Not everybody is a DJ, but it’s one of those things that most people appreciate in some way. Whether it’s dancing the night away in a nightclub or listening to a great set of tracks in your car, DJing seems to have become an art people are drawn to, and the power of smartphones today means you can do a little bit of it yourself. To be fair, the iRig Mix Mobile Mixer isn’t going to replace expensive DJ gear outright, but it is a good entry point into mixing tracks.

Adobe Photoshop is the preeminent photo-editing software and platform in the world today. Everyone knows that. And the word “Photoshop” has even become a verb to describe edited images. Photoshop moved to the iPad and Android tablets last year, and most recently came to the iPhone and iPod Touch and Android smartphones. The app is fairly deep and intuitive on smaller screens, but keeping your expectations reasonable should ensure that you’re better prepared to deal with its challenges.

Ion is a company known for making smartphone and tablet accessories that are a little unusual, but plenty of fun. The Party Rocker is a big standing speaker that can play music wirelessly from any Bluetooth-enabled music player or via a standard 3.5mm line-in cable. The light at the top projects lights like a disco ball onto the walls and ceiling of a room, and can change the colours and patterns based on the beat of the music you’re playing. There’s also a microphone for those who want to go all-out and start singing along.

If you’re a Sirius or XM satellite radio subscriber, you may already know what’s coming, but even if you don’t, or even if you’re thinking about signing up, new features and service expansion might sweeten the deal. The new features bring in Internet connectivity into the mix, and make it more possible than ever to listen to content you may have missed.

Sphero is a robotic ball that can be controlled on an iOS or Android device through a Bluetooth connection.  Using the multi-touch capabilities of these devices, you can move Sphero around indoors, outdoors and even on water. It is available online from Future Shop for $129.99

"Are we there yet?" It's a saying most parents get used to hearing when traveling with babies and children! Getting away is fun, but, let's face it, the 'getting there' can be plain ol' stressful with young children in tow! Since there's only a few weeks of summer left to get away with family before the fall school routine begins (eek!), I thought I'd share a few of my tried and true tips on how to travel with children (without losing your mind ;-)).

SOL Republic have only just entered the Canadian market, and on top of the Tracks and Tracks HD headphones available at Future Shop, there’s also a Deadmau5-themed set ready to hit the shelves, too. One of Canada’s most famous DJs and producers seems to have loved the brand so much, he helped design a set that carries his look and imprint on them.

The whole business around headphones these days is just as much about style as it is about substance. What celebrity isn’t endorsing a line of headphones nowadays? You know you’ve hit close to rock bottom when Pauly D from Jersey Shore is primed to get his own branded set. On the outside looking in at this madness is SOL Republic, a new company that’s barely a year old, but a potential rising star in a confusing category. Having met with one of the company’s chief executives and trying out a couple of their headphones, I came away surprised at what I experienced.

It’s arguable that there isn’t enough integration between smartphones and game consoles, but FullBlast offers some cool functionality to bridge the two together when it comes to playing music. In a nutshell, it lets you take the music you have stored on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and stream it directly to your PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 for playback on your TV, and whatever sound system you have hooked up to it.

The holidays are still months away but Philips recently showed off a range of products and accessories that are coming to market and will be available at Future Shop. It was Christmas in July. Some of the notable releases are Made for Android headsets, speakers and docks; some rugged headsets for sporty smartphone users and booming smartphone docks for iOS and Android devices.

Let’s start off the new week the way we wrapped up last week—with a homescreen. In this case it’s none other thanMathew Kumar

If you haven’t heard of Otterbox, you are likely to hear more about the company moving forward. The reason why is because they keep making cases for smartphones and mobile devices that are equal parts sleek, sophisticated and durable. The Defender Series for the iPod Touch 4G is an improvement from the previous version, and is arguably one of the most reliable cases available for the device.

Sony’s Walkman may have helped pioneer the notion of truly portable music, but the brand has never been able to recapture the magic of the 80s and 90s when the cassette and the CD ruled the music world. Not that Sony was alone in being overrun by the iPod juggernaut, as Apple steamrolled through many competitors, but in a time where smartphones have clearly taken over, is there room for a dedicated Walkman portable media player running on Android?