March 2013

Noreve Tradition D for iPhone 5 Case Review

Noreve offers some of the most beautiful leather device cases available. Their Tradition D case for the Apple iPhone 5 is no exception. Made from “top quality handcrafted leather”, the Noreve Tradition D has a thermoplastic polymer inner structure to hold your iPhone in place while the leather provides a soft, classy look and feel. That means you get all the protection you want without fear of any signal interference. The Noreve Tradition D for iPhone 5 has an “easy-to-close” cover that stays shut without the need for a magnetic or snap closure. If you have used a case with…

Reviews

SmartStick TV Accessory Review

When we were shopping for an HDTV, I briefly considered whether we needed a “smart TV”. Eventually, I decided we probably didn’t, but I was very excited to take a look at the SmartStick TV accessory, as it turns my decidedly not-smart HDTV into a smart version running Android. Unfortunately, it isn’t without its drawbacks, and it has left me wondering if the benefits are worth the quirks. Read on to find out my take! Physically, the SmartStick is extremely compact. It’s just a little bit bigger than a stick of gum, and it uses HDMI to connect to the…

Reviews

Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses Review

A number of months ago I reviewed the PivotHead Video Sunglasses. (Read the review.) I used them in Aruba (watch the video) and then again in Cuba (watch the video). I really enjoyed using the glasses and was bummed when the time came to return the sample I was using. I sent them back and planned to shoot future video “the old-fashioned way”… with my iPhone. That’s when I was offered a pair of Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses to review. “Another pair of video sunglasses to review?” I thought, “Why not.” The Inventio HD 720P Video Sunglasses came a few…

Health and Fitness, Yum Log

Healthy Delicious Lemonade in Seconds

It’s summer, and that means it is time for lemonade. (Actually, I love lemonade, so all year long is lemonade time.) The problem is that lemonade is made with sugar, and more and more studies are suggesting that sugar is not only addictive but is a toxic poison. (Yeah, I know the words “addictive”, “toxic” and “poison” are strong, but I’m just referencing the words used in places such as here and here.) I even spoke about it last fall during the Jewish Holy Days and encouraged my community to begin taking their health more seriously. (Read it.) (According to…

News

Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame for iPhone 5

We’re fans of Just Mobiles iPhone, iPad and Mac accessories and enjoyed spending time with them during CES 2013. During that meeting the company was kind enough to give us a look at some of their upcoming products- the Just Mobile AluCup and AluFrame. The Just Mobile AluCup and the AluFrame have now been formally released and are currently shipping. Let’s take a quick look at them. The Just Mobile AluCup is described as a multi-purpose desktop stand for iPhone and iPad Mini. As is the case with almost all of Just Mobile’s products, the AluCup is made from a single…

News

ChargeDr USB Charge Booster Makes the Most of Charging Opportunities

How many times have you tried to charge your iPad off of a laptop’s USB port, only to not see the charging symbol, because the USB port was underpowered? Or even worse — have you ever plugged your iPad in to a spare wall charger only to find out (hours) later that your iPad had barely charged because you were using an iPhone’s lower-powered wall charger? Urgh. Digital innovations has just come out with a powerful tool that can help with situations like these; the ChargeDr. USB Charge Booster. It may not look much different from the average thumb drive, but the…

Game Diary, Reviews

Runaway A Twist of Fate for iPad Review

Several years ago the point and click adventure genre had a resurgence on the PC, and it felt like I played and reviewed just about every one for a few different sites. One of the games I played was called Runaway: A Road Adventure, which centers around Brian Basco and Gina Timmons. The pair is back in the third entry originally released for PC in 2010, so lets take a look at Runaway A Twist of Fate for iPad. Type of app: Adventure game Platform/where to buy: Universal iPad/iPhone; available in the iTunes App Store Developer: Pendulo Studios / BulkyPix…

News

Martian Watch Gets Smarter with iOS App

For us, one of the CES 2013 hits was the rapidly emerging smart watch category. During the Electronics Show Judie attended a media event from the makers of the Pebble smart watch, we saw many wearing the I’m Watch as the company tried to stealth promote their (mostly disappointing) offering, and we spent over an hour in a private meeting with the key players at Martian Watch. (Read the post.) Judie and I both walked away with watches, and I’m glad we did. You see, for my money, the Martian Watch is currently at the top of the smart watch…

Reviews

RHA SA950i Wired Headphones Review

Hey everyone, listen up! See what I did there? Anyway, corny jokes aside, these headphones pump some serious tunes. The $60 RHA SA950i is a set of wired on-ear headphones that also include an in-line remote and microphone on the fabric braided cable. The Glasgow-based company has found a great balance between price point and sound quality with this set. The RHA SA950i wired headphones boast professional grade 40mm titanium coated mylar drivers, adjustable headband with padding, along with a detachable cable with in-line remote and microphone. These headphones deliver excellent sound quality through the 40mm titanium coated mylar speakers. …

eBooks, News

Amazon Buys Goodreads, but Is It a Good Deal?

Amazon announced today that they’re buying Goodreads, a social book site that lets you review books you’ve read, and look for recommendations based on your reading list and the books your friends are reading. Needless to say, this is a slam dunk match for Amazon and Goodreads, as they really can complement each other nicely. There are a lot of reasons why this is good for everyone (Amazon, the Goodreads team, Goodreads users and Amazon Kindle users), but it does strike me that Goodreads being off the market is a potential loss for a few other big ebook players…let’s look a little…

Music Diary, News

Experience Rock and Roll Filtered Through Luna Lee’s Korean Sensibilities on Her Gayageum

I never really understood all the fuss over the Gangnam Style videos. Seemed a bit too much like the Lambada craze of the late 90s for my taste, honestly. I’m more of a rock kind of guy. (We will diplomatically ignore my love of Tom Lehrer songs, show tunes, and classical and jazz piano music for the purposes of this post.) And so when a friend of mine on Facebook posted a link to Luna Lee’s, a Korean gayageum player’s, YouTube video I was skeptical. Until I watched it, anyway: C’mon, you’ve got to admit it: Luna Lee totally rocks!…

News

Gomadic SunVolt Portable Solar Power Station Review

Last year my congregation became the first Reform synagogue in the country to attain certification in environmental leadership from GreenFaith, a nationally recognized interfaith environmental coalition. This winter our Pre-School completed a nationally certified outdoor classroom. The goal is to help kids, and parents, better balance “screen time” and “green time”. It should be no surprise then, that I love the idea of using the sun to charge and run my many mobile devices. After all, if the sun can fuel plants, then why not have it fuel my iPhone, iPod touch and various accessories? That’s where the Gomadic SunVolt…

Music Diary, Reviews

Pat Metheny Orchestrion Project Review

Pat Metheny is one of my favorite artists, and I am pretty much guaranteed to buy whatever he releases, and have been thrilled with the quality of work in recent years (he lost me for a while in the late 80s / early 90s). I truly enjoyed his Orchestrion release, and the live performance I took my family to see. Last year he released a DVD of the project which I enjoyed, and now we get the full set of music from the DVD. One could ask ‘where is the line crossing into over-milking a project’, and it is a…

Editorials, Game Diary

Free-to-Pay, a Revolution in Game Sales & Player Investment

The era of the sixty-dollar shooter desperately needs an end. Modern game distribution exists in a broken system. As a recent Gamasutra article has detailed, recent NPD data shows a noticeable decline in both hardware and software sales. The Wii U, the first next-gen console to hit the market, has shown us a dreadful, if not silent, first three months. Developers continue to pump out online passes and DLC, while piracy has become as commonplace a habit as wearing skinny jeans. In the long term, Microsoft and Sony could be poised to turn the tables by restricting the use of…

