I’ve recently become a convert to the Symbian OS. It has been a lot of fun to learn the ins and outs of a new system, especially one that approaches things like Symbian does. Nokia’s flavor of Symbian feels more phone oriented, with the PDA aspects tacked on as almost an afterthought. While this can be tweaked around a bit, the place it is felt most acutely is on the “Active Standby” screen (essentially the Symbian version of a Today Screen). The only major option if you want something that offers up more power is if you look to Epocware and their Active Standby replacement, Handy Shell.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In 1999, I had Lasik surgery to correct a my severe nearsightedness and astigmatism. At that time I was 32 years old, and I had been wearing prescription eyeglasses or contacts since I was 12. I have the ugly yearbook photos to prove it…just ask anyone who went to school with me in Eldorado. Because of my vision problems, it became a yearly ritual to go to an ophthalmologist or optometrist, have my eyes checked, get a prescription, and get a new pair of glasses; at best there may have been one or two years where I kept my old frames and only replaced the lenses. There wasn’t a single year that went by where my eyes didn’t get worse, although wearing contacts seemed to slow down my eyes’ decline. Over the years, as my prescription got worse and my lenses grew thicker, a significant amount of money was invested in purchasing the thinnest and lightest lenses available. I also regularly upgraded with options such as anti-glare, UV protection, tinted or Transitions lenses, and for a brief awful while – progressive bifocals. A new pair of eyeglasses could easily cost $400 or more each year.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Pick up this Playstation 3 with 160GB of storage and Blu-ray 1080p video and you can enjoy the Uncharted Drakes Fortune game which is included in this GearSponsor bundle. The action adventure game is similar to the Indiana Jones types of movies and you not only play through the game but live an adventure. A near perfect balance between gaming and adventure. If you haven’t yet purchased a PS3 – here’s your chance to score a 160 GB model complete with a great first action adventure game to show it off with. Playstation 3 160 GB with Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Want make your gadgets really stand out? MusicSkins launched  a new feature today that allows you to upload your own personal photos to the MusicSkin site and have a custom skin made for your mobile device.  The online Customizer Tool will let you easily show off your favorite memories and photos, while adding some extra protection to your smartphone, laptop, netbook, MP3 player, or mobile game player.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We are all feeling the financial pinch!  Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. From the Developer: Tunewiki is the first media player ever to combine music, videos, community and legal lyrics for free! In this document we will guide you through all the screens and features of the TuneWiki Media Player for iPhone. TuneWiki will open up some amazing new options for you, and playing your “same old” music will never be the same! Play your music while lyrics appear on screen, synced with the audio. Find music videos on YouTube by artist and song. Listen to thousands of streaming internet radio stations with synced lyrics. Search for your favorite song’s lyrics legally whether you own the actual song or not. Get translations of your favorite songs to multiple languages contributed by your peers. Contribute to the community by adding and syncing lyrics to songs that are missing from our database. See what is playing around the world and where in the world specific songs are being played on an interactive world map. Follow the top songs and artists in different regions. Share your thoughts about songs [...]

I’ve gotten some of my favorite Mac applications through bundle purchases over the last two years. While every application usually isn’t a homerun bundles often offer some great applications for pennies on the dollar. Better still, they can introduce you to applications you might never have otherwise tried. Well, a new bundle is on the way from The Mac Sale! The bundle will include at least 10 applications for $49.99. Which ones? We don’t know but all will be revealed on August 4th. For a chance to sign up, and check out their neat “iPhone home-screen scrolling” website visit The Mac Sale! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

AT&T offers a nice GPS service for the iPhone that works well in the US. It has two major shortcomings however. First, it requires an active data connection in order to work at all. Second, while there is no upfront cost for the service, it will run you $9.99 each and every month. That means that compared to a one-time purchase, after a few months you’ll begin paying for it over and over again. Now Navigon is going to change all that with one of the first MAJOR releases of a stand-alone GPS app for the iPhone. Equipped with maps of North America from NAVTEQ®, the NAVIGON app will sell for $99.99 afterAugust 15 but will be just $69.99 until August 15. The full release after the jump…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Do you remember James Blunt’s song “You’re Beautiful”? Given that my tastes run to the obscure and *I* found it vastly overplayed, I imagine most folks were glad when it fell of the charts. Do you also remember how Weird Al wanted to release his parody of the song commercially after getting initial permission from the artist, but upon having the record label block it, released it for free? It was features in an article on NPR.org prior to the release of ‘Straight Outta Lynwood’. You can still download it here.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Microsoft yesterday announced on their blog that Windows 7 would be released to manufacturing (RTM) and to MSDN, Technet and other various technical channels on August 6, 2009. This precedes the general retail release date of October 22, 2009 and allows for hardware manufacturers and computer professionals to get familiar with the new operating system in advance of the general public. Also announced was the planned availability of a family pack for Windows 7. This multiple license bundle will provide for installation on up to 3 different computers. Pricing for the family bundle has yet to be announced. Microsoft Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Web site Crackberry.com have prepared this short video overview of the upcoming BlackBerry Storm 2. The main improvement so far seems to be the expected inclusion of Wi-Fi as well as a slightly re-designed front screen where the buttons have not be set flush with the screen. The device in the video seems to be a pre-release unit as there’s a severe screen lag during rotation from portrait to landscape. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

While this may not cause the outcry of   a baby shaking “game”, you still have to wonder how, exactly, this application made it through Apple’s approval process.    Sure, the $2.99 application — simply known as “Cannabis” — just uses Location Based Services .  Nothing wrong with that, right?  Except this app’s purpose is to pinpoint the known locations of doctors or clinics on a Google Map where you could potentially acquire medicinal marijuana.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photo courtesy of Cisco I just saw a story over at macnn.com that indicates that the IEEE chairman, Bob Heile, says that the 802.11n standard for wireless networks will be complete this September.  What does this mean for you?  Well it means that all those “temporary” (draft) and often incompatible standards you have been buying will finally be finalized for once and for all. 802.11n is a successor to the original wireless standards 802.11b and 802.11g (802.11a is based on a different frequency).   It uses a number of things, including multiple antennae to allow… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

To frame for a second just how eco-centric my family is, let me give an example: on our recent vacation to Ohio, we returned with two trash bags full of recyclable materials because we found the recycling in the area we stayed inadequate. Also, a recent report showed that simultaneous to an explosion of ‘green’ advertising, as many as 98% of all ‘green’ product advertisements are misleading. So, when someone claims to make an eco-friendly product, I am immediately skeptical. Therefore the Mobile Edge ECO Messenger gets a double-look here: first and foremost for its utility as a messenger bag, but also based on the claims of being an ECO friendly product.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The rumor mill is filled with the prospect of the next gen iPod Touch having a camera and microphone. We’ve heard these rumors before and truly HOPE they come to pass. As a CNET post notes… A well-connected source tells us those rumors are on the money, and that Apple’s factories in China are already manufacturing iPod Touch models with integrated cameras and microphones. I mean, just think about the possibilities. The additional of a camera on the touch would bring the awesome imaging power those of us with an iPhone 3GS already enjoy to a much wider market. That alone would be amazing. And if, by some small chance it included a 5MP camera instead of the current 3MP on the iPhone 3GS… wow! The possibility of a built-in microphone is even more intriguing as it would be a huge threat to the telecoms since so many of us have WiFi at work and home. Well, it would be a threat if it weren’t for two small problems.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There is a little bit of functionality in the current build of the AP News app that just “wowed” me when I was trying it out last night. It isn’t a game-changer but IS something every news and RSS app ought to consider adding into their next build. What is it? Simple, the new AP News App Continue reading on Gear Diary …