I have been highly critical of the impact of Android ‘fragmentation’, which is something I am acutely aware of as a hardcore gamer who loves playing games on smartphones and tablets but has constantly been thwarted in spite of having a dual-core Tegra 2 device. That criticism has led some to think I ‘have it in’ for Android. Not true, not true – I have it in for EVERYONE! Look at the way I have taken Apple to task repeatedly, and Sony has also been a frequent target. Today, I have yet another axe to grind with Apple, which is based on my experiences over the last couple of days trying to help out… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Nintendo updates their 1997 N64 game “Star Fox 64″ on the Nintendo 3DS with a fun local, download play multiplayer mode complete with live stills and video from other players using the Nintendo 3DS inner camera.

Siri and Evernote work together beautifully, and all it takes is a little bit of preparation. In fact, if you use Evernote regularly, then you probably already have taken the steps you need to take to make it work. You see, each Evernote account comes with an email address that can be used to send notes by email. That’s the key. Here’s what you need to do. First, make Evernote a contact in your address book with your incoming Evernote email address. You can add the email by going into Evernote > Settings > Evernote email address. Launch Siri and say “Send email to Evernote.” Next, dictate your email and send it off. The message will show Continue reading on Gear Diary …

If you use Microsoft Office, but found yourself dozing on the day they were sharing tips & tricks, now is your chance to catch up with the other power users! “Microsoft Office 2010: Tips and Tricks – Limited Time Offer“ This $7 Value eBook Expires 11/16/2011. Microsoft Office is one of the most popular and user friendly office suites in the market. With Office 2010, Microsoft had made it bigger by integrating features for Office Web Apps and Mobile Office and significant changes to User Interface and included a lot of new features in Office Suite. This eBook offers more than 50 tips and tricks focused on making sure that you get the most out of Office Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It is nearly three full months since HP killed off webOS and the entire former Palm line of webOS-based devices. None of this is news – the HP TouchPad was killed after only six weeks of life, and immediately placed on a fire sale which was widely reported and caused an internet-breaking amount of interest. In the ensuing three months, hardly a day has passed without some mention of HP, webOS or the TouchPad – which is a far cry from the yawn-inducing life of webOS prior to that. So, as I say from the start – these last few months since the death of webOS have been the liveliest since the very first announcements!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The other day Mike went on a bit of a tear about Siri, its outage last week and loneliness. This from the guy who sent me information that a t-shirt featuring Siri was on sale at Tanga.com a few weeks ago. (Yes, Mike is a Siri-enabler!!) Seriously? Who is Siri-smitten enough to actually spend money (albeit discounted) on Siri garb? Well, me of course. The shirt came today and it is awesome. Yes, Siri is already a cultural phenomena… and it is just the beginning… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

