i. TV is one of the better television guide applications available for the iPhone. With i. TV you can develop you own custom TV Guide with all your favorite shows. Yesterday the developers of  i. TV released a major update which just might solidify it as the best of the bunch. Most notably is the addition of push notification for alerts.  Now it’ll alert you when your favorite show is about to air. Also included is the ability to use your iPhone to remotely control your Tivo. The entire interface is not only faster but has been redesigned and it looks super… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Cell phone retailer Wirefly is out with a comparison of the top 10 cell phone video cameras for 2009. I was surprised at which camera they said had the best overall video. Think it was the iPhone 3GS? Think again. It turns out their top performer was a phone your kids may own. Image courtesy Body Art Expo Wirefly tests 10 video-camera cell phones Continue reading on Gear Diary …

OK, I am definitely a product of the 80′s & 90′s…nothing beats GI Joe (uh..the original!), Saved By the Bell, Alf (yeah that just happened), and Polaroid pictures! Unless you are able to track down one of these relics at a yard sale or flea market, what can you do?.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The relatively new Samsung I7500 can be all yours via Amazon reseller MobileCityOnline for $700. This unlocked Android based phone, nicknamed Galaxy, is unique for the 3.2″ AMOLED screen which promises a brilliant touchscreen experience. There’s also GPS, 5 MP camera, 8 GB memory, Wi-Fi and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA (900 / 2100 / 1700) as well as quad band GSM (850/ 900/1800/1900). The site indicates the phone is shipping now. Amazon Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few days ago we posted on Apple’s latest App Store nonsense. To refresh your memory… Apple kept the folks at Ilium Software waiting for approval on an update for eWallet only to then turn around and reject it because one icon looked too much like their trademarked iPhone image. Thing was, that very same icon had been there since the app was first released. The post received a respectable number of responses, the majority of which thoughtful and well-considered. Mack from Ilium software posted a great piece entitled “The Myth of Not My Problem” over on the Ilium Blog. He also left a thoughtful comment to add to our discussion here on Gear Diary. Very often some of the most interesting aspects of a post are the comments that follow but, unfortunately, they can easily be lost is the awesome flow of content here on the site. For that reason I am posting Marc’s comment below…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

After much deliberation between getting a subscription to Pandora or to Slacker Radio I opted for Pandora. In the end, Pandora just felt like a better fit. Among the things I like about Pandora is the desktop app they offer. It is small, unobtrusive and works well. AND, it just got pumped to version 2.0. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

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

The recently announced Nokia entry into computing was shown today to those attending Nokia World. The Nokia Booklet 3G is a Netbook with an embedded 3G cellular modem slated to run Windows 7. With an Atom Z530 CPU, 10.1 inch display and 120GB drive the specs most closely match those of current Netbooks. Unfortunately I see a big problem with the 1GB of RAM that is soldered down to the motherboard which will make expandability a difficult if not impossible task. Cost is also expected to be $818 which if true will likely price this out of the market for all but the most curious Nokia fanatic. Nokia Blog Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve been doing a series of reviews of navigation software for the iPhone.  The folks at ALK (the makers of CoPilot) have released CoPilot Live into the market for a very nice price of only $34.99 (for the North America version).  At this price it will appeal to many people.  Here I’m taking a first look at CoPilot Live (with a full review to follow) and give some initial impressions.  So let’s get to it!… 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. It is that time of the year again!!!  My football season is in full swing and we won our first game of the year 40-7.  The NFL is finally winding up the pre-season and NCAA begins this week.  The only thing else we need is fantasy football!!!  For those of you who have never played fantasy football, it can become a true addiction!  The Beaver Bowl III (my league) has its draft party tonight!  Each of us come with our own tools to ensure the best draft possible.  So, the iPhone guy on staff must have an app for that, right? Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Did you wake up this morning determined to buy a large HDTV? Amazon is offering up to 26% off Samsung Plasma and LCD HDTVs. To enable the lower prices you’ll have to use the coupon codes . LCD and Plasma HDTV sizes are available from 40 to 63 inches and the offer expires 9/5. Samsung LDC and Plasma HDTV deals Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If Apple has taught me anything lately it is that any company can go from warm, welcoming underdog to Microsoft-esque arrogance after a period of growth and market domination. Still, while I have no illusions about Google’s “goodness”, I could not help but be impressed with how they responded to yesterday’s outage. They did, in fact, display a degree of maturity and integrity that is all to lacking in most corners of the world these days. How so? 1. They responded almost immediately. Here’s what happened: This morning (Pacific Time) we took a small fraction of Gmail’s (Gmail) servers offline to perform routine upgrades. This isn’t in itself a problem — we do this all the time, and Gmail’s web interface runs in many locations and just sends traffic to other locations when one is offline. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Microsoft Windows Live Messenger users can later this month expect to receive a mandatory upgrade notification from Microsoft. This patch fixes a security vulnerability caused by the use of Microsoft’s Active Template Library (ATL). Apparently there’s a programming error involving an extra “&” character results in the flaw. Windows Live 8.1 and 8.5 are vulnerable as well as those on version 14. More via The Register Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I started this series, my hope had been to tackle all of the apps in the Palm Pre App Catalog before its official launch, later this month.  But the developers turned out to be too fast for me.  In the month since I started this series, the App Catalog has grown from 30 apps to 45, and is really starting to gain momentum.  So, a slight change of plans will see the series ending today, with an overview of 30 apps. As a finale to the series, I thought we would take a look at Yelp, the location based search tool.  But don’t worry, this will not be the end of our look at apps for the Palm Pre.  There are plenty of new apps showing up every day, both in the official App catalog and in the unofficial homebrew app lists.  And we will work our way through many of the apps in both locations.  For now, though, let’s take a look at Yelp. Yelp is a multi-platform tool, which can help you find local businesses and restaurants in your area.  You can search either by selecting one of the preset categories or by entering your own search [...]

Android has a built in IM client that is actually pretty good.  It supports a lot of the instant messaging services, but does not support any of the new chats like Facebook chat or Skype.  Nimbuzz has finally released a client for the Android operating system that supports Facebook and Skype as well as Live Messenger, Yahoo Instant Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Google Talk, My Space, Study VZm SchuelerVZ, Gadu Gadu, Hyves,Jabber and Giovani.  Most of these other services Nimbuzz supports I have never heard of.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …