Articles by Gear Diary Staff

Olympus E-P1 Digital Pen Review (Part 1)

Reviews August 19, 2009

Olympus E-P1 Digital Pen Review (Part 1)

This is the Olympus E-P1 , the digital camera that set a million tongues wagging when it was announced. The first Olympus camera to be based on the Micro Four-Thirds standard co-developed with Panasonic, the E-P1 is supposed to be able to capture close to professional DSLR (digital SLR) quality photographs, in a form-factor barely larger than a compact point and shoot camera. The E-P1 is also one of the smallest digital cameras with interchangeable lenses. I’m not a professional photographer, and my experience with digital cameras has thus far been limited to point and shoots, so bear in mind…

Speck's Updated CandyShell iPhone Case Review

Reviews August 19, 2009

Speck’s Updated CandyShell iPhone Case Review

Speck Products has been making cases and protective products for a wide range of laptops, mp3 players, and smartphones since 2001.  Earlier this spring we took a look at one of Speck’s newest cases, the CandyShell for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.  The CandyShell is an interesting concept with a hard plastic outer shell that slides nicely into and out of pockets and a softer interior that is intended to provide cushioning in the event of a drop or hard bump. Speck recently updated the CandyShell line with five new color combinations: BubbleMaker Pink, BatWing Black, AquaBerry Blue, WaxStick White,…

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 17: SplashID

Reviews August 16, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 17: SplashID

We have taken a look at SplashID several times before.  This is one of the great apps coming out of SplashData, who seems to have now come full circle.  They started out developing for PalmOS, moved on to Windows Mobile, iPhone, Nokia, and even several desktop platforms.  Well, now they have come back to their roots with Palm and their WebOS.  This is SplashData’s second app on the Palm Pre, following Infopedia. Now, some of you may recall that last week I briefly mentioned how I had tested SplashID and found it to be terribly buggy.  Heck, it would not…

Track Your Trips in Real-Time with GPSed for iPhone

Reviews August 15, 2009

Track Your Trips in Real-Time with GPSed for iPhone

If you have the travel bug and enjoy sharing your adventures with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, etc., then GPSed is definitely for you.   If you are a hiker, runner, or biker and just want to track your journeys in real-time, then GPSed is for you. In fact, just about anyone needing to show their location via GPS, archive their trips, or keep a log of their where they’ve been on GoogleMaps will likely find something useful with the many features in Shape Services‘ GPSed.

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 14: LinkedIn

Reviews August 13, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 14: LinkedIn

I have to admit that I am not terribly interested in social networking.  Email is usually enough for me, though there are a few sites which I do find to be particularly enjoyable or useful.  One of those sites is LinkedIn, a social networking site for business connections.  As much as I enjoy LinkedIn however, I have always found their mobile versions to be a bit lacking.

Comparing MacBooks - Mine is Better than Yours

Reviews August 13, 2009

Comparing MacBooks – Mine is Better than Yours

I’ve had a Mac laptop since 2006.  I love my notebook and carry it just about everywhere I go.  That’s part of my problem. The contents of my Gear Bag My Gear Bag holds just about everything that I might need in my portable office.  I have my 13” Unibody MacBook, my MSI Wind, a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate Windows Vista Business, Office 2007 Ultimate, various other CD’s, miscellaneous paperwork, a 320GB USB hard drive and charging bricks and cables for all of the above. The bag weighs near 40 pounds. This weight is the major reason why, when I…

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 apps in 30 Days. Day 13: Open Table

Reviews August 12, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 apps in 30 Days. Day 13: Open Table

Open Table is pretty similar to Good Food, which we looked at yesterday.  Like Good Food, just enter your current location (either by city name or using the GPS).  Open Table will then pinpoint affiliated restaurants in your area, which you can view either on a map, or in a list view.

How to get more than 11 pages of iPhone Apps

How to Do It Yourself! August 12, 2009

How to get more than 11 pages of iPhone Apps

By default the iPhone limits the user to a total of 11 visible springboard aka home screen pages. Dayna from PHP-Princess has discovered a way around this limitation. Yes needing more than 11 pages of applications (180) is truly for the hardcore iPhone app user, but there are a lot of them floating around. This was a trick I discovered while moving around my icons. First, you have to be an app-aholic and have 11 pages of iPhone apps (and more hidden ones since they can’t be displayed). Then move some of the default apps you do not use like…

Palm Pre app Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 12: Good Food

Reviews August 11, 2009

Palm Pre app Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 12: Good Food

We are going to quickly tackle two apps in one tonight.  I was planning to bring you a look at SplashData’s SplashID, the only secure information manager available for the Palm Pre.  Unfortunately, I had terrible problems with SplashID on the Palm Pre and could not get it to load at all.  Every time opened it, it froze.  I know others have had much more success with this program, and I have enjoyed it on other platforms, but it just would not work on my Palm Pre.  So, that is all I have to say about this one.  If you…

Only read this book if you are interested in your universe!

eBooks, Reviews August 11, 2009

Only read this book if you are interested in your universe!

Ever tried to understand Einstein’s Theory of Relativity?   Or even just wondered if time travel was possible?  How about if the ever wonderful warp speed in Star Trek was feasible? These and many other questions have a serious grounding in the new book Why Does E=MC2? by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

Audible BlackBerry App Review

Reviews August 11, 2009

Audible BlackBerry App Review

Audible provides audio books.  Customers can download the audio books to their computers or mobile devices — including iPhone/iPod, a variety of MP3 players, and BlackBerry devices.  Last week, the Audible team released an upgrade to their BlackBerry application (version 1.4.2). It is no secret that I was less than thrilled with the first release of the Audible application.  Performance was painfully slow (when it worked), and the process proved — for me — to be more cumbersome than simply plugging the BlackBerry up via USB and dragging the audio book over manually via Mass Storage Mode and playing the…

No Picture

Reviews August 10, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 11: Classic!

One of the complaints I heard (and voiced) about the Palm Pre before its release was the lack of support for PalmOS apps and games.  It felt like Palm was missing an opportunity to feature an enormous, ready-made library of apps.  Additionally, with the large (but admittedly shrinking) army of devoted Palm users, it seemed like there was an almost built in path to an automatic upgrade.  By not supporting those apps, it seemed as though many users might choose to stick with their current devices rather than risk giving up significant functionality with an unknown operating system. Apparently, Palm…

Tobias Batton’s Proto iPhone Game Review

Reviews August 10, 2009

Tobias Batton’s Proto iPhone Game Review

What do you get for around a dollar?  A donut or some candies and change? Maybe a drink?  For around a dollar you won’t get much that lasts long.  Except maybe an iPhone app, and even that is not guaranteed to last very long or be useful.  Proto from Tobias Batton’s Game Studio costs around a dollar, and I think it is worth every cent.

Cable Jive iStubz & Dock Extender Review

Reviews August 10, 2009

Cable Jive iStubz & Dock Extender Review

Cable Jive makes some really simple but very ingenious products for the iPhone and iPod. They were kind enough to send along their iStubz charge and sync cable as well as their Dock Extender Cable for review. These two cables serve different purposes and both provide a great solution for your iPhone or iPod charge and sync as well as overall daily needs.

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 10: Sudoku!

Reviews August 9, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 10: Sudoku!

I think it is no secret around here that I am a pretty big fan of Sudoku.  I have explored many Sudoku options for various mobile platforms, and even a number of alternate variations on the theme.  For those of you who are new here, Sudoku is a classic Japanese puzzle game, in which you are faced with a grid of 81 squares arranged in nine rows of nine blocks each.  Scattered across the grid are numbers from 1-9.  Your job is to fill in the remainder of the grid by placing each number, 1-9, into each row, column, and…

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 9: Tweed

Reviews August 9, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 9: Tweed

Do you Twitter?  Are you a Twit with your Tweets?  I’ll be honest here and tell you that I really don’t Twitter.  Sure, I have an account, and have tried to understand it, but it just never did much for me.  That being said, I do understand that millions of people out there send what must be billions and billions (sorry, Carl Sagan) of Tweets on Twitter every day (does this make anyone else think of a little yellow canary from Looney Tunes?)

Palm Pre App Catalog: 30 Apps in 30 Days. Part 8: Flixster

Reviews August 8, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog: 30 Apps in 30 Days. Part 8: Flixster

Yesterday, we started our two part look at movie listing apps on the Palm Pre with Fandango.  Today, we will wrap that up with a look at Flixster.  To be honest, Flixster and Fandango are pretty similar apps, with one giant difference.  With Fandango, you can actually purchase tickets straight from your phone.  Flixster does not have that option, it only allows you to view information about the movies and listings.

CASECROWN Classic Slim Case Review

Reviews August 7, 2009

CASECROWN Classic Slim Case Review

CASECROWN is a southern California based company founded by self described gadget lovers. They make some of the most affordable cases around, and they were kind enough to send me one of their Classic Slim Cases for laptops to review. Here’s a quick overview of the case from the CASECROWN web site: – Perfect Fit For Your Notebooks – Premium Quality Shock-Absorbing Double Memory Foam Interior – Water & Wear Resistant; Zipper Scratch-Free Exterior Material – Light & Thin Compact Design – Internal Supporting Bands To Secure Your Gadgets How does this laptop case match up?  Read on to find…

CASECROWN iPhone Polycarbonate Slim Case Review

Reviews August 7, 2009

CASECROWN iPhone Polycarbonate Slim Case Review

CASECROWN is a southern California based company founded by self described gadget lovers. They were kind enough to send me one of their polycarbonate cases for the iPhone 3G/3gS to review. An extremely simplistic case, the polycarbonate slim case is one of the most affordable snap on back covers I’ve seen.