[image courtesy of Gizmodo] Looks like 2010 is definitely shaping up to be the Year of Android.  Yesterday, we saw Google’s official Nexus One announcement, with device orders going live through Google’s webstore (Heck, it seemed like Gear Diary’s own Thomas Hall may have been among the first to place an order ).  Today, AT&T has announced it will get not one, not two — but five(!) Android devices. That’s right folks, Motorola, Dell, and HTC will all be putting a little Android goodnes into AT&T.  Hmmm…maybe the end of the iPhone’s U.S. exclusivity is more imminent with this much of a push to (finally) add Android to the carrier’s smartphone lineup. Straight from the official announcement: A Motorola smartphone, powered by MOTOBLUR, with a unique form factor and an AT&T exclusive Dell’s first smartphone, based on the Android platform and an AT&T exclusive A HTC smartphone, based on the Android platform, and an AT&T exclusive Want more details?  How about a look at Dell’s Mini 3 smartphone?   Let’s dive right in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We are all feeling the financial pinch!  Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. This is a first for the Blue Plate Special.  An app that I reviewed last week has gone on sale and now qualifies for the Blue Plate.  AppVault Pro is now $.99!  The release of v. 1.1 has brought the price down from $2.99.  Go get it on sale here in the app store. In case you missed my review, go check it out.  I have continually used the many apps included and like having them all in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Need solid external storage, but also have the need for speed?  Well, Seagate has brought their USB 3.0 A-game to CES with their BlackArmor® external hard drive kit.   So what’s the big deal, you ask?  How about a sweet “500GB 7200RPM 2.5–inch portable hard drive, power cable and PC express card, to deliver real-world, proven speeds up to three times faster than its USB 2.0 predecessor, making it one of the fastest portable hard drives available.” Liz Conner, the lead research analyst fpr IDC’s Personal Storage Research clarifies the improvements in the USB 3.0 standard: “To date, the USB interface is the most prevalent interface and will continue to dominate as the interface of choice through 2011. This will be re-enforced with the introduction of USB 3.0, which provides significantly increased bandwidth to better handle the growing number of large multimedia files being stored to external hard drives.” Translation?  USB 2.0 was so 2009. Get ready for more storage capacity at faster speeds.  Full details and pricing after the jump!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just like the Kindle 2, the Kindle DX has gone international! Amazon announced it this morning, along with refreshed inventory. This also explains why the DX was sold out in the last week before Christmas.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The iPhone does almost everything, right?  Dang right it does!  It even controls flight!  Check out this video of the Parrot G Drone that Judie, Dan and Larry filmed with their iPhone!  An app on the iPhone actually is actually being used to control the Drone.  Using augmented reality the device feeds live video to the iPhone. The app running on the iPhone is not only used to control the craft but it also adds landscape, enemies and more. The first of a new genre of games- The Augmented Reality Video Game-  The Parrot G Drone received Best of Innovations honors from CES.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over on Phandroid and Engadget are posts with the above Youtube Video of a Nexus One running Flash 10.1.  This means all of those blank spots you see on the Camangi and other Android devices when viewing sites with Flash will soon be filled in.  Plus you can watch Youtube, Hulu and other flash based media sites in the web browser on your phone.  Phandroid says that those who are getting Nexus One’s will have Flash 10.1 pushed out to the phone automatically when it’s ready. via Engadet and Phandroid.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Are you ever out running errands or shopping, see an item in a store, and think, “hey, that would make a great gift for ______ …?”  It definitely happens to me.  The problem is that I pretty quickly forget about that great idea and when the intended recipient’s birthday or Christmas rolls around, I’m in a cold sweat, trying to figure out what to get them. Just before Christmas, Zicron Software released Gift Box, an iPhone application intended to help folks like me stay organized at birthday and holiday times.  Zicron Software is still pretty new to the world of iPhone apps.  Gift Box is their second iPhone product.  We reviewed their first, Years, a while back.  Like Years, which performs a simple function that should have been included in the iPhone at the beginning, Gift Box is an uncomplicated and aesthetically pleasing program.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The geek comunity has been worried for sometime about running out of IP addresses.  Luckily, there has been talk about what to do about it. From a article on Slashdot: There are 3,706,650,624 usable IPv4 addresses. On January 1, 2000, approximately 1,615 million (44 percent) were in use and 2,092 million were still available. Today, ten years later, 2,985 million addresses (81 percent) are in use, and 722 million are still free. In that time, the number of addresses used per year increased from 79 million in 2000 to 203 million in 2009. So it’s a near certainty that before Barack Obama vacates the White House,we’ll be out of IPv4 addresses. (Even if he doesn’t get re-elected.) Continue reading on Gear Diary …

