Reviews | Gear Diary

Seagate Dockstar – Review

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to review the Seagate FreeAgent Go. It is a small, pocket-sized external hard drive that looks sleek and has a tremendous capacity. One of the nice features of the hard drive is that it has only one port- a Mini USB. You can, however, purchase an optional dock for the hard drive that lets you simply slip the hard drive into the cradle when you’re ready to use it. The company offers a similar looking cradle that does much more, however. By incorporating a PogoPlug into the cradle Seagate has created a…

Reviews

The Wizcom Readingpen TS Reviewed; It Helps With The Hard Words

About a month ago, we were sent the Wizcom Readingpen TS to review. With two middle school children I had some curiosity about how it might help them read easier. The concept of the pen is simple – scan across a word or sentence. The pen converts the information to spoken words and if needed provides the definition, synonyms and Spanish version of the word. This is useful for anyone needing a little extra help with difficult words while reading a book. How does it work in practice?

Reviews

Everki Camber Netbook Case Review

We recently released the introduction of the Camber Netbook Case-Sling from Everki (you can read the release here). Everki was kind enough to supply a Camber for me to review. This new case is super compact fitting netbooks up to 13″. The product is slightly too small to hold a 13″ MacBook Pro (they actually are 13.3″), but a version to accommodate the macbook is in the works for 2010. As the computing devices we use get smaller, so do the ways we carry them. See how the Camber stacks up after the break.

Reviews

Scottevest Soft Shell Jacket Review

I love Scottvest’s products, and during the last few weeks I have had the good fortune to update my SEV wardrobe quite a bit. Last month I reviewed the Evolution Jacket. It was the first SEV product I had seen in some time and I was impressed by how far the line has come. It just looks and feels more refined than ever and, thanks to more than a few tweaks, the system for carrying and organizing your gear is more usable than ever. Early last week Scott Jordan, the company founder and CEO, was kind enough to send me…

Reviews

Review: Tom Bihn Synapse

Tom Bihn is a company I have been following for a while now, ever since Judie reviewed the Aeronaut when she was still at The Gadgeteer. Tom Bihn is not only based right here in the United States, they make their bags in the US, which is a rarity among bag manufacturers. When Tom Bihn let me know about their new Synapse backpack, I jumped at a chance to review it. The exterior of the Synapse I was sent is made with Indigo colored 1000 denier U.S. Cordura, and the backpack is lined with Solar Dyneema/nylon rip-stop fabric. The Syapse is…

Reviews

Review: Hotel Mogul for iPhone and iPod Touch

I like casual games. I’ve said that before here on Gear Diary and I’m sure I will say it again. I recently got to review Montezuma 2 from Alawar Games and now I’m back to review another Alawar title – Hotel Mogul.

Reviews

Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim Speakers – Review

I tend to use my iMac for everything from music to tv to movies when I am in my home study. And why not? After all, the 24″ screen is great for TV and movies. (And the 27″ will be even better!!) There are, however, a few things that make the experience quite a bit better. First off, the SRS iWOW plug in adds both depth and a high level of sound configurability. Second, while the iMac’s speakers do “well enough”, a pair of external speaks make a HUGE difference! I’ve been using the Hercules XPS 2.1 40 Slim speakers…

Reviews

Agile Partners Updates Star 6 For iPhone: Get To Mixing!

Agile Partners, creators of some wonderful music apps, have just significantly updated their beat mixing application Star6. I recently reviewed two of their apps for guitarists that have become some of my most use apps. Check out the reviews for Guitar ToolKit and Tab ToolKit. Star6 is a music mixer that utilizes the accelerometer and touch interface to create a truly unique musical experience. I am a musician, but have never done hip hop style beat mixes, so I was unsure if the app would even work in my hands. As you will see, it is quite easy to use!

Game Diary, Reviews

Traffic Rush for iPhone/Touch App Review

We are all feeling the financial pinch! Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. Anyone who drives in the city knows the frustrations of a busy intersection. How great would it be to get rid of the stop light and control the traffic on your own? Take control over a busy intersection from above with the addictive game Traffic Rush. The game is currently the top ranked free app in iTunes and will provide some traffic relieving fun for the passing gamer. The object of Traffic Rush is…

Reviews

Seidio Innocase Snap Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

The Seidio Innocase Snap Case for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs is a snap on back cover style case that comes in a variety of colors. The case retails for $19.99 and is available here. Seidio was kind enough to give me a case to review.

