Do you detest office holiday parties as much as I do? Luckily most companies have toned down their festivities in favor of some fake niceties less formal gatherings in the company lunchroom. While the fancy dinners might be gone – one thing that lives on is the stupid grab bag gift giving. No matter how hard you try you’re going to pick something lousy for a gift – so why try? At $16 this mug’s a little pricy – but it’s guaranteed to be the talk of the office. Toilet Coffee Mug – $16 Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sure it was a bummer that the new iPod touch didn’t add any camera. We all expected that it would be coming with a camera and perhaps even a GPS chip, but we got neither. At the same time, there was a significant advantage to the fact that there were no external changes to the new iPod touch. All of the cases, batteries and other accessories we had purchased for the second-generation device still worked. Yes, I also would have preferred to have a camera but being able to continue using accessories was certainly a nice benefit. That’s not the case with the current generation iPod nano. While it is approximately the same size and weight as its predecessor it’s screen is slightly longer and it adds a video camera to the back. (a poor video camera but a video camera nonetheless.) That means it is time for a new series of accessories if you had the previous generation device. One of my favorite case companies, Agent 18, was kind enough to send two of their new iPod nano generation five cases. Let’s take a look.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Geohot, the iPhone hacker responsible for the jailbreaking tool Purplera1n, has done it again.  Blackra1n is described as a 30 second jailbreak took which works on ALL devices running the newest iPhone OS 3.1.2.  The iPhone Dev. Team recently released its jailbreak tool for iPhone OS 3.1 but so far it’s not compatible with the new 3.1.2 upgrade. The jailbreak solution was released early this morning for Windows computers only. If your phone is unlocked, and you want to keep it that way you’ll want to stay away from this tool as it doesn’t preserve the unlock. Check it all out on Geohot’s blog and get the download… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you use a Sidekick. DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR PHONE OR LET THE BATTERY DIE!!! That’s the message from T-Mobile and Danger/Microsoft. Apparently that data outage last week did more than just knock everyone offline…it also hosed their servers, which means everything stored there (calendar, contacts, pictures, emails, etc) is most likely gone. This is just a terrible situation, and it doesn’t look like there’s an offline backup solution. Hopefully T-Mobile, Danger, and Microsoft can come up with a better answer than “Oops…all gone!”, but in the meantime make sure you don’t turn your phone off! And if you don’t use a Sidekick, this is a good opportunity to remember to download a good backup application… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Blue has released an update to the Eyeball webcam that I liked so well.  The new Eyeball 2.0 improves upon the Eyeball 1.0.  The new webcam has the same Microphone capsule and upgraded the video to 1600 x 1200 at 30 fps.  It’s not 1080p, but it looks to be a very nice webcam.  The Eyeball 2.0 is available for $53.55 at Amazon.com.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is a joint review between Wayne and me. Wayne is primarily a Blackberry and iPhone user, and he has also dabbled in Android, Palm, Windows Mobile and WebOS. I am primarily an iPhone and Nokia / Vertu user, with an extensive background in Palm and Windows Mobile. We were recently sent the new HTC Pure Windows Phone to review, because it is one of the first of several new Windows Phones to use the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. Wayne’s comments will be the ones in black; mine will be in blue italics. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I tend to be a bit of a minimalist when it comes to iPhone cases. I have tried a wide range of cases over the years including expensive leather cases, fancy cases that include a wallet, and everything in between. Time after time, however, I come back to the simplest, lightest and most low-profile cases I can find. Last week Larry was kind enough to send me Case-Mate’s Barely There Clear Case. Larry had ordered one for himself, and when it did not arrive in the expected time frame, the company’s excellent customer service overnighted him a new one and let him keep the original one when it finally arrived. This case is just about as “minimalist” as you’re going to find. So what I think about it? Let’s take a look at Larry’s YouTube video and some of my impressions.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Normally priced at $49 the Otterbox Defender Case for the iPhone 3G and 3GS is up for sale for only $29 on Amazon. This rugged case is thicker than most and that’s because it’s padded to absorb more bumps and shocks. Includes a protective film for the screen and a cleaning cloth for screen prints. There’s a pink version for the ladies priced at $35. Otterbox Defender Case – iPhone 3G/3Gs Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It started innocently enough.  One morning last week Wayne sent an email asking if any of the writers liked Starbuck’s after he had accumulated a fairly large amount of points — $370 worth — on his own Starbuck’s rewards card.  Then today Carly spotted a great deal on Woot! for a Breville 15-Bar Expresso & Cappuccino Maker for $179.99 (that’s it pictured above). These messages sparked an entire back and forth coast to coast between what gear we each used to  quench our lust for caffeine.    See what the team is using, and sound off in the comments on what gear you’re using to get the most java-goodness  from those wonderful fresh-roasted beans…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When Motorola announced their upcoming Motorola CLIQ Android phone that’s due on T-Mobile November 11, they said it would be the only phone to feature their custom Android user interface that they call MOTOBLUR. Apparently this guy didn’t get the memo and ported the ROM over to the T-Mobile G1 where he gives us a rundown of the interface. MOTOBLUR on G1 via TmoNews Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For $36 you get not only a comb but a 2GB USB storage drive. Who’d want one of these – and more important why? Which brings me to my main question about this item. Is there any good reason for turning a comb into a combination USB drive and hair care tool? Now if you could plug the comb into the USB port, have it heat, and then use it as a pseudo curling iron. Then you’d have something. 2GB USB Comb via Raw Feed Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve never had a great iPod speaker.  I bought a cheap one at Kroger that didn’t last a month.  It also required you to have it hooked to the wall all the time which limited its use.  The inMotion CLASSIC that Altec Lansing sent me solves both the quality issues with my old speakers and let’s me be free of the wall. While the inMotion CLASSIC isn’t the first speaker dock to have integrated batteries, it is my first one and that has to be my number one favorite feature of the inMotion CLASSIC.  If I want some music while I am outside working on my car or at the pool, I don’t have to worry about a electrical cord.  I can also carry it around the house with the convenient handle.  When you plug the inMotion CLASSIC in, it will charge its battery as well as your iPod’s battery.  Unplugged, you will get about 5 hours of audio from the inMotion CLASSIC according to Altec Lansing.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Photogene is one of my “must have” iPhone photo apps. It is great for rotating and cropping images, adding frames and effects and doing assorted other tricks with your photos. When I bought it at $2.99 I thought it well worth the price. Right now, however, it is on sale for just $.99. To my mind that is a bargain. Grab it NOW!!! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I am not sure just exactly who coined the phrase “sport utility vehicle” but I feel they were a bit remiss in the target segment they were identifying. Most of those giant grocery-getters of the past decade-and-a-half were anything BUT sporty. Fast forward to the 21st century and we have seen an entire new breed of SUVs, yet most have been redefined as crossover utility vehicles given the nature of configuring some form of cargo box on top of a car-based platform. We recently spent some time behind the wheel of the latest Acura RDX, junior sibling to the MDX which was given a model-line makeover at the same time a couple of years back.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For many years I had no idea what people found interesting about Podcasts. These recorded audio programs are named for their typical method of distribution through iTunes where they are often downloaded to iPods. A podcast session typically lasts about an hour and features one or more hosts talking about specific news of the week. Topics can range from technology to politics to financial news. The rise in popularity of Podcasts means that their distribution has also spread beyond just iTunes and iPods. I’ve found my BlackBerry Bold to be an exceptional podcast player due to its super loud and clear speaker system. There was always only one thing holding me back from using the BlackBerry to listen to my Podcasts – I had to manually download the podcasts. At least until I downloaded PodTrapper for BlackBerry.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …