Author: Emily Dolloff

  • Tech Talk 101

    We are excited to announce the next edition of our world famous Tech Talk 101 series. Michael Scott Duplessis (Apple Certified Support Professional, Technical Coordinator, and “Tetris afficionado)”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/app-review-tetris-blitz/ is hosting once again this month and will be talking about **Email, Calendars, and Contacts: How They Sync and Best Practices.**

    Topics will include:

    * Setting up email on your device
    * IMAP, POP, SMTP, CalDAV, CardDAV: What DO all these acronyms mean?
    * Effectively managing and syncing your contacts
    * Creating and sharing calendars
    * Plus much more!

    This **FREE** event will take place on Wednesday May 27th at 7pm. This event is limited to just 30 attendees and has been filling up quickly. You can sign up starting Thursday May 21st at 7 PM by clicking “*this link.*”:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/email-calendars-and-contacts-how-they-sync-and-best-practices-tickets-16900648294

  • I have been a Vermonter my entire life, but talk all the time about moving south and being done with Vermont winters. This year is no exception. However, the difference this year is that I have decided the best way to handle the winters is to embrace the cold and to once again take up winter sports.

    I recently bought new ski equipment so that I can join my oldest daughter on the ski slopes and we also hope to get in some more snowshoeing. Last winter my youngest daughter, Olivia, struggled a little bit with the snowshoes and I hope this year she has a better time with it!

    Stay safe and warm everyone!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don (in absentia), Emily, Rachel, Dean & Mike_

  • _Hello Friends,_

    It’s Emily, taking over for Don this week while he is checking out new gadgets at the “*2015 Consumer Electronics Show*”:http://www.cesweb.org in Las Vegas. While Don is perusing the latest and greatest in electronics, the majority of the team is back in Vermont just trying to just “*stay warm*”:http://i.giphy.com/5ZdW3tadQFppS.gif and it seems like most of the country is as well! I have lived in Vermont my entire life, but that doesn’t make it any easier to get up in the morning and see 20 below zero and know you still have to feed horses before going to work. Complaining aside, I love my horses dearly and have learned that when it’s this cold, it just means I need to move a little quicker through barn chores. This past morning was particularly chilly. In fact it was so cold I thought it best to lug my frozen water buckets inside to thaw by the fire rather than trying to bang the ice out of the buckets and have them crack. Don and I often give each other a hard time about temperatures…well mostly it’s Don bragging about it being sunny and 75 in Key West. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get a little pleasure hearing it was in the 40s in Las Vegas earlier this week. It’s good for him to not become too soft when it comes to colder temperatures!

    As many people have predicted and anticipated, home automation is one of the big attractions at CES this year. Countless companies and developers are rolling out new products and expansions to “*Apple’s HomeKit*”:https://developer.apple.com/homekit/ are no exception. Schlage has updated their smart lock system, allowing iPhone users to unlock their home with just their voice. iDevices is another company that’s been working on accessories to Apple’s HomeKit and released a switch that allows users to control appliances, lights and more. With this switch you can even use Siri to to tell your switch to make a light brighter! Other cool products coming out of CES this year are new Bluetooth headphones from Sennheiser: the Urbanite XL. These headphones have a built-in touchpad that allow users to skip songs, take phone calls, and adjust the volume. You can also pair these headphones to two devices at once, so you can listen to music on your computer and not miss a call on your phone! Of course one of the drawbacks to seeing and hearing about all of these new gadgets is that they all aren’t available for purchase just yet, but we expect in the coming weeks and months to see more of these products readily available. In the meantime, it leaves us all plenty of time to map out and plan where all of these gadgets will go in our homes and offices!

    In honor of home automation, this week we have some great deals on products from WeMo. Wirelessly monitor your home from afar, turn on the lights before you get home and control the brightness of your room, all from your iPhone!

  • Making it Easy to Give!

    This holiday season we want to make it as easy as we can to make sure your gift buying is as stress free as possible. We have put together a great bundle for anyone with a new Mac on their holiday shopping list.

    Buy any new Mac from us (excluding Mac mini) with AppleCare and get some great extras! We will give you a **FREE** “Chill Box”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/83669/chill-box-bluetooth-speaker-by-chill-pill-audio-tuxedo-black and a **$50** Small Dog gift card! The Chill Box is a wireless speaker that is portable, works on Bluetooth and can be utilized with computers, iPhones and the iPod touch. You can use the gift card for additional items you might want to purchase, like an external hard drive, or save the gift card as a great stocking stuffer! Save even more money by buying the “Canon MC472”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85729/canon-pixma-mx472-wireless-inkjet-photo-all-in-one-w-airplay Airplay printer for just **$50.**

    In one stop at Small Dog you can get a jump start on your holiday buying and ensure that you’re getting everything the tech lover on your list will need for this holiday season!

  • Stumped?

    **Check out Santa Don’s Holiday Gift Guide for great last minute gift giving ideas!**

    Sonos Play Bar Home Theatre Sound Bar

    **$699.99**

    Seagate 2TB Backup Drive

    **$129.99**

    Hammerhead 4 Port Charger

    **$24.99**

    Apple Time Capsule

    Starting at **$299.99**

  • Jump On It!

    Ok, let’s face it: the holiday season can be stressful. You probably have endless lists of wants from family, friends, and the kids. I know this firsthand. With two small children in my house I think I have a new list every other day. It’s overwhelming at times to think of all the gifts to be purchased and where to find them, especially with a diverse group of individuals to buy for!

    This year we are hoping to make the idea of gift giving a little less stressful for everyone. We have gifts for the tech junkie on your list and those who might be new to the scene. We are working to stock our shelves with last minute stocking stuffers, gadgets and accessories you never knew existed and, of course, Apple products and accessories! We don’t want any of our customers to feel like they need to fight the crowds to get a great deal, so we are running some great weeklong promotions featuring some great BOGO deals. You can get one for a friend and one for yourself and not feel guilty.

    Starting this Saturday, both online and in-store, you can *save up to $200* on a new Mac and great accessories. With the purchase of any new Mac (other than the Mac mini) with AppleCare you get a Chill Box, a $50 Small Dog gift card, and save $50 on a Canon printer! We will also be offering *$15 off* any iPad case with the purchase of an iPad in addition to any sale price on iPad cases.

    “*You can see all of the great deals online NOW through Sunday November 30th here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/thanksgiving

  • Mac Mini gets faster and a Fusion drive

    It’s been two years since we saw an update to Apple’s little desktop computer: the Mac mini. This machine has finally received the kind of specs bump you’d expect after so long. Among other new features, it has new 4th-generation Intel processors and two Thunderbolt 2 ports. The base model carries a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Intel HD Graphics 5000 graphics processor, a 500GB hard drive, and 4GB of memory. The top-of-the-line model has a 2.8 GHz dual-core processor, Iris graphics processor, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB fusion drive. As an added bonus, as Phil Schiller says it is “the world’s most energy-efficient computer.” While the internals might be new, the design still looks a lot like its small, silver 2012 counterpart, and it seems to occupy the same position as a low-cost, low-profile alternative to the iMac. It’s going to start shipping today starting at just $499!

  • The iMac with Retina 5K has arrived!

    Apple’s all-in-one desktop recently received an amazing upgrade in the 27 inch model. The 27 inch iMac now offers a resolution of 5120 pixels by 2880 pixels, or 14.7 million total pixels! That’s **SEVEN TIMES** as many as you would find in a high-definition television! Despite the added pixels, the iMac remains thin at 5 millimeters. We are lucky enough here at Small Dog to have this incredible machine on display and customers and staff alike have all been agog as they admire how incredible images look on the display! The 5K iMac starts at **$2499.99** and features a 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, 8gb of RAM, a 1TB fusion drive and the AMD Radeon R9 M290x 2GB video card. We are sure this machine is popping up on many Christmas lists this year! We do expect high demand for this amazing machine, so if you are thinking of checking it off your holiday gift giving list we recommend putting an order in today!

