I was excited to see the release of Blackberry Desktop Manager for Mac a few hours earlier than expected. Of course I immediately downloaded the application which is relatively small — the DMG file is just 28 MB. And they did a great job with it!
It is a problem as old as the iPhone itself… you want to watch a video on it but can’t find a comfortable way to hold it for an extended picture…
Tired of having just one sound when new email arrives? Want to know who has contacted you just by listening? Waiting for emails on a specific topic and want to be alerted as soon as they arrive? If any of these apply to you the new iPhone app MailTones might be just the thing. Let’s take a look…
My wife will tell you that I forget absolutely everything! But she’s my wife so she’s allowed to exaggerate, and the truth is I do forget stuff…as I am sure many of you do too! I have gotten a little better now that I have my BlackBerry and the calendar and Notes apps, but creating calendars is very tedious and the notes don’t alert me. So what do I do now…BugMe! That’s what. Electric Pocket has just released the BugMe! app for BlackBerry phones, I had the chance to review it over the last week.
I have used and reviewed a number of different device cases from Otterbox. They are always impressive cases that provide significant protection for delicate electronics. They do exactly what they say and then some. In fact, I have even submerged a device wrapped in one of their Armor cases in a glass of water to test it! I don’t recommend doing it, but when I did the case protected my iPod Nano perfectly!! Yup, Otterbox cases are the best thing going, but (and there’s always a but) they aren’t the most stylish of cases. Well… they weren’t… With the company’s…
From the developer: Playing pool is so 2008. Meet Gene Pool. Your goal is to keep your organism healthy by merging genes of the same color. Merged genes grow in size and will eventually disappear. Only energized cells can merge with other cells. How? By bouncing them up against walls ofcourse! *Gene Pool is your ideal travel companion. *Relaxing music. Zen style. Why hurry? *Win all possible achievements *Submit and retrieve localized scores *Uses Weave Connect technology developed by Sticky Studios *Improve your score with multiple wall-bounces and great accuracy. *Destroy viruses that attack your largest genes
A few years ago someone would believe you were crazy if you told them you were going to manage a blog using only a smartphone. Today, however, that notion seems just as commonplace as surfing the web, updating your social networks and communicating with friends, family, or colleagues in real-time — all from your “phone.” Sadly, BlackBerry devices probably are not the first device you think of when you consider doing anything beyond sending email or maintaining appointments. That is changing with more and more applications being developed that help get the most out of the somewhat limited operating system…
Arrgh! Here we are, matey … back for another episode of Tales of Monkey Island! While I can’t tell you where things stand at the beginning of the tale without potentially spoiling the first episode for those who haven’t played yet, suffice it to say that we can expect the events that were set in motion at the start of the first episode will be in play for the entire season!
Last week I reviewed Timbuk2’s new H.A.L. backpack. I like it a lot. I was impressed with the quality of the workmanship, the design itself, and the incredible utility of the backpack for anyone needing to carry a laptop and assorted other items. My one criticism of the backpack was that the area designed to hold the notebook, while convenient, or for no real fall protection. That’s where today’s review item comes in more than a bit handy. The ColcaSac is a simple, rugged burlap sleeve that offers excellent protection for your MacBook Pro from the daily bumps and grinds…
I have a confession to make. I love iPods. I have been a consistent user of the iPod since I got my first one about the time Mac OS X Tiger came out. Back then I was a Mac OS X fan and I had a PowerBook. I loved my PowerBook. I used iTunes on my Mac back when it was still clean and sleek. Now iTunes is a bloated mess that I just dislike dealing with. I have also transitioned to using Linux as my OS of choice, which can make life difficult if you love iPods, but not…
¡Hola mis amigas! This week, I was greeted by an instructional video that started the minute I signed into TOTALe. It gave a great overview of what the different parts of the course entailed, and how to navigate the various sections…and I couldn’t help but wonder why it didn’t show the first time I started the program! Of course, the likely culprit is my slow satellite connection of doom; it is totally possible that the screen tried to show when I first started the program five lessons ago, but was reset in all of the screen refreshes. Ah, country living……
One of the things about the built-in calendar app on the iPhone that surprises me is that it lacks the ability to view more than one month at a time. Sometimes it’s just handy to see several months – or a whole year – at once. So when Zicron Software, a new software developer based in Scotland, offered Gear Diary the chance to evaluate their new iPhone app, Years, we agreed to take a look.
