I go my Vertu Constellation in a round about way, and while I have greatly enjoyed owning it. But there has never been a day when I thought for even a moment that I was in the same financial bracket as the typical Vertu owner.

Today I got proof positive of that fact in the form of a repair bill; more on that in a moment…

I had noticed soon after getting my nearly new Constellation that the leather on its battery cover was starting to peel back. This is certainly not uncommon with the model, and mine was certainly much more minor than some of the peeling examples I have seen on say, eBay.

Nevertheless, on a $5,000 phone the peeling was an affront, so I made plans to send the phone in for repair. This was after calling and asking if I could just buy a new battery door and learning that it was simply not possible.

The peeling was occurring on the right corner shown; it hadn’t yet started when I took this picture

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One of the many conveniences I’ve encountered while owning a MacBook Air has been the ability to slip the ultra-slim laptop into almost any bag for a quick carry solution; this includes larger laptops bags as well as some of my roomier purses. There are times however, when I’ve wished that I had a bag made to specifically transport the Air: something slim, streamlined, but still large enough to carry any peripherals and doo-dads I might need.

Tom Bihn has released just such a bag; similar in style to their Cafe line, the Ristretto Messenger Bag is built with different proportions, and “an interior compartment padded at the front, back, and bottom,” “sized specifically for your MacBook Air, 13″ MacBook or IBM-Lenovo Thinkpad X300.” It is available in several flavorful color combinations including: olive/cayenne, steel/sapphire, plum/wasabi, black/olive and black/steel.

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Although I knew this was coming, I have to admit that I still feel a bit of amazement when I say that 16GB SDHC MicroSD and Memory Stick Micro cards are now available. Wow…just wow.

I present you with the brand new SanDisk models…

What will you put on yours?

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This week I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Texas Motor Speedway test driving GM’s 2009 lineup. There were so many gorgeous and impressive vehicles present, I would be hard pressed to say which was my favorite; but of course I had one…

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The GearDiary team checks out the 2009 Cadillac XLR hardtop convertible during the recent GM Collection media event.

(No Cadillacs were harmed in the making of this video)

It never fails that when I pack my gear, there are always small items which will sift to the bottom of my bag’s cavernous pockets. This doesn’t even take into account all of the times when I have needed a particular something, and no matter how neatly I thought I had it packed, I couldn’t find it when it was time. Well, no more.

Tom Bihn makes a variety of Organizer Pouches, and I think that it would be safe to assume that there is something for everyone. Let’s take a look…

Cordura Organizer Pouches

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Moe information has just come in from Robert concerning the new WowWee Rovio spy cam robot. After watching these new videos, you may decide that Rovio is exactly what you need for keeping an eye on things when you can’t be home…

Hello Judie in BFE, [Ed note: you see how he is?! ]

WowWee is pulling out all the stops with their new Rovio spy cam robot. Instead of the usual toy style videos they have already produced and published 3 gloss high quality teaser style videos that are high in information content and devoid of fluff. The 3 short TV style videos just published to YouTube give you a crisp look at the Rovio’s features, web interface, and home networking requirements in a rapid yet clear look at their flagship robot product for 2008. Here they are:

Meet Rovio - TV commercial style clip , short and sweet

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Stan Lau sent these pictures in of Senator Hillary Clinton discussing the Wall Streets troubles and the proposed bailout plan at the Federal Reserve Bank at 2:40pm yesterday. Yeah, okay fine - these pictures aren’t zoomed in, and they might not portray the same result someone would have obtained from a DSLR, but Stan now has non-blurry proof that he was there and for that matter - she was, too. How cool to catch history with your mobile phone camera!

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We’ve been writing about Android since the rumors first began swirling, and now the wait is finally over. On the off chance that you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few months, I’ll catch you up to speed: Google created an operating system called Android which has been further developed by the Open Handset Alliance, a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies. It’s based on Linux, it’s open source, and it’s free.

As we have already mentioned, T-Mobile will be the first carrier to offer an Android driven phone, the HTC Dream. Tomorrow at 10:30am EDT, those interested can watch a live webcast of the press conference featuring T-Mobile and Google executives announcing its unveiling.

In the meantime, you can kill 50+ minutes watching Jason Chen discuss Android in a video taken at the Google I/O event last May…

Link: Webcast of Android Event - will only work at 10:30 EDT on September 23, 2008, so don’t bother trying before then.

Link: The You Tube Video of Peter Chen

Mike Cane spent a little bit of time giving a red Sony Reader a fondle, and I have to say that other than the terrible quality of his “crapcam” (that’s what he calls it, and I agree!), the new Reader is quite pretty…

As Mike says, “Yeah, that’s it. It’s really a rich metallic red color. It’s matte and not shiny. It’s simply and absolutely gorgeous!” He goes on to gush that “Sony’s done a great job here, offering this special color. I prefer it over the Silver — and especially over the light-sucking Dark Blue.”

I agree, the red is gorgeous, and now that you can use the Reader for much more than just loading Sony’s proprietary book shop’s items it looks even more attractive. If you are lusting after this spicy red number and would like to order one, there are plenty to be had.

If you would like to read more of Mike’s impressions and see more “crapcam” pictures, then head on over to Mike’s site.