Back in January I reviewed two apps that take the iPhone’s address book in a different direction. NameCatcher and NameCatcher Biz strive to make it easier to remember people we meet and refresh our memories so that we can contact them again in the future. I liked the way in which the apps let you quickly grab just enough information about someone so that you can fill in the details later on. The voice note feature is especially useful since you can just speak the information you want to remember and then come back to input it as text.

The apps were polished and did exactly what they promised. There was one huge issue however. Because the initial release had no integration with the Contacts app it felt… well to be honest it felt redundant. Now version 1.1 has been released and while it doesn’t have the full integration I would have preferred it does provide the ability to sync information to contacts. In addition the update makes an expanded notes section so that it is easier to grab and access information that does not fit into any one field.

We have a few promo codes available and we’ll be giving them away later tonight. For a chance to win one just leave a comment telling us how you might use an app that lets you grab names and information about the people you meet quickly so that you don’t have to rely on your memory or a small scrap of paper.

More information can be found here.

Update: This giveaway is now closed and timtim is the winner. Thank you for entering, and please keep an eye out for future Gear Diary giveaways!

I was sent a Toshiba 640GB Portable Hard Drive in “Rocket Red” to review, but since this one will also be given away, I was hesitant to use and abuse it like I might a memory device I would be keeping. Therefore, in return for this micro-review, you get a chance to win a pocket-size time capsule just waiting to be filled with your important documents and digital memories.

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It’s Read an eBook Week! Have you read one yet? If not, pull up a chair…lots of sites are getting in on the action! Plus we’re giving away some Kindle2 cases, so read on for more details!

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We’ve been using the HP Display Link for some time now, and we knew it would be a great item to give to some of our lucky readers.  These days many of us need to be able to connect one or more computers and view the displays on larger, high-resolution displays.  Whether you need an easy way to connect your computer to your television’s display or simply need to show off a presentation at work, the Display Link fits the bill.

Many of our readers agreed.  We are pleased to announce the two winners for our HP Display Link giveaway…

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Update: This giveaway is now closed and the winner is breley! Keep your eye out for more Gear Diary giveaways!

Everyone love a good success story – one that inspires and compels, and many success stories can be found on Evan Carmichael, the eponymous blog which features famous entrepreneurs’ biographies. I particularly like the Modeling Masters series Evan’s begun, which feature videos of him profiling famous entrepreneurs. Part Biography channel and part Tony Robbins, Evan mixes background information on famous business people with itemized traits which led to their success. If you are a small business owner, or someone who is debating doing something big on your own, Evan Carmichael is a great site to learn tips from and get motivational encouragement.

With that in mind, Evan Carmichael is introducing a series of Famous Entrepreneur Heroes trading cards, which will launch on April 1^st, 2010 to benefit Kiva, which “helps small businesses in underprivileged countries.” This series “will feature the likes of Richard Branson, Craig Newmark, and Walt Disney etc.” Evan is offering these cards with the “hope [that they will] raise awareness on entrepreneurship.”

I think it’s a brilliant idea, and I am all for anything that encourages people to reach their full potential. You can pre-order a set of 5 cards on the Evan Carmichael site. Since there are at least 31 famous entrepreneurs featured, you’ll probably want to order several packs; for every three packs ordered, you’ll also get a Special Edition Jobs or Woz card. As an added bonus, every pre-order enters you in a drawing to win a Woz-signed baseball.

So show your support for the entrepreneurial spirit by pre-ordering sets of the Famous Entrepreneurial Heroes trading cards, which will in turn help Kiva help others.

We’ve been offered six sets to give to our readers; here’s how you can enter …

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Giveaway Alert! Do you need an easy way to share your laptop or netbook’s display with a full-size monitor?   We’ve got you covered with the HP Display Link, which lets you share in beautiful high-res (up to 2048×1152).   If you aren’t sure how a gadget like this might help you, be sure to check out our full review to see the Display Link in action.

Want one?

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We had a booq Taipan lift to give away. To enter we asked one simple question- “What is your worst travel story ever?”

Well we’ve picked our winner, and his travel nightmare and Gear Diary user name follow.

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We’re giving away a superb travel bag, the booq Taipan lift. You can read our overview of it HERE.

You can learn all about the Taipan lift (and booq’s other products) on the company Web site HERE.

And you can enter to win one of your own right HERE! Good luck everyone.

