Smartphones are all the rage these days.  Everyone uses them as more then just a plain old phone.  We browse the web, stream media, play our music, check our e-mail, take pictures, check social networks and oh, yeah, use it as a phone.  Battery technology in these phones have not really progressed to the point where you can make it the whole day.  Especially if you are using it as something other then just a plain phone.  If you are away from an outlet at anytime, well, you will likely run out of juice at any time unless you have [...]

I always try to track the big sales on Digital Download sites and inform you as to what is happening. But this is one that is going to go by so quickly I just can’t begin to pretend I will catch them all! Direct2Drive is now having a HUGE ‘Summer Ends’ event – for the whole month of September they are featuring two games per day for massive savings!
The Day 1 sale (Sept 1 – 2) is as follows (still going as I wrote this but due to be pulled at any moment):

Civilization IV Complete – 50% [...]

The freshman class of the Scion tC proved to be quite successful for the “garage band” division of Toyota. In fact, since its launch as a 2005 model, the little coupe has accounted for more than a third of Scions sales despite having the shortest production run (when combining xA and xD units). This is the best selling model in its showroom so for the model makeover one thing is painfully clear – don’t screw it up. Stick to your roots, stick to what brung ya’ here and stick it to the competition.
And that is what Scion is doing.

We zipped [...]

It was only a matter of time before school yearbooks went digital. Well, that time is now. Jostens, a leading provider of world-renowned yearbook products, programs and services is introducing what they are calling Personal Yearbook Pages™. Through a new application students can now create a more inclusive yearbook by
“giving every student the ability to create personalized pages that will appear exclusively in the student’s copy of the yearbook. Personal Yearbook Pages’ online user experience lets students design four unique pages with their own photos, artwork and text. What’s more, student’s can invite friends to collaborate on the design of [...]

Lemur Monitors recently released a trio of auto monitoring solutions that are designed to “empower consumers with additional insight into their vehicles’ operation”. The new tools are, the EconoDriver, which “increases awareness of fuel consumption and inefficient driving” and the SafeDriver and AlertDriver which both ensure that “your car is driven with caution and care”.
All of them are useful for anyone who owns an automobile but may be particularly attractive for parents whose kids are on the road, especially with school starting shortly. Well e have two of them to give away so read on for details… and for how [...]

Before being recreated into a mediocre retread of every late-teen-angst show since the original, and which barely managed to get a third season based on some very anemic reviews and ratings, 90210 was a powerhouse guilty pleasure show on the FOX Network back in the early 90’s created by Darren Star.
Now today is September 2nd, 2010, or 09/02/10 … or simply 90210.
All of you from the rest of the world who think of your dates in order of ascending magnitude (i.e. day, month, year) just move along – you had your celebration back in February!
Here is the synopsis:
Just as Fox’s [...]

This is sort of a ‘two-fer’: a great sale, and an easy way to support a great charity!
The Child’s Play Charity created by web comic Penny Arcade is raising money to provide toys and games for kids in hospitals all over the world. It has large fund-raising drives each year, and last year raised more than $1.75 Million! That is aside from the used games and sent in by individuals all over the world! It is an awesome cause – and as some of the Gear Diary folks have had kids in the hospital for extended stays [...]

I still have a few years until my kids will be entering college and am acutely aware of the realities of what life was like for them growing up, but each year when I see the Beloit College Mindset list it is a reminder of how much life has changed since I entered college myself oh so many years ago! This is the 12th official list, going back to the class of 2002 list made in 1998!
Here are a few samples of things from the list that made me stop in my tracks:
1. Few in the class know how [...]

Big news for ebook and magazine fans from Samsung today. In addition to the generally awesome specs of the Galaxy Tab, there’s going to be some excellent built in software that could give the iPad a run for the money in the ebook/emagazines department.
First, Zinio is FINALLY coming to Android on the Tab! Dan has sung the praises of Zinio since the iPad came out, and a coworker of mine similarly adores Zinio. I’ve been dying to try it, and that alone is a reason to be drooling over the Tab! I also hope this is a sign Zinio is [...]

Computing AND music power… that’s today’s Gear Deal. The HP ENVY 14 Beats edition is a 14.5″ Laptop that includes Beats by Dr. Dre lightweight on-ear solo headphones, an audio console that lets you customize output through a powerful equalizer and a red backlit keyboard. It’s unique, it’s loaded and our Gear Sponsor can save you some money on it.
The base model of the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition includes an Intel Core i5-450M 2.4GHz, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB Hard Drive, a Red backlit keyboard, 1GB ATI MObility Radeon HD 5650 graphics (or switchable), a 14.5″ BrightView Infinity LED [...]

Well that didn’t take long……
Griffin Technology has already released a sampling of their fall line up of case for the new iPod Nano and Touch announced at today’s Apple event. The cases below will be available from the Griffin Technology web site and other retailers this fall.
Here are all the details straight from Griffin’s Blog.
Wristlet for iPod nano
Griffin’s Wristlet is a one-piece case and wrist strap design, the perfect combination of protection, function, and size for Apple’s newest iPod nano. Tough, stretchy silicone surrounds your iPod nano, protecting the volume controls and hold switch. The wrist strap keeps [...]

OtterBox is probably best known for their highly protective case, the Defender.  The Defender packs as much shock and impact defense for your iPhone 4 as any case on the market.  However, all that protection doesn’t come without a price.  The Defender can at times be bulky and because of this OtterBox realizes it’s not for everyone.  It’s for this reason that, starting with the iPhone 3G/3Gs, the company began offering a slimmed down version of the Defender.  The Commuter Series case offers the same level of quality that its big brother, the Defender, does, in a sleeker package.
The Commuter [...]

Dexim (www.dexim.net) makes some great mobile device accessories and today announced their first line of iPhone 4 accessories. Many of Dexim’s current products are compatible with the new iPhone but these new accessories are specifically for iPhone 4 users.
Among the new products are the Supercharged Leather Power case ($79.90), a case that doubles as both a leather case and portable battery pack.

And the P-Flip™ Foldable Power Dock 3 in 1 Bundle ($69.90) that “allows users to flip the compact dock horizontally or vertically for hands-free viewing (i.e. FaceTime) or position it to slimly fold for easy storage while ensuring your device [...]

One of the reasons I love working on the iPad is that it runs cool. Gone are the days when I would suddenly realize that I had scorched my thighs by having my laptop on… my lap. Well HP just re-introduced their 13″ dm3t ultralight and it takes a different approach to avoiding scorched legs. The laptop can actually SENSE whether it is on a lap or a desk and will cool the system accordingly. That’s pretty neat.
Also neat is that you can save $125 on it if you purchase through LogicBUY. That means the $749.99 laptop will ship to [...]

I know what you’re thinking … blah, blah, blah, keeping beating the ‘I hate Sony’ drum, yeah, sure, whatever. In fact I’ve gotten more than one comment that says almost exactly as much. But hear me out …
If you look at the history of the Sony PSP, there are several games that stand out – Dissidia: Final Fantasy, God of War: Chains of Olympus, the first two Grand Theft Auto games, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Jeanne d’Arc, Resistance: Retribution, Patapon, Loco Roco … and not much else.
In 2010 we’ve had some solid releases such as Persona 3 [...]

iLuv has moved quickly to introduce new procuts for Apple’s newly announced iPods. Here’s all the info..

Personalize and protect your new 5th generation iPod Touch or nano with colorfully designed cases and protective films by iLuv
PORT WASHINGTON, NY – (September 1, 2010) – iLuv, the leader in providing the most appealing, innovative, and relevant products for iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macbook, is pleased to announced a new line of stylish cases and a screen protectors for Apple’s new 5th generation iPod Touch and nano. Ranging from colorful and graphic designed silicone and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) rugged cases to clear and [...]

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.

It is truly amazing how dependent I have become to my iPhone.  There seem to be an endless number of tools no longer needed because of the abilities of this little device and the number keeps growing.  When I first started using an iPhone, I decided to set an alarm for the morning and abandon my old alarm clock.  In fact, the alarm clock I used was a gift from my younger brother when I [...]

Last month I reviewed the Leliana’s Song DLC and the month before that I reviewed the Darkspawn Chronicles DLC, with each one representing very different types of gaming experiences within the context of the Dragon Age universe: one was combat driven and narrow, and the other was a character study that got us behind the scenes with one of the main characters from the main game. I also noted that a high-level combat-centric module Golems of Amgarrak was arriving. Now that I have completed playing through the newest DLC (and with only a week before the final DLC [...]

Microsoft has announced that as of November 1st they are increasing the cost of membership for their XBOX Live service by 20%, meaning that a one-year membership will cost $60 rather than $50. All other membership types including monthly, three months, and memberships in other countries have all seen the same increase.
My question? Is it greed of recouping for 8 years of constant investment and improvement without a single price hike? Probably some of both – but let’s take a look at some of the upside of XBOX Live:

XBOX Live is the de facto standard for [...]

(image courtesy Swift Economics)
Looks like Borders isn’t immune to the ebook price wars. They announced this morning they are lowering the prices of the Kobo Reader and the Aluratek Libre. Either this was in response to competitive pricing, or they were hoping to deflect the “Build-A-Bear” news!
In all seriousness, this does make sense, though I think they should have been far more aggressive. For starters, drop the Aluratek Libre further, from the new $99 price down to $75. And they should have cut the Kobo Reader from the new $129 price down to $99. In the interest of full disclosure, [...]