Valentines day is coming (believe it or not), and yes, you can go with one of the classics for that special person in your life:  chocolate, chocolates, flowers, jewelry, or more chocolate.  But if your sweetie is a geek, maybe what you need is something a bit more . . . nerdly.  Something that shows you acknowledge that which both makes him or her special.  Something that speaks to their inner geek.

Unsurprisingly in this, the Age o’ the Geek, there are web sites (hey: geeks invented the web, after all!) and sections of web sites that cater to exactly that need.  Like ThinkGeek, which has a whole bunch of geek stuff for that nerd in your

Image courtesy of Tokyoflash

Fresh out of the Tokyoflash workshop comes the Kisai Seven. Yet another watch from their concept to reality blog, the Seven joins the limited edition club and launches at the low-cost of only $99 shipped. Breaking off slightly from the standard Kisai style and material, this “Tron” inspired watch has an “identity disc” like watch face that glows either white or blue depending on the model you purchase. New to this watch is a seamless polyurethane band and hard plastic encased face instead of the matte or polished bands we are used to seeing with other models. The large rings on darken in spots to show the hours and minutes… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

When my coworker was preordering his new iPhone 4S, we had a debate about colors. I was firmly on the side of black, and he said he was considering white because it stood out a bit more, and since most people have black iPhones, it eliminated that moment of “is this your phone or my phone” that happens when everyone has their iPhones on the table at the same time.

Of course, you can solve this with a case, but who wants the same boring cases that everyone else picks up at the Apple store? Instead, you could snag an iStylize case from ErinCondren.com that has your name or initials right in the design! No… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Given the long hours I spend editing and writing, there are a few things that I need to have available at all times: a good desktop or laptop computer, a decent camera for taking pictures, a comfortable chair, and an ever flowing source of caffeine. The refrigerator behind me takes care of my Diet Cokes, I have a canister of dark-chocolate covered coffee beans on the counter, and lately I’ve been using the Keurig Mini Plus Personal Brewer system to handle my coffee and tea requirements.

As the company explains:

· The Keurig brewing system offers a coffee house quality cup of coffee for just a fraction of the cost with the convenience of

Uncomplicated good looks, even contrasting stitching, and leather which will only get more beautiful over time as it is used … these are what you’ll get when you purchase an iPhone leather sleeve from Aligata. Don’t be fooled by the name, though; the iPhone Leather Sleeve will also fit other similarly sized phones and devices.

Because he knows how much I like this combination, Tom from Aligata sent me a nude beauty sleeve with yellow stitching. This particular type leather usually comes with white stitching, but for a fee (and a little bit of prior-to-ordering discussion) you can specify other thread colors. There are also four other types of leather… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Let’s face it – by this time if you are still deciding on Valentine’s Day gifts you are pretty much in deep trouble with the object of your intentions. This isn’t meant as gift-giving advice. Nor is it a curmudgeonly rant about the ‘Hallmark Holiday’ – while the card-maker and your local florist certainly profit from February 14th, the celebration has historical ties. No … this is about the seeming ‘arms race’ in gift-giving.

Initially I had started pooling loads of images from every email I had gotten over the last month touting the ‘perfect Valentine’s Day gift’, with the intent of overwhelming you with them. Instead, I simply put the… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Image courtesy of T-Mobile

Sometimes the best things in life really are free. T-Mobile has a promotion running on February 11th and 12th that is one of the best I’ve seen yet from a mobile provider. Sign up for a 2 year agreement, or add a line, and get ANY smartphone in the T-Mobile lineup for free. TmoNews has a screen snap of the rebate form showing a few handsets that will cost you a little up front, but will be refunded in some form or fashion. It’s a great way to get your guy or girl a brand new Smartphone for absolutely nothing, and show your level of commitment by having a joint plan together… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Gadget accessory company Evouni (I will leave the pronunciation up to you) sent GearDiary.com a few items recently, three of which made it into my hands.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

(image courtesy Publish a Book)

If you’re considering getting your loved one an ebook reader for V-Day, you’re in luck! The fine folks behind many popular ebook readers clearly think a book for Valentine’s Day is better when it comes in electronic form, and they’ve thrown together some sweet deals!

B&N

Rumors that NOOKcolors were off the shelves have been greatly exaggerated. B&N is touting it as the perfect Valentine’s day gift, and they’re offering 30% off select cases if you buy between now and V-Day.

Looking to buy a NOOK WiFi or 3G instead? B&N is also offering 50%… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

You see that big ol’ grin on my face? Simply put, it’s because I’ve finally found the perfect trench coat!

When done correctly, a woman’s trench coat is the perfect jacket. A trench keeps its wearer warm, but it isn’t too heavy; trench coats are belted, so the woman wearing one gains an instant hourglass figure — whether she has one or not! The right trench coat can add instant sophistication to even the most basic outfit; but best of all, a well-cut trench coat can hide a multitude of figure flaws while taking an outfit from day to night. Scott Jordan let us know last October that SCOTTEVEST would be coming out with… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It’s early February, and that means, time to panic!

Yup, you thought you made it through the holiday gift-giving season unscathed, and now along comes another holiday where you’re supposed to show good sense, good taste, and a sense of what your partner likes.  And if you think you’ve got it bad, I’ve got three birthdays–four, if you count my deceased Dad–in the same time period!  Not to mention the anniversary of the day I asked Sami to marry me [the 5th], and the anniversary of my Dad’s passing [the 2nd].  It’s a weird month.

But worry not: Gadgets and Gear has your back.  This year, they’ve got a couple of glowing… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

While at CES, Dan gave me a code he had picked up at Incipio’s booth to create one of their “Bespoke Cases” for free. Curious about the product and the resulting case, I decided to give it a try with a picture I’d been holding onto for a while. Granted, the picture wasn’t as high resolution as I might have liked, but I thought it would be cool to see it on a case.

After downloading the Incipio Bespoke App, I went through the customization process and added my picture. Although the option was present in the app to “move and scale” photos in my library, this particular one couldn’t be manipulated enough to… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It’s not very often that I can get excited about a universally fitting mobile phone sleeve, mainly because most of the ones I’ve reviewed in the past were pretty utilitarian. But when I received an email from Oberon Design, the company responsible for some of my favorite Kindle2, Kindle DX and iPad cases ever, asking if I’d like to review their new cell phone sleeve, I was happy to oblige.

Our cell phone sleeve is offered in twelve cropped versions of our most popular designs and accommodates many different smart phones and regular cell phones.

As in the past, the Oberon item arrived wrapped… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

[Ed. note - If you haven't already, please read part one of this review: First Impressions: NOOKcolor]


It’s not often that I start a review with a conclusion, but it’s going to be hard to review the NOOKcolor without stating this up front: It’s an absolutely incredible reading device. I was skeptical that a color, LCD device would be a decent reading experience, and admittedly I still personally prefer eInk, but B&N did a fantastic job making reading front and center on the NOOKcolor. How did they do it, and what could be improved for next time? Read on for my thoughts!

As I said in my “first impressions” post, the hardware… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Joe Born at Neuros Technology has always been a supporter of Linux and Open Source technology since I’ve known him.  Well Joe came up with a great idea.  How about using a cheap Android Tablet to control the Neuros Link?  Sounds like a good idea, but did it work?

The Control Tablet 1002 is very similar to the Eken M002 tablet.  In face, it will run the same builds of Android that the Eken M002 will.

Let’s take a look at the specs:

• Slatedroid firmware based off of Google Android OS 1.6

• VIA MW8505 350-400MHz

• 128MB DDR2

• 2GB NAND FLASH, support most TF card up to 32GB

•… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...