Image courtesy of V-MODA

There’s some old saying the goes along the lines of “you’re only as good as the people around you.”  I feel the same way towards the relationship between my iPod or my iPhone and the headphones I use with each.  I may have the largest, most comprehensive music collection on the planet loaded on each of them but unless I’ve chosen a pair of headphones that allow me to listen to the music in decent quality what good is it?

I’ve carried a pair of V-MODA Vibe Duo headphones religiously for the past year or so.  They have a regular place in my left pant pocket not matter what I’m doing.  I find their feel and sound quality to be excellent and Dan agreed when I lent them to him during CES this year.

When Judie was contacted by V-MODA and subsequently reached out to the Gear Diary team to see if anyone was interested in reviewing their newest offering, the Remix, I jumped at the chance.

The Remix combines super quality audio performance along with the one thing that’s missing from my daily drivers (the Vibe Duo.)  A three-button remote, which allows users hands-free access to answer calls and control their music library.

So are the Remix headphones poised to oust the Vibe-Duos from my left pocket?

Read on to find out.

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We are all feeling the financial pinch!    Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99.

My addiction to word games is still growing at a dangerous rate.  Forming words seems to have become one of my favorite past times!  I am not sure if my vocabulary has improved or if my ability to apply spelling rules has improved, but I am improving on a number of word puzzle games.  Several weeks ago I reviewed Word Warp Free for the Blue Plate Special.  I enjoyed the game and continued playing until I found Word Warp Xtreme which is the sequel to Word Warp Free.  Find out what new features are included after the break. Continue Reading

Larry sent out a tweet last week that immediately grabbed my attention: Coolest iPhone stand ever. http://bit.ly/aB9ANM http://twitpic.com/16jxfn.

Oh really?

And then I clicked the link and found myself agreeing …
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That’s right – the highly anticipated OnLive service that promises to deliver the hottest new games in high definition to gaming computers unable to meet the standard requirements, and also to set-top boxes in the future, unveiled some details such as the release date and pricing for membership today.

Bottom line: $15 a month gets you everything you need other than a Mac or PC, of course … oh, and also no games. Continue Reading

Oh the Alex Reader. It has so much promise: nice big eInk screen with a full android experience on the LCD screen. Reports have been very positive, and everyone who has seen one loves it. But hardly anyone has seen one…because Spring Design has been very silent about shipping. The ebook market is very, very crowded these days, and all eyes are turned to the iPad. But it’s more than just the iPad that could kill the Alex Reader…

1) Partnering with Borders: While it had some funny potential to partner with Barnes and Noble’s nemesis, Spring Design hitched their star to a burning building. Not only did Borders lay off enough employees that the day became known as “Black Thursday“, but they also eliminated the training supervisor position. So on less staff and no one taking point on training, Borders employees are going to do a bang up job selling the Alex Reader?!

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Now you can totally re-enact your favorite character’s Star Wars scenes after you get out of the shower, either as a Jedi or … as Darth Vader!

The Darth Vadar hooded bathrobe mixes Vader’s classic black fashion sense with an embroidered logo of his helmet – just in case anyone mistakes you for a vampire wannabe or opera fan. You know who you are, and you know you want one.

Add the Darth Vader lightsaber from Think Geek, and no one will mess with your Dark Side!

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In my recent Netbook Gamer on Bioware’s Neverwinter Nights, I highlighted the Premium Modules and even linked to an extended article reviewing them. At that time I mentioned that due to Atari losing the Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons license, Bioware was no longer able to sell the modules.

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Google Reader is a pretty powerful way to organize and read your RSS feeds. For the most part I use it as the engine powering and syncing my data beneath the surface but actually read my feeds using a 3rd-party app. For example, my Google Reader account gathers dozens of feeds but the app iNews organizes and presents it to me on my iPhone. I assumed I would do the same thing on my iPad (Google Reader beneath the surface, 3rd party app for reading) but now word comes from Google that they have “something completely different” that may be one of the most innovative ways to read RSS feeds yet.

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Skullcandy has released the 50/50 composite ear buds.  The buds are complete with in-line microphone with track and volume control compatible with the iPhone.  The entire line will be available in May, but the black and white/green buds are available exclusively in Apple stores right now.

The 50/50 buds look amazing and rugged.  As is true with all Skullcandy products, I am sure the sound is top of the line.  According to the company, the use of composite materials with aluminum will provide superior audio.  The entire line will include six great looking color options.  Check out what Skullcandy says along with links after the break. Continue Reading

Tomorrow is the day! At least if you are one of the people looking forward to the April 3 release of the iPad. That’s right, tomorrow we get to begin the pre-order process and, once that is accomplished… wait.

One of the neat things to see is just how many different ways there will be to carry the iPad once it is out. And that’s a good thing since I suspect many of us will be carrying the thing pretty much everywhere.

One of the first announcements came from the folks at Waterfield. They make some of our favorite cases and were quick to announce the iPad Ultimate SleeveCase and the iPad Suede Jacket. Well they have added two more. First there is the iPad Smart Case. The $59 case “looks simple, but the intent is hard-core protection without the bulk”. Then there is the $29 iPad Slip Case. It offers “Light internal padding with impact-resistant plastic keeps your toy safe and sound”. Both come in a choice of six colors and look great. both are available for pre-order.

Images and the full release follow.

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Tired of poor fitting ear buds that are always failing out of your ears?

Yurbuds, makers soft rubber tip earbud enhancers that slip over existing earbud-style headphones, now has an iPhone App which is meant to help with this annoyance.

“Size yur Ear!” for the iPhone allows consumers to easily submit photos of their ear and purchase custom-sized earbuds directly from an iPhone or iPod touch. The Yurbuds earbud enhancers, when sized using the “Size yur Ear!” iPhone App, are guaranteed not to fall out, remain comfortable for hours and deliver exceptional sound quality.

The application also offers a video tutorial that teaches users how to use the application to ensure the proper custom fit is achieved.  It all seems quite simple.  All you do is launch the application, take a picture of your ear and hit submit and purchase.  Your Yurbuds ship the very next day.

The iPhone application is powered by yurbud’s patent-pending yurScan technology to determine a person’s yurbuds size via the camera feature of the iPhone application.  Yurbuds worked closely with top audiologists and Metaphase Design Group to develop an earbud enhancer that locks gently in the ear while avoiding known pain points.

The App is available for free in the iTunes App Store here and the Yurbuds sell for $19.99 here.

Just Mobile, maker of ultra-cool accessories for the iPhone and iPod Touch, recently announced the release of three new items.  The company, who say’s their philosophy is “to deliver a wide range of high-quality, ground-breaking accessories for the mobile lifestyle,”  designs products to exhibit a clean modern look, and provide practical solutions for its customers.

The three newly released items are:

The Lounge, a tools design from Denmark, is a stylish stand that secures the iPhone 3GS/3G on desktops or dashboards – allowing consumers to treat their iPhones as a GPS. Now, users can view driving directions and watch videos, hands-free. Indulging in standard iPhone features is also an option with the side controls and dock connector still being accessible. $49.99

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Chevrolet iReveal Application (Image provided by GM)

Austin, Texas, home to the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign, is preparing for one of the hottest gatherings around – the annual South By Southwest Film, Interactive and Music festival – March 12-21.

The breakdown is such:

Interactive: March 12-16
Film: March 12-20
Music: March 17-21

Corporate sponsors have jumped on board and this year that includes Chevrolet, who seeks to showcase the automaker’s embracing of the social media world.

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Today’s GearDeal is on the Lenovo G455 notebook. The 14″ notebook comes in grey and sports some nice features at a good price. The specs include an AMD Athlon ii dual-core processor running at 2.1 GHz, 3GB RAM, a 320GB hard drive, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 512MB graphics, a 6-cell battery and Windows Home Premium.

It is a nice machine and normally sells for $699. Right now, however, our GearSponsor has it for $499 including free shipping.

Lenovo G455 14-inch 2.1GHz AMD Athlon II X2 Dual-core Laptop via LogicBUY.

Evernote’s strategy has become clear and it is a three-pronged approach. The first prong, continually refine and develop the multiple platform clients that are currently available, including Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and more. Seriously, it seems as if there is an Evernote update on one of the platforms I use every two or three weeks. Second, Evernote is developing numerous partnerships with software developers who use Evernote’s API to bring tight integration between their applications and Evernote’s power. Finally, Evernote is developing numerous partnerships with hardware manufacturers including Fujitsu, Lexmark and, most recently, Samsung.

A recent software update to the Samsung Behold® II brought Evernote as a “core application” and today the company announced that Evernote will now begin shipping pre-loaded on select Samsung devices running Android. As CEO Phil Libin noted-

We’re incredibly excited to be working closely with Samsung on their line of Android phones. Android represents Evernote’s fastest growing mobile platform. This partnership helps Evernote reach a huge new audience with our promise of perfect memory for everyone.

I’m a huge fan of Evernote in its own right but I’m also a fan of the way in which they have been moving to develop their service/business. In a world in which web-based services seem to come and go on an almost daily basis Evernote has found the formula to take a great product and make it increasingly powerful and flexible. And apparently it is working. Back in December Evernote announced that they had crossed the million-user mark. At the beginning of February they had 2.3 million users. A month later… your guess is as good as mine.

The full press release follows…

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