Are you a Verizon subscriber frustrated with the network coverage at your home or office? Verizon has finally released their network extender which amplifies the signal inside your home or office by re-directing cellular data from your phone to your fast network connection. Up to 3 users can connect simultaneously with a 4th channel always reserved for E911. This device ONLY works in regions where Verizon has a license (there’s a built in GPS That checks the location of the extender to verify that it’s only used in a Verizon licensed region). There’s a web interface where you can prioritize the users of the device so that there’s always a signal available for the boss to use. Verizon Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a little diversion: Mom just sent an email with a link to one of the funniest best man speeches I think that I have ever seen. Many times these speeches are sentimental, and they’ll end with a teary toast…but not this one. Oh no… I was in a good friend’s wedding last year, and if the best man had done something like this, I think that she would have killed him. It sure would have been funny, though. Watch the “Freaky Best Man Speech” by clicking here.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you’re not into the whole Twitter scene – stop reading now. If you’ve tried Twitter and just didn’t get it (which some days I don’t either) – an update to a popular software program called Twhirl was just released that may win you back. This incredible upgrade (beta) to the Adobe Air based Twhirl application now uses Ping.fm (built in) to update ALL of your social network sites in one tweet. It also finds all occurrences of your Twitter @name in a message – not just those at the beginning of a message. But that’s not what I’m most excited about.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So far I’ve only found one report of this but I can’t imagine why someone would lie about a service few people use. This person say’s they received a letter from Sprint regretting to inform them of the death of Readylink. You may remember that ReadyLink is was the walkie-talkie service Sprint developed back when it seemed walkie-talkie services might be the next big thing. That was right about the same time unlimited mobile to mobile minute plans became standard and Sprint bought Nextel. Sprint hasn’t sold a ReadyLink phone in quite some time so this news isn’t all that relevant — unless of course you happen to still have one of those phones. The alternative is QChat which is Sprint’s better… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of my pet peeves is online sites that require payment with a credit card along with a “good until canceled” order to keep charging my card until I notify them to stop. As anyone who has ever dealt with some online sites can attest, the ordeal to STOP a recurring charge can be 100 times more difficult than the two clicks it took to start. For some reason these sites all have the same policy about not refunding the amount once you have renewed. Quite frankly I think this is all one big rip off. Luckily I stumbled across a way to prevent this problem. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the first things that anyone visiting my house notices is that I have a police scanner on the kitchen counter. I like the ability to listen to the news before it is reported as well as to find out “why are the police parked in the neighborhood”. I just stumbled across two services that enable you to listen to live police and fire feeds to your iPhone or BlackBerry.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve had a few days to become acquainted with the HTC Touch HD, so this seemed like as good a time as any to take a walk-around the device and talk about some of its features.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hawking has a range of antennas that give your WiFi signal a bigger boost than usual, and these antennas all plug in to the new HWUN3 Hi-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter.  This adapter has a small form factor, and it supports 802.11 B/G/Draft N.  If your WiFi signal is a bit weak in some areas of the house, try this adapter out.  I can also see this as being the perfect adapter for untethering your desktop from its Ethernet cable.  The HWUN3 Hi-Gain Wireless-N USB Adapter will be available for a estimated street price of $59.99. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Nan Palmero over at BlackBerryCool has a most excellent review of the new Slacker for BlackBerry. He gives kudos to this free software download and based on my use I think he’s right on the money. Slacker is very similar to Pandora except you have the ability to edit the music played (beyond just liking or disliking songs) and create your own stations. It also has clients for iPhone, BlackBerry, Web and portable devices like the G1 and G2. Slacker for Blackberry Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Earlier this month SplashData released File Magic for iPhone and iPod Touch. This software makes copying your data between desktop and iPhone or iPod Touch a snap. Using your wireless network files can be dragged from either MAC or PC to the free desktop client where they are then sync’d to File Magic. Once on your device the various file types (.doc, .docx, htm and html, pdf, ppt and pptx, txt, xls and xlsw, mp3, aac, wav, m4v). Feedback in the store is good with most users commenting on the ease of use versus other similar programs. Cost is $4.99 via the App Store. File Magic Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If reports on the Wikipedia site are correct, the long running Microsoft Flight Simulator series may have been heavily impacted by the recent round of announced Microsoft layoffs. According to Wikipedia: On 22 January 2009, it was reported that development team behind the franchise was being heavily affected by Microsoft’s ongoing job cuts, with indications that the entire Microsoft Flight Simulator team was being made redundant. While the development of this popular series is likely spread around different parts of the company, if the entire team was let go, as one rumor speculates, then that can’t be good news for the franchise. Wikipedia and Gamasutra Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a short and sweet unboxing video of the new T-Mobile BlackBerry 8900 (due out February 11 but available now to business customers and the very persistent). Thankfully this guy didn’t slice his thumb off with the knife. Watch and see if you don’t wince in the opening seconds as he’s opening up the box. It’s also nice (for a change) to see an unboxing where someone isn’t yapping the whole time. There’s a short comparison to the iPhone 3G included. Launch price on this is $299 minus a $100 rebate and 2 year required contract. BlackBerry 8900 unboxed via CrackBerry Continue reading on Gear Diary …

OtterBox just released their BlackBerry Curve Push to Talk Defender series case. Aimed squarely at the hardcore (ab)user of push to talk BlackBerry devices this case covers all surfaces of the device and contains covers that can be removed for access to the phone’s ports. Three layers of protection are wrapped around Sprint’s newest BlackBerry: First is a clear membrane to cover the screen and keys, second is the high impact Polycarbonate outer case and lastly there’s a silicone skin that cushions the phone. There are appropriate openings so that you can still use your trackball, camera, flash and “do I have anything in my teeth” vanity mirror as well as the important PTT (push to talk) button. The headset speaker… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Draft N routers have been around for a while.  In fact, right before Thomas from USBfever e-mailed us about this router, I had already purchased a Netgear version.  When this one came out, I decided to check it out to see how well it would work here in the US. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One thing ProClip is known for is solid in-vehicle mounting systems, and now they have a m0unting system for the T-Mobile G1 or HTC Dream. Continue reading on Gear Diary …