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Editorials September 9, 2009

The Blurring Line Between “Smart” Phones and “Feature” Phones

My fiancée is on Verizon, and I use AT&T. It’s becoming clear that we really should just bite the bullet and move to a family plan on one of these carriers, as the combined savings would ease the pain of an early termination fee, plus we wouldn’t waste minutes calling each other from the grocery store. (This could also be solved by me simply writing down in more detail what we need before I leave, but that’s too easy.) Unfortunately for me, she’s very pleased with Verizon and is reluctant to leave. I tried enticing her by offering to purchase…

News & Features September 8, 2009

HTC’s Tattoo: Cute? Yes. Unexpected? Not Entirely.

It’s great to see the new Android handsets trickling in, and as usual – HTC is leading the pack with a new cutie called the Tattoo. Of course, the minute a case is put on it, the cuteness factor will all but evaporate. So is there anything else that sets the Tattoo apart from every other matte black handset? According to HTC, “people [will be] able to design and purchase their own unique covers or search and select from popular cover designs, altering the look of the phone to reflect their mood or individual tastes.” It will be the second…

How to Do It Yourself! September 7, 2009

PALMisLIFE.com Puts a Red Wrapper on Hui’s Apple iPhone

[Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Chinese on the site PALMisLIFE.com. Past Gear Diary contributor Larry Liaw did the modifications and translated the story for our readers. Larry has done some pretty radical upgrades in the past, most notably to the Palm Treo series; this marks the first time he has shared an iPhone mod with us, and what a mod it is!] And here’s the story… Once upon a time, a key webmaster of “PALMisLIFE.com”, Hui, owned an iPhone 3G and was happy with its features and elegant looks. He used it for texting, messaging, gaming, web surfing…

How to Do It Yourself! September 7, 2009

Understanding and Removing the Application Lock on Windows Mobile Standard Devices

One of the more frustrating things about owning a Windows Mobile Standard device, particularly the ones which are tied to a certain carrier, are the sometimes you’ll find that there are these inane application locks in place. You usually won’t even know about the lock until you try to install a program that you think will make your life easier or your device usage more satisfying. When you try the installation, it is error city and the application will fail every time. I ran into this with the Pantech Matrix Pro that Julie and I reviewed this spring: Is the…

Reviews September 6, 2009

Case-Mate Barely There for Blackberry Bold Review

Yesterday Larry took a look at the Case-Mate Smooth for iPhone 3G/3GS. I would say he liked it! I too have long been a fan of Case-Mate’s products. In fact, a Case-Mate case was the very first cases I got for my original iPhone. The company doesn’t limit itself to iPhones however. They offer solutions for protecting a wide variety of handhelds including, as luck would have it, the Blackberry Bold I began carrying last week. I always tend to prefer a minimalist approach to protecting my devices. I like a “real” case so invisible skins don’t do it for…

Reviews September 5, 2009

Case-Mate Smooth for iPhone 3G/3GS Review

Slider cases have always been my favorite type of case for the iPhone. Silder cases are generally made up of two pieces. The phone slides into the two and they connect at some point, usually near the bottom. This allows the bottom piece to be easily removed so that your device can still be used with an accessory item requiring access to the dock connector, such as a cradle or external speaker. Case-Mate is not new to the iPhone accessory market. They’re already established themselves as one of the leaders. Their version of the slider case, the Smooth, is one…

News & Features September 4, 2009

When “Backup” Is a Relative Term…

I recently posted about my love/hate relationship with the Nokia E71x. It’s gotten a bit more contentious lately, due to various and mysterious software issues. Calendar entries that refuse to accept date changes, programs that freeze repeatedly, games that malfunction…it has been frustrating to say the least. Cue Nokia PC Suite and their backup suite. My first thought was that perhaps a backup and then full restore might smooth out the quirks, plus it would provide an excellent test of the backup system. If that did not fix my issues, I could reset the phone, rebuild it, and then back…

Reviews September 3, 2009

Pzizz for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Feeling worn down, stressed out, or just not getting enough quality sleep? Guess what — yep! — there’s an app for that. Pzizz (pronounced puh-zizz) may be just what you need. In the most simple terms, Pzizz Relax is a power-nap app. Using the application religiously over the past two weeks I can say it is much more. The application is new for the iPhone/iPod Touch, but it’s been around for quite some time for the Mac/PC — and those earlier versions have been reviewed by Gear Diary as well as the original “Pzizz player” on the Gadgeteer. So, is an…

Reviews September 1, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 30: Yelp

When I started this series, my hope had been to tackle all of the apps in the Palm Pre App Catalog before its official launch, later this month. But the developers turned out to be too fast for me. In the month since I started this series, the App Catalog has grown from 30 apps to 45, and is really starting to gain momentum. So, a slight change of plans will see the series ending today, with an overview of 30 apps. As a finale to the series, I thought we would take a look at Yelp, the location based…

Reviews September 1, 2009

iFrogz Timbre Review

iFrogz has quickly become one of the leaders in cutting edge accessories for Apple product, Mp3 players and other electronics devices. Their Ear Pollution line of headphones is one of the most popular headphone available on the market. iFrogz recently released a new item in the Ear Pollution line, the iFrogz Timbre. Available with or without an inline microphone the noise isolating ear buds are made with natural wood. I was recently sent a pair by iFrogz to review. Do the Tibre’s perform as good as they look? Read on to find out.

