April 2013

2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid for Earth Day

Let’s face it – going green will cost you, at least when it comes to your automobile. Nearly every automaker charges a premium for their most environmentally sensitive models when compared to comparable gas-only alternatives. At Volkswagen things are no different. The last new Jetta we tested was the TDI turbo-diesel model that arrived at the high end of the pricing spectrum for the model line. Now the German automaker offers a gasoline/electric hybrid version its popular compact sedan and it tops the Jetta pricing scale. Part of the reason is research and development costs need to be recuperated while…


Kogan Agora Android Smartphone Review – Dual SIM, Great Specs, & Low Price

Bargain basement Android smartphones have been around for years now, but the Kogan Agora Smartphone looks to change the landscape. Many cheap models are available for under $200, but  they all eschew large screens and fast processors to keep their prices down. The Kogan Agora Smartphone is just AU$149, unlocked and free of contracts. That’s a good price on its own, but the spec sheet could easily be mistaken for phones costing over $100 more. Starting with the display, a 5.0” IPS panel, by far the largest in this price bracket. The 800 x 480 resolution doesn’t get close to the…


Hermetus Bottle Opener and Resealer Review – Doesn’t Your Beer Deserve This Bottle Opener?

That question was, of course, rhetorical. Of COURSE your beer (or other bottled beverage) deserves a bottle opener as simple and useful as the Hermetus Bottle Opener and Resealer that Kaufman Mercantile sent me to check out. Made in Germany, the Hermetus Bottle Opener and Resealer is a metal bottle opener that easily opens any bottle, but then it is also able to glide over the top and make a tight seal that helps keep beers from going flat or spilling. Why would you need such a device? Simple… This IPA is not only strong but it is huge. And…


What Every Athlete and Weekend Warrior Should Have

One of the aftershocks of the Boston Marathon bombings this week is that racing is going to drastically change. Competitor.com, the organizers of the wildly popular (and often sold-out) “Rock n Roll” marathons has already said they’re working on updated security procedures, and runners at New York Road Runners are being told they can only bag check items in official clear plastic bags, with absolutely no backpacks or other bags placed inside the clear ones for security reasons. Organizing yourself for a race is going to become more than just training and showing up, but there is one item every…


Phiaton PS 210 BTNC Noise Canceling Headphones Review

I had the opportunity to look at a number of different headphones from Phiaton in recent months. The first pair of Phiaton headphones I reviewed were the Phiaton’s PS 20 BT Stereo Headset. (Read the review.) These wireless bluetooth headphones were incredibly comfortable and sounded great. I found the control module to be a bit awkward. It’s round and the buttons were rather difficult to access times. I also didn’t love the fact that you couldn’t use your own earbuds but, thankfully, the earbuds that came with the PS 20 BT Stereo Headset were comfortable and sounded great. Here’s what I…


Pebble E-Paper Watch for iPhone and Android Review

Back in early May of 2012, Dan posted an article about both Judie and him supporting the Pebble e-Paper Watch Kickstarter project. The project became noteworthy in that it became one of the most heavily supported Kickstarter projects in Kickstarter history. Initially hoping to raise $100,000, it meet that goal two hours after going live. In less than a week it raised nearly $5 million dollars — talk about interest in a project! While the concept of smartwatches was not new, the notion of a dual Android/iOS notification smartwatch that could support 3rd party applications and be extremely customizable was very intriguing…


Lifehacker’s ‘Top 10 Awesome MacGyver Tricks that Speak for Themselves’ Is Awesome

I love to find tips and tricks that make my life easier, and that’s why a recent post on Lifehacker caught my eye … the title might have had something to do with it, too, as I do love MacGuyer-esque fixes. 😉 Three of my favorites include how you can: Make Perfect Pancakes with a Squeeze Bottle Yes, this one is pretty self-explanatory! Whip up the pancake mix, use a funnel to put it in a large squeeze-bottle, and then make perfectly round pancakes. The best part is that if you don’t use all of the mix, the container can…


Divoom OnBeat X1 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Review

To be honest, most of my gaming — whether PC, Mac, DS, PSP, iOS or Android — is done either with headphones or with the device muted. There are a couple of reasons for this: first to allow for ‘gaming anywhere’; the second because ever since playing games such as Thief in the late 90s, I have appreciated directional sound and the nuances of quality headphones. But sometimes when playing a shooter what I really want is a nice booming rattle – but that won’t happen with an iPad. Now Divoom introduces the OnBeat X1 and promises the ‘ultimate gaming…


iSafe Urban Crew Backpack Review – Wired with Protective Lights and a Loud Alarm

In the last few years we have seen reports of violence on college, high school and even grade school campuses. The Virginia Tech and Newtown shootings aren’t necessarily a confirmation of increasing crime on school campuses, but they certainly serve as reminders that we can’t always be with our kids to protect them. While the iSafe Urban Crew backpack will not protect your loved one in overtly violent incidents such as a shooting, it might be helpful in other threatening situations by creating a significant amount of commotion, calling others to you or your child’s aid.  How?  Simple, the iSafe Urban…


LapDawg’s o-Stand Review – Expensive, Impractical, and Awkward

  I have been looking for a convenient way to read from my iPad while freeing up the use of my hands.  I’ve tried makeshift holders made from pillows and magazines, and I’ve tried maneuvering my case to double as a mini stand, but nothing has really worked.  The o-Stand by LapDawg seemed like the perfect solution.  I could use a completely adjustable iPad stand to hold my iPad at any angle without having to hold it.  According to LapDawg’s website, the o-stand has a number of appealing features: 4 removable metallic “flexy” legs that you simply bend to any…


