Hungry for more nook news this weekend? Of course you are… Engadget received a hands-on and some glamor shots from a tipster. No word on whether this was someone who received their nook early, or whether they had a pre-production unit. Hopefully it wasn’t the final shipping unit, since the big complaint was that the unit was very laggy, especially the lower color screen. Also, the tipster confirmed that in-store browsing would only be for an hour at a time, and that it would not be turned on until 2010. Which is too bad, but if you’ve ever been in a retail store around the holidays, I don’t think you’d decide that December 23rd… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Which way should I go, again? The hot thing–no, that’s not right–one of the hot things available for the iPhone right now, one of the app categories that seems to be generating a lot of interest, is the turn-by-turn navigation software.  One developer, iGO, has a number of navigation apps available for different parts of the world, such as Europe or North America. Now iGO has released a two-fer:  an updated version of their iGO iPhone apps, and are additionally selling it at a promotional rate.   If you’re needing a navigation app and have been thinking of buying, maybe now is the time to check out the iGO offerings. Full info after the jump.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week I asked you to cheer for Travis and the Falls City Beavers, and tonight I am going to unabashedly ask you to do it again! They won last week, and we would love to see them go all the way! From Travis: We play Ganado 6:00 Saturday at New Braunfels Canyon HS. This is a rematch of last year’s State Quarter Final game that we lost 14-7. It will be a very close and tough game again!  Only 8 teams left and the final four will be set after Saturday. Once again you can listen to the game by clicking www.ustream.tv/radiokaml, and once again I ask you… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It may have been cancelled, but science fiction show Dollhouse is returning to burn off its final episodes in 2 hour blocks. It’s bittersweet, really; on the one hand, a great show will be gone that much faster. On the other hand, Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Firefly, Serenity), Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), and Ray Wise (Reaper, Twin Peaks) will all be guest starring. Aren’t up on Dollhouse? Check out the show’s Hulu page. So set your DVR for an amazing and geek-tastic 2 hours of tv! It’s on FOX tonight at 8 ET… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It all started on a frigid morning in downtown Detroit outside the North American International Auto Show in January, 2008. Anticipation was in the air (along with our frozen breath) as thousands of journalists eagerly waited for the thunderous roar that was coming around the corner. Dodge decided to introduce the all-new Ram 1500 pickup to the world in unique fashion – a cattle drive through the streets of motor city. About one hundred longhorn steers escorted the new Dodge Ram to the press event.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m one of those individuals who enjoys reading from the screen. In fact it is rare that I will buy a physical book or magazine any longer, and the other day I had to search for a good while to find a pen for someone who was visiting me in my office. As a result, there is no question that I’ve enjoyed using my Kindle on vacation. What I’ve discovered over the past few days, however, is that it truly is an ideal companion when traveling. There are a number of reasons for this — allow me to list a few.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

To quote Groucho Marx, “Say the secret word and win $100.”  But in the case of our friends over at Skooba Design, the secret code on their new blog is the real surprise. The idea is to read over their blog, and find a secret code they have embedded somewhere on the site.  If you find it and use it, you will get 50% off one of their five best sellers (listed below). This is a good time to get that laptop or netbook bag you have always wanted.  Or how about that Christmas gift for the “geek” in your life? We hear at Gear Diary are big fans of Skooba Design, having reviewed their bags in the past, owned several, and hey, we even have them as a sponsor. So put on your detective hats and break out the magnifiers, find the code and get a great Christmas surprise.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Tunewear has just released their new Boomtune Bomb II Stereo, and with a name like that — one which defies anyone to say it five times quickly, perhaps we should slow down and take a look … The speakers are available in either a matte black or bright red jewel smooth-textured rubber paint coating. The speakers stick together for easy storage with magnets on their bases, and they hide retractable cables in their bodies. Untwisting the top of the Boomtune speaker adjusts the speakers’ loudness and bass levels, and they are driven by a rechargeable battery that can be replenished via USB. I have no idea what the Boomtune Bomb IIs sound like, but they look neat … and that’s worth something, right? … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Gibson continues to innovate with their latest release.  The Dusk Tiger brings the usual Gibson quality and sound with new styling and the next generation of robot technologies.  Dubbed as the world’s most advanced guitar, the Dusk Tiger is amazing!  Robot technology mixed with the best pickups and quality known worldwide and a slick new style = pure guitar mojo!!!! If you plan on getting a piece of this guitar history, you better move fast.  This is a limited edition with only 1,000 selling worldwide!  This one makes me drool!!! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome to another State of the eBook! First and foremost, a nook update: As Dan reported yesterday, Spring Design has been denied an injunction that sought to prevent B&N from selling Nooks! This is good news and will hopefully stimulate Nook availability. Teleread argues that if Barnes and Noble doesn’t get nooks out to stores, the backlash could undo all the goodwill and positive word of mouth they’ve built so far. … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the iPhone camera apps I have been enjoying the most is ReelDirector. It allow you to add a title and credits to any video which gives it a far more polished look. The company has also released ReelMoments, an app that allows you to take stop-action, time-lapsed pictures and seamlessly tie them together to create a movie. Over the last few days I have used both of them to create some nice movies right on my iPhone. Let’s take a look at both and how they work together.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For those folks with not the fastest PC or Internet connection, You Tube wants to make it easier to view their content.  They have released, as a beta, YouTube Feather. A Featherized YouTube page changes the parameters on the video player, as well as on the page itself  A Feather-ized page makes the video player default to standard quality, only 10 comments are shown, and sharing and embedding options are gone. Some other standard features are removed as well all for the sake of saving bandwidth and space. This new “feathering” will not effect paid YouTube sites. This is a nice boon from YouTube as not everyone has broadband or the latest in… 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! Days #1-3 have been great, and it just keeps rolling today! Game #4 is the excellent Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Bundle. Here is the announcement Tweet: D2D’s 24 Days of Christmas Day 4 deal is here! Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 Bundle is $30 OFF – now just $19.95! http://bit.ly/5w5ISJ This bundle includes the original game released in late 2008 and the ‘Uprising’ expansion released earlier this year and is available for 55% off – $19.99 rather than $44.95! But be quick – this deal ends… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you like to make photo collages, but don’t necessarily want to futz around with getting those photos to overlap just so, then Photovisi may be a good option to consider.  Photovisi offers free collage creation and makes the whole process quite easy.  You pick a template (there are 18 from which to choose), upload your photos, crop them if needed, and bingo… you’re done.  Just save the image to your computer and enjoy. Photovisi’s downloads are free and sized for use as desktop wallpaper.  If you want something a little more tangible on which to show your handiwork, Photovisi also sells magnets, postcards, posters, mugs, and mouse pads with your collage… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Looking for a new phone for Christmas?  Really want a Blackberry but they have always been slightly above your price bracket?  Well, has AT&T have a deal for you. AT&T is going something nice for Christmas this year but offering 50% off ALL (and that means ALL, including the new 9700) Blackberry smartphones.  This is with a new sign up with AT&T and requires the standard two year agreement, but its still 50% off of some really good phones.  There is also a mail-in rebate going on as well. It looks like a really good time to become one of those “Crackberry” users. Thanks to Boy Genius Report for the heads up!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …