Hi, I’m Judie Lipsett Stanford, Gear Diary’s founder, owner, and Editor-in-Chief. I started as a product reviewer in late 1999 when I responded to a “looking for a software reviewer” request on the now-defunct smaller.com.
By mid-2000, I was an occasional reviewer at The Gadgeteer. Within six months, I had become Julie Strietelmeier‘s writing partner. For the next six years, I had the privilege of being part of The Gadgeteer’s enormous growth from a well-regarded enthusiast site into a worldwide-recognized authority on gadgets, gizmos, and accessories.
In fact, in 2006, The Gadgeteer was recognized on CNET’s “Blog 100” list, back when “more than 14 million blogs were in existence that year and another 80,000 were created each day.”
Due to my years at The Gadgeteer and my ongoing work here at Gear Diary, I have earned a solid reputation as a respected gadget reviewer.
This is the part of my biography where I am supposed to brag a bit, so bear with me: Over the years, I’ve been mentioned in (or I’ve been interviewed by) Popular Science, Tech Media Today, The New World of Communication, and many other online, television, radio, and print sources. I’ve been profiled by several online sites, including The Gadgeteer, Born Rich, My Open Wallet, Elite Choice, and Rohdesign, and my reviews are regularly quoted all over the web.
I co-wrote a monthly column, “Gadget Lust,” with Julie Strietelmeier for the Philippine magazine The Reviewer. From 2010 to 2011, I was also the Android app review editor for T-Mobile’s myTouch 100% You magazine.
Moving right along: I received the 2006 Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology (my sorority’s highest honor!) and was a member of Möbius, Microsoft’s (now-defunct) “invitation-only community of the world’s most influential technology pundits and online writers” from 2001 through 2008.
I have served on the judging panel for Handango’s and SmartPhone & Pocket PC Thoughts’ software awards, the AOTMP Mobility Awards, CES’s Mobile Apps Showdown event, and CES’s Last Gadget Standing. I am a current member of the IFA Media Board.
In addition to writing and editing at Gear Diary, I have contributed to Consumers Digest, Chip Chick, Device Diary, Girls Gone Mobile, MYiPhone, pocketnow.com, Geek.com, Just Another Mobile Monday, SlashGear, Clinton Fitch.com, Pocket PC Thoughts, and co-hosted the Just Another iPhone Chat podcast.
Just looking at this list of sites that have come and gone over the years reminds me of how much of a struggle it is to start, grow, and maintain a blog! I salute all of my friends who have started sites that are still going (and growing); I know exactly what you have struggled with, dealt with, and lost sleep over. You rock!
I started Gear Diary on September 30, 2006, and my goal was that this site wouldn’t be easily labeled. We all have gear that we use daily – some of it electronic and some of it not; I think it is fascinating to explore the equipment that makes our lives easier, more entertaining, more productive, and more manageable.
My hope is that Gear Diary visitors will find this site to be a comfortable, inclusive, and friendly place to learn about interesting items—and not only those that are tech-related! Gear Diary is a place for you to discover and explore new gear—everything from phones, computers, kitchen gadgets, camping gear, and maybe even your next new car. We also talk about things that are happening in this crazy world that we live in.
My specialty is in-depth reviews written in layman’s terms because I feel that now — more than ever — everyone can understand technology; sometimes, it just takes a little translating.
You can watch Gear Diary’s YouTube videos, peruse my Amazon Wish List, or send me an email. You can find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Pinterest, and Instagram.
As far as gear goes, I try to remain device-agnostic, which means the iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone Air, the OPPO Find N6, and the moto razr fold are my daily drivers. However, I often swap the SIM card out of the Android devices for other phones as they come in for review. My main computer is a 16″ Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i 16 Gen 9, and away from the office, I use a 14″ Lenovo ThinkPad X9 Aura Edition Gen 1.
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Hi, I’m Dan Cohen, Gear Diary’s Senior Editor. I’m a native and current New Jersey resident, a Duke graduate (and an avid Blue Devils fan!). I’m a Reform Rabbi and a lover of toys gadgets technology and productivity tools. 🙂
Tech has always been in my blood. My father was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, and I grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. When I was still in grade school, he brought home one of the very first video games, a “pre-release” touchtone phone, and one of the first Palm Pilots to ship. Thanks to Dad, I even spent time working in the Fiber-Optical Research Lab that made the very first trans-Atlantic Fiber-Optical Cable possible. (Dad ran the department.)
Yes, I’ve always loved technology, but when it came time to make a career choice, I went in an entirely different direction. I entered the clergy and currently serve as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, NJ. My passion for technology and gadgets never left me, however, and as a result, I love using new gear and sharing the experience with others.
I was a long-time Windows Mobile and Tablet PC user, but when I tried an iPhone late in the summer of 2007, everything changed. I got my first Mac and, before I knew it, was among the plethora of “Switchers.”
I still love using iOS and OS X, but I consciously use a wide range of devices, including a MyTouch 4G, an HTC 7 (Windows Phone 7), and a BlackBerry PlayBook. I really enjoy using multiple platforms, but thus far I always seem to come back to the comfort and safety of “all-things OS X.”
I began writing for Just Another Mobile Monday and Just Another iPhone Blog in the fall of 2007, and during 2008-2009, I launched and ran one of the first iPhone application review sites. I have also been a frequent contributor to iPhone Life Magazine, have a monthly column in the New Jersey Jewish News, and have written on the meeting points between my work in the clergy and technology. I am also a current member of the eBay Influencer Network.
I was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article on religious institutions and mobile apps and featured in a page-one story in the Wall Street Journal. I met Judie in 2008 when we were both part of the short-lived Just Another iPhone Chat and started writing for Gear Diary in July of that year. I became Senior Editor of the site in December 2009.
You can check out videos I’ve made on our Gear Diary YouTube channel, peruse my Amazon Wish List, follow me on X, “friend” me on Facebook, find me on LinkedIn, or send me an email.
My current gear? My main computer is a 14″ M1 MacBook Pro. In addition, I have a 128GB iPad Pro 9.7 and an iPhone 13 Pro. I can also be found using assorted other phones and tech goodies. Due to wrist issues resulting from rheumatoid arthritis, voice recognition software such as Dragon Dictation for Mac and Nuance Dragon Anywhere on the iPhone plays a huge role in both my rabbinic and Gear Diary work.
In my personal life, I am married to Raina Goldberg, and we have Nava and Emmet, the two best Goldendoodles ever!!! Raina is a huge fan of Apple products, too, and she uses a 15″ MacBook Pro, a 2021 iPad, and an iPhone 8. She thinks I have too many Bluetooth speakers and far too many pairs of headphones. I disagree.