As I mentioned here, the video game mega-release this week is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Fans are tremendously excited for the new release. But if you are not keen to pay $60 for the latest iteration, you can do very well by making a trip to the Mac App Store. That is because this week you can get the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare for the low price of $19.99! I had reviewed the Mac version for VGBlogger back in 2008, saying: let’s get back to the awesome game that is Call of Duty 4 and the wonderful job Aspyr did bringing it to the Mac. It Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Every now and then you hear about something – the $100 laptop, the $35 tablet, the $19 smartphone plan – that seem to good to be true. And in some ways they are – there are limitations and compromises and caveats. In terms of the $19 smartphone plan, this week Republic Wireless unveiled their rumored plan – and it is both good and bad. The system is based on controlling the hardware – you need to use one of their special LG Optimus phones – and shifting much of the ‘heavy lifting’ to WiFi. So if you need the latest phone or are constantly on 3G with no WiFi in sight, or… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Recently Groupon began expanding their deal offerings to include travel options. Bed and Breakfasts, hotels, and other resorts are offering significant discounts in off-season times for Groupon customers. Sarah and I took advantage of one deal over the summer, and this past weekend finally were able to use it for a long weekend in Cape Cod. Would we try this again, and recommend the experience to our friends? Read on to find out! On the Groupon side, the experience was as simple as it always is. The deal unlocked, and Sarah shot me an email with it, suggesting it would make a nice way to celebrate our anniversary. I pulled out my credit card, and we… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Google’s Gmail app for BlackBerry is coming to an abrupt end on the 22nd of this month. (via The Verge) We thought we would let two videos provide the commentary. (Note: The relevant commentary comes at the end, not in the refrain.) And here’s the musical version… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Today’s Gear Deal is actually today’s Gear DealS with a capitol S since Philips.com is offering an extra 40% off all orders over $100! You’ll need to use the coupon code: PHILIPSFF11FALL at checkout and it does excludes TV’s, DVD and Blu-ray Players, and Home Theater Systems but for those items that are included you’ll get some nice savings. Among the available items: The Phillips Speaker Dock (SBD8100/37) was $149.99 but is now $89.99. The company’s 9″ LCD Portable DVD Player was $219.99 but it now $131.99. The Docking Speaker for iPad (DS8550) was $179.99 but is now $107.99. The company’s Docking Speaker (DS9000) was $499.99 but is now just$299.99… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have repeatedly talked about the unhealthy foods and unreasonable quantities and government subsidization of unhealthy processed foods … but today we got something from the other end of the spectrum. In spite of protestations by ultra-thin actresses and models that they can ‘eat whatever they want’, most reasonable people tend to believe that the truth is uncomfortably close to the parodies on TV shows and movies where the model is asked about eating and claims to have eaten an orange for lunch … then confesses it was a single slice … and was the entirety of her solid sustenance for the day. Victoria’s Secret ‘Angel’ model… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last year, it was, we told you folks about EgoBook, a Facebook app that allows you to create books from your Facebook info (status updates, wall posts, and the like).  I guess they’ve done okay, because now the EgoBook folks are offering a new format, in hardback:  large format 8.25″ x 10.75″ (21cm x 27cm).  This strikes me as a pretty nice upgrade, honestly; if you’re wanting to create an EgoBook for yourself, why not make it hardcover?  Looks better, plus it lasts longer.  Seems like a good deal to me. Here’s what EgoBook says: EgoBook now exists in a brand new Large Format (21x27cm), with a rigid cover (hardcover). The pictures are printed Continue reading on Gear Diary …

photos by Kevin I like items that have their own personality and that aren’t similar to every one else’s, but lately it seems like all of the HTC Android phones that I have been posting about have been basically the same phone — albeit with different features or screen sizes. Has it seemed that way to you? Whether it’s been the Vivid, or the Rezound or all the EVO iterations, there are traits that most HTC Android phones seem to share: they are rectangular, they have four capacitive buttons on the bottom of the screen, there is a noticeable speaker grill at the top of the screen, they are predominantly black, they are trying to out-compete each other (and other brands) in screen size, they are trying to out-compete each other (and other brands) in processor speeds … it’s like  a massive nuclear arms race, but all of the weapons look the same! I understand building brand recognition,  but for some time it has seemed that HTC has been specifically marketing to masculine sensibilities, i.e. — bigger, faster, stronger, harder, rawrrrr! I’m not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think that there is anything wrong with keeping a phone at [...]

A few weeks ago we brought word that Sound iD was coming out with their newest Bluetooth headset the Sound iD SIX. We have reviewed the company’s previous headsets, so I was anxious to get my hands on the SIX. Unlike those headsets, they were entirely black, the SIX has an attractive carbon fiber look to it. So it looks nice, but how does it sound? From Sound ID: The power of EarPrint™ for iPhone®, Blackberry® & Android® smart phones. Patented VoiceMenu technology is Sound ID’s answer to Voice Recognition. Unlike voice recognition, Voice Menu is discrete Continue reading on Gear Diary …