Yesterday was the last day of my “redfly experiment”. I am very pleased that I did it, and enjoyed my experience immensely. This week gave me an opportunity to try a sort of uber-mobility; lightweight “terminal”+smartphone. It was great to just whip out the Redfly and go anytime I wanted to type an email, check facebook, etc. I got a few questions from friends, mostly wanting to know why I would try something like this, or why I didn’t just “get one of those really little computers they sell in Costco now?” I plan to address that, but first I have a few more observations about use to share.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I don’t know about you, but I walk into the DVD Rental Store and I immediately draw a blank as to what movies I’m looking for and then walk out with something that I just grabbed because I was in a hurry and got tired of scanning through the store.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

After having been announced back in the early part of April, Quickoffice has emerged from the App Store today at the expected price of $19.99. The Quickoffice combination of application tools (word processing and spreadsheet) is popular on Windows Mobile and now makes the full transition to iPhone. The Quicksheet (spreadsheet) program had been available separately for $9.99. This release bundles Quicksheet and Quickword (new) with Quickoffice file management. Quickoffice integrated application suite is the essential high-performance mobile Office productivity tool for anyone on the go. Experience Enterprise-Grade Microsoft® WORD and EXCEL® Office functionality with leading-edge innovation, convenience, and unparalleled ease-of-use. Edit your important files with confidence; Quickoffice maintains 100% data integrity and guarantees Microsoft compatibility. Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite – $19.99 (iTunes)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Can you hear me now?  Of course you can.  And now…now…and now.  why?  Because I am using the Griffin SmartTalk Bluetooth Headset.  This one uses a dual microphone design to ensure that you can be heard by every caller, in any environment.  Want to know more?  hit the jump for a closer look. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

These three pillows are not only quirky conversation starters – they’re also made from Eco-Felt – aka 100% recycled plastic bottles – and feature hand cut lettering. The covers can be removed so if a guest has a crash of another kind on them you can easily launder. Cost is $55 with $10 shipping. According to web site Strange Deals if you wack your kids with one of these pillows they’ll restart their homework. Etsy via Strange Deals Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Starting April 19 Target stores will offer $1 reservation cards that ensure you can obtain the hottest new video games on launch day. While the store bills this as a “collectible reservation card” in reality it’s more of a hybrid reservation service and coupon program that offers $5 off your next purchase. The program kicks off with reservations for Punch Out!, EA Sports Active, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and UFC 2009. Target via Slippery Brick and Coolest Gadgets Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Within the last day or so users of AT&T BlackBerry service are noticing additional unwanted icons on their BlackBerry devices. This is the result of new BlackBerry service books automatically sent to subscribers. Some of the exciting spam apps now on my BlackBerry: VPL Yellow Pages, Tetris, PAC-MAN, Make-UR-Ringtones, Mobile Banking. Most (if not all) of what’s been pushed are links to download the full or demo applications. Which might lead BlackBerry users to ask – what right does AT&T have to place non-critical applications like games and ringtone makers automatically (and without my permission) on a device that I pay over $100 per month for? I can understand the crapware that comes pre-loaded – but adding software AFTER The purchase seems… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Are you always searching the house for a flashlight? Try these Battery Snaps. The LED light is illuminated by your 9V battery. when the battery loses power – simply unsnap the light and attach to another 9V. There’s not indication of how long you can expect the light to glow – and this tiny Snap seems pretty easy to lose but for $4.99 they’re intriguing. Available in black, pink, white and yellow. Battery Snaps – $4.99 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A long time ago, back in the days of PocketPC 2002 and 2003 and the birth of smart phones as we know them today, Debbie McCormick was responsible for most of our Windows Mobile home screens.  Debbie has consistently made awesome themes for Windows Mobile.  For almost any h0liday, you used to be able to go to her site, get a theme and make sure your device was decked for the holiday.  Even if you didn’t want a holiday theme, you could go on her site and get something that made your phone or PocketPC look great. Here’s an example of some of her oldest work on PocketPC’s.  This is the Gadgeteer theme that was in Judie’s review back in 2001 when she was at The Gadgeteer: Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Earlier this week my fellow MVPs Johan van Mierlo and Remo Knops launched the complete revamped MobilityMinded website. The site, which provides news and information around the mobile community, now has a great contribution staff which will bring a freshness and unique perspective to the site. Be sure to check them out at http://www.mobilityminded.com Continue reading on Gear Diary …

At first I was going to start by asking “has this ever happened to you”? But a better introduction might be “how many times per day does this happen”. If you have a phone (landline, cellphone) you’ve probably been on the receiving end of the phone spam which starts “This is the second notice your car warranty is about to expire”. They offer an opportunity to remove your number by pushing the #1 – but somehow that option never works. The calls keep coming at all hours and to all numbers. The major phone carriers have sued them. Yet they still call. Who are they? Reddit has an interesting list of information and a few links to places where you can file a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been following the progress of the Sling Player for the iPhone since it was demonstrated in January. Recently, however, there have been rumors that it isn’t going to appear on the App Store due to objections from AT&T. So I did a little research and here’s what we know at this point: The app was submitted to Apple for approval at the end of March and as of this writing, the app has not yet been approved or rejected, but Sling seems confident it will be approved. These 2 things are the only FACTS at this time.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here’s a deal on this Bluetooth headset from Plantronics (normal price about $50-$60) featuring multi-point technology. This means you can connect to more than on Bluetooth device which is ideal for those with multiple devices. The Plantronics Discovery 650E Bluetooth headset delivers racy good looks and multitasking performance. QuickPair technology quickly pairs it with your Bluetooth device while multipoint technology lets you switch effortlessly between your cell phone and PDA–or two phones. And at a mere 9 grams, this light headset will never slow you down. When charging, the innovative charging pocket alerts you to incoming calls by vibrating. Great ear traction, high-performance voice quality, and supreme comfort let you lay rubber down life’s highway. Amazon – Plantronics 650E – $24.99 via… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a 3.5″ floppy drive. That doesn’t mean that I might not have a disk or two packed away in a closet. The problem is that it’s been since forever that I have seen a laptop which includes a 3.5″ floppy bay. Here’s a cheap solution that will let you read any stray 3.5″ disks that you may have. For only $16 you get an external 3.5″ drive that reads both 720 and “high capacity” 1.44mb drives. Remember when we all thought that 1.44 mb was so much space that we’d never need a bigger drive? DealExtreme Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the unexpected benefits of the constant flow of app updates is that, at times, the appearance of an update reminds you of applications you loved, but for whatever reason, stopped using a daily basis. That was the case yesterday when Simplify Media released an update for their application and service. While the update itself was just a bug update and didn’t add any new functionality, seeing the update reminded me of this wonderful service that, for some reason, I had removed from my iPhone a few months ago.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …