Toronto Thumbs

Events
Urbanears – Coloud – Slussen
Fall/Winter Media Preview

Recently, Toronto Thumbs was invited to the Spearmint Pelican Showroom in Liberty Village to check out a Fall/Winter 2013 Media Preview of various apparel, footwear, swimwear and tech! While the clothing was really cool, we were there to chat with Desmond Hill, tech dude and all around nice guy who was showing off listening hardware! On display were new and established devices from Urbanears and Coloud, as well as new pieces by Molani

Read the rest »

Posted in Gadgets, Hardware | No Comments »

Indiegogo-Go!
JamStik

There are a number of guitar applicationns out there for various platforms; but the JamStik from Zivix is a pretty awesome idea. One of the biggest hurdles with any app based on a musical instrument is the interface. However, JamStik gets around that by actually having a physical input that emulates a guitar. It looks fairly effective – and definitely fun. Chad Koehler, VP of Zivix, was nice enough to answer a few of our questions.

Check out the interview below. When you’re done, why not take a look at their crowdfunding page?

Read the rest »

Posted in Awesome, Gadgets, Hardware, iOS, Kickstarter, Music | No Comments »

Reviews
The Boom
Coloud

At first glance, Coloud’s “The Boom” headset seems to be pulled from an IKEA catalog. The simple design, bright colours and absence of heft make it look and feel a bit light on production value; but don’t let these factors fool you. The Boom is actually a solid over-the-air headset with surprising sound quality and decent featured.

Read the rest »

Posted in Gadgets, Hardware, Reviews | No Comments »

Reviews
Razer Ouroboros

I flipped open the black case and half expected a hissing noise and the quick dispersal of vapour as I lifted the lid farther from the base. The ambient light attempted to play across the dark grey, laser-cut foam, and was seemingly to be absorbed by the matte black surface of the Razer Ouroboros. I lifted it out of the protective container, slid in a battery and was delighted to see a green glow emanating from various points on the peripheral. I placed it on the desk and stared at it; I hadn’t even started using it to play any games at that point – and yet, I felt like a bad-ass¹.

Read the rest »

Posted in Gadgets, Hardware, Reviews | 1 Comment »

Reviews
RHA MA450i Earphones

When it comes to listening to my iPod or playing on my 3DS or my Vita, I tend to favour the performance of headphones over ear buds. I find that the sound quality of a nice, beefy headset is usually better in terms of bass and the production of a nice, clean sound. RHA’s MA450i earphones, while not superior (sound-wise) to the headset that I tend use, are a really great set of ear buds that definitely challenged my views regarding in-ear listening devices.

Read the rest »

Posted in Gadgets, Hardware, Reviews | No Comments »

Odd Prods
The 3Doodler

3D printing is one of the coolest things on the planet (in my opinion). The fact that one can create something entirely in 3D from nothing is a boon for architects and modelers. Of course, the problem with 3D printing is accessibility – your average person can’t afford to do it on their own (instantly); they might also not have access to the software. I’m sure that in the future, these may not be such high barriers – but what if someone wants to play in 3D space sooner than later? Well, Peter Dilworth and Max Bogue, co-founders of Wobbleworks LLC, have come up with a pretty cool solution.

Read the rest »

Posted in Art, Gadgets, Odd Prods | No Comments »

Odd Prods
Woodees iPic
Multi Purpose Pick Stylus

Last year, I was at a media event, chatting with Steve Tilley about Draw Something. During one part of our discussion, we talked about how some people were able to draw such amazingly detailed pictures. I marveled at this, and expressed my admiration for these artists. I told Steve that drawings like that must have been done on an iPad, which gives those users a bit of an advantage over those using an iPhone or iPod Touch (due to screen real estate); but Steve told me that a lot of those detailed drawings were created with a stylus.

So, I bought a stylus, and used it for a little while, but it was a little bulky for my pocket. The short version of the stylus (it came in a two-pack: one long and one short) felt like holding chalk, which was good enough – but at times became uncomfortable. Woodees sent us the iPic Multi Purpose Pick Stylus to try out; and I have to say that it pays to be “picky”.

Read the rest »

Posted in Android, Byte-Size Reviews, Gadgets, iOS, Odd Prods | No Comments »