Today is day sixteen of HP and Microsoft’s ‘Back to School and Better Together’ Giveaway, which means that College Candy 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 College Candy Timbuk2 bag to carry their loot! … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Woot! is a popular one deal per day site. Their claim to fame is their deals which are generally the cheapest around, tend to be on current and interesting items and the shipping is a flat $5 no matter how many items you order (there’s generally however a limit of 3). Recently Woot! began another site called Kids.Woot! whose purpose is to offer deals geared toward your children (or young relatives). Each day there’s a new deal that expires at midnight. Keep your eye on the site as it’s a great place to grab a deal for your own kids or to acquire spare inventory to be used for the dreaded “kid who you don’t really know birthday party invitation”… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

HP has got a deal going on their dv2z Pavilion Laptop that they claim is their lowest ever, and at $499.99, it’s hard to find anything not to like! This is a thin and light laptop with impressive specs and a near netbook price, and when I reviewed it I was quite impressed! If you still need to get your favorite student a back to school laptop, this one will definitely meet the need and keep everyone involved happy. The sale price ends August 28th, so don’t dilly-dally! HP’s thinnest & lightest laptop for students on the go Less than 1″ thin and Only 3.81 lbs FREE 320 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Battery life is one of the biggest challenges in gadgetry. As our tech gets more advanced it often requires more and more juice. Unfortunately as we all know too well, battery technology hasn’t kept pace with all the other advances. As a result companies try new kinds of batteries or make their batteries larger, or we are left to carry cords or external batteries wherever we go. There is, however, another approach– solar power– and today Scosche is announcing an in-car speakerphone that need never be plugged in. The solChat is a hands-free speakerphone that includes a solar panel to ensure it is always ready to use. It is a great idea since, affixed to the windshield there will always be plenty of sunlight to top off its juice. The solCHAT is already available at BestBuy or directly from Scosche at an MSRP of $99… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I am a big fan of iPhone app convergence… that is having one app with a number of functions in place of two or three. That is, of course, so long as they do all of the functions as well as the individual apps would. Since the iPhone is a key productivity tool for me the release of WebIS’ Pocket Informant was a huge deal. The app is a full featured planner that syncs with Google Calendar AND a task management app that syncs with Toodledo. Moreover, it adds configurability to both AND brings the two together into a single app.  The initial release was good but was… well an initial release. It was somewhat limited in its functionality and was somewhat slow to sync. A few updates later it is excellent but that is NOTHING compared to the upcoming 1.1 release. WebIS’ Alex Kac has been kind enough to let me get an advanced look at Version 1.1. It is awesome!  Some of the highlights and a first-look at the new tutorial after the jump…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the things that I found odd on the iPhone was the inability to use Google Maps to plot a route to a locations directly from the calendar. Consider how easy Apple have made almost everything else on the iPhone, it seemed to be a rather odd omission. You can easily navigate to an address or dial a number out of an email, but why not the calendar? This evening however I found a rather neat trick that manages to get around this problem with almost no fuss whatsoever. Take this calendar item I have for tomorrow (well, today really). I’m getting my car serviced, and put the address of the place I’m taking the car… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve long been a fan of the Nokia N Series Maemo tablets.  Now Nokia has done it again with the new N900, and it is finally a phone as well!  The N900 has 32 GB of internal storage with a microSD slot.  It also has GPS/A-GPS, FM transmitter, TV-out, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, 1320mAh battery, and a 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and dual-LED flash.  It will have 1 GB of RAM for running applications on the ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and it will support OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration.  The N900 will be running the new Maemo 5 Linux based OS that has worked well on the previous devices, and it will… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Amazon is running a promotion through 8/31/09 – buy a Sony Webbie camcorder and get a $25 Amazon gift certificate. Our GearSponsor Logicbuy is indicating that you add them both to your cart and the $25 Amazon certificate is free. Eligible cameras are the Sony Webbie brand of high definition cameras suitable for video capture and subsequent online posting of embarrassing video . In addition to 1080p Hi-Def video the Webbie also takes 5 megapixel still photos, has a 5x optical zoom and 20x digital zoom. Sony Webbie Promo Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Are you “that guy”? You know. The guy that beer commercials love to immortalize? The guy whose life Animal House documentaries? The guy who can’t help but generate a happening party no matter where he is? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t carry the same keychain that “that guy” would probably carry – one that allows you to open bottles, pop soda tabs, and yeah – poke holes in the side of beer cans for maximum shotgunning effectiveness. The NoJoke.com Shotgun key chain is a gadget that just begs to be included in every fraternity’s bid day bag, given away with a wink and a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Have you ever had to work when the Shuttle is scheduled for lift off and work blocks NASA TV as it’s not work related?   Need something to do while waiting for that connection in the airport?  Well SPB Software is proud to announce SPB TV for Android Phones which may help cure that boredom.  SPB TV works over 3G or wifi and can stream NASA TV and over 100 other channels right to your Android Phone.  You may never be bored again…as long as you have some of the G1′s valuable battery left! SPB TV is available on the Android Marketplace for $9.95… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

At a press event in New York City today Sirius XM unveiled an iPhone Skydock that re-charges, rebroadcasts over FM and allows your iPhone to function as the controller for a satellite receiver. Because this is now a wired receiver (as opposed to their wireless application which due to licensing restrictions was missing lots of programming) Sirius XM is able to offer their full lineup as well as (previously missing) the complete “Best of SIRIUS” package, including Howard Stern and his two 24/7 channels, Martha Stewart Living Radio, SIRIUS NASCAR Radio, sports play-by-play and the Playboy Radio channel, all controlled by the iPod touch and iPhone. Those looking to avoid stringing an antenna through their car might consider… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yes…I do mean THAT Connect 4.  The one you loved as a kid.  sliding checkers into a plastic frame, trying to make four in a row.  This is one of my son’s favorite games, and I love the fact that he is so interested in a game from my own childhood.  And thanks to the folks at Hasbro and EA Games, you can now enjoy this classic game on your Palm Pre (10 times before you will have to pay for it).… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I was pretty excited to hear about RIM’s work with 7digital for an on-device music service, but it remains an option that hasn’t launched.  Today, BlackBerry users can go to App World and download the free Thumbplay Music Store application to get DRM-free music straight to their devices! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over my writing career, I got to review a lot of different navigation programs. They were especially popular on the Windows Mobile platform. Among them, one of my all-time favorites was iGo (released in North America as OnCourse Navigator). Now iGo is available on the iPhone. It’s been modified a little, keeping in line with their “My Way” PNA (personal navigation appliance/assistant) devices. It’s grown a little, changed a little and been fitted to take advantage of some of the iPhone’s features and characteristics. Although it’s been largely ignored by a lot of reviewers, especially in North America (where the iGo name isn’t as well known), we’re going take a look at it here. How does it stack up to the current crop of iPhone navigation apps, including biggies like Navigon? Read on!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Roger that…10-4! OK, so my wife and I can sit for hours and watch cop shows…The First 48, Crime 360, Cops, Lockup, etc…and when I say hours I really mean all day! We spend a lot of time in Columbus, Ohio and like to know whats going on, mainly where is that police cruiser headed running lights and sirens! I guess we are nosy like that, but BBScanner fuels our need for busy body information.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …