“Go play outside!” At the height of the DC-area summer, when the temperature outside was in the 80s but the humidity was set to “drown ‘em!”, that’s what my Mom would yell.  And we’d go outside . . . and generally sit in the shade of some tree in my friend Dave’s yard, sucking down increasingly-warm Pepsi and waiting until someone’s Mom had cooled down enough to let us back in to the blessed AC-cooled sanctuary. So now I’m an adult with kids of my own, telling them to “go outside!” at the height of an Austin summer.  And I admit, I’m kinda curious just how much running around Joseph does versus, say, sitting in the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

No, no; not that kind of roach!  What’s wrong with you!  (Although these days it wouldn’t surprise me if there were an app for that, too.) This kind of roach is the game iRoach, available from Suponix in HD for your iPad (MSRP: Free) Real Soon Now, as Suponi has submitted it to Apple for their official Apple Stamp o’ Approval (and since iRoach is already available for the iPhone, I imagine it won’t have too much trouble passing Apple’s gimlet-eyed gate-keepers).  Stop roaches and other bugs, and do so faster than your opponents!  If you hate roaches (like my son Joseph), maybe this game will do you some theraputic good, yeah?  … Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A no-name 42″ HDTV for under $500 sounds like a pretty good deal right? Well, today’s Gear Deal will get you a 42″ HDTV for under $470 and it won’t come from some no-name company. No, today’s deal is on one of Sharp’s HDTVs and can save more than 50% off thanks to our Gear Sponsor. The Sharp LC42SB48UT 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV features full HD spec 1080p resolution, 4 HDMI inputs, a 6 ms Pixel Response Time, and more. It has a list price of $949 but with today’s Gear Deal you can get it for just $469.99 and it will even ship for free. Sharp LC42SB48UT 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Called the iPhone 4 Diamond Spider this Alexander Amosu iPhone looks to stake its claim as the world’s most luxurious mobile handset. The phone comes complete with an antenna band that’s lined with 846 VVS1 F color diamonds totaling 5.66 carats and you pick the color. This version also comes with a special golden number of your choice, for example 07XXX 111111. You get to choose a unique number, such as your birth date, shirt number, business number or a special number, which of course you should be able to do when you’re paying $23,625 for a phone that normally sells for under $500.  You’ll also be able to customize the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As I have written quite a bit about how ‘free to play’ games have found a business model that makes them loads of money – charging for items and upgrades and other special stuff. So imagine if you were coasting along only doing the free stuff (like … um, me) and you found out that you could possibly become, as the contest says, the richest person in Eberron?!? You’d be all over it, right? You betcha! Here are some details: * What Can I win? o One 1st place winner for each game gets 100,000 Turbine Points o Two 2nd place winners get lifetime subscriptions to either game o Five 3rd place Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We’ve reviewed numerous iPad stands here on Gear Diary, but of all the stands I have personally had the chance to review, the oddly named Skadoosh Stand for iPad just might be the most substantial and flexible of them all. The Skadoosh has a unique design that is rather unique and, as a result — well lets put it this way — this is the first time I’m traveling since I got my iPad, where I had no second-guessing about iPad stand I wanted to bring along. To start with the conclusion, I like this stand so much, and am so taken with the thought and design that went into it, that I am… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the nice things about the iPhone 4 is the vast improvement in the quality of the camera. I don’t know about you all, but I’ve started taking a lot more photos with the iPhone 4 than I did with the previous revs. Before, it was “Well, I’ll use this because it’s hand”; now, with the better image quality and all the apps available to enhance it, it’s more like, “Gee, that’d make a cool picture; let’s see how it turns out!” Which unsurprisingly has meant that more app creators and accessory builders have been willing to make products for the iPhone (not that it was exactly suffering before!). Like The XShot people, who… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I remember how startled I was the first time I handled a piece of microfiber cloth.  The glasses maker handed me a little packet with a “Here ya go!”, and I just stared at him.  ”It’s microfiber,” he said.  ”Cleans really well.”  And so it does.  With 4 glasses-wearing and iPhone-using folks in the house–not counting laptops–I have strategically scattered these babies at various locations in our abode.  Plus a couple stashed away for when they get lost in the couch cushions.  Which is often. So when you want to supply your need for microfiber cloths, where should you go?  Well, Cloth Addiction wants you to go to them, a’course.  And as an inducement… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Several weeks ago I wrote about Microsoft’s attempt to revive its abysmal PC game marketplace, and since then there have been a few good deals – but since each one only lasted 24 hours I never got to write about them in time! Their latest deal? S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl for $0.99! This one doesn’t have the same 24-hour limit stated on the site. Not sure how long this deal will last, When it came out in early 2007 I wrote a review about it here, saying: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a very well done shooter with a very open-ended structure that allows you Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Now, I’m going to continue to stick with my iPhone, personally, but I have to admit that Nokia N8 looks pretty slick, and I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on it for a little test drive. But you:  maybe you’ve already bought yourself one, and have been thinking, “Now what the heck do I do when I’m out biking around?”  Why you get one of the new USBFever bike mounts for it, of course!  One of the many new offerings from our friends there for this week. And as for what else USBFever has heading your way, well, there’s all this: Unitek Y-5118C DisplayPort to HDMI Cable Privacy Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Like any good admitted fanboy, I often find myself looking for Apple products on TV. Lately I’ve been spotting more and more iDevices popping up on many of the shows I watch. So I’ve decided to start a new weekly segment entitled “Apple On TV.” The premise is simple. Whenever I spot an Apple product in one of the shows I watch (and I watch a lot of TV), I’ll take a screen shot of it and post it here, in a weekly recap, with a short description. But I need your help too! Although I watch a lot of TV I don’t watch everything. So if you come across an Apple product in one of… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Images provided by Google The sequel to the Nexus One called the Nexus S made by Samsung has officially been announced!  The new Nexus S will be the first handset to ship with the next version of Android 2.3, codenamed Gingerbread which is probably the best code name for this time of year! – The first Android device to ship with the latest flavor of the Android platform, Gingerbread, Nexus S is the first smartphone to feature a 4” Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand – It features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory, and NFC (near field communication) hardware that Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I had my old HTC Universal (“the smartphone of a thousand names”), one of the things that I loved about it was that it came with a flash.  I was pretty disappointed that Apple didn’t deign to include a similar item on their iPhone until the iPhone 4.  I mean, drag! Well, not everybody has the iPhone 4, and if you’re one of those folks–or if you just want a bit more light for your iPhone 4–you can get yourself the new GadgetsAndGear iPhone/iPod flash attachment.  It fits under your iPhone, and is compatible with most cases according to the folks at GadgetsAndGear.  Plus there’s the fact that it’s, ya know… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Does your apartment have a no-pets policy?  Or perhaps a family member is allergic to dogs and cats. Still want a pet to call your own? You’ve got an iPhone 4 right? Grab yourself a Monster Fur Cover from ion Factory and transform your iPhone 4 into your own special furry friend. The Monster Fur Cover is made from a simple snap-on-back-cover style iPhone case that’s wrapped in artificial fur.  The case has all the proper cutouts for access to the iPhone 4′s ports and buttons and it’s available in three unique colors. Choose from Snow White, Creamy Caramel or Schnauzer Grey. Naming… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I was checking Facebook last night to see the holiday photos my wife had uploaded and saw an update from Chronic Logic that grabbed my attention – they are saying that less than half of the free games they gave out have been claimed! To refresh your memory, about a month ago I posted about a promotion Chronic Logic was having on Facebook. Basically they just asked you to ‘Like’ them, add a comment to a thread and BAM, you’d get a free game. So what is the problem? Apparently few are returning to get their game! From their recent update: It seems that only about half the contest winners Continue reading on Gear Diary …