Twelve South makes some of the nicest accessories around. We reviewed their BookBook iPad case and loved it. (My father-in-law stole it for his iPad and still won’t give it back!) We bought and reviewed their Compass iPad stand and I still use it quite often. Now Twelve South is introducing the BookBook for iPhone and it look awesome. The BookBook for iPhone 4 is “a beautiful, pocket-sized wallet that holds both iPhone 4 and your driver’s license, debit card, cash and receipts”. As the company explains, Made exclusively for iPhone 4, this tiny vintage Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy mofunu) There was so much drama and upheaval in the eBook, magazine,and subscription services on iOS yesterday as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and others caved to Apple’s demands that they either get a 30% cut of in-app sales or all links to external purchasing systems be removed, that is is easy to assume that all this comes down to one word – GREED. But what if it comes down to one different word. What if instead of this being all about Apple and the word “greed”, what if it all comes down to Apple and the word “Amazon”? What if this entire episode is all about Amazon, with a bit of Netflix… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

B&N has some big news for their iPad customers. No, it’s not the nearly-beaten-to-death debate about store links. They’re adding support for periodicals and newspapers! This is actually pretty exciting, especially if they use the same bells and whistles as the NOOKcolor. When I reviewed the NOOKcolor I was really impressed with ArticleView and the ease of browsing magazines, and I have no doubts it will look just as good, if not better, on the iPad. They also slipped in some information on the regular NOOK app, as well as NOOK Kids. I still don’t entirely understand NOOK Kids, since I question how many parents feel the tradeoff of not having… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Microsoft recently announced that they were folding the Games for Windows Marketplace into XBOX.com. While to some this confirms the lack of real support for the PC (which is true), in reality PC gamers will benefit by joining a community that actually DOES get some attention from Microsoft! To celebrate, Microsoft is giving away 400 points to your XBOX.com account for every purchase you make between now and August 1st! Games for Windows has joined Xbox.com with Games for Windows Marketplace, and we’re celebrating by giving away a million Microsoft Points!* Just make a Games for Windows online purchase between July 25 and August 1 to receive an Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you have ever wished that you had the ability to easily scan documents from your phone or iPad – now is your chance! Doc Scanner 5.0 is FREE for 24 hours! Reviews on OCR quality are mixed, but as a general purpose scanner it seems to work pretty well. Here is the description: ***DocScanner is on sale 100% off for 24hrs!*** “With DocScanner, you can turn any document into a PDF by simply snapping a photo. The ability to scan anywhere, any time may fundamentally change your relationship to scraps of paper. Of the major scanning apps, DocScanner’s image quality is a cut above the rest.” – The Wall Street Journal January Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This weekend we got the news that bluesy-pop singer Amy Winehouse has died at age 27. While the immediate cause of death is not known, speculation that her rampant heavy drug use came into play are probably not far off. Her drug use and many trips to hospitals, making her song Rehab all-too-biographical, are better known than her songs at this point, as her 15 minutes of actual music fame passed nearly five years ago. Unfortunately, to teens today, she is known as a drunken drug addict with an ironically titled song from years ago. Sadly, anyone who is surprised that Amy Winehouse succumbed so young hasn’t kept track of her since… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

      Booq has been doing some nice, slightly out-of-the-box designs lately that combine function and style with enough uniqueness to grab our interest here on Gear Diary. Their latest iPad 2 case, the Viper Slide, does just that. The Viper slider for iPad 2 is made from polycarbonate construction, non-scratch fabric, and a durable leatherette exterior. This combination provides style and protection in a case that won’t break the bank. Moreover, the slim design lets you access all ports and controls without adding too much bulk. Among the features: • Slider design allows removal of bottom cover to fit almost any docking station • Tough polycarbonate construction shields your iPad 2 from daily Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you are an original iPad owner and a gamer of any sort, you know one thing – Angry Birds launched at $4.99 and in the past 16 months hasn’t changed … until today! Now you can get your Angry Birds in HD for the low price of $1.99 – which might seem like it is more than the ‘free’ Android price, but it also comes without ads and having your private data sold! There is no end date on the sale, so head on over to the iTunes App Store and buy Angry Birds HD NOW! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have written quite a bit about the Sony Vaio S-series, from an unboxing, to a contest announcement, to battery tests for ‘normal usage’, ‘hardcore gaming’, and my recent 15-hour torture test. And throughout it all I have been thrilled with the performance and battery life of the system. Part of the ‘Charged & Ready’ promotion was a sale on the sheet battery for the S-series. The battery has a $150 value, but was discounted to $75 until July 17th, or if you were a student you could get it FREE! Today Sony announced that they are extending the offer for two months -… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

New Gear Daily Deals on Dell “Ships Fast” desktops   Just because… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

My younger son recently produced a full length album of his electronic music entirely on his iPad and has some of it on SoundCloud. It is an amazing, all-digital process that is a world away from what was possible just a decade ago. When I took a few classes in music as an undergraduate, we were still splicing tape and dealing with ground loops and finicky pre-MIDI timing woes. It is amazing to think about how recording techniques have changed since the early days of the LP. There are plenty of written records, but now we have a fun video of the process! Today I found a cool video via JazzWax. It… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Carly said it best – A picture is worth 1,000 words… Carly just posted about Amazon removing store links from their Kindle app. Now Barnes & Noble has done the same. Here is the description of their update: What’s New in Version 2.1.2 You can read any NOOK Book you have purchased on this updated NOOK for iPhone app, however the Shop link has been removed so to buy NOOK Books from your iPhone, open your Safari browser and go to nookbooks.com. This is just the latest in an evolving saga that has basis in a single Apple policy they have become increasingly stringent about enforcing: if you sell on… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! There is an old saying that quality is more important than quantity … and that is very true this week! We have two solid looking games, and two bits of highly anticipated DLC … and not much else. For the games we get the XBOX360 and PS3 release Catherine
, which is a mature and innovative anime styled drama where you deal with moral choices and consequences, and also From Dust which is a cool looking sandbox ‘God game’, where you control everything that happens. For DLC the PC and PS3 finally get Call of Duty: Black Ops – Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A picture is worth 1,000 words… Amazon has updated the Kindle app to reflect Apple’s new rules, namely that you cannot link to an external store in an iOS application. Will this impact buying habits? Only time will tell, but one thing is clear: we, as consumers, are losing. Spotify, Netflix, Rhapsody, NOOK, Kobo, Google Books and now the Kindle have all undergone dramatic changes that will require major adjustments to how we shop on an iOS device. Will this change how you shop for books? Will you be holding off on updating your Kindle app? Sound off in the comments, and be sure to check out our coverage of this App Store upheaval here, here, and here.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Something very fishy is going on at Apple. It looks like they’re taking in-app purchasing very seriously, and are enforcing what has been rumored for months: eBookstores can no longer link to their respective stores in Safari in any way, even for account sign-ups. Kobo was forced to change over, as did NOOKkids; Google Books has gone entirely MIA from iOS. Plus, the Wall Street Journal has removed all links and in-app sales options. If book sales are not through Apple, they can’t offer anything in-app. Obviously this has negative implications for consumers, annoys developers and content partners, and for what? Why is Apple creating and enforcing these rules? Let’s assume there’s… Continue reading on Gear Diary …