News & Features

News & Features July 7, 2010

Speakal’s New iPom Brings Apples, Flowers and Speakers Together In A Unique Package

Tired of your iPod speakers looking like speakers? Want something that looks a bit different but still delivers great sound? If so the iPom might be just the thing you are looking for. The iPom is– a floral themed speaker solution boasts a apple-shaped subwoofer with two removable flower speakers. It plays music from USB drives, SD cards, and any other sound source with a 3.5mm output. The specs of the iPom include… • 2.1 Stereo Speaker System • Plays music from USB Memory stick or SD card or any other music device that has a 3.5mm output, such as…

News & Features July 6, 2010

Beware of Counterfeit Vibram Five Fingers!

Image courtesy Birthday Shoes It isn’t just ebook scammers you have to watch for on the internet! If you’ve been paying attention to Judie and Larry’s Couch to 5k Series, you may have caught that Judie runs in Vibram Five Finger Sprints. Recently I picked up a pair of Vibram Five Finger KSO’s at my local EMS, and I think Larry has a pair too…so we’re clearly big fans of toe-shoes here at Gear Diary. Now, if you’ve looked into ordering VFF’s recently, you may have noticed many sizes and styles are backordered. Vibram has had a hard time keeping…

News & Features July 5, 2010

Palm’s Legacy

By now you’ve probably heard the news that PALM is officially part of Hewlett-Packard. If you, like many of us, started with a Palm OS device before moving on to smartphones, it’s a bittersweet ending. On the one hand, no one wanted to see Palm die, even after their slow circling of the drain for years. On the other hand, it’s an open question how Palm will do as part of HP, and whether WebOS will resurface or be absorbed into an HP Printer. One of the original Palm-people, Donna Dubinsky, wants to remind people there’s always been something special…

eBooks, News & Features July 5, 2010

Falling eBook Reader Prices!

Think Amazon and Barnes and Noble are the only ones slashing prices? Well, it looks like a few players in the ebook market have caught up with the new paradigm, though it’s debatable what changes will actually help them. Here are a few of the big drops we’ve seen so far: Sony Readers: Pocket Edition: From $169 to $149 Touch Edition: From $199 to $169 Daily Edition: From $349 to $299 Pocketbook Series: Pocketbook 360: From $239 to $199 Pocketbook 301: From $279 to $219 Pocketbook 302: From $339 to $279 Just for comparison, again, here are the prices on…

News & Features July 4, 2010

A Declaration on Independence Discovery

In a fascinating use of modern technology, a high-resolution camera has revealed what can only be described as the use of “white-out” correction fluid on the Declaration of Independence. According to a post on BoingBoing a draft of the Declaration originally used the word “subjects” to refer to those living in the emerging nation. Thomas Jefferson Thought twice about using the word, scratched it out and changed it to “citizens”. My grandpa Alex came to America in 1917. He was so proud to be here that he promptly changed his birthday to July 4th. Jefferson’s word-smithing of the Declaration is…

News & Features July 3, 2010

Woot- Sells TiVo HD, Takes Shot At Apple

Woot, newly acquired by Amazon, has a TiVo HD DVR for sale today. As an owner of this same model, I can attest to the fact that it is a nice unit. It will certainly do the trick… At least until Apple’s revamped Apple TV comes out. And speaking of Apple, the description of the DVR offered by Woot takes a little shot at the iPhone maker’s recent press release. It is rather amusing… Dear Wooters: The TiVo HDXL 150 Hour THX Certified DVR has been the most successful product in the history of the world. Ever. Okay, that’s a…

News & Features July 3, 2010

USBCELL Batteries Make You Wonder Why You Didn’t Think of This First

Do you remember those old rechargeable AA batteries that first emerged in the 1980s? You had to charge them overnight just so you could get about 2.4 hours of use in your Sony Walkman cassette player? Yeah, these aren’t those. USBCELL AA batteries are unique in that they have a built-in USB connector hidden under a cap at the + end of the battery. Open the cap, insert the battery into an open USB port on your computer, and let the charging begin! You’ll achieve a 90% charge in just 5 hours and – for use in a pinch –…

Editorials, News & Features July 2, 2010

Apple’s Statement On iPhone 4 Reception Issues Translated…

Apple just released a statement on the reported iPhone 4 reception issues. It is a rather long and complicated release so as a public service we have taken the liberty of sharing the entire release… and its translation, with all of you. All joking aside… a bunch of us who write for the site have iPhone 4s and… yes… we do love them.

News & Features July 2, 2010

iPhone 4 Reception Issue Solved? Signal Reporting Not Hardware to Blame?

Apple has finally broken their apparent silence on the iPhone 4’s signal-gate and admit that they were surprised when they uncovered the cause of the issue. The full text of the letter is below but here are the highlights… …we were surprised when we read reports of reception problems, and we immediately began investigating them… …gripping almost any mobile phone in certain ways will reduce its reception by 1 or more bars. This is true of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, as well as many Droid, Nokia and RIM phones… We have discovered the cause of this dramatic drop in bars,…

News & Features July 1, 2010

Cambridge SoundWorks i525 iPod/AM/FM Clock Radio System – Review

If you’re an audiophile you still want to have a fancy powerful stereo system home. But for many of us, the sound coming out of our iPhones, iPods, or iPads is good enough when they’re connected to some sort of a speaker system. Since I am not an audiophile I’m perfectly happy having a dock in my home office, in the bedroom, and in my study at work so I can listen to music whenever I want. Over the next few days, I’m going to take a look at a number of different docks that are currently available. Some have…

News & Features July 1, 2010

IDAPT i4 Universal Charging Solution Now Compatible with iPad and iPhone 4

A few weeks ago we gave away an IDAPT i3 Universal Charging Solution. It is a fantastic solution for anyone who has more than one gadget in daily use. (And if you are reading GD it is a pretty good bet that means YOU!) We got word yesterday that the new IDAPT i4 is compatible with the iPad and iPhone 4. That means you can now charge your iPhone AND iPad AND 2 other devices at the same time. Awesome! The IDAPT i4 is available in black, white or silver for $59.99 MSRP at www.idaptweb.com. The packaging includes 6 tips…

News & Features July 1, 2010

CoPilot Live North America iPhone App Updated for iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 Retina Display

CoPilot Live North America has now been updated to fully support iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 Retina Display. What does that mean? Well first off it means the app is once again usable on your iPhone if you are using an iPhone 4. When the iPhone 4 was released last week the high res screen posed a problem for the CoPilot app. Just a few days later the issue has been resolved and all is working fine. The bigger deal is the fact that the app now fully supports iOS 4.0 and that means it will keep running even…

News & Features June 30, 2010

Buy a Flying Car…for the Price of a Small House!

If the jetpack I told you about isn’t really your speed, what about a flying car? It’s called the Transition Roadable Aircraft, and it will run you around $194,000 (plus your pilot’s license!) What’s amazing is that this isn’t really a traditional “flying car”, at least not in the DeLorean sense. Instead, it’s more like a plane that can fold up and drive home. Might be tough to use it in your everyday life, unless you have an extra-large driveway at home. Supposedly, it’s going to be a fairly versatile plane-car (plar? clane?): Going from plane to car “takes about…

eBooks, News & Features June 30, 2010

RIP Fictionwise?

Looks like Fictionwise is becoming more obsolete by the day. During the spring they discontinued their membership program in the face of the agency pricing changes. Now it looks like “micropay rebates”, the last bastion of their old system, is being discontinued. Micropay rebates were essentially an incentive program to shop at Fictionwise on an ongoing basis. You earned the rebate credits for books you purchased and could apply them towards other transactions on the site. Effectively, the rebates significantly lowered the overall cost of buying through Fictionwise, even if the individual items were not cheaper. Specifically, Fictionwise says: Until…

News & Features June 30, 2010

Tom Bihn Ristretto Bag for Apple iPad – Review

I carry my iPad with me pretty much everywhere I go these days. That means I need a good case… and a good bag. Tom Bihn was kind enough to send me one of their Ristretto bags. The Ristretto was originally designed for carrying netbooks but it works perfectly as an iPad bag. As soon as you look at the bag you are struck by the realization that this is a bag that was designed for use in the real world. It is relatively light when empty which is a good thing because part of the attraction of carrying the…

News & Features June 30, 2010

Ooma Releases Ooma Mobile for iPhone- Neat Idea… but It Will Cost You

Ooma, the company that makes the stand alone VOiP phone system that lets you buy the hardware once and then make and receive free calls for the life of the unit, has finally released the iPhone app we first told you about in January. The app lets you “put Ooma in your pocket and take it on the go!” As the company explains– Ooma Mobile allows you to make phone calls over Wi-Fi using your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Since these calls go over Wi-Fi instead of the cellular network, you can transform devices like your iPod touch and…

News & Features June 28, 2010

Pocket Informant HD for iPad- A Gear Diary Sneak Peak

A friend recently asked me if I knew anything about the status of the iPad version of Pocket Informant. Granted, his particular verbiage was a bit stronger than what I’ve represented here. He is one of many friends who relies on PI for the iPhone and who is anxiously awaiting the iPad version. I told him that I expected to see something soon, but that just as PI for the iPhone was slow to arrive but impressive when it did, it was clear to me that Alex and his team at WebIS are not going to release an iPad app…

News & Features June 25, 2010

AG Findings Introduces Line of New Cases for the iPhone 4

AG Findings are rolling out a series of cases for the iPhone 4 that offer style and protection at a god price. Among their upcoming cases are… The iPhone 4 Beetle Case — As the company explains: Did you know beetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species? Well AGF’s iPhone 4 Beetle Case offers a large variety of awesome colors. We are sure you won’t be disappointed with this amazing case. The Beetle Case Features: Superior impact protection A shock absorbing liner A lightweight design Access to all controls, parts, and cameras Details and…

News & Features June 25, 2010

Ballistic Introduces the Ballistic HC (Hard Core) For iPhone 4

If you plan on bringing your iPhone 4 with you during serious activity you are going to need to give it some serious protection. Ballistic is looking to provide just tat with their new Ballistic HC. The Ballistic HC provides not one, not two, not three but four layers of protection. As the company explains… This Ballistic HC Case is a MUST HAVE for your brand new iPhone 4. Keep your iPhone 4 looking as good as the day you took it out of the box! Engineered with FOUR layers of protection AND a built-in screen protector, this case offers…

News & Features June 25, 2010

Huawei S7: A Non-Crappy Android Tablet?

It’s almost too good to be true. After months and months of mediocre tablets with resistive touchscreens and underpowered processors running outdated versions of Android, Huawei is potentially stepping up and saving us all. Supposedly, the S7 will have a speedy 728mhz Snapdragon, Android 2.1 and (drumroll please) a CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN!!! Finally, someone is releasing an Android tablet that will function as well as Android phones. Expansys will be selling them for around $345 in the USA, and while that’s steep compared to an iPad, it’s reasonable if you want a 7-inch Android tablet. Frankly, if you really want one,…

News & Features June 24, 2010

iOS 4 Multitasking Introduces New Popup Notifications and More

One of the reasons Steve Jobs came for the late arrival of any form of Apple-supported multitasking was the battery hit that occurs when multiple apps are running even after the user has moved away from that particular screen. The result is that only in the 4th iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system has any form of multitasking emerged and even with it there are strict limitations. As Larry and I discussed in last weeks Gear Chat, there are only a certain number of functions that can run in the background and, even then, developers have to retool their apps…

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