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Game Diary, Reviews January 14, 2012

The Magician’s Handbook: Cursed Valley for iPad Review

Hidden object adventures continue to evolve on the iPad, with PC games being ported that are more complex, more interesting and have better stories. The latest one to try to capture iPad gamer’s interest is the Magician’s Handbook. Let’s see how it does! The Hype: Remove the evil curse in this captivating adventure by finding hidden objects in the dark and mysterious Cursed Valley! The fabled “Magician’s Handbook” has fallen into your hands. You are beckoned to a dark and desolate place whose true name has long been forgotten. Search beautiful, hand-painted backgrounds for cleverly- hidden enchanted objects. Use special…

Events January 11, 2012

iBike POWERHOUSE Brings a Complete Fitness System to the iPod Touch and iPhone

I don’t know about you, but for me, trying to get into and keep on a fitness plan is difficult. Unless you have motivation, it can be difficult to keep with it. Personally, one way I have found that works to keep motivated is to have a training partner, or use statistics to track my progress. Well, the iBike POWERHOUSE does both! The iBike POWERHOUSE is a fitness tool which combines an iPhone 3G/3GS/4/4S or an iPod Touch with a hardware device which: A weather-proof / shock resistant patented smart case and sensors The iBike POWERHOUSE app Goal-specific plans developed…

Events, News & Features January 9, 2012

Withings Introduces the World’s First Internet Connected Baby and Toddler Scale

Kev and I have a Withings WiFi connected scale and blood-pressure cuff. My favorite feature of both is that our results are automatically exported to both a password-protected personal page on the Withings site as well as an app on our iPhone or iPad. We are able to monitor our own numbers and when the mood strikes — peek at each others. Withings has just introduced a brilliant product with the same capabilities that should make every new parent happy — their Smart Baby Scale. By using the Withings Smart Baby Scale, parents can access their child’s weight readings from…

Events, News & Features January 9, 2012

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…

How to Do It Yourself! January 4, 2012

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.

Gear Bits January 4, 2012

Gympact — Encouraging Health or Just Another Gimmick?

When I first read about Gympact I thought it was a joke. Pledging money if you fail to check-in at your gym for at least a half hour? Really? When I realized it wasn’t, it got me thinking: would I sign up for this? If I wasn’t already physically active, would this have led me to work out more? The answer to both is no, but for different reasons. As of now, I don’t belong to a gym. We had a membership but canceled it after realizing I only run outside, and Sarah prefers to hike and walk the dog…

eBooks, News & Features December 31, 2011

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, Yum Log December 29, 2011

foursquare: It’s Not All Fun and Games

I’m a big fan of foursquare and check in often enough that family members will remind me if I don’t do it quickly enough. After months with no mayorships, except a brief period I was major of a tram station in Las Vegas during CES 2010, I have finally become the major at a number of our local favorites. This evening we decided to grab a bite at Chili Willie’s, a family-run mexican restaurant in town. (I’m not yet mayor there.) When we sat down Elana was momentarily ticked at herself. It seems she had a $10 off coupon for…

Gear Bits December 26, 2011

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 December 24, 2011

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….

News & Features December 21, 2011

Evernote Essentials Extra: Remember the Rare

Many of the people I’ve turned onto Evernote find it invaluable. Others, however, underutilize the service and, as a result, don’t see what the big deal is. That’s where Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote by Brett Kelly comes in. As Brett explains: The amount of information we want and need to keep track of today is, frankly, ridiculous. Not long ago, my desk was covered with piles of financial statements, medical records, automotive service receipts — and that didn’t even include everything dealing with my job. We all struggle to keep our information organized and accessible,…

Gear Bits December 20, 2011

Things That Make You Go “HMMMMM” Apple Store App Edition

Apple’s iOS app for the Apple Store is pretty neat. It loads quickly, it lets you browse and order some of the best gear around. It even lets you check your order status and find stores. It is a rich app but it leaves me with a question …

News & Features December 19, 2011

Evernote Essentials Extra: Howdy Neighbor

As much as I “harshed” on Evernote last week after they released two ridiculous iPhone apps the service remains a key part of every aspect of my life. I’ve also turned countless people onto Evernote, and many find it invaluable as well. Others however, underutilize the service and, as a result, don’t see what the big deal is. That’s where Evernote Essentials: The Definitive Getting Started Guide for Evernote by Brett Kelly comes in. As Brett explains: The amount of information we want and need to keep track of today is, frankly, ridiculous. Not long ago, my desk was covered with…

