RIchard Solo Smart Backup Battery Pack rocks for iPhone 3G

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Accessories, USB, Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds

Anyone who has picked up an iPhone 3G knows that the battery, while great for a 3G phone, still leaves a lot to be desired. It’s simply no fun when your phone warns you that you have 20% power left while you are in the middle of your lunch break. Heck, I don’t even need to leave the house to go to work, and even I have issues with the battery. During E3 2008, I had to be careful with my iPhone usage if I didn’t want the phone to run out of juice. Since I am going to be taking a trip to NYC this week, I wanted to be sure I was armed with a backup.

After doing some looking around, I came across this Richard Solo Smart Backup Battery Pack for the iPhone. In all actuality, it works with the iPhone as well as any iPod with a dock connector. It basically holds a charge that is similar to about 80% of the iPhone battery. That means that if you see your iPhone give you that 20% warning, you just plug this thing in, and it will charge it back to full. That is cool.

Even better though, you can charge the iPhone or iPod and the Backup Battery at the same time. You plug in the battery to your phone, and then connect the battery to the charger. This will first charge your device, and then once that is done, it will charge the battery. So if you do this overnight, you have a fully charged phone, and backup battery, when you walk out the door. Love it.

The device is thin enough to not be burdensome at all, reminding me of an iPod nano. I am gonna give this a try during this next week, where I will definitely be out and about and using my iPhone on a near-constant basis, being the awesome road warrior that I am. I will let you know how it turns out. Meanwhile, if you wanna pick up one of these for yourself, you can grab one here for $50. If it works as advertised, we think this is well worth it. Check the video after the break for more details, and also, we have a small Richard Solo Smart Backup Battery pack gallery we just put up as well.

Click to continue reading RIchard Solo Smart Backup Battery Pack rocks for iPhone 3G

Read More | Smart Backup Battery Pack gallery

Gallery: RIchard Solo Smart Backup Battery Pack rocks for iPhone 3G

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HP iPaq 914 Business Messenger review

Posted by Sparky
Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Microsoft, Product Reviews, Wireless / WiFi

While at the Connecting Your World event in Berlin Germany, HP we were able to get our hands on one of the new HP iPaq 914 Business Messenger Windows Mobile 6.1 QWERTY phones. We’ve already created a full iPaq 914 unboxing gallery for you to enjoy, but we also wanted to be sure to hit you with a full review of the phone. After a day or so of use, it’s easy to be impressed with this business-centric communications device.

As a phone with iPaq 914 performs admirably, offering great voice quality, and the well implemented Windows Mobile 6 dialer interface. Having quad-band GSM support means the iPaq 914 works virtually anywhere in the globe making it ideal for globe trotters and others needing to keep in touch while on the go.

Featuring HSDPA, EDGE, UMTS, WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, the iPaq 914 is well equipped for all sorts of wireless communications. The HSDPA chipset is quick and responsive and loads data quickly.

Click through Gear Live’s full review of the HP iPaq 914.

Click to continue reading HP iPaq 914 Business Messenger review

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TiVo to incorporate Amazon shopping into menu

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Broadband, Features, Home Entertainment, Internet

Way out of left field, TiVo has announced that customers are going to be able to browse and purchase from Amazon’s huge inventory, from the comfort of their living rooms. You know, because shopping a store that has tens of thousands of items to choose from, using just your remote control, is all kinds of awesome. To take part, you need to have a broadband-connected TiVo Series 2, Series 3, or TiVo HD (seriously, is anyone still doing dial-up on these things?).

Starting today, TiVo will launch the new service to consumers by merchandising products related to several high profile shows, including but not limited to The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Colbert Report, and Burn Notice. Consumers will also be able to use TiVo’s Universal Swivel Search to easily explore and buy products associated with their favorite shows, movies, actors, and directors, directly from the television set

I don’t know about you, but these images showing Amazon shopping on TiVo don’t look that enticing. In any event, you can get your shop on starting today.

Read More | Zatz Not Funny

Gallery: TiVo to incorporate Amazon shopping into menu

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Our iPhone 3G purchase review: Campout trip from hell

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Editorial, Features

UPDATE: Watch the full video of our iPhone 3G line experience.

We had no idea that our quest to grab a few iPhone 3G units at launch here in the Seattle area would turn out to be an utter fiasco. Last year, when the original iPhone launched, we had a much longer wait in line (over 19 hours versus just over 8 hours) last year, and were further back in the line to boot. However, it was a complete failure on both Apple and AT&T’s part in making sure that the experience went as smoothly as possible.

Oh, sure, we finally have our iPhone 3Gs working and in good shape, but it took much, much longer to get them in that condition than it should have. Read on as we relive the events that took place earlier this afternoon at the Alderwood Mall Apple Store. Oh, and credit for that photo of Sparky walking out after being first in line goes to Jim Valley.

Click to continue reading Our iPhone 3G purchase review: Campout trip from hell

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Poll: How did your iPhone 3G launch day purchase go?

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video

We already told you about our crazy iPhone 3G launch day purchase fiasco, but now we wanna hear from you guys. Was what we experienced accurate? Did you just end up flying through purchase and activation, with no problems at all? Or was your experience more like ours, where things seemed to go wrong at every turn? Let us know!

