I have reviewed a lot of cases in the past two years. I have reviewed a lot of device stands as well. But iDox’s Traveler series of case/stands for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPod nano… these caught my eye. The cases offer… on-the-go protection in your briefcase, pocket or purse. Flip Traveler open to a perfect angle to browse music and photos, view movies and Podcasts. For details and more images read on…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Still on the fence about when you’ll upgrade your Windows desktop computer? Today’s hardware deal  could be the upgrade you’ve waited for. It’s an HP Elite e9250t Core i5 Desktop PC. Windows 7 64 bit is pre-installed, 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4350 video graphics, 7.1ch Audio; DVD+/-RW LightScribe. Inside is 6GB DDR3 RAM; 500GB Hard Drive; Gigabit Ethernet. Free 15 month Norton Internet Security subscription is included. Add to cart & apply coupon code SVNY56474 to get the final $775 price. HP Pavilion Elite e9250t – $775 via GearSponsor LogicBuy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Speck offers great device protection and, reading through some of the tales of device-abuse, many of our readers really need to protect their devices as much as possible. To read their tales… and find out who won…read on. But we’re warning you, some of these device damage stories will make the most hardened techie cringe.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you have more Wiimotes than you have chargers, then Thrustmaster has your back.  A PC and game console accessory maker, Thrustmaster has released two new chargers that will accommodate multiple Wii Remotes at the same time, the T-Charge Stand Contactless + NW and the T-Charge Quattro+ NW.  Both chargers are powered by the Wii Console’s USB port.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

With Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Sony and smaller e-stores all vying for your dollars (and device support), how do you decide where to buy? There’s no price match guarantee with eBooks, and if you are platform agnostic, with no clear favorite site, where do you download that new bestseller you wanted?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m a huge fan of Speck’s various cases. On any given day there is likely to be a Speck case on my iPhone or my iPod touch and there is always a Speck shell on my MacBook Pro. I like the companies approach to design which, for the most part, is rather minimalist while offering superb protection and full accessibility to the device in question. Turns out, the company also makes some pretty slick bags for carrying your gear. They were kind enough to send me a review unit of their PortPack. I’ve been using it for a few days now and am rather impressed. Let’s take a look. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The latest Verizon attack ad on the iPhone takes a new tact… rather than attack the iPhone it actually well… it actually puts out the welcome mat. In it the Island of Misfit Toys welcomes its newest resident… the iPhone. “Hey check out the new guy” says one misfit toy. “What are you doing here? You can download apps and browse the web.” Says another. “People will love you!” A third says! Then things go south… a map of AT&T’s coverage pops up and everyone moans. So let’s think about it for a second… praise for the iPhone (“everyone will love you!) but disdain for AT&T. Kinda sounds like Verizon is putting out the welcome mat doesn’t it?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

While a bit jet-lagged to make it to this week’s BlackBerry Developer Conference in San Francisco, I couldn’t help walking down to the bay and firing up the MiFi to try (key word ) and crank out a few posts.  So, while I try and intake enough coffee — and scenery — to get on a West Coast schedule, let’s take some time to catch up on some of last week’s highlights.   Yeah, I know, you’re probably already sick of hearing about the DROID invasion, but the team had some interesting insights on the Android device.   Don’t worry, though, there was plenty happening beyond Big Red’s smartphone release.  So, without further adieu, let’s jump right in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few week ago, I received a copy of this book to review. I’ll admit it, I’m primarily a Mac user, but I use Windows XP at work, and I run it on my Mac in a VMWare session so I can support my Windows Mobile devices and do those things that are available only for Windows. And yeah, I’m one of the many, many, people who played with the Windows 7 betas – and I like it. Not enough to give up my Mac, but it’s nice to see what Vista should have been finally come to fruition. It’s not perfect, but it’s still very nice. So, even though I haven’t done a book review since I left school many years ago, I was looking forward to this book because I was hoping to learn about the new OS in some detail – like in previous versions of this book. That’s not quite the spin they took this time around, however. So let’s see what they did instead…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Charlie’s Playhouse is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Charles Darwin‘s Origin of Species by offering 10 – 20% off their items when you ask your kids to answer one simple question. “What is Evolution?” If you send in a video of your child answering the question, you can get 20% off Charlie’s Playhouse products; if you send in a written answer, you’ll get 10% off. This seems like a question that could get some interesting replies, doesn’t it? And what a simple way to start an educational discussion …… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! This we get the game claiming to be ‘the most pre-ordered game of all-time (not coincidentally by folks who make money off pre-orders!) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The early word is that this is a fine addition to the franchise for console gamers, offering a similarly short single player campaign, but loads of fun in multiplayer. I say ‘for console gamers’, as the PC version has been ‘stripped for parts’, with the multiplayer neutered, the ability to modify the game in classic PC style removed, and the price increased. Bleh. But for fans of console shooters, this is considered a ‘must have’.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’ve always wanted to try a graphics tablet and was appreciative when Genius was willing to send me a G-Pen M609X to review and then continue using. When I opened the box I was immediately impressed. The tablet looks good, is well designed and, while light, feels quite sturdy. I’ve been using it for a while now and have to say it is rather impressive. Costing just under $110 at Walmart, it is priced far more competitively than many of the Wacom tablets (the small Bamboo pen tablet is currently $230 at Amazon while offering excellent and versatile functionality. Let’s take a look…… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the most popular programs to test Internet speed on a desktop computer is Speedtest.net. Now you can test your mobile upload and download speeds directly on your Android phone!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the most anticipated and overly-hyped games of the year has finally arrived – Dragon Age Origins from Bioware. Like any other game ever made, there are good and bad points. For fans of role-playing games (such as me), the facts that it was made by Bioware and was being called the ‘spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate’ was enough to get me to pre-order as soon as it was possible. But there were several things that made me very wary – in particular a puerile advertising campaign that focused on blood spray, heavy metal, gore and sexual overtones to the point I thought the game might well have been called ‘Dragon Age: Blood & Boobies’. Now that the game has been released, I have already played ~30-40 hours and wanted to share a few quick thoughts.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday we posted some thoughts on the iTunes App Store and the growing challenge posed by 100,000 apps. In the current environment it is increasingly difficult for developers to their apps noticed. It is equally hard for customers to notice the apps that deserve attention. There are a number of techniques that can be employed to try to make sense of the current situation. One approach is the “My Comfortable Old Shoes” approach. In this approach you simply stick with the apps you currently have and smile. It is simple, it is cheap, and it avoids the headache of sorting through 100,000 apps in the App Store. Another approach is the “More Is Always Better” approach. In this approach you simply spend hours each day combing through the various RSS feeds that display updated and new applications. It is a full-time job but then again since “more is always better” it is certainly worth the time and the effort. There is, however, a third approach. This approach uses an intelligent sorting system to rate the apps that you currently have and then use those current likes and dislikes to sort through all of the new apps in an automated manner. That’s the idea [...]