Articles by Gear Diary Staff

Reviews October 19, 2009

mSpot Mobile Movie Streaming Review

You use your smartphone for everything from playing music, snapping photos, recording video, banking, and playing games. Are you ready to rent and view your next movie on your mobile phone? mSpot certainly hopes so. The company recently launched its mobile movie rental service and allowed me to trial it for a few days. Take a look at the mSpot service in action, and find out whether mSpot deserves a spot on your smartphone… http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UWl-AXuK9ik Above you’ll see mSpot streaming a scene from “The Reader” to my iPhone. The process to rent a film from mSpot is straightforward. Just go…

Reviews October 19, 2009

IM+ by SHAPE Services for Windows Phone Review

Instant Messaging (IM) has gained popularity over the years, and it has become part of our lives now in the communication world. With mobile devices gaining popularity, everyone would love to stay connected with their IMs. Some of the popular IMs out there include MSN®/Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo!®, and Google Talk. Those are all separate applications, requiring space on users’ devices and requiring them to juggle between each application when they want to IM their friends on the different services. What a pain! SHAPE services has come to the rescue, with IM+! IM+ is a messaging client that lets you…

News & Features October 17, 2009

Android Users – Back Up Your SMS Messages to Gmail

In talking with people that send text messages (SMS), one of the most frequent things I hear is that they wish they could save some of their SMS messages. Many of them have lost their messages forever if their phone is damaged/replaced/upgraded, or they run out of room and are forced to delete them. There is a very useful application for Android called SMS Backup that helps you save your SMS messages to Gmail so you can keep them forever.

eBooks, Reviews October 16, 2009

Disney Digital Books Review

It’s a ritual around my house, and I imagine it’s done in households everywhere — the bed time story. Whether one of my kids is laying down for a mid day nap or getting tucked in for the night, they always get a story before they close their eyes. With three girls at home we’ve become fans of many of the Disney characters, so when Disney Digital books asked us to review their new online service I jumped at the chance. Disney Digital Books provided me with a one month test subscription to try the service out at home with…

Reviews October 14, 2009

Why I Love Roboform

One of my first favorite ‘free’ Internet programs was Claria’s “Gator”. What I naively found out later is, so far as I’m concerned, Gator essentially invented the Spyware industry. It originally allowed you to store passwords to all your websites so that rather than remember them, you could allow it to fill them in automatically. However, over time they started pushing pop-up ads onto your computer and started overwriting Google search results. Eventually people found out about the adware but the product itself actually worked until Gator was shut down in 2006. In came RoboForm which has nothing to do…

Reviews October 13, 2009

PlanOn Printstik Bluetooth Printer for BlackBerry Review

Back in August, we wrote about the PlanOn Printstik Bluetooth printer for BlackBerry devices. This past week, PlanOn provided a review unit on loan, and allowed me to put it through its paces for several days. Now that the Printstik has been returned, what did I like about it? What could be improved? More importantly, is this an item that should be added to your gear for daily use? Let’s find out…

Reviews October 12, 2009

Novatel Mifi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot Review

I get asked an awful lot to name my favorite mobile device. My answer is usually the same. Well, I like this device for these things, or another device for those other things, but favorite device really depends upon what you want to do. I never found a device which was perfect for all things. Until now. Today, I am ready to name my favorite mobile device, and it is probably not what you expect. This one does not have a screen or a keyboard. It does not make phone calls. It does not access the Internet. What it does…

News & Features October 12, 2009

Is buying green a free pass to lie?

A recent study by the Rotman School of Management indicates that being near products that are considered “green” can make people behave nicer to each other, but when they actually purchase these green items the products actually have the opposite effect. The researchers found that buying green products leads people into behaving less than nice towards each other, even making them more apt to steal and lie. It seems buying such products makes people believe they’ve earned “moral credentials” and gives them a “license” to act in a questionable fashion. The study conducted three different experiments. The first showed people…

Editorials October 10, 2009

Get Your Caffeine on with Gear Diary

It started innocently enough. One morning last week Wayne sent an email asking if any of the writers liked Starbuck’s after he had accumulated a fairly large amount of points — $370 worth — on his own Starbuck’s rewards card. Then today Carly spotted a great deal on Woot! for a Breville 15-Bar Expresso & Cappuccino Maker for $179.99 (that’s it pictured above). These messages sparked an entire back and forth coast to coast between what gear we each used to quench our lust for caffeine. See what the team is using, and sound off in the comments on what…

News & Features October 8, 2009

Firefighter Robot might save lives one day

Hoya Robot, A South Korean company, is developing a robot that one day might just help save the lives of both victims and firefighters. The Firefighter’s Assistant Robot can enter burning building and size up the scene as well as check for victims who may be trapped inside. The unit can operate for up to 30 minutes and withstand temperatures of up to 320 degrees F. Weighing in at only 3 pounds the robot is water resistant and it can survive falls of up to 6 feet. It’s small enough that it can fit in the palm of your hand….

Reviews October 7, 2009

OtterBox Commuter Series cases for iPhone 3G & 3GS Review

OtterBox has always been one of my favorite case manufacturers. I use their Defender Series case for my iPhone 3GS religiously. My review of it was the very first article I wrote for Gear Diary. There’s no denying the Defender Series is a bulky case. While it provides an unparalleled level of protection for your device it also increases the overall size of your phone substantially. I realize the Defender series isn’t for everyone and OtterBox does as well. For this reason the company has just recently released two new cases, under their new Commuter line. The cases, the Commuter…

Reviews October 7, 2009

SPB TV Review: TV in my pocket!

