PogoPlug has gotten a fair bit of coverage here at CrunchGear, including a full review of the original PogoPlug device. A new version was recently released, with quite a bit more to offer, so an updated review is in order. The second generation PogoPlug supports up to four USB drives, offers gigabit Ethernet, has mobile clients for the major smartphones, and has a burgeoning independent developer community. That’s a lot for a $129 gadget! → Read More
The Short Version: The Siberia v2 is SteelSeries’ entry into the virtual-surround headset market, and it holds its own against the excellent Logitech G35s and Razer’s Megalodon headset — at least, in sound quality. However, it doesn’t offer much to distinguish itself, and some minor but troublesome issues may have you springing for the Siberia’s competitors. Plus: I’m giving these away! A lucky reader will be wearing these in a week or so. Details in the full review. → Read More
There’s usually a lot of unnecessary foreplay that goes along with accessing an old hard drive just to pull a few files off of it. You have to find your external drive enclosure, you might have to make sure you have a screwdriver to open it up, and… well that’s pretty much it but that can take the better part of a morning if you’re not organized. → Read More
Man, am I sleepy! I almost didn’t post a giveaway for you all today! Maybe I won’t post the giveaway and maybe I’ll just go take a nap… what do you guys think? Nap? Or Pulse Smartpen. You’ll recall that the Pulse Smartpen is one of the coolest toys we’ve played with this year and we’re giving a kit away to one lucky commenter. How do we keep our prices so amazingly low? We get this stuff free and pass the savings on to you! → Read More
Everyone needs more storage. But why spend the cash an external drive when we’re giving away a sexy 500GB G-Drive mini? It’s small, has both USB and Firewire interfaces, and sexy like it’s big brother I just reviewed. → Read More
The Short Version: These headphones fit a sort of questionable niche; who really games and travels so much that they need compact gaming headphones? But that aside, the G330s are still a mixed bag. Sound quality is good for a traditional headphone style, but they don’t seem to fit as intended. If you find yourself needing a portable gaming headset, try these on before you buy. Also: I’m giving away the pair I reviewed, details at the end of the review. Contest over! Thanks for playing! → Read More
Short Version: The GBoard costs $19.99. It’s a USB keypad that has nineteen specially labeled keys for specific GMail actions: search, reply, reply all, star, archive, etc. The back of the unit has an adjustable lever so you can change the angle of the keypad. I’m left wondering what problem this accessory solves. → Read More
Good evening and welcome to the laptop bag adoption program from your friends at CrunchGear. Today we have this charming Booq Nerve laptop bag, your choice of sizes. It needs a good home. Won’t you open your heart to this bag? → Read More
Costco has a pretty stellar deal on a big 28-inch monitor at just $249.99 with free shipping. That price is good until January 4, 2010 too, so start saving up if you haven’t already. → Read More
This little controller is butt-ugly and crude, but I still want one really bad. Maybe Santa will bring me one. → Read More
If you ever sit next to me on a plane you will notice that I have a small ritual that I prepare every time I reach cruising altitude. I begin by pulling out my iPod touch and then my Movie Wedge. The Movie Wedge is a little bean bag with a lip for holding up MP3 and video players. That’s it. It’s amazingly great. We talked about the Movie Wedge a while back and we’re happy to report that they’ve decided to give us 10 to give away to all and sundry. → Read More
Good afternoon, readers! What does Santa have in his bag for you today? Interestingly enough, he was unable to bring his bag because this printer is far too big for it. We present, for your inspection, the Kodak 5250 all-in-one: a scanning, printing, faxing, photofinishing machine that can best the big boys in the printer race. Best of all, the 5250 has built-in WiFi so you can stick the printer on your network and print from any computer in the house. Take a look at Kodak’s 5250 product page and then click through to figure out how to win. → Read More
[tab:Intro][flagallery gid=9 name="CrunchGear Gift Guide 2009"] Peripherals, they say, are the spice of life. Well, maybe they don’t say that, but they do say it about variety, and peripherals add variety to your computing life. If you’re reading this on a stock HP desktop, clicking on links with the mouse that came with it, and trusting your data to that 512MB USB stick they gave you at work, then you should consider accessorizing. There are lots of things out there that make your computer better, more secure, or more comfortable. Why not treat yourself or a loved one to one of them? [tab:Keyboard] Logitech G110 keyboard: $80 Now, I haven’t used this keyboard specifically, but I did review its big brother, the G19. The essential difference is that the G110 doesn’t have the big, expensive LCD on it, which, while cool, wasn’t really adding much to what was otherwise a great keyboard. It’s comfortable, good-looking, and full of extra stuff like macro keys for games or frequently typed phrases, colored backlighting, and handy media controls. Logitech makes great keyboards, and this one is probably their best deal. Product Page | CrunchGear Review (kind of) [tab:Mouse] Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse: $70 Anyone who spends a lot of time with a computer likely spends a lot of time with their mouse. So why should they be stuck using whatever $5 piece of junk came with the computer, or whatever was in the impulse buy section at Radio Shack? There’s a world of mice out there for differently sized and shaped hands, and it can make a huge difference in terms of comfort and efficiency. The G500 is a great mouse with a proven and familiar shape, and at $50 (street price) it’s a bargain as well. Any gamer or big PC user will appreciate it. Product Page | CrunchGear Review [tab:Fancy Mouse] Razer Mamba: $130 The Mamba is the final word in mice at the moment. A revision of the Death Adder shape, which was popular for a reason, the Mamba adds two extra buttons and wireless operation to the mix. I found it comfortable, accurate, and extremely good-looking. If you’re willing to spend the dough, this is the best mouse you can buy. Product Page | CrunchGear Review [tab:HD Webcam] Microsoft LifeCam Cinema: $80 Chances are if you or anyone you know has a webcam, it’s either built into your display → Read More
If you thought that the whole point of the common digital photo frame was to make old-school photos a thing of the past, it looks like you were wrong. I was wrong too, so let’s take comfort together in our wrongness. If the folks at iMo have their way, we’ll look at a digital photo on their digital frame and say to ourselves “I want that photo on some sort of card stock and I’ll stop at nothing to get it!” → Read More
In the end, everything will have an app store. Take the Pulse smartpen from Livescribe, for example. The company, whose pen is quite cool (it records what you write and can “remember” things on page, allowing for paper-based calculators and control panels), has just launched an app store for its 2- and 4GB Pulse pens. The store offers multiple games, tools, and study aids for prices that range from free to about $2. You can download apps here and then upload to your pen. → Read More
Imation today officially starts shipping “the world’s first Wireless USB external hard drive,” the Imation Pro WX. → Read More
Short version: A comfortable mouse whose main gimmick will take hours upon hours of dedication on your part to fully exploit. → Read More
Short Version: As ergonomic mice go, Microsoft’s wireless offering provides plenty of relief from repetitive stress injuries without deviating too far from the familiar form factor found in standard mice. And with an MSRP of $80 (and available for even cheaper online), it’s priced competitively with other specialty mice. → Read More
Short version: The Magic Mouse is everything that anti-Macists hate about Apple: It’s twee, too smart for its own good, and initially unusable to the uninitiated. Sadly, even Mac fanbois will feel the same way. → Read More
