Reviews

Otter Box Impact Case for Blackberry Curve Review

After purchasing a bright shiny phone, I don’t leave it naked  too long.  I receive as much pleasure from purchasing the case as I do from purchase of the phone.  In my opinion, the case needs to protect the phone and maintain all the button functions; if it can add to the coolness of the phone, the case is a winner.  Otter Box has just released a case for the BlackBerry Curve that does all three.


Big Ideas by Alex Hutchinson Book Review

One of my favorite parts of the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” is how the historical characters are both fascinated and frightened by the modern world. I’m a sucker for a good “Joan of Arc leads an aerobics class” gag. In all seriousness, we surround ourselves every day with inventions and innovations that we take for granted. The computer you are reading this review on, the clothes you are wearing, the medicine you’ve been given in your lifetime…how many of them didn’t exist 50 years ago? How many of them have changed the world? In this Gear Diary Book…


Jabra SP700 – Review Redux

I reviewed the Jabra a few months ago for whatsoniphone and have been using it ever since. I love the sleek design, the ease of pairing, and most of all, the fact that the call quality is AWESOME!!!! When I first did the review however, there was a significant feature that thanks to the iPhone’s limitations I could not test. Well, the HTC S740 that was the subject of Judie and Doug’s recent fight review is currently residing with me in New Jersey. Thanks to Doug I’m (briefly) using a Windows Mobile phone for the first time in years. It…


Coghlan’s Camper’s Kit Review

It’s May, which means it’s off to camp soon for my son and me as we had to Camp Pilgrim Hills with my son’s class for an adventure in Nature’s Classroom. We always pick up water bottles, ponchos, and a new first aid kit because we usually have lost or broken the water bottle, torn the poncho, and used the first aid kit. Coghlan’s has developed a unique package that lets me pick up some of the stuff I need in one shot;  I am talking about Coghlan’s Camper’s Kit in a Bottle.


Uniea Omniverse Universal and Omniverse Hard Drive Case Review

Netbooks are all the rage, but protecting a netbook as you carry it isn’t always easy thanks to their small size.  Regular laptop cases are too large for most netbooks, and most sleeves that come with netbooks (if they are even included!) are cheap and provide very little by way of protection. The end result…  it’s difficult to just throw your netbook in a bag. All this makes a sleeve or case that offers real protection an essential purchase when buying a netbook.  Uniea sent me their latest Universal Case for 10.2 inch netbooks; let’s take a look.


Emergency Radio for iPhone and iPod Touch Review

Currently number 2 on the list of the iTunes App Store’s top paid applications, Emergency Radio allows you easily follow the action of over 900 police, fire, EMS and other emergency frequencies.  Whether you want to keep tabs on what’s going on in your own backyard or listen in to the happenings on the other side of the country Emergency Radio streams a a variety of emergency services feeds right to your iPhone.  Time to put that old Radio Shack scanner on Ebay.


JAVOScreen Review: Ultra-Clear Screen Protector for Amazon Kindle 2

Chances are if you own a device with a LCD screen you fall into one of two camps:  Those who protect and those who don’t.  It only takes one scuff or scrape to forever scar the beautiful screen of that new device.  A good quality screen protector can go a long way in helping to keep your screen looking like it did the day you unboxed it.  If you don’t currently use a screen protector on your phone or PDA you might want to think about adding one. JAVOedge makes a variety of accessories for a variety of devices.  One…


Memopal Online Backup and Storage Review

I reviewed Diino last week and while I thought that it had potential, I couldn’t really recommend using it as a primary online backup solution. I was trying out two other services at the same time, so here’s Part II of the trilogy. Memopal is a year-old start up based in Italy, providing online backup and storage services. They have two plans for consumers: a $49 plan with 150 GBs of combined space for backups and file storage, and a $99 plan with 250 GBs.


CatGenie Self-Flushing Self-Washing Cat Box Review

Cats make great pets because they don’t require a lot of attention like dogs do. Just give them a bowl of food and a pan of litter, and they can pretty much take care of themselves. The only downside to having an indoor kitty is that we humans have to clean their ‘toilet’ for them. Not fun…


Nextar Ribbit Review

After seeing the Nextar Ribbit and showing it to my son, I literally jumped at the chance to look at this fun little MP3 player with him. This MP3 player is SMALL.  So small, that not long after Luke had it, he had misplaced it.  Luckily, it doesn’t cost that much to replace this cute little frog head.


JAVOedge Lumberjack Back Cover for iPhone 3G Review

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the making of this case.  Really!  Although it might look like wood from the outside, the Lumberjack Back Cover from JAVOedge is actually made from pressed cork.  Looking for an eco-friendly and stylish case for your iPhone 3G that doesn’t add much bulk?  This might be the one for you.


Patek Philippe has Arrived!

“You never really own a Patek Philippe, you merely take care of it for the next generation,” or so we are meant to believe.  Rubbish!  Buy one for yourself and if you are lucky enough to have a son who understands and appreciates it, you can then not concern yourself to its whereabouts beyond your earthly presence.


The HTC S740 (Rose) Windows Mobile Standard Phone Review

[This is a joint review between Doug Goldring of JAMM and Judie Lipsett of Gear Diary; it will appear simultaneously on both sites. Doug’s comments are in black, and Judie’s are blue italics] The last time I used a non-touch screen version of Windows Mobile was the Motorola Q.  It ran Windows Mobile 5, and I quickly learned that the interface was nothing short of terrible.  That phone lasted about a week before I declared the phone completely unusable and gave it away to a friend.  That was then.  This is now: Windows Mobile 6.1.  And a lot has changed….


SplashPhoto for iPhone makes easy work of photo uploads and organization

I’ve been testing out SplashPhoto for iPhone for the last few weeks. Until this application I’d been emailing all my photos to Flickr which generally works ok except that the process can be a cumbersome one. SplashPhoto makes the management of your photos especially easy for anyone who uses either Flickr or Picasa (the two web photo management sites supported) because you can upload multiple photos at one time instead of the cumbersome one-by-one process that email demands.


Philips Norelco arcitec 1090 Electric Shaver Review

Wet or dry? That’s the question men have faced since the invention of the electric shaver. For years, I used Braun electric shavers, but they weren’t waterproof and  I got tired of buying refills for the cleaning base, so I switched to the vibrating Gillettes a year ago. They’re good, reliable shavers – but they’re also a little… boring. I thought about getting a new, waterproof Braun, or a Panasonic, but I saw the Philips Norelco RQ1090 in the Virgin Atlantic inflight catalogue, and made yet another impulse purchase.


JAVOedge Fiber Cases for the Amazon Kindle 2 Review

It’s a common occurrence.  One of shock and disbelief.  One experienced by many first time Kindle 2 owners.  Here’s how it goes…. They open the package.  Unpack all the included items.  And then, scratching their head in shock and wonder, they begin rifling through the contents of the box once again looking for it. What is it they’re looking for you ask?  The included case of course.  It’s only then that they realize that the Amazon Kindle 2 comes with no case. Although perhaps surprising to some, probably not necessarily a bad thing.  After all, how many of us actually…


Flip UltraHD Review

Yesterday we posted on the two new video camera’s from Pure Digital. The new Flip Ultra and UltraHD. Today a review unit arrived.  🙂  It is a definite step up from the Flip units I have used before, and yet it retains the small size, ease of use and reasonable price. Let’s take a look.


The Goatee Saver Review

If you have a goatee, chances are it has happened to you.  You wake up from a less than stellar night of slumber, drag yourself in front in front of the mirror, lather your face up with shaving cream and begin to shave.  Then it happens.  You notice a slight irregularity in the shape of your goatee and decide it needs fixing.  Except when you try to even it out it just becomes worse.  Now you decide you’ll have to fix the other side. The process repeats itself until you end up with a freshly shaven face because you were…


Unboxing the Vertu Ascent Ti

It’s not every day that I get to unbox an $8000 mobile phone…oh heck, who am I trying to kid?! Up until a few days ago, I could honestly say that I had never unboxed any device that cost so much. But through a twisting series of events, starting with my friend (and fellow gadget magpie) Drew purchasing a Vertu Ascent Ti at full retail price last summer (and eventually moving on from it), I now have one in my possession. Needless to say, the Vertu Ascent Ti a pretty big upgrade from the other two Vertus I have written about…


Tiger Woods PGA Tour for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

I like sports games.  I’ve tried the most of the current golf games currently available in the iTunes App. Store.  Of them “Let’s Golf” is my favorite.  However that all could change now that EA Sports has just released the next in their line up of much anticipated titles, Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  EA calls the Tiger Woods series of the world’s number one selling golf franchise game.  Does the game live up to the hype?  Read on to find out.


Shape Service’s Mobiola xPlayer Review

I tend to think of myself as an “on the go” type of guy with a sedentary lifestyle…not sure if that makes any sense to you but it does to me.  I have some travel for work, coach high school baseball, volunteer with the local Board of Education, and have a 15-month old that we are always taking to the zoo.  But as you can see from those activities a lot of my time is spent sitting around….enter Shape Service’s Mobiola xPlayer for the Blackberry Curve 83XX series.