Smartphones & Gear

JustMobile Encore for iPad and Other Tablets Review

We’ve become big fans of JustMobile’s offerings. The company has a great way of merging sleek aesthetics with a high degree of functionality. This time out we are taking a look at the JustMobile Encore stand for iPad and other tablets. Let’s take a look.



Pictures and Video from the Sony Press Conference on the Xperia Line of Smartphones

Sony had three phones in their Xperia line to show off yesterday. We posted on them at the time and you can get details here. Today we’ve got loads more pictures AND a video from the Sony Press Conference. Let’s start with the Press Conferences video and then you can check out all the pictures in the gallery.   Check out the entire gallery of pictures from the Sony Press Conference.                              


HTC One Line of Smartphones Hands-On in NYC

Yesterday we brought word of HTC’s new line of Android smartphones, the HTC One. There are three phones in the line and each has its own unique screen size and feel. What is particularly unique however is the fact that the phones are NOT UNIQUE. No, the enhanced camera, sound and build-quality is the SAME across the line. As one of the HTC reps put it, “The great thing this time out is that you only need to make the choice with regard to the size and feel you want, the camera, sound etc is the same across the line…


Nokia Makes a Number of Big Announcements at MWC

Nokia had a number of announcements from their huge MWC press conference. Here are a few of the highlights with links to the Nokia site covering each of the items: Nokia advances on its new strategic direction, rolls out range of new mobile devices and services Nokia has extended the range of products with Windows Phone by introducing the Nokia Lumia 610, the most affordable Lumia yet, as well as targeting availability of the widely acclaimed Lumia 900 to additional markets beyond the U.S. Nokia also today ushered in a new era in high-end smartphone imaging. The Nokia 808 PureView…



The World’s First Ice Cream Sandwich Dual-SIM Smartphone Announced at MWC

UPDATED with Judie’s pictures from MWC ViewSonic not only announced some great new tablets at MWC but they are also announcing a host of new smartphones. Among them is the first Ice Cream Sandwich Dual-SIM Smartphone. Why dual-SIM? Dual-SIM phones are expected to see an 80% growth rate in the next two years and, according to market research group Strategy Analytics, 206 million dual-SIM handsets will be sold worldwide in 2014. That compares to compared with 41 million in 2010. As the ViewSonic Press Release notes, Dual-SIM phones are expected to grow as users prefer to carry one handset for…


Hoarding! Why Can I Not Clean Up My iPhone?

I spend much of my time browsing for iOS applications. Finding new apps on blogs or finding reduced price and free apps is kind of a hobby of mine. Often, I will download apps with no intent of using them, but to collect them in my iTunes just in case. A few of my friends like to make the, “there’s an app for that” joke almost anytime I talk about my phone. Some of my students were recently discussing the show about hoarders. You know the program where people stack random items in their houses until it is basically not…


iFrogz Boost Near Field Audio Amplifying Speaker, One of Dan’s CES Faves, Is Available Now!

When we were at CES, Dan couldn’t wait to show me the pre-release iFrogz Boost Near Field Audio Amplifying Speaker that he had scored, and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. This little box didn’t need to connect to a mobile phone to produce a much bigger sound; you could simply place any phone on the box, and it would pump up the volume so that it could actually be enjoyed! See what I mean in this video Dan shot … The iFrogz Boost speaker allows users to amplify their device’s sound by simply placing their smartphone, or other…


Kicking the Tires of OS 2.0 for Blackberry Playbook

When RIM first released the Blackberry PlayBook tablet, it was widely panned for not possessing some key ingredients critical to mobile device usage, such as native integrated email and calendar. It was, at first release,  a powerful device hindered by it’s not being able to stand alone elegantly, as Dan reported a while back. My interest in this has been more than academic. Thanks to Gear Diary at 5 (year) giveaways last year, months before I joined Gear Diary, this little PlayBook tablet fell into my hands. Limited, as Dan and others noted, but still a fine piece of mobile…


The Dismal State of Android as a Music Production Solution

I took the picture above on New Year’s Eve, and I was originally planning to use it as part of a post illustrating how an iPad-centric music system costing under $1000 is capable of producing better music than multi-million dollar studios from just 25-30 years ago. So let’s take a quick look: My son Christopher is working a DJ mixer which is interfaced to a netbook that is streaming music from MOG; an iPod Touch with some other pre-recorded music; and an iPad. The iPad is the workhorse of the music system, located just to the left of the iPod…


Blackberry PlayBook OS 2.0; Too Little Too Late?