CES is revealing some neat new designs by Lenovo and our GearSponsor is on top of tracking down great deals on Lenovo’s products. How’s this GearDeal for example… The 13.3-inch Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Laptop starts at $799. After $220 in instant savings, though, that drops to $579 and includes FREE shipping. Decked out in glossy Midnight Black the light notebook weights in at 3.6 pounds, gets up to 7.8 hours battery life and more. It has an HDMI port, a 5-in-1 Card reader, and a spill-resistant keyboard. Options include WWAN with GPS, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth & WiMAX. It comes in glossy Midnight black and glossy heat-wave red and many base specs can be upgraded. Lenovo ThinkPad Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today EA and Bioware announced that Dragon Age: Origins, the RPG for the PC / PS3 and XBOX360 that has claimed loads of ‘Game of the Year’ awards for 2009, is getting a full-fledged expansion pack. The expansion is called ‘Awakening’ and is due out March 16th on all platforms. From the official site: A Stunning World Expanded: BioWare’s deepest universe to date just got bigger with an all new area of the world to explore, Amaranthine Unlock the secrets of the Darkspawn and their true motivations Rebuild the Grey Warden order and establish their base of operations at Vigil’s Keep All-new Complex Moral Choices: Embark on an epic story that is completely defined and Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I just read this over at Slashdot and it confirms what I have always thought about Apple and its “leaks” about their technology to the press: “I was a Senior Marketing Manager at Apple and I was instructed to do some controlled leaks,” confesses John Martellaro. Monday’s article at the Wall Street Journal, which provided confirmation of an Apple tablet device, had all the earmarks of a controlled leak. Here’s how Apple does it. Often Apple has a need to let information out, unofficially. The company has been doing that for years, and it helps preserve Apple’s consistent, official reputation for never talking about unreleased products. The way it works is that a senior exec Continue reading on Gear Diary …

With the ever popular YouTube and other websites out there, people want to be able to record video in a way that doesn’t draw attention to them.  This little video recorder and still camera fits in the body of a actual working pen.  No one will know that this pen can record 640×480 video and 1280×960 still images. The PenCam Mini Video Camera & Recorder captures color AVI videos in 640×480 VGA resolution and JPEG still images in 1280×960 resolution, thanks to a camera concealed in the end of a real working pen. All footage is recorded on internal 2GB memory, capable of recording over an hour of video footage or capturing 9,000 still images. When the memory Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Zomm comes from a mother of three, who kept hearing her kids and friends complain about lost mobile phones. Together with her husband, Henry, they created ZOMM as a solution for this common problem. The size of a small key chain, the Zomm communicates with your cell phone via bluetooth and acts as a speakerphone for incoming calls, provides a panic button and can call emergency assistance from anywhere in the world with just one touch of a button. The leash portion of the Zomm alerts you via an audible tone when you walk too far away from your phone. The ZOMM will be available for retail… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Building upon the success of the recently-released P-flip Foldable Power Dock for the iPod and iPhone, which I reviewed here, Dexim is now offering both a solar-powered (DCA199) and a Blackberry-compatible (DCA152) version of the P-Flip. Each is capable of extending talk time up to eight hours, video or game time up to 15 hours and audio playing time up to 80 hours. The P-Flip can flip horizontally or vertically for hands-free video viewing, or fold for easy storage. The DCA199 Solar-Powered P-Flip will start out at $79.90 and the DCA152 P-Flip for BlackBerry is listed at just $59.90… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just announced tonight at CES Unveiled the Case-Mate Hug system includes a hard shell case which fits your iPhone 3G or 3Gs and a wireless charging pad that is activated when you place the iPhone on top of it. The case itself is a two piece, hard shell case that reminds me a lot of the Mophie Juice Pack Air, but thinner.  But unlike the Mophie this case has to be placed onto it’s specially designed mat to charge the iPhone’s battery, a la Power Mat. The Hug, which will be available in mid-January from the Case-Mate web site, includes the case and one charging pad and will retail for $89.99… Continue reading on Gear Diary …