When I was younger, PacMan was all the craze. And, like most crazes, it inspired a bunch of sequels and knock-offs. Who would have thought, this many years later, that the game would still be hanging around in it’s many forms. Enter Mik-Mak. Mik-Mak is a variant on the standard type of PacMan game. So how does this pan out? Read on…
Over my writing career, I got to review a lot of different navigation programs. They were especially popular on the Windows Mobile platform. Among them, one of my all-time favorites was iGo (released in North America as OnCourse Navigator). Now iGo is available on the iPhone. It’s been modified a little, keeping in line with their “My Way” PNA (personal navigation appliance/assistant) devices. It’s grown a little, changed a little and been fitted to take advantage of some of the iPhone’s features and characteristics. Although it’s been largely ignored by a lot of reviewers, especially in North America (where the…
I’m originally from Detroit. Recently, the city’s main newspapers stopped most home delivery of the paper. My mother was devastated. Why? Because she loved doing the daily crossword puzzle and doing it on the computer just wasn’t as convenient as sitting in your most comfortable chair with the paper folded up and a pen in your hand. So I mentioned that I was considering buying the NY Times Crossword puzzle app for my iPhone (she has an iPhone too). I told her it might be a reasonable replacement for her lost daily puzzles. So we both decided to check it…
A few weeks back I got a chance to take a look at the “Lite” version of Navigon – a version without turn-by-turn routing. Now I’m back to take a look at the full North American version of Navigon MobileNavigator. Navigon, as one of the world’s leading navigation software companies, has a leg-up that is perhaps only matched by a few competitors like iGo (especially in Europe) and Tom Tom (who have yet to relase their iPhone product). In the past, I’ve worked with Navigon on Windows Mobile, so let’s take a closer look now at the iPhone version!
A few weeks back, a big shot at Nintendo made comments on how he viewed the iPhone as serious competition for the Nintendo DS. I really didn’t think much about it until I saw the iPhone implementation of Civilization Revolution, which had been very popular on the Nintendo DS. He may have reason to be concerned after all. The Civilization Franchise is one of those, that has taken off in many directions since it’s original incarnations. There is the mainline “Civilization” application, but there is also the Civilization Revolution game, which is a somewhat simplified form of the original game. …
When I was younger, my whole family was big into comic books. We’d buy all sorts of titles. Although we didn’t think about it much back then, today we recognize the work and effort and artistry that goes into comics. The problem is, however, comic books have not translated well into electronic formats. ebooks, in general, have had a difficult time making the transition (mostly due to the policy decisions of publishing houses, i think), but comics have an extra hurdle – the graphics. Not only are they bigger, but you have difficulty deciding how to handle viewing them. If you…
A few weeks ago, I took a first look at this title from Sygic. They have since released a small update and fixed a few bugs, so lets take a closer look at Sygic Mobil Maps 2009 – one of the crop of full navigation apps now appearing on the iPhone…
Other than AT&T Navigator, Navigon probably has more presence worldwide in GPS Navigation (especially through it’s stand alone products) than anything we’ve seen so far. First they released their product for the European market a few weeks ago, and now they have released a “Lite” version sporting North American maps (full version coming soon). Let’s take a quick look at this offering from Navigon. Of the current iPhone navigation choices for the iPhone I’ve seen so far, this one has the most pleasing user interface yet. The graphics are clean, sharp, and the color choices are pleasant. That said, this…
Now that iPhone/iPod Touch OS 3.0 is out, we are seeing a number of navigation apps appear. Add to that mix AT&T Navigator, from Telenav – a title that also appears on a variety of handsets (with GPS support) out there. Dan and I will be taking an in-depth look at this product in a review very soon, but here are a few first impressions we had:
I’ll admit it – I like casual gaming and I love time management games. I’m a big fan of Diner Dash, Sally’s Salon, Westward, Wedding Dash, Airport Mania, and many others. And now another title comes to the iPhone – Sally’s Spa – a sequel to Sally’s Salon. It’s currently at the top of the iTunes App Store. Let’s take a look at this “relaxing” sequel.
I’ve used a Plantronics 510 series for about 2 years now. It’s been a nice, steady workhorse for me. It isn’t the flashiest, or the loudest, but it has always been rock solid. Now along comes the new Voyager Pro. It offers a host of new features and technologies – a whole host of improvements. Let’s see if it lives up to the “Pro” moniker…
Like many of the people here at Gear Diary, I am a gadget freak. I have mobile gadgets, gadgets in my house, and gadgets in my car. The problem with all these gadgets, of course, is all the cables and wires that go along with the gadgets. In the car, at least, Griffin has addressed part of my problem with their TunFlex AUX SmartClick. It allows you to mount your iPhone on a lighter-based stand, eliminating the power cord. So does it work well? Read on…
I know, I know, why would anyone need a stylus for their iPhone or iPod Touch? It’s designed to be finger friendly, right? Well there are a few reasons I can think of and I’ll bet, if you think about it, you’ll think of them too. Still not sure? Read on to find out and learn if the Pogo fits the bill!
I’ve been a fan of brain training games for a while now. I own a number of them for Windows Mobile, iPhone, and even my Nintendo DS. What I like is that I can work with them in short time bursts – like in the gap between meetings, without a big time commitment, yet doing something fun and even personally productive. This time around, I’m taking a look at the latest brain training offering from Resco – Brain Games 2009. Let’s take a look…
In recent months, I’ve had the privelege to try out a number of different earphones/earbuds. In a former life, I did the “band” thing – writing, recording, performing. The end result of all this is that I tend to be extremely picky about my audio equipment. In some ways, however, it’s like the old saying – I don’t know art but I know what I like. Enter the vibe II – earphones that try to be a little of both – an excellent audio delivery system and art. images courtesy of V-Moda
I’ve been looking at a number of iPhone games lately. Some of these games take excellent advantage of the iPhone hardware and some don’t. Some are excellent ports of web games or Windows Mobile games, and some are not. Killer Pool is a title unique to the iPhone, it’s not a port, so I would expect it to take good advantage of the iPhone hardware. Let’s take a look in more detail…
There was a time when the release of SimCity, from Electronic Arts, always seemed to signal that a given platform had arrived. I remember when it came to the PC (DOS), then it came to the PC again (Windows), and on Macintosh, and many different console gaming systems. These days it’s popped up on Nintendo DS (basically a flavor of SC 2000), and Windows Mobile (also based on SC 2000). Now it comes to the iPhone. Is it any good on the iPhone? Read on…
We review a lot of personal audio equipment here at Gear Diary, and I’ve reviewed a number of different earphone packages over the years. The Audéo PFE from Phonak are a little different than many earphone products I’ve reviewed because they have the interesting distinction of being developed by Phonak, a company that specializes in making equipment for people who are hearing impared. The claim is that the Audéo PFE provide wonderful clear sound and a “perfect fit”. Read on to see how they stood up to my expectations.
I’ve been reviewing GPS-related items (receivers, software, PNAs) for several years now and, about a year and a half ago, I reviewed OnCourse Navigator 6 (sold in Europe as iGo 2006). I felt that OCN 6 was one of the best PDA-based navigation programs I had ever used, despite the fact it had fairly complicated menus and map quirks that were typical of TeleAtlas (the supplier of map data to iGo/OCN, Tom Tom, and others) map data in North America. Now fast forward to today, nearly 2 years after the original iGo 2006 release (the software that OCN 6 is based on), and OCN 8 (iGo…
The Sierra Sound iN Studio 5.0 speakers are one of many iPod speakers available on the market today. I recently spent some time with them and I have to say I like them a lot, but there are some oddities. Read on to see what they are…
I have a large DVD collection. I am not yet all that excited about investing in Blu-ray where I get to pay twice as much for each new title. Although many HD televisions perform certain image upconvert functions (to improve the way standard TV and DVD images appear on the higher-resolution HD display), they don’t necessarily perform that function very well. Enter the Oppo DV-981HD DVD Player. The 981HD was introduced a while back with some state of the art features for the time at a moderate price. I recently got the opportunity to work with this player and put…