Duracell is expanding their mobile charger lineup with their new “Smart Power” products, but I would say their myGrid wireless charging pad had me all excited. Duracell isn’t the first company to release a device of this type, WildCharge has had one on the market for a while, in fact the Duracell unit looks oddly familiar when placed directly next to the WildCharge units. The WildCharge clone, which is likely to get battery nerds hot under the collar, will “eliminate the mess of multiple cords” by simultaneously charging multiple devices, such as mobile phones, MP3 music players or other mobile devices at once simply by you placing them on a dedicated pad. Check out the press release for full details:… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you’re a Google Apps user and have been yearning for a BlackBerry Enterprise Server connection then today’s your day. Google announced the general availability of the Google Apps Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). Using this program in conjunction with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server you can now connect your Google Apps data to a BES as follows: # Messages sent to your Gmail inbox are pushed to your BlackBerry within 60 seconds. # Emails read/deleted on your BlackBerry are marked as read/deleted in Gmail, and vice-versa. # Emails archived/starred on your BlackBerry are archived/starred in Gmail, and vice-versa. # BlackBerry folders are synchronized with labels in Gmail. # You can search for contact information of coworkers from the global address list on your BlackBerry. # Contacts… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When Qik hit the iTunes App Store a few weeks back cries of outrage rang out at the fact that it was limited to live streaming on Wifi only. Well I tweeted my dismay on Twitter and immediately heard back from the director of Marketing of Qik that they’d already submitted a newer version of the app. which removed the Wifi only restriction and allowed users to stream live over 3G. The updated version is now available in the App Store! Note:  After testing we’ve learned that the new version only allows for uploading of videos over 3G.  Still no live streaming. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I saw these on the most recent version of Geek TV and just though they were too cool! Samsung has announced two new cameras both with dual LCDs, the second being on the front. The ST225 and ST220 compact camera both have the new front LCDs. To activate the 1.5″ front LCD, you simply tap, and the camera turns on its self-portrait mode after which smile detection or timer can take over.  Great if you’re snapping a picture of yourself. Another thoughtful application of ST225′s front LCD is to capture a child’s attention by playing short clips of cartoon animation. The timer mode will also show a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Part of “being mobile” is being completely untethered — not just with wonderful mobile devices that handle our email, schedules, contacts, music collection, photo, and video — but with our printing needs as well.   There are situations where just getting an email won’t cut it.  Sometimes you’re going to need print out an important document or photograph.  Forget to print out a boarding pass you forgot before leaving for the airport?  Want to print out that updated business proposal on-site?  Want to print without having to find or lug around a computer?  This is where PlanOn’s Mobile Enhanced Print Application comes into play — for a price. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Netbooks are all the rage, and while Linux did start out on netbooks, it seems Microsoft has been getting the lion share of the shipments.  Well, if you have a netbook and are tired of Windows XP, but your hardware is too anemic Windows Vista or you don’t think you are geek enough for Linux, maybe you should try Jolicloud. Jolicloud is based on Ubuntu Linux, the Linux OS that is considered the easiest Linux distribution to use. It has been getting a lot of love from such sites as Lifehacker, PC Magazine and Cranky Geeks. How good is it? Let’s find out. I know Linux and, based upon the preview shots, I have never seen a version that looks as good as  Jolicloud.  They have taken the Ubuntu Netbook Remix install, a version of Ubuntu optimized for Netbooks, and added some tweaks to make it fit with their concept of “cloud computing”. As you can see in the screenshot, Jolicloud goes heavy on web-based applications such as Hulu, Boxee and LAST.fm but still has a number local programs. What it special is the approach they have taken to launching applications.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Got an old PDA laying around in need of a RAM upgrade? PPC Techs has announced the lowering of their pricing for all of their RAM upgrades. The process couldn’t be easier either.  Send them your PDA, and the price to upgrade the RAM includes free 2nd day return shipping within the US! The full list of available RAM upgrades can be seen here Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The HTC Hero I had for a brief time has been returned and I do not regret my decision. As I noted at the time however, unless Apple loosens up a bit I suspect I will have an use an Android device for my voice calls within the next two or three years. Right now though it isn’t for me. There are, however some things I already miss about the device. At the top of the list is the fantastic SenseUI HTC created for it. The interface gave me a glimpse of a post “scroll-through-7-or-8-pages-of-same-size-app-icons” era. I loved the flexibility of being able to select and arrange the various widgets I wanted HOW I wanted them in order to get the best combination of usability and information. Apple may still be ahead of the pack but there is a lot for them to learn from HTC already. Since re-jailbreaking my iPhone the other day I’ve been playing with some of the ways to make the iPhone a bit more “user-friendly” from a information and organization perspective. Cydia apps like Categories and Notifier help a lot but they still don’t offer the home screen information power of the Hero. Well, if [...]

