Android Apps

Nuance’s Dragon Go! for iOS and Android

When Thomas picked Nuance’s Dragon Go! as his Android “App of the Week” on Gear Chat last week he didn’t know just how right he was. The app, available for both iOS and Android, just got a notable update that turns the app into a travel assistant thanks to it featuring “travel search powered by Expedia”. As the company shared, Dragon Go! app for iOS and Android now lets people truly go anywhere with the ability to speak and quickly find and book flights, hotels, and more with direct access to Expedia. Dragon Go!’s all new travel search capability allows…

News & Features

Blackberry PlayBook OS 2.0; Too Little Too Late?

It has been a long (LONG!!!) time coming but OS 2.0 for the BlackBerry Playbook is finally (FINALLY!!) available. It brings a native email client and the ability to run Android apps. (I should note that I was at the New York launch of the PlayBook and, at the time, this latter capability was said to be arriving a “few weeks after launch”. Yeah… right…)

Editorials

Gear Chat 2012 Episode 3; Hear the Mountain Lion Roar

We’re back with Episode 3 of Gear Chat 2012. This time out we’ll talk about OS X Mountain Lion, iPad 3 rumors, Evernote Hello, iPhone case fails and more. In addition, Carly will bring the latest in eBook news and Mike will let us know what is new in the world of gaming.

Gear Bits, Travel

Yes, I Can Hear You Now; Thanks to Vonage Mobile

This is a sponsored post, all opinions written here are mine. Make Calls, Save Money Have you tried Vonage’s new mobile app? It lets you make free calls to other people using the Vonage app. It lets you save 70% over the major mobile carriers and 30% over Skype’s rates. It works over WiFi, 3G and 4G wireless data networks worldwide, with WiFi being the most economical method of all. And it is simple. The interface is familiar, you can add calling credit right on the device itself themselves in increments of $4.99 and $9.99 and the call quality is…

Editorials

Want Android 4.0 or Google Chrome on Your Phone? Don’t Buy a Motorola!

Recently Motorola talked about the difficulty and complexity of updating the operating system on phones, placing the blame for the ‘expectations game’ squarely on Google and how they choose to roll things out: When Google does a release of the software … they do a version of the software for whatever phone they just shipped. The rest of the ecosystem doesn’t see it until you see it. Hardware is by far the long pole in the tent, with multiple chipsets and multiple radio bands for multiple countries. It’s a big machine to churn. So when Google released Android 4.0 Ice…

Editorials, Reviews

Gear Chat 2012 Episode 2, Tablets, Apps and Games… Oh My!!

We’re back with the next edition of Gear Chat. This time out Mike is bringing us some gaming news and Thomas and I talk tablets, apps and iPad 3.

News & Features

There’s an App for That, the Adele Version

As Mike recently pointed out, Adele is a phenomena who popularity exploded this year because… she has a great voice and the songs are great! She’s had a rough time lately however thanks to throat surgery and a silent recovery. After a polyp was removed Adele was told not to speak for a month. According to an upcoming interview on 60 Minutes, Adele, who loves to talk, found the silence more difficult than the actual surgery. Fortunately for her she lives in the era of smartphone apps. As she explained, I had an application on my phone that you type…

News & Features

Vonage’s New Mobile App is Easy to Use, and It Saves You Money

This is a sponsored post, all opinions here-in are mine. Make Calls, Save Money As crazy as it sounds, there are still people in the world who use their iPhones and Android handsets to … make voice calls. I know, Crazy! Right? If you are one of them, and, especially, if you travel internationally, the cost of those calls can add up quickly. Vonage has been around for quite some time, but they’ve just released a new iPhone and Android calling application that is pretty impressive. I’m already using it for calls when I’m in a WiFi network; although the…

News & Features

Google Finally Releases Chrome (Beta) for Android

My favorite browser, regardless of platform, is Google Chrome and I wondered how long it would take for Google to release Chrome for Android. Well, the wait is finally over. Sort of. Over on the Google Mobile blog, Google talks a bit about the the history of Google Chrome, which came out in 2008. They talk a bit about the features available on Chrome for Android beta, including: Fast – This is Google Chrome fast, only mobile Simple – The UI is very mobile-friendly, and is intuitive to use Sync – By signing into your Google account, you can sync…

News & Features, Reviews

Sling Media Brings SlingPlayer to Kindle Fire!

Sling Media, makers of the SlingBox, today announces the availability of the SlingPlayer app for the Kindle Fire. What is the SlingBox? It is a device that works with all of your various set-top boxes to: allow folks to watch their TV from wherever they are with their PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone. And now, with SlingPlayer for Kindle Fire, they can bring their living room TV experience to their Kindle Fire tablets. The SlingPlayer software is already available for Apple iPhone and iPad devices, Android Phones, Android Tablets as well as for the Blackberry, Windows Phone and other devices….

How to Do It Yourself!

