row now comes equipped with inflatable seat belts. This is something that my kids actually pointed out to me. Another nice addition are the sunroofs. Our particular Flex had four of them, one main one that opened over the front seat, two middle ones with individual shades and one large one in the rear with a shade as well. It really conveyed the feeling of being in a convertible.

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A Solid, Tech-Filled, All-Around Performer – 2011 Ford Explorer Test Drive

by Michael Sheehan on January 19, 2012

in Auto, Cast of Dads, Consumer Electronics, Family, Ford, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Opinion, Review, Sony, Video

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A few months ago, Sony and Ford Motors invited the Cast of Dads out to the East Coast to participate in a variety of events, one of them was driving a 2011 Ford Explorer (note, link is for the 2012 model) from Boston to NYC. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the event, and boy was I jealous. Part of my envy came from the fact that I couldn’t drive the Ford Explorer (you can read more about the excursion over at the Cast of Dads). Luckily, over the 2011 holidays, I did have the pleasure of getting behind the wheel of the 2011 Ford Explorer for a road trip to and from Los Angeles from the San Francisco Bay Area.

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I’m pretty familiar with Ford and their push to enable technology behind the wheel. I have test driven the Ford Flex and the Lincoln MKX (which is essentially quite similar to the Ford Edge). But being able to experience the Explorer first hand was pretty important to me since it has been a long running model for Ford since 1990.

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Image source: Wikipedia.com

Well, we are already in 2012 now, so how does the 2011 Ford Explorer stack up? Pretty darn well. It has plenty of technology to make a gadget-drooling dad happy as I barreled down the super boring stretch of the I-5. (If you haven’t driving the I-5 ever, you definitely aren’t in for any type of treat. It’s really boring and at times your auto is filled with the lovely stench of cow manure as you pass the cattle farms – you can also almost take a nap without turning the wheel as the I-5 seems to stretch on indefinitely.)

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HighTechDad’s 2011 Father’s Day Gift Guide – Products I Have Reviewed & Like

by Michael Sheehan on June 1, 2011

in Apple, Consumer Electronics, Family, Gadgets, General, Hardware, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mobile, Review, Sony

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Father’s Day is almost upon us and I wouldn’t be doing my part for the Dads out there if I didn’t put together a Father’s Day Gift Guide. Gifts are obviously very personal in nature so I can’t tell you what to get your dad. What I can do, however, is provide some ideas on some things that might make your dad smile a bit more and potentially appeal to the “HighTechDad” inside of him.

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I won’t be recommending things that I haven’t actually tried, used, reviewed or have myself. That would, honestly, be quite silly. I might recommend some things that I don’t actually possess but know a lot about, but I simply won’t recommend something I haven’t tried first hand. Also not everything that I reviewed is on this list; some gadgets or electronics are just a bit better than others. In most cases, the items below will be linked to my reviews (check the object title for the link to my review) so that you can get details on just about every gadget on this list. But, since blogging is interactive, I encourage readers to leave a comment recommending some other gadgets or consumer electronics that they think are worth mentioning. And who knows, I might see something there that I actually WANT.

The following products are in no particular order or preference or anything apart from being grouped by price range. Do note, the Amazon price listed is as of the day of the writing this article (6/1/11) and is linked to the Amazon listing of that product (an Affiliate link and yes, I get a couple of pennies with each purchase…but that is what keep this blog running!).

Note: all links within the descriptions below are to reviews that I have done in case you want more details and my thoughts on that particular product.

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Sony, Ford and NYC Auto Show Videos from the Cast of Dads Roadtrip

by Michael Sheehan on May 11, 2011

in Audio, Auto, Cast of Dads, Consumer Electronics, Event, Family, Ford, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Opinion, Parenting, PodCast, Sony, Video

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A few weeks ago, Ford and Sony invited the Cast of Dads on a really cool experience – a road trip from Boston driving a 2011 Ford Explorer down to New York International Auto Show. Unfortunately both Max and I were not able to attend, but Jeff, CC and Brad produced a ton of content from the excursion. I posted an article & video that they recorded “on the road” from the Ford Explorer…and the content continues to roll in. This article recaps some of the other video content captured by the Dads on the trip.

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For starters, Jeff, Brad and CC spent some time with Sukhjit Ghag from Sony to discuss technology in the family and every day life. The Dads and Sukhjit talk about:

  • SMS enabled washing machines
  • smart banking
  • family calendaring
  • VisaBuxx
  • phones becoming keys to the car
  • kids evolving into the “touch generation” of devices
  • creating 3D content
  • and much more.

[iframe_loader src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/23043321?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"]

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Video Gaming – Ballerina Style!

May 3, 2011
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People play video games in all sorts of ways. And there are many gaming consoles and devices available to use for it. As a parent, it’s a fine line to walk when it comes to your kids playing video games. When the weather is nice, how do you pry them away from the game controllers [...]

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Ford & Sony Bring “Cast of Dads” Members Together (Almost) – “Family Road Trips”

April 29, 2011
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I’m encouraged that big brands out there are starting to listen. There is a difference between simply pushing your product traditionally, and using real voices, people and opinions to create stories around these products and brands. The first is a traditional method that frequently gets lost in the clutter of all of the other brand [...]

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Hang In There Sony…And Thanks for Your Continued Innovation

April 27, 2011
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It happens to the best of us. We plan for the worst, do all of our due diligence, prepare for the unexpected, test and re-test and cross our fingers a lot. But inevitably, there is always something that we didn’t think of. I could be talking about the recent Amazon Web Services outage or the [...]

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Dads are Ready for Summer! Road Trips, Teen Celebrities, Music Madness, Spring Sports & More – Cast of Dads Podcast #41

April 13, 2011

The Dads are definitely getting back into the swing of things, finally able to get together to talk about the latest and greatest things happening to us and our families. Obviously, our opinions and advice fly like t-balls in the Spring but you have to listen to the Cast of Dads podcast #41 “Summer is [...]

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