Reviews | Gear Diary

Skooba Design Checkthrough Roller Feview

It is not a so-well-kept secret that I travel quite a bit for my day job. While 2009 has seen a slow down in travel for me, I still will easily make my American Airlines Platinum status for the 4th year in a row. As a reminder to everyone: Airline status is not something to be proud of. It means that you spend too much time on airplanes and that you know exactly which seats and rows have power outlets… but I digress. Since September 11, 2001 the single biggest challenge with air travel has not necessarily been the airlines…

Reviews

Hexplore (1998, RPG) Review

There are many games from the history of computer role-playing games that deserve the attention of a full retrospective, looking back in-depth at what made the game great and putting it into a modern context. However, for every ‘Ultima IV’ or ‘Arcanum’ there are a hundred games like Hexplore – minor releases that added something at the time but were not significant enough to merit much attention even a year after they came out. Certainly, I had never heard about it until recently when it was mentioned in a thread on a PC RPG forum. As part of my love…

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NASA for iPhone/Touch App Review

What geek does not love space?!?! Over the past few months, my iPhone has gained a handful of apps for space enthusiasts. My 5 year old son and I love to sit and look at these apps to learn about the planets and solar systems. One night this summer he asked why we cannot look at space ships while we were looking at the stars using pocket universe. I did not really have an answer. NASA has come out with their own FREE app to follow current space missions.

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MobiValet Review

When I saw an advertisement for the MobiValet in a tech. magazine I was recently reading I immediate had one of those, “now why didn’t I think of that” moments. My car has plenty of cup holders. But often times every single one of them is filled with a drink belonging to one of my children, snacks, sunglasses, toys etc. When I do find an empty one to stick my iPhone in I’m usually hesitant to do so. The iPhone is slimmer than what’s meant to go inside a cup holder and this results it in being tossed around as…

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SmartSwipe System For Online Shopping Review

“Hey D,” Elana said as she came down the step the other night, “did you spend $170 at Macy’s yesterday?” “Macy’s??” I asked, “No way. I mean, when was the last time I went shopping for any non-tech item without you? Why do you ask?” “Because AmexEx emailed and was checking up on a suspect purchase.” she said shaking her head. Yup, YET AGAIN someone was trying to use one of my cards to make purchases. (The last time it was caught much later by the company whose card had been compromised.) As luck would have it I was just…

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HAVA Review: Live TV for PC and iPhone

When I saw the press release announcing that HAVA was coming to the iTunes App Store and that it was an application which allowed for live streaming of your home television, I was intrigued. I like to think I’m pretty knowledgeable when it comes to the live TV options available for the iPhone but I have to admit I’d never heard of HAVA. I’m currently running both a Slingbox Solo and an EyeTV Hybrid in my home office. The Slingbox allows me to view live TV on my Mac as well as my iPhone and doesn’t require the connected computer…

Reviews

Speck Protects… Your iPod Touch and Nano In Style

I’m a huge fan of Speck’s cases. They always offer great style, excellent value and superb protection. They recently rolled out some new cases for the new iPod touch and iPod nano, and they were kind enough to send along some units to review and then use. Let’s take a look…

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Review: 2XL 4 Corners Headphones

It’s been a while since I reviewed the Brickyard headphones from 2XL. I really like them even though their over the ear style design can become warm on the ears. 2XL has solved the sweaty ear problem with a new style of headphones in the new 4 Corner Style of headphones. The design of these new headphones is unique in that instead of round like traditional headphones of this style, these are square. The square shape of these headphones do not make them at all uncomfortable.

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Review: WinX DVD Ripper Platinum (and comparison to Free version)

Recently I was preparing to take a business trip over a weekend for a conference, and figured it would be a nice opportunity to watch a couple of DVD’s that the rest of the family didn’t have any interest in seeing yet again – Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Ran’ and The Marx Brothers’ ‘Night at the Opera’. My assumption was that I would use the Mac program Handbrake, which has done very nicely getting video from our DVDs to our kids’ iPods for long trips. At the same time I had the opportunity to look at WinX DVD Ripper Free Edition, and…

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X-Mini Speakers Review

X-Mini makes some really functional and really small speakers which are meant to be used with your multimedia devices. The company was kind enough to send over a both their X-Mini II & X-Mini Max II for review. Do these tiny speakers pack enough punch to rock out too? Read on to find out.