I’ve been writing for a long time, and one of the things that I learned early on, is that there’s a lot to like about most everything you get to review. Your TRUE opinion usually hits after the honeymoon period is over. THAT can last a couple of months, depending on the device/gadget/thingy you’re reviewing. Getting past the WOW factor is important, and most product reviewers just can’t do it in a couple of days to a week. When I saw the Soda Stream Penguin Starter Kit, the wow factor for me was pretty high – a nine or a…
In the time I have been writing here at Gear Diary, I have made it my mission to find the perfect Bluetooth headset. Although we have tested dozens of headsets, that quest continues. In fact, considering the rate at which new headsets are developed, I would not expect this process to reach a conclusion anytime soon. Today, we will be looking at the Motorola H790, the latest entry in Motorola’s already extensive line of Bluetooth headsets.
A couple of years ago I got hooked on the original SPB Brain Evolution. It is a “brain training” game that helps you improve your brain skills in a variety of areas. The original Brain Evolution was fun and had a lot of different games, but the graphics were very simplistic, and the overall look left something to be desired. Still, the game received a lot of awards and was a bestseller in 2008! Now we have SPB Brain Evolution 2. Improvements in appearance and usability have clearly been made. How does it do? Let’s take a look!
Last week I reviewed Tab ToolKit from Agile Partners. The app is a must have for any guitarist wanting to learn songs using tablature. What about all other guitar needs? Agile Partners have an app for that too: Guitar ToolKit. There are many apps available that do what Guitar Toolkit does. This is a collection of all of these apps in one place. Not only are several apps rolled into one, but stand alone apps do not perform as well. Lets take a look at the features. Chromatic Tuner The tuner is the most responsive and accurate I have found…
I’ve never been a huge backpack fan. Instead, I have always been partial to messenger-type bags such as the Acme Courier Judie and I both reviewed a few months ago. The H.A.L. Backpack from Timbuk2 may just change that. It is versatile, well-designed and pretty impressive! Let’s take a look.
Welcome to the first entry in the new Netbook Gamer series! In the fall of 1997 LucasArts delivered into the hands of gamers something they had wanted since they first saw one twenty years prior – a lightsaber. Dark Forces brought the Star Wars universe a new level of immersion through the first person shooter perspective. The story brought in classic settings abd characters and introduced a new hero – Kyle Katarn. Former Imperial Academy hero shaken by the discovery of the nature of the Empire through tragic events, Katarn is joined by his partner Jan Ors as the pair…
Welcome to a new series here at Gear Diary! Called the Netbook Gamer, this will allow me to share two of my loves – playing computer games and exploiting my netbooks to deliver whatever performance I can squeeze from them. In this series I will look at games released over the last decade that might have pushed the boundaries of what was possible when released, but still work on a modern PC and will run smoothly on a current release netbook. In the title I will identify the game, the year it was released and the genre – expect these…
After years of ‘Match 3’ games like Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest and even multi-dimensional ‘Match 3’ games like Puzzle Quest Galactrix, there was only one natural course to follow .. MATCH 4! Of course, since Match 3 games already offered extra bonuses for a 4th matched item, the folks at SPB needed to do something different. Here is the scenario: you make the connection between three sides of a rectangle! So how well does this game work in terms of keeping interesting going in a seemingly saturated matching-game field? Read on and see!
When I began playing the guitar in the mid-80s, I loved going to the record store in the mall to look at guitar tablature books. Most of the time I would look up the song I wanted to play and try to memorize the chords or main parts then go home and figure out how to play it. The internet brought the ability to look up tabs at home or even print them. The addition of tablature software has revolutionized the ability to learn large quantities of songs quickly. The developers at Agile Partners which brought us Guitar ToolKit, have…