We’re back with the next edition of Gear Chat. This time out Mike is bringing us some gaming news and Thomas and I talk tablets, apps and iPad 3.

Listen below or click here to download.

Yes, it is that time of year. The annual iPad announcement and release is likely on the way and, with it, the flurry of rumors are in full force. Moreover, as we have seen in recent year, these rumors are often accompanied by slightly blurry spy shots of various components. We saw a supposed back plate for the iPad 3 and today the supposed hi-res display has emerged. We do our best to stay away from rumor and innuendo (although sometimes we just can’t resist) but that does not mean we aren’t thinking about what we want in the iPad 3. Here’s what the team had to say about it

I asked: What do YOU want in the iPad 3 (that is also actually possible) and are you buying? Why or why not?… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Today’s Gear Deal is something you don’t see every day. In fact, it is something you almost NEVER see!

Today Only! you can save 10% on all Apple iPads and iPods. In addition, they will ship for free and, unless you live in California, New Jersey, Tenessee or Puerto Rico, there won’t even be tax. All this means, for example, that you can get a 16GB iPod Nano for $134.99, a 64GB iPod Touch for $359.99, a 64GB iPad 2 WiFi for $647.99 and a 64GB iPad 2 WiFi + 3G for just $746.99. Yes, all iPods and iPads are 10% off but this is for today only! Click here to visit the deal page… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Well, it could be “grandmother of PC games” for all I know.  My biology background didn’t include methodology for determining software sex identity and their gender bits look the same to me.

XVision has released DONKEY.BAS for iOS 5.0+ mobile devices, based on one of the original IBM PC DOS games written by Bill Gates and Neil Konzen. Yes, that Bill Gates.

The concept is simple:  The player is driving down the road in what appears to be a late 1940s race car, destination unknown.  Suddenly, up ahead, a donkey appears in your lane.  What to do!? Change lanes before it’s too late!  Read on to see my review of the game plus a chance for a reader to win a copy of the game!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you use a Mac and an iPad, then Twelve South’s new HoverBar is for you. It lets you use your iPad 2 an adjustable arm that floats iPad 2 next to an iMac or Apple display, allowing you to use iPad as a secondary, touchscreen computer.

[It] turns iPad into the ultimate sidecar for an iMac or Apple display, presenting more ways to use iPad more often. Connect HoverBar to your Mac, snap iPad 2 into the secure clip and you now have one powerful dual-computer work setup. Having iPad floating next to your Mac allows you to monitor your Twitter stream, stocks and local weather — or run FaceTime on your iPad while you email, edit a file, or cut a video on your Mac.

It has been over a year but Gear Chat is back and we’re talking tech. In this first episode Thomas and I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Note, the Series 7 Slate tablet and what configuration of Apple computing products is best. Future episodes will include Gaming and eBook segments and much more. We also want to hear from you! What content do you want covered? What questions do you have? Would you like us to do the podcast as a live, call-in conversation? We want to know.

Happy listening and, as always, thanks for sharing via Twitter and Facebook.

Ten One Design makes some great iPad and iPhone accessories around. That’s not hyperbole. The company isn’t prone to releasing dozens of products at a time but, instead, they move slowly and only add something to the catalogue after a great deal of thought with regard to how people actually USE their devices. Here’s another example!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Just before CES last year Judie and I both purchased a 7″ Samsung Galaxy Tab in order to blog on the fly. At the time both of us were already pretty heavily invested in iOS but the first generation iPad’s lack of a camera made it problematic for blogging. Add in the fact that, at the time, iPad blogging apps were rather limited in functionality and you begin to see the problem we faced. Unlike the iPad, the Tab had a decent enough camera and blogging from it worked rather well. As such, it solved many of the issues and was the right tool for our time in Vegas. (You can, of course, draw… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

One of the great things about writing on Gear Diary is that we don’t make our living as writers and journalists. No, all of us have other professions and we do this because we are passionate about tech. It means we love to tinker, try the newest gadget or app and share our experiences with you. That translates to an entirely different kind of enthusiasm and we hope it comes through. That, in turn, translates to make of us have a ridiculous number of different apps.Another great thing about writing for Gear Diary is… all of you. While the site consciously seeks to avoid jargon and assume no prior knowledge about all-thing-tech we have the good… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

That’s how today’s gear chat on tablet size started–with Francis’ assertion that we all knew–even if some of us didn’t want to admit it out loud–that we really wanted a mid-sized tablet.  You know:  something in between the iPod Touch/iPhone and iPad form factors.  Something around . . . 7″ or so.  And then it was off to the races with your tech-happy Gear Diary team:

During my four hour flight down to Aruba I spent some time beginning to edit a number of pictures I took right before we left. I figured that, so long as I had the pictures with me I could do the reviews and news posts without having to actually carry many of the items down with me. So there I was, listening to music, sitting in a seat that was designed for someone just 5′ 3″ tall (or is it short), my knees firmly pressed into the seat back in front of me and gaining an ever-better understanding of what the term “cattle car” means. (And to add insult to injury, the airline doesn’t even give you pretzels or… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

image courtesy of BerryReporter 

Clinton recently wrote an opinion piece entitled, “As RIM Writes Off The Playbook, The Pressure is on Microsoft to Make a Complete Windows 8 Tablet“, in which he says:

This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that RIM is taking a $485 million charge for their lackluster tablet, the Playbook.  The charge comes by way of a markdown in the value of the massive inventor that RIM still has of the devices.  It is a brutal and costly reminder that if you kinda-sorta-maybe-woulda-shoulda your tablet strategy, the price can be steep.  Very steep.

and

The challenge facing Microsoft is that they are behind when it comes to a tablet strategy.  Regardless of what

Image courtesy of the International Business Times

With the release of the Kindle Fire, with its capability to play media (movies and TV, especially) along with access to Amazon’s soon-to-be-huge apps selection, but with a fairly limited 8GB of memory, your friendly Gear Diary team has been discussing what Amazon is planning/thinking with regard to this move.  Books don’t take up much room; 8GB is plenty if you’re just using the Fire as a reader.  But with the advent of movies and TV shows in HD, a movie can take up to 4GB or more; an HD TV show can clock in at 1.5GB or so.  8GB is simply not a lot of space… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

One of the coolest features in iOS 5 WiFi syncing, which I now use far more often than USB syncing. Being able to hit “Sync” on my MacBook for my iPad while it’s still in my bag (it only needs charging every few days) makes me giggle every time I do it. It’s just so simple, and works so effectively every time. With it, new music, an updated playlist, and a few new apps are just a click away.

Obviously this functionality is normally used over a WiFi connection at home or the office, but it turns out you can actually use WiFi sync when you’re mobile too.

As a regular user of the Personal… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you look at the legendary figures in pop and rock music in the post-Beatle era, The Police and their frontman Sting have to be on your shortlist. After an amazing but short career with The Police, Sting struck out on his own with an ensemble populated by young jazz musicians playing a new kind of jazz-tinged pop-rock. Through the 25 years since, Sting has had some amazing highs and lows, but always worked to put his best music out to the people.

Now we get a new app from the music legend – ‘Sting 25′ is the companion to his recently released music box set, and is free on the iTunes App… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...