The relationship between brand advertising and games is not new – many pinball game I remember from my youth had blatant branding and tie-ins, and then in the late 70s and early 80′s companies such as Atari and Intellivision used tie-ins with popular products to boost sales. And as a reminder, the video game arcade industry in the early 80′s was estimated as being the size of the movie industry and all of Nevada’s casinos … combined! So obviously brands wanted a piece of that action – but most efforts in those early years were not all that successful, generally finding that movie tie-ins such as Tron were more successful than putting a brand name… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy Wired) One of the curses to being a fan of new and exciting technology is that you often get burned waiting for good devices that turn out to be vaporware…I’ve been chomping at the bit for a decent android tablet, and so far the best shot looks like something subsidized and on contract like a Galaxy Tab. For a long time I was hoping for the Notion Ink Adam Tablet to come through, but it’s looking less and less likely… Engadget is reporting that Notion Ink says they’re “a week ahead of schedule” in submitting the Adam to the FCC. Since all of Notion Ink’s self-imposed deadlines have been spectacularly missed, I’m not… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Another week, another bunch of great deals on PC download games. The highlight is the Steam LucasArts sale. It started on Monday, featuring one game at 75% off each day and all week long the entire LucasArts Steam library – including all of the Jedi Knight games, Battlefront II, Knights of the Old Republic, Empire at War, Republic Commando and many more – is on sale for $49.99! That is an amazing deal, unless you own nearly everything on the list, since the individual games get no discount. So far the ‘daily deal’ featured The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition and Knights of the Old Republic, and will change again at ~1PM EST… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the first things I wished for when I first got my iPad was a way to use it as a tablet computer. The iPad’s large screen was simply begging for handwriting input, and programs like PenUltimate, SketchBook, Brushes, and photo editors like ColorSplash were ripe for a better input device than my pointer finger. Because of the iPad’s capacitive touch screen, any old stylus would not do, plus I wanted a stylus that wasn’t too pointy. I’d seen quite a few capacitive styli that would work, but I thought they were pretty homely when compared to my iDevice’s good looks. It wasn’t until I was offered the chance… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Thanks to Ooma, my home phone system now costs me a grand total of $0.00 each month. I liked the original Ooma system quite a bit, and I LOVE the new Ooma Telo I reviewed early in the summer. One of the best new features of the Ooma system isn’t exactly part of the Ooma system. A few months ago the company rolled out an iPhone app. What makes this app so special isn’t that it runs in the background on iOS 4.0, although that DOES make it quite useful. No, what makes this iPhone app so special is that it uses THE EXACT SAME NUMBER as your home Ooma system. In other… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You know, it seemed like a good idea at the time. USB was supposed to be a unified-enough standard that all gadgets needing ports would harken unto it, and use it solely.  But alas, as in so many things in life, slight variations ramified and grew, and the next thing you knew it was, well, kinda a mess again. DisplayLink is making a mighty effort to change all that with their new “SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) chip platform”.  I’m reasonably sure most of you aren’t as interested in diagrams as nerdly ol’ me, but if you look at the above one anyway, you’ll see that they have a good case.  As for the rest?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy Foxnomad) Warning: The image in this post may be very disturbing for iPhone owners everywhere. It’s a nightmare for any smartphone user, really. The devices are so powerful, yet so, so fragile… This is my coworker’s iPhone. I don’t know all the details, except that he dropped it while it was out of its bumper case. While neither of us are physicists, we theorized that had it had the bumper on it, the damage might have been less severe (or nonexistent). Luckily for him, the camera still works so he won’t need to run out and replace the phone ASAP. It is still… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

