March 2010

SmallTalk Mini Bluetooth Headset Review

Bluetooth headsets, although very practical , still, in my opinion, haven’t received the widespread acceptance they deserve.  Perhaps it’s the fact that they’re just another battery that needs charging, perhaps people just forget them or perhaps it’s there size.  With many states introducing laws that require drivers to use some sort of hands free device when using their phone in their car it’s time people got behind owning and using a Bluetooth headset. If size is one of the issues that’s been keeping you from using one the SmallTalk Mini Bluetooth Headset from Mobile Fun is just what you’ve been…


Collapse! Chaos Free for iPhone/Touch

Just when I thought I had played or reviewed just about every puzzle collapse game, I found Collapse! Chaos Free.  The game was number two on the free app rankings this week so I gave it a try.  At first I was leery of another match the color blocks collapse game and did not expect anything we have not seen many times.  To my surprise, this is a fresh and fun version of an old favorite style of game.  Details after the break…


Same Device + Different Users = Totally Different Perspectives.

One of the new apps that I am most looking forward to on the iPad is the Keynote application. The reason is simple. The app looks amazing, and I have been using Keynote more and more over the last two years. Having it available for both creating and presenting material on the über-mobile iPad will likely be a terrific step forward for me. It all started two years ago when I was playing around with iWork. I looked at Keynote and thought it might be interesting to use it to teach instead of printing up a series of handouts. I…


Verizon *Finally* Updates Motorola Droid to 2.1 … so who cares?

Image courtesy of TalkAndroid Operating System updates are a funny thing – we just got one from Apple the other day (OS X 10.6.3), but how many folks who have applied it really even know what it does? Sometimes it is just the fact that something is known to be coming that builds anticipation – even if we don’t really know what we’re waiting for! With that in mind, I woke up to find that my Droid had downloaded the 2.1 update and was ready to install. I knew this was coming – but had already said I wouldn’t believe…


Cool Mashup – ‘What a Wonderful World’ Meets Death Metal

Image courtesy of Wilson-Benesch I have been a huge fan of Louis Armstrong for decades, even having ‘What a Wonderful World’ as the dance I did with my mother at my wedding. The song was a huge hit for Satchmo at the end of his legendary career, and was re-released upon his death in 1972, as well as gaining huge success as a featured song from 1987’s movie Good Morning Vietnam. It has remained one of the top selling songs in the jazz store on iTunes, and is one of those songs that quickly fins fans across the generations. The…


Herb Ellis, An Accessible Jazz Guitar Great, Dead at 88

Image courtesy of Wikipedia Think back to the first time you met a ‘big celebrity’ – not a sighting in a massive crowd, or perhaps getting an autograph scrawled on whatever you could grab, but when you had some actual human contact with someone considered a legend in their field; contact in the form of sharing kind words, having that person take an interest in you as a person and sharing some of their wit and wisdom. For me, that person was legendary jazz guitarist Herb Ellis, who died Monday night at the age of 88. When you’re a kid…


Verizon iPhone- Rumors Everywhere and FINALLY A Thoughtful Post On It

It’s HERE!. Oh wait, it’s not. OMG the iPhone is coming to Verizon! Uhm, oops, it’s not. Again and again and again this is what we have been hearing since shortly after the iPhone was first introduced. Every few months there is a small rumor about the iPhone coming to Verizon and then BAM! It is on every blog and even crossing into the mainstream media… as if it were true. It happened just the other day. Elana was listening to the news and called down to me saying “Just heard on the radio that the iPad was delayed until…


Navigon Pushes out MobileNavigator for iPhone version 1.50

Last night, Navigon released another significant update to their MobileNavigator product for iPhone – version 1.5. In this latest update, we get some interesting features including social networking connections to Facebook and Twitter, we get the presentation of multiple routing choices (Navigon calls this MyRoutes), as well as the addition of a 3D terrain display called Panorama 3D View (for an additional fee).  I went right out and I bought the 3D update and have been taking a look at it as well as the other new features. So let’s go take a quick look at the new features of…


BugMe for iPhone Review: It Does (But in a Good Way)

It’s times like this that are hard to write a lead-in for a review.  Anyone who has been interested in handheld gadgets since the days of the original Palm devices are going to recognize the name BugMe! So, it’s hard not to start off by talking about how much I liked BugMe! back in the days when I used a Palm, and how pleased I was when Electric Pocket finally released it for Windows Mobile, and now the iPhone,  blah, blah, blah… So, let’s presume that you, the reader, are not someone who has been using handhelds for the past…


Nintendo DSi XL Released … DSiWare Takes Another Hit

Image courtesy of VGBlogger I know I haven’t talked much about the recently released Nintendo DSiXL … well, that is because it is a DSi that is bigger, and I already did a DSi Review last year. There have been plenty of other reviews, but today from GameStop there was some news that should make owners of existing DSi systems take pause if they are considering buying an ‘upgrade’: You cannot take your DSiWare purchases with you.