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With ReelDirector App Flip Loses Key Advantage Over iPhone

The iPhone shoots video that is “good enough”. The Flip UltraHD shoots video that is better. That allows the Flip to maintain a slight edge over the iPhone but just slight. The HUGE advantage the Flip series had was the inclusion of built-in editing software. Once plugged in to a computer, the software popped up and allowed you to trim video and add credits. That key advantage is now GONE thanks to the $7.99 app ReelDirector. It is pretty impressive…

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SubHunt for iPhone OS Review

Sub Hunt from Addicting Games is a shooting game the puts you under the sea in your very own submarine. The game features three different control methods, tons of weapons and upgrades, music and more. It’s an entertaining game each time you come back to play.

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Dissidia Final Fantasy for PSP Review

There are few franchises that have cast a larger shadow over the history of console gaming than Final Fantasy, and the core series of role-playing games has been constantly tweaked and upgraded through the years to stay current. There have certainly been games that have strayed from the usual jRPG format – the classic strategy game series Final Fantasy Tactics, and more recently the RTS-like Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings for the Nintendo DS. But one of the most anticipated entries in the series is the fighting game called Dissidia Final Fantasy. Square Enix released a demo on the PSN…

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iPlaylist Creator for iPhone/Touch App Review

How amazing would it be to be able to create play-lists from any songs on your iPhone without syncing or using iTunes or a computer? I have found a way to do just that! iPlaylist Creator enables iPhone users to create and listen to play lists on the go easily on the iPhone. Features: -Creates Playlists -Easy Drag and Drop songs into any playlist -Sort the songs how you want to play them -Reorder your playlists manually to make your favorite ones show at the top of the list -Color your playlists and change the colors to match your moods…

Reviews

New iPhone cases from Griffin Technoloy

Griffin was one of the very first accessory manufacturers to churn out items for Apple’s line of personal media players. They’ve been making cases, chargers, FM transmitters and other items for a long time. There’s an old marketing phrase that goes something like “innovate or die.” It seems Griffin recognizes this, and instead of sticking with the same lineup of cases year after year they’ve recently released several new iPhone cases for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs. Griffin was kind enough to send Judie and me a few of the new cases for review.

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Pang For iPhone/Touch Review

A bubble blast from the past, Pang is the game you love and remember from the 80’s, even better today on the iPhone and iPod touch. Test your reflexes in this hugely addictive official remake, “Pang”, also known as “Buster Bros” in the US. Travel from Japan to the tropical shores of Hawaii as you take up the task of saving civilisation from dangerously bouncing bubbles that threaten city landmarks across the planet. Can you save Mount Fuji from being flattened by spherical dangers? Will your reactions be good enough to defend the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty?…

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The Netbook Gamer: Unreal (1998, FPS)

Given that my first love of gaming is first-person shooters (FPS) based on my love of the original Castle Wolfenstein back on my Apple ][+, it is somewhat surprising that I was ‘late to the party’ on Unreal by nearly a year. But hey, gimme a break – I had a three-month old colicky baby when it was released in late May of 1998. Yes, that is right: Unreal is well past the celebration of its tenth birthday … but in terms of my ownership it has just passed the decade mark, so I guess that counts for something! You…

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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…

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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…

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Powermat Wireless Charging System – Review

Why should the Palm Pre have all the fun when it comes to cordless charging? Well now, thanks to Powermat USA, just about any device can charge without being directly plugged into a power socket. And if you have an iPhone, iPod touch or Blackberry device, all you have to do to charge them is… well nothing, you just put them on the table. Here’s a look at this innovative system…

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Autograph from Ten One Design – Quick Look

Autograph from Ten One Design is one of those Mac applications that you definitely don’t need but at just $6.95 it is definitely worth a look. For just a few dollars it adds some unique functionality to your MacBook Pro. Simply put, Autograph is a signature capture application for MacBook Pros and a variety of Waacom tablets. With it you can add a signature using one of the company’s Pogo Stylus or Sketch devices. While a finger will work, the Pogo “pens” allow you to actually add your initials or even a signature with a fair degree of accuracy. Let’s…