Watching the roll-out of the new MusicSkins’ Beatles collection was fun. Giving away some of the skins we got was even more fun. So who gets to have the greatest band ever protecting their “i-device” thanks to Gear Diary?

Read on…

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We’re snowed in here in the Northeast and the weather report indicates that this is going to keep up for lease an additional day. So what’s there to do? Watch movies and give great stuff away! That’s what.

And we have a pretty nice giveaway that starting right now.

During my recent jaunt to San Francisco I used one of booq’s newest TSA checkpoint-friendly bags- the booq Taipan Lift. The bag has a number of features that make it an excellent travel companion. First, it has the ability to open only partway-30° to the precise, thus allowing you to reach into the bag and grab what you need without the risk of all of the contents spilling out. Second, with two simple motions you can unsnap the bag so that it opens down a full 180° which means that it can go through x-ray machine at the airport without removing your laptop. Third, the briefcase handles tuck away so they are not in the way when you are unzipping and using the bag messenger style. Finally, the back pocket can open on both the top and the bottom so that a trolley handle can pass through it — perfect when you need to move quickly toward your gate in order to catch your flight.

The Taipan lift has an MSRP of $89.95 (small) and $99.95 (large). They are available HERE but… we’ve got a brand new Taipan lift Large to give away — so read on.

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When Larry and I were at CES we attended the rollout of MusicSkins’ Beatles collection. While the music of the greatest band ever can’t be IN your iPhone or iPod yet (at least via iTunes) it can now be ON your device. In fact, both my iPhone…

and my iPod Touch…

are currently sporting the new skins.

Well, we have a few to give away today. It is going to be a quick one so read on to find out what is up for grabs and how to win…

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Last week we told you that our GearSponsor, LogicBUY had launched LogicBUY TV. Now, instead of just bringing the best deals from around the web LogicBUY would be bringing news, reviews and more. Well to celebrate the launch they are running a contest to give away an HP TouchSmart tm2.

The TouchSmart tm2t , (which lists for $1099.99 but is currently available through the site for $899.99) is a 12″ convertible tablet with a multi-touch screen. With up to 9.75 hours of battery life this multi-touch tablet would make a great work machine.

Visit the LogicBUY site for your chance to enter and win and, in the process, you’ll also start getting early notice on some of the best deals via FaceBook and Twitter.

[ image courtesy of Slacker Radio ]

The time has come for a few lucky folks to claim their prize.  To celebrate Valentine’s Day we ran a Giveaway for some Slacker Plus Radio subscriptions.  If you commented on the post by 11:59pm CST last night, you were eligible to be randomly selected to win.   We had two 12-month subscriptions, and three 3-month subscriptions up for grabs.

Without further adieu, here are the winners…

12-Month Slacker Radio Plus Subscription:

• horizons
  
• lekss21

Three-Month

• Mark Vlastelica
• Ryan2090
• andreasr2d2

Congratulations!

How To Claim Your Prize:
If you are one of the folks listed above, you have 24 hours to send me a direct email (jason@geardiary.com) to claim your prize — otherwise we’ll randomly select another one of the commenters from the original post for the subscription.

Remember ages ago when Gear Diary participated in the “Take All the Action With You”  giveaway sponsored by the NBA and HP“? That was last May, so if you’ve forgotten, you certainly aren’t the only one. Anyway. One of our readers was a winner of the NBA All Stars game in Dallas package, which means that I was, too. So today Kevin and I are driving to Dallas to check into our hotel. We’ll catch part of the All-Star Jam at the Dallas Convention Center this evening, and then we will attend the All-Star Game tomorrow night at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

I’m not sure why, but our winner opted not to go. We’re still going, and hopefully it will be a blast! Too bad Wayne won’t be there to greet us with his Knicks City Dancer friends … then we’d really get the star treatment!

Bringing “punch buggy” to a whole new level

Maybe I just grew up in the wrong part of the country or something, but somehow I never learned about the “punch buggy” game until I got married and my wife made fun of me for not knowing it:

Now, VW is turning it into a game that, if you win, you get a chance to get an actual, honest-to-God car for your troubles.  Deal is, you have to spot all 13 types of VW while playing their PunchDub game and hey, you’re entered.  So surf on over to the site, check out the details, and see if it appeals to you.  Personally, free cars appeal to me.

Full info after the jump.

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