  • New iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3!

    The third generation of iPad mini is here and gets Touch ID! However, aside from the Touch ID, it’s not changing a whole lot. The major visual difference is the addition of a Touch ID sensor like the new iPad Air has. The new mini is still using the A7 processor, and the rear camera is only 5 megapixels compared to the Air 2’s 8MP sensor. Like the iPad Air, the iPad mini 3 is available in silver, space gray, and is now also available in gold. The base 16GB model will sell for **$399** and inventory is available now! For anyone who does not care about having the very latest tablet, Apple is also keeping both the original iPad mini and the iPad mini 2 (formerly the iPad mini with Retina display) and giving them a substantial price cut. That means you can buy an iPad mini 2 for $299 and up, and the original mini is only $249.

    iPad Air 2 is the thinnest iPad to date at 6.1 millimeters, or 18 percent thinner than the original iPad Air. The new A8X chip is 40 percent faster than its predecessor and Apple says the device’s graphics are processed 2.5 times faster. The rear camera is 8 megapixels, significantly improved over its predecessor, and is able to shoot slow-motion video and time lapses for the first time. The front camera has improved face detection and a “burst selfies” mode. iPad Air is also getting customers’ most-requested feature: Touch ID for fingerprint access to your device and the increasing number of apps that take advantage of it. But, while you can use Touch ID to make Apple Pay purchases online, you can’t use it IRL (in real life) which indicates that the iPad Air does not have an NFC chip. The device starts at **$499** for the 16GB wifi-only version, **$599** gets you 64GB, and **$699** gets you 128GB. As usual, add $130 for cellular LTE-enabled versions. The “cellular enabled”:http://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/wireless/ iPad Air 2s, they are ready out of the box for AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint. Verizon users will need to contact Verizon or visit your location Verizon store.

  • Tech Talk 101

    **Intro to iOS 8 Wednesday November 12th from 7pm-8pm at 100 Dorset Street in South Burlington**

    **Reservations REQUIRED…see below for details.**

    We are thrilled to see how popular these free sessions are. When we first came up with the idea of these free lessons we thought we would be happy if 10-15 people attended the events. We never imagined that these events would sell out in minutes! We recognize that many people are not able to attend because of how fast the available seats are reserved, so we are looking at ways to allow for more people to attend! Stay tuned for more information after the holidays, but until then, **be on the lookout for our email blast** letting everyone know when and how to sign up for the November 12th session. This will be our only November event and will resume them again after the Holiday season.

  • Great Hands Free Options!

    We have several options available in all of our retail stores for hands-free freedom while traveling down the road! Our retail staff have been eagerly testing many of these devices and are ready to help you make the right choice on the solution that will best suite your needs and your budget.

    “Jabra Tour”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86015/jabra-tour-bluetooth-in-car-speakerphone-black **$69.99**

    This device is a staff favorite!

    “Jawbone Era”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86040/jawbone-era-bluetooth-earpiece-silver **$99.99**

    We know that many people need the freedom to be hands-free not only in their car but on the go as well! The Jawbone Era has amazing clarity and ease of use and is extremely comfortable to wear.

    “Plantronics Earset”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86014/plantronics-m25-earset **$34.99**

    You don’t have to break the bank to be hands free!

    “Belking CarAudio Connect with Bluetooth”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/85667/belkin-caraudio-connect-aux-with-bluetooth **$79.99**

    Route your calls, streaming music, and iTunes playlists through your car speakers!

  • Welcome Darek Ashe!

    We would like to welcome Darek Ashe to the team at Small Dog Key West!

    Darek was born in Key West and is thus an official “conch”. He has been serving the community in retail sales and customer service for over 15 years and we are excited to have him here at Small Dog. He has an extensive background with AT&T wireless and with Apple just launching the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus our customers are in excellent hands with Darek! Darek’s passion is learning about new technologies and loves to share this knowledge with his customers.

    Darek has a beautiful family with his wife and 2 children and spends his off time enjoying his family and the Keys community.