Expecting April 3rd Delivery of Your Apple iPad? Yeah, Good Luck With That!

Judie: When the April 3rd iPad release date was announced, there were more than a few of us left scratching our heads, although none of us thought too much about it … yet. At first glance, a Saturday release coupled with Saturday delivery didn’t warrant much conversation; either you would go wait in line to get your iPad, or you would pre-order and have it delivered straight to you. But if you live in an area that doesn’t have an Apple store, much less one that doesn’t have Saturday delivery, it meant that a little bit of logistical planning might…


$899 iPhone Application and No Refunds?

We all know how easy it is to purchase applications in the iTunes App. Store.  Once you have a credit card on file you simply “click” once or twice and bam!  Your new application is automatically downloaded to your iTunes library. Even 99¢ applications add up over time.  Apple has made it so easy to spend money in their App Store, that often times I find that I don’t even think about purchases when I’m making them.  “Hey, it’s only 99¢, no big deal.”  Then my monthly bill comes; I find I clicked on thirty .99¢ apps, and $30 is…


Beam N Read Lights Review

Needing a light in a dark room is a funky thing. Flashlights are okay, but they take up one hand (or your teeth if you’re extra tough). Headlamps don’t always provide an even light, and don’t even bother to try those tiny LED keyring lights. If you’re reading, there’s always booklights, but I find those are tough to position well. Either the light shines wrong on one area, or it isn’t bright enough. That’s where the “Beam ‘n’ Read” light steps up to fill that gap. Is it useful? Does it work as well as it claims? Let’s find out!


Gear Diary Deal or Dud: Bottle Tops

Bottle Tops are another invention from the “As Seen on TV” folks.  Meant to work with most size cans, the snap-on tops are said to create an air-tight seal which prevents spills and allows you to keep your carbonated beverage fizzy for longer. The Bottle Tops also prevent “things” from crawling into your drinks on hot summer days when  you’re outside. I recently picked up a set of 12 Bottle Tops for $9.99. Are the Bottle Tops a Deal or a Dud? You’ll have to watch for yourself to find out. Bottle tops are available on the “As Seen on…


Thief: Deadly Shadows (2004, FPStealth): The Netbook Gamer

One of the great things about doing the Netbook Gamer is revisiting games and memories from years past. The Thief franchise of first-person stealth-action games touches a couple of memories. I was given the first game as a Christmas gift when it came out in late 1998, at a time when having two children under two years old was pretty much all consuming and left scant time for computer games, most of which I spent on first person shooters. So a stealth game like Thief demanded me to change my basic approach to gaming.


Tron Legacy Trailer Is Full Of Awesome!

Image courtesy of FilmoFilia Tron is a true classic in terms of the technical elements of film making, but unlike other groundbreaking films such as The Last Starfighter it maintains an appeal to this day. My kids thoroughly enjoy the film, the arcade games, the GBA and PC games, and generally like the whole ‘into the computer world’ … even if some of the terminology seems cheesy now.


Windows Phone 7 Coming to the HTC HD2, From Russia with Love

As Judie, Clinton and I put the finishing touches on a three-way review of the most impressive Windows Mobile 6.5 device today, the Russians have been busy trying to give us what Microsoft won’t: Windows Phone 7. Due to its button design falling outside the requirements of Windows Phone 7, the HD2 was destined to live out its life in the increasingly dull world of Windows Mobile. Things may be about to change with photos and videos demoing a version of Windows Phone 7 running on an HTC HD2, in almost all it’s glory. At this point it’s a tad…


Complete a Survey on Your Twitter Usage; Help a Grad Student

Cindy Kelly is conducting a Twitter Research Survey for her grad school project, and she could use your help. If you are over the age of 18, and you don’t mind answering simple questions about your motivations and expectations from Twitter usage, you’d be doing your good deed for the day if you clicked the link and helped Cindy with her project. Cindy Kelly’s Twitter Research Survey


Zinio Poised to Bring eMags to the Mainstream

I discovered Zinio’s electronic magazines when I first started using Tablet PCs In the mid-00s. The company has been in existence for 10 years, so I was a fairly early user. I found that despite the Tablet PC’s relatively significant weight, short battery life and tendency to get hot, somethings VERY hot, the experience of using Zinio to read was a pleasant one. The magazines looked good on the relatively high resolution screens. The links in ads and some articles jumped you right to the product’s page. And I often got notice of my Zino downloads a day or two…