March 2010

Quick Tip: Change the name of your iPhone or iPod

I came across this picture over at Howard Forums and couldn’t help but laugh at what the person had named his/her iPhone and what happened when it was “syncing” (look at the text at the top-middle 😉 ) Then I thought about it and wondered, how many people even know that the name of their iPhone or iPod can be changed? Or how many of you, in the excitement of setting up your new device simply left the default name in the set up box when you first synced it with iTunes? If you’re tired of seeing your beloved device…

News

Full Feeds Again

Never mind the scrapers! Those who subscribe to Gear Diary’s RSS know that for the longest time we have used an abbreviated or truncated feed. If you read a bit and liked what you saw, then you could click the link and come see the rest of the article on the main site. The biggest reason we did this was because in the site’s early days we started off with a full feed — which was promptly scraped and reposted on various other sites around the net. That led to truncating the feed and at least having the knowledge that…

News

Remember To Spring Forward Tonight

picture courtesy of Wikipedia It’s one of my favorite times of the year – when we lose an hour by setting our clocks forward, but in return we gain sunlight during the later hours of the day. Yes, tonight marks the beginning of Daylight Savings Time! I realize that its origins are controversial, and you can argue all you’d like about the many cons and inconveniences of setting one’s clock forward, but for me it’s all worth it. So say goodbye to darkness at 6pm, say adios to any remnants of seasonal affective depression … and say hello to spring’s…

How to Do It Yourself!

Seagate DockStar + iPad = Limitless Storage On The Go

I ordered a 64 GB iPad because I have long subscribed to the belief that you should always order and purchase the device with the largest amount of memory that you can afford. (The only exception to this comes into play when you’re purchasing a new notebook. In that case I believe that you should only order an SSD drive, but still… the largest solid-state drive that you can.) So I ordered a 64 GB iPad. It should be a good amount of space, and will likely hold me for quite some time. Then again, if I end up loading…

Reviews

Bluebeards Original: Look Like a Pirate Minus the Itch

If you’ve ever tried to grow a beard you know the first few weeks are the toughest part. Why? It itches! New hairs growing in on your face can be bothersome not only to you but to your family members as well. I’ve let my beard grow before, sometime just out of laziness on the weekend, other times just for fun, but my family members often complain that it’s scratchy. Especially when my daughters ask for a good-night kiss and my wife often catches me scratching and pawing at my scruffy face. I recently stumbled across Bluebeard Original, who makes…

Reviews

Destinator 9 for iPhone Review

The iTunes App Store is filled with GPS applications. Destinator 9 from Intrinsyc is the latest addition to the category. Destinator has been running on a variety of other mobile devices and GPS units for a while now and it’s achieved a large following. The iPhone version of the application brings a rich, featured filled GPS client complete with real time traffic updates, on-board maps, voice guided directions, extended POIs and more. I recently downloaded the free trial of Destinator 9 from the App Store and took it out on the road for a drive. Here are my thoughts.

Reviews

Toshiba 640GB Portable Hard Drive Review

Update: This giveaway is now closed and timtim is the winner. Thank you for entering, and please keep an eye out for future Gear Diary giveaways! 🙂 I was sent a Toshiba 640GB Portable Hard Drive in “Rocket Red” to review, but since this one will also be given away, I was hesitant to use and abuse it like I might a memory device I would be keeping. Therefore, in return for this micro-review, you get a chance to win a pocket-size time capsule just waiting to be filled with your important documents and digital memories.

eBooks, Editorials

Ides of March eBook Edition

Welcome to this week’s “State of the ebook”. As usual, we’re diving in with news, then looking at a few major stories that have been floating around the ebook world. Apparently the eInk/Android mashup is becoming very attractive these days, as on the heels of the Entourage Edge and the Alex Reader we have yet ANOTHER similar device. This one is the 1Cross Tech MIDHybrid, and it has an LCD screen with Android and a QWERTY on one side, and an eInk on the other. Sort of like the cousin of the Entourage Edge. There’s no info on pricing, but…

How to Do It Yourself!

Flip AT&T’s Control over the Backflip

If you bought a Moto Backflip, you probably noticed the odd use of Yahoo Search over Google, and the incredible amount of AT&T bloatware included on the device. Unfortunately, short of rooting it there’s not much you can do about either of those, but AT&T did something far worse to the Backflip that you WILL want to change. Every other Android phone offers an option to install apps from outside the marketplace. Sometimes it is a beta (like the Swype keyboard beta), other times it is things like PDANet, a tethering utility, that isn’t sold through the marketplace. If you…

Reviews

V-MODA Remix Headphones Review

Image courtesy of V-MODA There’s some old saying the goes along the lines of “you’re only as good as the people around you.” I feel the same way towards the relationship between my iPod or my iPhone and the headphones I use with each. I may have the largest, most comprehensive music collection on the planet loaded on each of them but unless I’ve chosen a pair of headphones that allow me to listen to the music in decent quality what good is it? I’ve carried a pair of V-MODA Vibe Duo headphones religiously for the past year or so. …

Reviews

Word Warp Xtreme for iPhone/Touch App Review

My addiction to word games is still growing at a dangerous rate. Forming words seems to have become one of my favorite past times! I am not sure if my vocabulary has improved or if my ability to apply spelling rules has improved, but I am improving on a number of word puzzle games. Several weeks ago I reviewed Word Warp Free for the Blue Plate Special. I enjoyed the game and continued playing until I found Word Warp Xtreme which is the sequel to Word Warp Free. Find out what new features are included after the break.

