Smartphones & Gear | Gear Diary

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 10: Sudoku!

I think it is no secret around here that I am a pretty big fan of Sudoku. I have explored many Sudoku options for various mobile platforms, and even a number of alternate variations on the theme. For those of you who are new here, Sudoku is a classic Japanese puzzle game, in which you are faced with a grid of 81 squares arranged in nine rows of nine blocks each. Scattered across the grid are numbers from 1-9. Your job is to fill in the remainder of the grid by placing each number, 1-9, into each row, column, and…

Reviews

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 9: Tweed

Do you Twitter? Are you a Twit with your Tweets? I’ll be honest here and tell you that I really don’t Twitter. Sure, I have an account, and have tried to understand it, but it just never did much for me. That being said, I do understand that millions of people out there send what must be billions and billions (sorry, Carl Sagan) of Tweets on Twitter every day (does this make anyone else think of a little yellow canary from Looney Tunes?)

Reviews

Palm Pre App Catalog: 30 Apps in 30 Days. Part 8: Flixster

Yesterday, we started our two part look at movie listing apps on the Palm Pre with Fandango. Today, we will wrap that up with a look at Flixster. To be honest, Flixster and Fandango are pretty similar apps, with one giant difference. With Fandango, you can actually purchase tickets straight from your phone. Flixster does not have that option, it only allows you to view information about the movies and listings.

Reviews

CASECROWN iPhone Polycarbonate Slim Case Review

CASECROWN is a southern California based company founded by self described gadget lovers. They were kind enough to send me one of their polycarbonate cases for the iPhone 3G/3gS to review. An extremely simplistic case, the polycarbonate slim case is one of the most affordable snap on back covers I’ve seen.

Reviews

Bluebird Pidion BM-150R from SDG Systems Review

It has been a while since I have heard from SDG Systems. Brian Fuller from SDG Systems contacted me about the Bluebird line and offered to send me one to give the once over. I chose the BM-150R which is the closest to what Gear Diary readers may want to carry. Let me say this up front: the Bluebird line from SDG is all targeted at enterprise users. They are not your typical consumer device.

Reviews

Twitterena+ Pro for iPhone OS Review

If there’s one thing the iTunes App Store is not short on it’s Twitter applications. Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge Twitter user. I’ve tried at least ten different Twitter apps on my iPhone and usually end up returning to three or so of the apps I call the “big guys.” Software developer Andrew Weeks has just recently released his newest Twitter client for the iPhone Twiterena+ Pro. Is there a new contender for top iPhone Twitter app? Read on to find out.

Reviews

Fun Booth for iPhone Review

I recently reviewed a fun new application for the Mac OS called Fun Booth 2. The application allows you to snap pictures of yourself and then add fun props to the picture. You can also use the props while video chatting or e-mail/upload finished images to your friends and family. Spoonjuice, the developer of Fun Booth 2 for the Mac, recently submitted a version of the application to the iTunes App Store for approval and allowed me to test it out before it gets released.

Reviews

Astraware Casino for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

The folks at Astraware have done it again and released another premier game for the iPhone OS. Astraware Casino features 11 casino style games all under one title. Included are: Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit Poker, Roulette, Baccarat, Video Derby, Texas Hold ‘Em Limit Poker, Blackjack, Video Keno, Craps, 3 Card Poker, Slots and Video Poker. Read on for my full review of this fun filled game from what I consider to be one of the best iPhone OS application developers.

Reviews

Handy Weather for S60 Review

It’s inevitable…you’re sitting on your couch, relaxing with your tivo and your Xbox…when you realize you need to go outside! But what is the weather like? How will you know whether to wear your crocs or your docs? You could get up and go outside, but that takes effort. Luckily for you, Epocware has the excellent utility Handy Weather so you can check the weather from your Symbian phone before you have to leave the couch.

Editorials

G-Map for iPhone vs. Mio – Fight!

iPhone owners have anxiously awaited the ability to run turn by turn GPS applications. AT&T has introduced a subscription solution, Tom Tom has announced a version coming soon and Navigon released their North American version last week. G-Map from X-Road (read Chris G full review from April here) is yet another option and is notably less expensive than the others. G-Map downloads maps directly to the phone so, unlike AT&T’s offering, a data connection is not required. Price points vary as there are several purchasing options. $34.99 buys either a U.S West or U.S. East version. Six regional versions are…

Editorials

Rebel Scholar – Was I duped?

Rebel Scholar is somewhat new to the world of iPhone cases. They feature a wide range of slider cases each with a unique design. The company touts itself, somewhat brashly I might add, as the clear choice over its main competitor the Incase Slider and features in their blog reasons why you’d be foolish to purchase an Incase instead of one of the Rebel Scholar products. I’m okay with companies being bold when it comes to their product, as long as they’re right, and as long as they back it up when they are not. I recently placed an order for…

Reviews

Simply Tweet for iPhone Review

For whatever reason none of the big names in Twitter clients have released their updated versions that support push notification for Twitter. However, several solutions have emerged over the past few weeks to solve this issue. I recently took at look at Boxcar which is an add on to your existing Twitter client to enable push and then I looked at TwitBit which was the first full fledged Twitter client for the iPhone to support push. Now comes Simply Tweet, from Motion Obj, which has thrown its hat into the ring of new full Twitter clients with push notification for…

Reviews

Mosiaca for iPhone Review

Mosaica is an iPhone application that lets you take panoramic-like images on your iPhone and then upload them to the web where they can be shared with your friends and family. The finished images, called Mosaics are created by taking several pictures in a sequence and then overlapping them to create an interactive panoramic style image. How does Mosaica stack up against the other photography apps of its type I’ve tried?

Reviews

Handy Shell for Series 60 Review

I’ve recently become a convert to the Symbian OS. It has been a lot of fun to learn the ins and outs of a new system, especially one that approaches things as Symbian does. Nokia’s flavor of Symbian feels more phone oriented, with the PDA aspects tacked on as almost an afterthought. While this can be tweaked around a bit, the place it is felt most acutely is on the “Active Standby” screen (essentially the Symbian version of a Today Screen). The only major option if you want something that offers up more power is if you look to Epocware…

Reviews

Card Ninja for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Card Ninja has consistently been ranked as one of the most popular games in the iTunes App Store. The game recently received a significant update which most importantly includes the ability to save your game for maximum level-conquering and you can now compare scores with other players worldwide. Card Ninja is integrating with the OpenFeint platform, allowing players to monitor their rank in global leader boards and chat with fellow players. At only .99 cents this is fun twist on matching, memory type games that’ll keep you coming back for more Ninja! The game itself requires players to flick cards…

How to Do It Yourself!

“How-To”: Run the Slingbox iPhone application on 3G

Back in May I wrote this tutorial which detailed the process for using the iPhone application VOIPover3G on your Jailbroken iPhone to get around Apple’s limitation of only being able to use the Slingbox application for the iPhone over Wifi. Once iPhone OS 3.0 was released the VOIPover3G application stopped working. It was not compatible with the 3.0 update. Turns out that’s not such a bad thing. 3G Unrestrictor is a just released application for Jailbroken iPhones that does the same thing as VOIPover3G but in a much easier to use interface. And it’s all done on your iPhone (VOIPover3G…

Reviews

Snaztech Phantom from Unlimited Case Review

The guys at Unlimited Case recently released another custom designed case to their ever growing line up of products for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch. The Snaztech Phantom, for the iPhone 3G/3G S, is a frosted case that comes in two colors, Artic White and Glacier Blue. Unlimited Case was kind enough to send me a Glacier Blue case for review. Click through to see how the Phantom stacks up.

Reviews

HTC Magic Review Part 2

It’s been a month now since I posted my first impressions, and it’s time to fess up my thoughts on the HTC Magic. Truth be told, it has truly surprised me! User Interface The Android user interface is simple yet elegant, and was definitely designed with finger actions in mind. Unlike Windows Mobile, Android never makes you wish for a stylus. Icons are nicely sized, menus are large and the flicking motions to advance lists, web pages and menus become second nature as soon as you start using the phone. For some reason Android feels a lot nicer on the…

Reviews

ArmPocket Sport 20 Review

Have you ever wanted to take your smartphone with you on a workout, but your workout shorts don’t have pockets and neither does your T-Shirt? What would you do? Well you could order a arm band for your prospective device, but one downside to this is you must buy a new one when you buy a device that doesn’t fit the arm band. That’s where the ArmPocket Sport 20 comes in. The ArmPocket Sport 20 is essentially a universal arm band that is designed to work primarily with touch screen based devices like the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, The T-Mobile…

Reviews

ColorSplash – iPhone App Review

Yesterday Larry posted about his favorite new iPhone Photography app Pix Remix. It made him go “Wow” and, after following his advice and purchasing it, I had to second his “Wow!” It has now been added to the collection of image editing apps I keep on my iPhone.

Reviews

PixRemix Review

Every once and a while an iPhone application comes along that makes you go WOW! Well for me PixRemix is one of those applications. WOW! In simple terms what PixRemix does is allow iPhone users to take a bunch of their pictures and turn them into a slideshow, complete with captions that you can then share via Facebook, Twitter, E-mail etc. The application allows you to create three different types of slide shows. Collage – which is an animated collage made up from as many photos as you select. Slideshow – which is a slide show of your photos. Pan…