Aspect of the Daddy

Black Friday Deals for iPad Xbox One and PS4

2014-11-19T12:06:00.002-06:00

Totally unrelated kitty photo

Getting a discount on hot items like an iPad Air 2 or a Playstation 4 can be difficult for most of the year, unless it is Black Friday. There is a list of all the deals for Black Friday and it seems to be up to date, and it is included below for reference.

Highlights of the deals so far:

Best Buy has all iPads $100 off
Target has the Nintendo 2DS with Yoshi's New Island $100
Walmart has the PlayStation 4 with $50 Walmart gift card
Best Buy has Xbox One with Assassin's Creed Unity and Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag $330

The full list of deals is over on Polygon

Review: Walmart Savings Catcher

2014-11-02T11:32:00.004-06:00

While it is important these days to try and save every penny, there is something to be said for the amount of time it takes to actually find and research these savings. So when something comes along that saves you something after the fact, that's a pretty good deal in my book.

The Walmart savings catcher is something that I noticed on the bottom of my Walmart receipt while wondering why light bulbs were so expensive (what's up with that, anyway) and seeing the QR code at the bottom of the receipt.

It is a pretty simple concept, the user downloads an app to a smartphone, scans the QR code at the bottom of the receipt and app compares the prices of local stores and what Walmart charged and gives you back the difference on a gift card.

It sounds too good to be true, but so far it seems to be working as advertised. The past three times my wife went to Walmart, I scanned in the receipt and in a couple of days (The savings are not instant) I got a notification that I had saved money using the app.

I don't like Walmart so much, but sometimes there's no other option, and this might save some money with very little effort, and that I do like. The app is available on iOS and Android.

Case Review: Nuguard KX for iPad Mini and iPad Mini with Retina Display

2014-06-06T16:39:00.001-05:00

There's seemingly two opposing forces at will when it comes to technology. We want our gizmos to be thinner, lighter and sexier, but those features come at the expense of being able to repair things ourselves. Also, these devices cost an arm and a leg. We want to be able to bring our electronics with us, and have the ability to check the weather, news, or play a game no matter where we are, but once we take the phone or iPad out of the house, the chances of it getting damaged are increased. What a dilemma.

It used to be that protecting an iPad would mean a thick case that weighed the tablet down, totally destroying the whole aesthetic of the iPad in the name of survivability. The NuGuard KX for iPad Mini is a wonderful way to balance protection and looks, and is an excellent case for anyone looking to protect their iPad Mini or iPad Mini with Retina Display.

First of all, I've had the NuGuard KX case on my iPad Mini with Retina Display for over a month now, so I feel like I've got a really good idea of how the case functions in day to day operations. I've taken the iPad with me to the dentist, on EasyShifts, and to the kid's doctor appointments. Let me be perfectly clear about something: I have dropped the iPad with the NuGuard KX case installed. The case won.

I can go on and on about the features and the styling, but I wanted to say upfront, that I dropped the iPad while handing the tablet to my 3 year old. I told him 3 times to pay attention and hold the iPad carefully. "Do not drop the iPad." I said this many times to my son. I had to get my car keys out of my pocket, there were cars all around the parking lot and I had my hands full with groceries. That's when he dropped it.

You've seen those movies where the dramatic thing happens and time slows down? That's what happened to me as I watched my iPad succomb to gravity. It landed almost perfectly flat, with the screen face down. It couldn't have landed in a way to do more damage to the screen than it did.

The iPad was fine, and it is working perfectly. There's no evidence of the drop, no damage to the case or the iPad. I couldn't be any happier with the build quality, or the design of the case.

What saved my iPad is the special gel that's inside the case, dubbed "X-Orbing gel" and the design of the case. There's a lip that extended on the front of the case, keeping the glass surface off the surface of whatever it is place on, while face down. The design also kept the iPad from popping out of the case and impacting the pavement when it fell. There's a cross-hatch design on the back that gives the case a reassuring grip, without being a sticky mess.

I also have a NuGuard KX Screen Armor on the iPad Mini. The website claims that it has the same X-Orbing Gel that the case has, and it can withstand the impact from a hammer. I didn't go that far in my testing. However, I did notice some scratches on the screen armor when reviewing the case. I'm also an idiot and didn't follow the directions exactly when installing the screen armor, and I got a ton of dust under the screen. So there's always a possibility of messing up the installation. I had a screen armor on my iPhone 5 and that install went smoothly. Like I said, follow the instructions. The screen doesn't feel sticky like some other screen protectors do, and there's no drag at all when sliding and zipping around on the iPad Mini screen. It has helped protect my screen, and it worth every penny.

All of the ports are accessible through the KX case, and there are cutouts for the speakers, mics, and headphone jack. The only thing that I'm still wary about is moisture. This is an excellent case and if you are looking for a lightweight case that protects like a heavier case would, then you should buy the NuGuard KX for iPad.

Link: Purchase from NewerTech

AOTD Episode 12

2014-06-04T20:35:00.002-05:00

Apple had their annual Worldwide Developer Conference Keynote a couple of days ago, and this is where Apple announces the new software updates to developers. This is one of the biggest WWDC to be seen in quite some time. There's big updates to both iOS and OS X.

Apple announced iOS 8 and there's some really big changes coming to iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches. Finally, finally, iOS is getting widgets. Widgets let you see live information from apps, and this is something that Android's been doing for some time.

iOS 8 is also going to allow users to replace the default keyboard! This is big news. While the keyboard on iOS is good, the keyboards on Android are very customizable, and that's something to look forward to on iPhones and iPads. Personally, I like the swiping gestures on Android keyboards, and while there's a taste of the awesome app, Swiftkey, on iOS already, SwiftKey and other apps are going to be available for reals in iOS 8.

For families, there's a big change to how Apple handles accounts. Now parents can link their kid's accounts to their own, as long as the kids have the same credit card tied to the account as the parental account. Parents can set spending limits on how much the kids can spend, and get notified when the kids buy an app. Good Deal!

Also, when you get a notification in iOS, say from iMessage, you can reply in the notification. The way it works now, if you are in Real Racing 3, and you get a message, you have to tap the notification, the iPhone switches to the messenger, you type your reply and then you have to go back to the app you were in. In iOS 8, you will get a message, you can type your reply in the notification, and you don't have to leave your current app. Apps are also able to 'speak' to one another. iOS 8 is really going to be a game changer for iPhone and iPad owners.

So iOS 8 looks great, but that's as long as you have an iPhone 4s or higher. The iPhone 4 got iOS 7, and Apple is dropping support for the iPhone 4. Before you get too upset, remember that the iPhone 4 was released in the summer of 2010, almost 4 years ago. (As a point of comparison, the Droid X was released as an iPhone 4 competitor, and never got past Android 2.3)

There are big, big updates to the Mac coming too, but the most impressive one I've seen is native support for Netflix in Safari. iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 usually get released in the Fall. Both updates are going to be free (yay!) Stay tuned for more information as it comes up.

