Laptop Gear

Gear Bits April 21, 2011

I Reviewed It and I Still Use It: The “Thank You Ergotron” Edition

I reviewed the Ergotron Sit–Stand Desk last September. This work-station modification allows you to work at your desk in either a sitting or standing position merely by lifting the entire assemblage up or down. It is truly an impressive piece of equipment, and at close to $400 certainly not inexpensive. My review concluded with: So do I like this? YES! If I had not been sent a review unit would I be buying one? YES again. Having the option to work either sitting or standing and to quickly move between the two is great. Having a unit as well-built and…

Reviews April 5, 2011

Review: Seagate GoFlex Slim Performance Drive

Judie’s and my first meeting at CES 2011 was with Seagate. (We posted about it here.) Toward the end of the visit we came upon a hard drive that was as stylish as it was function. At the time all we were allowed to write about it was this: Concept drive – We also saw a drive that is not yet named but will be out late spring (pictured above). The concept drive is super thin and will be $99.99 for 320. Black for PC. Silver for Mac. Also has premium backup for data security. This is an image of…

Reviews March 25, 2011

The Sabrent Display Adapter Saves the Day Review

A bittersweet air fills the room as I type these characters into this document. The item I am reviewing is also the latest Gear Diary will give away in partnership with the sponsoring company. But for an A/V geek like myself, I will say goodbye to it with a tear in my eye. Sabrent, – tagline “Connecting Differently” – sent me its latest USB external video/graphics adapter, the USB-DH88, for review and giveaway. I first came across an e-mail sent us by the company’s PR firm touting Sabrent’s solutions to A/V presentation problems. This got my attention because recently I…

Reviews February 18, 2011

The Mili Power King P18 External Battery Review

Word spread yesterday that Apple might be looking to radically change the makeup of the batteries they use and, if this rumor bears fruit, have batteries in their devices that last much much longer. Just imagine how great it would be to have an iPhone that gets a few DAYS of runtime!? Unfortunately it is just a rumor. Moreover, while such advances would be great they do nothing for us as we sit her using the current devices available to us. For that we need external batteries and, as the saying goes, bigger is better. We’ve looked at a few…

Events January 13, 2011

CES: Meeting with Timbuk2

At CES we met with one of our favorite gadget bag companies, Timbuk2. While with them, we got to see some of the bags and accessories they’ll be introducing this year. Not surprisingly, we were impressed with the continuing evolution and utility of their designs. We have reviewed several of Timbuk2’s bags over the years, and we were impressed anew by the design and quality of the bags being shown. Among the bags they will have coming out this year is the upcoming Command ($130, shown above). The Command won a CES Innovation award, and it is TSA-compliant so that…

Events, News & Features January 11, 2011

CES: SanDisk Meeting

By now you have likely seen that at CES, SanDisk announced their amazing new 128GB Compact Flash Card, a size that still boggles my mind. Available later this quarter for a MSRP of $1499.99, this card isn’t for the feint-hearted. But when you consider that it wasn’t too long ago that a 5GB PCMCIA card retailed for $500 plus, the realization is staggering that this amount of memory is available in something so small. While meeting with SanDisk, I had the opportunity to take a look at their new CRUZER Slider which along with other features also has “error-proof insertion”,…

Reviews December 27, 2010

Gear Gadget Review: Veebeam Set-Top Box Lets You Stream Content from Computer to TV

Imagine if you could simply tap a button and both the audio and the video loaded on your laptop or desktop could be sent to your large HDTV? Sure, Apple’s AirPlay has brought us partly there. In fact, just the other night I wanted to watch a movie I had rented on my iPad and decided to view it on my large Samsung TV instead. I started the movie on my iPad, tapped the AirPlay button and, within a few seconds, it was being streamed from my iPad to my Apple TV to my HDTV. It works seamlessly. The only…

Reviews November 21, 2010

Review: Everki Agile Slim Laptop Bag

I recently found my first laptop bag. The bag is from an era when laptops were big, bulky and weighed a ton. Simply being able to carry them made them mobile. The bag was huge, heavy and had no features. Today, mobile computing keeps getting smaller. Full screen laptops are much thinner and netbooks and MacBook Airs seem to be the best way to be on the move. As our devices shrink, so should the bags we carry them in. Thinner and lighter have become a must for my gear. Some of my favorite gear bags come from Everki. They…

News & Features November 19, 2010

Speck Product’s A-Line Bag for Netbooks May Be the Best Looking Gear Bag Yet!

This is going to sound jaded and awful, but I am going to say it anyway: One of the absolute best things about being a product reviewer is that sometimes companies surprise you with packages containing items you didn’t know existed and you certainly didn’t expect to receive … and that you can’t wait to try out. But on the other hand, one of the absolute worst things about being a product reviewer is that sometimes companies surprise you with packages containing items you didn’t know existed and you certainly didn’t expect to receive … and you don’t necessarily even…

Reviews November 8, 2010

Gear Review: Sewell Minideck USB to DVI/VGA Display Adapter

I work with some awesome people day in and day out. They are smart, creative, dedicated to their community and a great team with whom to work. They are also, for the most part, tech-phobic or, to be gentler, not the most technically savvy crew around. For example, when I moved my entire staff over to Gmail from Outlook a few years ago, you would have thought I was repeatedly poking them in the eye with a sharp object. The kicking and screaming that went on was painful. Then, one day … bam! … I heard the words “I actually…

