Smartphones are all the rage these days.  Everyone uses them as more then just a plain old phone.  We browse the web, stream media, play our music, check our e-mail, take pictures, check social networks and oh, yeah, use it as a phone.  Battery technology in these phones have not really progressed to the point where you can make it the whole day.  Especially if you are using it as something other then just a plain phone.  If you are away from an outlet at anytime, well, you will likely run out of juice at any time unless you have something like Kensington’s Pocket Battery for Smartphones. This… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I always try to track the big sales on Digital Download sites and inform you as to what is happening. But this is one that is going to go by so quickly I just can’t begin to pretend I will catch them all! Direct2Drive is now having a HUGE ‘Summer Ends’ event – for the whole month of September they are featuring two games per day for massive savings! The Day 1 sale (Sept 1 – 2) is as follows (still going as I wrote this but due to be pulled at any moment): Civilization IV Complete – 50% Off – $19.99 Hearts of Iron III – 70% Off Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The freshman class of the Scion tC proved to be quite successful for the “garage band” division of Toyota. In fact, since its launch as a 2005 model, the little coupe has accounted for more than a third of Scions sales despite having the shortest production run (when combining xA and xD units). This is the best selling model in its showroom so for the model makeover one thing is painfully clear – don’t screw it up. Stick to your roots, stick to what brung ya’ here and stick it to the competition. And that is what Scion is doing. We zipped down… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It was only a matter of time before school yearbooks went digital. Well, that time is now. Jostens, a leading provider of world-renowned yearbook products, programs and services is introducing what they are calling Personal Yearbook Pages™. Through a new application students can now create a more inclusive yearbook by “giving every student the ability to create personalized pages that will appear exclusively in the student’s copy of the yearbook. Personal Yearbook Pages’ online user experience lets students design four unique pages with their own photos, artwork and text. What’s more, student’s can invite friends to collaborate on the design of one or more pages.” To do this, students log into www.yearbookyourself.com and upload… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Lemur Monitors recently released a trio of auto monitoring solutions that are designed to “empower consumers with additional insight into their vehicles’ operation”. The new tools are, the EconoDriver, which “increases awareness of fuel consumption and inefficient driving” and the SafeDriver and AlertDriver which both ensure that “your car is driven with caution and care”. All of them are useful for anyone who owns an automobile but may be particularly attractive for parents whose kids are on the road, especially with school starting shortly. Well e have two of them to give away so read on for details… and for how to enter and win! EconoDriver EconoDriver helps you drive Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Before being recreated into a mediocre retread of every late-teen-angst show since the original, and which barely managed to get a third season based on some very anemic reviews and ratings, 90210 was a powerhouse guilty pleasure show on the FOX Network back in the early 90′s created by Darren Star. Now today is September 2nd, 2010, or 09/02/10 … or simply 90210. All of you from the rest of the world who think of your dates in order of ascending magnitude (i.e. day, month, year) just move along – you had your celebration back in February! Here is the synopsis: Just as Fox’s 21 Jump Street injected the cop drama with a Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is sort of a ‘two-fer’: a great sale, and an easy way to support a great charity! The Child’s Play Charity created by web comic Penny Arcade is raising money to provide toys and games for kids in hospitals all over the world. It has large fund-raising drives each year, and last year raised more than $1.75 Million! That is aside from the used games and sent in by individuals all over the world! It is an awesome cause – and as some of the Gear Diary folks have had kids in the hospital for extended stays at some point or another, we can attest to the healing power of toys and games in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I still have a few years until my kids will be entering college and am acutely aware of the realities of what life was like for them growing up, but each year when I see the Beloit College Mindset list it is a reminder of how much life has changed since I entered college myself oh so many years ago! This is the 12th official list, going back to the class of 2002 