Want richer bass, higher clarity and an all around enhanced audio experience? Bongiovi Acoustics: Bongiovi DPS (Digital Power Station) technology has it. The technology is currently available in iHome dock stations and select Toyota models and, for the first time, Bongiovi’s technology is available as an iOS app. The technology ”re-masters your compressed digital audio files at the source and then, using device specific profiles, optimizes the output for your listening device (headphone, speaker, earbud, etc).” I tried the iOS app and was rather impressed with the enhanced audio pumped out by my iPod touch and my iPad. As the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

So much time is wasted in idle speculation! Today I, along with a gaggle of other bloggers, was sent an invitation to an HTC press teleconference that would happen tomorrow. Along with the call-in information, the invite said: TAOYUAN, Taiwan, and LOS ANGELES— August 10, 2011 — HTC CEO Peter Chou will hold a live teleconference from Los Angeles on August 11, 2011 to make a major announcement. The rumor mill started working overtime, online. Was this for a new device? A declaration of insane losses or profits? Was HTC going to stop making Windows Mobile 7 devices and focus solely on Android? Okay, I made that last… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Amazon is a fascinating company. They clearly strive to be the market leader wherever they can, but they do so by convincing customers to vote with their wallets. Amazon.com isn’t the flashiest e-commerce site out there and the Kindle isn’t winning any beauty pageants, but what makes them popular are prices and service. It has made Amazon some enemies, but offer up the right experience and the customers come running. One of the ways Amazon has pushed this is through their wide-reaching ecosystem, from mobile Amazon.com applications to Kindle apps on every major smartphone platform. Of course, just a few weeks ago Apple cut the Kindle app off at the knees (along with all the other ebookstores)… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Summer is here, which means it is time for yet another GamersGate Summer Sale! The front page claims ’282+ offers’, but when I checked this morning the list totaled more than 450 sale items! Here are just a few of the things on sale – all of which are at least 75% off! Alliance – Future Combat (PC) $0.54* SAVE: 97% Ankh 2: Heart of Osiris (PC) $0.27* SAVE: 97% Ankh 3: Battle of the Gods (PC) $0.41* SAVE: 97% Red Shark (PC) $0.27* SAVE: 97% Trine (PC) $1.99* SAVE: 90% King’s Bounty: Armored Princess (PC) $2.50* SAVE: 87% Margots Word Brain (PC) $2.50* SAVE: 87% Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Vonage is introducing their Time To Call app for Apple iPhone and iPad mobile devices, which allows you to make affordable phone calls that can be charged to your iTunes account. As part of the roll-out, they are giving away a 32GB WiFi iPad 2 on participating blogs, and Gear Diary happens to be one of them! There will be three blogs per day giving away an iPad, and each blog will have their own rules to enter. Our giveaway starts on August 14th, but these are the sites starting off today … http://geekdad.daddyforever.com/ http://www.geekzone.co.nz/ http://smallbiztrends.com/ Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Guess which Stooge is Doug in this little scenario It all began back in January . . . See, here’s the deal:  for the kids’ “big holiday gift,” I got them both iPhone 4s.  Alas, now you have to get limited data plans.  But these are good kids, and I knew that if I got the lowest plan and threatened them with severe consequences–and then had to actually dole out punishment one time–they would stay on WiFi, not download games and music over the cell network, and otherwise avoid non-WiFi data. So yes, one month they both went over.  I explained (again) how they had to be careful, not download games or whatever except… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Nintendo was dropping the price on the 3DS as of August 12th and rewarding ‘early adopters’ who own a 3DS and log into their eShop by August 11th with 20 free games. Yesterday Joystiq noted that Walmart stores had jumped the gun and were pricing the 3DS at $169.99. Today they bring word that Target has also jumped into the early discount pricing fray! By getting a 3DS now you can take advantage of the early adopter program Nintendo has in place which will net you 20 FREE games! As a reminder, anyone who owns a 3DS and logs into the Nintendo… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Nearly a year ago I reviewed the DS version of Puzzle Quest 2, followed a couple of weeks later by the PC version, and a few months later by the iPad version. By now I had hoped to have reviewed the PSP version, but alas it has now officially been cancelled. Last fall I had reported that Puzzle Quest 2 for PSP was only going to be available via PSN (i.e. digital download). That wasn’t a major setback, as all PSP systems are capable of playing PSN downloaded games. But now we have heard from Steve Fawkner, the creator of the original Puzzle Quest, by way of a post on… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The end of the summer is fast approaching. It’s sad but, unfortunately, it’s true. Before we know it September will be here. It is time to get in as much relaxation as we can and one of the best ways to do that is with music. That’s where the iMainGo:2 comes in. The iMainGo: 2 is a “protective case that turns your MP3 player into a powerful and portable speaker”. Some features include: It Custom fits and protects all iPods and most MP3’s. It doubles as a premium external stereo speaker system for any device with a 3.5 mm connection You can control and view your device without opening the case You can wake Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When ‘Born this way’ came out it was a pretty clear copy & paste of Madonna’s Express Yourself, as I discussed here. No one denies that, not even the artists – they just say that ‘everything is cool’. Of course, Madonna herself has been the subject of many lawsuits in the other direction … but more on that later. Now Lady Gaga is in trouble again, this time accused of stealing ‘Judas’ from a similarly-titled ‘Juda’. You can read some details here, but I won’t go into it anymore right now. What I thought would be more interesting is to take five songs that were stolen to one degree or another and… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal brings us Dell’s newest Inspiron 620s Slim Tower PLUS a 24″ Dell LCD monitor at a great price. The 620s starts at Just $469.99. Our Gear Sponsor’s recommended configuration has a Core i5, the 24″ LCD Monitor, 6GB RAM, a 1TB HDD, a 1GB Radeon HD 6450 and more. This configuration would normally be $1,053.99 but after savings of $394 it is just $659.99 and it will ship for free. Details and ordering can be found here. Gear Deal: Dell Inspiron 620s Core i5 2nd Gen Intel Sandy Bridge Slim Desktop and 24″ LCD Monitor for $659 via LogicBUY Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Two years ago I bought a VIZIO HDTV from Woot. It was inexpensive and, to be honest, I didn’t expect much from it or for it to last all that long. I was wrong on both counts. The TV works well and is still going strong. It is because of that experience that the company’s new 8″ Tablet caught my eye. With a price of under $300 one might quickly dismiss it as “cheap” but I’ve come to know better. Yes, the tablet may be less expensive than the others Android devices we have seen but it also has some great features that distinguish it from the pack. Two stand-out features that look quite attractive are the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As you may have heard, Apple has surpassed Exxon to be the most valuable company in the world. This is hot on the heels of Apple having more money than the Federal government before the debt ceiling was raised. This indicates two things; one, the country needs some financial overhaul, and two, Apple is an unstoppable business machine. Clearly what we need to do is combine Apple and our currency! Forget the dollar, start counting in iPods instead! Surprisingly, these line up quite nicely: $1 bill=white Apple earbuds $5 bill=iPod Shuffle $10 bill=iPod Nano $20 bill=iPod Touch $50 bill=Wifi iPad $100 bill=3G iPad Not only… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It has been an amazing story – Apple burst onto the MP3 store scene when competing MP3 players were in place and markets were already emerging, and yet within a couple of years you would have thought that they invented the entire category. Yet a few years later as Amazon and later Wal-Mart entered the MP3 marketplace, many thought that both retailers’ reputation for low-price sales would mean the end of dominance for Apple. Of course that never happened, and Amazon has desperately struggled for market share, to the point of taking millions of dollars in losses giving away the Lady Gaga album to no long-term effect. Now today we learn from Digital Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Charging cables and cords… they’re everywhere. Literally everywhere. Have an iPhone? You need a 5W wall adapter and a USB cable. An iPad? You need a 10W wall adapter and a USB cable. Using a Samsung Galaxy Tab? You’ll need one of their proprietary chargers. Have a Blackberry or Android phone? Most likely you need a microUSB adapter connected to a wall charger. And the list goes on and on. I hate the mess of cords. That’s why I’ve been so interested in the various conductive charging systems that have been coming to market for the past few years. The issue there? Most of the time they still require a special case to… Continue reading on Gear Diary …