Reviews

Richard Solo rs1800 for iPhone Review

There’s no hiding Gear Diary’s love of the Mophie Juice Pack Air. All the editors own one for their iPhones, and we just gave one away to a lucky Facebook friend. There’s also no hiding the lackluster performance of the iPhone’s battery. For power users, like us, it’s often times impossible to get through a single day without having to “plug-in” at least once. Anyone who knows me knows I have a love of cases for the iPhone. If there’s one single thing that bothers me about the Mophie Juice Pack air it’s the fact that it’s a case. Yeah,…

Reviews

Quick Review: Festive Tones for iPhone

Mail Tones from Electric Pocket is a nifty iPhone application that allows you to assign different ringtone alerts to each of the contacts in your address book. This way you’ll know who’s emailing you without ever having to turn the phone on. Dan reviewed the application here, and I’ve been using it faithfully ever since. Since the iPhone lacks any sort of real repeating notification system, I rely on Mail Tones quite heavily. I know, from the sound of the alert, if an e-mail that’s arrived is important or not. For the holiday season, Electric Pocket has released a Christmas…

eBooks, Reviews

The Barnes & Noble nook; or how I managed to completely waste my Saturday on a piece of over-hyped hardware

The Barnes & Noble nook eBook Reader has been touted by some as a Kindle-killer, and after what seemed like a ridiculously long wait, when mine finally showed up today I was ready to be wowed. It’s not that I don’t already enjoy reading eBooks on my Kindle DX (Kevin is using the Kindle2) and on my iPhone, it’s just that the nook was the “next new big thing”, and I allowed myself to be caught up in the excitement. I was perhaps a week later ordering mine than many were, because I found out that American Express Rewards offers…

Reviews

Christmas Sudoku for the iPhone/iPod Touch Review

I love to play Sudoku. There’s something about the challenge of getting all those pieces of the puzzle into the right combination that appeals to my inner geek. Keeping with the season (if you celebrate Christmas, that is), I felt compelled to check out the release of Christmas Sudoku from 99 Games. 99 Games was nice enough to give me a copy to check out!

Reviews

Review: The treasures of Montezuma 2 for the iPhone/iPod Touch

I’ll admit it. I really like playing games on the iPhone. This time around, Alawar Games sent me a copy of Montezuma 2 to take a look at. So again, I’ll make an a small admission and mention that I never played the original Montezuma, but I have played many of these match-three type of games like “Bejeweled” or “Alchemize”. So let’s take a look at this one!

Reviews

ScoopFree Ultra Self-Cleaning Litter Box Review

Editor’s Note: This is a joint review between Adrian and Jessica. Adrian’s comments will be in black, and Jessica’s will be in blue italics Multi-tasking seems to be one of my strong points…work 40 plus hours a week, chase around a toddler, coach high school sports, have a small business, and have family priorities that put me in and out of Dr appointments and hospitals at least once a week…so honestly what else can I add? Oh … let’s throw in mowing the lawn, maintaining the house, and helping my wife with the everyday chores (ok so I duck as…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Jaguar and Land Rover spice things up but hold the curry

They may not be serving hamburgers at the corporate cookouts anymore, but luxury marques Jaguar and Land Rover still have the heart and soul of the British Isles. The 2008 purchase by India’s largest automaker Tata is yet to be readily apparent and each luxury brand is still about two-thirds UK sourced and about one-fifth German. For 2010, each line gets some minor touchups (OK, the Jag XJ is all new, and Land Rover upgrades LR3 to a 4), but the biggest news is under the hood. New V-8 engines all around for the two brands, complete with more power…

Reviews

Review: Blue Microphone’s enCore 100 and 200

Blue has long made studio mikes and other devices like the Blue Eyeball web cam with a focus on quality construction and great audio. Now they are trying to enter the live performance arena with their brand new enCore series of Microphones. Blue was kind enough to send me samples of both the enCore 100 and the enCore 200 stage mikes. Are they going to be good enough to unseat the venerable Shure SM57 and SM58? Let’s find out.

Reviews

Joby Launches Gorillacam iPhone Camera App

I’ve been using my GorillaPod flexible tripod more and more. It works great with my iPhone and came in super-handy when I was using a number of iPhone camera apps while on vacation last week. Well Joby, the company behind the GorillaPod has released a free iPhone camera app. It is free, offers some nice features, works great and… did I mention… it is free!

Reviews

Gboard Review: Gmail at lightening fast speeds

I recently made the move to making G-Mail my full time e-mail client. In conjunction with the move, I also stopped using the Mac OS Mail application and am strictly reading and writing my e-mail via the G-Mail web based client. The transition has take some getting used to. Reading and writing via the G-Mail site is a different experience than doing so via a regular mail application. Simply put, it takes a heck of a lot more mouse movements and clicks when using the web based G-Mail method. When I first spotted the Gboard I immediately knew it was…

Reviews

Proporta Antimicrobial Silicone Case for iPhone 3G/3Gs Review

Ever since the H1N1 virus made national headlines, it seems more and more people are becoming uber-germ conscious. I can’t seem to turn my head without spotting another bottle of hand sanitizer strategically placed near the front of some store or by the check out lines. Computer keyboards and mobile phones are some of the worst offenders when it comes to spreading germs around. According to Proporta the average mobile phone has close to 26,00 germs on it per square inch! Yuck! To help protect you from these germs they’ve released an Antimicrobial Silicone Case for the iPhone 3G and…