2010

Speck See Thru Satin for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

While at CES 2010, Dan and I were blown away by the pending releases Speck has in the pipeline for 2010.  The uber-popular accessory manufacturer has a ton of goodies in store for the new year. One of the items we were given by Speck to review is the See Thru Satin case for the iPhone 3G/3Gs.  Made from the same material as its big brother, the Satin Case for the Mac Book Pro, which Dan recently reviewed, this case both looks and feels great! Check out my video review below.  Then head on over to the Speck website, and…


10 for 2010

Once again automakers rolled out some eye candy at the annual North American International (Detroit) Auto Show. And once again it leaves many of us wondering which of the vehicles on display will actually make it into production, will they be affordable and are they really practical. Inspired by this, I am rolling out a list of 10 things to watch in 2010.


Missing Multitouch on Android’s Web Browser? There’s An App for That, Too

(video courtesy of brandonnscott) Got an Android device, but missing that sweet multitouch goodness while web browsing?  Tired of double-tapping in front of your iPhone-toting friends? Well, if you’ve got an Android 2.0 or higher device — I’m looking at you Motorola DROID and Nexus One owners — you want to download the Dolphin Browser.  Aw, heck, we’ve even put the barcode right here in the post so you can download the free app right from our site 😀


Green Man Gaming Plans to Allow Sales of Used Digital Games

No clue how they’ll do it yet, but WOW am I interested! A new digital distribution portal called Green Man Gaming is claiming that they will add value to your digital purchases by allowing you to ‘trade them in’, at which time they will re-sell them as used games. They are supposedly working with publishers to make this happen in a way that benefits everyone involved.


Grand Theft Auto On iTunes Warning – *NOT* for First Gen iPod Touch

So I was terribly excited the other day when the best DS & PSP game of 2009 – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – landed on the App Store. I said then that I was ‘just getting started’, which actually meant that I had bought it and it was downloaded but I hadn’t had time to install or start playing. Sadly, that night I discovered that I was not going to be able to play the game – because I own a first-generation iPod Touch.


Apple Releases Mobile Me Gallery to App Store

I must have missed this in all the post-CES catch-up, but late last week Apple introduced a free app that allows Mobile Me subscribers to access and share their Gallery from their iPhone / iPod Touch. Apple released a new app today that allows MobileMe subscribers to view their uploaded photo galleries. The app also allows MobileMe users to share links to their galleries with others via email and view the galleries of other MobileMe members. Features — View your entire gallery including password protected and hidden albums — Flick through photos and pinch to zoom in for more detail…


Neverwinter Nights Premium Modules PC Game Module Reviews:

“Bioware gives us more reasons to pay for Neverwinter Nights Premium Modules while still grabbing tons of great free ones!” That is what I said when I initially wrote this back in 2005 and still held true when I updated it in 2006 for a now defunct site. Since then Atari and Bioware are no longer connected by the D&D license, and due to contractual reasons Bioware has had to stop selling the Premium Modules on their store, but fortunately their master server will still authenticate the modules and let you play. Other than that note I’m leaving the article…


Jaybird Sportsband Review

Jaybird has brought out some good stuff in the last year. The last two things I checked out were the Tigereyes and Endorphin Rush wired headphones. I liked them a lot. This time, Jaybird sent me their new Bluetooth headset, the Sportsband. Is it as good as their original headset? In a word, no.


Dark Nebula for iPhone/Touch Review

Labyrinth style games are nothing new to the iPhone.  You know the games where a ball or marble rolls on the screen and is controlled by tilting the phone like it is a table.  This style of games are fun, but are usually the same.  Move the ball around avoiding the holes and reach the end of the maze.  Dark Nebula takes this idea, puts a fresh, futuristic style and adds a new class of obstacles.  As the developer puts it, “it’s like a labyrinth game but on steroids.”  Check out the review after the break.


Haiti Relief ‘Bad Value’ Alert – Hilton’s Point-Shaving Deal

Many folks continue to look for ways to help the millions of already impoverished folks in Haiti deal with the awful impact of last week’s quake. We have posted about sending relief help by cell phone, efforts in the mobile community, Gear Diary’s three ways to help, and even scam warnings. Many, many places are trying to help consumers find a way to help out, and we applaud those efforts. However, when they start taking a significant overhead to make the donation, it stops being magnanimous and becomes self-serving – and a bad deal for consumers! Latest entry to this…


Having Problems Connecting to 3G on Your Nexus One? Here’s A Possible Fix!

So you’ve just gotten your shiny new Nexus One, but you’ve been plagued by some of the problems that quite a few other proud owners of the smartphone have run into over the past few weeks?  If you’re using T-Mobile’s network, maybe you’ve been frustrated by frequent 3G connectivity drops (if you’re able to get full 3G speeds  at all).   Kevin Tofel found a workaround that may get you surfing at full mobile broadband speeds.  The best part?  It’s not a complicated “hack” or OS update.  It’s merely a few simple changes to your Nexus One settings that could make…


Keep Those Games Safe With New Security Lockers

Do you have problems with your games and accessories getting borrowed because you live in a dorm or fraternity house and your ‘friends’ never seem to remember to return anything? Well, newPCgadgets has a great idea to help with that – the Security Locker for the XBOX360 and Wii! According to the Official Site: Adults can use the Security Locker as a parental control device by simply locking up controllers and games. Prevents friends and siblings from using your Xbox 360 without permission. By putting a padlock on the locker, you send a clear ‘hands off’ message, keeping your favorite…


Mariner Paperless – Review

I am a huge user of Evernote for saving, storing and accessing my documents. I find that it works remarkably well. I especially love the fact that, thanks to the ability of it to apply OCR to documents and images that are put into the system, it lets me search for information using just a few keywords. I have a Fujitsu highspeed scanner and find that it works quite well in conjunction with Evernote. I have many friends however who are not all that comfortable with storing data “in the cloud”, even when local copies can be kept as well….


Speck SeeThru Satin Soft-Touch on a Hard Shell Case – Review

Speck offers a wide range of ways to protect your devices. In recent months they’ve kicked things up a few notches in the style department. One of the newer cases that they’re offering is the SeeThru Satin shell for the MacBook Pro. I’ve been using one for a week now and am quite fond of it. Let’s take a look …



Speck Fitted Case for iPhone Review: Explodes with Choices

While at CES 2010 we spent a good deal of time hanging out in one of our favorite accessory manufacturers’ booth, Speck.  Okay truth be told they had free beer, but we would have been there regardless, that’s how much we like the stuff Speck has to offer. One of their first cases for the iPhone, the Fitted Case, started out with only two designs but has since been blown out with all new styles. We had the chance to preview some of the new designs and Speck was kind enough to send us home with some samples to review…


Resolutions for the Gaming New Year

Are you feeling hung over from some bad gaming purchases in 2009? Let me share some thoughts on how to apply principles and resolutions to fill your 2010 full of smart gaming choices! Every New Years, many people make resolutions of things they will do that year to make themselves better people. I do this each year, typically with a single thing I want to work on in my personal life (and typically either better health or communications!). With the very busy Fall release season coming to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the decisions made…


Bandshell sound amplifying case for iPhone Review

While it’s true CES is made up of a lot of exciting electronic type gadgets including TVs, stereos, gaming consoles, and other large ticket items sometimes cool things are also found in small packages. Walking the show floor one day I came across the Bandshell booth. The Bandshell case is simple in design yet wonderful in function. Not only does the case amplifiy the sound emitted by your iPhone’s speaker it also doubles as a video stand placing your phone and the proper angle for watching content. I left the show with a few samples of the Bandshell for review…


Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion, a GearChat Review

Judie: I was recently offered the chance to review Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion, and figuring that I probably wasn’t the only female on the Gear Diary staff who was going through weather-related skin issues, I requested extra samples so that Carly, Jessica and Amy could also give it a try. Since we all have different skin types, and we all have different issues, I thought that it would be good to gather notes from all of us based on our experience with the product. For those of you with absolutely no concern for softer skin without smelling like a…


SplashNotes for iPhone and Desktop Review

I like lists.  Probably a little too much, actually.  I practically have lists to organize my lists.  So when someone offers to show me software that allows me to make more lists, I just can’t resist taking a look at it.  When SplashData asked if I’d like to take a look at SplashNotes, I was definitely interested. I have been using other programs from SplashData for quite a few years, starting with their password keeper program, SplashID, and find that their software tends to have a nice, consistent aesthetic. SplashNotes is a no-frills note taker with outline capabilities.  You can…


Green Ronin Brings Dragon Age: Origins to TableTop RPG Gaming

It was an interesting choice for Bioware to abandon the Dungeons and Dragons license and create their own rule system for Dragon Age, but now they are turning the tables and have licensed their gaming system to Green Ronin to develop a tabletop game. The game system follows typical standards by having a low level adventure coming first, followed later by further adventures eventually taking the player to level 20. DAGR was developed around Green Ronin’s in-house system, AGE (Adventure Gaming Engine). Yet, while DAGR fortunately holds true to the Dragon Age setting, it has avoided the obvious pit-trap of…