Back when I reviewed the Mac version of the excellent RPG Dragon Age Origins, I was pretty harsh, saying: Of course, there is always the chance that what Transgaming told Matt was accurate and there is a new DLC integration system coming, and all of the patches are coming and Return to Ostagar is coming and so on. I have stated in various Mac gaming forums that I will be very happy to eat my words and publicly state my mistaken assumptions, but for now here is my conclusion: Dragon Age: Origins for the Mac is unsupported abandonware. If you want to be able to get the full Dragon Age experience, I recommend getting Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Urbanears’ Plattan Headphones are a “medium-size fashionable, functional, and stylish” headphones. As the company explains We designed Plattan to be the perfect classic headphone, utilizing innovative functions and performance with today’s technology. It is a full size headphone allowing for rich, secluded sound. You can fold it down to the size of your fist for maximum mobility. Plattan also comes with a “zound plug” on the earcap, allowing for a friend to plug in and enjoy your music. The headphones feature a custom microphone and is remote compatible with the iPhone and Nokia, HTC and Blackberry phones. It comes with two extra cable extensions which make the headphones compatible with a majority… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yes, the teeny-weeny speakers on the iPhone  and iPod touch aren’t bad, considering how, well, teeny-weeny they are.  But it’s the summer, baby!  You want to blast your tunes out LOUD, and annoy the living crap out of your neighbors, right?  You want to Bring the Noise.  And you can’t be doing that with itty little built-ins; you need a speaker solution! Gear4 wants to be that solution.  They are offering a new set of speakers to give you that loud, listening pleasure that you’re looking for in a summer environment.  Yes, boom out to your fave tunes and annoy other people with their new line up.  Ranging in price from an MSRP of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Sony recently announced that they have now passed the 1 million downloaded PSP Minis mark worldwide, with this occurring just over 9 months since the service launched. The store now boasts more than 85 Minis titles, with most playable on both the PSP and PS3. The post notes the top 10 ‘most popular titles’: 1. Age of Zombies 2. Monopoly 3. Fieldrunners 4. Zombie Tycoon 5. Bloons 6. Spot The Differences! 7. Pinball Fantasies 8. Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 9. Yetisports Pengu Throw 10. Breakquest This is a pretty big milestone for the PSP and Sony, whose launch of the PSP Go at the same time cannot be characterized as anything but a dismal… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal is on Lenovo’s G460 14″ laptop. The G460 features an Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB RAM and a 500GB HDD. It also has Intel HD handling the graphics so 720p HD video should look great on the 1366×768 LED-backlit display. The Lenovo G460 has an MSRP of $899.00 but our Gear Sponsor has tracked it down with a $50 instant rebate AND a $200 coupon code. That should bring the price down to just $649.00 and it will even ship for free. Click here for details, coupon code and more information on the Lenovo G460 14″ laptop and visit LogicBlackFriday for more great deals… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Some homes are Apple homes–at my house, for example, we have four–yes, four!–iPhones (2G, 3G, 3Gs, and 4).  So when we buy gear, it’s not a problem–we order ear buds by the dozen, for example.  Literally. But most homes aren’t like that.  And recognizing that, Kensington is bringing out a set of “generic” smartphone accessories.  So if your house is a mixture of iPhone, HTC, Nokia, and who-knows-what, you might want to save a little dough and go the generic route.  All the stuff listed below is available for pre-order–MSRP depending on product, of course–on Amazon.   You’ll also be able to buy them direct from Kensington when they are released. Full… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Realizing the many iPad owners are carrying their Apple keyboard with them on the go, Waterfield has rolled out four different options for carrying and protecting them on the go. As they explain… Introducing the WaterField Designs Keyboard Cases designed for the ultrathin Apple Wireless Keyboard: the Keyboard Travel Case, Keyboard Sleeve, Keyboard Slip and the Keyboard Socket. Get organized with the Travel Case; select stylish protection with the Sleeve; make it light and tight with the Slip; get down to basics with the Socket. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As Joel Evans from the Mobile Gadgeteer explains, “when it comes to Apple and its proprietary dock connector, many developers have been left out in the cold when it comes to wanting to create the perfect add-on for the iPhone or iPod touch.” But of course, no enterprising inventor is going to let a proprietary dock get in their way when there is another perfectly good non-proprietary dock available on every Apple iPod, touch, iPhone and iPad. Hello RedEye Mini … the headphone jack! Ahhhhhh! So what’s a RedEye Mini? Simply put, “it’s a dongle that plugs into your iDevice’s headphone jack, which when paired with the RedEye application, turns your iDevice into… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Aligata’s Genuine Leather Case for iPad has been a hit around here and clearly with our readers since many of you entered to win one. To recap: We reviewed the case here, and you can order your own here. Two of our readers won’t have to however, since Tom, Aligata’s owner, was kind enough to provide a few for us to give away. The first goes to one of our readers who retweeted the post. And that reader is… micaela6955 The second goes to a reader who shared with us the last ten apps he used on his iPad. And what apps were they? 1. Mail 2. Safari 3… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I normally hate traveling for work; juggling a computer, work files, ebook reader, etc. is a pain. However, now that I’ve been trying the Mobile Edge Evo Backpack for a few weeks, I wish I traveled more often so I could use a bag like this! My first impression of the Evo backpack was that it was a complete beast of a bag. It seemed physically large, but when I put it on it didn’t feel as big. Part of that is how structured the bag is; this is not a bag that appears smaller when it is empty. On the other hand, stuffing it to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I had bought Mystery of the Crystal Portal for my iPad when I was heading out on vacation. While I was quite occupied with Puzzle Quest 2 on the DS, I love the occasional ‘hidden object’ game, and have been VERY happy with stuff from G5 games (like Mahjongg Artifacts) … so I figured I’d give it a try. When I came back I got a message from G5 noting that the game was being released as a PSP Mini and offering me a review copy, which I quickly accepted! I figured that I would be able to quickly decide whether they could get the same review or need to be separate based on critical… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

SwitchEasy has long been one of my favorite case manufacturers for the iPhone.  Their innovative designs are among the best and the “goodie-bag” they include with each of their cases is always welcomed. The company recently made available their first two offerings for the iPhone 4. The “Nude” is one of the thinnest cases on the market, measuring in at only 1 mm thin.  It’s made from super-strong Lexan Polycarbonate material and is available in eight different color options. The “Colors” was arguably the best silicone case for the iPhone 3G/3Gs and the version for the iPhone 4 hopes to equal it.  It features Switch Easy’s award-winning “Jelly Bean” home… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Not long ago I reviewed the recently released Mahjongg Artifacts, which was a sequel to one of the earliest PSP Minis, Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2. Recently Sony announced that more than 1 million PSP Minis had been downloaded worldwide … and guess what game was #8 on the ‘top ten most popular’ list? That’s right – Mahjongg Artifacts Chapter 2! So to celebrate that achievement the kind folks at G5 have provided us a review copy of their hit game. The Hype: Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 is one of the most popular mahjong games on PC now available on PSP Minis. Pair up tiles to dismantle hundreds of layouts. Gather pearls for purchasing special… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Some people’s devices never have to brave anything worse than a little bit of travel time as they are transported from the house to the car to the building their owner works in; other devices get put in precarious situations every day — whether it be from danger from dropping, crushing, or simply dust and grit damaging the finish. For those devices, OtterBox makes a line of ruggedized cases that not only protect, they also look quite good. Newest is the iPhone 4 Defender Series Case, and for $49.99 you’ll be able to breathe easy while hiking, camping, biking, or — if you are a klutz like me — simply… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy Vator.tv) Amazon is normally very tight-lipped about Kindle sales. Today, though, they pulled back the curtain a bit, and the peek inside should be enough to send traditional publishing and bookstores screaming for their xanax. Apparently, in the last three months, Amazon has sold 180 Kindle eBooks for every 100 hardcover books. This is huge for a number of reasons. Not only does it mean ebooks are destroying a symbol of book publishing, but it means that the price disruptions of ebooks are drawing some serious blood. Remember, traditional publishers fought hard for the agency model, so they could raise prices from $9.99 to what they felt was more reasonable. For various reasons… Continue reading on Gear Diary …