2009 | Gear Diary

Belkin Breaks iPhone Users out of Case Boredom with New Lineup Review

Just the other day I was discussing the state of the current lineup of iPhone cases with a fellow blogger. We were both remarking how disappointed we’d become with the current stock of cases available on the market. It just seems as if there hasn’t been anything new released for quite some time. Well Belkin has come to the rescue. I knew that Belkin was one of a select group of case manufacturers that had planned to launch an entire new line of cases in conjunction with the launch of the iPhone 3G S. I recently received 3 review samples…

Reviews

Planets Review for iPhone/Touch

Developer Description: Is that dot in the sky a star or a planet? Answer that question with this application. Discover when you can see your favorite planet, and where to look in the sky in relation to the stars. Provides lots of interesting information: location of the sun, moon, and planets in the sky maps of stars and constellations rise and set time of the sun, moon, and planets current and future moon phases 3D globe view of all planets and the moon facts sheet for each planet, including moon names The Low Down: Recently my family attended a star…

Reviews

Peggle for iPhone Review

Just a couple of weeks ago I highlighted the awesome $0.99 sale on Peggle at the iTunes App store. As I mentioned, the concept of Peggle is simple: you are presented with a board of pegs, some of which are orange. You have a ball shooter at the top center of the screen. The goal is to remove all of the orange pegs from the screen using the balls from your shooter. Since gravity and physics are the laws in the Peggle universe, you need to estimate the trajectory of bounces off other pegs if you hope to clear all…

Reviews

GenAudio: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW???

One of the things I have noticed when I purchase or rent DVDs is that most of the focus is on the picture quality. How well does the screen on your HDTV recreate the theater experience. The thing is, when I go to the theater to see a movie, it is rarely the screen which leaves me on the edge of my seat. It is the sounds. The music, the effects. I mean, really. Think about the movie Jurassic Park for a minute. Was it the rippling water that gave you the thrill of an approaching T-Rex, are was it…

Reviews

Prowl – the way push e-mail on the iPhone should be

If there’s one thing that bugs me about the iPhone it’s the lack of proper notifications for new e-mail messages. Sure you get a little sound clip or a quick vibration when a new message arrives but that’s about it. If you happen to miss the alert you have to actually wake the phone up and slide the unlock slider to check your mail icon for any new badge alerts. Why there’s no default alert for mail like there is for text messages (you get a brief look at the subject/sender on the lock screen with SMS messages) I don’t…

Reviews

DecalGirl Dressed Up My Kindle DX

When we did the Kindle2 review, one of the few things that Dan, Doug and Kerry griped about was the device’s pasty white front. I didn’t really mind the slightly off-white color, but when I purchased the Kindle DX I decided it needed a bit of personalization. Since I don’t yet have a case for the oversized ereader, I thought it would be fun to give it dash of protective color; I purchased a DecalGirl skin.

How to Do It Yourself!

How to Create Perfect Panoramas

There you are standing on the edge of a beautiful lake on a warm July day. With the naked eye the scenery is magnificent. Unfortunately while the upgraded camera on the iPhone 3GS works well, any given image only captures a small portion of the view. Fear not! For there is a simple way to capture and share a beautiful panorama of the entire image in just moments. Here’s a quick “iPhone How-To”.

Reviews

Rivet Now Hard Leather Pouch for iPhone 3G/3GS Review

The Rivet Hard Leather Pouch is made from a hard plastic shell that’s surrounded by a high quality leather exterior. The case has a vintage look to it that separates it from a traditional black or brown leather case.

Reviews

Altec Lansing expressionist PLUS Speakers Review

I was looking for a new speaker system to use in my kitchen with my laptop or mp3 player, when I came across the expressionist PLUS system from Altec Lansing. The Altec Lansing expressionist PLUS is a attractive speaker system that not only looks good, but sounds good as well.

Reviews

Instaviz Review

In a post comment last week Wayne referred to using a mindmapping application on his new iPhone. Fact is, mindmapping is a great way to brainstorm and organize your thoughts and the iPhone lends itself to this technique surprisingly well. On the iPhone my mindmapping app of choice is Instaviz. It is a powerful, yet easy to use app that can’t help but impress. Let’s take a look and, if you like what you see, you could win one of five copies we are giving away this week.

Reviews

Jaybird Endorphin Rush Earbuds Review

A couple of days ago I reviewed the Jaybird Tiger Eyes earbuds, which include a microphone and are designed primarily for mobile phone users. But what if you aren’t looking for earbuds to use with a mobile phone? Enter the Endorphin Rush earbuds from Jaybird. These earbuds have the same titanium drivers that the Tiger Eyes, which promise similar true to life sound. The Endorphin Rush sound exactly the same as the Tiger Eyes. They sounded a little tinny, but were more than adequate for use when working out. The thing that the Jaybird line of products is known for is…

Reviews

Gear Diary Reviews the Palm Pre

First impressions are important – and the Palm Pre makes a great first impression. It’s small, light and fits nicely in the palm of your hand. The screen is bright and easy to read in nearly all lighting conditions. Data downloads on the Sprint network were fast and my Gmail account delivered email nearly instantly – at least as fast (or faster) than either of my BlackBerry devices. So why was I left with the feeling that the looks of the Palm Pre faded quickly once I began to peer beneath the surface of Palm’s new flagship phone?

Reviews

First Look: AT&T Navigator for iPhone

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:

Reviews

SplashMoney Personal Finance Manager for BlackBerry Smartphones Review

So fact of the matter is, I will never be confused with a CPA or give classes on money management. I have yet to look at my check book register since the lady at the bank wrote the beginning balance…that was almost 11 years ago when I was 18! Luckily I have a job that keeps a nice cushion in my bank account and I never really worry about balancing my account…hope my wife doesn’t read this :o) Having said that I have always wanted to carry my check book with me to keep tabs, I just hate the whole…

Reviews

Tom Bihn Tristar Travel Bag Review

It’s not everyday I get a bag like this in the mail. Tom Bihn makes, in my humble opinion, the best travel bags period. The new Tristar bag is no exception! I say this as a Tom Bihn owner for quite some time. I have taken the Tom Bihn Aeronaut with me to DC on my last flight, and I used the Western Flyer and the Aeronaut when my son and I went to camp. The Aeronaut was kind of large to take on a school trip with my son to camp. Well, next year I can just use the…

News & Features

Lose That Beer Gut and Get Ript with This T-Shirt Girdle for Guys

While the advertising claims this is a “torso enhancing” undershirt – I say it’s not much more than a $58 t-shirt girdle (Crew or V-Neck available) for guys with a gut. The site claims this body-sculpting undershirt is designed to support your core – though I suspect it’s worn mostly by guy’s who think a Core is a single can of Coors. RipT via Book of Joe

How to Do It Yourself!

How to force quit an application on the iPhone 3GS

If you’re using one of the new iPhone 3GS models you may have noticed it’s no longer possible to force quit an application by holding the home key down for 5 seconds. This worked on prior models but now holding the home key down will only bring up the voice control. Instead to force quit an application running on an iPhone 3GS press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. When the Quit/Cancel screen appears THEN you can hold the home key for 5 seconds and the application will force quit. When even that doesn’t work I’ve found the…

Reviews

Rivet VERTICAL LEATHER BAG for Apple MacBook Pro 15″ Review

Some people like shoes while others like jackets. Me… I’ve always had a thing for notebook cases. There is something about the combination of function and style that draws me to a new case when I see one. So when the opportunity to take a look at Rivet’s new Vertical Leather Bag came up I jumped. It looked nice and, perhaps more importantly, it looked DIFFERENT from the other bags available. Let’s take a look…

News & Features

R.I.P. – CompuServe 1969-2009

I have many fond memories of time spent on CompuServe in the late 1980s. For those of you not familiar with the service, CompuServe was like a mini-Internet before there was an Internet. CompuServe was the online place that the cool geeks hung out while AOL was for the neophytes unsure about the online world and wanting a graphical interface with training wheels. Sure the CompuServe online interface was crude (for a long time it was all text based) but there were discussion forums that seemed to attract only the most diehard enthusiasts thus ensuring the information exchanged was of…

Vehicles & Gear

2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid 1500 pickup

My relationship with the new fullsize GM hybrids continues to be a love/hate one. I love the fuel savings and cleaner emissions delivered by these “green beasts,” but I hate that consumers still cannot get an SUV for less than 50 grand. I also hate the acceleration/deceleration whine produced by the transmission/generator unit while operating in electric mode at low speeds, but then, this is the tradeoff for new technology. The good news is, these new trucks see a 40 percent fuel economy improvement in city driving thanks to GMs two-mode hybrid powertrain.

Reviews

PhatWare’s WritePad Notes, Affairs, and Events Review

Phatware has been making handwriting recognition and note taking software for [what were called at the time] pocket PCs and smartphones since 1997. I’ve used PhatPad on my Windows Mobile devices for quite a few years now, and it’s often one of the first things that I install when I get a new device. When they announced their first products for the iPhone at the end of May, Phatware offered Gear Diary an opportunity to review their first three programs: WritePad Notes, WritePad Affairs, and WritePad Events. All three programs feature PhatWare’s handwriting recognition software for the iPhone, WritePad.