Articles by Dan Cohen

Otterbox BlackBerry Bold 9700 Defender Case - Review

Otterbox BlackBerry Bold 9700 Defender Case – Review

This is a joint review from Thomas and Dan. Dan’s comments are in black, and Thomas’ are in blue italics. Dan – Thomas was kind enough to send me his Blackberry Bold 9700 a few weeks ago. I have an AT&T branded version of the phone. His phone, however, had one distinct advantage over mine — because it is on T-Mobile it has a truly inexpensive international calling and data plan available. So I brought it to Las Vegas with me for CES and then carried it with me to the wedding I attended in Cabo. Because the connecting flights…

Plantronics Voyager PRO UC Review

Plantronics Voyager PRO UC Review

My work here on Gear Diary has given me the opportunity to try a wide variety of Bluetooth headsets. The biggest common denominator with all of them is the degree to which they have improved in recent years. They have, for the most part, become more comfortable, easier to pair, and they have much-improved sound quality. Most recently I’ve had the opportunity to be using the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC. Plantronics describes it as “the most advanced noise-canceling Bluetooth headset available”. In my experience over the last week and a half, I can’t argue with that statement. It’s comfortable, easy-to-use,…

Mariner Paperless - Review

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 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 …

Plantronics .Audio 476 DSP Headset- A Gear Diary First Look

Plantronics .Audio 476 DSP Headset- A Gear Diary First Look

As I’ve written numerous times here on the site, I am a huge user of voice recognition software. I’m blown away by Dragon Dictation on the iPhone, use Dragon NaturallySpeaking on my Windows 7 machine, and I have MacSpeech Dictate on both my iMac and my MacBook Pro. When I upgraded to the current version of MacSpeech Dictate I discovered that it isn’t configured to allow you to use the built-in microphone for dictation. Turns out there is a reason for this for as good as the microphone is, it isn’t ideal for voice recording. Without a proper headset, there…

Scottevest Cotton Hoodie Review

Scottevest Cotton Hoodie Review

The Cotton Hoodie from Scottevest has an MSRP of $70 and is available now. Now I know what you’re thinking — $70 is a little bit expensive for a cotton hoodie. And, in most cases you’re absolutely correct. A quick Google search for the garment yields a host of various offerings that are, for the most part significantly less than $70. Then again, those hoodies aren’t from Scottevest. Those hoodies don’t combine comfort with the kind of organizational system SEV is known for. So yes, this particular garment comes at a slight premium cost-wise but what you get for that…

Text Input On The Camangi WebStation

eBooks, News & Features

Text Input On The Camangi WebStation

Dan: Judie and I are continuing to play with, tweak and become familiar with our Camangi Webstations. There is no question that it excels as an e-book reader. Thanks to The Android version of eReader both of us have downloaded our libraries and had a number of sessions reading from the device. There is no question that it works quite well in this regard. It allows you to read both in landscape and portrait mode, lets you change the font, is backlit (something that isn’t possible with a device that uses ePaper, and, thanks to the testing, navigation is as…

Camangi Webstation Includes GPS... DHL Could Use One

eBooks, News & Features

Camangi Webstation Includes GPS… DHL Could Use One

I wasn’t going to write a post about my experience with shipper DHL yesterday. Yes, although they told me on the phone twice that my Camangi WebStation was on the way it never came. Yes, I had to look on while Judie unboxed hers. I had to listen to her “ooh and ahhh”, all the time thinking that mine was on the way any second when, in fact, it wasn’t. Yes, my exchanges with their customer reps left much to be desired. But still, I had no plans to write a post about my experience. Elana just got off the…

Seagate Dockstar - Review

Seagate Dockstar – Review

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to review the Seagate FreeAgent Go. It is a small, pocket-sized external hard drive that looks sleek and has a tremendous capacity. One of the nice features of the hard drive is that it has only one port- a Mini USB. You can, however, purchase an optional dock for the hard drive that lets you simply slip the hard drive into the cradle when you’re ready to use it. The company offers a similar looking cradle that does much more, however. By incorporating a PogoPlug into the cradle Seagate has created a…

Scottevest Soft Shell Jacket Review

Scottevest Soft Shell Jacket Review

I love Scottvest’s products, and during the last few weeks I have had the good fortune to update my SEV wardrobe quite a bit. Last month I reviewed the Evolution Jacket. It was the first SEV product I had seen in some time and I was impressed by how far the line has come. It just looks and feels more refined than ever and, thanks to more than a few tweaks, the system for carrying and organizing your gear is more usable than ever. Early last week Scott Jordan, the company founder and CEO, was kind enough to send me…

Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim Speakers - Review

Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim Speakers – Review

I tend to use my iMac for everything from music to tv to movies when I am in my home study. And why not? After all, the 24″ screen is great for TV and movies. (And the 27″ will be even better!!) There are, however, a few things that make the experience quite a bit better. First off, the SRS iWOW plug in adds both depth and a high level of sound configurability. Second, while the iMac’s speakers do “well enough”, a pair of external speaks make a HUGE difference! I’ve been using the Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim speakers…

A Low Tech Suggestion to Protect Yourself from Internet and Credit Card Scammers

How to Do It Yourself!

