Recently the Acer Iconia A100 Android tablet went on sale, and I have had a couple of weeks to play around with one and formulate some opinions. Dan also grabbed one, and we had been chatting about the Iconia back and forth until he returned his. Even before I got the A100 there were a few things I had read about it that were troubling, and other things that had me quite excited! I wanted to document some of the great things about the tablet and latest version of the Android OS … and some things that make the moniker ‘Amateur Hour’ all too fitting! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

ZAZOO KiDS™ Digital Photo Clock provides multiple media functions designed for simple interface and displays beginning with little tykes and transitioning into the teenage years.

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! This is just the start of the Fall release schedule … but we get some cool looking stuff! This week brings us Dead Island, Driver: San Francisco, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten and Resistance 3. Great looking stuff with loads of stuff on pretty much every platform! And there are a bunch of other cool releases this week – read on to find out! Dead Island Driver: San Francisco Rise of Nightmares (Kinect) Rugby World Cup 2011 Skydrift Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As we quickly approach the 10th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks, more and more events and memorials have been announced. We have no plans to track everything, and encourage everyone to look to their local region to participate however they see fit. But as things come to our attention we will share them. A while back I learned about StageIt through Billy Franks, who has worked to expand his audience using loads of different online methods. StageIt is an interesting blend of streaming video and live performance. As the image at the top shows, StageIt provides artists with a means to create and share live events with fans. The performance can be… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  When I travel by plane, I use a virtually indestructible LuggageWorks rolling carry-on. It’s great for getting through airports and attaching my other bags to, and I never have to worry about it being damaged when gate-checked because it’s extremely durable and already ugly as sin. Did I mention that it’s also ridiculously heavy? LuggageWorks bags have a metal frame around their bottoms and backs which is part of why they last virtually forever, but it means that the 22″ version I have weighs 15 pounds when empty and can weigh 30+ pounds when fully packed. Although it is just fine for airport wrangling and for slinging into luggage compartments, this much weight does not make for an… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have been a GMail user since their early beta days, but three times this week I was reminded of how dead simple and useful their archiving and saving functions can be! First, a bit of background. My best friend is getting married next week, and so I have been wracking my brain putting together a toast for her and her fiancée. I had some fun anecdotes about her, as well as stories from when the two of them started dating, but I was looking for something more to add. Thinking maybe old emails would help, I typed her name into GMail, and discovered (or, really, re-discovered) that GMail helpfully saves all chat conversations along with email. Within… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Authentic chronicles, engaging investigations, and expertly captured characterizations combine into an impressive array in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire crime-themed action game.

Much has been written about how the biggest winner in two recent events – HP dumping webOS and the success of patent infringement cases against Android handset makers by Apple and Microsoft – is Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. For me, one of the issues I have had with Windows Phone 7 is connectivity. You need the Zune desktop software to do pretty much anything. With my Android phone I can just plug it in and mount the drive – and since I have all of my music through iTunes (like ~78% of the world) anyway THAT requirement isn’t an issue. But while I can simply install the Zone software on my… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

One of the biggest problems with current technology is the fact that so much of it is underutilized. Great devices such as the iPad or one of the new crop of Android phones have the potential to do so much but, like our brains, only the smallest of its potential is actually put into use. When I set my father-in-law’s printers up in such a manner that he could print from the iPad he was thrilled. Because neither printer is AirPrint compatible (they are both WiFi enabled however) I had to use the excellent Printopia software that allows a Mac to act as an intermediary between the iPad and the printers. It works… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The increasing reach of smartphones has called into question the usefulness of many dedicated devices, from music and video players, to compact cameras, and of course the ever-useful GPS. With GPS and turn-by-turn navigation almost standard equipment on Android devices, and the prevalence of iPhones, one could be forgiven for retiring their trusty nav and leaving their destination in the care of their phone. Realising this, several of the top navigation device companies have put their eggs in several baskets, with versions of their software and maps available for smartphones across the globe. A personal favourite of mine is Navigon’s iOS app. It’s clear, easy to use, has excellent mapping display and can harness… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

And the best part? It is FREE! That’s right … while they continue releasing great EA archive games such as Ultima I-III and Populous at great prices, they have thrown gamers one of the greatest games of all time … for free! What’s cool about it: * Arguably the title responsible for the Ultima series’ legend and the first RPG to break the “kill the bad guy and save the world” cliché * A revolutionary title with a story so deep and complex that it should be taught in schools * Many hours of truly epic adventure in the vast and diverse world of Sosaria Overview: Prepare yourself for a grand Continue reading on Gear Diary …

image courtesy of BlackBerry Smartphones Week If you live in North America or the UK, and if you have a BlackBerry, you have no doubt heard about the new BlackBerry Music service that we mentioned earlier this week. $5 per month gets you 50 songs that you can share with your friends … but only if you own a BlackBerry and they own one, too. And this service is not available to the general BlackBerry population yet. According to Digital Music News, the plan details are: (1) $5 a month. (2) User chooses 50 songs to access anytime, on-demand. (3) User then invites other ‘BBM’ friends to download the app and join the circle Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I already wrote about the great GameLoft sale going on … and as predicted several others followed suit! Thanks to BigFish Games, TouchArcade, Deals4Downloads and PocketGamer for all of the help rounding these up! Games on Sale for 99 Cents iPhone Big Fish’s entire catalogue of iPhone and iPad titles have been reduced to 99c until September 6th. FIFA 11 (Electronic Arts) FIFA 10 (Electronic Arts) Fight Night Champion (Electronic Arts) Tetris (Electronic Arts) NBA Jam (Electronic Arts) MMA (Electronic Arts) The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts) Scrabble (Electronic Arts) Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (Electronic Arts) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 (Electronic Arts) Need for Speed Undercover (Electronic… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you are looking for a laptop running Windows 7 you owe it to yourself to check out Lenovo’s offerings. Their laptops are powerful, increasingly stylish and, on sale this holiday weekend. There is a wide range from which to choose but here are a few examples… and the savings you’ll find. The hardworking T420 can be yours with savings of up to 45%. Check out the details! Lenovo’s E420s is on sale for up to 50% off!! Check it Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When the Grid 10 was announced by the ever-reliable Chandra Rathakrishnan last month, it was said to run Android apps but not be an Android device. This was later clarified to mean that it is actually an Android kernel running the show, but thoroughly skinned and possibly even forked to a version of Android incompatible with future Google-backed updates. We’ll see someday, maybe. Now TechCrunch is reporting that Amazon’s long-rumored tablet will be hitting the market in a couple months, running a completely forked Android kernel. This one is apparently pre-2.2 (how far pre is undefined) and has been so modified that it in no way resembles Android at all… Continue reading on Gear Diary …