The JawBone JamBox was released in November of 2010. Yes, that’s almost a year and half ago… ancient by today’s tech standards. So you might be wondering why we’re covering it NOW. The reason is simple: although it was released almost a year and a half ago the JamBox is still the best portable Bluetooth speaker on the market and, thanks to updates and additional apps for it the speaker just keeps getting better and better. Thomas was quick to buy one when it was first released but I held back and only got one a few months ago. I wish I hadn’t waited because it really is an incredible little device. I like it so much in fact that I purchased one for Elana to use when she is training clients.

Oh, and there is another reason we shot the video now… it was the first time since I got JamBox-ified that Thomas and I were together. So here’s a quick video of Thomas and me talking about the device and why it’s become one of our favorite gadgets. Yes November of 2010 was quite a while ago but this is one piece of gear that isn’t even close to becoming long in the tooth.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I love Sandisk’s Sansa line because they are cheap, use standard connectors and work on just about any OS.  So when they offered to send me the new Clip Zip to review for Gear Diary I jumped at the chance.  Will it be as nice as their past devices?  Let’s find out.

The Clip Zip is the next version of the Clip.  My friends in the Linux community have much love for the Clip.  It’s cheap, supports Ogg Vorbis codecs, and it connects to your computer as conveniently as any flash drive. That means you can us any OS that supports USB mass storage.  Windows, Mac, Linux and even my Asus EeePad Transformer… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I have said it before and I’ll say it again – the iPod Touch is the worst iPod I have ever owned. Why do I say that? Because one of my main listening modes is in the car to and from work and between different offices, and changing anything requires you to look at the iPod Touch – and therefore away from whatever else you are doing! And as Carly mentioned here, that can be a very dangerous prospect.

For a long time I used a second generation 4GB iPod Nano, but the screen slowly stopped functioning and then the device totally died last year, and I have been using… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

While I do like iPods, I still love other MP3 players as well.  One of my favorites is the Sansa Fuze+ after the latest firmware update.  Sandisk also has made many other Sansas, and one of the Linux community’s favorite ones has been the Sansa Clip.  Just when I didn’t think the Clip could get any better, Sandisk brings out the Clip Zip, which adds some nice things to the Clip’s form factor.

Stylish, Feature-Rich Player Delivers Affordable On-The-Go Music Experience

 

·         Packed with features, including a larger color screen, compatibility with all major music formats, a stopwatch, an FM radio, voice recording capability and a microSDHC™ card slot for extra storage

·        

It looks funny. It does exactly what it promises. And, at least for me, it is in the running for “iOS Accessory of the Year”.

Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit but I’m pretty serious about how cool I think this iOS hardware/app combination is. The Griffin Beacon is the universal remote on steroids. With this odd piece of plastic powered by four AA batteries and a free download from the App Store I have taken my Samsung HDTV remote, my TiVo remote AND my Apple TV remote and put them away. Now all I need is one of my iOS devices and I have total control over the media in my den… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Storing information in the cloud is all good and well but with tiered data plans becoming the norm the idea of constantly streaming music and video becomes a bit problematic. After all, depending upon your plan, streaming just a couple of movies could all but do in your monthly allotment. That leaves just three possibilities. You can either constantly juggle the content stored on your mobile device (a royal pain), you can buy the largest capacity device possible And be selective about what goes on it (expensive and the iPad tops out at 64GB) or you can find some way to access a large hard drive on the go.

That’s what Seagate wants you to do… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Something has changed with my use of all of my devices. Due to memory issues, I have gone back to using dedicated devices. I listen to music on an iPod rather than my iPhone and have been looking for a better way to show off my photos and videos than the iPad. It is funny how I have gone full circle with the devices back to a day where I kept many things separate. The Cinepal HD Personal Media Player is a product that could solve some of my issue of photos and video. Let’s take a look.

I got into a fender bender last night. Luckily no one was hurt, and as for the damage to my car (see above), well, that’s what insurance is for. In the aftermath, though, I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking on how easily I let myself get distracted while driving, not just yesterday but in general…and fortuitously, this afternoon I came across my old iPod shuffle.

If you’re wondering how I went from distracted driving to iPod shuffle, it’s not that crazy a leap. I usually use my Droid for music in my car, either using the built-in music player or Pandora. But if I want to change the music, or figure out why… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

A while back I reviewed the Sansa Fuze+ from Sandisk.  Back then, the way the player was locked would wreak havoc with it.  You would lock it and then the heat of your body would unlock it even when it wasn’t moving all that much in my pocket.

Well, Sandisk has released an update to their firmware that changes the lock function and moves it from holding the play button in to lock to pressing in the power button on the top.  To unlock, you just tap the power button which takes a lot more effort to do and now it is not prone to unlocking while it’s floating around a pocket.  This simple change makes… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

You know what you need?  You need a robot.  A cute little bunny robot.  A cute little bunny robot that looks kinda like the sort of thing you’d find in Akihabara (aka “nerdvana”) in Japan.  And if that cute little bunny robot also had voice recognition, was a media player, had an integrated web came, and an RFID chip so that you could find it when it was lost, you would be rushing right out to get one for your little tyke, right?

Hey, I don’t know either, but it sounds cool (in a silly, nerdly, “I want to go to Akihabara yesterday!” kind of way),  I must say.

This gizmo… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Aluratek is announcing the new Bump line of wireless speakers including a neat little boombox style MP3 player, wireless speakers and more.

First up is the AWS01F MP3/FM Radio Boombox.  This includes a wireless speaker and you can connect up to 6 of these speakers to the same unit.  The back of it has a SD card slot, USB port for a USB drive and a 3.5mm input for attaching any device that uses a 3.5mm output.  It is available for $99.99.

Next is just the boom box without the speaker, the AMS01F.  It has all of… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I spent a large portion of the summer building a nice deck just outside my back door.  Once it was finished we would sit out there under the bright Texas stars and I would tell my wife I needed a way to watch sports out there.  My WiFi is full strength on the deck, but I could rarely watch live sporting events.  If only I could watch on my iPad or iPhone or even laptop.  Enter the Monsoon Vulkano to grant my wish!  The Vulkano sports technology for TV placeshifting, digital video recording, internet video playback, universal plug and play and mobile video recording.  All of this technology comes in a small attractive box… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Want an awesome media player with a gorgeous touchscreen that isn’t an iPod touch? Have we got a Gear Deal for you today!!

This bundle offers a Zune HD PLUS a Zune HD Car Charger at a huge savings. Together they make using your Zune on the go a breeze.

The Zune HD offers

the digital experience that gives you access to premium entertainment and the latest technologies, allowing you to enjoy, connect, and discover content in a whole new way—the way you like it. Browse, stream, buy, and play all you want, including music, HD video, Podcasts, games and much more.

It has 32GB of storage capacity, an HD radio, is HD-compatible so… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Sandisk has long produced the Fuze line of mp3 players and while they aren’t nearly as popular as Apple’s products, they do indeed have a following within certain communities.  Since Sandisk has long had compatibility with open codecs such as Ogg Vorbis , the Linux and Open Source community loves them.  Many of my friends have them and I purchased the last generation Fuze for my wife.  I was impressed with what Sandisk had done with the device as well as with its price.  Sandisk was nice enough to send me the new Fuze+ to review.  Did it improve upon the older device or did it take a step backward?  We’ll find out.

I am convinced that one of these days they are going to have a way to implant the music directly into our brains so that we have no wires to have to contend with.  For now, the next best thing could be the Rock-It portable vibration speaker.  It looks slightly like a speaker you might put under your pillow, except it has a pod that you stick on any flat surface.  It could be a box, a window or the side of your file cabinet just so long as it’s flat and it will stick.  Plug in your iPod, iPhone or anything that has a 3.5mm headphone jack and then that surface becomes your speaker.  It is available now… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...