I just returned from 9 days down in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The trip was filled with hours of beach time, swimming, sun bathing, playing in the sand, eating and of course shopping. One of the cooler items I came across in one of the local sports shops in Nags Head was this Wooloot Wave Sports Watch. The watch, which comes in no less than 12 color choices and 5 different sizes not only tells the time but is water resistant to 3 ATMs. The Wave also contains… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

iPhone/iPod speaker docks are multiplying around my home and at the office. And for good reason. Since I’m not an audiophile the music that is pumped out of a relatively inexpensive speaker dock is usually just fine for me. But while a simple speaker dock is fine for my office (I use a bluetooth system that I love… more on that another time) in my bedroom I want something that also includes an alarm clock. The other day I took a look at one that offers good sound. It costs $150, sounds good but isn’t compatible with iPhone due to a lack of GSM shielding. Today let’s look at the iMM178 Vibe Plus Dual Alarm… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Case-Mate is just releasing their newest case for the Apple iPad. Well to be more accurate, they are releasing their newest case AND their newest stand for the iPad and it is a single product, the Venture. Understanding that iPad users are clamoring for a good case that also converts into a stand the company has produced the Venture to “…answer the demand for a better iPad stand”. The case is crafted out of a black polyurethane material with green accent piping. The iPad slips easily into the case which can then be used to protect the device and make it easier to use by easily transforming into a stand. As the company explains… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of my favorite songs is “1985″ by Bowling for Soup (and no, I have no idea what their name is supposed to mean).  It’s both a trip down memory lane and a tweak on the nose to people who are, well, just about my age. And when I think back to those days (I was in college!), some of the truly . . . attention-grabbing? . . . outfits of David Lee Roth (“That other guy who sang in Van Halen”) come to mind.  Like, leopard-fur pants.  And now, you–yes, you!–can get that mid-80s look on your iPad with one of USB’s new offerings (shown above) for your iPad, available for an… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! Hope everyone is having a great summer! The heat wave gripping the northeast just broke, which definitely helped retailers sell air conditioners, but the NPD reports of recent months indicate that video game sales have been anything BUT hot. This week has a couple of games that hope to change that. The big story this week is the launch of Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies for the DS. Why is it big news? Because it is the first time a major jRPG franchise has launched a full release on a handheld! Dragon Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My fiancée and I watch a fair amount of television. It’s not the ONLY thing we do, but we tend to leave it on a great deal in the background during the evenings. In the summer, there’s not much we really follow, but somehow the TV still ends up on around 7:30, 8pm and stays on until around 10. So we’ve decided to go cold turkey. Just for one week, to see if we’re more productive if we’re not being distracted by reality TV and bad sitcoms. It also means we’re going to force ourselves avoid crashing out on our couch every night, and we’ll sit at the kitchen table with our computers or books instead… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Okay; we’ve reached the point where I’m simply going to have to stop saying things like, “Wow, now they have an app for everything,” because man alive, they keep coming up with new apps for things I would never even think of.  The recent example of, “Doug, you’re just not keeping up, dude” is from Napoleon Fireplaces.  No; that’s not some clever name for a new software company; these folks design and make fireplaces, for cryin’ out loud (as well as stoves, inserts, and other “burn stuff for living” kinds of things)!  And now, an app:  ”The Next Generation of Fireplace Design. Powerful easy to use fireplace configuration app –create the look of your fireplace… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

courtesy of GameZebo I’m big on puzzle/adventure games, going all the way back to the computer-gaming prehistoric era of “Adventure” (“You are in a maze of twisty passages all alike”).  We’ve come a long way since then, but a lot of games seem to have fans that carry over from platform to platform, like Myst (I’ve played the PC, Windows Mobile, and iPhone versions myself, and would love to have Riven on an iPad).  Mushroom Age is one of those, and G5 Entertainmentis bringing it to the iPhone and iPad.  For an MSRP of 3 bucks on the iPhone and 5 on the iPad, you can feed your Mushroom Age… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Steve Jobs may be telling folks not to expect Blue Ray support on the Mac any time soon, but all that’s done is open the door for other vendors to fill in the gaps.  Kanex is one such vendor; they make a device that (essentially) turns your Mac into a 27″ HD TV.  And now Kanex is sponsoring a giveaway of their product.  Enter at the DealNN website by filling out a simple survey, You may just win one of these useful gadgets.  And even if you don’t, hey, maybe you want to poke around Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Substrata Creative Studios, the Portland Oregon based makers of fine wooden cabinets, countertops, furniture and cutting boards have been creating distinctive iPod touch and iPhone 3G/3GS cases for some time, but they have now upped their game with the introduction of the Substrata iPad Box (Hinged Lid). Each of these custom cases are made to order, with a shipping wait time of 2 – 3 weeks. These cases feature: • an integrated wood hinge with contrasting inlays • a micro suede lining of lid and base • wooden latches (with magnetic stops in the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ positions) • functions as a stand for iPad in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Image Courtesy of Engadget Remember the day when you could buy an iPhone from a friend or on another line, switch the SIMs and fire it up as your own?  With the iPhone 4 changing SIM card sizes this little trick no longer works.  For geeks like me that sometimes rely on the spouse’s line as the upgrade for the early adoption craze, there must be a workaround.  In fact, I just ordered an iPhone 4 about an hour ago on my wife’s line and will need to change it over as mine (of course she will inherit my 3GS) as soon as it comes in.  Our friends at Engadget have… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I found almost the perfect headset for both gamers and office workers. What am I talking about? The NOX Audio Specialist headphones that’s what! Let’s go over the basics. First, the NOX Audio headphones comes in a great case that has some structure to it. This is great for those who just want to protect their headphones while they are in their backpack. Opening the case reveals the headphones themselves. They fold so they can fit in the case and the cable itself is detachable and can be secured in the case. The cable looks like a microusb on one end, and a standard mobile headset on the other. In fact, it… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

image courtesy of mobilecrunch Are you suffering from the reported iPhone 4 antenna issues? Mobile Fun has a solution! They are giving away 1000 iPhone 4 cases that will eliminate the antenna issues (at best), and help protect your iPhone 4 from corner drops (at the very least). We’ve been very aware of people’s worries about “death grip” with the iPhone 4 and reading up on various solutions and tips to prevent the problem, especially because quite a few on our team are also suffering from it. To help people out and set their Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yes it is a bit buggy, but Fring’s iPhone app does let you make video calls over 3G, and that’s something you just can’t do with FaceTime. No, the quality isn’t nearly as good, but it DOES WORK! How do I know? Because Larry and I just video chatted, and there isn’t a stitch of WiFi where he is at the beach. After making a video call iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 over 3G we decided to see what would happen if he installed Fring on the 3GS. He did… and it worked. There was just one problem… because the 3GS only has one camera there was no way to see… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

To refresh your memory, NTP is the company that in 2006 sued the creator of the Blackberry, Research in Motion, otherwise known as RIM. RIM settled out of court with NTP for 612 million. Not chump change.  RIM is still around and they are not being sued again by NTP, but almost everyone else is.  Companies affected are Google, Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola and Microsoft. The patents involved are the same ones that were involved when they sued RIM; the patents involved all cover the wireless delivery of e-mail. NTP, themselves, is merely a patent holding company. They are holding the patents and are not doing a danged thing with… Continue reading on Gear Diary …