ioSafe is known for keeping your data SAFE. How safe? Well, first we took the initiative to burn and water-soak a drive, and the data was still recoverable. Then, starting with CES 2010, ioSafe decided to show everyone that their drives are capable of withstanding burning, soaking, dropping, and crushing. In 2011, we upped the ante again and took shots (yes, using a gun) at an ioSafe drive, and the data saved on the ioSafe drive came out unscathed. Well, we wondered what they would do next and, at CES 2012,  we found out. Honestly, what we saw shocked us …… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Carly is loving the Case-Mate Phantom. Judie stole the first Case-Mate DIY iPhone case with the words “I’m on a Deadline” and is still using it (although her iPhone isn’t seeing much use right now). The bottom line is this, when it comes to cases for the iPhone 4S Case-Mate has a great lineup this year. Here’s a video look at some of them and then more detailed descriptions of each.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Bodyguardz has come up with a great way to change-up and/or customize your iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S case in seconds. The mykase line offers a base case in black or white as well as interchangeable back plates that can reflect your mood or dress. They’ll even be rolling out an easy-to-use engine for making your own customized back plate. It is pretty ingenious and definitely worth a look.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We told you about Seagate’s new Thunderbolt adapters last week. Yes, we are finally seeing products come to market that take advantage of the speed increases offered by Thunderbolt. But how fast IS Thunderbolt? Sure you can see lab testing but that doesn’t necessarily tell you about using it at home or work. We shot a video of moving 2.5GB of data from a MacBook air to an external drive using both USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt. This is a normal use-scenario for something like this so the speeds you see here are what you might expect if you get one of the adapters. See for yourself… Want to know more?… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Motorola stole the show last year at CES 2011. The Moto Xoom and the Atrix with its web top keyboard dock… oh my! They were pretty amazing to see. Francis and I even had a chance to remote log into my iMac in New Jersey using the Atrix smartphone as the “computer” powering the remote access. Sadly, the actual experience of using the Xoom and the Atrix left a good deal to be desired. Judie, Thomas and I all bought one; we all returned them. Judie and I visited Motorola again this year at CES 2012, and while they didn’t blow us away, the two smartphones we did see were pretty impressive in their own right.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Corning Gorilla Glass. You know the name. You know it is strong. You know it is on dozens of smartphones and a growing number of notebooks. [600 different devices and 600 million total devices sport it!!] And you likely know that Corning announced Gorilla Glass 2 during CES. But until you see it in action you can’t really appreciate just what it is. Seriously, Judie and I were impressed, and we think you will be too!… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Judie and I had a chance to visit with Gear4 in their suite at the Wynn. We’ve seen some of the company’s products in the past, but I don’t think that either of us realized how extensive their portfolio is. And it is going to get even larger in 2012. Needless to say, we came away impressed. Here’s a rundown on the company and their current lineup … Gear4 wants to “make things that are simple, enhance your life and are a pleasure to use.” While all of that is highly subjective from what we saw they are doing everything possible to be true to their mission. Their docks look good, appear easy to use and, best of all, they sound excellent.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The JawBone JamBox was released in November of 2010. Yes, that’s almost a year and half ago… ancient by today’s tech standards. So you might be wondering why we’re covering it NOW. The reason is simple: although it was released almost a year and a half ago the JamBox is still the best portable Bluetooth speaker on the market and, thanks to updates and additional apps for it the speaker just keeps getting better and better. Thomas was quick to buy one when it was first released but I held back and only got one a few months ago. I wish I hadn’t waited because it really is an incredible little device. I like it so much in fact that I purchased one for Elana to use when she is training clients. Oh, and there is another reason we shot the video now… it was the first time since I got JamBox-ified that Thomas and I were together. So here’s a quick video of Thomas and me talking about the device and why it’s become one of our favorite gadgets. Yes November of 2010 was quite a while ago but this is one piece of gear that isn’t even close to becoming [...]

Image taken with the Bloggie Live Judie received a Bloggie Live video recorder last week at CES and we brought it along with us to take some images and video while at Hoover Dam. As the video demonstrates, this diminutive Bloggie Live takes some amazing video and is incredibly easy to use.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Right before we left for CES we received a review sample of the Happy Hour Bottoms Up Timepiece. The Bottoms Up is a nice-quality watch with a large, impressive face, a wide, comfortable band and… a bit of a surprise. Here’s a look with a video that will make clear what is special about this watch.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  realtime throughput of their prototype AC routers on a large flat screen TV I really don’t know many (if any) people these days NOT running a WiFi network at home. Most Internet Service Providers (ISP) now provide a WiFi router or router/modem combo when you sign up for service. WiFi-N has pretty much become the standard over the past few years, with speeds capable of up to 150Mb/s and in almost all current electronics. The next standards have been announced and are called 802.11ac, which pretty much more than doubles WiFi-N on it’s best day. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then pretty much what I am saying is… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Every now and then you come across a product that, despite liking the company that produces it, you cannot help but wonder, “Why?” That’s certainly the case with the Wrapsol non-slip grip pad. The product is designed for large tablets and adheres to the back of a tablet. From there its sole purpose is to allow the tablet to stay in position more easily when rested on, for example, your thigh. Don’t get us wrong…. the product actually works as promised but we cannot help but think it is an idea searching for an application. I don’t know of anyone who has ever been using their iPad and thought, “I wish I could have this stick to my thigh or arm without my having to hold it…” And then there is the biggest issue with it: even if it did fill a real need the product is not something you can remove and reuse. That means once you attach it to your tablet you cannot use a case. Wrapsol Grip Pad Features: Non-slip tactilla™ material 100% Polyurethane Micro-textured finish 8.25 x 3.75-inch material size for Apple iPad 2 and similar size devices Installs in an instant Made in USA [...]

We had a chance to sit down with Seagate earlier this week, and we liked what we saw. We were glad to see an update to the GoFlex Satellite we had reviewed some months ago, we saw a product that is not yet shipping (but we WANT NOW), and we took some time to see the speed boost that Seagate’s Momentus XT Hybrid Hard drive offers as compared to a traditional spinning platter. Here’s a look.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

  Judie and I both got HTC Titans the other day and have jumped into using them. Our initial thoughts? We both like them… a lot! We’ve been discussing a great deal of this behind the scenes. One discussion began with my posting So I really have to say that I am loving the hell out of the HTC Titan (even with its now slightly dented corners):-] I’m still learning how to get around but it is polished, tight, and a pleasure to use. Best onscreen keyboard ever! No matter how good the hardware o do t think I would like an Android phone long term. Not do here. It needs more apps but Microsoft killed it with the OS. It sparked a lot of private discussion that we will share soon. In the meantime Mike wrote/asked… Along the WP7 lines … here is my topic for debate: Android has almost no inherent loyalty base, and if WP7 and Nokia gets traction, we will see Android plummet almost as fast as RIM, while iOS hold happy at ~28%. Thoughts and comments? Continue reading on Gear Diary …

(Photo courtesy of OhMiBod) (Not safe for work) You will often find new, interesting, and even innovative products at CES. Most products have a large, almost universal appeal to consumers. Sometimes you end up with more niche products. This is one of those cases. As Francis and I walked the floor we happened upon something I did not expect to see at CES. It seems better suited for other events which are hosted in Las Vegas.… Continue reading on Gear Diary …