Reviews

Review: Kanex High Capacity Battery for the T-Mobile G1

After using the G1 for about three months, I came to one conclusion.  The battery life just sucks.  You can’t get through a day with light use and if you are a heavy user, like myself, you will need to charge before you even get halfway through a day.  The Kanex High Capacity Battery for the G1 solves this and gives a heavy G1 user like myself all day battery life.


Boost Mobile i9 Review; Thin, Solid and Dependable

I stopped into my local Best Buy this afternoon and was amazed at the great selection of prepaid cellular phones. As recently as a year ago, the prepaid phone aisle was limited to cheap plastic throwaways. Fast forward to now, and the shelves are lined with current-model BlackBerry and Motorola phones available on no-contract prepaid plans.   Boost Mobile has been one of the leaders in selling affordable prepaid phones that don’t make you ashamed to use them in public.


Thrustmaster Sports Pack – Review

I love the Wii I received for my birthday last year. I never cease to be amazing by its motion-sensing controls and the remarkable flexibility of the system. I’m not a golfer in real life but on the Wii… love it. I’m not a tennis player in real life… but in my den I sure am, thanks to the Wii. Yes, with the Wii I can fight dragons, play tennis and then, minutes later start a workout routine. Until now, however, I used the Wii Remote and imagined it was a golf club, a tennis racket or a sword. Thanks…


HTC’s Sprint Hero Review

To watch the commercials for the Verizon Droid, being released tomorrow morning, one might get the impression that this is the very first android handset to be released. It certainly has garnered more attention and excitement and previous devices, but there are already a number of android handsets on the market that are actually quite good. I recently had a chance to spend a week with Sprint’s version of the HTC hero, and I found myself more than a bit impressed. So with that in mind, I thought we might take a good look at a fantastic Android device that’s…


WaterField Zune HD Suede Case is thin, versatile and convenient

, I’m a big fan of getting outside and walking. I find that listening to music or podcasts helps to pass the time, so like most people with MP3 players I always take my iPhone or Zune HD with me. I have recently started carrying my Zune HD because I love Zune Pass, which provides for nearly unlimited music downloads and automatically creates artist mixes – even from music I don’t own. WaterField’s new suede jacket is the perfect fit for my Zune HD. It’s thin enough to act as a shield and fits inside other WaterField cases.


Tuxdroid the Open Source Robot Review

I have often wanted to buy one of those Ambient Devices Judie blogged about a few weeks ago.  I’ve also wanted a Nabaztag as well, since they are cute and can do some really cool stuff like play mp3 files or provide e-mail alerts.  I don’t want either anymore, thanks to kysoh.com who sent me a Tuxdroid that is not only very cute, but is also based on open source software.


Enlighten, Case-Mate’s Gorgeous New Lighted Kindle2 Cover

photos by Kevin One of the things that I love about the Kindle – its eInk screen – is also one of the things that makes using the Kindle a bit difficult when lighting is poor. It seems silly in a way to complain about not being able to read a book in the dark, because it certainly isn’t something anyone could do with the dead tree version, but there are a couple of reasons I think it chafes more than expected when people read from non-backlit devices. I think many who use eReaders have also experienced reading on other…


Skee-Ball for iPhone/Touch App Review

I recently took my oldest son and a few of his buddies to Incredible Pizza in San Antonio for his 5th birthday.  We started with the pizza of course, but the boys could hardly contain themselves just staring into the game room.  Once I let them hit the games, we headed straight for the skee-ball.  They decided tickets were what they were after so they could get some wax lips and parachute men, you know the good stuff.  I can think of no better way to earn tickets in a game room than play skee-ball.  The game has been one…


Real Deer Hunting for iPhone OS Review

Sunstorm Games developed the very first deer hunting game back in 1997.  I can remember playing the game on one of my Motorola flip phones, using the phone’s center navigation pad to move and the OK button to fire. Times have certainly changed.  The iPhone has brought cell phone games to a whole new level.  Real Deer Hunting, Sunstorm’s latest title, is described as a game that “boasts realistic deer behavior, outstanding graphics and the most immersive hunting experience.” Does the game’s revival live up to the iPhone experience?  Read on to find out.


Business Card Reader from Shape Services – instant business card recognition for your iPhone for $5.99

Shape Services released an iPhone and iPod Touch application over the weekend that they claim will help convert the mountain of business cards you’ve collected into names in your iPhone address book. The description of the application says it will “import contact information right from business card to your iPhone contacts! Just take a photo of a business card and a New Contact is added!”. So how well does this $5.99 program work in real life?


Voiis Stereo Wireless Music Gateway Review

Stereo Bluetooth is a great innovation for the freedom it grants from cables.  I was quite pleased when Apple finally added stereo Bluetooth functionality to the iPhone.  Not that being connected to a headphone cable is a huge problem, but it’s nice to be able to set my iPhone on my desk while listening to music, and still be able to move around my office without needing to pick up the iPhone and carry it with me if I’m just moving a few steps to get something off a shelf. Mobile Action understands the appeal of eliminating wires. Their new Voiis Stereo Wireless Music Gateway…


Moshi Voice Response Alarm Clock – Review

This is one of those products that kind of snuck up on me. It looked like it was one of those electronic curiosities that catches your eye, leads to an impulse buy and then, within a week, is in a box collecting dust. As it turns out the Moshi Voice Response Alarm Clock works quite well, is remarkably useful and the review unit I was sent can will remain on my night table once this review is done. Lets take a look at this unusual, and useful, clock. A video demo follows…


Kanex High Capacity Battery for the Palm Pre Review

One of my big complaints about cell phones and mobile devices generally is that the batteries are never able to adequately handle all of the advanced features which tend to be included.  The Palm Pre is a perfect example of this, with its WebOS interface, and always connected email (not to mention Internet, Wifi, 3G, and Bluetooth).  Generally, if I do not have a charger handy, then I am going to lose my phone before my day ends.  Add to that equation the fact that I love to go camping overnight, and the battery is quickly unveiled as typically inadequate.  …


SPB TV for Android Review

When out and about, sometimes you got a few minutes to kill.  SPBTV for Android phones can help you use up a few of those minutes with a little mindless entertainment or a news update from overseas. SPB TV is an application that streams live TV from the Internet directly to your phone.  It has a nice interface and some of the streams even have an on-screen guide to what is coming up next.


2010 Kia Soul built to rock and roll

Apparently, funky is going mainstream in the auto industry. What began as a unique phenomena over at a little startup division of Toyota has now spread across other Asian automaker model lines. Nissan challenged the squared Scion with a Cube and now Kia has put their heart and “Soul” into the mix. (Sorry, had to work the pun in somewhere.)


HyperMac External Battery Review

Every once and a while a product comes along that really catches my eye.  Such was the case when I spotted an advertisement for the HyperMac external battery in a tech. magazine last month.  The HyperMac is currently the only external battery available for use with Apple’s line of Mac Book computers.  And with the new unibody Mac Book Pro and its built in battery the HyperMac might just be a must have for the true road warrior. Hyper Shop, the company behind the HyperMac, was kind enough to send me a HyperMac 150Wh battery for review.  I’ve put it…


Mailtones Redux – Now For Blackberry Too!

I reviewed Mailtones for the iPhone a few weeks back and really like it. The app allows you to assign different sounds to various contacts so that you know who has emailed without even looking at your phone. Now every time Judie emails my phone cheers. Every time Larry emails a fire alarm goes off. And every time my assistant emails there is the sound of impending doom. I love it! Now Mailtones has rolled out a version for the Blackberry. What do I think?? I LIKE!!


Apple TV Software version 3.0 video walk through

Apple has released a major update to its Apple TV software.  The hardware did not change but the new 3.0 software version has been given a full makeover. With a totally redesigned start page, internet radio, support for iTunes LPs and more the new software version, although not the new hardware many people were hoping for, at least gives Apple TV users something new to play with. Here’s a brief video walk through of the new 3.0 software.


Review: Sleek Audio SA1, an Altogether Different Audio Experience

Here’s the dilemma: you’re listening to your favorite music, and outside noises are not only bleeding in, they are making your music less clear. Most people would turn up the volume to block the unwanted noise and amplify their audio. The only problem is that in the process, they might also be causing irreparable hearing loss. Then there’s the matter of bass and treble – sometimes your left ear needs more bass and your right more treble, and that’s not exactly something you can set on an equalizer. How do you handle that? Sleek Audio, a two year old company…


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…


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…