Remember Choose Your Own Adventure Books? Of course you do. They were awesome; you’d be given a scenario, and after some background you would flip to a certain page for one outcome, and another page for a difference outcome. They were out of print for a bit, having returned in paperback a few years ago, but they are making a comeback…on the Amazon Kindle.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I like the Android platform a great deal. I find it relatively easy to use and quite powerful. The ability to run a number of applications in the background makes a tremendous difference in usability of the device. This continues to be one of the main shortcomings of the Apple iPhone. Add to that the tremendous integration of the device with Google’s various applications and you have a winning combination. Or so I thought.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

And you’re in good shape (and will be in even better shape once you get it), because I’m going to let you know the secret! If you have been hunting for a price break on the popular Nintendo Wii, then you know that there aren’t many sales on the units, because stores simply don’t have to mark them down to get them out the door. But from today until November 22, you can get the Nintendo Wii “with Wii Fit Plus and Balance Board and a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate for $290 shipped,” by clicking here. The only way to get the sales price is to click here, select/tick Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Well has the mighty Microsoft ‘banstick‘ hit you?  Perhaps the economy whacked you, but you need your video game fill. Maybe it’s as simple as wanting an extra Windows Media Center unit to watch your stuff on another TV in the house. This is a refurbished unit, but does include a headset.  But still, quite a good price. Shipping is about $18. Get it HERE Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In my recent review of MySims Agents I stated “the simplicity, hand-holding and repetition will likely mar the experience”, and really thought this was a game that would end up sitting on the shelf untouched alongside the old GameCube game BeyBlade. So imagine my surprise on the morning after Halloween, when my two boys had a sleepover and were playing video games, that I found them taking a break from Super Smash Bros to take turns working through MySims Agents! And then this Friday my younger son had a half-day and took time to finish it up! It isn’t the most challenging or advanced game, but apparently the ‘fun factor’ extends to middle school kids as… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This Lenovo IdeaPad U350 Ultra-thin Laptop sports a 13.3 inch screen and a Pentium SU2700 1.3GHz processor. Throw in 2GB DRAM, Bluetooth and WiFi for just $449.10 and you have a machine that can do some serious computing at a netbook price. The unit ships with Vista Home Premium but is eligible for an upgrade to Windows 7. Use coupon code USPBANNERS. Lenovo IdeaPad U350 13-inch Ultra-thin Laptop via GearSponsor LogicBuy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A common issue many of us run into is how to quickly exchange contact information with someone.  Sure, most people still rely on business cards — but how many times have you misplaced a business card after an important meeting?  There’s good ol’ email — but then you have to search through emails to find the person’s contact information among the 300 messages you received last week.   There are specialized applications — like Bump for iPhone or Gwabbit for BlackBerry — that promise to exchange and save the contact information.  Why not make it easier and use a feature almost all phones have anyway?  Why not just use SMS? Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You have to feel badly for Palm. Even when they make some good moves they still can’t get any respect. And today no less than the New York Times took a swipe at them. In the article entitled “Is Palm’s Comeback Losing Steam?” author Saul Hansell notes… Palm invented the category of a Web-surfing pocket-computer phone with its Treo line in 2002. But more recently it lost its way in the market as some of its rivals developed more innovative phones. I mean, think about it, how many people are even TALKING about the $99 Pixi that just went on sale? Ask people about the latest smartphone and they will say… “Droid”. Worse yet for Palm,… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It seems Apple is quietly updating things and not making a big bang out of it.  First it was the firmware update to the new line of iPod Nanos, now its a new way for customers to view iTunes content without having to launch iTunes.  Its called iTunes Preview. Instead of the usual links that iTunes generates that made users computers open up the iTunes application, now it redirects them to a web page that allows users to browse the selection, see track-listings and get user reviews.  It will be a great way to email recommendations of music to friends and family. You still need to have iTunes installed on your PC in the end to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

John Albright and Kevin Talbot (Photo:Nigel Dickson, CNN/Fortune) What is a “winning application?”  Is it how cool it looks on your smartphone?  Is it how productive it makes you on the go?  Mobile application developers are constantly coming up with new and innovative solutions that bring more function to our smartphones.  So, how can a developer get their application in front of companies and users to be a winning application? I spoke with Kevin Talbot, Managing Director of RBC Venture Partners & Co-Managing Partner of the BlackBerry Partners Fund to get his take on a “winning” mobile application. I found out that there is not an arms-length checklist, but merely three things that he — and the other members of the Partners Fund — look for in an application.  So, what three things can make an application go from relative obscurity to receiving prizes valued at $100,000, tons of press, being featured on an application storefront and even a possible venture capital investment? Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Actually, make that “Living With Motorola Droids.”  Yes, Droids, plural.  My initial intention was to post my first impressions of the Motorola Droid after just a few days with it.  However, the first Droid that I picked up started locking up and spontaneously resetting itself on the first day I had it, and it continued to do so two or three times per day.  A few times it wouldn’t power on at all, and I had to pull the battery in order to get it to restart.  The upside, if there is one, is that none of the resets seemed to result in any data loss. I tried uninstalling the few programs and widgets that I initially installed, thinking that perhaps one of them wasn’t working well with Android 2.0, but that didn’t eliminate the problem.  Next, I tried a factory reset.  Still didn’t solve the problem.  After checking a the forums on a few Android sites, it was apparent that a few other new Droid owners were experiencing the same problem.  So, I took the Droid back and exchanged it for another unit, which so far seems to be behaving just fine.  After this disappointing start, things got much [...]

Fans of classic role-playing games have found that aside from so-called ‘indie’ games from developers such as Spiderweb and Basilisk and Soldak, their best bets for an ‘old school’ fix is finding something cool on either the Nintendo or the iTunes App Store. Another fine game in the style of the classic Ultima games has arrived, RPG Quest: Minimae!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photos by Kevin It never fails – no matter what precautions I take, I still need more juice for my various gadgets. Whether it’s my iPhone showing the red battery meter of doom, or a “battery is low” ping on my Bluetooth Headset, there is nothing more aggravating that realizing that I’ll need to make a charging pitstop soon; being able to quickly recharge on the go is much more preferable. When I was on my recent trip to New York, I found that even the Mophie Air wasn’t enough to keep my iPhone going on the day we traveled to DC, and that’s why I found myself eye-balling a packaged Callpod Fueltank DUO in a local Best Buy. No one could tell me how many mAhs it held and it wasn’t marked on the box, so I held off on buying one.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

JAVOedge has released a new case for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs.  The Razor Skin is a lightweight silicone style case that’s rubberized texture offers a good grip and slip protection yet it remains soft to the touch. The case is available in two unique styles.  Blossom and Cortex.  Each style features a laser cut out etched pattern on the back that includes a translucent layer which allows your iPhone to shine through the back. JAVOedge was kind enough to give me both cases to review.  Here are my thoughts.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Its that time of year for folks to go goo-goo over new tech toys, and especially new phones.  But be careful that your purchase doesn’t bite you back. Verizon has kept to its word and raised their early termination fees from $175 to $350. The ETF will apply to advanced devices,   Advanced devices are smartphones, but also devices that have HTML capabilities, cameras, WiFi, and operating systems like Palm, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Android. It would also cover netbooks that have Verizon’s mobile broadband  service, though modems will retain the existing $175 ETF. The ETF will be applied to consumer and business customers who purchase a one- or two-year contract. The fee will decrease by… Continue reading on Gear Diary …