When I’m barreling down the highway meeting and greeting folks, it can be a challenge (but NOT always safe) to call whoever is deserving of a return call at that moment. I have an iPhone that allows my fingers to flip through the spinning wheel of contacts, but dialing and driving are frowned upon. Some places even have laws against such behavior. The other time tested alternative is to wear a Bluetooth earpiece. I have a favorite reviewed here, but in some places there are fashion laws displaying such behavior.  So what’s a road warrior to do? Kensington has introduced a Hands-Free Visor Car Kit for iPhone and Bluetooth phones that surprisingly fits the bill for those wanting to drive safely and enjoy quality chatter time.   Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When the App Store first opened two of the most significant apps (IMO) were tied to voice-to-text services and had the potential to change the way we live and work. Both reQall and Jott were already powerful web-based services and their iPhone apps extended their utility a great deal. It is nine months later and reQall has just announced a significant update to its service that steps up the game and goes a long way toward reaching that potential.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

To be fair, I guess Grandcentral ,when they advertised “one number for life”, didn’t specify whose life. After waiting impatiently nearly two weeks for my Grandcentral account to upgrade to Google Voice – I was a bit surprised to wake up to an email advising me that if I wanted to keep my old Grandcentral number that I’d have to forgo any SMS forwarding features (the MAJOR new feature of Google Voice). Say what? I thought I had my Grandcentral number “for life”?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m not disputing the value inherent in this $39 Bluetooth A2DP, Caller ID, Handsfree and MP3 Player FM transmitter. It’s just that mounting this on the inside of your steering wheel seems a little shall we say “iffy”. Even worse is the array of connectors which accept 2.5mm line in as well as USB flash/jump drives which appear tempting for connecting wired MP3 players to your steering wheel as you drive. Bluetooth MP3 Steering Wheel Mount Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Proporta just released a leather case for the BlackBerry Storm. The case includes an inner aluminum screen saver to protect against crushing and impacts. Instead of crowding the front of the case with a leather sleeve – the Storm clips into the front of the case. Since my sister Lynn has a BlackBerry Storm – I’ve asked her to give us a look.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For those who don’t know, the primary part of the Neuros Link is the Neuros.TV website that helps you find content on your Neuros Link from the web.  Well, Joe has let me know that you are not just stuck with whatever Neuros and their hackers will give you.  Now if you know of a site where a stream of a TV show is, you can add it via a link near the bottom of the page.  The Neuros Link and its companion site are attempting to extend the tradition of users adding content similar to how the cddb (which is now Gracenote) was started.  If you know of a site that carries the content you’ve searched for, you can now added it to the Neuros.TV website… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is not often that I’ll spot someone carrying a bag which prompts me to ask questions about it, but that is exactly what happened at Digital Experience, when I saw Vincent carrying his black ACME MADE Courier. His bag looked sharp; it was stylish, not bulky at all, and I liked the way it conformed to his hip. Vincent flipped open the front flap to show me how much room the bag had and how the sections were laid out, which brought on something I have not felt in ages…bag envy. Bag envy is an ugly beast; even after two months of abuse, the ACME MADE Courier is not Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The following is a review submitted by Nan Palmero – Chief Inspiration Officer at SalesBy5. Telenav, as most of you may know, is the software behind many of the branded GPS applications found on AT&T Navigator and Sprint Navigation. The Telenav Shotgun is their first entrance into the crowded stand alone GPS space. Fortunately, though, Telenav has a few tricks up their sleeve to differentiate their device from the sea of other GPS devices out there.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the biggest issues with the Amazon Kindle 2 is the fact that Amazon cheaped out on the device by not including any sort of protective case. No, they didn’t need to include a leather case like the one that shipped with the first generation Kindle, but something – even a simple slip cover – would have been appropriate for a device with an open, vulnerable screen. They didn’t, and as a result any of us who have a Kindle and actually use it have had to scramble to find a way to protect it. I was fortunate enough to have a case coming from M-Edge for review when I ordered my Kindle 2. Unfortunately there was going to be a 1 to 3 week gap between the Kindle and the case arriving. I was worried about protecting the device during that period of time, so as a result I ordered one of Amazon’s own cases for the interim period. Let’s take a look at both.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In the last two years I’ve used a ProClip dashboard mount on my BlackBerry 8700, 8800, 8300, and now my 8900. What I like about this mount is that my BlackBerry is held firmly in a place where I can easily read the display and it stays up off my car seat where it could slide around onto the floor, become damaged and possibly lost from sliding out the door. I installed my first ProClip three years ago. Because you order a model that is specific to your car make, model and year – it clicks neatly into place with no messy tape required. Since I installed it the mount has been rock solid. Each time I’ve upgraded devices I just order a new mount from ProClip. Simply unscrewing the old mount and fastening the new mount is all that’s needed to upgrade. My BlackBerry 8900 ProClip took under one minute to install as a replacement — and that includes the 30 seconds I spent admiring the new device.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sold as a convenient way of backing up your cellular phone SIM cards (2G GSM SIM cards only), this editor appears to also offer cloning of cards so that one SIM can hold up to 6 different carrier phone numbers. I’ve long wanted a phone that would automatically switch between whoever had the strongest cellular signal in my area. For a while this may be the closest I can come provided I’m on a GSM carrier. The old adage – “if it sounds too good to be true” may apply here. Clone your SIM card in a few easy steps, then no worries of losing your mobilephone, SIM card. Our SIM clone package will allow you to make an exact copy of your Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Close your eyes for a minute and pretend that toner isn’t outlandishly expensive for these laser printers. You can score yourself a free brand spankin’ new laser factory direct from HP for nada, zip, zilch. Just use coupon code SV2132. Shipping’s free too. Who say’s there’s no such think as a free 17 ppm HP laser printer? Meet your small-business needs or personal needs with the 266MHz processor, 8MB of memory, and speeds of up to 17 pages per minute Get bold, crisp text and sharp images every time you print Fit on your desktop: the compact design means this printer won’t take up valuable space Get the first page fast from PowerSave with our Instant On technology—two times faster than printers Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In what may be the slimmest feature upgrade ever, Research In Motion unleashed their BIS (BlackBerry Internet Service) version 2.6 update this weekend. BIS is the email delivery mechanism that integrates up to 10 personal email addresses so email is pushed to a BlackBerry smartphone. Strangely most of the enhancements have been made to Gmail integration (Android competition?). In order to get the features you’ll need to make the stupid clumsy move of removing and adding any Gmail accounts. Here’s what I found is new related to Gmail: – When you read a Gmail email on your BlackBerry – the web client knows that it has been read and marks it accordingly – Emails sent from your BlackBerry no longer wind up in your inbox -… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As many of you know, I wrote for pocketnow.com for about 7 years.  I was one of their most productive writers for a good, little while, and left the site to come help Judie here at Gear Diary.  God knows, I love writing for this team!  What an awesome bunch!  I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve reposted an article that originally appeared on pocketnow.com a little more than 3 years ago on my personal blog, Pocket PC Guru. Exchange Server 2003 SP2 and Windows Mobile 5 Devices with AKU1 and AKU2 The following article is a reprint that originally appeared on pocketnow.com back in March of 2006, nearly 3 years ago.  I am reprinting it here for a couple of reasons: The article Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a solution in search of a problem. This $8.95 BlackBerry Mobile Visor provides a zone of sun glare protection — and security — so casual onlookers can’t steal a peek at what you’re typing. Of course the mere fact that you’re using a shield like this is going to make everyone look that much harder to see what’s on the keyboard. Call me crazy but I think this device has a limited market outside of privacy obsessed accountants. My BlackBerry devices do just fine in the sun and while the screen isn’t perfect it’s very readable without needing to worry about carrying a bulky metal guard. Mobile Visor via JKOnTheRun Continue reading on Gear Diary …