There’s a bucketload of location apps, but this particular here one, localscope, has a couple of things going for it that not all other location apps do:  it’s hooked in through various social media sites, and it won Apple’s Rewind 2011 award as the best navigation app.  And at $1.99 at your local iTunes app store, that’s a lot of functionality for the money.  Or so it seems to me.  Check it out for your own self and give it some thought. Full information below. localscope is your social data powered GPS app. Always know where you are and what’s around you with Localscope. Search for and discover places around your location Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I just finished reading the classic Ray Bradbury novel Fahrenheit 451, which I noted had just been released for the first time in ebook form a couple of weeks ago. It was far from my first reading, and was actually the fourth time I had bought the book over the last 30 years. Three have been paperbacks – one that simply died with use, a second one that is still in great shape, and a third from when I was traveling, and now the ebook version is on my Kindle Fire. No spoilers here, but the book is as awesome as ever and highly relevent in current society, though the early chapters were more uneven than I remembered.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

A few weeks ago we took a close look at the Case-Mate Tank and the way in which is grew out of an earlier case from a different manufacturer. (You can read the review/comparison here.) As Case-Mate explains: It takes a beating. The Tank iPhone 4 / 4S case brings an extreme approach to defending the iPhone with a rugged case that completely protects the iPhone 4/ 4S from screen to back. Modeled after motorcycle helmet engineering, Tank is designed with a hard, impact resistant exterior and a shock absorbing interior. A shatter resistant, polycarbonate hard shell combines with the thick, silicone cushioned interior. The retractable screen shields from impacts, cracking and condensation, fully protecting the iPhone screen. The Tank exterior is made of a premium, soft grip texture that slides easily in and out of your pockets. The Tank tests number one in impact resistance against the leading brand, and meets or exceeds US military standards. When I got back from vacation I found a box waiting from Case-Mate. Inside was another sample of the $60 Case-Mate Tank. This time it came with a twist. Yes, Case-Mate has gone all out with the marketing and here is what it looked [...]

The BenQ Joybee GP2 Mini Projector Judie has been making videos for (the same videos that you can win money for voting for) is pretty amazing. I had a chance to play with it a bit last week and am amazed. At first I really didn’t think it did such a great job of projecting video on the wall, but then I realized… you need to actually focus the thing. Once I did… wow! My in-laws have  one of those expensive ceiling projection television units in their media room, and this small, portable thing actually stands up to it quite nicely. Add in the fact that you can dock an iPhone, or connect… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I had the pleasure of reviewing the Monster Turbine Pearl In-Ear Speakers this summer and still use them as my primary headphone solution for high quality audio. (You can read the review here.) Let me tell you, these things are the best earphones I have ever used– bar none. They are so good, and let me feel like I am so fully immersed in the music experience, that they often keep me listening to music far longer than I had planned. Just in time for the holiday season, Monster is running a contest that will give all of you a chance to win some of their wonderful products. With that let us tell you about Monster’s 8X iPhone 4S Sweepstakes we are co-sponsoring with the company this week. Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We all want to support the ‘little guy’ and also want to discover new music to enjoy and share. And right now you have the chance to do both – for FREE! You can grab this sampler called “The Gratitude Tracks”, featuring 17 songs from local artists featured in the recent seven-city Gratitude Tour. Here are the details from TuneCore: Following its successful seven-city Gratitude Tour, the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) is giving away a music sampler, The Gratitude Tracks, consisting of 17 free downloadable original songs, written and performed by the local artists featured on the Tour. The Gratitude Tour took vending on the road this fall to convey thanks Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We love Element Case’s Joule iPad Stand. It is gorgeous. It is functional. It is cool. And, today only, it is on sale. Here’s our review of it. And here is the company’s decryption of the Joule: The Joule iPad stand has a three position tilt foot that is magnetically attached for quick and easy angle adjustment. In any of three positions, the carefully designed geometry ensures that it won’t tip over when engaging the iPad’s touch screen display. The Joule Chroma is CNC machined from a solid chunk of aircraft grade aluminum and bead blasted before anodizing to give it a matte finish. Its simple shape and vibrant anodized color scheme is sure to steal Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Last week I shared information about the Good Old Games Holiday Sale … and after the initial weekend deal on The Witcher 2 and some giveaways, now it has kicked off for real! Here are some details: GOG.com Holiday Sale Begins! Our holiday sale is here! You’ve been waiting for the chance to pick up all of our great classics at incredible savings, and that time is now. Virtually the entire catalog is 50% off from now until 2 January 2011. While most of you have probably clicked through and are getting games now, let’s let you know about the fine details of the promo. Activision games Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Images: Author As automakers have pared down corporate structure in recent years due to market demands, economy and even government oversight, consumers have had to say goodbye to nameplates and models they’d become loyal fans and admirers of. So how does a division like GMC survive when brands like Plymouth, Pontiac and Mercury are kicked to the curb? All GMC makes is trucks or SUVs and each of those is on a shared platform with a Chevy counterpart. GMC has been making trucks since 1901 when it was first established at the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and was responsible for developing the earliest commercial trucks ever designed. RMVC was purchased by GM in… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have never seen the show ’19 Kids and Counting’ featuring Jim and Michelle Duggars and their large family, and have no interest whatsoever. It is ‘Reality TV’, which already lands me at 0% interest, then add on my general disinterest in everything they and the show are about, and you have a formula for a show that I actively avoid. I don’t share their religious views nor do I have an larger-than-average family, so my daily life is nothing like theirs – yet this week I feel a certain kinship with the Duggars. You see, I have two wonderful teenage boys, born ~17 months apart. That we had a second child was an… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy FailBook) It’s December. It’s time for snow, family, shopping…and of course, holiday parties and New Year’s celebrations. Plus, if you’re a senior in high school you probably sent off your college applications. Just remember…what goes on Facebook is never really private, so please, from your friends at Gear Diary, think before you post, especially as you celebrate the holiday season! If you’ve just applied to college, your next step after that application goes in the mail is simple: lock down your Facebook page. According to the Huffington Post, admissions officers often check Facebook to find out more about potential students. So think before you post those pictures of your… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We start the week with a Gear Deal on a 15.6″ Dell XPS 15 Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz laptop. This deal has the laptop come bundled with a Canon ELPH 100 HS Digital Camera, Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 and Premiere Elements 10. The base configuration of this XPS 15 laptop includes 6GB RAM, a 750GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, 1GB GeForce GT 525M graphics, a DVD burner, Wireless-N connectivity, JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS and more. The bundle would normally sell for $1,157.99 but after all the savings our Gear Sponsor found are applied the final price is just $799.99. Details and ordering information can be found here. Gear Deal… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is a pretty self-explanatory – and pretty awesome – sale. Over at EA’s Origin store you get 40% off of Almost EVERYTHING today. That includes over 200 digital or retail games such as : Battlefield 3 Batman Arkham City Madden NFL 12 FIFA Soccer 12 The Sims Pets NHL 2k12 And many more. In fact, if you browse through the store you’ll find awesome deals on the Mass Effect games, Mercenaries, and more. Also, if you spend more than $39.99 you get FREE shipping (on retail items … shipping is always free on digital items!) So head to the EA Origin Store and start saving now! Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(image courtesy Cheezburger.com) I’ve reviewed quite a few run-tracking apps for Gear Diary, and just about everyone of them has had some margin of error. Some of them have been minor, and others have just been mind-blowingly egregious. My personal favorite is when RunKeeper for Android told me a 1.5-mile run had been a 7 mile run. Apparently I broke several world records in my first month of running! All joking aside, it’s a common issue for people to comment that a race is short, or long, based on their Garmin or iPhone returning a different distance than the race was supposed to be. Apparently the folks at the Hampton Half-Marathon were really… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Welcome back to the GearGames weekly video game release feature here at Gear Diary! As I said last week, the well has pretty much run dry on pre-Christmas releases, but that doesn’t mean nothing is arriving! There are actually still a few games arriving, though once again the big release is on the iOS – Grand Theft Auto III: 10 Year Anniversary Edition. Well, it also comes out for a few Android tablets, but that tends to illuminate fragmentation rather than actually help gamers play this classic. There are a few other console and PC games, such as Joe Danger: Special Edition for the XBOX360, and Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand DLC for X360 and PC, as well as some others. There are a few others worth checking this week – read on to find out!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …