Reviews

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe: Concept to Reality

all images by author The best-kept secret at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show was the unveiling of the CTS Coupe Concept from Cadillac. No pre-show hype or buildup surrounding this baby, all the drool during the reveal was real. And in less than three years this hot little number is rolling off production lines nearly unchanged from the original concept. The 2011 CTS Coupe arrived in August as the new focal point of the Cadillac product lineup and is offered in base (as if any Caddy could be called a base model) and supercharged V race trim. While based on…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2011 Jaguar XKR convertible

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Jaguar, a luxury British automobile company that saw life when William Lyons was seeking a name for a new sports car he had built. In 1935, the SS 100 became the world’s first Jaguar. Since then the brand has become synonymous with a blend of grace, elegance, power and agility.

Music Diary, Reviews

Vijay Iyer – Solo (2010) Jazz CD Review

I can hardly believe it has been nearly a year since I reviewed Vijay Iyer’s Historicity. I marked that recording high on my list of ‘best music of 2009’, so I was hotly anticipating his next release. I wasn’t alone in my praise – at his official site, the description calls it “one of the most acclaimed albums of the decade, Vijay Iyer’s debut on ACT Music is a trio album combining his searing originals with a surprising batch of covers.” As a result, the new release ‘Solo’ has gained plenty of attention already – but is it worth buying?…

Game Diary, Reviews

Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura (2001, RPG)

Imagine a world in which the mythical creatures of the middle age mythology – elves, orcs, etc – were real, and that magic existed. Now imagine it is the 1880’s and the industrial revolution in in full swing, but causing a conflict with the worlds of magic and knights of honor. That is the setting of Arcanum, and you are the hero. And that is the premise of the first game from Troika Studios. Troika Studios is worth mentioning alongside their games more than just about any other developer: the studio was formed by three people who left Interplay after…

Reviews

CableJive Dock Stubz Review

CableJive is out with their newest offering, the Dock Stubz. The Dock Stubz is a pass-through charging adapter for the iPhone, iPad and iPod. The short, stubby adapter lets your charge and sync your iDevice while it’s safely inside any protective case. No more having to remove your iPhone from that OtterBox Defender when you want to plug into the Apple dock. It also includes special charger conversion which lets your device work with older speakers and docking stations. Say goodbye that annoying “this device is not compatible……” pop up message” that pops up when you try to use your…

Game Diary, Reviews

Hoggy for iPhone/Touch Review

It seems that my weekly trip through the app store looking for cheap gems has brought yet another addicting game. I mean, even I need a short break from Angry Birds! Apple’s latest event stated that the iPod Touch is the number one portable gaming device. The numbers are not in front of me, but I will argue that my iPhone has become a wonderful gaming option. My sons play on my wife’s iPhone a lot more than they play with their DSi anymore. Well, I have now added Hoggy to my list of fun on the IOS platform. Lets…

Game Diary, Reviews

PC/Mac Game Review: Plants vs. Zombies Game of the Year

While I might be the main ‘gaming person’ here at Gear Diary, let’s be clear about one thing – Plants vs. Zombies is a shared addiction / love affair / necessity of life for MOST of the staff. Earlier this year I reviewed the iPhone version of the game, and while all of us with iPads also love THAT version there just wasn’t enough new stuff to merit a new look. But now the combined Mac & PC ‘Game of the Year’ version has been released on Steam, and therefore I couldn’t resist playing it some more … let’s see…

Reviews

iPad Accessory Review: ElementCase Joule iPad Stand

Let’s get this out of the way right up front… at $129 ($139 for Black and Anodized Silver) the ElementCase Joule is an expensive stand for your iPad. It has a simple design, consists of just two pieces, and it serves one and only one purpose… it holds your iPad in either landscape or portrait. So is it worth the money? Read on to find out… From ElementCase: Introducing the new “Joule” work stand for your iPad. Its stable solid base has a simple, clean, and elegant design that enhances your iPad and makes it easier to use. Unlike most…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

First Drive: 2011 HD trucks from General Motors

This past winter we got our first experience with the new Heavy Duty trucks from Ram. Spring brought a new Super Duty from Ford (along with more HD Rams) and finally, summer 2010 put us in the driver seat of the newest big rigs from General Motors, wearing Silverado and Sierra badging. Along the way I noticed one thing different about the way marketing folks presented information from their colleagues pitching cars and SUVs – customer conquests. It seems truck buyers, especially heavy duty truck buyers, remain very brand loyal. Three-quarter- and one-ton pickups account for about 30 percent of…

Reviews

Review: PocketAmp For iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

An exciting new thing is happening in the world of IOS devices! App developers are beginning to utilize the power and UI of Apple products and turning them into electric guitar effects and outputs. I have never hid my love for playing the guitar, and the fact that we can now combine that love with my tech and gadget addiction makes me feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I recently reviewed two hardware adapters that allow the guitar to be played through an iPhone or iPad, and each come with application solutions for the guitar. You can read them…

Reviews

Review: Beat The Heat With The Arctic Breeze Pro And Arctic Breeze Mobile

I am not sure where you live, but here in South Texas the heat has been brutal lately! We began football season with 2-a-day workouts on August 2 so I have spent countless hours outside in the scorching sun and heat. In fact, last Tuesday the temperature was 104 degrees with high humidity at 4:00 when we hit the field for practice. At this rate, most of us Texans are looking for any way to cool off. Being a geek means gadgets are always a possibility to alleviate the miserable feeling of being too dang hot. I recently checked out…

Reviews

Samsung Vibrant on T-Mobile Review: After a Week Out of the Box

Samsung has been making phones for a long time, but until recently fell quite short of a worthy phone to run the Android OS. The Behold II and Moment never really took off in the eyes of the consumer and certainly not with developement. The Moment was not too bad, with some decent specs landing somewhere in between the G1 and Droid. Both have since pretty much been abandoned by the community, and for me Samsung was almost written off. With the US launch of the Galaxy S series, Samsung really was pushing hard to gain back some lost followers…

Game Diary, Reviews

PSP Game Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (RPG, 2010)

One thing I love about the PSP and DS is that they allow me – a long-time PC/Mac laptop gamer who is not a fan of couch-based console gaming – to get a glimpse into the console gaming world on my own terms. By this I mean that since my tendency is towards gaming on the go, handheld systems like the PSP are very much in line with that. The Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of RPGs are a classic Playstation franchise, making their second entry on the PSP. How does it work? Read on and find out! The Hype:…

Reviews

DryPaks Review: Protect Your Gear for That Last Summer Beach Fling

Alas, this weekend brings the end of Summer for those of us in the U.S. Like many others, I’m trying to cram in three days of beach fun into this Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, duty still often calls and I still need to be ‘connected’ for work even while trying to grab some relaxation with friends and family. Unlike last summer’s shenanigans, I made a point to take precautions and bring extra protection. See, last summer a good friend found their phone, iPod touch and digital camera claimed by the angry sea while boating (OK, maybe it was merely the…

Reviews

Android App Review: Instant Heart Rate

You can use your smartphone in many ways to track your health; to keep an eye on what you eat, how far you run, how often you work out, etc. And now, you can also use your phone camera to track your heart rate! I don’t know much about medicine, but according to the app, it works “similar way [sic] as a medical pulse oximeter but without a dedicated light source.” Now, to paraphrase Dr. McCoy, Dammit I’m a geek, not a doctor…so I consulted my good buddy Wikipedia: A blood-oxygen monitor displays the percentage of arterial hemoglobin in the…

Music Diary, Reviews

CD Retrospective: 40 Years Later, Miles Davis Bitches Brew STILL Polarizes Jazz Fans

In every medium, every genre, there are transitions from one period to the next, silent to ‘talkies’ to color films, baroque to classical to romantic in classical music, and so on. But seldom is there a singular musical even that forms such a clear demarcation in a genre as Miles Davis 1970 Bitches Brew does for Jazz music. As stated on the Miles-Beyond blog, everything in Jazz comes down to ‘before’ or ‘after’ Bitches Brew. It is interesting to look back and realize that in spite of being one of the clear stars of jazz from the 1940’s until his…

Reviews

iPhone 4 Protection Quick Look- SGP Steinheil EX Ultra Series

There are a variety of methods for protecting your iPhone 4 and minimizing the issue of “death grip”. For the first months with my current iPhone I used a Clear-Coat film on the front, back and sides. Like other similar products, Clear-Coat is a semi-permanent film that goes on wet and then, when dried all but disappears. It is still what I am using to protect my iPad’s screen. All of the semi-permanent films have one big downside for me, they feel the tiniest bit tacky when sliding your finger across the screen. It isn’t bad but it is something…

Reviews

iPhone 3GS and 4 Accessory Review: Xtand from JustMobile

Do I really need the Xtand so my iPhone looks like a micro-iMac? Nope. Now that I have been using the Xtand from JustMobile for a few weeks to I see a purpose for it? You bet! Would I recommend it to others? Indeed I would. Let me explain why… From IntoMobile: The iconic iPhone stand: Just Mobile Xtand™ is the elegant way to show off your iPhone 4 and 3GS. Crafted from high-grade aluminium, the Xtand desktop stand allows you to effortlessly switch between landscape mode and portrait mode for video viewing or caressing your album artwork with Cover?ow….

Reviews

Kensington Pocket Battery for Smartphones Review

Smartphones are all the rage these days. Everyone uses them as more then just a plain old phone. We browse the web, stream media, play our music, check our e-mail, take pictures, check social networks and oh, yeah, use it as a phone. Battery technology in these phones have not really progressed to the point where you can make it the whole day. Especially if you are using it as something other then just a plain phone. If you are away from an outlet at anytime, well, you will likely run out of juice at any time unless you have…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

First Drive: 2011 Scion tC

The freshman class of the Scion tC proved to be quite successful for the “garage band” division of Toyota. In fact, since its launch as a 2005 model, the little coupe has accounted for more than a third of Scions sales despite having the shortest production run (when combining xA and xD units). This is the best selling model in its showroom so for the model makeover one thing is painfully clear – don’t screw it up. Stick to your roots, stick to what brung ya’ here and stick it to the competition. And that is what Scion is doing….

Reviews

OtterBox Commuter iPhone 4 Case Review

OtterBox is probably best known for their highly protective case, the Defender. The Defender packs as much shock and impact defense for your iPhone 4 as any case on the market. However, all that protection doesn’t come without a price. The Defender can at times be bulky and because of this OtterBox realizes it’s not for everyone. It’s for this reason that, starting with the iPhone 3G/3Gs, the company began offering a slimmed down version of the Defender. The Commuter Series case offers the same level of quality that its big brother, the Defender, does, in a sleeker package. The…

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