Audio & Visual Gear

Reviews May 10, 2008

The KICKER iKICK iK500 Stereo System Review

Back in the late 80s, when every spare dime I had went into car stereo components, I bought my first KICKER product. It was a subwoofer speaker box which fit perfectly into the space behind the seats in my silver Alfa Romeo. Never mind that it took up valuable cargo space; I still had a trunk, and I got a free back-massage every time I turned on my stereo. When I sold that car, I was able to unplug a few wires and easily remove my rear speaker system; that box was eventually transferred into several more vehicles before I…

Reviews May 8, 2008

The Maximo Products iMetal iPhone Headsets Review

As anyone who owns an iPhone can tell you, a slight problem becomes apparent when you want to replace the stock stereo headset, namely that the iPhone’s headphone jack is deeply recessed, and the average 3.5mm plug simply can’t fit inside without trimming the rubber shielding the plug. When you are considering dropping some serious coin on a headset, the idea of butchering it simply doesn’t appeal; that’s when a model made specifically for the iPhone is the only “right” choice.

Reviews May 5, 2008

Review: Hyundai PC / Notebook Angled Mini high-powered Microphone from USB Fever

Are you sick and tired of people complaining that they can’t hear you during Skype phone calls? Have people been telling you that you sound like you’re in a tin can? If so, then maybe this little microphone is for you.

Reviews April 28, 2008

Logitech Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System Review

When I first saw these speakers I thought that they looked great, and the fact that they came with a remote was a bonus. Let’s see if they stand up to my standards in regards to audio quality and compatibility with my favorite OS, Linux. In the package was a sub woofer with two satellite speakers, as well as a Windows Media Center compatible IR remote control.

Reviews April 22, 2008

M2 Media Converter Review: Play Your Videos The Way They Were Intended to Be Seen…on Any Device.

One of the problems I have always found with gadgets and technology is that the more useful they get, the less useable they become. What does that mean, exactly? Well, the best way to explain this is by looking at an example, such as digital video. I know an awful lot of people (many of whom read Gear Diary) who like to watch videos on the media players or iPods. The problem here is that digital video is not a particularly useable medium. In fact, it can be downright difficult, with dozens of different formats available. It always seems like…

Reviews April 18, 2008

The Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers Review: Apple’s Dirty Little Secret

I’m no Apple-basher. Sure, I use a Dell at work and an HP laptop at home, but my girlfriend is on Apple laptop number three in the past four years, and I went to college near Cupertino in the second half of the 1980’s. If you went to Stanford, you just accepted that you were supposed to pay three grand for a Mac SE and an Imagewriter. So I did. iPod devotee? Yup, that’s me too. At last count there were four different models in my household, and iTunes should send me a Christmas card. But there’s one thing that…

Reviews April 12, 2008

Logitech Harmony One Review

Based upon the fact that I write for a site like Gear Diary, it should come as no surprise that I suffer from a long-diagnosed addiction to gadgets. Of course, one of the biggest problems with this collection of gadgetry is that each one comes with its own remote control. Many components in my system are different brands, resulting in incompatible controls. While I could find a universal remote at any electronics store, this usually involves a complicated system of programming the controls manually by entering a series of numeric codes for each component. Setting up a remote like this…

Reviews April 8, 2008

Review: Sansa Sessions, free music for your new Sansa Fuze

SanDisk has recently announced their new Fuze MP3 Player and also a companion to the player, a card for a free MicroSD card that has music with no DRM on it to promote over 50 new artists. This is called Sansa Sessions. Some of the artists included on the MicroSD are All Time Low, Ladytron, Magnet, Nada Surf, Of Montreal, The Coup and many more. Image courtesy of SanDisk Sandisk sent me the 512 MB MicroSD which not only had 55 tracks of music on it, but it also had 8 music videos and some low res bmp’s of the…

Reviews April 8, 2008

The SimpleTech Signature Mini USB 2.0 Portable Drive Review

Is it ever possible to be too obsessive about backing up your data? I’ve learned not to think so. Need I remind anyone of the events of March 1? Yeah, I thought not. Since the crash I have learned exactly how obsessive some people can be when it comes to their backup methods. For instance, many of you read the transcripts – perhaps with some amusement – where Ewdi told me his method: Here is what gives me piece of mind on our network: I use two hard drives, 1 is main and 1 is mirroring (in case 1 hdd…

Reviews March 29, 2008

DLO StrapWrap Review

[Ed. note: Just for fun – leave a count in the comments section of how many times the word “strap” appears in this review, and I will choose a random winner (of an equally random prize) from the correct entries on April 3rd. Update: questionfear is the winner!] As summer is approaching, I often don’t have a handy pocket that I can stick my MP3 player into since I’m no longer wearing a coat. Sure, I can wear a shirt with a pocket on the front, but then I couldn’t wear a lot of my wardrobe since I have a…

Reviews March 25, 2008

The Targus 100W Auto Power Inverter Review

I just missed posting this review in time for Texas’ Spring Break, but it should still be timely for everyone who plans on traveling this summer. I’ll warn you now though, in order to use this product you’ll need to give up one of your vehicle’s cup-holders. Why would I ask for something so uncivilized? Because by giving up a cup-holder you might just gain the means to charge up to three devices at the same time, all from a single cigar lighter or power port. Intrigued? I was, which is how I came to be in possession of the…

Reviews March 24, 2008

DLO Video Shell for Ipod Nano

DLO Video Shell is a useful case that doubles as an Ipod Nano stand.

Reviews March 22, 2008

DLO Portable iPhone Speakers Review

I am continually surprised at the lack of external portable speaker gizmos for the iPhone. Plenty of them out there for the various iPods, of course, but the iPhone? There’s kind of a shortage. DLO thinks they have the answer with their new portable iPhone speakers.

Reviews March 18, 2008

The ifrogz Audiowrapz for 3G iPod nano Review

One of the first things that I appreciated about my iPhone – beyond the gorgeous touchscreen and all the other obvious convergent benefits, was that it was the first iPod available with an external speaker. Granted, it wasn’t a rockin’ sound system by any means, but it was certainly loud enough to enjoy without earphones in a quiet environment. I don’t always want to wear earphones, and having the option of listening to my music without putting the iPhone in a dock has been pretty sweet. Because of the ifrogz Audiowrapz, I can now have a similar experience when using…

Reviews March 17, 2008

Maximum Protection: The Otterbox Defender & Armor case REVIEW

I’m a big fan of keeping my items in mint condition. Since youth, I’ve always have kept my LP collection in near perfect condition with slipcases and dust jackets. While I can’t stuff 11,000 albums on my iPod – they barely fit in my garage – I should keep the 11,000 songs on my iPod protected with a heavy-duty case. Today, I’m going to take a look at two specialty iPod cases by Otterbox. They include the iPod Classic Defender™ Series and the iPod Classic Armor™ Series for the iPod and iPod touch.

Reviews March 11, 2008

The Stereo Mini Portable Sound Box from USB Fever REVIEW

A couple of months back, I asked my LEGO friends Beetle and Maynard with their girlfriends Sunshine and Faith to check out the new Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker that Thomas at USB Fever sent from overseas. (see the review: Make Some Music) Sunshine: “We were looking for an upgrade to a dual speaker setup. It was then that Judie from GearDiary told us about the Stereo Mini Portable Sound Box from USB Fever. That Judie girl ROCKS, because it as exactly what we were looking for!” (L to R) Beetle, Maynard, Faith and Sunshine with the Stereo Mini Portable Sound…

Reviews March 9, 2008

Hava Gold Review

With the Hava Gold, you can watch your TV, anywhere you can get an Internet connection. Does the Hava Gold give you what you want, or does it provide a gilded experience? Let’s take a quick look and see how it goes… Software Installation Installing the software went about as you thought it would. However, there were a couple of interesting steps that I’d like to take you through. Before anything else happened, after inserting the software CD into the drive and clicking on the software installation link, the following graphic appeared: Hava Driver installation The start of the device…

How to Do It Yourself!, Reviews February 24, 2008

My Car PC

When I bought my new car in September 2007 I knew I would be keeping it for a few years, so I decided that I was going to take the plunge, and build a Car PC like those that I had read about on the MP3Car.com forums. The computer would replace the standard audio system, and add MP3 playback, video, GPS, GPS tracking and internet access to my car After months of dreaming about such a setup my Car PC is finally installed. I’ve had the computer on my desk for over 3 mths now but time and money kinda…

Reviews February 17, 2008

The SanDisk Sansa Clip Review: The Smallest Big Music Player Around

Not long ago, I brought you a review of Sansa’s latest and greatest portable media player, the Sansa View. Today, I will be looking at the View’s younger brother, the Clip. This is a small, 1, 2, or 4 GB media player, which clips onto your clothing for easy transportation. Perfect for the user who does not require all of the sound and fury of the feature rich View, but still wants quick and easy access to their tunes. What’s In The Box: Before we talk about what is inside the box, let’s talk about the box itself. The Sansa…

Reviews February 17, 2008

The Belkin TuneBase FM with ClearScan for iPod Review

One of the complaints that I’ve heard when doing FM transmitter reviews in the past, was that it can be hard to find a clear station to transmit through in larger cities. My biggest complaint has been that even when I’ve found a good station to hijack, the quality of the streaming music is all too often degraded to a point where it’s no longer a pleasure to listen, or the signal is so faint that I have to crank the volume on my receiver to get any sound – assuming the signal is clear enough to not be loaded…

Reviews January 30, 2008

The AirDrive Hybrid Stereo Earphones Review: Shattering the Cone of Silence

I have reviewed a number of different higher end headphones, both here and at Just Another Mobile Monday. For the most part, these headphones have involved cramming a small speaker as deeply into your ear as possible, in order to a) block outside noise, and isolate you within the music; and b) get the music as close to your ear drum as possible. Given this background, you can imagine why I was a bit skeptical of the AirDrives. After so much time cramming things into my ear canals, it was strange to find earphones which instructed, “if the earphone blocks…

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