News & Features, Vehicles & Gear December 17, 2011

Ford Using App for 2013 Fusion Unveil

Want to see the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion sedan? Ford has an app for that. The automaker has released iOS and Android smartphone and device apps to tease the eventual unveil of the vehicle that will occur in the app simultaneously as it does on stage at two stellar events. The 2013 Ford Fusion (which has been named the official car of CES 2012) will be unveiled at both the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month as well as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. These are two of the biggest shows held in the U.S….

Reviews December 17, 2011

iOS Apps for Hanukkah

Hanukkah, the Jewish Festical of Lights, begins next week. In preparation for this I put together a roundup of Hanukkah apps for our local New Jersey Jewish News. A version of what follows was published today… History of Hanukkah If you are looking for an iPhone app that explains what Hanukkah is and why we celebrate, this is for you. The text itself is drawn from Wikipedia but the app does a nice job of gathering the information, organizing it and adding some nice images as well. I especially appreciate the fact that it is clear about the origins of…

News & Features December 16, 2011

Roku Gets Even Better with FREE iOS Remote App

I’ve been a fan of the Roku streaming media set-top box since pretty much the beginning. The company tends to fly a bit under the radar but offers a great series of devices that have only gotten better over time. I have the original device (two actually) and just recently got the current, top of the line, device, the Roku 2 XS. (It not only streams tons of media but it also plays games.) Seriously, the selection of media the Roku brings to your TV is awesome- from Netflix to Amazon Instant Video to Hulu Plus and Pandora… the list goes…

Reviews December 13, 2011

iMenorah iOS App Review

When the iTunes App Store first opened I owned and ran one of, if not the, first iPhone app review sites. It was a fun gig although, I must admit, being here on Gear Diary with Judie and the rest of the crew far surpasses that experience. In December of 2008 I reviewed a number of apps that would be good for Hanukkah. This year I did a similar roundup for a local newspaper. (I’ll be sharing it as soon as the article is published later this week.) One of the apps I reviewed in 2008 was iMenorah, which is a…

Editorials December 13, 2011

Evernote, There is a Better Way to Add Functionality than Releasing crApps

This post had a different working title of “‘Evernote Food’ Not So Tasty but We Can Spice it Up” but I settled on the more descriptive “Evernote, There is a Better Way to Add Functionality than Releasing crApps”. Regardless, here’s what led to the post and what I want to suggest to remedy the company’s current trend of releasing all-but-useless-apps.

Gear Bits December 13, 2011

eReader Critical Mass and Other Vacation Tech Tidbits

During my week away I noticed that eReaders seem to have hit critical mass. Yes, this year, more than any other, saw Kindle’s, nook’s and iPads in use on the beach and at the pool. (Interestingly, I did not see a single Kindle fire!) I have seen an uptick in the use of devices over the past few years but this year seemed to show a huge jump in their presence. In fact, a cursory look this past Saturday saw MORE electronic devices than dead-tree reading material at the pool. But that was only a small part of the tech…

News & Features December 11, 2011

Styletap Gives PalmOS Apps CPR on iOS

My first PDA was a Palm M100. My first smartphone was a Treo 650. I loved Palm OS. But I didn’t hesitate to move on when iOS and Android pushed the envelope in the smartphone world, and personally, I don’t miss any Palm apps. Now, there are plenty of people who did, and Styletap tried to reach them with their Palm OS emulator, which was jailbreak-only on the iPhone. But it’s been YEARS since a Palm OS device was produced, and now WebOS is open source. So does the world REALLY need a way to keep Palm OS apps alive?…

Editorials December 8, 2011

Evernote Hello? Uhm, No.

I’m a big fan of Evernote and use it all the time to save information, images, notes and other data that I want to keep safe,secure and easily accessible. The company has expanded their base of users in a huge way since coming out of beta and was profitable until they began a hiring and development phase six months ago. In addition to continually building upon its main apps, Evernote is platform agnostic so there is an Evernote app for just about very platform. They have also begun releasing their own apps that use Evernote as the “engine” to keep…