Reviews

The i-mate JAQ3 WM5 Pocket PC Phone Edition Review

[Ed. note: If you haven’t already, then take a look at the first part of this review, Unboxing the i-mate JAQ3, in which Judie opens the JAQ3’s box and takes a quick look at this PDA phone and its other box contents.] For this jointly written and jointly posted (on each of our sites) review, Judie’s comments will be in black, and Clinton’s comments will be in blue and italicized. One afternoon about a month ago, I received an email from an i-mate executive assistant saying “Jim Morrison wants to send you an i-mate JAQ3 Windows Mobile phone, can you…


Roadwired Skooba Satchel Review

Two weeks ago I started my university course studying for a Bachelor of Creative Technology (Digital Television Production). The reason I bought my MacBook Pro late last year was in preparation for this course, so of course I wanted to take it with me every day. Problem was I didn?t have a nice bag to carry everything in. My laptop backpack was too big and my laptop bag looked pretty lame. Roadwired sent me one of their Skooba Satchels to try out, and it was my hope that it would be up to the task. It needs to be able…


The APIOTEK VP-0002 USB Skype Phone Review

As a VoIP phone, the APIOTEK VP-0002 could be the thinnest in the world with only 7.5mm thickness; it has been 100% developed for?use with?Skype. Unlike other regular Skype phone handsets, the APIOTEK VP-0002 has a shiny, elegant design?due to its stainless metal back casing. It reminds me of?the Apple iPod and Nokia 8810 GSM cell phone. The APIOTEK VP-0002 Skype USB Phone is a product from Taiwan. An official link of the product is here for reference. Functions and specifications are shown outside the box. The package contains a USB handset, USB cable, user guide and driver CD. Feature:…


The Scala-700 VoIP Headset Review: changing perceptions

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, using a Bluetooth headset is the perfect companion when it comes to using a cell phone. I personally ONLY use a headset when driving or sitting at my desk conversing with clients via my smartphone or Skype. I really don’t need the Captain Picard references or the need to look “fashionable” with a blinking blue light in my ear dining at a restaurant while worrying if my “ear roach” will fall in my salad plate (which I did see happen one time!) But I’m not here to talk about the Five Rules of Bluetooth Headset…


The Gennum nX6000 Bluetooth Headset Review

When I recently reviewed the nXZEN PLUS 5500 BT Headset, I was very impressed by its noise cancelling capabilities, so much so that even though the 5500 was larger than the AX2 I was using, I started using it instead. Well, now the one thing that I missed about the AX2 has been replicated in a Gennum device: Meet the nX6000, a very petite BT headset which combines the excellent noise cancelling properties of the larger nXZEN models with the tiny size I like. Included in the box are the headset, a miniUSB charging cable, a USB AC Adapter two…


The MacDrive 7 Review

Mitchell’s comments in Black, Chris’ comments in Blue Since my switch to Mac back in December I haven?t had very many problems integrating my MacBook Pro into my life. Except for a few programs that I can?t find equivalents for in Mac OS X, it has gone pretty smoothly. One area that has frustrated me is data storage. I like to have as much free space as possible on my internal drive, so I often use external HDDs. I do this particularly when editing video, as the files created are large, and temporary files for effects and previews quickly add…


The Slim-Line Presenter PLUS Review: Unlocking PowerPoint prison

With apologies to Bob Dylan, have you ever felt like you were stuck in PowerPoint prison with the presentation blues again?* Most us have seen the overabundance of slides, with 9 point type, variable mix of fonts, sound effects and motivational video clips to fly like an eagle? Then again, for every 100 misuses of PowerPoint, there is that one person who understands their audience and is all about conveying their PowerPoint message in a clear, concise and compelling manner. These presentation warriors in the old days (post Kodak Carousel slide tray era) used to trudge through airports carrying the…


The Purse Hook Review

When I was in college, one of my sorority sisters had a saying that went “Purse on the floor, always poor.” While I used to snicker every time I heard her say that, I just loathed setting my bag any place on the floor where it could be easily kicked, stolen, or worse. I’ll never forget the time that my brand new Louis Vuitton Ellipse sat steeping in a puddle of water on a restaurant’s seemingly clean floor before I realized what was happening. Even though it was just water and my purse dried without any problems (or ugly stains),…


The Sony Reader Review

If you read my intro to eBooks, you’ll know that I’m a big eBook fan. So I was really excited to get a look at the new Sony Reader, a dedicated eBook reader that uses the (new! revolutionary!) e-ink technology. Look, I don’t know how revolutionary the e-ink technology is, honestly. I’ve been in the online doc game for a long time, and I’ve heard proselytizers try to sell me on e-ink, and I’ve never been very convinced. Maybe sometime, when they’ve got it working in color, and they’ve gotten it to be a little brighter, and you can use…