How to Keep Up-to-Date and Share Information with Colleagues

The other day one of my Rabbinic colleagues asked what “system” I use in the synagogue to keep track of all of the various lifecycle “events” that take place in the community as well as make sure that all of my colleagues have as accurate and up-to-date information as possible. I wrote up my answers and then, after sending them to him, realized that while our uses for the services I mention are rather specific, the way in which we use them can easily be adapted to a host of different work-settings. Here’s what I told him.

Events, News & Features

Pyramid Distribution Brings Us the iGoGo TV and Android-Based TV-Box

Today we heard about a cool new set-top box for your HDTV from Pyramid Distribution, called the iGoGo TV. The iGoGo is an Android-powered box that brings a robust ‘smart TV’ experience to your home. Because it is based on standard Android 2.3, it means you will be able to run tons of the same Android apps you already know and love. Featuring wired and wireless networking, support for 1920x1080p full HD, 4GB built-in memory expandable to 32GB by micro SD, support for USB hard drives for unlimited storage, and more. The iGoGo also includes a 2MP webcam with microphone,…

Events, News & Features

Line2 Taking the iPad to New Heights

I tried Line2 when it first came out and didn’t continue after my trial period. Then Line2 came out with a fantastic iPad app and I tried it again. This time I immediately signed up for the upper lever service for a year. Ever since I have been using it to turn my iPad into a speaker phone. It works great and is one of those apps I use daily. I had a chance to stop by the Line2 table and meet one of their representatives. She asked if I wanted a trial and I explained that I was already…

News & Features

Slacker Radio… It May be Their Name but That’s as Far as it Goes

I’m a big fan of Slacker radio and love the fact that they are continually adding features and stations. Last night I got one of my favorite emails from them. It began with “This is the first of our announcements this week.” That is music to my ears although this announcement has nothing to do with music.

News & Features

Android’s New Holo Theme to Help Speed Updates; Potential to End Themes?

According to Droid Life and the Android developers blog the Holo theme included in Android 4.0 is a requirement on a devices that ship the Android Marketplace with 4.0. This promises to fix is the amount of time it takes manufacturers to produce updates to the OS. They do this by making Holo a requirement and allowing a DeviceDefault skin as well. Adam Powell of Google says: Formally separating these theme families will also make future merges easier for manufacturers updating to a new platform version, helping more devices update more quickly. Also, developers can specify DeviceDefault or Holo. Since…

Editorials

Android in 2011: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

You would think that with close to 50% of the smartphone world now using an Android phone, looking back at 2011 would be a uniformly positive experience. Yet it is not – in fact, it is easier for me to draw up a list of very negative things than an equally list of positives. Of course, some will say ‘that is because you hate Google and Samsung and Android and never say anything nice about them’. Am I critical? Certainly … but I believe I am just pointing out things too many folks gloss over – ironically the same folks…

How to Do It Yourself!

Setting Up a Sonos Home Audio System

My biggest personal tech find of 2011 has to be the Sonos home audio system. I got a review loaner and bought one within a day. I was that impressed with it and continue to love it. You can read the the initial review here and read the review of the new, smaller PLAY:3 here. During the inaugural Gear Fest last summer I had Carly film a quick walkthrough of setting the Sonos system up. It never made it into a post… until now.

News & Features

ClockworkMod Provides Root-Free Tethering for Android!

The ability to use your phone’s 3G internet connection as a source of on-the-go connectivity for laptops, called tethering, has long been a desire for mobile warriors. Yet each solution has significant drawbacks – official methods cost $, or you need to root your phone, or otherwise work around carrier limitations. Now Android hacker Koushik Dutta has come up with a way that is reportedly undetectable to carriers and doesn’t require you to ‘root’ your phone! Fron his Google+ page: Over the last month, I’ve been working on a new app. Tether Alpha is a USB[2] tether solution for Mac,…

eBooks, News & Features

Evernote Essentials Extra: Car Parts

So you got a new phone, tablet or computer and you are ready to get to work. You will want to check out Evernote. Evernote will let you save pictures, documents and other forms of information in a single place and then access them from virtually any and all devices. And if you are going to use Evernote you are going to want to check out Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote. Evernote Essentials is a PDF book with some great tips that will get you up and running with Evernote in no time. As Brett…

Gear Bits

Evernote Essentials Extra: Delete Me

If you got a new phone, tablet or computer and you plan on doing anything more than play games on it you are going to want to check out Evernote. Evernote will let you save pictures, documents and other forms of information in a single place and then access them for virtually any and all devices. And if you check out Evernote you are going to want to check out Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote by Brett Kelly. Evernote Essentials is a PDF book with some great tips that will get you up and running with…

Gear Bits

New Car? It’s All About the Tech

I needed a car a few weeks ago. That opened the door to my getting some of the neat technology we have seen and reviewed here on the site built into the car. Here was the Gear Diary editors backroom chatter. Judie: Question: What color? Answer: black Question: 2 or 4 door? Answer: 4 door Carly: Question: 2 or all-wheel drive? Answer: all-wheel-drive – between where I live and what I do it is a necessity. Question: hybrid or standard? Answer: Unfortunately standard because hybrid all-wheel drives are rare and the all-wheel-drive kills the gas benefit of the hybrid….

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