Reviews

2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster

For some strange reason (dumb luck I suppose), my time behind the wheel of the new 370Z from Nissan has been met with frustrating limitations. When first released in coupe form last year, I found myself only getting to spend an afternoon with the vehicle and most of that during rush hour. More recently, Nissan sent me the roadster version of their little sports car, and this occurred during the freak snowstorm around Valentine’s Day. Needless to say it was stuck in my driveway for several days, and I only got to drop the top once (OK, twice, but the…


Review: Arctic Sound E352 Earphones

Arctic Cooling has recently entered the noise isolating earphone market.  I reviewed the Arctic Sound E361 earphones which proved to be a great solution that I carry daily in my away game bag.  The E352 earphones match the E361 in build and quality and add a touch of style with an attractive wooden chassis.  The E352 do not include a microphone, so these will have to be used for audio only, no iPhone for me. Click through the break to see how the Arctic Sound E352 earphones stack up.


Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 – Review

A number of years ago I wanted to begin moving toward having a “paperless” life. I was tired of being swamped by piles of paper. It was getting out of control. The first step in my trying to unclutter my life (it is still “in process”) was to purchase a high-speed scanner. I did a good deal of research and eventually ended up with one of Fujitsu’s products, a ScanSnap scanner. It blew me away. It had the ability to handle up to 40-50 pages at a time. It did two-sided scans. It scanned fast, Created high quality scans and…


Return to Castle Wolfenstein (2001, FPS): The Netbook Gamer

Every now and then we come across something that brings us back to the origins of our love for a hobby. For me and computer games, my first real love was Castle Wolfenstein for the Apple ][ in 1981. I have related that story more than once now, since I have reviewed the iPhone version of Wolf 3D, the iPhone game Wolfenstein RPG, and last fall’s franchise reboot Wolfenstein for PC, X360 and PS3. In between all of that, Activision released Return to Castle Wolfenstein in late 2001. In this episode of The Netbook Gamer I see how the game…


StarHunt for iPhone OS Review

I play a lot of hunt and find type games on my iPhone 3Gs.  Many of them look and run the same.  You use the pinch and zoom function of the iPhone OS to move around the screen searching for a items in a list.  While this can be incredibly fun it can be difficult to find the sometimes tiny items amongst the various screens. StarHunt takes the point and click adventure genre to a whole different level with stunning 3-D graphics, quick rendering and over 1,000 detailed still frame images. You task is to explore a house which contains…


Finger Physics Free for iPhone/Touch App Review

The number of puzzle games in the App Store is staggering. I have played or reviewed a fair amount of them myself. Many of the games are very similar with their own different twist. Once in a while we run across a puzzle game that is unique. Finger Physics Free is one such game. Find out what it is after the break.


JAVOedge Cherry Blossom and Cork Nook Cases Review

Now that the Nook has been around for a little while, some really great cases have started coming out to protect it in style.  When I saw the new lines of cases coming out from JAVOedge, I was immediately intrigued and couldn’t wait to get my hands on them!  Judie’s recent review of the new Croc cases for Kindle 2 only made me more eager to review the Nook cases. JAVOedge was kind enough to send me two cases from their Cherry Blossom Collection to review and keep for my Nook–the Flip Style Case in Twilight Purple, and the Book…


The Amazing Miniot iWood Cobra iPhone Case

When Larry posted about the Case-Mate Mohogany Wood Case, I was smitten — there’s no other way to put it. I loved the look of the rich red wood on the iPhone, and I was thrilled when he sent it to me after the review was complete. I used the heck out of that case, even though it added quite a bit of bulk to my iPhone, and even though it had a flaw which turned out to be fatal. It wasn’t evident from the beginning that the lack of a cutout might be a problem, but because the bottom…


StatusNote for Android Review

I usually need several types of productivity and reminder applications. Tasks need either alarms or some sort of agenda view or I won’t remember them, but they need to have a date. Floating tasks tend to be forgotten and languish on my lists for days or weeks. To combat this, I’ve usually relied on the old “email it to myself” trick. I also leave myself voice mails and even use old-fashioned sticky notes. It looks like I may have found a high-tech solution to my issues; is it more effective than my various low-tech strategies? Read on to find out!


Star Wars Dark Forces (1995, FPS): The Netbook Gamer

I now come to the conclusion of my reviews of the Jedi Knight series (see my Netbook Gamer reviews of the original Star Wars Jedi Knight, the Mysteries of the Sith expansion, and the Jedi Knight II and Jedi Academy sequels) with the game that started it all – 1995’s Star Wars Dark Forces.


Bluebeards Original: Look Like a Pirate Minus the Itch

If you’ve ever tried to grow a beard you know the first few weeks are the toughest part.  Why?  It itches!  New hairs growing in on your face can be bothersome not only to you but to your family members as well.  I’ve let my beard grow before, sometime just out of laziness on the weekend, other times just for fun, but my family members often complain that it’s scratchy.  Especially when my daughters ask for a good-night kiss and my wife often catches me scratching and pawing at my scruffy face. I recently stumbled across Bluebeard Original, who makes…


Destinator 9 for iPhone Review

The iTunes App Store is filled with GPS applications.  Destinator 9 from Intrinsyc is the latest addition to the category. Destinator has been running on a variety of other mobile devices and GPS units for a while now and it’s achieved a large following. The iPhone version of the application brings a rich, featured filled GPS client complete with real time traffic updates, on-board maps, voice guided directions, extended POIs and more. I recently downloaded the free trial of Destinator 9 from the App Store and took it out on the road for a drive. Here are my thoughts.


Toshiba 640GB Portable Hard Drive Review

Update: This giveaway is now closed and timtim is the winner. Thank you for entering, and please keep an eye out for future Gear Diary giveaways! 🙂 I was sent a Toshiba 640GB Portable Hard Drive in “Rocket Red” to review, but since this one will also be given away, I was hesitant to use and abuse it like I might a memory device I would be keeping. Therefore, in return for this micro-review, you get a chance to win a pocket-size time capsule just waiting to be filled with your important documents and digital memories.


V-MODA Remix Headphones Review

Image courtesy of V-MODA There’s some old saying the goes along the lines of “you’re only as good as the people around you.”  I feel the same way towards the relationship between my iPod or my iPhone and the headphones I use with each.  I may have the largest, most comprehensive music collection on the planet loaded on each of them but unless I’ve chosen a pair of headphones that allow me to listen to the music in decent quality what good is it? I’ve carried a pair of V-MODA Vibe Duo headphones religiously for the past year or so. …


Word Warp Xtreme for iPhone/Touch App Review

  My addiction to word games is still growing at a dangerous rate.  Forming words seems to have become one of my favorite past times!  I am not sure if my vocabulary has improved or if my ability to apply spelling rules has improved, but I am improving on a number of word puzzle games.  Several weeks ago I reviewed Word Warp Free for the Blue Plate Special.  I enjoyed the game and continued playing until I found Word Warp Xtreme which is the sequel to Word Warp Free.  Find out what new features are included after the break.


Ringo Pro for Android Review

I have to be honest and admit that I’ve never really been one to play around with custom ringtones for individual contacts.   I just look at the screen to see who is calling and decide at that point whether or not to answer.  So when Electric Pocket recently asked Gear Diary if we would like to take a look at Ringo Pro for Android, I’ll have to admit that I was a little slow to raise my hand.  Now that I’ve had a little time to play around with it, I’m finding it a little fun.


Super Notebook Stand – Monitor Combi

My man cave/guitar room/sports memorabilia room/computer room is not the largest room in the house.  Last summer we decided to replace a large computer desk with a small one on wheels.  My only problem with new table was finding a place for everything.  I liked the smaller footprint, but needed a way to organize my desk while making it still look good.  One morning on my summer break I headed out the shop and built a small shelf out of some scrap wood.  I painted it black and slapped a couple of Apple stickers on it and had me a…


Newsy App for Android Review: All the latest news right to your mobile

Newsy takes a different approach to delivering the latest news content over the net. Their unique method of  compiling the same news story from many different sources gives you all angles and aspects of each story through various news agencies. The site has an easy to use interface and it is simple to search out the story you are looking for. Overall the site is quite impressive, the news delivery is great and the site is free to subscribe to. Lets take a look at the mobile app offered through the Android Marketplace.


Be.ez LA robe 11.6″ Netbook Case Review

Be.ez (be easy), a French brand that designs stylish accessories for the mobile lifestyle, announced a new addition to their popular line of protection sleeves for netbooks – LA robe Netbook 11.6. This netbook sleeve is nicely made with a very thick shock absorbing material, and it’s available in 2 different colors — Black & White and Red Kiss. So, how good is this sleeve in doing its job, protecting your precious netbook? Read on to find out! Features:- Low Resilience Polyurethane (LRPu) Technology Robe protection Thickness 5MM Trendy, Unique Design Inner Lip for maximum protection Stand alone or in…


Aluratek Cinecam HD DV Camcorder- Review

all photos are thumbnails; please click to enlarge I am doing more than ever before by way of shooting video these days. No, I’m not like Larry with his 3000 You Tube subscribers, but I am taking some video pretty much every day. In part, this is the result of the iPhone having a “decent enough” video recorder. More than that though, I have come to appreciate that there is nothing like video when it comes to sharing an experience or review with the world. The iPhone is great. It allows you to shoot and then edit video on the…


Poynt for iPhone OS Review

Back in June, Jason took at look at the Poynt application for the Blackberry OS.  He called it a “staple” on his Blackberry and one of the best applications available. Well Poynt is back, this time with a release for the iPhone OS.  The free application hit the iTunes App Store early last week, and I’ve had some time to play with the all-in-one location based search powerhouse. Has Poynt become a staple on my iPhone like it did on Jason’s Blackberry? Read on to find out.