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• 
  

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With all the smart-phones that we cover here on Gear Diary, it can be easy to overlook a huge segment of the mobile market…the dumb-phone. No, these phones don’t have low IQs and they certainly aren’t stupid, they just don’t offer the PC-like capabilities and advanced features which are generally associated with phones running the Palm, Symbian, or Windows Mobile operating systems.

Although the Alltel Motorola MOTOROKR Z6m fits into what I consider to be this “dumb-phone” category, it certainly does not fall short on features. It offers a 2 megapixel camera with video, has a built-in graphic equalized MP3 player, it is stereo Bluetooth capable, it has a microSD slot which can handle up to a 2GB card, and it offers access to Celltop – Alltel’s new graphically pleasing information manager.

photos were taken by Jerry

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It’s been five years since I helped review the WaterField Designs Cozmo bag, and two years since I reviewed the VertiGo. While I eventually grew out of both bags, to this day I still use the Gearpouch and SleeveCase (with flap and D-rings) that I received along with the Cozmo in late 2002. The Gearpouch goes with me every time I travel (I keep it loaded with Gomadic cables and tips, card readers and other assorted small items), and the SleeveCase still holds my aging Fujitsu P2110 – which I am always threatening to sell or give away, but will probably keep until it finally dies. I was recently offered the chance to review the Cargo, a larger WaterField laptop bag, as part of the Cargo Mambo Combo. This set is made up of� the bag itself, a shoulder pad, a Gearpouch or Cableguy pouch, and a SleeveCase. �

�

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Shortly after buying a Treo 700wx I decided to ditch the bulky power and USB cable set that came with the device. I wanted to trade them for something much more compact, and the obvious choice – since I already had a collection of Gomadic tips – was to try the Gomadic Sync and Charge Retractable Cable system. Knowing that this same gadget would work with any of the other tips I already owned was a major selling point.

Measuring approximately 5″ when retracted, the body of the charger is made of glossy black plastic. The center compartment which houses the wound cable measures about 1.75″ long x 1.25″ wide x 0.5″ thick.

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Over the last year I have grown incredibly spoiled when I travel because I no longer need to pack a tangle of “spaghetti”; instead, I bring along a set of Gomadic Charging Cables. The same single cable charges my PDA, mobile phone and digital music player. It can charge Sarah’s phone and Sarah’s digital music player, too; all it takes is the proper tip for each particular device.

For those unfamiliar with Gomadic, I’ll state the premise in a nutshell: They sell cables with plugs on their ends which will accept their specially made tips; these tips fit many of today’s popular consumer mobile devices. Gomadic’s “Tip Exchange Technology” means that the same cable can be used for years – and as devices are added to the user’s collection, new tips can be purchased to swap out with the old.

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Do you have a product that you would like a Gear Diary Team Member to review? If so, then this is the process:

First, contact Judie via email.

Once your email has been received she will consider whether your product is one that will fit within Gear Diary’s scope. Your email will then be forwarded to the team or to a specific reviewer if your product is their forte. The team loves to review all types of gear, and as you’ve probably noticed – we cover all sorts of items on Gear Diary – so don’t worry if your product seems a little “different” or totally offbeat. Chances are that the more original your product is, the more we will enjoy doing its review!

Once your product has been approved, you will be supplied with a shipping address; we will assign the appropriate reviewer who may contact you for additional information.

If your product is software, then you can either ship a retail package to the address supplied or you can provide download and registration details.

If you just happen to have one of our physical addresses (perhaps because we have previously done a review for you), and you send a product without prior approval, then please understand that there will be no guarantees your product will be reviewed.

Please note:

- When you send a review item, you are acknowledging that Gear Diary will be writing an unbiased review of your product. We do not “sell reviews”, and you can not buy a positive review by sending a non-returnable product or with advertising.

- We publish both positive and negative reviews; we will not ‘neglect to mention’ a product just because we didn’t like it. We are writing from a consumer’s perspective, so if your product is good, we want to let people know about it. If your product does not perform as billed, we want to let people know about that as well.

- Manufacturer, Developer, and Supplier comments are welcome and encouraged in the comments section. However, the actual review text is always going to be the reviewer’s own.

- You will not be given the chance to “approve” the review prior to publication, nor will you be given editorial authority of any kind.

- You will be contacted if the item appears to be defective; as it is only fair that a working item be reviewed.

- Gear Diary will not review vaporware or non-released hardware and software. While we will be happy to talk about your future product in a Diary entry or specifically tagged preview post, it is not fair to Gear Diary’s readers to publish an “official” review for an unavailable item.

- Items sent will be used during the review process. For this reason we generally do not return review items provided.

- The following may occur with items which do not require a return:
* Item may be kept by the reviewer for further use and long term testing
* Item may be given away in a contest on Gear Diary
* Item may be given away at the reviewer’s discretion to family, friends, other reviewers, etc.
* Items will never be sold, but they may be traded (i.e. -  gadget-swap situation with another reviewer on Gear Diary or elsewhere)

- If product return is necessary, then it is the vendor’s responsibility to include a postage paid return label with tracking.

- You may be given a tentative date upon which the review will appear, we strive for 4 – 8 weeks after receipt of the item, but that is not always possible. We need time to actually discover all of the ins and outs of your product; our reviews do not regurgitate press releases, and these reviews may involve multiple installments and/or video. Actual publish dates will depend upon the complexity of the review item and the existing size of the Gear Diary team member’s review queue.

- A link to the manufacturer’s site and a link to the product supplier’s site will be included in the review, along with MSRP and wrap-up comments. If there is a particular retailer that you would like linked, we would be happy to accommodate your wishes.

Please click here to see an example of a review.

We know that there are lots of review sites on the web and we appreciate you spending time on ours!

What People Are Saying About Gear Diary Reviews:

Thanks so much for your detailed review, Judie! HTC really values all of your feedback when you review our devices. Glad you enjoyed the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond – and can’t wait to send more good stuff your way! – Jessika (Waggener Edstrom)

I love your site. A perfect mix (and balanced perspective) of the important mobile devices, their accessories, and the fun (dinosaurs, etc.). Keep it up. It’s always cheery to read. – David (Reader)

Daniel, Thanks man…Awesome!! My client loves your site, and he will be pumped about this. Love the picture with the Pepto bottle, fantastic. I appreciate the time you put it in to a product that is so simple, really made a great review. Thanks, great work as usual. Brad Hobbs (MaxBorges Agency)

Hi Judie, You and your colleagues have done a few product reviews for my clients and I’m always impressed by them.  In fact, I love how you incorporate video into your reviews as well and was inspired to post about the future of product reviews on my company’s small blog.  I added the awesome video you guys did of a robot wearing carpet skates (another client of mine). Thanks and great job!!  Katie Wagner (BLASToutdoors)

Kerry this is really fantastic and we very much appreciate how detailed this review was and the thoroughness — really impressive. – Tanya (Kensington)

I’m delighted that you (your friend) like/love the painted Futura. We think they are fun and after your posting, it looks like you do too. Thank you for the upbeat coverage and visibility. I really like the leopard photos. – Bill (PR for LapWorks, Inc.)

What an excellent article! Besides the fact that I’m elated that it was about my invention, it is so well written-informative and funny. The product photo is beautiful. It’s a true sign of professionalism being able to write like that despite the nausea. – Scott (Flexisnake)

Visiting Gear Diary to see if there are any new product reviews and unboxings is one of the things I enjoy doing daily because the Gear Diary team has make it a pleasure to do so. – Randius (reader)

Joel, I saw this and have to say your review was above and beyond what I expected- thank you! Since you are the camping guru and I just started representing Coghlan’s, I would love to keep you in mind for future products. I look forward to working with you in the future. -Katie (Coghlan’s)

We are the makers of the iMainGo and we want to thank you so much for the incredible and honest review of the iMainGo. – Ryan (iMainGo)

Awesome. We really appreciate your reviews because you are so thorough and honest. At the moment we are designing new small laptop cases and Doug’s comments about the pockets and weatherproofing on the Skivvy and are very helpful. – Bianca (Crumpler)

Hey, thanks for your thorough review, Judie! Actually I can hardly remember any other so thoroughly made review. And the fun part with cold war spies kicks right. I want to be grateful enough as to offer you another opportunity to review some other of our software later. Thanks for your work! – Konstantin (VITO Technology)

Thanks for the great review, I’m glad you like the G5 reader! – George (Atech)

Thank you for the wonderful review of the Aluminum Desktop Stand. As you can imagine, we love it. The tablet application may be one worth pursuing. And by the way, the 20+ photos definitely enhance your overall review. It would be difficult for anyone not to understand what the Stand is all about. – Bill (PR for LapWorks, Inc.)

Judie, Wow, it’s a great review and as always very thorough. Thank you! – Brad (BeNetSafe)

Thank you VERY much once again for your splendid and generous review. Sometimes I feel your explanations are much clearer than ours and we’re the ones who produce it! For a small start up company like ours, you have been a great supporter of our products and we appreciate your time. – Phil (Lumaray)

Thank you for your time and effort into reviewing our products, I like the pictures. Some people don’t include many pictures in reviews and it is nice to see you show the products in use. – Pat (Gomadic)

Just a quick note to thank you for such an excellent review of Art Dealer! You are the first to provide a completely independent review of the game so all of us at Minds Refined were really pleased that you liked it. And I think your sense of how the game helps improve memory–by encouraging one to focus on the details of events–is bang on! – Jeff (Minds Refined)

Wow, you’re really thorough. I love it! – Leah (Presto)

Thanks so much Judie. It looks great and the team is stoked! – Valorie (Skullcandy)

Thank you again. It is apparent that you spent some time with the Attaché Laptop Stand. We are very appreciative of the favorable review and glad you like it. I didn’t know you were such a shutterbug. Images definitely enhance any coverage of a product as they have done here. Bill (PR for LapWorks, Inc.)

I read it and enjoyed, I appreciate also your feedbacks, and we will take a look a them. – Oren (Golan Tech / VKB)