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Reviews November 9, 2010

Speck Pixel Skin HD iPod Touch 4G Case Review

TPU and silicone style cases for the iPod Touch and the iPhone are a dime a dozen. If you’re going to impress me with a soft case you’ve got to stand out from the crowd. And that’s exactly what the Pixel Skin HD from Speck Products does. This TPU style case features 6 DPI of high-definition grip in four stylish colors. The Pixel Skin HD is offered in Black, Yellow, Bright Red and Purple. The case doesn’t come with a screen shield. Speck isn’t offering their ShieldView for the 4th generation Touch just yet, so if you need a screen…

Reviews November 6, 2010

Speck Candy Shell iPod Touch 4G Case Review

It’s no secret. I’m a big fan of the cases Speck Products had been churning out for the entire iDevice lineup. One of their newest offerings, The Candy Shell for the iPod Touch 4G recently arrived on my door step and I was happy to welcome it. I’ve owned the Candy Shell for both the iPhone 3G/3Gs and the iPhone 4 and have come to appreciate the hybrid style hard case for all it has to offer. How does the iPod Touch 4G version of this case fare? Read on to find out. Speck was kind enough to send me…

Reviews November 6, 2010

The Primary Case Company Offers A Case For Your Case

Most iPhone users choose to protect their device with a case. A case not only offers a barrier between your phone and the outside elements but allows you to add your own personal design tastes to your mobile device. For me a protective case is only half of the equation though. How I carry my iPhone is just as important. I often choose to carry my phone in my front pants pocket but this can be uncomfortable. I’ve tested a few case/holster combinations but haven’t been particularly thrilled with any of them. The Primary Case Company recently released an entire…

Reviews November 4, 2010

TWIN VIDEO Review: The World’s First Dual Lens Video Camera

Vlogging is a very popular activity these days. If you’re not familiar with it, the process involves recording a video-diary of your life and then posting it online for the world to follow. It seems everywhere I look there’s someone who’s decided to record a portion of their life and post it on the internet. If you’ve ever tried to record yourself while “out and about” you know it’s not easy. Using a standard video camera requires what I like to call the “one arm reach” where you hold the camera in one hand and turn it around. Then you…

Reviews November 3, 2010

HoodieBuddie Review: Headphones With You 24/7

We all love our ScotteVest clothing here at Gear Diary. One of the coolest features of SeV wear is the ability to take a set of ear buds and wire them through the garment so they’re always there when you need them. The only issue is the fact that you then have to dedicate a set of headphones to this task – wiring them up each time you want to use them isn’t practical. Enter the HoodieBuddie. The HoodieBuddie looks like any old hooded sweatshirt. But it’s not. Using their patent-pending HB3T technology the HoodieBuddie contains a standard headphone jack…

Reviews November 2, 2010

JAVOedge Charcoal Flip Style Case for Amazon Kindle 3rd Generation Review

I’m a big fan of the Amazon Kindle 3. It’s become a permanent fixture on my bedside table and I use it almost religiously each night before bed. Amazon’s current version of their e-reader is slim and small. So much so that I think a case actually compliments it. Like the iPod Touch I sometimes find when devices are too slim they become hard to use. While I haven’t tested a ton of Kindle 3 cases I have been using JAVOedge‘s newest offering over the last two weeks and have been quite pleased with the result. The Charcoal Flip Style…

Reviews October 30, 2010

Home Gear Review: Larry G Checks Out The BottleMate

I drink a lot of microbrews. One of the challenges anyone who does often faces is the dilemma, “is it a twist-off or not”. The last thing you want to do on a hot summer afternoon is struggle to get the top off your ice cold beer. With the BottleMate there isn’t even a need to guess. The BottleMate is touted as the world’s best bottle opener. It claims to easily and effortless open bottles in a manner that will have your friends bowing in amazement. The BottleMate fits over the top of most bottles and in one swift motion…