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Exclusive: MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy 133 - Clash of World’s Thinnest Notebooks

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Apple, Design, Features, PC / Laptop

Earlier this morning we put up our Voodoo Envy 133 gallery, and once we glanced at our MacBook Air, we knew it was so on. It was time to put them head-to-head, in an epic battle of the world’s thinnest notebook computers. So, we put together another gallery, where the MacBook Air and Voodoo Envy 133 sit side-by-side. We take pit them together from a few different angles. Now, the Envy 133 does take the victory for being the thinnest notebook computer - but the thin side of the MacBook Air is technically thinner than the uniform thickness of the Envy. Really, it all comes down to what OS you want to run, and if you don’t care, then it comes down to form factor. Oh, and of course, the Envy 133 has way more ports (including HDMI) than the MacBook Air can even dream of having at this point.

Hit up our MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy 133 gallery for all the goods.

Read More | MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy gallery

Gallery: Exclusive: MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy 133 - Clash of World’s Thinnest Notebooks

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Voodoo Envy 133 hands-on gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Design, Features, PC / Laptop

Everyone knows that thin is in, and HP is no exception, as their Voodoo line is about to drop the Voodoo Envy 133 notebook computer into their selling channels. What’s so cool about this notebook? Well, it currently has the bragging rights of being the world’s thinnest notebook. Yes, even thinner than the MacBook Air, and it even packs in more features than Apple’s ultraportable as well. We’ve got a comparison gallery of the two devices coming to you later today, but first we wanted to push out a gallery dedicated to showing off the Envy 133. It is definitely a beautiful piece of machinery with lots of style packed in. Heck, even the keyboard keys look cool. So click on over to check out of Voodoo Envy 133 gallery.

EDIT: We just put up our MacBook Air vs. Voodoo Envy 133 photo gallery.

Read More | Voodoo Envy 133 gallery

Gallery: Voodoo Envy 133 hands-on gallery

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ColorWare features Gear Live iPhone

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Announcements, Apple, Cell Phones, Design, Features, Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video

As Gear Live member x1xtomx1x discovered and shared with us on the forums today, the Gear Live iPhone that we are giving away is actually featured in the ColorWare gallery. Very nice find.

Remember, you are eligible to enter to win this customized iPhone. Check out the official rules to find out how.

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HP Mini-Note 2133 vs. Asus Eee PC gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Design, Features, PC / Laptop

We figured we’d put two of our favorite netbooks together for a quick head-to-head, just to show the size differences between the HP Mini-Note and the Asus Eee PC. We’ve put together a small gallery comparing the sizes of the two systems, including what we believe to be the most important difference, the keyboard size.

Click on through to see the HP Mini-Note vs Eee PC gallery.

Read More | Mini-Note vs Eee PC gallery

Gallery: HP Mini-Note 2133 vs. Asus Eee PC gallery

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Contest: Win a custom Gear Live iPhone, LRG cases, and Monster Cable Accessories!

Posted by Andru Edwards
Categories: Announcements, Apple, Cell Phones, Features

Since our last giveaway contest went so well (and the HDX Dragon computer is on its way to our winner!), we thought you guys might be interested in yet another opportunity to win some cool stuff from Gear Live. That’s why we are giving away a one-of-a-kind customized iPhone, along with a bunch of accessories from LRG and Monster Cable. Even better? This time, we will have three winners.

What makes our iPhone so special? Well, we’ve had it customized and done up in Gear Live colors. Heck, we even put our logo on it, so you can rock the fact that you are a fan of what we do here. Also, we will unlock it for you, if you like, prior to sending it over. We are gonna make this one easy too. The contest starts today, and will end on July 2, 2008. Between now and then, we are gonna be monitoring comments left throughout Gear Live, and forum posts. If you are a regular participants in those areas, you will have an opportunity to win. On July 3, we will compile a list of members who have been active during the contest period, and we will then choose our first, second, and third place winners randomly. Here are the full details on the three packages:

Grand Prize:

• Customized orange Gear Live iPhone
• 3 LRG | Monster iPhone cases of your choosing
• LRG Tee Shirt
• iCableLink iPhone headphone jack adapter
• iSoniTalk iPhone microphone

Second Place:

• 2 LRG | Monster iPhone cases of your choosing
• LRG Tee Shirt
• iCableLink iPhone headphone jack adapter
• iSoniTalk iPhone microphone

Third Place:

• 1 LRG | Monster iPhone cases of your choosing
• LRG Tee Shirt
• iCableLink iPhone headphone jack adapter
• iSoniTalk iPhone microphone

Oh, and just to be clear, if you spam, you are eliminated from the contest. We are looking for people who genuinely add to the conversation across our network in blog comment posts, and on the Gear Live Forums. That means you have to be a member of the site to win, so if you aren’t already, go ahead and sign up. One last thing, we can only award the prize to a resident of the USA. If you plan on winning and you don’t live here, you’d better have a cousin or great aunt with an address in the US that we can ship your package to.

A big thank you to LRG and Monster Cable for helping us out with this contest.

Gallery: Contest: Win a custom Gear Live iPhone, LRG cases, and Monster Cable Accessories!

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