With my schedule I find myself with tons of down time throughout any given day. Being in Dr’s waiting rooms, bus rides in the spring during baseball season, or just sitting on a bench while my wife spends hours in the mall emptying our bank account…I always turn to one thing, my BlackBerry. While I have tons of games that could pass the time, RSS feeds to read, or movies to watch…sometimes I just want something more, something live, maybe even a newscast to watch instead of reading the news. Well SPB TV Is an application that shows live TV…

News & Features October 6, 2009

New Trojan Horse Targets Online Banking, Does More Than Steal Login Information

This is one of those bits of news that bears repeating, particularly if you use online banking. CNET is reporting about a new type of Trojan horse, known as URLZone, that is designed not to steal your login information for online banking sites, but rather to actually steal your money while you’re on the bank’s website. URLZone is sophisticated enough that it calculates how much money to steal based on how much is in your account, then displays a false balance to the user so as not to arouse suspicion. The Trojan is being distributed through emails, infected sites that…

Reviews October 6, 2009

ION Power Pack Review

I’ve tried a few external batteries for my iPhone 3Gs, but none of them have stuck. The cases type (Mophie Jucie Pack Air, Incase Power Slider) are nice but I prefer to use a regular case most of the time and the case batteries result in a much larger phone profile. The other choice, external batteries which plug into the bottom of the phone, are usually bulky or have an awkward connector. The iON Power Pack from FSP Direct solves many of my external battery pet peeves. It features a 1500 mAh battery in a super slim credit card sized…

Reviews October 5, 2009

Skooba Designs CheckThrough Backpack Review

I. Am. A. Mobile. Computing. User… Period. I live for converged devices, laptops, netbooks, and data on the go. I’ve got unlimited data on my Smartphone account; and have tethered my laptop to my phone when I need to be online in a pinch. When I travel, I need to take it with me; and when it comes to airport security, I dread the TSA required aerobics and mandatory disrobing… Thankfully, to help make things easier, Skooba Design has created the CheckThrough Backpack. Let’s take a quick look to see how (and if) this thing makes traveling easier…

Reviews October 2, 2009

Gorilla Tube for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

Gorilla Tubes are “super slim, hard cases for your iPhone or iPod made from hi-tech fiber composite materials.” Each Gorilla Tube is hand made in Germany. These cases are definitely different from your plain jane black leather pouch. In addition to providing an incredible amount of protection the cases look super sleek as well. So step out of that old, tired, conservative leather sleeve and dive into a futuristic looking carbon fiber tube.

eBooks, News & Features October 2, 2009

Make Memories Last with Picaboo Photo Books

Do you have summer photos just hanging around on your hard drive, abandoned now that fall is here? (Well, or almost here if you live in Texas!) Don’t let them get forgotten–upload them to Picaboo! Picaboo is a service that allows you to create photo books and cards from your digital photos, starting at just $9.99 for a softcover book. They offer easy-to-use software that guides you through the creation process with tons of layouts, backgrounds, fonts, and sample albums to help spark ideas. Possibly the coolest feature of the software is the ability to auto-create a photo book in…

News & Features October 1, 2009

Delete your cell phone’s information before you sell

In case you missed this story, Yahoo posted a funny little PSA on how to go about what not to do when it comes to dispose of your old cell phone. Clearly the folks at Missouri University didn’t read Carly’s recent reminder about how to go about deleting information off your cell phone before you get rid of it. It seems the athletic department at Missouri University had some old cell phones to get rid of. The phones were sold at a University surplus sale and when the buyer, Bellman, purchased 25 of them for $190 he discovered that none…

Reviews September 30, 2009

Review: BugMe! for BlackBerry Phones: Now what was it I had to do?

My wife will tell you that I forget absolutely everything! But she’s my wife so she’s allowed to exaggerate, and the truth is I do forget stuff…as I am sure many of you do too! I have gotten a little better now that I have my BlackBerry and the calendar and Notes apps, but creating calendars is very tedious and the notes don’t alert me. So what do I do now…BugMe! That’s what. Electric Pocket has just released the BugMe! app for BlackBerry phones, I had the chance to review it over the last week.

Reviews September 29, 2009

Wicked Blogging Right on Your BlackBerry Review

A few years ago someone would believe you were crazy if you told them you were going to manage a blog using only a smartphone. Today, however, that notion seems just as commonplace as surfing the web, updating your social networks and communicating with friends, family, or colleagues in real-time — all from your “phone.” Sadly, BlackBerry devices probably are not the first device you think of when you consider doing anything beyond sending email or maintaining appointments. That is changing with more and more applications being developed that help get the most out of the somewhat limited operating system…

News & Features September 29, 2009

Firefighter’s Self Contained Breathing Appratus (SCBA): How it’s changed over the years

Welcome to another edition of “How it’s changed over the years.” The firefighter’s SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) is as important a piece of equipment as his/her helmet. The device, which consists today of a high pressure tank, face mask and pressure regulator allows firefighters to breath air in the hostile environments they face. So how has the SCBA changed over the years?

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