Reviews

My Macbook Case MacBook Pro Rubberized Case Review

Currently, I’m sporting a brand new Lifeproof case for my iPhone 5 and a Smart Case cover for my iPad, but unfortunately, I’ve neglected by MacBook Pro…until now! When I first received a My Macbook Case MacBook Pro Rubberized Case, I was very pleased with the shade of blue and the overall look of the case. The packaging was very simplistic, as both the top and the bottom cases were wrapped in a thin plastic bag. Once I removed the plastic, I noticed that the case itself was extremely lightweight. While I was happy that the case would not add…

News

Jabra Revo Wired Headphones Review

Jabra has finally released their Jabra Music line of headphones. As the company explains, the headphones combine “state-of-the-art design with excellence in sound quality and ultimate durability”. I am loving the $249.99 Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones, and they have been going everywhere with me. The sound, durability, comfort and overall execution of the wireless headphones is a home run. Now, however, the Jabra Revo Wireless Headphones have some competition in the form of the Jabra Revo Wired Headphones. The Jabra Revo Wired Headphones are the corded version of the line, and they come in at $50 less. Is the savings of…

Events, Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Chevy Volt at SXSWi Review

Chevy Volt, loaned to me for the week of South by Southwest Interactive for review purposes When it comes to car reviews, Gear Diary has some experienced people to check things out for you. But this time, neither our intrepid (and superlative) car reviewer David Goodspeed — and how excellent is that a name for a car reviewer, right? “Goodspeed”? Awesome! — nor our fearless lead editor, Judie (who has done car reviews before as well), could attend South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) this year. On the other hand, ol’ Doug lives in Austin. So I got the chance, for the…

Music Diary

Ten Great Non-Beatles Albums from1963

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles album Please Please Me, a recording that changed the course of music history. The year 1963 marked a pivotal point in music, as the charts in the early 1960s were dominated by more traditional pop performers after the initial flourish of rock & roll seemed to fade as Elvis entered the Army (and the movies), Buddy Holly died, and audiences seemed happy with performers like Bobby Vinton, Edyie Gormet, The Four Seasons and so on. Yet there was still loads of great music coming out, so let’s look at ten great…

Game Diary, News

Games Portal Premium Service Offers Mobile Social Gaming on Verizon Android

Games Portal will be preloaded on millions of Verizon Android devices beginning in the second quarter of 2013. PlayPhone has announced a major new tier-one carrier partnership with Verizon for its mobile social gaming platform. Verizon did not disclose which device(s) would be first to come with Games Portal pre-installed. In 2010, Verizon launches their own V Cast Apps store, which closed about a year later. Games Portal continues Playphone’s cross platform social game service with the latest free and premium games. Games Portal also includes various activities including achievements, friend invites, leaderboards, real-time updates, and recommendations. Friends lists can…

Reviews, Yum Log

Travaso Fine Wine Decanters Make Something Good Even Better

Let’s talk about decanting. I think that most people who enjoy wine are familiar with the process of decanting, introducing air to a liquid by pouring it from one container into another. This serves two major purposes. First, if you’ve stored your wine correctly with the neck slightly below parallel to keep the cork wet so that it doesn’t dry out and crack (you do that, right?), then any sediment in the wine will settle into the wider bottom of the bottle. Thanks to the large dimple in the bottom of the bottle, called the “punt,” (see, you learn something…

Game Diary, News

XCOM Enemy Unknown Coming to iOS Devices This Summer

Last October I reviewed the excellent PC game XCOM Enemy Unknown, noting that the game offered an incredible depth of gameplay and strategic options. So I am thrilled to learn that XCOM Enemy Unknown coming to iOS devices this summer. In an article at Polygon, lead developer Jake Solomon talks about how the game released for PC and consoles makes a perfect fit for iOS devices – and in particular the iPad. You will also be able to play on your iPhone and iPod Touch, though I am sure there will be limits to which generations of devices will be…

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