News & Features November 2, 2010

Speck Introduces Two New Bags for Netbooks and iPad

Speck has introduced two new bags for taking your netbook (up to 10″) or iPad on the go. The CorePack-10 and the PortPack-10 both feature Speck’s excellent design and high quality construction. Each has an MSRP of $49.95 and are available now. Here’s a quick first look at both. We have review units of each and will have a thorough Gear Diary look in the next few days. CorePack for Netbooks and iPad Open up CorePack FLY 10’s butterfly design and it instantly becomes a portable work surface. The butterfly feature is also airport security checkpoint friendly, allowing you to…

Reviews November 1, 2010

Review: Philips CushionSpeaker Laptop Stand

So I am sitting in my recliner with my 13″ MacBook Pro in my lap. The laptop is a bit warm and the show I am watching sounds terrible through the stock speakers. My only choice to fix these problems is to dig out a laptop cooler then find some external speakers. How about having all of this in one cool product? Luckily, Philips brings the CushionSpeaker to combine comfort and sound into one device. Let’s take a look. The Philips CushionSpeaker combines a laptop stand with a USB speaker device to bring a stylish all in one product. The…

Reviews October 12, 2010

Review: Philips Notebook SoundBar

Like many of you, I rely heavily on my laptop. Even with an iPad, I use my MacBook Pro all day and every evening. As much as I love this computer, one thing that totally annoys me is the speakers. It is not that I expect theater sound and booming bass, but half of the time I just cannot hear. When I am watching Hulu or Netflix I want to know what is being said and not strain to be able to pay attention. I have tried many laptop speaker solutions, but the Philips Notebook SoundBar is a clever and…

Reviews September 23, 2010

Review: Everki Track Laptop Messenger Bag

For some time I have been using a backpack as my gear bag. I like the backpack because it provides tons of room and lets me hold onto my college youth of backpacking around campus. My main backpack has been the Everki Beacon laptop that I reviewed here. I loved the quality and features of the Beacon so when I had a chance to review two new Everki bags I jumped at the chance. I was actually ready for a change to a messenger style bag to bring a bit of professional style to my daily gear travels. The Track…

News & Features June 30, 2010

Tom Bihn Ristretto Bag for Apple iPad – Review

I carry my iPad with me pretty much everywhere I go these days. That means I need a good case… and a good bag. Tom Bihn was kind enough to send me one of their Ristretto bags. The Ristretto was originally designed for carrying netbooks but it works perfectly as an iPad bag. As soon as you look at the bag you are struck by the realization that this is a bag that was designed for use in the real world. It is relatively light when empty which is a good thing because part of the attraction of carrying the…

Reviews June 19, 2010

The Artwizz Alustand Makes Your Laptop Bouncy??

Artwizz’s Alustand has some pretty good looks. It’s got that Macbook like metal and a crystal like plastic piece that connects both aluminum parts together. It looks like it might be sturdy, but in my opinion, it falls short. I love that you can collapse it down and stick it in your laptop bag. If you have a Apple Bluetooth keyboard, the whole package will go nicely in your bag. Both aluminum pieces nest and I am not exactly sure where the crystal piece can go, but it’s not difficult to find a spot in your bag. Unfortunately, when it…

Reviews April 22, 2010

WiebeTech ToughTech Mini pocket drives: Functional portability

For many, portability is a key determiner when considering new technology, and functional portability is an absolute priority. Myself, I chose to ditch the behemoth desktop computing system years ago in favor of a highly capable new generation of laptops. And as has been the case for my workstation at home, I am ladened with many “extensions” in my portable workspace as well. These days that includes an external hard disk drive. I never thought I would fill the internal drive of my latest laptop when I purchased it but that ship has sailed. Enter WiebeTech and their new ToughTech…

Reviews April 1, 2010

Review: World’s Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub

Have you ever actually looked at how many USB devices you own or use? I recently had this realization while moving my desktop computer set up around. My mid-2007 Mac Mini does not have near enough ports to connect all of my gear so I have a standard USB hub which is full and only leaves me with one hard to reach port for a drive or other item. That also led me to realize that my MacBook Pro only has two ports. Of course, this is not usually a problem except when you need to attach two items and…

Reviews March 26, 2010

Mobile Edge Women’s Netbook Bag Review

The tough part of trying to look professional is finding the right bag. It’s especially difficult if you are a woman; do you carry a purse AND a briefcase? If you choose briefcase, do you grab a bag small enough to double as a purse, or do you keep a small bag in your desk for lunchtime errands? Personally, I hate purses, small bags, etc. My pants came with pockets for a reason! Sadly, they don’t make cargo pants for women’s suits. That’s where bags like the Mobile Edge Netbook Bag come in…

Reviews March 9, 2010

Be.ez LA robe 11.6″ Netbook Case Review

Be.ez (be easy), a French brand that designs stylish accessories for the mobile lifestyle, announced a new addition to their popular line of protection sleeves for netbooks – LA robe Netbook 11.6. This netbook sleeve is nicely made with a very thick shock absorbing material, and it’s available in 2 different colors — Black & White and Red Kiss. So, how good is this sleeve in doing its job, protecting your precious netbook? Read on to find out! Features:- Low Resilience Polyurethane (LRPu) Technology Robe protection Thickness 5MM Trendy, Unique Design Inner Lip for maximum protection Stand alone or in…

Reviews March 6, 2010

Marvel Superheros Come to Gelaskins

Larry previously reviewed Gelaskins and we’ve recently posted about their release of National Geographic Gelaskins. However, just this week Gelaskins has gotten a lot more super! Marvel characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, Wolverine, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Daredevil, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange and others are now available in various forms direct from Gelaskins. The company was kind enough to send me two of the Iron Man skins for netbooks and I decide to apply the skins showcasing Iron Man and War Machine. The skins went onto my netbook in a flash and looks…

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