list made in 1998! Here are a few samples of things from the list that made me stop in my tracks: 1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive. 2. Email is just too slow, and they Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photo courtesy of Engadget Big news for ebook and magazine fans from Samsung today. In addition to the generally awesome specs of the Galaxy Tab, there’s going to be some excellent built in software that could give the iPad a run for the money in the ebook/emagazines department. First, Zinio is FINALLY coming to Android on the Tab! Dan has sung the praises of Zinio since the iPad came out, and a coworker of mine similarly adores Zinio. I’ve been dying to try it, and that alone is a reason to be drooling over the Tab! I also hope this is a sign Zinio is coming to other Android devices… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Computing AND music power… that’s today’s Gear Deal. The HP ENVY 14 Beats edition is a 14.5″ Laptop that includes Beats by Dr. Dre lightweight on-ear solo headphones, an audio console that lets you customize output through a powerful equalizer and a red backlit keyboard. It’s unique, it’s loaded and our Gear Sponsor can save you some money on it. The base model of the HP Envy 14 Beats Edition includes an Intel Core i5-450M 2.4GHz, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 500GB Hard Drive, a Red backlit keyboard, 1GB ATI MObility Radeon HD 5650 graphics (or switchable), a 14.5″ BrightView Infinity LED Display, a Slot-load DVD Burner, an HP TruVision HD Webcam, Dual microphones; Wireless-N +… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Well that didn’t take long…… Griffin Technology has already released a sampling of their fall line up of case for the new iPod Nano and Touch announced at today’s Apple event. The cases below will be available from the Griffin Technology web site and other retailers this fall. Here are all the details straight from Griffin’s Blog. Wristlet for iPod nano Griffin’s Wristlet is a one-piece case and wrist strap design, the perfect combination of protection, function, and size for Apple’s newest iPod nano. Tough, stretchy silicone surrounds your iPod nano, protecting the volume controls and hold switch. The wrist strap keeps your iPod secured but close by… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

OtterBox is probably best known for their highly protective case, the Defender.  The Defender packs as much shock and impact defense for your iPhone 4 as any case on the market.  However, all that protection doesn’t come without a price.  The Defender can at times be bulky and because of this OtterBox realizes it’s not for everyone.  It’s for this reason that, starting with the iPhone 3G/3Gs, the company began offering a slimmed down version of the Defender.  The Commuter Series case offers the same level of quality that its big brother, the Defender, does, in a sleeker package. The Commuter Case comes along with an OtterBox… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Dexim (www.dexim.net) makes some great mobile device accessories and today announced their first line of iPhone 4 accessories. Many of Dexim’s current products are compatible with the new iPhone but these new accessories are specifically for iPhone 4 users. Among the new products are the Supercharged Leather Power case ($79.90), a case that doubles as both a leather case and portable battery pack. And the P-Flip™ Foldable Power Dock 3 in 1 Bundle ($69.90) that “allows users to flip the compact dock horizontally or vertically for hands-free viewing (i.e. FaceTime) or position it to slimly… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the reasons I love working on the iPad is that it runs cool. Gone are the days when I would suddenly realize that I had scorched my thighs by having my laptop on… my lap. Well HP just re-introduced their 13″ dm3t ultralight and it takes a different approach to avoiding scorched legs. The laptop can actually SENSE whether it is on a lap or a desk and will cool the system accordingly. That’s pretty neat. Also neat is that you can save $125 on it if you purchase through LogicBUY. That means the $749.99 laptop will ship to you for a total of just $624.99. Details on the system, the savings… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I know what you’re thinking … blah, blah, blah, keeping beating the ‘I hate Sony’ drum, yeah, sure, whatever. In fact I’ve gotten more than one comment that says almost exactly as much. But hear me out … If you look at the history of the Sony PSP, there are several games that stand out – Dissidia: Final Fantasy, God of War: Chains of Olympus, the first two Grand Theft Auto games, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Jeanne d’Arc, Resistance: Retribution, Patapon, Loco Roco … and not much else. In 2010 we’ve had some solid releases such as Persona 3 Portable, which is the best game in the franchise and definitely one of the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …