Is it a mirage? A myth like El Dorado? A mass hallucination? The power of Steve Jobs’ well know RDF? Collective wish fulfillment? All we know is . . . it’s the rumors of the Apple Tablet computer. Rumors of an iTablet have been floating around almost since the moment the iPhone came out two and a half years ago. But in the last few months, things have really gotten out of hand, and it seems like we’re hearing rumors practically every week. (My own–admittedly lame and third hand–sources simply laugh at our gullibility.) Let’s review: In early December, a number of sources reported that Apple’s manufacturing partners were gearing up to release . . . some mystery product or other. “Must be the iTablet!” hyperventilating Apple fanboys everywhere exclaimed, hopefully. (I’m not an Apple fanboy, but I’m definitely hoping to see this product.)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Aerial7 is a company that specializes in stylish headphones that are meant to compliment your lifestyle.  I just finished up a review on their Chopper2 headphones.  I was also lucky enough to receive one of their Sound Disk Beanies.  Since many of us are fighting off the chill of winter with a few extra layers of clothing, it only makes sense to take advantage of more “tech enabled” clothing.  The Sound Disk Beanie fits into that mold by integrating headphones right in the beanie, so you can stay warm and listen to your music collection without having to mess with separate earbuds or headphones. What’s nice about the Sound Disk Beanie, is that since the earphones (disks) are actually placed inside the beanie, they can be used while skiing, snowboarding, running, hiking or during any active outdoor adventure.   That convenience is coupled with comfort. The sound disks can be worn inside the beanie — which means you can enjoy your music for hours on end without having to insert earbuds directly into your ear. Interested?  Well then, let’s take a closer look and see how the Sound Disc Beanie fares with some hands-on use.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Aerial7 recently provided us with the Chopper2 headphones to review.  The headphones provide a nice retro styling, and fit over the ear.  Apparently, Aerial7 Choppers are very popular with athletes and professional DJ’s.  Now, I’m not anywhere near the same league as snow boarder Heikki Sorsa, or DJ Neil Armstrong — who is the DJ for rapper Jay-Z (I actually was pretty excited when I glossed over the press release accompanying the review unit, thinking that it was astronaut Neil Armstrong who used the headphones, but I digress). The Chopper2 combines a vintage look with what Aerial7 states are “sneaker-inspired aesthetics.” I think the takeaway there is that the headphones are both sturdy and stylish.  I can definitely see these headphones are geared for the urban hipster who may moonlight as a DJ slinging tunes at one of those cool, nondescript downtown clubs where the cool kids go with their crazy breakdancing moves.  Breakdancing’s still “in,” right?  So, by now, you’ve guessed that I’m pretty lame.  Regardless of that fact, I was able to put the Chopper2′s to good use. Do they live up to the hype?  Let’s take a closer look… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you enjoy “cutting the cords” and being able to play your music wirelessly, then we’ve got a treat for you.  Cignias was kind enough to loan us a review unit of their NAO Symphony Wireless Music Station.  One thing to quickly note is that you can still take advantage of a big pricing discount Cignias is running if you want to snap one of these up for a last minute special Christmas gift . I’ve been using the NAO Symphony Noir model for over a week, and I can safely say that I’m sad to send it back.  The unit worked great with both my BlackBerry Bold 9700 and my iPhone.  You have multiple options for playing music — via Bluetooth, over Wi-Fi, connecting via an auxiliary port, or docking (if you use your iPod/iPhone). I know, you want to see it in real live use don’t you?  That’s really the only way you’ll be able to appreciate how good the NAO Symphony sounds.  Well then, let’s jump right in and put it to the test to see if it belongs on your own gadget wishlist. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Photo courtesy of Slashgear OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) is dedicated to creating educational opportunities for underprivileged children by providing low-cost ruggedized laptops. The XO was the original design featuring a Linux OS and low-cost components. OLPC recently released some amazing renders of a possible 2012 model named the XO-3. The current specs are stated to have a power sipping 8Ghz CPU, 8.5X11″ touchscreen, and built-in webcam. The ultrathin chassis is rubberized, waterproof and stated to be half the thickness of an iPod. Hopefully this tablet becomes reality and not just another graphic rendering added to the growing list of product vaporware. The OLPC project has been a success so far, and hopefully will continue to do so with the help of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image Courtesy of Soft Sailor BlackBerry users got a surprise Tuesday night in the form of another service outage. Ahhh, it seems like only last week there was an outage. Oh, wait, it was just last week. A platform and brand that used to be synonymous with reliability is definitely faltering.   Impacted users were left without email delivery/receipt, BlackBerry Messenger was down, and even browsing from your ‘Berry was impacted.  Both the consumer-side BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) and business side BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) services were impacted.   In a nutshell, your BlackBerry was a nice paperweight for 10 hours or so.  Merrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry Christmas! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I had actually planned to do a ‘First Impressions With My First Smartphone(s)’ article, but pretty soon I realized things weren’t going to go as I planned. I bought a smartphone, returned it due to some issues and ordered another that had even MORE issues, and when I went to return that I discovered something interesting – Verizon wouldn’t let me return it due to a provision in their policy that is very difficult to find and never addressed by customer service folks, until it is too late!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you are a sports fan, or even a stadium / architectural junkie, there has been much written and discussed about the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Besides the cost of 1.15 billion Texas bucks, amazing engineering, the lavish interior, retractable end zone glass doors and roof — the largest enclosed NFL stadium is a visual jaw dropping experience when viewed in person. As a life long Dallas Cowboys (and Tennessee Titans) fan, I recently took advantage of Southwest Airline’s fare sale to catch a game day experience at the new Cowboys Stadium.  I purposed to take my camera and capture as many shots as possible, and concentrate on the Cowboys – Chargers game as a secondary priority. As a gadget junkie, I had to see the HD video board in person! Cowboys Stadium, Arlington Texas 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 #23 is the excellent Torchlight. Here is the announcement Tweet: D2D’s 24 Days of Christmas – Day 23 – Torchlight is 50% OFF – now just $9.95! http://bit.ly/5w5ISJ This special includes the original game released earlier this year for a solid 50% off – $9.95 rather than $19.95! But be quick – this deal ends at noon EST on December 24th! Source: Direct2Drive Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This may just be the quickest and simplest way to create new ringtones ever. It certainly is one of, if not the, least expensive! EZ iPhone Ringtones comes from the developer behind the iPhone apps QuickVoice Recorder(free) and QuickVoice2Text($.99). To make a new ringtone you simply… 1. Use QuickVoice Recorder or QuickVoice2Text (you can use other voice note apps too) to record something that is 30-seconds in length or less. 2. Send the voice note to Tones@EZiPhoneRingtones.com. (In QuickVoice you use the “email” function, in VoiceMemo you use the “share” button”.) 3. A short time later the new ringtone will arrive in your inbox along with instructions on how to add… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I’m not exactly sure if we should look at the following video and be happy or scared. It seems Darth Vader and a number of Storm Troopers from the Star Wars Saga rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. They, along with R2-D2, were there as representatives of Lucasfilm Ltd. Now on the one hand, as a Star Wars fan it’s totally cool to see Darth and the other Star Wars characters ringing the opening bell.  I’ll take them over Martha Stewart any day of the week and twice on Sundays. However, with the state that the current economy is in is having the “Dark Side’s” evil master opening the exchange such a great idea? I kid, I kid. Check out… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Photo courtesy of Liliputing The battle for netbook supremacy has been heating up over the last few weeks between chip manufacturer’s  Intel and Nvidia. Intel recently announced the release of the new PineTrail chipset which updated the year old Atom N270/N280 Cpu’s and the tired GMA950 Graphics platform. Early tests show that the new Pinetrail platform still continues to struggle with HD video, and lacks the capabilities of multimedia encoding tasks and most games. With most mainstream companies already announcing their new line of netbooks running Pinetrail, Nvidia chimes in and claims a new ION processor is already in the works. Nvidia released the ION earlier this year adding GeForce 9 mobile series graphics performance with… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Cool stuff from AnandTech this morning. Mark Rein of Epic Games showed off a tech demo of the Unreal Engine 3 running on an iPod Touch as a test platform. The Unreal Engine 3 has powered some of the top games of the last few years, from Bioshock to Batman Arkham Asylum to Gears of War 1 & 2 to Borderlands to the upcoming Alpha Protocol. While this isn’t a demo of any specific game, it shows the potential for the amazing range of games possible on the iPhone using a graphics platform that is already extremely popular. Also noted in the article is the fact that while Epic has recently made their development kit freely available, the tools for iPhone development are not part of that release. The author at AnandTech says he thinks that will change sooner than later … and I agree. It really just makes way too much sense.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy of MSNBC) Growing old, and caring for someone who is growing older, is not easy. It is a balancing act, especially for caregivers; how much freedom do you offer your loved one, and when do you monitor them closely for their own safety?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

In the market for a netbook running Windows 7? Want a 10.1″ LED-Backlit display? Looking for a 1.66GHz Atom processor, a 250GB HDD, Bluetooth and up to 7 hours battery life? If you answered “yes” to any or all of these questions our GearSponsor may have just what you are looking for! The Sony Vaio W with the large capacity battery the can provide superb run-time has an MSRP of $499.99. LogicBUY has found a deal with will knock $125 off the price and add in free shipping. That brings the price to just $374.25. Sony VAIO W VPC-W121AX/T Netbook w/Windows 7 for $375.25 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary …