I just received some news about an interesting new free service: “Palm and Yelp today announced the release of Yelp Mobile (mobile.yelp.com), which has been optimized for Treo users to easily read what the local community is saying about a specific business. Yelp Mobile allows users to search for a particular local business, or browse […]
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-08-09 Read More
Here is a review of a product that doesn’t appear to be all that exciting until you really require a use for it. It’s the latest version of a USB 2.0 to IDE / SATA cable from Brando. The first such cable I reviewed was back in 2004. It would only allow you to connect a 3.5 inch IDE drive to your PC or Mac. One year later, the 2nd version of this cable added the ability to connect 2.5 inch drives. Earlier this Spring, yet another iteration of this cable added SATA drive capability. And now the latest version adds one touch backup and a new compact adapter design.
USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter with One Touch Backup Read More
Sweltering Sunday in Southern Indiana It was 99 degrees here before noon. Can you say Global Warming? ;o) On a day like this you need a good fan. So I broke out one that Brando had sent me to try. The Fantastic USB LED Fan. For $10 you get a little desk fan, powered by
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-08-06 Read More
This is pretty nifty! Someone just emailed to let me know that we were mentioned today in an article on MSNBC’s site. :o) In other news, I have put the Vibrant Media links back up (double underlined links). Supposedly they fixed the IE crashing problem. That remains to be seen though as Rob our web
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-08-04 Read More
Ok boys and girls, gather round because it’s time for another gear bag review! I am a total gear bag freak, so I never tire of trying new ones. The latest one to grace my shoulder is the Ducti High Voltage Messenger Bag. If you’ve not heard of Ducti, they are the same company that brought you the now famous duct tape wallets. The High Voltage Messenger Bag isn’t made of duct tape though, it’s a multi-pocketed canvas bag with an urban style.
Ducti High Voltage Messenger Bag Read More
I received an email from one of Sony’s PR people concerning their forthcoming Portable Reader System (PRS-500) eBook Reader device, which was first announced this past January at CES. According to this person, there has been quite a bit of confusion and misinformation floating around about this product. They would like to help dispel some
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-08-01 Read More
For those of you that might have purchased the Insignia IS-PDVD10 portable DVD based on my review last month, you may want to also check out the Init Portable DVD Travel case that works great with it. Rhinoskin sent me a Pink leather case for the 60gb Apple iPod video. It’s not really my style,
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-31 Read More
My search for a comfortable, easy to use, good sounding
Bluetooth headset to pair with my Treo 650, may have come to a
quick end. At least until something else comes along… After
reviewing 4 headsets in the last few months, I recently learned
about the Cardo Systems
scala-500 from one of my gadget buddies at my day job (Hello
Taire!). He highly recommended it, so I decided to test one out for
myself.
Cardo Systems scala-500 Bluetooth Headset Read More
I need some help from you guys… For the past 2-3 months, I’ve had a handful of email complaints from people saying that they sometimes have problems loading pages using Internet Explorer. The page will almost completely load and then a small popup window will come up saying that the Operation Aborted. If you press
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-26 Read More
Have you ever noticed that a lot of FM transmitters on the
market these days, don’t blend in very well with the interior of
most vehicles. Their design tends to be too flashy or wacky for my
personal taste. I don’t know about you, but I tend to prefer that
my vehicle accessories look more like OEM parts than something that
came from the bargain bin of AutoZone. That’s why I was pretty
amazed when I came home the other day to find a package from
Speck Products. Inside
was the MobileTune FM Transmitter for the Apple iPod.
Speck Products MobileTune iPod FM Transmitter Read More
Judie is all excited to receive the Engineering test sample of the DualCor cPC. Me, not so much. I just can’t seem get too thrilled about the whole teeny tiny Windows XP in your hand devices anymore. It’s crazy because just a few years ago, I would have sold one of my kidneys to get
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-24 Read More
Laptop owners, this review is just for you. Today I’m going to tell you about a stand for your laptop computer that is both stylish and functional. The Laptop Stand from Pfeffer Industries (I wonder how it took for them to come up with that catchy product name?) is a clear laser cut plastic stand that is available in 3 different sizes (7.5x10in, 11x13in, and 11x16in).
Over a year and a half ago in December 2004, the much anticipated Treo 650 smartphone arrived on the market. This first model was a CDMA version from Sprint, but several months later a GSM version and then a version from Verizon also became available. Since its release, the 650 has become the most popular smartphone (combination PDA / mobile phone) device on the market. Time has not stood still for Palm. Their latest smartphone is the 700p. Should 650 owners pony up to buy this upgraded model, or should they keep their cash and wait for something with more revolutionary features, instead of evolutionary?
Palm Treo 700p Smartphone Read More
Last month I purchased a 2006 Mazda 3 5 door, which I’m totally enjoying. It is my first new vehicle in 15yrs. Yes it’s true that I’ve been driving the same little Red pickup truck (1991 GMC Sonoma) for the last decade and a half. There’s something to be said for no car payments :o)
So anyway, I was really looking forward to this new car having a much better radio than the junko Delco in the Sonoma. Unfortunately, the stock head unit in the Mazda turned out to be a little disappointing. It lacks an Auxiliary Audio Input, so that means no optimal way to play an iPod through the speakers. I tried several iPod powered FM transmitters, but struck out there too. Unlike in my truck, the sound quality using one was horrible. Also, the location of the cigarette lighter adapter ruled out using the TransPod, which worked wonderfully in the truck.
SendStation PocketDock Read More
My Treo 650 has totally spoiled me. No matter how much I want to try to go back to using a non smartphone (for portability and ease), every phone I try just leaves me wanting more. I’ve tried the Sony Ericsson w600i, Motorola Pebl, Sony Ericsson Z520a and Nokia 6131. None of them lasted for
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-12 Read More
Mini desktop computers like Apple’s Mac mini and AOpen’s Mini PC are really popular due to the fact that they are so small and don’t require vast amounts of desktop real estate. They make especially good media center (living room) computers for this very fact. Now, how about a mini keyboard to go along with that mini computer? Today I’m going to tell you about the Super Slim Keyboard from Brando USB.
Brando Super Slim Keyboard Read More
When is a Friday not reason to celebrate? When you have to play hooky from work in order to wait for a repair man to come service your 1 week old brand new refrigerator and for an exterminator to come give an estimate on removing an infestation of bees or hornets in a wall of
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-07 Read More
I have been on a quest to find the most comfortable Bluetooth headset on the market. After reviewing a handful of contenders, my current favorite has been Tekkeon’s ezTalker Mini. I was told by one of our readers that I needed to definitely check out CellPoint’s Flamingo headset. I took that person’s advise and obtained a sample, which I’ve been testing for the past week or so. Has it turned out to be more comfy than the Tekkeon? Keep reading to find out.
CellPoint Flamingo Bluetooth Headset Read More
I’m sure you’ve lived this scenario… You’re listening to your
iPod through headphones or earbuds, and your cell phone rings. The
first thing you probably do is pause the music on your iPod,
disengage from the earbuds or headphones, put on a Bluetooth
headset, or just answer the phone. What if there was an accessory
for your iPod that simplified this process dramatically? There is
such a product: The myTalker ET7000 from Tekkeon.
Tekkeon myTalker ET7000 Read More
My iMac is back home safe and sound! You don’t know how much you appreciate a 20 inch display until you have to use one that is only 12 inches. I’m curious, how many of you out there have a dual display setup? Those of you that do, how do you work? Do you only
Julie’s Gear Diary – 2006-07-03 Read More