Judie Says: If you agreed with me that the Toshiba gigabeat U202 was a product comparable to the Apple Shuffle, then I think you’ll also agree that it would be hard for the Toshiba gigabeat T400 to avoid comparisons with the the 4GB Apple Nano. Both of them have a relatively intuitive interface, both have vivid color screens for picture and video, and both cost under $150.

The gigabeat has drag and drop features and plays perfectly with Windows Media Player, while the Nano has the full support of the well established iTunes audio and video download store. Which is better? I guess it just depends on what type of music and video you have in your collection, and whether or not you are tied to a particular brand.

For this review I enlisted Jerry’s help; I’ll cover the hardware portion, and he will cover the software…

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During the season premiere of Beauty and the Geek, there was a unusual geek who went to the auditions with a bunch of Smurfs, his name is André Meadows. André made it to the finals but did not get picked to be on the show. However, he did get 23 seconds of fame on TV, which was enough, as shortly after I found his audition video posted onto his YouTube channel, BlackNerdComedy and his videos became some of my favorites on YouTube. André’s newest video “Buy Mii a Wii – Black Nerd Music Video” is his best video yet! In the video, he proclaims his love for the Nintendo Wii.

Disclaimer: This video is rated PG (Parental guidance recommended) – André gets a bit TOO friendly with his Nintendo Wii box towards the end of the video, and it might scare the children.

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Portal is just another reason to believe that the kind folks over at Valve have not lost their touch in creating new and unique video games.

Enter Aperture, a company trying to get government funding. The player is a test subject, used to try out a new device, a portal gun. This is Aperture’s way to get funding away from the infamous Black Mesa of Half-Life fame, as they are bitter rivals for government contracts.

As a test subject of the ’safe and healthy’ work environment of Aperture, there is a series of tests and puzzles to solve using the portal gun. A few are safe, and have no danger whatsoever, but these do not last long. Soon, there are very life threatening challenges, up until realization that the promise of cake at the end of the course (a constant inspiration, or at least it is supposed to be) is a lie as well.

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When Gear Diary was approached to review the new Johnny Lightning Battle Wheels, I was going pass on reviewing them. I never really was interested in robotic combat. However, Judie convinced me to accept and do the review. And, I actually had fun, thanks Judie!

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Yeah, I know. You’ve read plenty of Bluetooth headset reviews in the last few years, on this site and on plenty of others, and you’ve tried your share of BT headsets, too. Sometimes you think you might have found the perfect headset, because your latest ear roach’s performance seems satisfying enough…and yet? Every time you see a new review you are compelled to peek…because you wonder.

You wonder if this one will sound clearer, if people will still hear background noise while you’re talking, or you wonder if you’ll like that one’s features better. It’s okay to look; it’s only human nature.

Sometimes the feature that first catches our eye might be the minuscule size of the headset, or a built in caller ID display, or perhaps an innovative design that looks like wearable art. The Southwing SH505 Bluetooth Headset has none of those traits, but it is a solid looking headset that offers a new feature which puts an interesting twist on a basic design.

According to WirelessGround, “This is the first headset available with a PC application. This application makes it possible to easily upgrade the headset using a PC. It allows upgrading the software to make it compatible with new mobile phones. It also allows adjusting the headset´s main settings such as the favorite number button, volume, ring tones and automatic call pick-up.”

Alrighty then, let’s see if adding PC connectivity can make an average-looking headset a ssssuperstar…

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So you’ve got a Zune and it’s loaded with your favorite music and videos, and you want a way to play your digital music player’s content over your home theater system. Can it be done? Of course.

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters, or DLO as they are more commonly known, has a product for that very purpose: the HomeDock for Zune. With the HomeDock, you can “Play your Zune’s music, photos, videos and more on your home stereo and TV.” You can also “navigate and select your Zune’s music, videos, photos, radio and community on your TV screen with the included, full-function remote control.”

Sounds good, right? Let’s see if it’s easy to set up and if it works as it should…

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Chester Greenwood would be proud. In 1873, Chester invented earmuffs to protect his ears from the bitter cold. At the young age of 18, he was awarded patent #188,292 from the United States Patent Office for “Improvement in Ear Mufflers”.

The Greenwood’s Ear Protector Factory was in business for 60 years, making Farmington, Maine the Earmuff Capital of the World.

One hundred twenty something years later, Wi-Gear’s iMuffs draws from the Chester Greenwood’s vision of comfort for one’s ears. While I enjoy listening to music on the go with my iPod, I’ve always been frustrated with the cord management of wired ear buds. Adding to the frustration are ear buds popping out despite being wedged in one’s ear canals.

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Things have been so crazy today (in a good way, thanks for asking), that I am just now getting settled down to tell you about the package that showed up this morning. Inside that FedEx box was the brand new fire engine red ruby Palm Centro, the $99 Palm OS smartphone that was announced earlier this month, and that has been showing up all over the web as other review sites have also been receiving theirs.

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[A friendly warning, there are 100 pictures in this trip report, so you may want to wait until you have access to a fast internet connection before viewing it all]

The last time I attended a show was several years ago for the New York Auto Show and the now no longer PC-Expo. Back then, I went to see new stuff and to get swag (stuff we all get). Fast forward to present day, my visit to the Digital Life show had a new mission, to find cool products to share with Gear Diary readers. Digital Life focuses on the ultimate in consumer technology, gaming and entertainment. I feel there is a broad range of products on display of interest to everyone.

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When I was a kid, computerized math tutoring came in the form of the Little Professor, an educational device made by Texas Instruments. While it was a fabulously geeky toy for my elementary school self, the Little Professor did have its shortcomings – all “he” could basically help with was addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Today, kids have it made. Companies like LeapFrog have made educational electronic toys available and accessible – even to toddlers.

I am going to tell you about their new FLY Fusion Pentop Computer, which is marked as appropriate for ages 8 and up. Due to the different accessories and modules available for the FLY Fusion, it can be enjoyed by kids up to 18…and perhaps even older, as it certainly doesn’t appear to be a toy at first glance.

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Everyone knows the phrase, “Bigger is better,” and that phrase applies to almost everything except cell phones, so logically it should apply to as well…right? Well, that’s what I was aiming to find out in this review. Trust me, CPU coolers don’t get much bigger than this little behemoth…at least, I hope they don’t. If so the gravitational pull from it could cause the wires in your case to get tangled in its fans. Generally, I consider that bad, but luckily this model doesn’t suffer that complication.

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Well here ya go, the unboxing of the device that never was: The Palm Foleo

Ah a new toy that was never meant to be. What to do, what to do…I know, Play Time.

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Yesterday, as my Fujitsu T4215 was experiencing an irritating hardware failure, and as the whole world was grinding to a complete stop, a box in a plain brown wrapper showed up on my doorstep. I had had little advance notice, and there was absolutely no fanfare. Inside, was this – the new AT&T Tilt, AKA the HTC Kaiser.

Finally, a bright spot in my day. And no, I do not get to keep it.

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For the last month or so, I have known that this would be a very hard review to write. Not because of the subject matter, but because once the review is finished I’ll no longer have an excuse to keep “my” Toshiba Tecra M8 loaner. Ah well, the deadline has come and gone (eep!) and I can’t procrastinate any longer…so let’s jump right in.

Toshiba has different lines of laptops designed to meet different people’s needs: Satellite, Qosimo, Tecra, and Portégé. Satellite are listed as “Laptop PCs with all the new mobile technologies at affordable prices;” Qosimos as “Entertainment media notebook PCs with widescreen displays;” Portégés as “High-end technology in stylish ultraportable laptops;” and Tecras, which I will be reviewing today, are “Professional notebooks for maximum productivity, reliability, and durability.”

To dig in even deeper: there are different models available under each line, and obviously some are more loaded-out than others. The Tecra line includes seven different types of laptops and one Tablet PC; the M8 is second to the top of the line.

all review pictures are thumbnails – click and they will enlarge

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