Reviews October 29, 2010

Purse to Go Bag Organizer Review

It’s no secret that a few of us here at Gear Diary are bag fanatics. Judie’s collection puts mine to shame any day, as does Clinton’s. But for the past few years, I have been a purse fanatic. It’s been my other spendy item other than technology. I haven’t gone crazy; usually I only buy one nice bag a year, almost always from Coach, and maybe a few accessories. They have lasted so much longer than my previous cheapie purchases and I’ve been very happy with the investment. However, I have one problem–I love big bags. I love carrying a…

Reviews October 27, 2010

The Bowers & Wilkins P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones Review

Work in a loud cubicle environment? Want to focus when you’re working at a coffee house? Are you an audiophile with discerning tastes? While Bose has long been known for their noise cancellation headphones, there is another contender for high-end on-ear headphones in the Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) P5 Mobile Hi-Fi Headphones. Read on for my impressions of the B&W P5 and how well it handles a multitude of environments. When I traveled extensively for work 10+ years ago, the Bose QuietComfort noise cancellation headphones were the thing to have. They reduced airplane noise, were portable enough, and had decent…

Reviews October 27, 2010

Mickey’s Spooky Night Review: Arrives Just in Time for Halloween

Just in time for the upcoming Halloween holiday the folks at Disney Publishing have released their newest read-along story for the iPad. Mickey’s Spooky Night features a Halloween themed story along with interactive jigsaw puzzles and games too. The plot of the story surrounds Mickey and his friends as they all get together for a Halloween party, but Mickey and the gang aren’t the only guests at this party — some ghosts have decided they want to join the fun, too. As the story gets read along, you and your child are also tasked with finding the hidden ghosts as…

Reviews October 26, 2010

Gear Diary Deal or Dud #7: The Bacon Wave

Cooking bacon at home often presents challenges. If you cook it on top of the stove you’re left to deal with the large amount of grease that continually builds up in the pan while cooking. If you go the microwave route you’re dealing with paper towels and are limited by the amount you can cook at one time. The As Seen On TV Bacon Wave promises an easy and efficient way to cooking large quantities of bacon with simple clean up. The product claims to uniformly cook up to 14 slices at one time as well as lower both calories, cholesterol and fat. This…

Reviews October 25, 2010

Daniusoft Video Converter Ultimate Harnesses the Power of Nvidia CUDA Windows Software Review

Image courtesy of Daniusoft With so many devices being able to replay video these days, converting and encoding is a skill that should be known. Most devices now include software to handle this task for you but sometimes it just doesn’t encode the way you want it to or simply cannot convert from the file type you have. Years ago when the copyright cracking* became an art form, people who wanted to make legal copies of purchased DVDs had to use software such as DVDShrink, DVD decryptrr, and DVD Fab. It used to be a grueling multi-step process which involved different…

Reviews October 25, 2010

HeyTell Review

Remember years ago when Nextel’s Direct Connect phones were all the rage? They aren’t used widely today, but back then the familiar beep of the walky-talky feature was something heard often. Thanks to a tip from a YouTube friend I’ve been using a new iOS application called “HeyTell” which mirrors the Nextel Direct Connect function. HeyTell turns your iOS device into a walky-talky. You record short (limited to 30-seconds) voice notes and they are transmitted to another user and played on his/her iOS device. The application utilizes push notifications to alert users when new messages have arrived so once you send the…

How to Do It Yourself! October 25, 2010

Android Market Blues – Are Carrier App Restrictions Beating You Down?