Reviews September 1, 2009

Jelly Lens 6 Image Mirage Maker

Here’s another quick look at a fun gadget from BudgetGadgets.com The Jelly Lens 6 Mirage Maker gently sticks to the lens of your cell phone or digital camera. Once on your phone you can turn regular old photographs into morphed 6 headed images with ease.

Reviews August 31, 2009

Coveroo Custom Cases Review

Do you want your phone to have its own identity? Then perhaps it needs a Coveroo case. Coveroo offers over 2,000 designs that it laser engraves onto the back of your cases. Or choose a color design and it’ll be applied with a special process that makes it both durable and wear resistant. You can also choose to truly customize your case by having Coveroo apply your own personal logo or picture to your case. The Coveroo cases are available for most major cell phones including BlackBerry, iPhone, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Palm, and more! I recently ordered a couple…

Reviews August 31, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 29: Express Stocks

I have to admit that I have never been one to dabble to deep in the stock market. Most of my money is in IRAs or index based funds. Plus, I rarely want to have the values too close, because looking at how much money I am constantly losing can get a bit depressing these days. Nonetheless, for those of you who do like to have your net worth in the palm of your hand at all times, there is a fantastic app called Express Stocks.

Reviews August 30, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 28: Word Ace

Let’s just get this out of the way quickly. Word Ace is my new favorite game, and is the best game currently available for the Palm Pre. OK…I know saying that any game is better than other games on the Palm Pre may not be much of a compliment…but this really is a fantastic game.

Reviews August 29, 2009

HTC Touch Diamond2 Review

Anyone who read my review of the original Touch Diamond will know I wasn’t all that big a fan. In my experience it was slow, cheaply made and its battery life was appalling. The great thing about HTC is they keep trying and seem to learn from past mistakes, which made me all the more interested in testing the Diamond2. Off the bat I’d like to talk about looks, since that was one of the big selling points of the original. Whilst the Diamond was wrapped in a consumer-style glossy plastic shell, that upon closer inspection felt cheap, the Diamond2…

Reviews August 27, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 27: Mileage Monitor

This is a pretty simple app, but one which could be quite useful to those folks who spend a lot of time in their cars, whether that means travelling long distances, or commuting into town each morning. This app lets you use your Palm Pre to track how many miles you are getting per gallon of gas, and how much money you are spending on gas. To begin, just create a new account with the name of your car. Enter the current odometer reading and you are good to go. For the most accurate results, you should start with a…

How to Do It Yourself! August 27, 2009

Getting to Locations from the iPhone Calendar

One of the things that I found odd on the iPhone was the inability to use Google Maps to plot a route to a locations directly from the calendar. Consider how easy Apple have made almost everything else on the iPhone, it seemed to be a rather odd omission. You can easily navigate to an address or dial a number out of an email, but why not the calendar? This evening however I found a rather neat trick that manages to get around this problem with almost no fuss whatsoever. Take this calendar item I have for tomorrow (well, today…

Reviews August 26, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 26: Connect 4.

Yes…I do mean THAT Connect 4. The one you loved as a kid. sliding checkers into a plastic frame, trying to make four in a row. This is one of my son’s favorite games, and I love the fact that he is so interested in a game from my own childhood. And thanks to the folks at Hasbro and EA Games, you can now enjoy this classic game on your Palm Pre (10 times before you will have to pay for it).

Reviews August 26, 2009

BBScanner for BlackBerry Tour 9630 Review

Roger that…10-4! OK, so my wife and I can sit for hours and watch cop shows…The First 48, Crime 360, Cops, Lockup, etc…and when I say hours I really mean all day! We spend a lot of time in Columbus, Ohio and like to know whats going on, mainly where is that police cruiser headed running lights and sirens! I guess we are nosy like that, but BBScanner fuels our need for busy body information.

Reviews August 25, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 25: Today Show

Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you watch the Today Show in the morning. It is pretty hard to miss, since it is about five hours long, yet I manage to do so since I leave the house before 6:00 each morning. So, I rarely get to watch the show upon which this app is based.

Reviews August 24, 2009

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 24: Match.com

I am pretty happily married, and have been since before dating sites like Match.com became all the rage. So, needless to say, I do not have an account at Match.com or any other similar sites. That being said, I can certainly see the value they might offer the modern connected single. In fact, my sister-in-law met her husband that way. In the interest of making sure this series is complete, therefore, I wanted to mention this app and make sure that interested individuals know that they can access their Match.com accounts from anywhere using their Palm Pre. That being said,…