Image courtesy of TechShout So I have written about the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (GTA:CW fro now on) arriving on the App Store, and of the issues running it on the first-gen iPod Touch. Now I’ve played it, and am ready to review it and let you know how it plays!
It seems to be a never-ending issue for me, having more devices that need charging than I have outlets available. The Callpod Chargepod touts itself as a “charging device that allows you to charge multiple cell phones, PDAs, headsets, and most other mobile electronics with a single power cord.” Without tripping a breaker or messing something up? This I’ve got to see …
I tend to be a huge fan of notebook bags and cases. I carry my MacBook Pro with me most days and, as result, having a good, usable bag is important to me. Having a usable, well organized, high-quality bag that is also good looking is a bonus. And, thanks to my work here on Gear Diary, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a number of superb companies and their products. One of my favorites is booq. Their cases are stylish, superbly designed and great to use. I have been using one of their newest — the booq…
Having a lost child is never good. The amber alerts that now go out can save precious time in the recovery of a child, be it a child who is just lost or a child who is abducted by strangers or people who know the child. Part of what makes this work is accurate information given to law enforcement agencies. One way for parents to make sure this information is with them is by carrying a My Child ID from AmberAlert.com.
Custom accessories are uber-popular right now. We’ve seen several of our favorite accessory manufacturers bring custom offerings into their collections over the last few months. One of the best of the bunch, iFrogz, has several items in its inventory which the company allows you to custom build to create your very own, one of a kind, item. Before I left for CES 2010 iFrogz allowed me to custom build my very own pair of their Fallout headphones which I picked up while at the show. I’ve had a chance to uses them for a while now and wanted to share…
Puzzlings first came on my radar as it quickly rose to the top of the app list. I heard several podcasters proclaim their addiction to the game so figured I better check it out. To my surprise, the game had become free when I decided to download. As my reviews have shown, I am a sucker for a good puzzle game. Puzzlings is what I would call a strange game with a great puzzle aspect. Read more after the break…
Being the gadget freak that I am, I like to have gadgets in the kitchen almost as much as I do in the office or on the go. I am a big fan of drinking tea (both hot and cold), but often I only want one mug of tea at a time, not a whole pot. I was looking around at tea flavors I wanted to try when I happened upon the Perfect Teamaker from Teavana. It seemed like the perfect solution, so I promptly added it to my Christmas list.
Almost a year ago I was sent a Nintendo Wii as a birthday present by a good friend. About a month later my then six-year-old niece and nephew heard about it and were excited to send me, via their mom, my sister, a Nintendo Wiifit pack. Some time ago I was sent the “Wii Thrustmaster Motion Plus Elite Fitness Pack”. It contained a number of accessories to work with the Wii fit system. Here is the confession — I played with the Wii for a few weeks and then didn’t touch it again for quite some time. I opened up…
Want to keep your iPhone’s form factor as close to the way it was when you first pulled it out of the box but still protect it? There are skins that will do it, but these are often hard to install. The Switch Easy Nude case measures at only .08mm of thickness. It comes in 6 colors and includes two crystal clear screen protectors. At only $19.99 this case offers the absolute closest thing to a naked phone that I’ve seen. Check out my video review below then head to the Switch Easy web site and grab one.
If you’re anything like me, chances are you juggle a few Apple devices around. Personally I use an iPhone, iPod Touch and an iPod Classic. Each device uses Apple’s dock connector on the bottom, to which I insert a charge/sync cable when it comes time to either hook the device to iTunes or add some additional power to the battery. I’ve got one Apple charge and sync cable hooked up to my iMac which means I can charge or sync one of my three devices at any one time. At least that used to be the case……. Thanks to the…
Late last year I was introduced to Sleek Audio, and among their earphones’ features, I was impressed by their unique method of insuring a customized listening experience through the utilization of removable and interchangeable in-ear ports – even on their entry level model, the SA1. While I enjoyed the SA1 earphones very much and was quite impressed with their quality, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to use one of their more specialized sets, specifically the Sa6.
PDAir makes cases and accessories for a wide range of mobile devices. Their products are typically well made and reasonably priced. We’ve reviewed PDAir cases on Gear Diary before, recently reviewing a couple of their iPhone 3G/3GS cases. So, when PDAir offered to provide Gear Diary with a couple of their new Motorola Droid cases to review, we said yes. As a still relatively new device, there is a fairly limited range of cases available for the Droid. Sure, you can pick up snap-on covers for the Droid at the Verizon store, but they don’t offer much protection for the…
Case-Mate blew us away a CES this year with their 2010 product line up. One case not even included in the mix at the show was their Mahogany Case for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs. The case, which is machine carved from 100% recycled mahogany is a stunner to both look at and to hold. It’s smooth as silk and keeps your iPhone safely protected inside a thick layer of wood. The case is available for $49.99 directly from the Case-Mate web site here. Watch my video review to see this beauty live and in color.
This is a joint review from Thomas and Dan. Dan’s comments are in black, and Thomas’ are in blue italics. Dan – Thomas was kind enough to send me his Blackberry Bold 9700 a few weeks ago. I have an AT&T branded version of the phone. His phone, however, had one distinct advantage over mine — because it is on T-Mobile it has a truly inexpensive international calling and data plan available. So I brought it to Las Vegas with me for CES and then carried it with me to the wedding I attended in Cabo. Because the connecting flights…
Everki recently supplied me with the Beacon Laptop Backpack w/Gaming Console Sleeve to review. Since school started back up, I have spent the past few weeks using it as my main gear bag. I am pleased with the style and ruggedness of the backpack with daily use; I am able to comfortably carry all of my gear and it is comfortable and looks great. Find out the particulars after the break…
Divine Robot has recently released a new scrolling shooter called “Eveningstar.” The game is a sci-fi shoot ’em up packed full of action and enemies. The game includes nine exciting levels, each of which require different skills and puzzle solving skills. Check out the video trailer here then read the review after the break.
While at CES this year I had the opportunity to spend some time at the Blue Microphones booth. One of the products which really “wowed” me during demo time was their “Yeti” microphone. The Yeti is being touted as the world’s first THX certified Microphone. The USB powered microphone is the perfect tool for for a wide range of projects including podcasts, vocals, live or event recording, interviews, broadcasts, instruments, bands and more. Blue Microphones was kind enough to send both myself and Joel a Yeti for review and the following dual review contains both of our observations.
My work here on Gear Diary has given me the opportunity to try a wide variety of Bluetooth headsets. The biggest common denominator with all of them is the degree to which they have improved in recent years. They have, for the most part, become more comfortable, easier to pair, and they have much-improved sound quality. Most recently I’ve had the opportunity to be using the Plantronics Voyager Pro UC. Plantronics describes it as “the most advanced noise-canceling Bluetooth headset available”. In my experience over the last week and a half, I can’t argue with that statement. It’s comfortable, easy-to-use,…
Travis recently wrote about some of the great products Cocoon Innovations was showing off at CES to help organize all the wonderful gear we tend to carry around. As soon as I saw their GRID-IT system in Travis’ post, I knew this was a product I could use. While I try to keep an organized gear bag, the daily wrangling of cords, chargers, etc. was beginning to wear on me. Sometimes I need to quickly transfer gear from one bag to another — say, during a short trip where trying to keep up with multiple bags is more trouble than…
Back when I wrote about the various packages available for Dragon Age: Origins, one thing I didn’t worry about was the soundtrack. Why? Because on the graphic that accompanied the article it said ‘Digital Soundtrack’. So I assumed it meant we got the whole soundtrack – since most games with samplers are pretty clear and up-front about the whole ‘selections from the soundtrack’ thing (most recent example is Dissidia Final Fantasy). Also, buyers of either the ‘deluxe digital’ or ‘collector’s edition’ got a selection of songs from the soundtrack, effectively half of the 35 songs, although there are some songs…
While at CES 2010, Dan and I were blown away by the pending releases Speck has in the pipeline for 2010. The uber-popular accessory manufacturer has a ton of goodies in store for the new year. One of the items we were given by Speck to review is the See Thru Satin case for the iPhone 3G/3Gs. Made from the same material as its big brother, the Satin Case for the Mac Book Pro, which Dan recently reviewed, this case both looks and feels great! Check out my video review below. Then head on over to the Speck website, and…