Reviews

Mac/PC Game Review: Din’s Curse: Demon War (PC/Mac RPG, 2011)

Nearly a year ago I reviewed Din’s Curse, praising it for offering loads of fun and tons of gameplay. I summed up as follows: Soldak has once again created a great RPG that encompasses many familiar things but brings us something new and challenging that lends itself to a fun and fresh gaming experience. The core of the game is wrapped around a dynamic world loaded with quests, and that in itself will be enough to keep you coming back for more. Now they are back with an expansion to Din’s Curse called ‘Demon War’. To put it simply, it…


360 Panorama for iPhone/Touch/iPad2 (Splurge Edition)

Anyone who follows the Blue Plate Special knows I love camera apps. There are so many good apps for the iPhone camera it is difficult to keep up with them; I actually forget about some of mine since they fill three folders. There are several apps I have that make panoramic type photos or that stitch photos together, but I recently found a really cool panoramic app that allows you to share an actual interactive 360 degree view quickly and easily straight from your device, called 360 Panorama. Let’s take a look. You will not be disappointed and will love…


Earbud Accessory Review: Acoustibuds and Acoustigrips

(Editorial note: Try as I might to get useful images of these products for some reason it just wasn’t happening. Therefore you will see mostly stock images in this review but they ARE representative of the actual products.) We’ve been looking at a lot of different earbud and headphone offerings lately. A number of them, like the YurBuds, the Monster Cable iSports, SkullCandy FIX earphones and the AblePlanet SI350 headphones are targeted toward use during active sports and exercise. We learned of two offerings from Burton Technology, Acoustibuds and Acoustigrips, that, while not audio products in and of themselves, seek to…


The Stump Stand Review – Sometimes Simplicity Is Best

Sometimes the simplest accessories are the best accessories. That’s right, something it doesn’t need to be complicated for it to be remarkably useful. That’s the case with this new tablet/eReader stand The Stump. The Stump is what it claims to be – it is a stump of rubber. It looks like a tree trunk that’s been cut down at an angle. It’s simple. It’s not exciting. Best of all, it does the job. Here’s a quick look and a chance to win one. Truth be told, there isn’t a whole lot to say about this accessory. Let’s let the company explained…


Stylish New Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Lacks Finesse, but So Did All the Others At First

The Korean automakers have gotten into the hybrid game finally and the first models to market from Kia and Hyundai are on the shared midsize sedan platform of Sonata and Optima. Recently I spent some time with the former sporting what Hyundai has dubbed its Hybrid Blue Drive system. During the time I had the vehicle I was noticing some blogs reporting steering issues and a technical bulletin issued by the manufacturer addressing some torque-steer issues with certain Sonata and Optima sedans. I found this interesting as no sooner than I headed out the driveway I found myself pulling over…


Gear Games Review: Rude GameWare Fierce 3500 Wireless Gaming Mouse

A few months ago I reviewed the Rude GameWare Fierce Gaming Mouse 2, declaring “It is perfectly weighted and balanced without feeling so game-specific to be useless in a business setting.” Now Rude GameWare is back with a wireless version called the Fierce 3500 Wireless Gaming Mouse. I will give a quick highlight of features, a summary of whether or not I liked it, but mostly focus on a video review. The Hype: Free yourself from the chains of wired gaming mice forever! The Fierce 3500 Wireless Gaming Mouse gives you the performance and features you demand without being tied…



The SanDisk Ultra 8GB USB Flash Drive Review

I collect thumb drives.  At least it seems that way, as I have a whole bag of them.  One of these days I’d like to replace all of the smaller ones with one larger one or a few larger ones.  This 8 GB SanDisk Ultra flash drive is my second 8 GB flash drive and one of my favorites.  Let’s take a look at its features. Speedy – Faster file transfer speeds Stylish – Attractive slider design houses your data in style Secure – Store your private files in a password-protected and encrypted vault on the USB flash drive Added Protection…



iPhone 4 Power Gear Review: PhoneSuit Elite Battery + Case

I’m a big fan of iPhone battery cases that combine protection and extra battery life into a single package. Since the release of the original iPhone, we have looked at a number of these hybrid case-batteries, and today we’ll take a look at PhoneSuit’s latest offering: the PhoneSuit Elite iPhone Case. The company is not stranger to this kind of battery case, and their experience shows in both the Elite’s design and its functionality. From PhoneSuit: The PhoneSuit Elite iPhone Case extends the battery life of the iPhone by more than doubling its power capacity. Users can now experience up to two…


Gear Games News: Star Wars Jedi Knight II Comes to the Mac App Store

It has been just about a year and a half since I did a retrospective review on Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, concluding: Jedi Knight II has aged very well. The graphics scale nicely on new systems, but it also performs as you would expect an 8 year old game to run – flawlessly. The gameplay is missing some of the new mechanics such as sprinting that have become commonplace, but otherwise retains a tight and modern feel. The melee combat feeling Raven software developed has yet to be surpassed in any game in any genre since. For…


Review: Griffin Beacon Universal Remote for iOS

It looks funny. It does exactly what it promises. And, at least for me, it is in the running for “iOS Accessory of the Year”. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit but I’m pretty serious about how cool I think this iOS hardware/app combination is. The Griffin Beacon is the universal remote on steroids. With this odd piece of plastic powered by four AA batteries and a free download from the App Store I have taken my Samsung HDTV remote, my TiVo remote AND my Apple TV remote and put them away. Now all I need is one of my iOS…


Review: Sena Folio for iPad 2

One of the first high-end leather cases I had the opportunity to review for the original iPad was the Sena Folio. It was made from gorgeous leather, was beautifully crafted and actually looked better as it “wore in”. Sena offers two different Folio cases for the iPad 2 in addition to the Florence that we have reviewed recently. One of the Folio offerings, the Sena Folio Classic, maintains the same style as the original but adds the magnetic sleep/awake functionality. The additional design goes by the simple name “Folio”. It offers three different positions thanks to two built-in stands but…


Able Planet SI350 Sport Earphones Review

Headphones… We’ve check out a bunch. Some have impressed us. Some… Not so much. So when a new pair of headphones come on the market we want to check them out. And when they come from a company we know we are even more interest. That’s the case here with the new offerings from Able Planet. Judie introduced Able Planet to Gear Diary readers in this post way back in 2008. Mike looked at pair of their gaming headphones in this post. And Judie checked out a pair of their headphones with active noise cancellation here. I met with the…


Kindle Cloud Reader iPad Review: Simple to Use, Awesome to Behold!

Carly highlighted the new Amazon Cloud Reader a couple of days ago, which provided a web-based solution for reading – and purchasing – Kindle books from Amazon.com on pretty much any device regardless of native app support (except for the BlackBerry Playbook, which is just in a woeful state at this point). While many companies, Amazon included, have discussed moving more apps to platform-independent HTML5, the timing of this release seems to good to be true, as Carly indicated with her ‘Don’t Tread on Kindle’ tagline. We have just seen a rash of changes, starting with Kobo, then Amazon, and…



Review: Vonage Time to Call App for iOS

I used Vonage as my main home phone service for a bit of time a number of years ago. I’ve since moved on to other solutions (Ooma), but I took note when the company released their new iOS app the other day. I know what you are thinking, “Another phone app for iOS? Who needs it?” Well think again, because I just made a call to Coach using my iPod touch and a headset, and here is what he had to say: “Sounds better than when my wife calls me on her iPhone and you are using an iPod touch….


Lorex LIVE SENSE Gives Parents (and Grandparents) Peace of Mind

Photos: Author Having never been blessed with children of my own, I never quite got a grasp of everything new parents had to worry about nor how extensive their “to-do” list was … until last Christmas when we got word of the impending arrival of my wife’s first grandchild. Fast forward to July 26, and Baby J arrives in fine fashion. In no time I begin hearing “I can’t wait until we can start babysitting him over here.” What? The baby is coming here? “I’m not ready.” “The house isn’t ready.” “Where did the time go?” The very next day…


Mac Game Review: Jack of All Tribes

I recently reviewed the iPad version of Jack of All Tribes, a ‘casual time management meets sim meets strategy’ game. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, so when I was able to review the newly released Mac version, I immediately jumped at the chance! Let’s see how the game did in the transition from tablet to computer! The Hype: Travel to the past with Jack and rule a prehistoric tribe in this fun time management game with puzzle elements! Help fellow tribesmen set up their homes and create thriving villages. Keep villagers happy with food, drinks and entertainment; protect them from…


Review: The Joy Factory Zip USB Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station with ZipTail Receivers

Charging cables and cords… they’re everywhere. Literally everywhere. Have an iPhone? You need a 5W wall adapter and a USB cable. An iPad? You need a 10W wall adapter and a USB cable. Using a Samsung Galaxy Tab? You’ll need one of their proprietary chargers. Have a Blackberry or Android phone? Most likely you need a microUSB adapter connected to a wall charger. And the list goes on and on. I hate the mess of cords. That’s why I’ve been so interested in the various conductive charging systems that have been coming to market for the past few years. The…


Macbook Air Gear Review: ACME Made Skinny Sleeve Stretch Shell

If you have one of the sexy 2010 or 2011 MacBook Airs, then it makes absolutely no sense to cover that svelte beauty in a big fat laptop case. ACME Made has got perhaps one of the thinnest and most minimalistic sleeves that I have seen, so whether you prefer to carry your Air in a laptop bag or not, the Skinny Sleeve Stretch Shell may be its perfect protector. I was sent a review sample in black, but there is also a purple version; the Skinny Sleeve is available for both the 11″ and 13″ MacBook Airs. Composed of…