You probably think all battery chargers are more or less the same. Not so with the La Crosse BC-900. Charge up to 4 batteries (AA or AAA) independently of each other and with varying amounts of current. No more forced pairing up of batteries as some of the cheaper chargers require. The La Crosse can vary each individual battery charge allowing you to refresh one battery while bringing another two up to a full charge. The display shows current/time/voltage and capacity for each individual cell. If you’ve been plagued by bad rechargeable batteries – the La Crosse has an uncanny ability to recycle and rejuvenate your NiMH cells, bringing back to life those batteries you formerly would have discarded… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Move over Pandora – here comes Slacker. The free radio application has just appeared in the iTunes Apps store for download. There are over 100 different radio stations representing millions of songs. You can create custom stations on your own just by typing in an artist name. Full album cover art and artist biographies and reviews are also viewable from this application. While a subscription is not required, you’ll have a limited number of times that you can skip songs while using the free version. Slacker Radio for iPhone (iTunes) Full press release after the jump…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Prior to this review I was not familiar with the relatively new company i2i and their range of products.  I’m certainly glad to have had the chance to change that. The company is best known for its flagship product, the Stream, so we’ll not only take a look at it, but two other solid offerings- the i2i Folding Portable Speakers and AudioWear Lanyard Style Earphones, as well. the three work together to create a nice, wireless system.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the odder – and yet possibly more useful – things that I saw at Digital Experience was a product which might just enable my plants to tell me exactly what’s wrong when they aren’t thriving. Unfortunately, this can be a common occurrence. Called the EasyBloom, it might be easy to mistake this cartoonish plastic flower as an oversize hors d’œuvre pick, but what it is instead is a sophisticated tool that will allow plants to communicate their needs.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The OtterBox Impact series is a thin skin designed to protect your smartphone without adding the bulk of their Defender series cases. The skin covers the sides and back completely while leaving the front open for use of the keypad and trackball as well as soft keys. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a great idea that I just know guys are using for all the wrong purposes. Here’s how I think it SHOULD be used…Imagine you’re suspicious that the maid isn’t replacing the towels in your bathroom. What’s a better way to catch her than to use this remote controlled, battery operated (claimed 15 hour run time), video camera (available with either 2GB or 4GB of memory) cleverly concealed inside a tissue box? … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

WordsWorth for the iPhone and iPod Touch is like a training camp for Scrabble fans. The object of the game is simple. Use the touch surface of your iPhone or Touch and drag from letter to letter to spell complete words (minimum word length can be varied from 3 to 5 letters to increase game difficulty). The object is to spell the longest word using high scoring letters and gather the most points.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My friend Matt over on Loot Ninja is feeling generous today with a giveaway of the Electronic Arts (EA) game Spore Origins for iPhone. The premise of Spore Origins is you start out as a little spore in a big pond and grow into a big spore in a little pond. Along the way avoid being eaten by bad spores. I just love contests that are easy to win. All you need to enter this is to visit Loot Ninja and post in their forum. I’m not sure if content quality matters (it wouldn’t hurt to be nice just in case). I’ve played Spore on the Mac and it’s a really intense experience. Here’s your chance to get a free copy for your… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As promised, I am in the process of writing up an article on dual booting the MSI Wind between Windows XP and OSX 10.5.6. I fully expect to have that article up before the end of the week. Its been an interesting journey getting it where it is now. If I could image the drive and just pull that on and off as I wanted, I’d probably do that; but you know us tweak-geeks…we just can’t leave good enough alone. Case in point – As soon as the Dual Boot article is done, the Wind is getting wiped, and Windows 7 beta is going on! I was fortunate enough to score a copy of the beta and a license code over the weekend, and its going on as soon… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

While several members of the Gear Diary team have been loading up their netbooks with Mac OS X (and why wouldn’t you, it’s great!), I recently changed OSes on a device that highlighted the shortcomings of Windows Vista: the HTC Shift. I reviewed the Shift last year, and found it disappointing. With its low res screen, pokey keyboard and poor battery life, it was hard to recommend at its staggeringly high price tag. The worst thing though was the performance of Windows Vista. With its paltry 800Mhz processor, it just crawled along trying to run Microsoft’s bloated OS. It’s unfortunate because it did have some good points, like its excellent build quality, built-in 3G and handy (if crippled) Windows Mobile side. I’ve had one on extended test for a few months, and after using it a fair bit at the coffee shop (my MacBook Pro’s battery has packed up) I decided to give it a new lease on life by installing Windows XP.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

[This review is being co-written by Doug, Lauren, and Sue.  Doug's comments will appear in normal text, Lauren's will appear in bold text, Sue's will appear in italicized text.  This is also being jointly posted on Just Another Mobile Monday and Gear Diary.] Doug: One of the reasons I was so excited to review the HTC Touch Pro was the new interface HTC put together for it.  Their TouchFlo 3D interface was the first in a new generation of built-in graphical interfaces for Windows Mobile.  And boy did it look slick, with tabs running across the bottom of the screen, and instant access to everything on your device.  This was going to be great… or was it. Lauren: I was also eager to see TouchFlo 3D in action. It’s probably the most-hyped non-Microsoft enhancement to Windows Mobile ever — I remember my jaw literally dropping the first time I saw the demonstration videos. TouchFlo 3D looked amazing, and I couldn’t wait to get my finger on it. Doug: Almost immediately upon firing up the HTC Touch Pro, I started finding problems with the TouchFlo 3D interface.  Sure, it is slick, and takes full advantage of the VGA screen and graphics [...]

DETROIT, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ — A jury of 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada has selected the Hyundai Genesis as the 2009 North American Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 as the 2009 North American Truck of the Year.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is your reminder that there’s a little over 24 hours left in the Digital Innovation New Years Resolution Cleaning Gear contest. To enter, go reply to this blog post. Good luck to everyone! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the CES events that I always try to attend is Pepcom‘s Digital Experience, a showcase where manufacturers set up tables and small booths so that invitees -  editorial press and analysts only – can attend for a slightly less hectic experience than that on the CES convention floor. It’s a great way to see neat new products without having to battle the exhaustive floor plan of the LVCC North Hall, Center Hall, South Hall, Hilton, Venetian, and Sands Expo. Hmmm…I might have even left out some of the places that CES events occur. Anyway! It would be impossible for anyone to try to see everything at CES, mainly because it is so spread out; in that regard, these smaller shows are helpful. This year’s Digital Experience had an interesting line-up of products, some from familiar companies as well as a few newcomers. One of the more interesting items being shown was the LG Watch Phone. This watch appears to be the love-child of the Dick Tracy watch and something from Q’s lab. all photos by Kevin Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Palm has posted video of their Palm Pre keynote address given Thursday January 8, 2009 from CES 2009. It’s well worth a look to see the announcement of the new Palm Pre smartphone and Web OS operating system that touched off a significant amount of press enthusiasm. Palm Continue reading on Gear Diary …