Smartphones & Gear

Facebook for Windows Mobile Review

I have a confession: I am not a big Facebook user. I know this can get me thrown out of being a late-term gen-Xer and/or banned from geekdom, but there it is. However, despite my best attempts, I can’t avoid using it entirely. Everyone I’ve ever met or ever will meet seems to have a Facebook profile, so I do my best to keep up on a semi-regular basis. I spend a great deal of time on my phone, so when Microsoft released a Facebook app for Windows Mobile I was very excited to review it. Will this make me…


Mophie Juice Pack Air Review

If you’re a hardcore iPhone user chances are you struggle with battery life sometime during your daily life.  You get too involved with a game, see an extraordinary amount of e-mails, do some serious web surfing and before you know it your battery level has dropped to dangerously low levels before dinner time. There are several external battery choices in the iPhone accessory market.  Some clip to the bottom and just charge the phone, others are more like cases, some even have lights and lasers.  Out of all of them the Mophie Juice Pack Air is arguably the most functional…


Otter Box Impact Case for Blackberry Curve Review

After purchasing a bright shiny phone, I don’t leave it naked  too long.  I receive as much pleasure from purchasing the case as I do from purchase of the phone.  In my opinion, the case needs to protect the phone and maintain all the button functions; if it can add to the coolness of the phone, the case is a winner.  Otter Box has just released a case for the BlackBerry Curve that does all three.


Emergency Radio for iPhone and iPod Touch Review

Currently number 2 on the list of the iTunes App Store’s top paid applications, Emergency Radio allows you easily follow the action of over 900 police, fire, EMS and other emergency frequencies.  Whether you want to keep tabs on what’s going on in your own backyard or listen in to the happenings on the other side of the country Emergency Radio streams a a variety of emergency services feeds right to your iPhone.  Time to put that old Radio Shack scanner on Ebay.


JAVOedge Lumberjack Back Cover for iPhone 3G Review

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the making of this case.  Really!  Although it might look like wood from the outside, the Lumberjack Back Cover from JAVOedge is actually made from pressed cork.  Looking for an eco-friendly and stylish case for your iPhone 3G that doesn’t add much bulk?  This might be the one for you.


The HTC S740 (Rose) Windows Mobile Standard Phone Review

[This is a joint review between Doug Goldring of JAMM and Judie Lipsett of Gear Diary; it will appear simultaneously on both sites. Doug’s comments are in black, and Judie’s are blue italics] The last time I used a non-touch screen version of Windows Mobile was the Motorola Q.  It ran Windows Mobile 5, and I quickly learned that the interface was nothing short of terrible.  That phone lasted about a week before I declared the phone completely unusable and gave it away to a friend.  That was then.  This is now: Windows Mobile 6.1.  And a lot has changed….


Unboxing the Vertu Ascent Ti

It’s not every day that I get to unbox an $8000 mobile phone…oh heck, who am I trying to kid?! Up until a few days ago, I could honestly say that I had never unboxed any device that cost so much. But through a twisting series of events, starting with my friend (and fellow gadget magpie) Drew purchasing a Vertu Ascent Ti at full retail price last summer (and eventually moving on from it), I now have one in my possession. Needless to say, the Vertu Ascent Ti a pretty big upgrade from the other two Vertus I have written about…


Speck Candy Shell Case for iPhone 3G Review

Speck has been making accessories for handheld devices since 2001. One of their latest products is the Candy Shell case for the iPhone 3G.  The Candy Shell features the protection of a hard exterior, but has the cushioning of a softer interior to help buffer the iPhone if it’s dropped – hence, the “candy shell” name.


Hot Pursuit for Windows Mobile Review

Games for devices such as PalmOS and Windows Mobile PDA’s have typically gotten much less attention than those for consoles and handhelds by big names such as Sony and Nintendo. What that has meant is that it is harder for game producers to get their games into the hands of those who might enjoy them: so-called ‘hardcore’ gamers would know about the games but be typically looking for a more serious and involved experience, while the more ‘casual’ gamer would be less likely to visit the online stores to get the games. The Apple iPhone changed that with the tight…


Proporta Beach Buoy Review

The summer travel season is fast coming upon us.  In fact, here in Columbus we have a day in the 80’s predicted already! While it’s still not warm enough to go swimming, when you do finally take the plunge you may want to take this with you.


Amoebas for the iPhone

If you own an iPhone, you’ve probably discovered the incredible number of games available on the app store. Some of the best are the sort you can fire up, play for a few minutes, stop and pretend you are working when your boss walks by, then keep playing when the coast is clear. I had the opportunity to review one of these games, Amoebas by SDGames …is it worth playing or will it get lost in the deluge of options?


Amazon App for BlackBerry Review

Amazon has launched a free BlackBerry application, allowing customers to  find, discover, and purchase products directly from their smartphone.   The application is optimized for BlackBerry devices with track-ball interfaces.  This means, at least for now, BlackBerry Storm users are left out in the cold (sorry, those of you still clinging on to your track-wheel 8700 or earlier models won’t be able to use the application either).


iKlear iPod, iPhone & Macbook Cleaning Kit Review

Devices looking dingy and dirty?  Brand new iPod looking like it’s a first generation?  iKlear is a premier line of cleaning kits designed to safely clean, protect and preserve all Apple products.  Their products, which are manufactured in California, are all anti-static and alcohol and ammonia free.  The iKlear line or products will help you get your device looking like it just came out of the box.


GVdialer for BlackBerry enables ultimate Google Voice dialing integration

Just yesterday Dan introduced you to GVdialer for iPhone. For those of you who are using a BlackBerry , here’s a version of GVdialer that integrates your device with Google Voice. Most impressive about GVdialer is that you can have it automatically intercept any type of outbound call whether it’s dialed from the keypad, phone book or recent calls – and route the call through your Google Voice account. What’s the big deal about Google Voice? There are three primary reasons I think you’ll soon see a flood of applications offering to integrate your cell phones to Google Voice.


Astro Sphere: 2D Puzzle Game for iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Truth be told, my favorite style of game in the handheld genre is puzzle. At any given time I have at least five puzzle games loaded onto my iPhone. Astro Sphere is a challenging puzzle style game that’s available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game takes place in space and the goal is to guide your “ship” through a series of levels. To advance to the next level you must teleport your ship through a portal. You do this by bouncing the spherical ship of certain obstacles, each of which has a different effect, all the while trying…


Zombie Invasion – iPhone Game Review

In my lighter moments and more adolescent male times, in other words all the time; I play games on my iPhone! Currently I have two games, Bejeweled 2 and Zombie Invasion.  By far its more fun to play Zombie Invasion and watch the zombies bite the dust!  Zombie Invasion is a classic shooter game with one shooter standing at the bottom of the screen shooting at the approaching zombies.  As the level increases there are more zombies and more weapons.



One simple tweak that made my iPhone Gmail retrieval lightning fast

Dan posted earlier today over at Whatsoniphone about my discovery that if you enable Advanced IMAP controls in GMAIL Labs (look under settings) and remove the check marks from your folders so that only the INBOX is checked – your iPhone will retrieve email at a blistering pace as opposed to the 3 to 5 minutes that it previously took. Almost from the day that I bought the first generation iPhone I have been bothered by slow retrieval of my Gmail. Since I have a large number of folders, it makes perfect sense that this tip to stop synchronizing the…


BlackBerry EasyDialer brings relief (and unlimited calling) to some Google Voice users

My Grandcentral account was finally updated to Google Voice and I’ve spent some time notifying people who I regularly communicate with that they need to use a new number to reach me. I think the change to a Google Voice number will be worthwhile for a couple reasons. First, I have three cell phones and people were constantly guessing which number they should call me on. With Google Voice I get to specify which phones ring and my friends and family only need to know one number. Plus Google Voice now manages text messages by forwarding any sent to my…


Modern Gaming Like It’s 1993!

I usually put into context how long I’ve been a gamer by saying that I was anticipating the release of Wolfenstein 3D in 1993 and was already a fan of the franchise. Huh? You didn’t realize there was a Castle Wolfenstein franchise before the release of the seminal first person shooter (FPS)? And wait, how does this all relate to the ‘modern gaming’ promised in the title? Don’t worry … I’ll get there!


Pocket Informant 1.0 for iPhone Review

I’ve always been a planner kind of girl.  When I was in school, my day planner was always bursting at the seams with dates to remember, assignments, lists, post-its, and notes.  I really liked having a central place for all the important “stuff” in my life that I needed to keep track of.  However, as technology advanced into the 21st century, I turned to digital organization…and I discovered Pocket Informant. Over the years, I have used Pocket Informant on almost every mobile device I’ve owned, from my Casio EM-500 to my Dell Axim to my i-mate JAQ3 (won in a…