While the new Motorola Droid has only been out for a few days, it looks like there is already an issue.  A thread started in the Motorola forums last week reports of users having sound and speaker problems with the handset. The gist of the issue? The phone is working AOK, then the sound cuts out.  No sounds are played through the speaker.  Users will hear something when you place the phone to your ear. The thread has gone up to 73 posts so far, and still climbing.  There is a workaround for the issue.  The temporary solution– switch the phone on and off, effectively rebooting the phone.  The sound returns afterward… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For all your owners of the new camera enabled Apple iPod Nano, there is a new software update available via iTunes for you.  This update fixes known issues with Genius Mixes, VoiceOver, and some other minor issues. The big fixes: playback settings for audio books (normal, slower, faster) now work for audio podcast playback as well Genius Mixes now work in conjunction with Nike + iPod fixed an issue with headphone controls when using Voice Over; VoiceOver menu items are omitted Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last year Electronic Arts released a game called NERF N-Strike for the Nintendo Wii. The game merged a NERF blaster that could hold a Wii-mote and an arcade-style shooter. Reviews were middling, but the hybrid game sold enough to become EA’s second-highest grossing game of the year. Now they are back with an improved blaster and a game with more features and claims of a better overall experience. So how did they do? Read on and find out!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m on my way to another Microsoft sponsored Mobius Session this morning, this time in Seattle Washington. There won’t be much for me to post about today, but on Tuesday and Wednesday I’ll share info from sessions attended as I am able. As usual, I’ll be updating on Twitter regularly, so if you haven’t already, then you might want to follow me. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Do you have an old, broken Dance Dance Revolution dance pad collecting dust in your video game collection?  If so, you might want to take a cue from Liz McLean Knight and make yours into a stylish yet uber geeky purse!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Looking for a powerhouse quad-core notebook for under $1000? Here’s a deal worth a look… or two!!!! This HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition 15.6″ Laptop features a Core i7-720QM and 1GB of VRAM discrete graphics. Mix in 4GB DDR3 memory, a 500GB Hard Drive spinning at 7200RPM and a 6-cell battery and you have a notebook that can deal with just about anything you throw at it! Oh, and did we mention it even includes an HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner? All this for just $914.99. It even includes free shipping! Just apply the coupon code: NBTY349821 during checkout process! HP Pavilion dv6t Quad Edition 15.6-inch Core i7 Laptop w/ TV Tuner via GearSponsor… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

How small is too small? When you’re talking about USB drives, The Active Media Wink might just be there. Small enough that you will most certainly want to keep its included key chain looped through the drive’s hole to keep from dropping it when inserting or removing from a USB port, the Wink is available in denominations up to 16GB. Prices start at $7.95 for 2GB, and you can expect to pay $37.95 for the 16GB. The Wink is available from Amazon.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Now, with Home Screen Customizer, you can customize the home screen of your Windows Mobile 6.5 devices. It allows you to rearrange the panels to your liking by simply pressing & holding, then dragging the panels around. It also features plug-in capability that allows other panel developers to integrate their panels into the home screen. Features:- Weather, favorite contacts, and search panels for your home screen. More panels to come. Add or delete panels from the home screen Rearrange home screen panels Set favorite panel Allows other panel developers to show add form or edit form I would say that this application is a… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(photo courtesy of Mobile Read) Sony is proving they are taking their ebook reading customers very seriously. If you bought a PRS-500 (the first Sony Reader I believe), you can choose to send it in for a firmware upgrade or trade it in to save some money on the price of a newer model. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The second annual BlackBerry Developer Conference may have ended this week, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have your ‘Berry fix!   We’ve still got a quite few upcoming posts from the developer interviews conducted throughout the event, but we wanted to give our overall take on DevCon and highlight not only the announcements made throughout the week — but also the challenges – and what it all means to BlackBerry users in this “wrap-up.” So, what does the future hold for BlackBerry?   In today’s marketplace where RIM is facing continued competition from multiple platforms — from iPhone, Android, Palm, Windows Mobile and Symbian –in both the business and consumer space, how is the Waterloo, Canada-based company responding?  The message this past week was loud and clear to the mobile developer community — “Come Build With Us!” RIM has responded to the competition by not only reaching out to developers, but by promising improved tools to quickly build, deploy, and monetize their applications; as well as the training and access to RIM resources to bring their applications to market.   Game On, RIM! Let’s take a look at the entire week’s worth of announcements from the event, and share our [...]

Dan is this week’s guest star on Just Another iPhone Blog‘s excellent Desert Island Apps series, listing the six iPhone apps he would want with him if stranded on an island. All answers assume WiFi and full connectivity , of course — which must mean that the desert island is so fantastic that Dan would never even think to use his iPhone to call in a rescue. Take a look and see which six iPhone applications Dan picked; I use four of them, and I found out about two more. What would be your Desert Island Apps if you were stranded somewhere? Let us know in the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago Dan and I took a look at two new cases for the iPhone 3G & 3Gs from Otterbox. The Commuter and the Commuter TL both offer Otterbox’s tremendous quality in a slimmer, less bulky manner than Otterbox’s most famous case, the Defender. When the cases first launched they were both available in only black with the promise of various color options to come. Fast forward to today and the color pack add-on backs for the Commuter and the colored Commuter TL cases are now shipping.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Here is an iPod touch case that stands out from the crowd…literally. The idox Travel Case offers superb protection for your iPod touch (it is also available for the iPhone and iPod nano) while also providing a great travel stand whenever you need it. The company was kind enough to send me a review unit keeper, and I have been putting it through its paces. Let’s take a look…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photo credit: woodleywonderworks So you’re learning a new language.  We’ve mostly focused on free or nearly-free resources that you can use to assist you in this process.   So now you find you are willing to spend a little money, but not a lot, or you need a little more assistance or you just need a little different approach than the free resources have available for you.  What kinds of things are available to you?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In early October, we mentioned that Missing Sync was coming for Android. Now, the beta version has been made available by Mark/Space, the makers of Missing Sync. Missing Sync beta for Android is available on both Windows and Mac platforms. It supports and has been tested with the most popular current Android handsets, including the T-Mobile G1 and myTouch 3G, the Motorola CLIQ, the HTC Hero, the Droid, and many others. Missing Sync beta for Android is available for free while in beta from Mark/Space. Make sure you read the known issues before you get going. You may want to wait until a later beta if any of the issues scare you… Continue reading on Gear Diary …