Aspect of the Daddy is a little segment that you can hear at the end of the HearthCast podcast every week. I like to talk about games, tech and sometimes life in general when you have a little toddler/preschooler to handle. Please head to http://www.hearthcast.com/ to download episodes! Special thanks to Freckleface and Rewt for letting me crash on their podcast!

Memorial Day

2014-05-26T16:49:00.001-05:00

Photo Credit: USAF

To all my brothers and sisters that served before me, with me, and after me, thank you. Thank you for sacrificing so much of your own time, effort and to some, your life so we might have freedom. Memorial Day is more than a day off, or a day to buy a new car. It's a day to remember that freedom isn't free. So to all my brothers and sisters in uniform: thank you, and stay safe out there.

AOTD Episode 11

2014-05-26T12:59:00.000-05:00

Peep and the Big Wide World is an educational cartoon based off an animated movie by the same name. Peep is a small bird and he's joined by other birds named, Quack and Chirp. The series has gone through a some changes over the years, but viewers in the US can catch the series on PBS. The only sponsor of the show at the moment is the National Science Foundation.

Peep Paint Splash is an educational game that's available on Android, iOS and on the Web. It's a very simple game that allows children to learn about colors. Peep will show a color, (like Orange) and the child will control Quack, who can jump on paint tubes containing different primary colors. The game will ramp up in difficulty only if the child gets the simple colors correct.

The game is free and it's good for some quiet time to show your little one about mixing colors, not to mention that the animation when you clear the board for new colors is really funny! Caleb loves to watch the hose get everyone wet.

This is a great series, and the episodes are on Netflix (that's how we found them) and feature an animated portion of the show followed by a short live action segment with kids where the kids explore the concept from the cartoon segment.

I recorded the segment using a new app and I'm on the fence about how it sounds. Please leave me some feedback at John AT aspectofthedaddy.com. Thanks!

Download: Android
Download: iOS
Download: Browser (Flash Game)

Aspect of the Daddy is a little segment that you can hear at the end of the HearthCast podcast every week. I like to talk about games, tech and sometimes life in general when you have a little toddler/preschooler to handle. Please head to http://www.hearthcast.com/ to download episodes! Special thanks to Freckleface and Rewt for letting me crash on their podcast!

AOTD Episode 10: Ingress

2014-05-19T14:05:00.000-05:00

Today on Aspect of the Daddy, I am talking about a little (free!) game called Ingress. Ingress is Android only for now, although I've seen port of it on iOS and a ton of rumors about it coming to iPhone, there's nothing official right now beside Android. It works equally well on phones and tablets, as long as the tablet has GPS built in.

Basically, Ingress is a type game that forces you to go outside and see parts of your town you might not have paid much attention to before. At its very best, you get to go out and get some walking in, lose weight and get to know the other players that are in your town as you coordinate attacks on the enemy and set up defences. At its worst, you stay in your car and play as you drive around town. People notice you circle the block 5 times and you look like a creeper.

My first tiny control field.

Either way, Ingress is a fun game. You find portals in your town, usually public buildings like post offices or fire stations, and you hack them for items. These items can be used to actually take control of the portals and win them for your faction. There are two factions, and the back story is really interesting if you are into that sort of thing, but for simplicity's sake, there are green and blue factions.

When you get three portals won for the same faction, (green or blue) you can link them together and for a control field. The population that lives in these control fields are added to your score. (In the lore, you are actually are controlling the people in your control fields to side with your faction.) So the more people you influence, the higher your score and the faction with the highest score wins.

As you can see, this is a game being played all across the world! It's a pretty neat thing to get into and if you get to high levels, you are really pull off some incredibly large control fields when you coordinate with other people.

You can really get into the lore and feel like you are really out there to help humanity if you want to, or just go out and have fun and lose some weight. I really enjoy walking around with my son and capturing portals, and he likes the sounds and stuff in the game. I let him push the buttons to hack and place items so we both have a good time. Give Ingress a try!

Download: Google Play

[Review] Otterbox Defender for iPad Mini with Retina Display

2014-05-05T20:09:00.001-05:00

There is something very comforting about knowing that there is an Otterbox on my iPad Mini 2, and in this review I will cover what works and what doesn't. OtterBox is well known for having high quality products, but does that mean you should fork over your hard earned money for an Otterbox? Read on to find out.

The Retina iPad Mini is something that I've lusted over for quite some time. The sleek lines, and lightweight design had me drooling and saving up every penny to get the money together to buy one. When the iPad came in the mail, I quickly realized that I was going crazy trying to make sure that there wasn't any way that I could scratch 'My Precious.'

As anyone that owned a black iPhone 5 knows, it doesn't take much to make an pristine iPhone or iPad scratched up. It got to the point where I was wiping my hand over the surface of my desk, hunting for a stray grain of sand before I set my iPad Mini with Retina Display down. It was driving me insane, and there was no way that I was going to let my little one handle the Mini without some protection. So I turned to what I know works in these situations. I called up my friends at OtterBox.

A bit of history is in order here. There is a Retina iPad 3 in my family, but I never get to see it, or play with it. The iPad belongs to my littlest, Caleb. It goes everywhere with him, and its gone through its second OtterBox Defender case. I'm always amazed at how good the iPad 3 looks when I take the OtterBox Defender off of it. The OtterBox Defender continues to do an amazing job protecting the iPad from all the terror that a 3 year-old can dish out. It has been dropped, thrown, splashed, drooled and generally put through Hell, and I could sell the iPad as almost perfect condition. Amazing job by the OtterBox team.

Lots of color combos are available

The OtterBox Defender works by putting layers in between the iPad and the elements. There is an inner layer that snaps together. The inner layer is made of a fortified polycarbonate frame and had a soft kinda "memory foam" inside it. This ensures that the iPad isn't damaged by the plastic frame. There is also a screen protector built in to the case that makes sure that the iPad's screen isn't damaged or scratched. The inner case is encased in a rubber outer layer (or “robust silicone skin” in PR speak) that helps absorb the impact force, and also gives your hands something grippy to hold on to while the case is on the iPad. Also, not to be left out, the outer shell can be used to add another layer of protection, or it can function as a stand in both portrait and landscape views. It's really handy and this is the first time that I've used the outer shell for this purpose.

Otterbox Defender on iPad Mini 2

Overall, there isn't quite enough words in my vocabulary to describe how much I trust my devices when I have an OtterBox Defender on them. I've never had a device crack or get damaged when there was a Defender on it. The OtterBox Defender does an excellent job of both preventing damage to your electronics, and also there the peace of mind that comes with knowing that one mistake will not damage a device that costs over $500 to replace.

The iPad Mini 2 works perfectly with the OtterBox Defender. There isn't any need to 'break-in' this case, all of the buttons and switches work perfectly right out of the box. There are cut outs for the front and the rear cameras. Also along the back is a cutout for a microphone, so using the case won't diminish the active noise cancellation built in to the iPad. The front button has a clean, solid feel to it, and considering how much you use that home button, the solid feeling is reassuring. There is a flap that covers the Lightning Port, and this brings up a point that OtterBox has improved upon. The flap that covered the port not the iPad 3 was very difficult to remove. It was so bad that my wife cut the flap off. The Defender on the iPad Mini 2 doesn't have this problem. There's enough coverage to keep dust out of the port, and it's easy to open with just one finger. Great job by the OtterBox team on that. The sides of the case have the volume and rocker switch. Adjusting volume is no problem at all, but opening the flap to get to the rocker switch is still kinda hard. That might be more due to my short fingernails, but it's still much easier than it has been on other iPad cases.

It is finally easy to flip this open in the dark, while half-asleep.

There is a price to pay for that kind of protection though. The Defender does make the iPad Mini 2 thicker, and heavier. The iPad Mini 2 and iPad Air are built on the whole point of being sleek and thin, so slapping a case on such a device might seem to be counter-intuitive. However, as far as the Defender goes, I've noticed that OtterBox seems to have listened to customer feedback, and as a whole, the Defender line appears to be getting slimmer and slimmer. The difference is pretty apparent when I compare the Defender on the iPad Mini 2 to the Defender on the iPad 3. Also, Defenders seem to get lint and dust under the screen protector, so taking your device out of the case and wiping everything down isn't a bad idea every week or so. One last point is the screen protector seems to take a little bit of getting used to. The feel isn’t quite the same as it feels on glass, but it doesn’t impede the operation of the screen at all, and I’ve gotten used to the feel after just a couple of days. Don’t let the initial feeling throw you off, the screen protector works well. I have been known to tear out the screen protector and put on a wet-application screen armor product to protect the screen itself better in the case of direct impact with the screen. I will update my review if I do remove the built in screen protection.

Overall, you can't go wrong with the Defender. If you want to "set-it and forget-it" then you shouldn't look any further than the Otterbox Defender. The Defender is sturdy, it will protect against most anything you can subject it to, and it's almost impossible to get off the device, once it is on, it is on. I sometimes switch SIM cards out on my iPad Mini with Retina display, and getting the Defender on and off is a bit of a chore. Then there's the matter of cleaning it every once in awhile. However, if I am taking my iPad into the wild jungles of family gatherings, or taking it out with me to stores to do audits, I want the very best in my iPad. My first choice is OtterBox and you should consider it too. If it's been a long time since you've used an OtterBox, take another look. They've improved a lot and it really shows!
If this review helped you, please consider clicking this link below. Every penny helps the site. Thanks!

NEWGUARD KX Case and Screen Armor Review for the iPhone 5/5S

2014-04-17T15:32:00.003-05:00

NUGUARD KX for the iPhone 5/5S

Note: Newer Technology provided the NUGUARD KX review case and NUGUARD KXs screen protector free of charge in exchange for a review.

I've been lucky enough to review quite a few cases over the years, and it's always somewhat concerning to my wife how excited I get when a case comes in for review. One the surface it might seem silly to get all worked up over a simple case, but think about that for a second. A case is purchased to protect and personalize one of the most expensive items we carry on our person almost all the time. Often, we touch the case more than the phone itself, and if you plan to flip your phone and sell it used, a case can actually be an investment. Phones that are mint are fewer and harder to find the longer a phone has been out and if you can find a case that is both pleasing to your hand and offers superior drop and impact protection will actually save you money when it comes time to sell your used phone.

Having said how important it is to invest in a good case, there are people out there that don't want to spend more than a couple of dollars on their cases. These are the same people that run around with cracked screens and battered phones.

First things first, if this is too long to read, here's my summation of the NUGUARD KX case. It rocks. It feels terrific in my hand and that’s very important. This is quite possibly the best-feeling case that I’ve ever had on any of my phones. The case has a soft-touch rubber texture that is not only grippy, but also has a premium feel to it. The NUGUARD KX also has a textured cross-hatch on the back that helps with the grip on the phone.

The case also protects your phone from drops and impacts. There is a gel inside the case that helps absorb and protect your phone, and directs energy from the fall away from the phone. New Technology also claims this case conforms to military specs. All I know is I’ve been extremely pleased with not only the quality of the case, but also the looks of the case. It’s pretty sharp looking.

Many people don’t like having to sacrifice thickness for protection. There are other cases out there that offer great protection from falls, but it’s an act of Congress to get the phone out of the case. Or there’s three different layers to take off, and locking tabs that break if you take the phone out too much. The NUGUARD KX case is one-piece and slips on and off the phone in seconds. The fit and quality of the case is excellent. I didn’t feel like I was damaging the case at all while I was putting the case on or off, nor was there any play between the phone and the case once it was installed. The Lightning Port and side switches are easy to access. The NUGUARD KX case doesn’t muffle the speakers of the iPhone 5 at all, and adjusting volume and turning the iPhone 5 on and off was effortless straight out of the box. There wasn’t any stiffness to overcome. The NUGUARD KX also has an important feature, the front of the case has a lip on it. This allows you to place the iPhone face-down on a table and the KX will protect the glass from being damaged or scratched by whatever you set the phone down on.

Speaking of the glass, I was also provided a NUGUARD KXs screen protector. The case was made specifically for the screen protector so the two went together very easily. They complement each other very nicely. The screen protector doesn’t just protect against scratches, it has a protection and absorption layer in addition to an adhesive layer, offering three layers of protection. There’s video out there of the NUGUARD KXs screen protector taking a hammer to the face and living to talk about the tale. Amazing stuff. Installation was easy and the provided tools and directions were excellent. However, I managed to mess up the installation and when I put the case on the iPhone, the edge of the screen protector squished up against the case where I didn’t line up the screen protector accurately. I was able to pull the NUGUARD KXs up and reinstall it where it fit perfectly. Thankfully, you wouldn’t even be able to notice I messed up the installation. Testament to how well the NUGUARD KXs screen armor is built.

As a combination, the case and the screen armor of the NUGUARD KX series makes an excellent way to protect your iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S. They are an affordable way to ensure your iPhone stays in tip-top shape, not to mention the peace of mind you will have knowing your precious device is in good hands.

The NEWGUARD KX series cases and screen armor

are available for purchase on Amazon

Hitbliss April 14, 2014

2014-04-13T17:11:00.003-05:00

So there's quite a few ways for people to go out and make some money on the side, in your spare time. One of the ways you can earn a little credit on the side, is through a program called, HitBliss. Hitbliss is basically a program that shows you ads and you get credits for watching those ads. While there are some movies and TV programs that you can buy through Hitbliss itself, you really get maximum value through this program when you link Hitbliss to your Amazon account. Linking to Amazon lets you watch or rent a wide variety of TV shows and movies through Amazon Instant Video.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind though. You have to push a button that randomly pops up to prove that you are actually watching the ads. There is a trust level system, where you level up the more times you prove that you are at the screen watching the ads. The higher your trust level, the longer you can go before you are prompted to prove that you are watching. Also, you can only earn $6 in credit at a time. Once you hit that $6 limit, you have to spend it before you can earn more money. And don't think you can bury Hitbliss and click over while you do other things. If you are doing something in another window, and you have the focus away from Hitbliss, it stops and you don't get any credit until you click back on it.

While it's a little repetitive, there's nothing wrong with spending a couple of minutes to earn credit to watch a show that you would otherwise pay for. If this is something you are interested in trying, please click the link below.

Sign up for free! Hitbliss

How to Download Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft in the USA

2014-04-02T20:48:00.000-05:00

Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard's finally come to the iPad and it is the long-awaited card game, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. While no doubt has many people in a fever to get their hands on the game away from the confines of a laptop or desktop computer, there's one little hitch that's stopping most people from downloading the game right now from iTunes:

Hearthstone is not available in the USA.

Whhhhhhat? Seems our neighbours to the great snowy North finally have something to hold over us in the USA. Canada, Australia and New Zealand have the game already and if you live in one of those countries, you can head over the App store and download it now. Go do it, what are you waiting for?

Don't fret though, there is a way to download Hearthstone in a restricted region, catch me after the jump for the how to.

So why not the USA? Aren't we the best and brightest? Don't we deserve the best? I mean, we invented the hamburger and what's better than hamburgers? Isn't Blizzard made in the good-ole USA? What's the deal, yo?

"Launching Hearthstone in a limited set of countries allows us to focus on the end-to-end player experience and make sure it’s awesome before we move on to the rest of the world. If you don’t live in Australia, Canada, or New Zealand, you don’t have much longer to wait to get your hands on Hearthstone for iPad—Murloc Scout’s honor."

Blizzard is pretty much throwing the game out into the world, and there's no really good way to beta test iOS apps. I can't imagine thousands upon thousands of people using TestFlight. Just not going to happen. So I think that Blizz is rolling out the game in stages and catching bugs as the show up. I don't think that it will more than a couple of weeks before we see it in the USA, but if you can't wait, then follow these instructions:

How to get Hearthstone on iPad in an unsupported region!

Go to settings
Press iTunes & App Store
Select the option that says Apple ID: YOURID
Select View Apple ID
Select Country/Region
Select British Columbia, Canada
Delete your payment method when prompted to confirm
Replace your zip code with V0L 1C0 (Will only work for BC)

I'm in north California and I've been playing Hearthstone on the iPad for half an hour now. It works surprisingly well, although it is a bit laggy. If you have any questions fire them my way.

--Common Problems--

I have a balance on my account and can't change regions. What can I do?
The only way you can clear your balance is by contacting iTunes support

. Let them know you want to change regions (you shouldn't have to say why.)

Follow the instructions EXACTLY... I didn't and had to do some wiggling to get it to work, but it would have saved me a ton of time if I had just followed the instructions exactly. It also helps if you sign out of your iTunes account on your Mac or PC while you are messing around with the settings on your iPad.

You also get a free pack for playing on the iPad, just finish a round on the iPad and you will get the free pack at the end of the round. Have fun and see you in game!!!

Link to Canadian iTunes: Here
Via: iMore and Reddit

Aspect of the Daddy March 25, 2014

2014-03-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Hey guys, it's time for another quick post for Aspect of the Daddy! Today's show features an app called Carat and it will help you figure ways to extend the life of your battery on your Android and iOS devices. It's free and available on the Google Play Store and the App store on iOS.

Carat works by comparing your phone's performance with all the other phones using the app. Did I mention that this is a project of UC Berkeley? So there's no commercial aspect here, nobody is making money on the app or your data.

Just install Carat and open it a couple of times a week. When it's open, Carat will send your data to the cloud and the servers will crunch your data and give you some interesting information for you to look at. Carat will show you bugs that it's found and energy hogs, and tell you how to stop the offending apps from using up your battery. It also is able to tell you how much battery you will save by following the advice it gives.

Because of the nature of the operating systems, Carat works wonders on Android and works well on iOS. iOS tends to wall off apps from talking to one another, as a security measure, and Carat is limited on iPhones. It also takes Carat much longer to return data on iPhones. I suspect that iOS 7's aggressive task killing is to blame here.

Regardless, with enough time, Carat might save you a couple of hours (or more) of battery life during your day. Find the download links below and don't forget to listen to my segments on the HearthCast podcasts!

Source: Carat

Download on Android
Download on iOS

Link to Aspect of the Daddy on HearthCast

Aspect of the Daddy Episode 3 Toca Cars

2014-02-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

On today's episode of Aspect of the Daddy, we talked about Toca Cars, by Toca Boca. Caleb who is three, just loves this game, and I really wanted to pass it on to other adults that care for kids. The game is available for iTunes, Google Play and The Amazon App store.

This game is a simple, but extremely fun car game. The game uses a touch system to drive the car, and since this is geared towards kids, driving is as simple as one finger on the screen. The car will head towards the finger on the screen, so there's no gas or steering to deal with.

Everything in the 'sandbox' is made of cardboard, and the art style is bright and colorful. There are a couple of ways to play, either in a preset world that has a road, ramps and traffic lights. There is also a creative mode where the child can place the cars, ramps, streets and buildings to her liking.

The music and sounds are not quite as irritating as some kid's games can get. I found myself humming along to the music and it was stuck in my head hours after he went to sleep. It's one of those games.

Cars is available on iOS, Android and the Amazon App Store for $2.99, and it's nice that you pay once and you have the game. All of it. In other words, there aren't any in-app purchases to worry about.

Hit up the Toca Cars website for the official download links. Download the latest episode of Aspect Of the Daddy here!

Free Book This Weekend

2014-02-22T10:55:00.000-06:00

There's a series of books that might just grab you and never let you go. The Primitive series is about shape-shifting Tigers and Wolves set in the bayous and swamps of southern Louisiana. The reviews are amazing and the author is smoking hot! If you need a little bit of romance with a twist of paranormal shape-shifting, check out Alicia Sparks and the Primitive Series.

Fitbit Recalling Fitbit Force

2014-02-22T02:28:00.001-06:00

Seems like there are some problems with the FitBit Force. There were reports of people wearing the Force getting a rash on their wrists. The CEO of Fitbit, James Park, has gone on to the company blog to detail how he is going to compensate everyone that bought a Fitbit Force. It looks like he is going to give everyone a refund, and of course he is no longer going to sell the Force. However, it seems like the violet Fitbit Flex is still on sale at the time of this writing.

There is going to be a voluntary recall of the Force and Fitbit has set up a recall website, or call 1‑888‑656‑6381. The user will receive a kit to send the Force back to Fitbit, and a refund check will be issued.

There is a rumor of a new device coming from Fibit soon, and seeing how I am in the hunt for a Fitbit myself, I am really looking forward to seeing what Fitbit comes up with.

Source: Fitbit

Aspect of the Daddy Episode 1

2014-02-03T15:05:00.000-06:00

Hey, thanks for stopping by and checking out my little place on the Web. Hopefully, this will update every week and I can finally get off my lazy butt and find time to write about tech, toddlers and the pains that come with raising kids. It would be great if you could stop by and say hi in the comments. It is nice knowing that there are people reading this, besides that spam bots.

In the first episode of AotD, I talked about two apps that are pretty noteworthy on your smart phone. For Android, I picked up A Better Camera. This app brings all of the best features of popular Android camera apps like HDR Camera+, Night Camera+ and HD Panorama+ and baked into A Better Camera. The app is free and open source, so it can be incorporated into all of your favorite apps. This is quite an important moment in Android, hopefully all of the best apps in proprietary software like you might see in a Samsung Galaxy S4 or a Note 3.

For you iPhone users out there, you are not left out. You already have a great camera, and great software so I am focusing on another genre here. Facebook finally got an update and it's on a brand-new app. Paper -- stories from Facebook. This is a brand new app, and it looks terrific. It lets swipe and slide your way through not only your Facebook news feed, but you can add news feeds like technology, photography and cooking.

So there's the first episode of AotD, I need to find a place to host my podcast feeds, and write out some more ideas for more episodes. Thanks for the support, and here's to more fun!

http://www.hearthcast.com/
https://twitter.com/broadwayblues

How to Keep Your Unlimited Data on Verizon

2013-09-02T18:23:00.001-05:00

So it is no big surprise that the most valuable cell phone data plan that you can have now is an old grandfathered unlimited data plan. With "Share Everything" Plans, Verizon wants you to think that a tiny bucket of data shared amongst a couple of lines is a really great plan. On the onset you might even appear to save some money. However, as more people get onto LTE phones like the Apple iPhone 5 or the Galaxy S 4 and off of the Verizon's antiquated and slow 3G network, people are going to realize something that I've known for a long time already; having super fast internet on your phone is really awesome. The problem is, I don't know anyone that saved money on the new plans AND didn't have to change their browsing habits. Shutting your phone off when you get close to your data limits, or hunting down free WiFi isn't exactly something that the sales rep at Verizon tells you when you first sign up for the new plans. There is a way to save your Verizon unlimited data though and it isn't that hard.

Saving your Verizon Unlimited Data involves a couple of things. Either you pay the full price of a new phone, buy one used, or use my trick. Those are your only three options.

Buying a new phone off contract means you go to Verizon and pay the $650 or MORE for a new phone. Nothing affects your contract since you are not having Verizon paying the majority of your phone off for you. The same applies if you go and buy an used phone off of eBay or swappa.com. As long as Verizon isn't paying off part of your phone your contract isn't affected at all, and you keep your unlimited data.

You can get a new phone on Verizon, pay the cheaper on contract price and keep your unlimited data, and here's how.

This is how I got an iPhone 5 Black 32GB on Verizon and actually paid nothing out of pocket for it.

1. You have to have an upgrade available.
2. You have to have more than one line on the plan. Sorry there isn't a way to do this if you only have one line.
3. What you do is have the upgrade to go one line and then transfer the phone to your line.

Confused? This is what I did:

I have 4 lines on Verizon, 3 of them have data.
One of them had an upgrade available, it really doesn't matter what line has the upgrade.
I had the Verizon rep upgrade the line that didn't have data on it, and he added a 2 GB / month plan to it.
As of right then, I had four lines with data. 3 unlimited data one with a 2 GB cap.
Here's where you need to have some help from the rep, and it helps to keep this to yourself if you don't know the rep really well:
Take the new phone on the 2 GB / month line and transfer it to the line you want. (You might want to do this the next day at a different store. They might not want to do this, but they can't stop you from doing it. Be firm if you have to.)
Put the old phone back on the old line. In my case, it went back to the voice only plan.
Don't look now but you kept your unlimited data and got a new 2 yr contract.

Sell your old phone on Swappa.com. I got $350 for my old phone, which paid for all of the new iPhone on contract price.

If you don't have a line with a voice only plan: (no data)

Same as above but you are going to end up with a line with 2 GB of data on it. All the rest still applies.

Any questions, ask away in the comments!

Thanks for reading.

Infinite Lives in Candy Crush Saga

2013-04-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

Just don't patch in my cheats for Candy Crush

Does Candy Crush Saga have you wanting to kill kittens and set fire to orphanages? Well there's a quick and dirty way to get your fill of lives in Candy Crush Saga! Read on to find out a couple of ways to extend your playing session in Candy Crush Saga.

Candy Crush is by and large a very addicting game, and it is currently the number one game on Facebook, Android and iOS. Hahaha, I actually don't know that for a fact, but I do know that this is one of the most played games that I have seen in quite some time. I am totally hooked and that says a lot; I am kinda a snob when it comes to games.

So what makes Candy Crush so appealing to so many people? Well for one, it is simple. Just match up three of the same candies. There are also just a couple of different ways to play the game. You can pop squares until they are free of "jelly." You can also pop squares until fruit makes its way down from the top of the screen out of the bottom of the screen. Sometimes there are both fruit and jellies, but the basic game play revolves around those two points.

The game is also beautiful, the artwork is very unique, and there is a crap ton of people playing it. No wonder the game is so popular but there is one thing that you know deep down, but you didn't want to admit it:

Candy Crush is totally not fair!!!

The game cheats, and you know it. There is no guarantee that when you start a match that you can solve it. Have you had the game shuffle the board on you when you run out of moves? Yeah, me too.

Anyway there are a couple of ways to cheat the lives in Candy Crush, and you don't have to spend a dime to do it. Here's what works:

Play on Facebook at your computer or laptop.

When you play on your phone, and run out of lives, you can hop onto your laptop and play there too. The game syncs your progress, but not your lives. You can use up your lives on one device like your phone, then go right to your computer and you will have 5 lives waiting there for you. Neat huh?

Delete the app and reload it.

Yep you read that right. The game stores your progress on the central server, not your lives. In other words, the game knows where you are in the world, what level you are on. The game relies on the phone to keep track of the lives you have. I imagine that this was done to help with the server load. It would require another data point to keep track of, and every time you lost a life, or gained one the server would be pinged. Multiply that by all the people playing the game and you can see why they didn't design this in. So when you delete your app you are clearing the info on the phone end, it might take a couple of minutes to redownload and link back to your FaceBook account, but it might be easier to do than:

Set your phone's clock ahead to trick the program into giving you lives.

The app is just looking for 30 minutes to pass and it gives you a life. It relies on your phone's clock to tell it when to spit out a life. If you go into your phone's settings menu and manually set the time, you can get lives all day long. Just make sure that you uncheck 'use network time' and set the right time when you finish up playing.

[Review] OtterBox Defender Case for the iPhone 5

2013-03-28T17:51:00.000-05:00

It seems like I am finally getting off my ass and writing more these days, first things I have to do is get these OtterBox reviews out of the way. If you read the previous sentence again, you will notice that I said OtterBox reviews. As in more than one. That's because I posted one on AndroidDoes for the Samsung Galaxy S III. So my review of the OtterBox Defender for the Samsung Galaxy S III is on AndroidDoes and I actually have an extra one to give away. So head on over and enter! Now on to the good stuff.

It is not a huge secret that I've gone over to the Apple side of things now. I've got an 2010 iMac, a 3rd Gen iPad and now an iPhone 5. Can't say much bad about Android, but I really like the way Apple handles things inside the walled garden and say what you want about Apple their hardware is really sleek and sexy and for the iPad and the iPhone, I've chosen to go with OtterBox cases to protect them.

The Lightning Port and Headphone jack

My house has to be the absolute worst case when it comes to technology. I have a toddler. Not only do toddlers drool and chew on any and everything, they have no concept of value nor think twice about using your technology to do things that they were never intended to be. Let me give you a "for instance:" A 3rd gen iPad has a drop dead gorgeous screen, an marvelous battery and a whole range of apps that can take a raging toddler and keep him quiet for a long time, you know, like 45 minutes. This wonder of modern technology can show you things from the farthest reaches of space to the very bones that make up your body, however it was never intended to be a place mat or a $500 board that your toddler uses while practicing his best impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. in your living room.

The sometimes PITA Mute switch tab

The engineers at Apple might think they've thought of everything concerning their products, they've never predicted that an iPad might be used like a Frisbee or an iPhone would be used as a discipline stick on the kitten. While the real-life use cases of these devices might deviate from the sleek hipster skinny jeans that the engineers might have designed the iPhone 5, the guys and gals at OtterBox have you covered, filling in the gaps that the Apple engineers might not build for, but all parents know: kids break stuff, and the more expensive the better.

I'm sexy and I know it.

Oh LOOK! I've wasted 4 paragraphs of words and the SEO stopped looking for keywords a long time ago, oh well. The OtterBox for the iPhone 5 is a sure-fire way to extend not only the life of the device, you also the resell value when you decide that you need to sell the iPhone 5 to offset the cost of the next My Precious you want to buy. Spend the money upfront: I'll even provide a nice link to click and save yourself some heartache later on.

The silicone cover removed from the polycarbonate shell

If you take the time to read about my Galaxy S III in the other article, you might see that the S III was supposed to be able to take a beating because of the Gorilla Glass and plastic housing of the phone. While iPhone 4 and 4S's were shattering and smashing their way through the news, Samsung decided to go the opposite direction, and make a plastic phone. Long story short, I went without a case and in a 6 months, my phone looked like it had been through a war. The plastic back of the phone was covered in millions of tiny micro scratches that looked horrible. Then the phone took an innocent fall off my bedside table onto carpet that shattered the screen. Bummer. This is the only phone I've ever not used an OtterBox with, and I paid for it. Even at full retail, the OtterBox is $50, the insurance replacement was $99. The math doesn't add up. Buy the OtterBox.

The OtterBox Defender is really a great case, and I'm not just saying that to be nice. The security that I feel while my phone is in the case is reassuring. There's a lot of money tied up in the phone, and while I have Apple Care + on it if I need it, it's better to avoid a claim in the first place if at all possible. Ounce of prevention and all that.

Volume and mute switch

The protection comes from having three layers between the phone and world. There is a memory foam layer that ensures that your phone won't get scratched from the OtterBox itself. Then there is a polycarbonate shell. Then the silicone cover goes over everything. The cutouts for the camera and flash on the back are huge. This allows the camera and such to work with no obstructions. The case comes in a ton of colors, and if you click through the Amazon.com ad embedded in this review you can see all of the options available. The OtterBox Defender protects against dust, drops and debris, however it doesn't protect against liquid damage. However, if you have all of the ports closed up on the case, you will see that you should be protected against most splashes. If it wasn't for the openings on the bottom of the phone, you might even get away with a quick splash in the toilet. (Yeah I went there. Don't shake your head you know someone that's dropped a phone into a toilet.)

All of the ports, from the headphone and lightning port are sealed up tight when closed. They can be a bit of a pain to open, even after having the case for a bit under a month, the tabs over the ports can be a hassle to open. I have no nails to speak of, can I am disadvantaged to maybe someone that grows a little bit of nail to pry with. The mute switch on the left side of the iPhone 5 can be a little bit of a pain to get to, mostly because I don't use it all that much. In fact, I've slid that switch through the case trying to get the damned tab to come open. It's a pain, but not a big one, my biggest gripe about the case is the screen protector.

The screen protector is bult in to the inner polycarbonate case, and it does its job very well. The crud that I wipe off that protector sometimes makes me very glad that I've got some protection on the phone, preventing scratches. However, sometimes the screen protector does this strange thing where it interferes with the touch with the iPhone. I can't always get it to happen, and it's random, but when it happens it's annoying as hell. Some people tear the screen protector off OtterBoxes as soon as they get them. My wife did that with her OtterBox too, but I don't want to risk scratching the screen, nor getting junk under the case in between the phone and the case.

After a month of use, it still looks new.

I don't want you to think that the OtterBox Defender is a POS, in fact that's the extent of my complaints about the case itself. It comes with a holster that you can position on your belt. However, you don't look cool with a phone on your belt. Just saying. However, you can have the screen facing in or out, and the holster doubles as a stand. I've never used it though, it's sitting in a drawer somewhere, but it's nice to know it is there if I need it.

Use the ad that I've got in the post to browse the OtterBox selection at Amazon. You'll get the best price for the OtterBox (I paid $50 minus my corporate discount at Verizon.) The cases on Amazon are less than $30 and there are a ton of different colors to choose from. Get one, stop worrying about dropping and damaging your device. OtterBox FTW!

DropBox and Mailbox Team up to make the ultimate box

2013-03-15T19:15:00.002-05:00

So here's the deal, the biggest thing that I miss from Android is the robust way that Android handles GMail. Gone are the labels, and most of the things that makes GMail so awesome. Now, the lastest version of GMail on iOS and in fact all of the Google apps on iOS are pretty awesome. However, since most of the contact that I make with my "official job" as a senior editor at AndroidDoes is through GMail, I've been looking for a more robust email solution on iOS.

I got my iPhone 5 a couple of weeks, maybe even a whole month after Mailbox was released on iTunes. Mailbox is supposed to be a revolutionary way to handle email, the whole point of the app is to get your email to zero. It allows you to parse the email that needs to be attended to now and snooze the email that can be handled later on. I was intrigued and went to sign up and boom I was in. Only problem is I was over 750,000 in line.

So the Mailbox team is doing a smart thing, only allowing so many people in the gates at a time, preventing server problems and ensuring that the people that are using the app are having a really good experience. It's not like we are paying for the app, it is totally free and right now they are only messing with GMail.

So today the Mailbox team announced that they are teaming up with Dropbox to help with the scaling issues that they are experiencing. What a great way to get the servers scaled up than to team up with Dropbox!

Well I am excited. I am getting to that point where I consider myself to be halfway there in the queue. I am 329,040 in line with 211,827 people behind me.

Here is a link to the Mailbox app.

Listen to David Bowie's New Album now for free

2013-03-02T14:30:00.001-06:00

David Bowie isn't one of my favorite singers, but I do recognize that the man is a legend. It has been ten years since his last album. Mr. Bowie has stuck a deal with Apple that allows anyone that has iTunes to listen to his new album, The Next Day, the whole album before it releases on March 12th.

This is a pretty interesting move, and one that I hopes catches on. There's something really special about this move, and I wish that more of the artists that I listen to follow suit. Anyway here's the link to listen to the album.

Also, if you purchase anything at Amazon.com using the ad below, I earn a couple of pennies and at this point, pennies really help!

Amazon.com Widgets

This is going to get me in trouble

2013-02-26T03:00:00.000-06:00

I started a couple of years ago with an iPod Touch, but sold it to pay the power bill.

Then I got an iMac.

Then the 3rd gen iMac.

Now I've had the iPhone 5 for three days.

There's been a billion articles written about the iOS vs Android back and forth, this vs that -- blah blah blah. For me the ONLY reason to switch was to see if the iPhone picked up better than the S3. The S3 has been a PITA since I got it the Jelly Bean update, dropping LTE and 3G, shaky connections and worst of all, the mobile hotspot didn't work worth a flip. I reset the phone almost weekly, tried flashing different radios on it, flashed a couple of ROMs on it to try and see if there was some magic combination of ROM and radios that would work for me. Nothing worked. Verizon did everything they could, even upgraded the equipment at the tower I use at home (it was scheduled to be upgraded anyway, they just did it faster.) Nothing worked, I was sent 3 different S3s, and even got an Ausrion replacement S3 that was refurbished in the USA. Nothing worked.

My wife's Razr Maxx had this really bad thing where it wouldn't hold LTE even though the S3 was chugging along with a 4-5 bars of LTE. It would drop to 3G and sometimes 1X, flipping around like crazy, but the hotspot worked since she was on ICS and not Jelly Bean. This problem is well documented on the Razr line and maybe the Jelly Bean update would fix that.

I'm sick of the bullshit. I've tried and tried to make this work, but I need my phone to have LTE, and have a good enough hotspot connection that I can get my schoolwork and such done.

Anyway, you know how this story is going to turn out. I got the iPhone 5. I don't have any problems with reception. My hotspot works great and it even seems to work better than on Android since my iMac does USB tethering natively and the iPad works great off the iPhone hotspot too.

My phone needed to have a strong connection, and I suspect that there is something going on with Android and CDMA that isn't playing nice when in a somewhat fringe area of coverage. For whatever reason, the iPhone just works for where I live and I have to live with that.

I'm not an Android fanboy, and I'm not an Apple apologist. Apple has conducted a hack and slash campaign of litigation that I personally find disgusting. I still have the Razr Maxx and I hope to get it updated to JB through WiFi. Hopefully I will get into the soak test. I still have my Nexus 7 and quite possibly will have this tablet until it just won't run anything anymore, I love my N7.

If I need to spell this out for you, I will. Android has a serious problem when it comes to carriers and OEMs mucking up the code. Android comes out clean, fast and for the most part problem-free. Some will argue that 4.2.1 was a clusterfuck, and it was but 4.2.2 has fixed most of what I had issues with. My Nexus 7 is pure Android. It works wonderful, I love the thing. I imagine that the Nexus 4 is a lot like the Nexus 7, but I am tied to Verizon and I can't up and leave the only carrier that has LTE where I live. My last experience with a Nexus phone was the Verizon Galaxy Nexus. What a clusterfuck that was, thanks Verizon.

So the only way to get a pure OEM experience, which is very important to me is to get a newer Android phone, and root and unlock the bootloader, and install an ASOP ROM, which voids your warranty. Or go to the one company that sticks a middle finger up at Big Red and get an iPhone.

So what does this mean? Do I lose my Android Cred since I have an iPhone? Maybe. Maybe I love technology and need to know that my phone is going to work, and be updated in a timely manner. That's why I got a Nexus 7, updates right from the el Google. To be clear what drive a wedge between me and Android is Verizon. Carriers suck and they need to stop putting custom skins on stuff, this goes to OEMs and fuckWiz and Sense and all the other LG cartoon skins. It needs to stop.

Online card readings by Amy - Thanks

2012-12-15T18:10:00.001-06:00

Thank you for your payment. Your transaction has been completed, and a receipt for your purchase has been emailed to you. You may log into your account at www.paypal.com/us to view details of this transaction.

If you have not set up a time to have the reading performed, then please click here to set up a time. Please note, you don't have to set up a chat with Amy to have the reading done. If for some reason the a suitable time isn't available, then we will gladly refund your money.

Online Tarot Card Readings by Amy

2012-12-15T17:48:00.000-06:00

If you would like to know what the holidays have in store for you, or if you have questions about life, love or anything that comes to mind for the new year, please consider having your cards read.

Amy Ennis is a gifted woman with a knack for card readings. She has over 20 years of experience and has performed thousands of readings.

She isn't going to sugar coat the results and give you a watered-down version of what the cards are saying.

Amy is running a special, for $10 she can do a reading for you!

Please click here to schedule a reading.

Wilson Electronics 4G LTE Signal Booster Review

2012-08-18T13:46:00.001-05:00

The Wilson Electronics 4G LTE is a signal booster that takes a Verizon LTE signal from an antenna that is installed outside of a building and amplifies the signal inside so you can enjoy 4G LTE Verizon service inside. To say that this fairly industrial-looking piece of metal, wires and plastic is the humble girl at the prom is an understatement. Believe me you want to take this girl out to prom and marry her if you have even a little bit of a hard time locking in Verizon’s LTE service where you live. The Wilson Electronics 4G LTE booster is an absolute marvel of modern engineering and worth every penny if your devices struggle to hold on to a 4G signal. Jump past the break for our full Wilson Electronics 4G LTE 700 Review.

First of all, if you read this site often and the name Wilson Electronics rings a bell, there’s a reason for that. We were fortunate to review the Wilson Electronics Sleek 4G-Vback a couple of months ago. The Sleek is a cradle that you can install in your car or truck and it pulls in both 3G and 4G signals and I was throughly impressed with the Sleek 4G-V. My review is up on Android Does and we gave it full marks. The Sleek was easy to install, looks great and works better than I ever expected it to. That same kind of detail and pedigree are present in the Wilson Electronics 4G LTE.

For this review, we are going to cover both the Wilson Electronics 4G LTE 700 and the Wilson Electronics DB Pro. If you live out in the sticks, or maybe just on the wrong side of a hill, this combination will ensure that you never drop a call or miss a text message again. With Verizon’s LTE service rolling out the way it is, it is amazing just how fast and through the service is blanketing the USA. The town that I live in is an old French Settlement, and we don’t even have a stoplight. It takes me 10 minutes to drive to “town” where the one Verizon tower is. The tower is about 6 miles away and I am on the fringe of the fringe of Verizon service. Went into this a little bit more in my review of the Sleek 4G-V, but Verizon did something at the tower to ensure that I get 3G at my home address. While standing in my front yard, my Galaxy Nexus only picks up 3G, however my Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola Razr Maxx pick up a very weak 4G signal. Pair this weak signal with the added challenge of a metal roof and you have the perfect testing grounds for a cell booster, and let me tell you: the Wilson Electronics products really deliver the goods.

This combination will ensure that you never drop a call or miss a text message again.

The Wilson Electronics 4G LTE 700 and DB Pro combine to allow me to feel as though there was a Verizon Tower in my backyard. The improvement is really that good. We used to run outside to take phone calls and to text, now we run INSIDE and it’s a great feeling. (Not to mention that the mosquitos in Louisiana do live up to their bird-like status.) Now to clear things up, the DB Pro (DB= Dual Band) covers the 1X/3G aspect of the signal, while the 4G LTE covers, the umm, 4G LTE. I mistakenly thought that I would be able to use the Wilson Electronics 4G LTE 7000 as an all-in-one solution and take down my DB Pro, but it doesn’t work that way. I called Wilson tech support and they were very clear about this point: The 4G LTE only covers 4G, it doesn’t cover 3G. Why does this matter?

The way that things are in cellular now, you have to almost have a degree in radio engineering (is that even a thing?) to understand what’s going on with cellphones. To take a complicated situation and make it really simple, I will try to explain it like this: Verizon Wireless has a couple of different frequencies that it operates on. Think of the frequencies as stations on your car radio. One station does phone calls and text messages, and the other station does data. The DB Pro does the phone calls/ text messages and some data. It does 1X, 3G on Verizon and Edge, 3G and HSPA on AT&T. The 4G LTE 700 only does Verizon LTE which is data. So when I thought that the LTE would replace the DB Pro, I pulled the plug on the DB Pro thinking that I would just be able to use the 4G LTE 700 by itself. However, this meant that I was unable to make any calls and missed a ton of text messages. I also encountered the very odd situation of having full 4G bars and by phone was searching for service.

But working together, the DB Pro and the 4G LTE 700 are a match made in heaven if you have spotty service. The improvement in my experience with both Verizon and my professional development has been tremendous. The equipment that Wilson Electronics has provided me with a environment where I can use Verizon’s LTE service, and both call and text from the comfort of my living room. It wasn’t unusual for us to go across to use the neighbor’s phone to make or receive phone important phone calls, which was especially hard when I was interviewing for a job located across the country and had multiple phone interviews. As a parent, the DB Pro and the 4G LTE 700 have provided me with the piece of mind knowing that my kids can get ahold of me anytime that they might need to.

Working together, the DB Pro and the 4G LTE 700 are a match made in heaven if you have spotty service.

Installation of both the DB Pro and the 4G LTE 700 were pretty straight forward. Find a place on the outside where to mount the plastic directional antenna. Run the cable inside the house. Plug the cable into the unit. Find a place inside to mount the antenna, run cable to the unit. Plug in the unit.

That’s the very simple version.

There’s a couple of things that you need to keep in mind before you actually start installing anything. The outside antenna needs to installed somewhere that receives a bar or two of service. That might mean going up on your roof and failing around like an idiot, looking for bars on your phone. Most Android phones have an “about” screen in the settings that give the signal strength as a number.

Once you have a signal locked in you can think about where you are going to put the antenna that’s inside. The inside antenna and the outside antenna are a lot like my parents. They work best when they are far apart from each other. The antennas should have a sufficient amount of vertical or horizontal space between them. This prevents the inside antenna from interfering with the outside antenna. Now find a place in the middle where you can install the unit, and don’t forget the power outlet. It sounds complicated, but the guys at Wilson are more than happy to help you out via email or on the phone. They can guide you to the perfect installation.

I chose not to go up on my roof because the only place I could mount the antenna is very close to where the electrical lines come into the house and I didn’t want to get close to the power lines. What I chose to do is go to Lowes and get a couple of TV masts poles. They come in 4 foot sections and fit into one another. I also got a bag of quick set cement and dug a hole. So basically I have a 12 foot pole in my back yard. I attached the antennas to the pole and ran the cables under my house and up into the living room.

Installation inside was easy, I just found an outlet and plugged the two units in. The panels are white and square and blend into the room. There wasn’t really a good way to hide the cables, but it’s a minor point. After looking at the setup, I ended up moving all the cables and the antennas into the space in the attic. The units are plugged in inside the attic, the antennas are pointed down into the living space under. Aside from digging a hole in the middle of a Louisiana summer, installation took less than an hour.

The issue of grounding was brought up, and I got this answer from Broc Jenkins, Technical Support Manager:

The only thing that would need to be grounded would be the lightning surge protector (if installed). If you have a surge protector installed with a signal booster system, then it will need to be grounded by running a 12 gauge copper wire (solid or braided) from the surge protector to a ground. If no surge protector is installed, then nothing will need to be grounded.

Both units have adjustable gain on them. This allows you to adjust the ‘intensity’ of the signal being boosted inside and the home and the signal back to the tower itself. The gain adjustments allow for less than ideal installations, sometimes no matter what the situation you just can get the vertical or horizontal separation that you need to ensure the maximum amount of coverage inside. The units also have sophisticated circuitry that prevents feedback to the tower, and you don’t want that! (Verizon doesn’t want it either!) Setting the proper gain can be a pain, but Wilson provided a built-in test mode that makes finding the proper level of gain a breeze. When you first plug in the DB Pro or 4G LTE 700 the units go into a test mode for 15 minutes. This test mode allows you to find the highest level of gain you can use without causing the signal to falter. Basically you start at the highest gain and turn the dial back until the red light goes away. It’s that simple. Once you set it up, you can forget it and it works silently in the background.

One thing that to keep in mind is that DB Pro uses the usual cables for running satellite tv, RG-6 which is very much widely available and low-loss. It is provided in the kit that I got, and it also is easy to find. The 4G LTE 700 requires a type of cable that I am not familiar with, what I do know is that this cable is very thick and also very heavy. It’s something to keep in mind when running the cable inside the home. The standard holes that you may have drilled already are not going to be large enough to accommodate the larger cables.

The engineers at Wilson Electronics have put together quite a package here and they really understand the ins and outs of the business of boosting cellphone signals. Their products are not cheap, you really do get what you pay for, and I cannot recommend them enough. Their products simply work, and if you do encounter a problem, a real live human answers the phone! If you struggle with weak signals, be it in your car, or your home there is a solution for you from Wilson.

Purchase: DB Pro
Purchase: 4G LTE 700
Purchase: Sleek 4G-V