Geocaching is a recreational sport that my kids and I love to do. It involves finding hidden treasure in the woods based upon the use of GPS coordinates. The main web site that compiles a master list of all these treasures is geocaching.com which is run by Groundspeak.

They’ve just announced that they have submitted their official iPhone app to the App Store and expect it to be available within two weeks. While there are several other geocaching applications for iPhone, none has the functionality that is expected from the “official” Groundspeak App:

The first release will not have the feature to log caches or filter hides and finds, but it will be included as a free upgrade as we add that functionality

Some non-obvious features:

* You can look up travel bugs and find out their goal while out on the trail
* Saved Items allows you to save a cache listing and navigate to it, even when you are out of network range
* The application starts in beginner mode which only shows traditional caches. Advanced shows all types
* To help with speed issues on, say, the Edge network, you can restrict the number of results to 5, 10, 15 or 20

P.S. – If you think you have trouble getting a 3G signal in your house — try getting both a 3G AND GPS signal in the middle of woods located in the middle of nowhere.

Groundspeak via: TUAW

The clone wars have spread from fake iPhones to fake HTC Diamond phones. DealExtreme has this dual band (900/1800 MHZ) phone with 300,000 pixel digital camera. This phone is definitely on the lower end of the food chain with uber-slow GPRS only and 1970’s era 300k pixel camera. Have an extra $9 burning a hole in your pocket? They also offer a Dual SIM J6 with additional (possibly fake) front crappy camera for $108.

DealExtreme

Amazon has the Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset on sale now for $68.99. This is about $10 cheaper than other pricing that I’ve found online. Judie reviewed this headset in July with positive reviews about the earpieces ability to pair simultaneously to two phones as well as the charging case that tops off your earpiece battery when needed. Plantronics is on of the few Bluetooth headsets that I’ve found which support pairing to two phones at the same time. Over 224 reviews on Amazon rate this 4 (out of 5) stars for satisfaction.

Amazon – Plantronics 925 Bluetooth Headset – $68.99

Looks as if an early October release for the Blackberry Bold isn’t going to happen. Invitations have been sent for a very late October series of big city launch events which begin on October 15 in Chicago and wrap up in New York City on October 30 (early trick or treat anyone). Most product launches occur within a week or two of these unveilings – leading web site Crackberry.com to predict a November 2 launch. And in answer to RIM’s question “What Makes You Bold?” – take a look at RIM’s advertising photo of the woman scuba diving. Not only does she appear to have forgotten to snap up her BC (Buoyancy Compensator) but she has enough gauges dangling beneath her to ensure she’ll be snagging some of the sea bottom. Let’s hope she’s diving with a buddy.

Crackberry

Although I knew this was coming, I have to admit that I still feel a bit of amazement when I say that 16GB SDHC MicroSD and Memory Stick Micro cards are now available. Wow…just wow.

I present you with the brand new SanDisk models…

What will you put on yours?

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USBFever sent me their new iPhone 3G extended battery pack for review. I have been learning to manage the battery power on my iPhone 3G by charging whenever I’m within easy reach of a power source. However there are times when I’m traveling where it is not convenient to reach a power source and an extra three hours of power time can be a lifesaver.

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The Blackberry Bold is out in many parts of the world and while the USA awaits the release of Blackberry’s latest 3G model here’s you opportunity to obtain a charging cradle for the Blackberry Bold. The cradle requires that you connect your device via a side cable since the Bold lacks any “drop in” contacts to charge the battery without such connections. There’s a power connection for you to attache an AC adapter for speedier charging. Price is $ 19.99 which is about $15 cheaper than an OEM Charging Pod.

Blackberry Bold USB Charger Stand – $19.99

Imagine participating in a chat about the Presidential Debate, or any other live event, and the chat being superimposed on top of your TV.  Sure, it’s been done before, but that’s been controlled by the media.  This is outside of whatever the news outlets will do, and it is provided on your Neuros OSD by a piece of software which runs on the OSD and was created by the community.

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The NeatReceipts company has re-launched their brand by shortening their name to The Neat Company and introducing a redesigned lineup of scanning products. Their new NeatDesk scanner at $499.95 (watch video of it in action here) is impressive for its ability to simultaneously scan full sheets of paper, business cards and receipts. The NeatDesk scans up to 10 business cards, 10 receipts and 10 letter sized documents at one time, and the new NeatWorks 4.0 software organizes the information in a central inbox and makes the data actionable. Scan speed is a claimed 25 pages per minute in black and white and 8.5 pages per minute in color (one and two sided scans supported).

Also available is NeatReceipts, at $199.95 it is an upgrade of the Company’s flagship product which boasts a completely new hardware design and is also powered by NeatWorks 4.0 software. Clinton reviewed the Neat Receipts Scanner in August with positive comments.

The new scanners will be available immediately via office supply stores as well as several airport kiosks.

Neat Company

This week I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Texas Motor Speedway test driving GM’s 2009 lineup. There were so many gorgeous and impressive vehicles present, I would be hard pressed to say which was my favorite; but of course I had one…

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Have you ever heard of David Farrow?  Probably not.  Who is he?  Well, let’s start with who he was:  a dyslexic young kid with Attention Deficit Disorder.  What does this have to do with the Sony Reader?  Well, it seems that Farrow has long since overcome these challenges and become a World-renowned speed reader, as well as a Guinness World Record holder for memory.  That is part 1.

Part 2 starts with the designation of October as the Sony Electronics “Reader Revolution.”  This brand new program is designed to, “combat a nationwide decline in reading, particularly among young people.”

In order to raise awareness and help celebrate the Sony Electronics Reader Revolution, Farrow is going to spend 30 days (720 hours) living in this storefront window, reading books on his Sony Reader (and boy am I jealous).  For every page he turns, Sony will give an eBook library of 100 classic titles to a U.S. school.

Read on for more details from the press release.

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Last week, I told you about the fantastic new B&W Music Club.  I love this club, which allows me to discover a new, talented musician each month.  In fact, I loved it  so much, that we arranged to give away three 6-month subscriptions to the club.  This way, three of you lucky winners can enjoy all of the musically downloading fun. 

Picking three winners was more than a little difficult.  With only four entries, it was more like picking the one who did not win rather than the three who won.  But, pick we did (using my usual double blind method of numbering the entries and having my wife call out numbers).  Apparently, she does not like the number 3, so with apologies to Michael Anderson, our winners are:

Uzziah0

Breley

Tamaracks

Watch your emails, guys.  And we will get you a special code for your own 6-month subscription to the club.  Happy Listening!!!

How often these days do you see 4×3-aspect LCD monitors for sale? I’d be willing to bet it’s not often. Widescreen has simply dominated the PC market, from laptops to desktops, which a lot of people thinking is a wonderful thing. It makes laptops smaller, it’s better for watching movies and it lets you put documents side-by-side.

But the downside to this is considerably less vertical room, and if you think about it that’s where you often need it. How often have to been to a website that is almost twice as wide as it is tall? Or written a document in landscape? In truth, for the normal, everyday stuff we do on our computers widescreen doesn’t make a lot of sense. All it serves to do is fill our field of vision.

There are a few manufacturers that make screens to cater for those who want the ultimate in practicality for these activities, with screens that can be rotated with a simple flick of the wrist (Dell comes to mind). AOC have decided to get in on the action with the 2219P2 Jenio, a 22” 1680×1050 Widescreen display, that in an instant can be flipped to provide a very practical and long 1050×1680 resolution.

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DealExtreme has this 10 pack of LED Keychain flashlights for a total of $4.73 shipped (batteries included). That works out to a $ .47 per keychain light cost, making them perfect stocking stuffers or kid birthday party favors. You can even use these as zipper pulls on your coat so you’ll never be without a working light. I’m not quite certain how they ship these for free when the price is low to begin with. Take advantage while the deal’s available! There’s even a YouTube demo video (1:32) for those who are skeptical.

DealExtreme Keychain – package of 10 for $4.97 shipped

Here’s a cute gift for the bicycle enthusiast in your life. It’s a bottle opener made from portion of a recycled bike chain. The anodized aluminum head functions as a bottle opener. Because the chain is flexible, you can easily tuck the opener away after use. Available in four colors – Red/Blue/White and Orange – these are affordable gifts or stocking stuffers at only $12 each.

Elsewares