Gear Diary » Doug Goldring

Review: Kanex High Capacity Battery for the Palm Pre

Doug Goldring — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:08:11 +0000

One of my big complaints about cell phones and mobile devices generally is that the batteries are never able to adequately handle all of the advanced features which tend to be included. The Palm Pre is a perfect example of this, with its WebOS interface, and always connected email (not to mention Internet, Wifi, 3G, and Bluetooth). Generally, if I do not have a charger handy, then I am going to lose my phone before my day ends. Add to that equation the fact that I love to go camping overnight, and the battery is quickly unveiled as typically inadequate. So, I was pretty excited to hear that Kanex released a high capacity battery. They sent me one to check out (and keep) and I thought I would share my impressions with all of you.

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Review: Novatel Mifi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot

Doug Goldring — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:00:11 +0000

I get asked an awful lot to name my favorite mobile device. My answer is usually the same. Well, I like this device for these things, or another device for those other things, but favorite device really depends upon what you want to do. I never found a device which was perfect for all things. Until now. Today, I am ready to name my favorite mobile device, and it is probably not what you expect. This one does not have a screen or a keyboard. It does not make phone calls. It does not access the Internet. What it does is provide you with instant access to everything…from every device. That is why the Mifi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot is my new favorite device. Let’s take a closer look.

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Review: The Motorola H790 Bluetooth Headset

Doug Goldring — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:31:45 +0000

In the time I have been writing here at Gear Diary, I have made it my mission to find the perfect Bluetooth headset. Although we have tested dozens of headsets, that quest continues. In fact, considering the rate at which new headsets are developed, I would not expect this process to reach a conclusion anytime soon. Today, we will be looking at the Motorola H790, the latest entry in Motorola’s already extensive line of Bluetooth headsets.

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Motorola Announces A New Bluetooth Headset: The H17

Doug Goldring — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:52:04 +0000

Hot on the heels of my review of the Motorola H790, yet another Bluetooth headset joins the enormous ranks of Motorola headsets. Announced earlier this week, the H17 takes seems to take small and light to a whole new level, with its flip switch interface. The best feature for me, however, is the use of CrystalTalk technology to suppress background noise. The lack of this feature was one of my big complaints with the H790. Keep reading for more from the Motorola fact sheet, or find the whole thing here.

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Announcing The Monster Turbine Pro Headphones: For The Audiophile In Your Life

Doug Goldring — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 08:14:40 +0000

We all know Monster for the fantastic, heavy duty audio and video cables. But did you know they also make headphone? I have to be honest and tell you that I am pretty excited to see what the king of the audio cable can do with higher end headphones. The Monster Turbine Pro headphones are due to hit stores near you in November for the extremely competitive price of $299.95 ($329.95 with an included in-line microphone which turns these headphones into the perfect companion for your Smartphone, iPhone, or pretty much any other music playing phone. Go ahead and hit the jump for the full press release

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Adobe Releases Photoshop and Premiere Elements 8

Doug Goldring — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:00:46 +0000

I have long been a fan of Adobe’s photo editing (Photoshop) and video editing (Premiere) software. I have been fortunate, here at Gear Diary, to be able to review several incarnations of these fantastic programs. Now, adobe has announced the release of the Photoshop/Premiere Elements Bundle 8. There are a host of new features in this one, including: PHOTOSHOP

-- The new Auto-Analyzer, which automatically analyzes and tags the most interesting and highest-quality photos and video footage.
-- People Recognition, which identifies people in photos, becoming more intelligent over time, as it learns to associate names and people.
-- Full-screen previews, which displays photos and video clips

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Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 30: Yelp

Doug Goldring — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:31:37 +0000

When I started this series, my hope had been to tackle all of the apps in the Palm Pre App Catalog before its official launch, later this month. But the developers turned out to be too fast for me. In the month since I started this series, the App Catalog has grown from 30 apps to 45, and is really starting to gain momentum. So, a slight change of plans will see the series ending today, with an overview of 30 apps. As a finale to the series, I thought we would take a look at Yelp, the location based search tool. But don’t worry, this will not be the end of our look at apps for the Palm Pre. There are plenty of new apps showing up every day, both in the official App catalog and in the unofficial homebrew app lists. And we will work our way through many of the apps in both locations. For now, though, let’s take a look at Yelp.

Yelp is a multi-platform tool, which can help you find local businesses and restaurants in your area. You can search either by selecting one of the preset categories or by entering your own search term. Yelp will then find any matches in your area. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 29: Express Stocks

Doug Goldring — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:15:32 +0000

I have to admit that I have never been one to dabble to deep in the stock market. Most of my money is in IRAs or index based funds. Plus, I rarely want to have the values too close, because looking at how much money I am constantly losing can get a bit depressing these days. Nonetheless, for those of you who do like to have your net worth in the palm of your hand at all times, there is a fantastic app called Express Stocks. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 28: Word Ace

Doug Goldring — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:43:17 +0000

Let’s just get this out of the way quickly. Word Ace is my new favorite game, and is the best game currently available for the Palm Pre. OK…I know saying that any game is better than other games on the Palm Pre may not be much of a compliment…but this really is a fantastic game. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 27: Mileage Monitor

Doug Goldring — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:30:51 +0000

This is a pretty simple app, but one which could be quite useful to those folks who spend a lot of time in their cars, whether that means travelling long distances, or commuting into town each morning. This app lets you use your Palm Pre to track how many miles you are getting per gallon of gas, and how much money you are spending on gas.

To begin, just create a new account with the name of your car. Enter the current odometer reading and you are good to go. For the most accurate results, you should start with a full tank of gas. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 26: Connect 4.

Doug Goldring — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:57:55 +0000

Yes…I do mean THAT Connect 4. The one you loved as a kid. sliding checkers into a plastic frame, trying to make four in a row. This is one of my son’s favorite games, and I love the fact that he is so interested in a game from my own childhood. And thanks to the folks at Hasbro and EA Games, you can now enjoy this classic game on your Palm Pre (10 times before you will have to pay for it). Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 25: Today Show

Doug Goldring — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:30:08 +0000

Let’s have a show of hands. How many of you watch the Today Show in the morning. It is pretty hard to miss, since it is about five hours long, yet I manage to do so since I leave the house before 6:00 each morning. So, I rarely get to watch the show upon which this app is based. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Review: Cyfi Wireless Sports Speaker

Doug Goldring — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:00:25 +0000

Imagine a speaker that can go anywhere, play anything, and do it all without wires. Now, give it a fun shape and some wireless controls. There you go, now you have the Cyfi, which is a fantastic portable wireless speaker. This is exactly what I need for activities like camping, hiking, or even just sitting on the deck enjoying the day. Sound good? I thought it might. let’s take a closer look.

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Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 24: Match.com

Doug Goldring — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:53:43 +0000

I am pretty happily married, and have been since before dating sites like Match.com became all the rage. So, needless to say, I do not have an account at Match.com or any other similar sites. That being said, I can certainly see the value they might offer the modern connected single. In fact, my sister-in-law met her husband that way. In the interest of making sure this series is complete, therefore, I wanted to mention this app and make sure that interested individuals know that they can access their Match.com accounts from anywhere using their Palm Pre. That being said, I found it odd that a niche Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 23: The New York Times

Doug Goldring — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:57:37 +0000

Ever since I graduated from college with a degree in Journalism, I have tried to keep track of which newspapers have the best writing. Consistently near the top of that list has been The New York Times (for the record, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, CNN, and the AP Newswire round out my personal top five). So, I was pretty excited to find the New York Times app on my Palm Pre. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 22: Shabbat Shalom

Doug Goldring — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:45:08 +0000

Tonight is Friday, which means it is the start of the Jewish holiday Shabbat, which is the Sabbath. It begins at sundown on Friday and runs through sundown on Saturday. Shabbat can be a very ritualistic holiday, with certain prayers and other activities which occur at specified times. Of course, since nothing can ever be too easy, these times change based upon when sundown occurs. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 21: Roundup of WebOS non-Cloud Based Sync Options

Doug Goldring — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:00:00 +0000

There are a number of apps available for the Palm Pre which require a specific hardware or software configurations. Since I do not have all of the right equipment, I will not be able to go into too much detail, but I wanted to mention them in the interest of ensuring a complete series. So, read on for a few additional sync options designed for your unique needs.

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Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 apps in 30 Days. Day 20: FlightView

Doug Goldring — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:00:25 +0000

It is like a shared ritual. We have all been there. Your friend, mother, mother-in-law, or another random visitor is coming into town for a visit. Your job is to meet them at the airport. Unless you live across the street from the airport, this requires an incredible feat of timing and coordination. Otherwise, your friend ends up standing outside baggage claim for half an hour…or you are driving around the terminal in endless circles (don’t even think about pulling over to catch your breath). What you need is some app which will give you the status of any flight. What you need is FlightView on the Palm Pre. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gorillatorch: Coming to a Dark Room Near You

Doug Goldring — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:30:12 +0000

I am a huge fan of the Joby Gorillapod, a fantastically flexible mini tripod. It is one of my favorite gadgets for my camera. Well, now the good folks at Joby have brought the latest in the Gorilla line, the Gorillatorch. This is an ultra-bright light, mounted atop the same three flexible legs as the Gorillapod. At the end of those legs are magnetic feet, which allow you to position the light wherever you need it most. This would be the perfect solution for workshops, autoshops, and even camping. Hit the jump for the full press release.

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Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 19: Sporting News Pro Baseball

Doug Goldring — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:30:00 +0000

The folks at Zumobi are well known for the widgetized apps they have developed, primarily for Windows Mobile. So, I was pretty interested to find out what they had put together when I saw their name cropping up in the Palm Pre App Catalog. What I found was Sporting News Pro Baseball. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 18: Blackout

Doug Goldring — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:00:24 +0000

Time to take a look at another game for the Palm Pre, Blackout. Sadly, this is number four of five. Like many of the other games available for the Pre, it is a good concept, but an underwhelming exhibition of what this platform can do. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 17: SplashID

Doug Goldring — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:00:33 +0000

We have taken a look at SplashID several times before. This is one of the great apps coming out of SplashData, who seems to have now come full circle. They started out developing for PalmOS, moved on to Windows Mobile, iPhone, Nokia, and even several desktop platforms. Well, now they have come back to their roots with Palm and their WebOS. This is SplashData’s second app on the Palm Pre, following Infopedia. Now, some of you may recall that last week I briefly mentioned how I had tested SplashID and found it to be terribly buggy. Heck, it would not even load most times at all. Well, earlier this weekend, SplashData released an update of SplashID to the Palm Pre App Catalog, and now it is running better than ever, so let’s take a closer look. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 16: Spades

Doug Goldring — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 04:42:36 +0000

I had other plans for this article tonight, but as I mentioned earlier, there were a few new releases this weekend, rounding the App Catalog off to an even 35. So, I thought it would make sense to take a look at one of these new apps. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 14: LinkedIn

Doug Goldring — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:20:36 +0000

I have to admit that I am not terribly interested in social networking. Email is usually enough for me, though there are a few sites which I do find to be particularly enjoyable or useful. One of those sites is LinkedIn, a social networking site for business connections. As much as I enjoy LinkedIn however, I have always found their mobile versions to be a bit lacking. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 apps in 30 Days. Day 13: Open Table

Doug Goldring — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:00:09 +0000

Open Table is pretty similar to Good Food, which we looked at yesterday. Like Good Food, just enter your current location (either by city name or using the GPS). Open Table will then pinpoint affiliated restaurants in your area, which you can view either on a map, or in a list view. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre app Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 12: Good Food

Doug Goldring — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:38:08 +0000

We are going to quickly tackle two apps in one tonight. I was planning to bring you a look at SplashData’s SplashID, the only secure information manager available for the Palm Pre. Unfortunately, I had terrible problems with SplashID on the Palm Pre and could not get it to load at all. Every time opened it, it froze. I know others have had much more success with this program, and I have enjoyed it on other platforms, but it just would not work on my Palm Pre. So, that is all I have to say about this one. If you have used SplashID on your Palm Pre, then write into the comments and let me know what you think. In the meantime, let’s take a look at the first of several location based programs, Good Food. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Review: Seagate FreeAgent XTreme External Drive

Doug Goldring — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:45:34 +0000

I continue to be amazed by how much storage hard drive manufacturers cram into an extremely small space. Not long ago, I looked at the MoreSpace drive, and was blown away by its full terabyte of storage. So, you can imagine my delight when only a few months later, I was offered the chance to review a drive which uses half the space on my desk, but features double the storage…and it comes from Seagate, whom I already love. The Seagate Freeagent Xtreme features a massive 2 terabytes of storage. I think we are going to need a closer look at this one. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 11: Classic!

Doug Goldring — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:16:35 +0000

One of the complaints I heard (and voiced) about the Palm Pre before its release was the lack of support for PalmOS apps and games. It felt like Palm was missing an opportunity to feature an enormous, ready-made library of apps. Additionally, with the large (but admittedly shrinking) army of devoted Palm users, it seemed like there was an almost built in path to an automatic upgrade. By not supporting those apps, it seemed as though many users might choose to stick with their current devices rather than risk giving up significant functionality with an unknown operating system.

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Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 10: Sudoku!

Doug Goldring — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:21:56 +0000

I think it is no secret around here that I am a pretty big fan of Sudoku. I have explored many Sudoku options for various mobile platforms, and even a number of alternate variations on the theme. For those of you who are new here, Sudoku is a classic Japanese puzzle game, in which you are faced with a grid of 81 squares arranged in nine rows of nine blocks each. Scattered across the grid are numbers from 1-9. Your job is to fill in the remainder of the grid by placing each number, 1-9, into each row, column, and 3x3 mini-grid, without duplicating in any direction. Sounds easy…but that can be deceptive. Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Palm Pre App Catalog. 30 Apps in 30 Days. Day 9: Tweed

Doug Goldring — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 05:28:44 +0000

Do you Twitter? Are you a Twit with your Tweets? I’ll be honest here and tell you that I really don’t Twitter. Sure, I have an account, and have tried to understand it, but it just never did much for me. That being said, I do understand that millions of people out there send what must be billions and billions (sorry, Carl Sagan) of Tweets on Twitter every day (does this make anyone else think of a little yellow canary from Looney Tunes?) Continue reading on Gear Diary ...