Ah… Android. The allure of a completely open system. You’re in control, unlike on iOS devices. Right? Right? Sometimes, not so much. Turns out, AT&T Android-touting users, for example, can only install applications in the Android Market. Recently, Travis asked about installing non-Market applications on an AT&T Android smartphone, and Francis told him a few possible ways to do this. It’s definitely a source of frustration for users on carriers with such restrictions. Removing a standard feature of Android is simply an annoyance to users, and can be circumvented, as the Tested.com article How To Install Apps that are Filtered…

Reviews October 24, 2010

ADT PULSE Interactive Security System Review

When the new ADT PULSE system became available in my area I immediate jumped at the chance to have it installed in my home. PULSE not only allows for the ability to arm and disarm one’s home security system from anywhere in the world, it does much more. The new ADT PULSE system is all about home automation. It includes lighting, temperature control, video, and more. As a kid this sort of thing seemed like something that would exist in the far, far future, maybe not even in my lifetime. But it turns out that future isn’t far off at…

Reviews October 22, 2010

ListMonger for iPhone Review

I recently received an email from Paul at Inspiretis, an iPhone app developer. Having seen one of my reviews in which I confessed my obsession with list making, Paul offered to send me a review copy of his new iPhone app, ListMonger. I downloaded the app and I’ve been playing with it for about a month. To be frank, I really like ListMonger. It packs a bunch of features into a few basic, easy to use screens. Among the features are: Nested lists – and not just at one level. I only tried it for three levels (a list with…

Reviews October 21, 2010

Bumper Holster for iPhone 4 Review

iPhone protection is a bit of a double-edged sword for me. Everyone knows I’ve got a bit of an obsession with cases, but truth be told I like my iPhone best naked. Since I often carry my phone in my pants pocket keeping it as slim as possible is important. It is for this reason that I have been using a bumper style case in conjunction with a back skin more than any other combo. I had been looking for a better way to carry the phone (pants pockets just get to crowded with other stuff) when I came across…

Reviews October 18, 2010

OtterBox Impact Series iPhone 4 Case Review

No matter what level of protection you need for your iPhone 4 OtterBox has you covered. The company realizes that all iPhone users are different and use their phones in different environments. It’s because of this that they offer three different levels of protective cases for the iPhone 4. Their Defender series offers the maximum amount, followed by the Commuter which offers a mid-range level of protection followed by the case we’ll look at today, the Impact series. The Impact series case is a slim fitting, silicone based case that is meant to protect your device from life’s bumps, scratches…

News & Features October 18, 2010

SpookyTones Helps Your iPhone Get Its Ghoul On

If you are a fan of both Halloween and customized ringtones for your mobile devices, then what we have here is a bit of convergence for you. If you want to “spookify” your iPhone a bit, point your broom toward Electric Pocket’s space in the iTunes App Store and check out SpookyTones, a Halloween version of its MailTones app. SpookyTones allows you to assign distinct, frightening tones to your contacts, and then, rather than the traditional, boring email alert, your iPhone cackles, thumps, or rattles its chains. Prefer giving the ghouls the silent treatment? SpookyTones will also let you set certain…

Reviews October 16, 2010

All New Powermat Wireless Charging System for the iPhone 4 Review

Powermat was first to bring wireless charging to the iPhone. I was admittedly not a huge fan of their first generation design for the iPhone 3G/3Gs. The large back plate just didn’t look good. Dan had a chance to review the first generation system just about a year ago and came to a similar conclusion. The company is readying their iPhone 4 second generation release and I had a chance to preview it. Boy how things have changed. The new iPhone 4 Powermat is a world away from its predecessor. Small, sleek and thin, the new version is a site to see….

Editorials October 14, 2010

Windows Phone 7: Too Little Too Late? Or Just In the Nick of Time?

Francis: Monday’s press conference marked the official announcement of Microsoft’s highly anticipated Windows Phone 7. Microsoft has officially been tooting their own horn in the past months about their new phone OS and hardware, claiming that this is the new vision of Microsoft Mobile devices. Judie: The dust is finally starting to settle, and now we’ve had a chance to digest the information which came … as well as a chance to formulate some questions. Make no mistake about it, Microsoft needed a new vision for their mobile devices. The company, which for a time enjoyed their position as a…

Articles by Gear Diary Staff