Gear Bits | Gear Diary

VIZIO Launches One of the Best ‘Marvel Avengers’ Giveaways We’ve Yet Seen

What do you have going on every week until Christmas? Hopefully, whatever it is, you’ll have time to enter this huge giveaway from VIZIO each week because you’re not going to want to miss it. To celebrate their partnership with Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics for the Marvel’s Avengers video game, VIZIO is giving fans a chance to win a Quantum 4K HDR Smart TV, a V-Series 5.1 Home Theater Sound Bar, and a digital copy of Marvel’s Avengers in weekly giveaways!

Gear Bits

Ted Lasso Is The Best Show You’re Not Watching … Yet

Look, this hasn’t been a normal summer. Even the fun times have had a bit of a shadow over them as we stress about the pandemic. It’s not even like there’s good fall television to brighten up the end of summer because most productions have been suspended. But one bright spot that you might not have noticed yet: Ted Lasso on Apple TV.

Gear Bits

Up Your Home Theater Experience with Fluance’s Reference Series Speakers

In a year where almost nothing is guaranteed, one thing you can count on is that you probably won’t be going to many movie theaters. However, your video-on-demand experience can still be theater-quality; you just need some microwave popcorn, your tv, and the Reference Series speakers from Fluance!

Gear Bits

Mutiflexstand Universal Smartphone Mount Gives You the Perfect Spot to Place Your Mobile Device

If you’ve been taking your laptop to the park to get some much-needed vitamin D (as well as a change of scenery), you’ll immediately see the value of the Multiflexstand Universal Smartphone Mount. It’s a slim aluminum device holder that adheres to the side or top of your laptop, giving you a place to put your phone while working.

Gear Bits

MediaTek and Intel Take Computers to the 5G Future with Their MediaTek T700 5G Chips

5G is coming, and no, it didn’t give everyone coronavirus. It is going to make connectivity faster and more efficient, not just with phones but also tablets and computers. MediaTek has been working hard to bring 5G to a tremendous number of devices, and now they’ll have even more devices to power thanks to a partnership with Intel.

Gear Bits, Vehicles & Gear

Lexus Tries to Capture the Childlike Joy of the Outdoors with Their LC Convertible

One of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that we’re all far more appreciative of the little things, like a chance to enjoy time outside with family. Lexus is looking to capture that feeling of just enjoying being outdoors with their 2021 Lexus LC Convertible, and they’re really leaning into it with their newest TV spot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLHC1deDB_s&feature=youtu.be

Deals, Gear Bits

Misfit Watches Marks Their Entire Smartwatch Line up to 85% Off!

Are you a smartwatch holdout? Maybe you can’t bring yourself to spend significant cash on an extension of your phone on your wrist, or you just love the thrill of bargain hunting for digital watches. Either way, head to the Misfit online store RIGHT NOW because they have an absolutely insane sale!

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Watch Beyoncé’s ‘Black Is King’ Starting Today on Disney+

Beyoncé’s Black Is King is debuting on Disney+ today. It’s a visual album in which Beyoncé “reimagines the lessons of “The Lion King for today’s young kings and queen’s in search of their own crown. The voyages of Black families throughout time are honored in a tale about a young king’s transcendent journey through betrayal, love, and self-identity.”

Gear Bits

If You Have Five Minutes, Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Will Have Your Phone Charged to 50%!

Some people live life blissfully unaware of their phone’s battery life. They are the lucky ones. The rest of us fear the “low battery” signal, as it means being tied to a charger or an external battery. Qualcomm is coming to the rescue, with Quick Charge 5, which can take a phone from 0 to 50% in five minutes.

Gear Bits, Vehicles & Gear

Ford’s Mustang Mach-E 1400 Prototype Will Leave Stereotypes in the Dust!

Ford is intent on changing electric car stereotypes. Not the ones about hippies wearing Birkenstocks and socks while driving Priuses (Prii?) though that’s probably on their list too. Nope, they’re intent on proving electric cars can be as white-knuckle fast and exciting as any other race car with the Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype!