The Proporta Cradle for Treo 750 Review

I have owned about 4 Proporta aluminium cases in the past (Axim X5, iPAQ 1930, iPAQ 2210, iPAQ 4350), and I have been extremely happy with their quality and design. When Proporta asked us to take their Treo 750 Cradle out for a spin, I was more than happy to. The cradle comes in a small cardboard box. Inside are the cradle and a miniUSB cable. The second I took the cradle of the box I was disappointed. In all honestly it looked like something I had picked up for $10 on eBay. It is very light, and is very…


eBooks and eReaders–a Short Overview

Soon I will be lucky enough to review Sony’s Reader, an eBook reader by Sony. But before I do and give y’all a review, I thought it might be nice to give folks a brief overview of eBooks, both on devoted devices and PDAs. I’ve been in the online documentation game for a long time.? A long time.? I was writing online doc back in 1991, before the Web even got going, back when Acrobat wasn’t even a twinkle in Adobe’s eye.? So I have some pretty (ahem) strong views on online doc, eBooks, eBook readers, and what makes for…


The QuickSeals Review

Now available on the market are QuickSeals from Neese Products, LLC.  This innovative product is a plastic pouch with a zip slider on top and two adhesive strips on the bottom. QuickSeals are pouches that affix to any food bag or box to add a zip closure to seal in freshness and prevent spillage. Betsy Scherzer contacted Gear Diary to conduct a product review; she sent 32 samples and I found myself quickly using them every day.


The JetArt Cooling Review Part 2 and 3: HDD and CPU Coolers

A few days ago I posted my review of the JetArt VC2600 VGA Cooler, which I was very happy with. I have decided to roll the HDD and CPU Cooler Reviews into one as the HDD Cooler review is fairly short. JetArt HCA06 HDD Cooler Review The HDD cooler is quite simple, attaching to the HDD with four screws and powered by a molex plug. Included in the package is the cooler and 4 screws. The cooler is specifically designed for a standard 3.5? HDD, and is screwed onto the bottom of the drive. It doesn?t extend over the sides…


The Otterbox 1920 Treo Case Review

Let’s say that the place where you need to use your Palm Treo 650 or 700 series is not in an office in the middle of the city; perhaps it is at a bivouac in the middle of a desert, in an arctic outpost, or maybe on board a crabbing vessel in the middle of the Bering sea. These are not the places where a stylish wrap will protect your PDA adequately, these are the type places that call for an OtterBox 1920 Palm Treo Case. This thing is a beast!


Spectec SDW-822 miniSDIO WiFi Review

When Judie asked me if I was interested in reviewing the miniSDIO version of the Spectec WiFi card similar to her SDIO one, I was thrilled. My Treo has been pretty well perfect since I got it, except for internet access. Up until recently I have had to make do with only a 10MB data allowance, which is pretty small if I surf with pictures, especially on sites that aren?t designed for mobile devices. With a WiFi card I can surf as much as I like at home without having to worry about going over my 10MB. But therein lies…


The Logitech V450 Laser Cordless Mouse Review

What kind of mouse do you like to use when you are working at your desktop? Mine is a Logitech MX 1000 Laser which I’ve had for a couple of years, and it’s still going strong. I like it so much because it fits my palm, tracks exceptionally well, has multiple scrolling and button features, and it has a long-lasting rechargeable battery. Today I am going to take a look at a mini laser mouse, also from Logitech. This one is the V450 Laser and it is specifically for notebook computers – although it will also work as a regular…


The Digital Innovations airDr. Air Blaster CO2 Review

I’ve mentioned before what a problem dust can be in my workspace, and nothing aggravates me more than watching it try to settle into the crevices of my keyboard. One of ways I regularly combat this unwelcome desktop addition is by blasting it with compressed air. When the folks at CO2 asked if we would be interested in taking a look at some of the items on their site, for obvious reasons the Digital Innovations was one of my first choices.


Motorola Motofone F3 Review

My Treo 750 is a fantastic device that does email, web browsing, PIM, and if you want it to it can even make phone calls. The price of all this functionality is size. The Treo is by no means a small phone. With the likes of the Dash, the Blackjack and even the JAQ3, the Treo (all models) are quite chubby. Normally I don’t find that a problem. I am addicted to email on my phone, so the tradeoff of size for WM5, thumboard and UMTS (and soon HSDPA) is well worth it. But there are times when I don’t…


The MP4 Watch Review

We’ve all seen watches that can play MP3s before, heck – I’ve reviewed two of them, and both could even serve as voice recorders. Well, today we are going to take a look at the MP4 Watch, which is the first watch I’ve tried that can not only play MP3s and record voice memos, it can also display photos and replay movies. Pretty crazy, right? Are movies on your wrist something you’ve always dreamed of? Or something that you’ve never really thought about, but the idea of being able to intrigues you just a little bit? Or maybe you are…


The JetArt Cooling Products Review Part 1: VC2600 VGA Cooler

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about building a new PC. My current PC is fine, but that it part of the problem. It is running too fine. I am afraid if I do anything to it I might mess it up. That and the fact it cost me a fair bit sees me resisting the urge to do anything like modifying it. I decided the best way to get into PC modding was to build a cheap PC, that I could do anything to without worrying about loosing a lot a of money on it. The…


The Proporta Treo 700 Lateral Case Review

For some time Proporta has been known for their custom molded aluminum PDA cases as well as their Alu-Leather case line, which consists of hand-crafted leather cases with an aluminum “screen saver system”. Today wer’e going to take a look at the next generation case from Proporta: one that was created especially for the Palm Treo 700 series, and one which blends the protection and industrial design of their aluminum cases with the classic leather style of their Alu-Leather case line, fusing them into something new – the Treo 700 Lateral Case. Included in the box are the case, a…