Smartphones & Gear

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…


Motorola Bag Phone 2900 Gold Series

Are you tired of using the heavy brick type phones? While useful to those who can afford them – such as executives on the go, Motorola has taken the promise of cell phone technology to consumers in rural localities. Ideal for ranchers, truckers and others outside of major cities, the promise of affordability and portability in the eighties has finally arrived in 1992. The Motorola Bag Phone 2900 Gold Series is targeting to a large consumer base – mainly sales persons – accustomed to office phones and pay phones.


Review: USBFever 3-in-1 USB Adapter for HTC Phones

I was perusing USBFever.com for some G1 accessories, and I came across this dongle that can work with my G1 or any HTC phone.  This adapter lets you use your regular or HTC headphones while charging your phone from the Mini-B USB charger.


Using the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro

Julie and I have been using the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro for a while, and it is time to share our experiences with this Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard Edition smartphone. This review will be appearing on Gear Diary and The Gadgeteer; before reading further, you might want to start with my First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro. My comments are in black, Julie’s are in blue italics. The Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky little brick measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and 5.34 ounces, but I have to say that it is so nicely…


Why eReader for BlackBerry is a fail

I had really high hopes for the eReader (beta) for BlackBerry which I have been testing on my BlackBerry Bold. At first glance the layout is decent and I had no trouble scrolling around and reading the text. The smaller display screen isn’t going to give paper books or the larger screen Kindle a run for their money any time soon – but I was hopeful that I’d at least have a decent backup book reader for when I didn’t have a paper book or the Kindle. Unfortunately ignoring the eReader’s many annoyances – starting with the price of books…


Kensington Hands-Free Visor Car Kit REVIEW

When I’m barreling down the highway meeting and greeting folks, it can be a challenge (but NOT always safe) to call whoever is deserving of a return call at that moment. I have an iPhone that allows my fingers to flip through the spinning wheel of contacts, but dialing and driving are frowned upon. Some places even have laws against such behavior. The other time tested alternative is to wear a Bluetooth earpiece. I have a favorite reviewed here, but in some places there are fashion laws displaying such behavior. So what’s a road warrior to do? Kensington has introduced…


Proporta Leather Case for BlackBerry Storm

Proporta just released a leather case for the BlackBerry Storm. The case includes an inner aluminum screen saver to protect against crushing and impacts. Instead of crowding the front of the case with a leather sleeve – the Storm clips into the front of the case. Since my sister Lynn has a BlackBerry Storm – I’ve asked her to give us a look.


ProClip for BlackBerry 8900 – easy to install, easy to upgrade, no gooey mess

In the last two years I’ve used a ProClip dashboard mount on my BlackBerry 8700, 8800, 8300, and now my 8900. What I like about this mount is that my BlackBerry is held firmly in a place where I can easily read the display and it stays up off my car seat where it could slide around onto the floor, become damaged and possibly lost from sliding out the door. I installed my first ProClip three years ago. Because you order a model that is specific to your car make, model and year – it clicks neatly into place with…


First Impressions of the AT&T Pantech Matrix Pro

The new Pantech Matrix Pro is a chunky and solidly built little smartphone, offered exclusively by AT&T. Measuring 4.17″ tall x 2.0″ wide x 0.85″ thick and weighing 5.34 ounces, it might be easy to dismiss this little beast as too thick and too heavy. But just like a story with a surprise twist at the end, there is more to this quad-band Windows Mobile Standard 6.1 device than first assumed.


BlackBerry 8220 + T-Mobile Wi-Fi + UMA = Surprisingly Good

Quite honestly when I started reviewing this T-Mobile BlackBerry 8220 a month ago there were a few people who laughed at the phone. They’d heard the build quality was so-so and told me the first time I jostled the phone it’d disintegrate in my hand. I’d read a few online remarks downplaying the overall screen quality. Imagine my surprise when I completely fell in love with this affordable BlackBerry.