HTC One Available Online and in Retail Stores Nationwide

If you want an Android handset with a solid build, great speed and superb audio, then you want the HTC One. The latest and greatest handset from HTC is now widely available online and in retail stores including AT&T, Sprint, Best Buy, Radio Shack, Walmart, Target, Amazon.com, Costco, Car Toys, Sam’s Club, HSN.com, and HTC.com. The HTC One stands out as a phone that is built like a piece of jewelry. It has a “full-metal, zero-gap unibody design” that looks and feels as solid as any phone you have ever held. It competes with, and may surpass, the iPhone 5…


Reader Rocket Aims to Easily Compare eBook Readers

Despite many predictions to the contrary, eBook readers are still going strong. They may not be as flashy as tablets, but they are great devices with long battery lives, clear readable screens, and lightweight both in size and on your wallet. Most people tend to pick an eBook reader based on their bookstore preferences, what their friends and family use, and similar criteria. But if you’re the type looking for lots of statistics and specifications to compare and contrast, it can be tougher to find truly technical reviews of eBook readers. That’s where Reader Rocket, a newly launched site, thinks…


A First Look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0

Judie got a first look at the Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 during Mobile World Congress, and I was immediately impressed from afar. I love the size of my iPad mini, but I still miss the ability to write on the screen without having to dal with all sorts of vectoring caused by other parts of my hand touching the screen. (I am, after all, left-handed, and it is an ongoing issue for many of us South Paws.) The Samsung GALAXY Note 8.0 has the S-Pen which lets you write on the screen to take notes, edit pictures and much more….


White Tuxedo Monster DNA Headphones Review

  In the realm of headphones the quip, “It’s better to look good than to feel good” might well be rendered as “It’s better to look good than to sound good.”. In both cases, the statement is obviously nonsense. Just ask anyone with chronic inflammatory arthritis…  it doesn’t matter a bit what you look like if you feel awful. Similarly if headphones looks great but don’t sound good, then they really aren’t worth a thing. That was, honestly, my concern when we were asked to review and then give away a pair of the White Tuxedo Monster DNA headphones that…


Turtle Shell Boombox, Is It the Bluetooth Speaker for You?

Bluetooth speakers are pretty much everywhere you look; there’s the granddaddy of them all — the rectangular JawBone JamBox. There’s the strikingly similar rectangular shaped Braven 600 speaker that adds an external battery for charging your devices. If you want the speaker that stands up tall rather than sitting low you might want to check out the SuperTooth Disco 2. If round is more important, then you’ll definitely want to check out the impressive and well-priced JBL Flip. If you want something that’s got more curves than the JamBox and is far tougher, then you’ll definitely want to check out the…


Twitter Showed the Best and Worst of Brands During Boston Attacks

Some have called Twitter the ‘new police scanner’, an analogy which makes sense for those of us who had relatives with police scanners and CB radios back in the 70s when they were all the rage. This was very true during the attacks at the finish line of the Boston Marathon: I found myself with four tabs open on my laptop – three were local Boston stations WCVB, WHDH and Boston.com, and the other was Twitter. It did an amazing job of pulling in information because from a wide array of sources shared and retweeted by all of the folks…


Strategy Game Machines at War 3 Launches!

I have to confess that it was my intention to have a full review of Machines at War 3 for today, but I really wanted to alert everyone to the release of Machines at War 3. This is a real-time strategy (RTS) game with a deep campaign mode, skirmish and full multiplayer modes – and it is a true indie effort! As a RTS, you are constantly working against time and building bases, doing tower defense, navigating stealth subs, commanding gigantic mega units, and researching new technologies. I have played through the tutorial and some of the campaign on both…


Twitter Launches #Music Service and App, Check It Out!

Twitter has been rumored to have had a music service in the works for a while, but since we don’t dabble in rumors here at Gear Diary, we waited until it was released to cover it. Now it is out, and it isn’t as much of a ‘music service’ as it is a ‘music DISCOVERY service’, one that depends on artists being on Twitter and having their music mapped out on iTunes, Spotify or Rdio. Twitter describes the service as “A fresh approach to finding new music by using Tweets and follows to power discovery.” The service offers charts of…


Nuu MiniKey Keyboard for iPhone 5 Review

I trace my history with portable digital devices back to the early days – I grabbed the HP95LX, the first real ‘handheld computer’ when it came out in 1991, and have had a myriad of devices including the Newton, as well as various Psion, Windows CE, Handheld PC, Palm, Pocket PC devices. More recently I have had a string of iPads as well as Android smartphone and tablet devices, and now I have an iPhone. For more than two decades there was one common characteristic on all of my favorite devices — a physical keyboard. I’ve had a few months…


Ches Smith’s These Arches Hammered Review

Ches Smith caught my attention as drummer for Mary Halvorson in her various projects, so when I heard he was releasing a new album I knew I’d have to check it out. The project features familiar names as these artists often help each other out, but the instrumentation is non-standard and the songs and arrangements don’t necessarily suggest a drummer-led band. Let’s take a listen to Ches Smith’s These Arches Hammered! Musical Genre: Jazz Where to buy: Clean Feed Records (Currently CD only through the site) Artist: Ches Smith’s These Arches Description: While my knowledge of Ches Smith comes from…


Guns of Icarus Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Adventure Mode

The lengths that some developers will go to to see their vision realized amazes me, and with Guns of Icarus Online that was certainly true. They were almost bankrupted putting out the initial game, and have had a previous Kickstarter campaign to complete that effort. But they envisioned much more, including a Skirmish mode and a full Adventure. Skirmish was released as a separate game, but get ready as Guns of Icarus Launches Kickstarter Campaign for Adventure Mode! Project Title: Guns of Icarus Online—Adventure Mode (PC/Mac/Linux) Status: Active Closing Date for Funding: May 21, 2013 URL of the Project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/musegames/guns-of-icarus-onlineadventure-mode…