A Low Tech Suggestion to Protect Yourself from Internet and Credit Card Scammers

Ah yes… the holidays. Times for family, food, drink… and scammers! Elana received an email from her aunt last night that included the above credit card scam “transcript”. It has been checked out by Snopes and looks to be legitimate. Even if it is not legit, Snopes points out that the elements of it certainly are and “anyone who holds a credit card is a potential victim of this type of fraud”. The scary thing about this scam is just HOW much information the scammers have. They have your name. They have your address. They have your credit card number……

Joby Launches Gorillacam iPhone Camera App

Joby Launches Gorillacam iPhone Camera App

I’ve been using my GorillaPod flexible tripod more and more. It works great with my iPhone and came in super-handy when I was using a number of iPhone camera apps while on vacation last week. Well Joby, the company behind the GorillaPod has released a free iPhone camera app. It is free, offers some nice features, works great and… did I mention… it is free!

iBend iPhone/iPod touch Stand Review

iBend iPhone/iPod touch Stand Review

When Larry posted news about the iBend’s release, he hit the nail on the head with regard to the iPhone accessory’s main draw. As he put it “not everything in life has to be fancy”. He was right and no one could say the iBend is fancy. A few months after its initial release however, the iBend did get a bit fancier with the release of their new Artists Series. These added some artistic flair to the accessory and $1 to the $4.99 price of the “iBend Classic”. We got our hands on one of the iBend Artist Series stands;…

Sennheiser MM400 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones - Review

Sennheiser MM400 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones – Review

The other day I was having lunch with a good friend. He enjoys his gadgets as much as the rest of us and was excited to tell me about this latest acquisition. He had purchased a pair of Sennheiser MM400 Bluetooth stereo headphones and couldn’t stop raving about them. At a cost of over $260 they were bit on the pricey side but he kept talking about them so positively that I finally said I would need to go check them out. “Hold on a minute” he said and he ran out to the car. He brought them back into…

PowerPak Wall Charger and Battery Combo - Review

PowerPak Wall Charger and Battery Combo – Review

Larry talks a lot about the importance of device convergence. As we are packing for vacation, I am overwhelmed by the number of different chargers and cords I need to bring with me; he is more correct than I realized. In order to have the music and reading material I want during my five days in the sun. For example – to make sure my iPhone is fully usable, I’ll need the charge/sync cord, the wall adapter and my Mophie Juice Pack Air. Add to that the accessories I’ll need for my Kindle, my camera and my Bluetooth headphones, and suddenly…

Skooba Netbook Messenger - Review

Skooba Netbook Messenger – Review

Yesterday Larry posted that Skooba is having a big 25% off sale for the next few days. The Skooba bag on the left in the advertisement is a new item from Skooba designed especially for netbooks. The Netbook Messenger is just the right size for carrying a netbook and a few assorted accessories during a day of running around. I’ve been using one for the last two weeks. Let’s take a look…

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Moshi Voice Control Travel Alarm Clock – Review

I reviewed the Moshi Voice Controlled Alarm Clock a few weeks back and was rather impressed. It really works and makes setting the time or the alarm as easy as speaking. Love it! Well, turns out the company also has a travel alarm clock that uses the same voice technology. Here is a look.

PowerCurl Keeps MacBook Cords Organized- Review

PowerCurl Keeps MacBook Cords Organized- Review

When this item arrived for review I thought to myself “dump dumb dumb”. I tried it and then thought… “I wish I had thought of that.” Seriously, if you use a Mac this is something that is worth a look past Judie’s initial post announcing that they were being made. So let’s take one…

The Leonard Maltin Movie Guide iPhone App Review

The Leonard Maltin Movie Guide iPhone App Review

If you like movies, this is one app you definitely need to check out. It is easy to use, chock full of movie info and will make it easier than ever to find movies by your favorite director or actor. Is it worth the $1.99 price? Judie and I decided to give it a try and see …

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