Smartphones & Gear

Gear Diary’s Best of CES 2020 Awards

Another CES has come and gone, and as we have in the past, we’ve sorted through hundreds upon hundreds of products to bring you the ones we thought were the most exciting, useful, disruptive, or clever. Take a look at our Best of CES 2020 award picks, and see what you think!


Make Your Workout Enjoyable with Both the FWD-01 and RPT-01 Headphones from Adidas

These days, Bluetooth headphones are pretty much a commodity and they come in lots of different shapes, sizes and prices. So naturally, companies are trying to offer headphones for specific audiences that are designed for a certain purpose. Adidas has the FWD-01 in-ear headphones and the RPT-01 on-ear headphones that provide you with a fantastic way to complete your workout while listening to whatever makes that time go by faster.



Resolve to up Your Charging Game in 2020 with Aukey Omnia Series

Everything we own these days needs to be charged. Phones, computers, earbuds, toothbrushes, watches, hats…if it’s an item you carry, it probably has a charging cable. Which means you need lots of power bricks. Aukey wants to help, and their new Omnia Series will make your life at least a little easier, even if you need to charge your shoes.



Cleer Audio Reimagines How You Listen to Your Audio

I became a fan of CleerAudio in 2019. Starting with their Cleer Ally (which promises 12 hours of Battery life), to their Cleer Enduro which I am currently reviewing; I’ve found their products to be solid. So I was surprised that the company announced new products that are already promising to be better than what they already offer. First are Cleer’s ARC headphones. Complete with an open-ear design that doesn’t actually COVER the ear, the ARC work so you can hear your environment all the while listening to your music. An interesting take on headphones for use, this is safe…





Huawei FreeBuds 3 Review

Huawei begged for comparison to Apple’s AirPods when they made the FreeBuds 3 look like the ubiquitous earbuds. The FreeBuds 3 style is so close to AirPods, that from a few feet away, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the white stem with a chrome end dipping low from your subway seatmate’s ears was the non-noise canceling version of Airpods, but you’d be wrong.


Nokia Updates the Nokia 7.1 with Android 10 and a Sale for the Holidays

If you remember the dark days before smartphones, you probably have a nostalgic reaction to Nokia phones … everyone had one of those Nokia candy bar style phones that played Snake and made calls. Well, you can still get a Nokia phone, but if you pick up the Nokia 7.1, you’ll now have Android 10 and a lot more power (and sure, you can install snake!)


House Cleaning Made Simple Thanks to Shark

The terrible truth is cleaning your house after working hard all week is dreadful. No one enjoys doing it, but it must be done. But if you want to clean effectively, leaving little to no doubt that you’ve completed the mission, Shark’s UpLight & the Shark IQ Robot vacuums are the way to go.


A Review of the All-New Nvidia SHIELD TV

Complete with an all-new design and a host of upgrades that users of the previous NVIDIA Shield, Nvidia’s new SHIELD TV is faster, smarter, and even more portable. I’ve had my hands on one for the past few weeks, and it’s becoming one of my favorite streaming devices.


I Was Never Good at Jumping Rope, Until I Was introduced to the Weighted Crossrope

As a guy whose sister loved jumping rope, I’ve always watched in amazement, but honestly, I never got it. Then I turned thirty, found out my metabolism wasn’t what it was and looked for the best ways of burning calories without running nowhere on a treadmill. Surprisingly, I found out 15 minutes of jumping rope could effectively burn 300 calories. But what if you’ve never jumped rope before? Here’s where Crossrope comes in.





Nomad Rugged Case Gives Your Google Pixel 4 XL Leather-Wrapped Protection

If you’ve grown tired of the feeling of silicone, TPU, or plastic touching your fingers when holding your brand new Google Pixel 4 XL, then you’re really going to like the Nomad Rugged Case. Luxurious black or rustic brown Horween leather wraps a protective yet slim body. If you’ve gotta cover up your phone, this case will almost make doing so regret-free.


Totallee Convinced Not to Go Caseless

A lot of my friends don’t put cases on their smartphones. I don’t get it, don’t understand it, and I feel as though I’m missing something. But there’s one case that attempts to show that not every device needs a case.