The folks over at DataViz have just released another version – version 3.0 – of their popular Documents To Go program.   First, they have renamed “Documents To Go with Exchange Attachments” to “Documents To Go Premium”.  More important, however, is that they’ve added PowerPoint editing support!  That makes them the only mobile office app currently to allow editing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. Not quite stopping there – they also have added support for GMail attachment too (they already support MS Exchange attachments).  As a GMail user, that makes me really happy! Documents To Go already supports syncing with Windows or Mac.  They also support the viewing of PDF files and Apple iWork files (among… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photo credit: woodleywonderworks So you’ve been at this language learning thing for a while now and you find yourself losing interest – or getting too busy – or whatever the case may be!   Now a few days or even weeks have gone by and you need to get yourself back into studying again.  One of the most important things in learning a language is to keep working at it and using it.  If you don’t, you will start to lose what you’ve learned already.  So how do you keep yourself motivated?   How do you keep things interesting?   This week, I’ll take a look at a few things I’ve learned to do along the way to help keep things interesting and keep the learning flowing!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Navigon, who’ve seen great success with their iPhone navigation application, are now expanding by releasing versions of their software for Windows Mobile and Android (later in the spring). Those of us who have been playing around with GPS and navigation for a few years may remember that they actually used to have their product in the U.S. market, but it was re-branded under the name OnCourse Navigator.  Later on, when Navigon chose to leave the North American market (but they continued to offer a Windows Mobile product in Europe), OnCourse Navigator changed to a product based upon iGo 6 (and later iGo 8 ) instead. Navigon has one of the nicest iPhone navigation apps out there and it will be interesting to see if… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

During AT&T’s recent announcements at CES regarding this year’s smartphone lineup expansion, something caught our eye via this press release.  Ma Bell will be using Qualcomm’s revamped BREW mobile platform (Brew® MP) as the standard application platform for “Quick Messaging Devices.” IntoMobile recently confirmed thatQualcomm’s updated mobile platform  “will be available in the U.S. and key international markets by the late summer of 2010.” BREW, short for “Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless” was originally developed by Qualcomm for CDMA carriers, like Verizon and Sprint in the U.S.  The platform has since branched out to support GSM network carriers; but hasn’t had too much recent traction with developers, who have flocked to code their applications for the iPhone OS, Android, BlackBerry Java ME, Windows Phone, and webOS.  While this announcement won’t impact smartphones, it is big news for AT&T’s future device portfolio. The takeaway here is that the carrier will be able to launch their own AT&T branded mobile applications and features on a wide variety of phones that don’t require a data connection.  One can’t help but wonder if this strategy was ultimately set up to not only give “low end” devices additional features, but to help alleviate some of [...]

Dan is sending notes live from the event: The press event is rather small. surprisingly so. The company handed out 3D glasses. Clearly they are about to show some of their newest video hardware. Jen-0Hsun Huang- CEO and co-founder New era- not the pc era  but the “personal computing revolution” All the new handhelds share something in common. they all do what we did before but they do it more conveniently. Example- email on the BB is more convenient than having to wait until you get home to respond. Music- something we loved to do was made more convenient by the Sony Walkman. etc… All the new technologies have made a new series of devices possible that let us do more and do it more conveniently. Hitachi micro-drive let us take 1000 songs in your pocket and along with us The Kindle lets us take hundreds of books with us in 60 seconds thanks to eInk The iPhone came out positioned as “three devices as one”. Two of the devices already existed. The third was a web browser in a mobel computer that came with a terribly limited number of applications. But at its core because it was web enabled [...]

Just published is Windows 7 Your Way: Speed Up and Customize Windows  by Michael Miller from Que Publishing. This book promises to help you make your Windows 7 experience “faster, smarter, easier, better.” They talk about removing bloatware, surfing the web safely, getting better performance and battery life out of your notebook, fixing some of the Windows 7 annoyances, and even finding alternatives to some of the built-in MS software.  Better still, they promise to help you with all of these things in a way that is easy to understand – no advanced degree required! Not long ago I reviewed Microsoft Windows 7 Unleashed, also from Que, and was pretty pleased with it. If you liked that… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Since being released a mere seven weeks ago, the Microsoft Office 2010 beta has been downloaded more than 2 million times, according to information from the MS Office team. This is somewhat astounding given the growing popularity of Google Apps, OpenOffice and other freely available solutions. However, the Office team has some perspective that they posted on their blog in preparation for CES.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you like reading press releases from automakers and you just cannot get enough news from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, you are gonna love this. Here are the latest offerings from Ford Motor Company and technology partner INRIX, being introduced today at CES in Las Vegas. Ford introduced a smarter, safer, simpler system to connect drivers with in-car technologies and their digital lives today at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Building on its leadership with the award-winning SYNC® device connectivity system, Ford has combined a variety of technologies into one powerful, intuitive connected driver experience called MyFord, which will begin rolling out on vehicles this year. “MyFord delivers a premium Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We recently reviewed (and enjoyed using) Cignia’s Wireless Music Station.  It now looks like the company is showing off their goods at CES with updated pricing.  Now, both the NAO Symphony and NAO Symphony Noir are priced at $299.  The free BlackBerry and iPhone apps will  give you additional control as you stream your tunes wirelessly (the systems support both Bluetooth and WiFi). The CES Announcement follows.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Speck Cases continues to roll out new cases and we had a chance to check out a few already. Two of the new ones are the Speck PixelSkin for the Blackberry Bold 9700 and the Speck SeeThru Satin for the iPhone and assorted other devices. The Satin finish is now available on Specks notebook shells as well and offers a nice, soft, finish that feels durable too. The Satin case for the iPhone 3g/3gs is the same form factor as the See Thru V2 but not clear.  It’s soft touch material reminds me of the Incipio Feather. I (Dan) am using the PixelSkin today and am really appreciating the high degree of protection and the added grip the skin offers. As usual both cases we had a chance to try last night and this morning offer high quality materials and nice design and fit.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Project Natal Photo courtesy of HomeComputerGames Microsoft had some interesting products last night showcased during their opening keynote. Most of it unfortunately ended up being products that we have already seen or demoed. Other than the couple of Slate PC’s they introduced, I think Project Natal was one of the highlights of the whole keynote. MS is quite excited about Natal and had a nice demo video to prove it. (Although it would have been more exciting to see Steve Balmer demo is for us.) The motion sensing looks like it tracks really well and produces some pretty fluid motion and control.  MS also claims that it will be hitting the shelves by the Holiday season of this year. Natal will work… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Our GearSponsor has tracked down a host of  deals on the HP Envy. For example… there is a GearDeal on a refreshed HP ENVY 15 Core i5 that features a 15.6-inch LED BrightView Laptop. Starting at only $1,299.99, it includes free shipping, $50 off Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 and $60 off any wireless HP Printer. The previous model was $1,799.99 and came with a Core i7, this ENVY 15 comes with a refreshed Core i5. That drops the price by $500. The 1-inch thin, 5.18-pound laptop is powerful with the Core i5 processor, has a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 discrete graphics and can handle up 16GB DDR3 memory. The full metal case… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image Provided by LaCie LaCie has released a cool looking set top box that can pump out HD video at full 1080p.  It has 500 GB of storage, 802.11n for streaming and a compact form factor.  I could see getting one of these and stuffing it my suitcase when going on business trips.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When my parents were trying to organize their digital photos of a vacation to Italy a few years ago, my dad somehow deleted everything off their SD card before it sync’d to the computer. We’re still not sure what he did, but thankfully after some major googling I found a program for almost $100 that could recover the files. While the price was steep, they were just grateful to have their photos back.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We all have gear bags weighed down with chargers for everything. Laptop, cell phone, iPod touch, camera, the list of items that need charging just seems to grow and grow. Targus has announced a line of chargers at CES for home or on the road that can charge two devices simultaneously! Perfect for road warriors or just gadget junkies looking to free up some surge protector space. Full press release after the break.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …