My dad made the rather exciting purchase of a jet ski some months ago, and during the summer it was an absolute hoot to go out on the water and race around doing over 100kph (62mph) under the warm sun.

I wanted to get some video to show just how quick the jet ski was, but mounting a camera in such a way that it wouldn’t fall off proved difficult. Then it occured to me: the Gorillapod. With its flexible legs I could surely work out some way of mounting it on the front of the jet ski. Dan reviewed the Gorillapod a few days ago, and after showing him my little test of it he insisted I put my thoughts up too.

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Ah yes, our friends at Apple are up to it AGAIN! (Hmmm this just might become Gear Diary’s longest running, or at least most numerous, series if they keep this up).

This time my buddy PatrickJ over on Just Another iPhone Blog reveals the latest app to be rejected from the App Store. Fart app? Nope. Soft core app? Nope. Google Voice app? Nope (at least not today, as they have already taken care of that.)

So what is the offending app… Why eWallet from Ilium Software. (And you KNOW that those folks are troublemakers!)

Their “offense”? One icon in the app is… gasp… an iPhone.. and apparently that is a no no.

Good thing this is only a first release of the app, and they only submitted it two weekss ago…  Huh?? What’s that you say??? It has been on the app since it was first released over a year ago, and the rejected update has been under review forever?????

SERIOUSLY APPLE.. ENOUGH!

Read the entire sorry tale on JAiB.

Gear Diary has  reviewed a few different options for viewing your web cameras remotely.  If you want to view your web or IP security cameras via your mobile phone, then Shape Services’ Mobiscope may be just the application you are looking to use.  Unlike some options that require a monthly subscription fee, like Total Control, Mobiscope is a one-time fee.   Mobiscope for BlackBerry  has recently been updated to support  real-time audio for your webcam streams.

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Do you want your phone to have its own identity?

Then perhaps it needs a Coveroo case.

Coveroo offers over 2,000 designs that it laser engraves onto the back of your cases.  Or choose a color design and it’ll be applied with a special process that makes it both durable and wear resistant.

You can also choose to truly customize your case by having Coveroo apply your own personal logo or picture to your case.

The Coveroo cases are available for most major cell phones including BlackBerry, iPhone, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, HTC, Palm, and more!

I recently ordered a couple of Coveroo cases for review.

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Budget Gadgets.com is a web site devoted to electronics, gadgets and other fun gizmos all sold at very affordable prices.

The company recent sent me a few items to review.

The first being their Coca Cola style telephone.

Not only does the phone look incredibly realistic but it actually works as a real phone.

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Klipsch has given its 2-year old iGroove SXT iPod dock a much needed refresh. Now boasting Apple’s ‘Works with iPod’ certification, the iGroove accommodates all current iPod and iPhone models, and charges a docked device using a 1000mA rapid recharge circuit (theoretically twice as fast as charging through USB). Other enhancements include retuned bass ports and bi-amplification – amplifying each driver individually so as to eliminate distortion. I’ve had good experiences with Klipsch products, and the updated iGroove looks set to uphold the Klipsch tradition of excellent sound quality at reasonable prices. The refreshed iGroove SXT is available exclusively at Best Buy until later this month, with the price unchanged at $149.99.

A new article by Robert Capps at Wired called “The Good Enough Revolution” puts forth an interesting hypothesis: the fundamental definition of Quality has changed from delivering excellence in all areas to delivering something that is ‘good enough’ but very easy to use and accessible.

Here are some examples:
- The Flip Video camera – fairly mediocre camera, but is extremely easy to use and sharing video online is simple.
- MP3 – lower quality sound than CD’s or vinyl, but successful due to ease of access
- Skype – laggy and less reliable, but the free computer to computer calls are good enough for many!
- Web Apps (e.g. Google Docs) – lacking features of full apps, but offer anytime access and are free
- Netbooks – trading a full experience for a smaller one Continue Reading

I have to admit that I have never been one to dabble to deep in the stock market.  Most of my money is in IRAs or index based funds.  Plus, I rarely want to have the values too close, because looking at how much money I am constantly losing can get a bit depressing these days.  Nonetheless, for those of you who do like to have your net worth in the palm of your hand at all times, there is a fantastic app called Express Stocks.

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photo credit: Not forgotten

I recently posted about Maghound, the online magazine subscription service that I’ve been given the opportunity to try, and now I have news of a series of contests happening on several blogs.

Each participating site will give away two of the $4.95/month level subscriptions to two of their readers, which means each of the winners will get to choose which three magazines they want to find in their mail box for the next twelve months… for FREE.

We’ll begin our give-away on the 15th of September, but you can start entering today at A Mom in Red High Heels, and then at each of the sites on this list in the following days.

Good luck!

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Summer is slowly coming to a close here in the U.S.  That means time for school and looking ahead to the Fall  (and lots of exciting tech news and product releases for the upcoming holiday season).   Even Gear Diary is taking some time to learn some new tricks.

Apple fans had an exciting week with the release of Snow Leopard, Facebook 3.0, TextExpander Touch, a peak at the new Pocket Informant and some augmented-reality fun with Yelp .  In all the excitement you may have forgotten to make sure your software will remain compatible (and snow leopard is also safe for all of our the jailbroken iPhones out there).

BlackBerry users got their own on-device music store, while Android got some Mobile TV love — I even hear it works over 3G and Wi-Fi .   There’s always a lot going, so let’s kick back and take a look at just a bit of what you may have missed…

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The latest bit of recession-reminder news comes to us today from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: no state added manufacturing jobs in the past twelve months, and 49 of 50 lost jobs. According to the report only Alaska stayed flat, with Ohio, California and Michigan all shedding more than 100,000 jobs in the past year. Check out where your state falls on the list: Continue Reading

When I heard FrozenByte – the guys who made the games Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds: Survivor – was making a new game I was thrilled and knew I’d want to play it. When I heard it was a fantasy side-scrolling platform action game that required using three players in harmony to solve challenges, I was curious about what it would be like … and if I would still be thrilled when I was done!

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PanDigital has announced that it’s new PanTouch Clear 8 inch picture frame is now available. The PanTouch Clear 8 inch frame has 1 GB of memory and a touch screen interface.  You can use a USB cable or a 6-in-1 card reader for loading it up with pictures of your loved ones. It also has WiFi, clock and calendar features. This frame could be just the thing for your mom or for prettying up your desk at work, and it’s available on the PanDigital web site for$119.99.

Today is day twenty of HP and Microsoft’s ‘Back to School and Better Together’ Giveaway, which means that Debt Free Scholar will begin theirs. Up for grabs is a computer combo containing an HP dv6, an HP Mini 110 and Syncables software – which allows you to keep the larger laptop at home but carry the smaller netbook (synced and carrying all of your data!) when on the go. The Winner will also get a customized Debt Free Scholar Timbuk2 bag to carry their loot!

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This is one of those rumors we can’t help but hope is true. AppleInsider is reporting that Gene Munster, senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, is predicting Apple will add a second US carrier for the iPhone next summer. It is not a new rumor, but with the FCC stepping in on the Google Voice issue and word that Apple will NEED to add an additional carrier if they want to maintain the kind of growth they have seen; this has a new ring to it.

This would be a great thing for everyone using an iPhone, even those who would remain with AT&T. Why? Two reasons. First it would give more visibility to the business practices Apple is using while decreasing Apple’s ability to make special side-deals that ultimately cripple the device and undermine end-users. Second, competition. AT&T stinks. Right now, however, they don’t really need to woo anyone to come to them or two stay- the iPhone does that all by itself. With the iPhone on an additional carrier AT&T is going to have to work a bit harder and be a bit less arrogant than they currently are. Competition is good for consumers and right now there isn’t any.

Oh, and it would also let us happily tell AT&T to kiss-off if we wanted to. After all, as the post put it…

While customers have been extremely satisfied with Apple’s phone and have embraced it, many U.S. customers have been disappointed with the AT&T network.