Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
Oh, happy day, our Kindle 2 has arrived. We are opening it up now and snapping images for your enjoyment. Be sure to keep at eye on Unboxing! Back to work…
UPDATE: We’ve put up our entire Kindle 2 unboxing gallery - check it out!
Read More 
| Amazon Kindle 2
Gallery: Our Amazon Kindle 2 is here…
Advertisement
We are fans of The Daily Show for reasons like this - only Jon Stewart can get this type of reaction from powerful mogul like Jeff Bezos. Watch as Bezos comes on The Daily Show to let the world know about the Kindle 2, while Jon makes fun of just about every aspect of the product, from the price, to the notion of e-paper. Great stuff.
Gallery: Daily Show: Jeff Bezos on the Kindle 2
Modu Morphing Cell Phone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Handhelds, Music,
Modu believes that the inner workings of a cell phone should be able to change their outer jackets. Guinness’ World Record holder of the “lightest cell phone” can turn into different devices with specific buttons and interfacing. Included in the collection is the street art, express, bicycle, night, car, sport, classic and ring jacket. The Modu can also be placed into PMPs, digital cams, photo frame and DECT phones to share your images with others. We expect that this one will not be inexpensive nor cater to those who keep their cellies in their pockets without as much as a cover.
Read More | Modu
Gallery: Modu Morphing Cell Phone
Verizon Blackberry BOGO Deal
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Hot Deals,
Verizon is offering their line of Blackberrys as a super Valentine’s Day gift. You can get up to three 8130 Pearls for free. A buy one get one free applies to their other models. That includes the Curve and 8703e for $79.00, the World Edition at a price of $99.99, and the Storm which will set you back $199.99. The deal is good while supplies last online, and each of them comes with a 2 year contract per phone.
Read More | Verizon
Gallery: Verizon Blackberry BOGO Deal
LG Arena KM900 Smartphone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, GPS, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
LG has announced that it will unveil its Arena KM900 smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that begins Feb. 11. The phone has a 3-inch WVGA touchscreen with 800x400 resolution and a 5 megapixel camera. The KM900 also has WiFi, A-GPS, and HSDPA 7.2 network support. What is most unique is its 3D touchscreen user interface with four customizable screens. No price or availability date has yet to be announced.
Read More | Crave
Gallery: LG Arena KM900 Smartphone
Amazon Kindle 2: $359, 20% faster, 25% more battery life
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Design, Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
This morning at a press conference from the Morgan Library, Amazon finally announced the long-awaited Kindle 2 e-book reader. The updated version will cost $359, and sports quite a few worthy improvements. First, it is much thinner than the original Kindle at just .36-inches thin. Yes, that is just about as thin as a #2 pencil, and thinner than an iPhone. It also sports 7 times more storage than the original, which means it can hold over 1,500 books. Battery life is 25% longer as well, which means you should be able to go a couple of weeks between charges.
When it comes to actually, you know, reading, the display is what matters. Luckily, Amazon improved that as well, as the new display can display 16 shades of gray, which results in clearer text and crisper images. By far, though, we think the biggest feature is the one they are calling Read to Me. It is a text-to-speech feature that lets the Kindle read any book, magazine, blog, or newspaper out loud to you. Kind of cool.
As we said, the new Kindle will sell for $359, and it starts shipping on February 24th. They are sold on a first come, first served basis, but if you are a Kindle 1 owner and order before midnight PST on February 10th, you will receive first priority. You can order one now at the Kindle 2 product page on Amazon.
Gallery: Amazon Kindle 2: $359, 20% faster, 25% more battery life
LeapFrog has been putting out sophisticated learning products for years. Their latest toy is the a Text & Learn, designed for tots whose parents have Blackberrys or iPhones and won’t share. There is a pretend browser mode, learning games and a QWERTY keyboard to teach them to type. Recommended for kids ages 3 to 6, they can send and receive text messages with Scout the puppy. The Text & Learn made its debut at the recent UK Toy Fair and will be available sometime this summer for $21.99.
Read More | LeapFrog
Gallery: LeapFrog Text & Learn
Apple and Adobe collaborating on Flash for iPhone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,
What’s the latest on the iPhone Flash rumors? It looks like work is being done, but that finding a solution is proving to be tough, as evidenced by Adobe’s Shantanu Narayen:
“It’s a hard technical challenge, and that’s part of the reason Apple and Adobe are collaborating,” Narayen told Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The ball is in our court. The onus is on us to deliver.”
Did you get that? Apple and Adobe are working together to come up with a suitable Flash derivative for the iPhone. So while there’s no set date or anything, we can at least rest assured that it’s coming. iPhone Hulu, anyone?
Read More | Bloomberg
Gallery: Apple and Adobe collaborating on Flash for iPhone
Camera Phone Predator Alert Act
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Smartphones, Handhelds,
New York Representative Peter King has introduced a bill called the “Camera Phone Predator Alert Act.” The idea is that mobile phones with digital cameras must make a sound when a photo is taken. King believes that this will ensure public privacy and safety, especially when it comes to children. Any phone made after the date the bill is enacted cannot disable the sound. Although chances for the bill don’t look promising at this point, Japan already requires that all camera phones, including the iPhone, make an audible sound.
Read More | Wired
Gallery: Camera Phone Predator Alert Act
Logitec Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Music, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi,
Logitec Japan has introduced a Bluetooth Audio Receiver. Compatible with DAPs, PCs, mobile phones or other electronic gadgets, the device comes in four different colors. It utilizes Wolfson Audio Plus 3D Audio Technology and controls playback/stop/remote control. The company claims about 200 hours of battery life for the 2.1 Bluetooth (A2DP, AVRCP, HSP/HFP) receiver. No date or price of the LBT-AR200C2 has been released at this point.
Read More | Akihabara News