You into those Sims games?  Well, whether they like it or not, the Sims guys don’t have the market all to themselves.  G5 (Mushroom Age, Paranormal Agency, and others) has released an iOS 4 version of their Virtual City game designed especially to take advantage of the iPhone’s sweet Retina display.  It’s available now for an MSRP of $2.99.  Give it a look-see and see what you think. Full information below. Leading games publisher G5 Entertainment, today announced the availability of Virtual City for the iPhone. The demo version of Virtual City released on 20th August was already downloaded over 250.000 times. In Virtual City, players build and develop the city of their Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I reviewed the Sound ID 510 Bluetooth headset this past May before it was released. It was the third Sound ID headset I had tried and, as was the case with the first two, I liked the comfort and sound quality quite a bit. I was also quite taken with… … the EarPrint iPhone app that worked with it to give more control over the sound quality coming from the headset than ever. I was impressed… very impressed. Well today Sound ID announced three new headsets- the 520, 512 and 500. All feature the same comfortable fit, touch sensitive volume… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

HP’s G72t is a huge 17.3″ laptop. Available in Biscotti or Silver this system is highly customizable and, thanks to this Gear Deal, more highly discounted than ever before. The base specs of the HP G72 include a Core i3-350M processor clocked at 2.26GHz, 2GB DDR3, a 250GB 7200RPM HDD, a DVD+/-RW, Windows 7, Wireless-N, and a 6-cell battery. With this deal you will get a free 4GB RAM upgrade and a free 320GB hard drive upgrade. With these specs the G72 is $679.99. Our Gear Sponsor found a deal to get $100 off and free shipping. That rings the price down to $579.99. Moreover, if you configure the system in a manner that the initial… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I can’t speak for you all, of course, but personally, I’m sick to friggin’ death of trying to juggle my iPhone–or find a good place to put it–when I have it with me in my car and am using it in “Map” mode. I don’t care if you have a turn-by-turn voice app installed or not; juggling that thing when you’re driving is durn dangerous (especially if you’re driving a manual transmission!). And frankly, putting it on the seat next to you isn’t much of a solution, either. There are a bunch of mounts available for the iPhone these days, but I’ve had a bit of a struggle finding one for the iPhone 4. Kensington… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

XtremeMac has just unveiled their new Tango TRX high-fidelity wireless audio system for iPod, iPhone and iPad. The Tango TRX offers – superior sound quality, wireless audio connectivity, sleek design and an exclusive app to create a unique and powerful listening experience. Using the latest Bluetooth technology for wirelessly streaming high quality audio the Tango TRX has two midrange drivers, two dome tweeters and a downward firing subwoofer. But that is only part of the story… A free app from XtremeMac integrates with the unit to enhance both control and functionality. With the app you … can control music directly from Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Over the last few months I have done dozens of short CD reviews articles here, here and here. I continue to get great feedback about this ‘Quick Review’ format, so I plan to keep using it as a way to give a brief overview of a number of new releases all at once. Last time I changed things up a bit by looking at a couple of not-so-good releases. Fortunately I have some great stuff to review this time – but am changing things up again! Did you notice the title doesn’t say ‘Quickie Jazz CD Reviews’? That is because I have Jazz, Pop and Classical music included here! So, with… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Hello Kitty has to be on almost everything.  I am quite sure that this isn’t the first Hello Kitty thumb drive, but it’s not every year that Hello Kitty celebrates 50 years of cuteness. My favorite is the penguin, Badtz Maru.  While he doesn’t look like Tux, he’s still cute! Ranging in sizes from 2 GB all the way to 16 GB, these Hello Kitty thumb drives are sure to bring a smile to those who are devoted to the cute little white kitty.   Pricing ranges from $10.00 for the 2 GB version with the 16 GB version going for $45.00.  They are available today… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Now that the new iPods are shipping, you will of course need a new case since all of the form factors have changed.  Now what if you would like to swim with your iPod?  Impossible with the new nano you say?  Well not any more.  H20 Audio has now announced the Amphbix GRIP, a water proof case for your iPod nano or iPod Shuffle. Listening to your playlist during any sport or activity has never been easier or more convenient with the Amphibx GRIP – a fully waterproof, sweatproof and sandproof armband for your new iPod nano® or iPod shuffle®. Users get a 100 percent watertight Continue reading on Gear Diary …