It has been a long (LONG!!!) time coming but OS 2.0 for the BlackBerry Playbook is finally (FINALLY!!) available. It brings a native email client and the ability to run Android apps. (I should note that I was at the New York launch of the PlayBook and, at the time, this latter capability was said to be arriving a “few weeks after launch”. Yeah… right…)


Can You Hear Me OW!?! AT&T Continuing Their Heavy-Handed Assault on Unlimited Data Plans

Much has been written about AT&T now warning the “top 5% of iPhone data users” on unlimited plans that they would begin seeing their data speeds slowed because of their adverse affect on the network as a whole. At first pass most would think that meant individuals streaming video constantly and using up tens of gigabytes of data. That isn’t the case. In a month where I have been switching on and off between the iPhone 4S and the Titan (in other words using my iPhone far LESS than normal), I got the above warning. “Uh Oh!” I thought to…


Plantronics Marque M155 Bluetooth Headset Review

It is not uncommon for us to have an item or two as part of a giveaway but to have four of the same item ready to send to four lucky Gear Diary readers… that IS unusual. The giveaway item is, as Judie posted the other day, the Plantronics Marque M155 Bluetooth headset. Yes, we have two of the M155s in white and two in black to give away and the contest doesn’t end until Sunday. At an MSRP of $59.99 (you can get it for less if you price check on the internet) it is one of the less…



Hands-On Review of the Republic Wireless $19 ‘Unlimited’ Cell Phone Plan

Back in early November I wrote about Republic Wireless, a company offering a compelling $19 a month unlimited plan with no contract. I ordered a phone the same day, and it arrived late in December. Let’s take a quick look at what they have to offer! The Hype: Newsflash: anything a cell network can do, the Internet can do better and cheaper. So we think a truly smart smartphone should make a habit of using Wi-Fi for everything. Surfing. Texting. Sharing. And, yes, even talking. There isn’t an app for this. And you definitely shouldn’t have to download any special…


AT&T Set to Double Their Upgrade Fee to $36?

AT&T is reportedly slated to increase their device upgrade costs from $18 to $36 this coming Sunday, February 12. Because the overall costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased, effective Sunday, February 12, 2012, AT&T will change its upgrade fee from $18 to $36 Just my luck. I’m due for an upgrade, and I’ve been chomping at the bit to try a Windows phone, as evidenced by Dan and Judie’s saga of their HTC Titan usage. Speaking for myself, it’s just unfortunate that by the time I want to try out the Titan II or the Nokia…


Checking Out Windows Phone Speed, Apps, Camera, Music Player and Games

Judie: Our saga began when Dan and I received HTC Titans at a Microsoft sponsored dinner while attending CES; it’s hard to believe that on the 11th it will have been one month ago. You can catch up on our previous posts before starting with this one by clicking the following links: Considering the Move from an iPhone 4S to Windows Phone Titan Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface In that month, my iPhone has never left my gadget drawer. Although I can think of a few times I…


Gaming Future and Obsoleteness

Obsolete describes something that is no longer being used or is out of date. The perception of obsoleteness shapes the upcoming gaming outlook as the Wii and PSP are scrutinized as the “new” Wii U and PlayStation Vita release soon.


A Four Year Birthday of a Different Kind

This week I’m having a low-keyed celebration of sorts. You see, as of a few days ago my HTC X7501 Advantage turned four years old. I’ve had my share of mobile devices, but I’ve always enjoyed using the Advantage as a mini-computer and phone. With its huge 5″ VGA touchscreen, magnetic keyboard, internal hard drive and metal and magnetic housing, 3G and WiFi capability my Advantage has been excellent for mobile productivity for me. How I came to possess this particular unit is a bit unusual, so permit me to set the Wayback Machine to October of 2007…


Comparing the iPhone 4s Hardware to the HTC Titan and Dipping into the Windows Phone User Interface

Judie: For those of you who missed it, in our last article, Dan and I talked about the circumstances behind how we — two iPhone 4S users — each came into possession of an HTC Titan [you can click here to read it]. We also gave some of our initial thoughts about the operating system and why we might have been hesitant to make the change. In this installment, we dig in further into what we like and don’t like about the Titan specifically when it’s compared to the iPhone. Because our Windows Phone experience is occurring on the Titan, the hardware is directly influencing how…