Personally I never understood the need/want for an external keyboard for my iPhone.  If I’m going to carry my iPhone and an extra external keyboard I’d just assume carry a netbook.   However, I do recognize there are plenty of people who do. Well it seems those who need it can now have it.  The only catch, as with many of the awesome OS add-ons for the iPhone your device must be jailbroken. The Bluetooth Keyboard Driver, just released in Cydia, fills this void for jailbroken iPhone users. The App is based on the open-source BTstack project, which also brought us the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Came home from work today to find a surprise in the mailbox. Apparently Verizon likes me, as they sent me a Droid thank you package, complete with a DROID long sleeved tee and some coupons! (I am not going to acknowledge the “Dear Humanoid” letter that came with it).… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Our GearSponsor has tracked down a great deal on the brand new Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX. While others have it for $79.99, with an instant rebate of 15%, a $15 rebate and a $10 Coupon Code LogicBUY gets the price down to $42.99 You’ll get free 2 day shipping too! The Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX has a hyper-fast scroll wheel and Darkfield Laser Tracking. As we posted yesterday, the Logitech Performance Mouse MX is also on sale. Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX for $42.99 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today Barnes & Noble pushed out the first software update (version 1.1.0) to nook owners, an update that promised to speed up the touchscreen, menus, and page refresh rate, add some promised features (like store connectivity), and improve some existing features, plus generally stabilize the operating system.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Of all the laptop bags that I have reviewed over the years, and I can’t even tell you how many dozens there have been (possibly hundreds?), I can only remember having a perfect stranger approach me to compliment my bag twice: once for the ACME Made Courier, and the other time for this bag – the Waterfield Muzetto.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We had 8 promo codes for Instaviz to share. Instaviz is super for brainstorming, organizing thoughts and more on your iPhone. And the codes go to our readers… danNla, Apgiles, Hugo8, Crloga, JDTagish, Eric Ryan Jones, KayDub, Darenhan Please contact me directly tonight as the codes have a brief period of life left and we would like to get them to you asap. If you didn’t win one of the codes you can jump to the App Store and get a copy HERE Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to review the Seagate FreeAgent Go. It is a small, pocket-sized external hard drive that looks sleek and has a tremendous capacity. One of the nice features of the hard drive is that it has only one port- a Mini USB. You can, however, purchase an optional dock for the hard drive that lets you simply slip the hard drive into the cradle when you’re ready to use it. The company offers a similar looking cradle that does much more, however. By incorporating a PogoPlug into the cradle Seagate has created a simple way for even the most non-technical person to create a network drive that is, in fact, accessible from anywhere in the world so long as you have Internet access. I’ve been using one of these amazing FreeAgent DockStars for over a month and a half and absolutely love it. It’s simple to use, works perfectly, let’s me let go of some of the “cloud” storage I’ve been paying for on a monthly basis and, perhaps festival for me, thanks to a free iPhone app anything that’s on this drive is immediately accessible right on my iPhone. Let’s take a [...]

GOGII recently launched version 2.1 of the textPlus application for iPhones and iPod touch devices.  What does the update bring to the table, you ask?  How about unlimited group texting.  Not flashy enough?  OK, fine.  How about Free Unlimited Group texting. That’s right, you can ditch the SMS text plan from your wireless carrier and go the free route with textPlus.  The application lets users create groups of up to 50 people and use a single broadcast text message to instantly communicate back and forth with all participants at once (think a “reply all” feature for SMS). This is an application that would work great for sports teams, families, students, businesses, and just about any organization that needs to be… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

During November’s BlackBerry Developer Conference, there were tons of announcements and applications unveiled.  One of the most talked about at the event was for an application that wasn’t even out.  We got a glimpse of Kik, a new music service for BlackBerry smartphones, during the BlackBerry developer challenge.  As you can see in the video above, when UnSynced founder Ted Livingston stepped out onstage everyone assumed he was going to demo an updated version of the UnSynced BlackBerry music player. Au contraire!  Ted sent a message back when the BlackBerry Music Player Smackdown was published, indicating there was much more in store for ‘Berry users wanting music on their smartphone.  Based on the video above… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Ever wanted to have Wi-Fi access in your car?  You know, when you are listening to the radio, you hear a song, and want to have it loaded on your iPod?  Well, what if you could have the Internet access you always wanted, but built in to your car? Ford has officially announced that the next gen version of the Microsoft Sync system will let owners plug a USB modem directly into a car’s built-in Wi-Fi, creating broadband Internet access to all passengers. From the CNet article: Ford said that this factory-installed capability will be available next year on certain Sync-equipped cars and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over the past two weeks we’ve seen the Barnes & Noble Nook eReader making it’s way out from under the PR machine of product announcements out to the hands of real consumers.  Jessica was the first member of Gear Diary to get her Nook, and she loves hers.  Then Judie got hers and worked to transfer an extensive collection of existing eBooks over to the Nook.   Early reviews of the Nook haven’t been glowing (see Judie’s documented frustration), so if you were hoping to fill a stocking with the device by Christmas you may want to wait and see if today’s firmware update improves performance or speed issues.  Joel posted that you can hack and root the Nook, Judie rooted hers – and her advice is not to allow the over-the-air update at any cost, as her nook is currently bricked. That’s certainly not all that’s been happening as we head towards the end of the year.  The Gear Diary team has been busy with reviews and the latest tech updates (plus, a few contests and giveaways!). In case you’ve not been able to catch all of the posts, let’s take a look back and highlight just a few of the [...]

photo credit: JC Labarca It’s the time of year where many people are pulling their skis and snowboards out of storage and heading out to the slopes to take advantage of all that snow powder that has recently blanketed the east coast.   Now you can take full advantage of your BlackBerry to keep maps of many of the most popular North American ski resorts, keep an analysis of an entire day of skiing on your phone, and locate yourself on the mountain! BerrySki Features include: Download maps for offline use (No internet connection needed once maps are downloaded!) Pan/zoom/locate yourself Record GPS tracks View tracks overlay Live track animation Ski track analytics/stats Ski track summary Read on for additional product details and to view the product video.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

There has been a buzz building about the new Sherlock Holmes movie due out on Christmas Day.  So what happens when Twitter application TweetDeck combines with the promoti0nal power of Warner Bros?  You get the TweetDeck Telegram Co.  The promotional version has black-and-white icons and a couple period images, etc to make users think they are in the 19th century.   It also adds a new column for 221B-related tweets that tie into the online Sherlock Holmes video game. Twitter is one of the greatest 21st century marketing tools, so why not let the movie industry use it to promote new blockbusters? One note, if you want to use this new 221B version… 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 #21 is the excellent Machinarium. Here is the announcement Tweet: D2D’s 24 Days of Christmas – Day 21 – Machinarium 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 10th! Source: Direct2Drive Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! Believe it or not … there are a couple of genuine game releases this week! First off, there is the ‘we know the franchise is dying but please don’t interpret this as a desperation move’ release of Guitar Hero: Van Halen, which seems destined to meet with the increasingly common ‘ho hum’ response the franchise is getting. But there is also a ‘just after Christmas’ release for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, the latest entry into the series and this time exclusively for the Wii.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …