Reviews | Gear Diary

ScreenFlow Review – GD Must-Have Mac Applications

I made the leap to the Mac less than two years ago. When I first made the move I read a number of posts which describes some of the best Mac applications. Over the last 20 months I have found my collection of applications I swear by. Some are from those initial lists but most I stumbled upon along the way- often by accident. With so many of us here on the site using Macs these days I thought it would be worthwhile for us to begin sharing some of our favorite Mac applications. Hence our new “GD Must-Have Mac…

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Slacker G2 Player Flash Review

Slacker is a web based music service that offers both a free and paid version. The Slacker clients stream music via the web as well as many smartphones. I’ve subscribed for about 6 months because the paid version of Slacker allows me to skip as many songs as I would like while listening to the service. What I really like about the paid version is that you can use a special Slacker MP3 player to store music for when you’re on the go and not connected to the web UPDATE: Both the free and paid versions allow you to connect…

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Gear Games Review: Tradewinds 2 for iPhone

Striking the right balance in porting a PC franchise to a handheld gaming system is always tricky, as some games do it well (Anno 1701 and Sim City for the DS) while others struggle with the limitations of the platform (Dungeon Siege for the PSP and The Settlers for the DS). So while reading the press release for Tradewinds 2 got me intrigued about how it might play out, that excitement was tempered by the long history of mixed results bringing PC games to handheld gaming systems – not to mention the memory of playing the terribly mediocre Mass Effect…

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HTC Touch Pro2 After Awhile

If you haven’t already, please read our Initial Thoughts on the HTC Touch Pro2. That’s where you’ll find a full gallery of Touch Pro2 pictures as well as our unboxing banter. So without further ado… Drew: The TP2 Rocks! I haven’t been this excited about a WM phone since the Advantage came out and then I was mollified for quite some time with the TyTN II. The gorgeous screen, super keyboard, and excellent phone/sound definitely make it a keeper if you are in the corporate world.

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Belkin Breaks iPhone Users out of Case Boredom with New Lineup Review

Just the other day I was discussing the state of the current lineup of iPhone cases with a fellow blogger. We were both remarking how disappointed we’d become with the current stock of cases available on the market. It just seems as if there hasn’t been anything new released for quite some time. Well Belkin has come to the rescue. I knew that Belkin was one of a select group of case manufacturers that had planned to launch an entire new line of cases in conjunction with the launch of the iPhone 3G S. I recently received 3 review samples…

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Planets Review for iPhone/Touch

Developer Description: Is that dot in the sky a star or a planet? Answer that question with this application. Discover when you can see your favorite planet, and where to look in the sky in relation to the stars. Provides lots of interesting information: location of the sun, moon, and planets in the sky maps of stars and constellations rise and set time of the sun, moon, and planets current and future moon phases 3D globe view of all planets and the moon facts sheet for each planet, including moon names The Low Down: Recently my family attended a star…

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Peggle for iPhone Review

Just a couple of weeks ago I highlighted the awesome $0.99 sale on Peggle at the iTunes App store. As I mentioned, the concept of Peggle is simple: you are presented with a board of pegs, some of which are orange. You have a ball shooter at the top center of the screen. The goal is to remove all of the orange pegs from the screen using the balls from your shooter. Since gravity and physics are the laws in the Peggle universe, you need to estimate the trajectory of bounces off other pegs if you hope to clear all…

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GenAudio: CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW???

One of the things I have noticed when I purchase or rent DVDs is that most of the focus is on the picture quality. How well does the screen on your HDTV recreate the theater experience. The thing is, when I go to the theater to see a movie, it is rarely the screen which leaves me on the edge of my seat. It is the sounds. The music, the effects. I mean, really. Think about the movie Jurassic Park for a minute. Was it the rippling water that gave you the thrill of an approaching T-Rex, are was it…

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Prowl – the way push e-mail on the iPhone should be

If there’s one thing that bugs me about the iPhone it’s the lack of proper notifications for new e-mail messages. Sure you get a little sound clip or a quick vibration when a new message arrives but that’s about it. If you happen to miss the alert you have to actually wake the phone up and slide the unlock slider to check your mail icon for any new badge alerts. Why there’s no default alert for mail like there is for text messages (you get a brief look at the subject/sender on the lock screen with SMS messages) I don’t…

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DecalGirl Dressed Up My Kindle DX

When we did the Kindle2 review, one of the few things that Dan, Doug and Kerry griped about was the device’s pasty white front. I didn’t really mind the slightly off-white color, but when I purchased the Kindle DX I decided it needed a bit of personalization. Since I don’t yet have a case for the oversized ereader, I thought it would be fun to give it dash of protective color; I purchased a DecalGirl skin.

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Rivet Now Hard Leather Pouch for iPhone 3G/3GS Review

The Rivet Hard Leather Pouch is made from a hard plastic shell that’s surrounded by a high quality leather exterior. The case has a vintage look to it that separates it from a traditional black or brown leather case.

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Altec Lansing expressionist PLUS Speakers Review

I was looking for a new speaker system to use in my kitchen with my laptop or mp3 player, when I came across the expressionist PLUS system from Altec Lansing. The Altec Lansing expressionist PLUS is a attractive speaker system that not only looks good, but sounds good as well.

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Instaviz Review

In a post comment last week Wayne referred to using a mindmapping application on his new iPhone. Fact is, mindmapping is a great way to brainstorm and organize your thoughts and the iPhone lends itself to this technique surprisingly well. On the iPhone my mindmapping app of choice is Instaviz. It is a powerful, yet easy to use app that can’t help but impress. Let’s take a look and, if you like what you see, you could win one of five copies we are giving away this week.

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Jaybird Endorphin Rush Earbuds Review

A couple of days ago I reviewed the Jaybird Tiger Eyes earbuds, which include a microphone and are designed primarily for mobile phone users. But what if you aren’t looking for earbuds to use with a mobile phone? Enter the Endorphin Rush earbuds from Jaybird. These earbuds have the same titanium drivers that the Tiger Eyes, which promise similar true to life sound. The Endorphin Rush sound exactly the same as the Tiger Eyes. They sounded a little tinny, but were more than adequate for use when working out. The thing that the Jaybird line of products is known for is…

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Gear Diary Reviews the Palm Pre

First impressions are important – and the Palm Pre makes a great first impression. It’s small, light and fits nicely in the palm of your hand. The screen is bright and easy to read in nearly all lighting conditions. Data downloads on the Sprint network were fast and my Gmail account delivered email nearly instantly – at least as fast (or faster) than either of my BlackBerry devices. So why was I left with the feeling that the looks of the Palm Pre faded quickly once I began to peer beneath the surface of Palm’s new flagship phone?

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First Look: AT&T Navigator for iPhone

Now that iPhone/iPod Touch OS 3.0 is out, we are seeing a number of navigation apps appear. Add to that mix AT&T Navigator, from Telenav – a title that also appears on a variety of handsets (with GPS support) out there. Dan and I will be taking an in-depth look at this product in a review very soon, but here are a few first impressions we had:

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SplashMoney Personal Finance Manager for BlackBerry Smartphones Review

So fact of the matter is, I will never be confused with a CPA or give classes on money management. I have yet to look at my check book register since the lady at the bank wrote the beginning balance…that was almost 11 years ago when I was 18! Luckily I have a job that keeps a nice cushion in my bank account and I never really worry about balancing my account…hope my wife doesn’t read this :o) Having said that I have always wanted to carry my check book with me to keep tabs, I just hate the whole…

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Tom Bihn Tristar Travel Bag Review

It’s not everyday I get a bag like this in the mail. Tom Bihn makes, in my humble opinion, the best travel bags period. The new Tristar bag is no exception! I say this as a Tom Bihn owner for quite some time. I have taken the Tom Bihn Aeronaut with me to DC on my last flight, and I used the Western Flyer and the Aeronaut when my son and I went to camp. The Aeronaut was kind of large to take on a school trip with my son to camp. Well, next year I can just use the…

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Rivet VERTICAL LEATHER BAG for Apple MacBook Pro 15″ Review

Some people like shoes while others like jackets. Me… I’ve always had a thing for notebook cases. There is something about the combination of function and style that draws me to a new case when I see one. So when the opportunity to take a look at Rivet’s new Vertical Leather Bag came up I jumped. It looked nice and, perhaps more importantly, it looked DIFFERENT from the other bags available. Let’s take a look…

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PhatWare’s WritePad Notes, Affairs, and Events Review

Phatware has been making handwriting recognition and note taking software for [what were called at the time] pocket PCs and smartphones since 1997. I’ve used PhatPad on my Windows Mobile devices for quite a few years now, and it’s often one of the first things that I install when I get a new device. When they announced their first products for the iPhone at the end of May, Phatware offered Gear Diary an opportunity to review their first three programs: WritePad Notes, WritePad Affairs, and WritePad Events. All three programs feature PhatWare’s handwriting recognition software for the iPhone, WritePad.

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Jaybird Tiger Eyes Earbuds Review

It’s been a while since I reviewed the JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth headphones. In that time, Jaybird has expanded their line from simply Bluetooth audio, and they have introduced two new sets of earbuds. Today I am reviewing one of those, the Jaybird Tiger Eyes Earbuds. These are like the Altec Lansing BackBeat Pros that I just reviewed; they are the in-ear style. They are a little smaller than the BackBeat headphones, and they are not as noticeable as the BackBeat headphones when you wear them. One other difference from the BackBeat Pro is that these have a microphone and a…