Articles by Dan Cohen

Living under a Rock? Nope, under a Bubble

At times I’ve been told I live under a rock. Maybe I do sometimes but its nice and quiet there. 🙂 And it sure beats living in a bubble doesn’t it? Well maybe not. Check out this bubble hut, the Crystalbubble. Its shape …was voluntarily designed with the goal to offer a dreamy space without disturbing the nature and the environment. The hut and its walls were reduced at their minimum. Cristalbubble hut is both suited to spend an unusual night in the nature and taking advantage of a multifunction life space all year long, even at the bottom of…

Editorials

Apple Moving into HDTV Market? Here’s a Great First Step

Last night I was a bit under the weather. I went in search of something to watch and came upon the new Starz/BBC series Strike Back on my iPad’s browser. A few taps of the screen and it was playing on my large Samsung HDTV. It was just another reminder of the way in which Apple’s technology can create a seamless ecosystem for work and entertainment. Then today Cult of Mac published a post entitled Could Apple Enter Sub-$1K Premium TV Market With A Real iTV? In it they write News that high-end TVs are nearing the sub $1,000 range…

Reviews

Review: Griffin Beacon Universal Remote for iOS

It looks funny. It does exactly what it promises. And, at least for me, it is in the running for “iOS Accessory of the Year”. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit but I’m pretty serious about how cool I think this iOS hardware/app combination is. The Griffin Beacon is the universal remote on steroids. With this odd piece of plastic powered by four AA batteries and a free download from the App Store I have taken my Samsung HDTV remote, my TiVo remote AND my Apple TV remote and put them away. Now all I need is one of my iOS…

Yum Log

Yum Log: Avion Tequila the Tastiest Product Placement Ever

In what has to be one of the best pieces of product placement, Avion Tequila had a key role in the last season of HBO’s Entourage and has made a few cameo appearances during this year’s final season of the hit show. Thing is, according to CNBC they didn’t pay a penny for it. Tequila sales overall have been on the rise in recent years and Avion has joined with the likes of Patron and Cabo Wabo as a tequila you’ll want to order this way: You: “I’ll have a margarita. Hold the salt. Hold the lime. Hold the Triple Sec.”…

Reviews

Review: Sena Folio for iPad 2

One of the first high-end leather cases I had the opportunity to review for the original iPad was the Sena Folio. It was made from gorgeous leather, was beautifully crafted and actually looked better as it “wore in”. Sena offers two different Folio cases for the iPad 2 in addition to the Florence that we have reviewed recently. One of the Folio offerings, the Sena Folio Classic, maintains the same style as the original but adds the magnetic sleep/awake functionality. The additional design goes by the simple name “Folio”. It offers three different positions thanks to two built-in stands but…

Reviews

Able Planet SI350 Sport Earphones Review

Headphones… We’ve check out a bunch. Some have impressed us. Some… Not so much. So when a new pair of headphones come on the market we want to check them out. And when they come from a company we know we are even more interest. That’s the case here with the new offerings from Able Planet. Judie introduced Able Planet to Gear Diary readers in this post way back in 2008. Mike looked at pair of their gaming headphones in this post. And Judie checked out a pair of their headphones with active noise cancellation here. I met with the…

Reviews

Review: Vonage Time to Call App for iOS

I used Vonage as my main home phone service for a bit of time a number of years ago. I’ve since moved on to other solutions (Ooma), but I took note when the company released their new iOS app the other day. I know what you are thinking, “Another phone app for iOS? Who needs it?” Well think again, because I just made a call to Coach using my iPod touch and a headset, and here is what he had to say: “Sounds better than when my wife calls me on her iPhone and you are using an iPod touch….

Editorials

Nightly Quiz….

So we are having dinner tonight and Elana, my NPR and talk radio-junkie wife, gives us one of the tidbits she learned while listening to NPR today. The question- “How many different languages are in use in the world at this moment.” I made my guess and my father-in-law thought I was way too high. (“You’re nuts.” were his exact works.) Well I wasn’t that far off. So I ask you… How many languages (not dialects but LANGUAGES) are in use today world wide? Don’t be lame and cheat by Googling it. JUST GUESS…

News & Features

Bongiovi Acoustics DPS (Digital Power Station) for iOS Rocks Your World

Want richer bass, higher clarity and an all around enhanced audio experience? Bongiovi Acoustics: Bongiovi DPS (Digital Power Station) technology has it. The technology is currently available in iHome dock stations and select Toyota models and, for the first time, Bongiovi’s technology is available as an iOS app. The technology “re-masters your compressed digital audio files at the source and then, using device specific profiles, optimizes the output for your listening device (headphone, speaker, earbud, etc).” I tried the iOS app and was rather impressed with the enhanced audio pumped out by my iPod touch and my iPad. As the company…

Reviews

Review: The Joy Factory Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station with ZipTail Receivers

Charging cables and cords… they’re everywhere. Literally everywhere. Have an iPhone? You need a 5W wall adapter and a USB cable. An iPad? You need a 10W wall adapter and a USB cable. Using a Samsung Galaxy Tab? You’ll need one of their proprietary chargers. Have a Blackberry or Android phone? Most likely you need a microUSB adapter connected to a wall charger. And the list goes on and on. I hate the mess of cords. That’s why I’ve been so interested in the various conductive charging systems that have been coming to market for the past few years. The…

Yum Log

Yum Log: So Tasty We Had to Share: Trader Joe’s Smoked Sea Salt

There’s more to life than gadgets and gear — hard to believe I know — but true!! For example there are things like… food and drink. And with so many great flavors and food experiences out there, we just had to start bringing you some of our favorites. That’s where the Yum Log comes in. The Yum Log is all about the food and drink experiences you just want to have. And the first Yum Log entry is… Trader Joe’s Naturally Smoked Sea Salt Elana brought this home the other day and it is just YUM. It is smokey and…

Reviews

Review: AViiQ Portable Charging Station

The promise of converged devices like the iPhone was, among other things, the ability to travel light. Instead of needing to bring a phone, an address book, a music player, a note pad, a camera, etc., smartphones promised to replace all of that and be the only thing you needed to bring with you. Funny but, at least for many of us, that hasn’t happened. Sure, my iPhone DOES replace all those aforementioned items, but along with my iPhone I now carry an iPad, a Bluetooth headset and, at times, a second phone. And in order to keep them all…

News & Features

Bye-Bye, Spotify

When Spotify finally came to the US I was quick to jump on it. I like using streaming, subscription music services a great deal. I like the flexibility. I love being able to download and listen to pretty much whatever I choose for a small fee each month. Sure, I already have a huge music collection but there’s a ton of music I want to hear that isn’t part of it and there are enough tunes that it would cost me a small fortune to purchase all of them. I tried Rhapsody for a while and while I got hooked…

Reviews

Review: BlueAnt EMBRACE Wired On-Ear Headphones

photos by Kevin In recent years we have seen a proliferation of on-ear and over-the-ear headphones priced in the $200-$300 range. There are, of course, the Beats by Dr Dre. They are joined by the likes of the Denon AH-D 1100 headphones (reviewed here), the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones (reviewed here), the V-Moda Crossfades (reviewed here) and many more. Is there room for yet another pair of headphones in the mix, let alone from a company that is known for its Bluetooth devices rather than wired-audio? That’s the question faced by BlueAnt with the release of…

Reviews

Review: Bluetrek SPEAKY Bluetooth Speakerphone: “The most friendly car kit”

I thought I had seen it all until the SPEAKY showed up at my door. SPEAKY looks like a little Kewpie Doll, albeit without hair and not quite as cute but has some interesting hidden features. Yes, SPEAKY is a full-service Bluetooth speakerphone. I took a look at one and we’re giving it away so… read on. From BLUETREK: A cute, interesting speakerphone developed for those who need a good audio quality as well as ease of control. Speaky is the first Bluetooth carkit in market which enable automatic switch on/off functions. Speaky is equipped with the best in class…

News & Features

iPad 2 Case Review: Hammerhead iPad 2 Hard Shell Case

We’ve looked at a number of different iPad 2 cases from a host of familiar companies. Today we’ll take a video look at the Hard shell case from Hammerhead, a company new to us here on Gear Diary. The case offers complete protection to the iPad’s front and back, includes the sleep/awake functionality and serves as a stand. Let’s take a closer look and see if this $39.99 case might be right for you. From Hammerhead: Hammerhead Hard Shell Case for iPad 2 – Black Hard shell polymer case protects both the front and back and automatically wakes and sleeps…

News & Features

Livescribe Desktop Now Roars with Lion Compatibility

When OS X Lion was released there were some key pieces of productivity software that did not yet work with the update. As Mike noted, among the incompatible software was Livescribe’s desktop for OS X. It posed a bit of an issue for me since I needed a document that was on my Echo Smartpen last week. Fortunately Elana’s MacBook Air had yet to be Lion-ized and I was able to get what I needed off the pen. Well Livescribe sent word today that an update for their desktop software is available and ready for download. If you use a…

Reviews

Sena Florence Rev3 for iPad Review – the Third Time’s a Charm

Back in May we reviewed the Sena Florence for the iPad 2. It was a good-looking, slim folio-style case for the iPad that included the “Auto Sleep/Awake” functionality and served double-duty as a stand for viewing and typing. The original version was a good case, but I did encounter some issues with the Sleep/Awake functionality not working as constantly as I would have liked. It wasn’t enough of an issue for me to not use and enjoy the case mind you, but it was something that I noted in the review. Last week we looked at the second version of…

Editorials

Apple’s Next Gen iPhone: What We Know… What We Don’t…

Check the blogosphere and you will see a host of posts on dozens of sites announcing that the next generation iPhone will arrive in October. This is in contrast to the dozens of sites that recently reported that the new iPhone would appear in September. That, in turn, was in contrast to some reports a few weeks ago that the next iPhone would arrive in late August. It is enough to make your head spin and… in the process… lose faith in any of the information spread throughout the tech-blog community. (See Mike’s and my Twin Posts of Different…

Reviews

Skullcandy FIX Earbuds Review

We’ve looked at a number of in-ear earbuds over the past months. There were the Yurbuds that won over Elana’s heart. (Okay they didn’t win her heart but they are the first earbuds she actually likes wearing!) Then there were the earbuds that took a shower with me. Yup, these new Monster Sport headphones sound great and are machine washable too!) Today we’ll take a look at Skullcandy’s new FIX in-ear earbuds. Like the Yurbuds the FIX earbuds are designed for people who are on-the-go and active. As the company explains, “Until now, some ear buds and in-ear speakers have…

Reviews

iPhone 4 Case Review: Twelve South BookBook for iPhone 4

photos by Kevin I love Twelve South‘s products. Their product portfolio isn’t the largest around, but the products they do offer are well-conceived, beautifully manufactured, and quite useful. We’ve looked at their BookBook for iPad, their Compass iPad stand and liked both. Now they have released the BookBook for iPhone 4. The $59.99 case serves a dual function of protecting your iPhone AND serving as your wallet. As the company says, it is “A Vintage Case+ Wallet for your iPhone 4”. From Twelve South: BookBook for iPhone is a wallet and iPhone case rolled into one pocket-sized, vintage book. Open this…

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