I deal with the same battery scenario at least twice a week. When we have game nights, I go hours without a chance to charge my iPhone. There is no charging port in our buses and really never anywhere in a gym or field for me to charge during the games. Of course road games are extra tough since I listen to music or podcasts during the trip to and from our opponent. That is a lot of use with no power and usually a late night. Take this past Friday for example. We left the school at 1:45 in the afternoon and I walked into my house at 1:30am. All of that time… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

One of the biggest problems with our ever-growing love of smartphones … is that everything we do with them seems to consume more and more battery. As a result we are always struggling with the battery life of our smartphones. As a result we keep chargers in our offices, our cars, and so on. But what about when you are on the go and don’t have access to a wall plug – or are in an airport where everyone is huddled around the few remaining outlets? Belkin seeks to solve this with the Portable Power Pack 1000 – let’s see how it works!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I’m a big fan of Wilson Electronics Cellular signal boosters, and I got to spend a little bit of time Joe Banos (their CEO) checking out their new 4G LTE Universal Cellular Signal Booster and learning about what’s going on in the booster market. Joe sees 2012 as the year that carriers will acknowledge that customers want better signals on their mobile devices by  embracing cellular signal boosting technology. Verizon is the first carrier to get fully on board, and Joe said another carrier is expected to do the same in the next few weeks.

Wilson has just released a universal cradle that will take care of mobile users on all carriers, but specifically those… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Corning Gorilla Glass has become synonymous with tough, scratch resistant screens that will withstand even some challenging drops that would have destroyed earlier phones. But it is not indestructible, and recently some challengers have come along – and competition is always a good thing.

Next week at CES, Corning is set to unveil the next generation of its strengthened glass product in sizes for smartphones as well as larger formats:

A key feature of Corning’s CES exposure will be the introduction of Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2, the next generation of the popular, damage-resistant cover glass for consumer electronic devices.

CES attendees can engage with Corning experts and technologies featuring the latest applications and

This post brought to you by Snapdragon by Qualcomm. All opinions are 100% mine.

photo courtesy of ChargersGab

When I was a kid I saw some great concerts at the Garden State Arts Center about an hour south from where I lived. Alas, the Garden State Arts Center is no longer there. The physical space is there, the set up for concerts is there, and bands still play throughout the summer there, but the Garden State Art Center is now called the PNC Bank Arts Center. Yes, in 1996 the bank purchased the naming rights to it, and it has carried the new name ever since.
It’s not uncommon to see major physical locations such as stadiums and theaters carrying company names these days, but I have to imagine that making the change is a complex, and pricey proposition. So imagine if a stadium was renamed … but for only ten days. That’s what’s happening at the home of Judie’s husband Kevin’s beloved San Diego Chargers this holiday season. Yes, for a ten day period this holiday season the QUALCOMM Stadium will be renamed the Snapdragon stadium; after the ten days have passed the name will revert back.

My hometown of Nashville, TN is full of stars, and not just the country music kind. It’s a little-known secret that lots of actors and musicians from other genres choose to live in the area because, in general, we Nashvillagers pretty much leave them alone when we see them out in public. Nicole Kidman shops all the time at my local Whole Foods and can dine in peace at the food bar with no fear of autograph hounds. Peter Frampton has become a gentleman farmer in a Nashville suburb, and ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit moved here from Columbus, OH to escape the ravenous Ohio State fans. One of the Black Keys just bought a house about… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

One of the things that has always bothered me about using any phone other than one of the more popular current models is that accessories are not always easy to find. Sure, you can always find a few ugly cases and screen protectors for just about any model out there, but what about docks and automobile mounting solutions? Not everyone has an iPhone, but to see so many of the accessories that come out you’d think that wasn’t the case.

For $29.99, you can solve that problem with the Oona (not to be confused with Ooma, heh).

Take a look …

photos by Kevin

My mother has sensorineural hearing loss, and she has worn hearing aids in each ear ever since she was 36. My husband has hearing loss from working with loud machinery, and although he doesn’t wear hearing aids, he misses some tones and quiet speech is sometimes garbled. My friend Angie’s daughter caught a virus several years ago that wasn’t treated quickly enough; the result was that she went profoundly deaf in both ears and has since been fitted with two Cochlear Implants.

My point is that hearing loss and forms of deafness are much more common than you might think.

According to Gaudelet University, “the world’s only university in which… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Back in February of 2010 I reviewed the ZAGGsmartbuds. At the time, this was my conclusion

So are the ZAGGsmartbuds worth their $79.99 price? Absolutely. They are comfortable to wear for extended periods, sound very good and, thanks to the Hangin’ Tight system, have what is probably the best cable-management system I have used. At under $80 I would say that they are not only worth their price tag but that they are a good deal to boot!

The ZAGGsmartbuds have an MSRP of $79.99 and are available directly from ZAGG. And right now ZAGG is including a free dual USB car charger with purchases of over $40.

What I Like: Love

Let’s face it:  it’s not every day that you get a cardboard box in the mail, open it, remove all the wrapping paper and bubble wrap to reveal . . . another cardboard box.  But that’s what happened to your intrepid reporter, friends.  Yup; it’s the review of the Convenient Gadgets Cardboard Radio!  What did I think of it?  Well, read on, read on!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Are you feeling a bit spooked by all the recent stories about how our mobile phones are transmitting our GPS data, who we are talking to, and other possibly sensitive information? Here is one solution that might help: buy a bag that has a wireless security shield.  What that means is that when your phone is placed in the pocket — even if it is turned on and otherwise fully functioning, no data, calls or GPS will be able to come or go.

Wireless Security Shield™

In an effort to help provide ultimate security for your Bluetooth enabled Cell

Quirky, the ”socially developed product” manufacturer that allows people with great ideas to submit them and watch their products get made, is trying to garner support for its Facebook page. What better way to do so than to reward all of those who like their page with a $5 gift certificate off Quirky products and a chance to win a $500 gift card? In case you are wondering what types of goodies you can find at Quirky, wonder no more; here are a few…

Head over to Quirky’s Facebook page and get… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I love when SCOTTEVEST comes out with a new men’s product, and I have the opportunity to do an early review; I love it even more when we get to review the new product and do something unique with it like, say, save YOU 10% off the purchase.

I’m a bit of an SeV fan, and was one even before I came to Gear Diary. Barely a day passes that I am not wearing at least one thing that came from SeV. My wife Elana is quite used to it, and she has been quite impressed with the direction the company’s designs have gone recently. That’s why I thought I would mix things up a… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Now, I don’t have any Otterbox cases myself; I’m more into smaller and lighter cases, and when I go for the heavier case it’s usually either a Mili or (more often) Mophie, with the extra battery power.  But that’s just me; I have heard from lots of folks that they love their Otterbox case and the safety it gives them.  The first case I got for my boy Joseph’s iPhone was an Otterbox, because I knew he would be dropping that durn thing left and right, and we needed the protection. [The first case we got for Kev's oldest's iPhone was an Otterbox, too ~ Judie]  Heck, I think I saw an iPhone in an Otterbox case… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Griffin Technology is a favorite among many of us here at Gear Diary for their selection of accessories for iPods, iPads, iPhones and many other of your mobile devices. A quick search of the Gear Diary archives shows a multitude of products that have already been featured and reviewed on the site, including the Beacon Universal Remote for iOS which Dan put in the running for “iOS Accessory of the Year”.

The Beacon has dropped in price by $10 since Dan first reviewed it, and now there’s an even sweeter deal available for Gear Diary readers. Just use the promo code “THANKS20” when you check out to receive 20% off every product on the site until… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...