Griffin Technologies

Gadgets + Dads = “Dadgets” – Cast of Dads VIDEO podcast at CES 2011

by Michael Sheehan on February 14, 2011

in Audio, Cast of Dads, CES, Consumer Electronics, Event, Family, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Intel, Mobile, Opinion, Parenting, PodCast, Tablet, Video

The Cast of Dads has been on a bit of a vacation recently – the reality is, we’ve all been so busy that our little “baby” (Cast of Dads) has become a bit neglected. But we promise to get back on track! To get things going again, we actually did do a video podcast at CES 2011. Unfortunately it was only a 3/5ths of the Cast of Dads as Brad Powell and Max Kalehoff were not at the show. But we did have our first guest ever and it was none other than Dave Delaney (a dad as well) of Griffin Technology.

Cast_of_Dads_episode_CES2011

I had never met CC Chapman in person so this was a great tradeshow for me personally. Both Jeff Sass and I were brought to CES by Intel as part of the Intel Advisors program, and consequently, Intel provided us an area to do our podcast. We recorded both a video and audio podcast, both of which you can find below. The post can also be found on the Cast of Dads website.

Note: we are always looking for sponsors! If you would like to sponsor an individual episode or a series of episodes, please do let us know.

The Topics

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My Wife’s Father’s Day Shopping Challenge

by Michael Sheehan on June 30, 2009

in Gadgets, General

It’s been well over a week since Father’s Day crossed our paths. I pretty much killed myself trying to get reviews out on some of the products that I have received over the past couple of months that I thought would be good gifts for Father’s Day. Since Father’s Day has passed, I have been slowing down a bit. However, I did want to talk about a challenge that I gave to my wife for Father’s Day.

Tjmaxx_logoI was contacted by a PR firm of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls with “a mission.” They would provide two $25 gift certificates, one for each store. I, or inMarshallsLogo_No_Tag this case, my wife, was then tasked with spending that money on gifts for me for Father’s Day. What a great deal! My wife gets to shop (a HUGE passion of hers) and I get to reap the results of her work.

But I added to the challenge, I told her that the items had to be “high tech” so that my blog audience might appreciate the article that I write a bit more.

When I opened my gifts, I was actually pretty surprised with the results. She did cheat a little by spending a TOTAL of $50 but not evenly divided between the two stores. She spent $20 at Marshalls and $30 at T.J. Maxx.

TJMaxx_Marshalls

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Review: Car Gadget for Dad – DLO TransDock Micro with IntelliTune

by Michael Sheehan on June 10, 2008

in Apple, Cellular, Gadgets, General, iPhone, Review

Only a few days left before Father’s Day descends upon us, so in the spirit of “giving to Dad” (heck, it should be a WEEK of giving and not a day), here is another gadget review. Today I found out that the Netflix Player (reviewed here) is currently out of stock and back-ordered for 4-6 weeks. So, you could give Dad a printout of the product (or my review) with a nice bow on it, or you could take a look at this new product released by DLO (Digital Lifestyle Outfitters), the TransDock Micro with IntelliTune.

I have now tested several FM Transmitters for the iPod, and each have their advantages and disadvantages. Earlier this year, I reviewed another DLO product, the TransDock Deluxe and while I thought it was a great product, I personally couldn’t use it. I have a 10 year old Honda Accord that has the cigarette adapter located near the center console/shifter. For the life of me, I couldn’t get the TransDock Deluxe properly configured to work well, even with all of the extension arms fully extended and twisted.

I had a different FM transmitter from Griffin Technologies (one of their iTrip products) that my wife manage to acquire (despite my best efforts). The reason I liked it was because of its design: a plug, a cord and the connector. It really worked well, but my wife got to keep it (worked better in the Odyssey which has the power jack on the bottom near the floor).

Then along came the TransDock Micro which this time I got to keep (from my wife, that is). And frankly, I couldn’t be happier. Sorry, I only have stock photos here, my car just wouldn’t do the TransDock Micro any justice.tdmicro_IT_lrg.jpg

Now this device is probably only good for cars that have visible lighter/power outlets because the brains of the device are in the plug. While this could be a limitation for many car owners (like with my wife’s where the power jack is close to the floor making the display impossible to read), it wasn’t for me and I’m glad about that fact. The iTrip solutions, for example, put the controller mid-way on the cord, the TransDock Micro, as I said, has it as part of the power plug.

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MacWorld Expo 2008 – Comments and Observations

by Michael Sheehan on January 16, 2008

in Apple, Cellular, Gadgets, General, Hardware, iPhone

I spent a few hours yesterday at MacWorld 2008 and wanted to quickly post some information about what I saw and who I talked to. Obviously, the hype is around the new MacBook Air. I must admit, it is a beautiful machine. However, it is probably a better device for someone who already has a Mac and simply wants something nice for on-the-go type of work. The upgrade of the Apple TV with video rentals really should prove to be great! But more about that later.

MacWorld Expo

First, just for fun, some bad quality iPhone pics of Cali Lewis (http://www.geekbrief.tv) and Veronica Belmont (http://daily.mahalo.com/) that I snapped as they were doing a presentation on Xtrain:

Cali & Veronica 1 Cali & Veronica 2 Cali & Veronica 3

Some of the Companies that I talked with (in no particular order) with some highlights:

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