Gear Bits

SureCall FlareDB+ LTE Booster Will Help You Power-Through a Poor Signal

During this time of working from home for so many people, SureCall has announced a new cell signal booster. The SureCall FlareDB+ LTE Booster is designed for homes, small buildings, and cabins making it perfect for remote workers as well as online education. The dual-band booster works with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile services.

Gear Bits

Lenovo and AMD Announce ThinkStation P620 with Ultra-Powerful AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro Processor

There are fast computers, and then there are FAST COMPUTERS. What you or I might consider fast for a consumer is very different than the needs of an architect, graphic designer, game designer, or any other processor-intensive workload. Lenovo and AMD have upgraded the ThinkStation P620 with the speedy and vaguely threateningly-named AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro Processor, putting absolutely top of the line power into one desktop.

Gear Bits

Canada Gets to Enjoy the Bright Screens and Awesome Cameras of the TCL 10 Smartphone Line!

In the USA, we’ve had access to the stellar TCL 10L and TCL 10Pro for a while. They are an amazing value, packing immense amounts of tech into an affordable package, plus those phenomenal screens make streaming look amazing.

Gear Bits

Microsoft Announces Permanent Store Closures

In an announcement that may surprise a few (and impact fewer), Microsoft announced today that it will be closing all retail stores.

Gear Bits

Visualizing the COVID-19 Death Toll, and Why It’s Not the Flu

At Gear Diary, we like our readers. We think you’re awesome people, and not just because, for some strange reason, you put up with our eclectic ramblings. So we’d like to please, please, please remind you to keep safe this summer and continue to take COVID-19 seriously.

Deals, Gear Bits

TCL 10L and 10 Pro Go On Sale, and They Pick up Some Updates

TCL has made a big splash with its new TCL 10 Pro and 10L phones, putting top quality screens and hardware into budget-friendly devices. They’re proving they are serious about this new market by rolling out a new maintenance release, tweaking some features, and even sweetening those already low prices with some carrier deals!

Gear Bits

Lenovo Leverages Internet of Things to Help Offices with COVID-19

Lenovo is all about giving companies the tools to be productive, and that includes keeping people safe when they get back to work. They’re rolling out what they call Think IoT Back to Work Solutions. Basically, Lenovo will deliver an ecosystem of hardware and software that makes it safer to return to the office in the new COVID-19 world.

Gear Bits, Vehicles & Gear

Ford Brings Back the Mustang Mach 1 for 2021

After a 17-year hiatus, the Ford Mustang Mach 1 fastback coupe is back to make its world premiere. The track-ready 480 horsepower limited-edition Mach 1 will come in either a six-speed manual transmission from Ford Performance or 10-speed automatic transmission.

Gear Bits

Qualcomm Brings 5G to the Masses with Their New Snapdragon Chips!

It seems like we’ve been talking about it forever, but 5G is finally picking up steam and being rolled out on a massive scale. The true test of any new connectivity feature, whether it is wifi, Bluetooth, NFC, or 5G, is when it leaps from flagship feature to everyday option, and Qualcomm is taking 5G much closer with their new Snapdragon 690.

Gear Bits

Lenovo and Verizon Leap into the Future with the Flex 5G 2-in-1

If there’s one thing the COVID-19 lockdown has taught us (besides washing your hands, not breathing close to others, and listening to science), it’s that connectivity matters now more than ever. The new reality of working outside the office regularly couldn’t have happened 15 years ago. Lenovo and Verizon are taking that connectivity to the next level with their Lenovo Flex 5G PC.

Gear Bits

Lenovo Leans into Linux Workstations

Linux may not be the first operating system that springs to mind for the average user, but it has plenty of ardent fans. According to Lenovo’s citations, 2.87% of computer users are opting for Linux, which may not sound like much, but imagine if the entire population of Washington State switched to Linux en masse. Yea, there’s a market there, and Lenovo doesn’t want it left behind.