I’ve noticed that “fat” headsets seems to be all the rage in some cities. When out and about you see people dangling these monsters off their heads instead of the much thinner earbuds. Not one to stand in the way of a hot trend I’m passing along a note from our GearSponsor Logicbuy who have spotted these Skullcandy TI Stereo Headphones (White) for only $19 (normally about $59) in the Dell store (free shipping). Worth noting that these have a 6.3 mm connector which means you’ll have to use an adapter to connect up to the 3.5 mm standard jack that’s found on many MP3 players. Skullcandy TI Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There are a number of apps available for the Palm Pre which require a specific hardware or software configurations.  Since I do not have all of the right equipment, I will not be able to go into too much detail, but I wanted to mention them in the interest of ensuring a complete series.  So, read on for a few additional sync options designed for your unique needs. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If I thought I could get away with it I’d make this rumor post of a hardware dock that converts your iPhone/Touch into a Sirius XM satellite receiver nothing more than – BAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. But let’s be serious (groan) for a moment. If the rumors are accurate, a new Sirius XM SkyDock for iPhone/Touch is set to be unveiled at an underwhelming media event in New York next Wednesday. Apparently Sirius XM is working around the problem that they can’t contractually wirelessly stream ALL of their content (MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, Nascar Radio, and Howard Stern are all notably absent ) to their iPhone App. So instead they think iPhone users are itching to tether themselves to a cable instead of listening… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah – I know you’d never buy this for yourself. Not enough or camera is less than uses – but for $100 you’ll need to convince me that this is a bad deal as a spare smartphone. Throw in a little unlocking and 802.11b and this is one great deal. It’s unlocked (GSM carriers only), quad-band and has a keyboard so your text messaging teen may even have a use for this as a replacement for the enV they left in the rain. The deal lasts one day so if you’re mildly curious you’d best hustle. The HP iPAQ hw6925 is a stylish Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My cable was out earlier today for a time. Obviously that’s a big deal for someone like me. I felt exceptionally disconnected and not in a good way, like when I am on vacation. It got me thinking about how vulnerable we really are. For example our house has a septic and well rather than municipal services but both require electricity to run. So for us no power immediately means no water, no heat, and no facilities. (indoor at least.) How prepared are we… really? Think about it for a second… if the power went off and stayed off and you couldn’t get out how long could you keep going on what is in your house RIGHT NOW? It isn’t a pleasant thought but it is one we should all consider. Well my new (as of this morning!) favorite RSS feed The Best Article Every Day has a super post on… 8 Tools to Prep for The Apocalypse and it makes one thing abundantly clear… I shouldn’t have quit after the Cub Scouts because I’m NOT prepared.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

New in Google Labs is Google Listen. Available exclusively for Android smartphones, this free download allows you to search, download, stream and subscribe to your favorite podcasts. At the moment you can only search English audio podcasts ( support for video podcasts is missing ) and there’s an annoying requirement to login with a gmail.com based email address which kicks sand in the faces of those of us using Google Apps for Domains (who therefore don’t have a gmail.com address connected with their account). Google Listen for Android Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It’s popular thing to do amongst YouTubers. You go into an Apple store and using one of the iSight cameras built into a computer you record a video. We’ve all done it.  I’ve done it. Now one person’s YouTube video from an Apple Store has gone viral. A 13 year old has made a habit or recording himself lip-syncing and dancing to various songs at the Apple Store in NYC. ABC News profiled one of his videos on TV and now it’s featured on the front page of Yahoo. His latest video already has 100,000+ views. Continue reading on Gear Diary …