Welcome back to the Windows Mobile Weekly Roundup series. Let’s get started with this week’s roundup, starting with the Featured Software of the Week! Featured Software of the Week Have you ever give a thought about what your Windows Phone can do? Like using it as a WiFi hotspot? With WMWifiRouter, you can! This neat little application instantly turns your WiFi enabled smartphone into a wireless internet hotspot. Now you can use your laptop and any other device with WiFi to get online and surf, email, instant message, and anything else you normally use the internet for!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I recently posted on the news of the 3rd generation robot guitar the Dusk Tiger from Gibson.  (read the release here) Gibson just released a promotional video for the new guitar.  If this doesn’t make you want to crank the amp to 11 then nothing will! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

While the iTunes App store pricing model has brought down prices for mobile apps in general, there is one price you simply can’t beat: FREE. And that is what Herocraft is doing: they are offering two of their Windows Mobile / Symbian games for free! But HURRY – this deal is only good December 10th and 11th! Read on for more details!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yesterday my family took what has become an annual trip to NYC during the holiday season.  We visit Central Park, walk down 5th Ave, FAO Schwartz, see the windows at Macy’s and Saks and do all of the touristy stuff NYC is known for around the holiday season.  It’s a trip that my kids look forward to every year. Always Included in the day’s itinerary is a stop at the Apple store.  Hey, Dad needs to have his fun too, and my kids actually enjoy going to the Apple store, playing Cooking Mama on the demo iPod Touch’s and games on the iMacs. In the past we’ve always gone to the “cube”, Apple’s 5th ave. store that’s opened 24 hours.  But this year we made a change (ok, we still went to the 5th ave. store too.)  Apple’s newest retail store is located on the Upper West side of Manhattan, and we decided to pay it a visit.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Part pub crawl.  Part urban scavenger hunt.  Loopt’s throwing a Holiday Scavenger Crawl to give you a Holiday from the Holidays! Using the new Loopt application on your phone, join fellow players in Los Angeles (Sat., 12/12), New York (Sat., 12/19), and San Francisco (Sat., 1/2) moving from swanky galleries to coffee shops solving clues and racing against the clock to win cool prizes and collect drink tickets for the VIP after party. All you have to do is download the new, free Loopt application for your iPhone, iPod touch, or Blackberry and sign up to play here. Get a free Loopt t-shirt if you’re among the first 500 to sign up Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This morning, the Wall Street Journal reported that Simon and Schuster and Hachette Book Group are considering delaying their major releases in eBook form until FOUR MONTHS after the hardcovers go on sale. This is an extraordinarily long time, and they are being blatant in admitting it is an attempt to slow the growth of eBooks over hardcovers while they still can. I sent the information out to the team here, and asked what they thought…and they had a lot to say!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dragon’s voice to text application for the iPhone has been as big as I expected it would be. It’s been covered by all of the major technology blogs, and I know just about no one who has an iPhone who hasn’t downloaded the application. (A number of them did so at my urging, but none have any regrets about following my advice.) I was surprised to discover how many of the people I know who had not updated their iPhone’s to the current firmware, however. Dragon Dictation requires the latest firmware in order to function properly, but this also gave me the opportunity to encourage them to do the appropriate updates. The comments have ranged from “Oh my, oh my” to “I love this app” to “this is the best apps I’ve ever seen on the iPhone!” Okay, that last quote was from me. There have also been questions such as “Why is it that you can’t update your Facebook or Twitter status directly from the application?” I’m not sure why, but I hope that that is something that we will see in a future update. Thankfully, the option to use the clipboard allows you to update those status says [...]

I’ve always been fascinated by small–or even tiny–versions of various gadgets.  Tiny little printers; tiny little cell phones; tiny little Swiss Army knives–almost anything will catch my interest, even if I don’t buy it. Well, Plustek has now released a tiny little scanner in order to both feed your need for tiny gadgets, along with helping you save space in your office.  As Plustek puts it: With the high unemployment rate, you probably know at least one loved one who has decided to start their own business. Supplying their new office environment, yet saving space and cash can be a difficult task. At only 4×12 inches, the MobileOffice D428 full color duplex scanner, coupled with a slim design, is a great addition to any home or small office. So if you share my love for tiny tech, give it a look-see.  Full press release follows.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I recently made the move to making G-Mail my full time e-mail client.  In conjunction with the move, I also stopped using the Mac OS Mail application and am strictly reading and writing my e-mail via the G-Mail web based client. The transition has take some getting used to.  Reading and writing via the G-Mail site is a different experience than doing so via a regular mail application.  Simply put, it takes a heck of a lot more mouse movements and clicks when using the web based G-Mail method. When I first spotted the Gboard I immediately knew it was a tool worth investigating.  The small keyboard contains 19 color coated short cuts keys for the most common G-Mail tasks.  Gboard was kind enough to send me a keyboard to review and I’ve been using it for a while now.  My wrist is thanking me for doing so.  It’s compact design and color coordinated layout makes the G-Mail browsing experience quick and painless.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

With small kids, my house has plenty to be cleaned up.  Following my boys around cleaning also brings the concern of germs and maintaining a safe environment for them to make messy.  The 2-In-1 Upright and Canister vacuum from Germ Guardian brings a tool to the home to keep it clean and germ free, while offering features not seen on other vacuums. The Germ Guardian 2-in1 Upright is available at Wal-Mart stores nationwide for $229. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As a female technologist, trying to walk the fine line between technical utility and female fashionability has always been difficult.  How are you supposed to look fashionable when you are up to your neck in network cabling and server parts?  It just doesn’t work.  The way I am able to do it?  I accessorize. While I cant do it with jewelry (it gets caught or magnetized), I can do it with the kind of bags I carry to work.  I tend to carry a flamboyant patterned tote bag and a sleek backpack for all my needs.  So, when these new bags from BUILT with designs from the famed Alexander Girard showed up in the Gear Diary mailbox, I just had to mention them. For those who are unaware, Alexander Girard was a famous designer who contributed to the American design landscape by creating colorful textiles to drape over the sleek lines of modern day furniture.   And now, that famous aesthetic has made its way to a line of bags, sleeves and cases.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Factory Six has  just launched their first app in the iTunes AppStore.  The game is called SuperAgent, and in a world first, the developers are giving away $25,000 to the user with the highest score by January 2010. The game puts the user in the hot seat of a Hollywood talent agency where they get to manage the life of an A-list client.  Users get rewarded with commission if they make the right decisions and docked if they make the wrong ones. $25,000 or an ‘inch of fifties’ will go to the user with the highest score on January 31st, 2010. All you have to do… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Another day, another Direct2Drive Holiday Deal! Now in time for Christmas they are back – they are featuring a game a day for now until Christmas! Deals so far have been great, and it just keeps rolling today! Game #9 is the excellent Street Fighter IV. Here is the announcement Tweet: D2D’s 24 Days of Christmas Day 9 deal is here! Street Fighter IV is 50% OFF – now just $19.95! http://bit.ly/5w5ISJ This special includes the original game released earlier this year for a solid 50% off – $19.95 rather than $39.95! But be quick – this deal ends at noon EST on December 10th! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ever since the H1N1 virus made national headlines, it seems more and more people are becoming uber-germ conscious.  I can’t seem to turn my head without spotting another bottle of hand sanitizer strategically placed near the front of some store or by the check out lines. Computer keyboards and mobile phones are some of the worst offenders when it comes to spreading germs around.  According to Proporta the average mobile phone has close to 26,00 germs on it per square inch!  Yuck! To help protect you from these germs they’ve released an Antimicrobial Silicone Case for the iPhone 3G and 3Gs and they were kind enough to send me one for review.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You can stop staring now. Sure, the UMID mbook Pink Edition is only a little bit larger than a Nintendo DS, but this dainty morsel is running full Windows XP! I am completely intrigued by the Handheld PC form factor, and I can’t help but be interested. Starting at $449 (including a storage pouch and 4GB microSD), you get five hours of “actual (not theoretical)” use for surfing, editing, emailing, chatting …whatever. This would be the a perfect complement to the MiFi that I received as an early Christmas gift (thanks mom!), to boot! If the pink is too girly for you, they also come in black. I kind of like the pink … stop snickering! Sooo tempted … I am desperately trying not to click the eWallet button on my iPhone to retrieve my Amex number. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …