So we’ve all heard about HDMI cables that are triple-super coated in platinum ox blood, claiming to magically boost your picture quality while costing upwards of $1,000 to do so. Despite the hilarious amazon review for an HDMI cable that costs as much as a powerful computer, these claims have been tested and those cables are nothing more than modern snake oil. But the mCable is special, it’s an HDMI cable with bold claims, but it has a lot of tech backing that up.

Essentially, the mCable has a chip built into the plug connector which performs anti-aliasing on the signal before it reaches the TV. By performing anti-aliasing on the signal, jagged lines of pixels are softened, making the picture look higher quality. The same function is already used on modern graphics cards in computers, but consoles like the Xbox One, don’t do much anti-aliasing, so the cable could very well improve its quality.

One website, PC Perspective, did an in-depth review of the claims and showed just how effective the cable was, and how it stacked up against traditional graphics card anti-aliasing. The screenshots they list, show an improved picture with much softer jagged lines.

And while the cable might not be worth the investment for a PC gamer with a spec’d out rig, for someone wanting the best picture for their PlayStation or Xbox setup, $120 might not be such a terrible investment.

It seems like everyday manufacturers are trying to turn something else in our house ‘smart’. Today we have smart TVs, smart refrigerators, smart lightbulbs, smart door handles, and even smart juice pressers, but Levi’s has now released their own jacket that has some smart tricks ‘up-its-sleeve’.

Their latest offering is a standard looking Levi’s denim trucker jacket with ‘smart fibers’ woven into the sleeve. These fibers can detect swipes from a hand and can connect with your phone via an attached Bluetooth dongle to do things like skip a song track. There are three different gestures that can be detected, a swipe to the left, a swipe to the right, and a double tap, and these gestures can then be programmed to do a few different things.

As cool as the tech seems, I can’t think of many situations where using controls from a smart sleeve would be more handy than, let’s say, using the in-line buttons on wired headphones, or using your smartwatch to skip a track, because if you’re the type to buy a smart jacket, you already have a smartwatch.

It’s available now through Levi’s, and to be fair, its $350 price seems more reasonable when you consider that the standard Levi’s trucker jacket is already about $150. And if you’re the type that’s into spending real money of jackets and it sounds like a cool idea, then maybe you should check it out.

[ TheVerge ]

Mobile technology has become increasingly popular lately and it offers users an incredibly diversity, not only in terms of applications and software, but also in terms of hardware. Nowadays, people can choose from a wide array of devices that provide the flexibility necessary to keep up with modern life. Among these, laptops are definitely the most popular ones. So, if you are thinking about making a good purchase before 2017 is over and you want to read some reliable laptop reviews, then this article is for you. There are several sophisticated models and trusted brands that have stood out during the past months, but the best thing you can do is pick a device that matches best your personal needs. So, whether you are searching for a product for gaming, one that will replace your desktop, or a light laptop you can carry around daily, you will find plenty of qualitative machines. Beautiful design, unbelievable technical specifications and edgy features – there I a whole range of products for you to pick from. Here comes our recommendations:

It’s gift season. And these days, gift season means gadget season. Consumer electronics companies often choose this time of year to mass produce cheap garbage that no one should buy. We will often buy enticing looking tech objects for gifts that we would never buy for ourselves. These cheap gadgets have the benefit of making us appear to be thoughtful gift givers, while also providing a sense of being on the cutting edge of coolness.

It wasn’t that long ago that Amazon offered a 6-pack of super cheap tablets so that you could hand them out like trading cards. Trading cards would have been a better long-term gift. Race to the bottom tech gifts generally serve only the needs of the seller. They end up in junk drawers and landfills. Your family deserves better. So instead of getting several pieces of junk for individual family members, why not get one or two nice things the whole family can enjoy? Here are a few suggestions:

Drones
Drones are the hot tech item of 2017. And they will be flying off of store shelves like nothing else this year. The reason is versatility. Drones cover the market in the categories of age, experience, utility, gender, and price. There is almost no category of person that can’t find a drone that is right for them.

Wireless charging sure is exciting isn’t it? Not having to worry about your phone being dead because you forgot to plug it in, and instead just laying a charging slab is one of the coolest new features on a smartphone. Well, BMW is doing something just as exciting for their new 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid, a wireless pad that is able to charge your car overnight.

Like you’d expect, the pad works like any wireless charger and you simply drive your car on top of the rather large pad to have it start charging. The car’s display will guide you with gridlines to show you when you’re properly positioned over the pad. BMW even says the 9.4kWh battery in the hybrid can be charged in about 3.5 hours, which about the same rate as plugging it in.

It’s not available yet, and it still needs UL approval to move forward, so it could be a few years until this feature is available on any BMW electric/hybrid models. Despite that, I think as electric cars become much more prevalent, this is going to be an increasingly enticing feature for people taking the plunge into electric cars. The future sure is looking cool, isn’t it?

[ TheVerge ]

That’s right, another company is following in the footsteps of Nintendo’s success and announcing their own retro console, this time it’s Commodore rebranding their super popular 1982 Commodore 64 in a miniature format. The Commodore 64 Mini features two USB ports, an included joystick and an HDMI output, as well as including 64 built-in classic games from the home computer.

It’ll be interesting to see if you’ll be able to use the Commodore Mini just like an old C64 computer for a blast to the past, or it’ll be strictly limited to playing C64 games. The original 1982 version was the best-selling computer model of all-time selling roughly 10-17 million units, so there could be many people wanting to relive their days of programming in BASIC.

The Commodore 64 Mini will be expected in early 2018 and will cost $70, and company also says that it plans to release a full-size version of the computer in 2018 as well.

[ Commodore 64 Mini ] VIA [ IGN ]

I don’t know about you, but I think traditional floss strings are problematic and challenging to use. If you have the same opinion, you can try out this Waterpik WP-560 Cordless Advanced Water Flosser. Yeah, it uses water to clean the unreachable spaces between your teeth. Dentists recommend it and say water flossing is healthier for your gums and teeth.

Swamped with desk jobs? That’s no excuse to skip exercises if you have the FitDesk Desk Bike. This is a smart and healthier way to work—while cycling and sweating it out. It offers you a working desk, comfortable beach cruiser style seat, and forearm massage rollers. No worries, the flywheels aren’t noisy. You can still work in peace.

Lastly, treat yourself with the Firestick + Voice Remote + Echo Dot Combo and enjoy days and nights on your couch. Alexa will take care of your requests. Just tell her. Just relax and enjoy tens of thousands of channels, apps, and Alexa skills. Better stuff your fridge and have your favorite pizza parlor on speed dial.

As someone who’s used a number of different headphones, I know that the best shaped in-ear headphones for a workout have a small hook that helps lock the headphone in place. And if you’ve invested over $150 for a pair of AirPods, you’d probably like to use them in any situation without having them fall out of your ear.

Well, Elago Earhooks help you do just that. They’re just small silicone tips that attach to your AirPods to give them that little hook to allow the headphones to fit more securely in your ear, improving on the rather mediocre fit of Apple’s headphones.

The Earhooks come in a number of colors and at around $9, it might just be worth it to try as some people find they really prefer the hook design of headphones. And I see no reason why they wouldn’t work with the standard Apple Airpods if you really want to improve the fit.

[ Amazon ]

Introducing the BeoPlay S3 Flexible Wireless Home Speaker, the best speaker for quality and clear sound. Using the refined engineering of Bang & Olufsen, this Bluetooth speaker is powerful enough to be heard throughout the house. Choose to keep on speaker at home or add a few to connect and simultaneously play the same content. The BeoPlay S3 provides true sound giving you the music as it was supposed to be heard.

[ Learn More About BeoPlay S3 ]