News

Forked Up Art Serves Up the Coolest iPhone and iPod Touch Holder Ever!

Larry sent out a tweet last week that immediately grabbed my attention: Coolest iPhone stand ever. http://bit.ly/aB9ANM http://twitpic.com/16jxfn. Oh really? And then I clicked the link and found myself agreeing …

News

Revel in Your Dark Side with the Darth Vader Bath Robe

Now you can totally re-enact your favorite character’s Star Wars scenes after you get out of the shower, either as a Jedi or … as Darth Vader! The Darth Vadar hooded bathrobe mixes Vader’s classic black fashion sense with an embroidered logo of his helmet – just in case anyone mistakes you for a vampire wannabe or opera fan. You know who you are, and you know you want one. Add the Darth Vader lightsaber from Think Geek, and no one will mess with your Dark Side!

Events, Vehicles & Gear

Chevy launches social media vehicles at SXSW

Austin, Texas, home to the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign, is preparing for one of the hottest gatherings around – the annual South By Southwest Film, Interactive and Music festival – March 12-21. The breakdown is such: Interactive: March 12-16 Film: March 12-20 Music: March 17-21 Corporate sponsors have jumped on board and this year that includes Chevrolet, who seeks to showcase the automaker’s embracing of the social media world.

Reviews

Ringo Pro for Android Review

I have to be honest and admit that I’ve never really been one to play around with custom ringtones for individual contacts. I just look at the screen to see who is calling and decide at that point whether or not to answer. So when Electric Pocket recently asked Gear Diary if we would like to take a look at Ringo Pro for Android, I’ll have to admit that I was a little slow to raise my hand. Now that I’ve had a little time to play around with it, I’m finding it a little fun.

Reviews

Super Notebook Stand – Monitor Combi

My man cave/guitar room/sports memorabilia room/computer room is not the largest room in the house. Last summer we decided to replace a large computer desk with a small one on wheels. My only problem with new table was finding a place for everything. I liked the smaller footprint, but needed a way to organize my desk while making it still look good. One morning on my summer break I headed out the shop and built a small shelf out of some scrap wood. I painted it black and slapped a couple of Apple stickers on it and had me a…

Reviews

Newsy App for Android Review: All the latest news right to your mobile

Newsy takes a different approach to delivering the latest news content over the net. Their unique method of compiling the same news story from many different sources gives you all angles and aspects of each story through various news agencies. The site has an easy to use interface and it is simple to search out the story you are looking for. Overall the site is quite impressive, the news delivery is great and the site is free to subscribe to. Lets take a look at the mobile app offered through the Android Marketplace.

Reviews

Be.ez LA robe 11.6″ Netbook Case Review

Be.ez (be easy), a French brand that designs stylish accessories for the mobile lifestyle, announced a new addition to their popular line of protection sleeves for netbooks – LA robe Netbook 11.6. This netbook sleeve is nicely made with a very thick shock absorbing material, and it’s available in 2 different colors — Black & White and Red Kiss. So, how good is this sleeve in doing its job, protecting your precious netbook? Read on to find out! Features:- Low Resilience Polyurethane (LRPu) Technology Robe protection Thickness 5MM Trendy, Unique Design Inner Lip for maximum protection Stand alone or in…

Editorials, Game Diary

The Two Things It Would Take for Me to Support UbiSoft’s New (draconian) PC Game DRM

Comic courtesy of Penny Arcade I have already talked about the new DRM system Ubisoft has implemented in their games starting with Assassin’s Creed 2 – basically even for single player offline games you need to be constantly connected to the internet or the game boots you out and you lose all progress since the last checkpoint. While I bristle at the thought of such a system, I do accept that publishers need to find a way to protect their property from improper use and outright theft. I started writing this with a few quick ideas about how to make…

Reviews

Aluratek Cinecam HD DV Camcorder- Review

all photos are thumbnails; please click to enlarge I am doing more than ever before by way of shooting video these days. No, I’m not like Larry with his 3000 You Tube subscribers, but I am taking some video pretty much every day. In part, this is the result of the iPhone having a “decent enough” video recorder. More than that though, I have come to appreciate that there is nothing like video when it comes to sharing an experience or review with the world. The iPhone is great. It allows you to shoot and then edit video on the…

Reviews

Poynt for iPhone OS Review

Back in June, Jason took at look at the Poynt application for the Blackberry OS. He called it a “staple” on his Blackberry and one of the best applications available. Well Poynt is back, this time with a release for the iPhone OS. The free application hit the iTunes App Store early last week, and I’ve had some time to play with the all-in-one location based search powerhouse. Has Poynt become a staple on my iPhone like it did on Jason’s Blackberry? Read on to find out.

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