Gadgets: Rowkin surger charge earbuds

Rowkin's Surge Charge wireless earbuds are cheaper and sturdier than the AirPods. They will not shake loose.

The Rowkin Surge was introduced last year to some decent reviews, but one of the recurring knocks was the lack of a case. The Surge was introduced without a case of any kind (and you can still buy that version for $99).

For just $20 more, you can now buy the Surge with a case that has a built-in battery to charge the earbuds on the go.

The Surge Charge earbuds are not nearly as elegant as the $159 Apple AirPods, but they are much more rugged and weather-resistant, and they sound surprisingly good.

Surge earbuds are designed with activity in mind. They are fairly large, and they are designed to seal in your ear canal with a large ear loop to keep them firmly in place.

The nature of the Surge's design — they are not tethered by a wire — means each has its own battery, and they have to be charged individually.

The Surge Charge case contains the charging battery and a dual-headed USB cable so you can charge each earbud while it's inside the case.

The Surge has a microphone to make and take phone calls.

They aren't the prettiest earbuds, but functionally they do their job exceptionally well.

The PhotoSpring might look like an iPad and shares some features with tablet computers, but it has a single purpose — it is a wireless display for your photos and videos.

Unlike early digital photo frames that just sat on a shelf, the PhotoSpring has a four-hour rechargeable battery so you can take the frame with you to enjoy on the sofa or pass around at your next family reunion.

At home, the PhotoSpring sits in a charging dock. You can orient the frame vertically or horizontally, and it will happily sit there all day scrolling through your photos.

The 16-gigabyte, $149 PhotoSpring can hold about 15,000 photos or 40 minutes of video. A 32-gigabyte version holds twice as much for just $169.