Gadgetry Report | Tool reviews, techie toys, and the latest gadgets

Things I Want in 2012

Being very frugal and a gadget junkie is an awful combination. There are so many cool gadgets to get, but when you can’t stand spending money, all you can do is look and want. For instance, I would love a Kindle Fire, but I already have a Kindle that works perfectly well, so how can I justify getting another one? That being said, I can see myself caving and splurging on some form of technology this year. Here are just a few of the things I would get if I could talk my frugal alter ego into it.

Is it worth it to become a mayor on Foursquare?

Why do people even play this game?

I didn’t know what geniuses did with their free time until recently: apparently, some of the geniuses “play Foursquare” which allows them to both impress their friends and family with knowledge of nearby restaurants and hotspots and become Mayors of unincorporated towns and municipalities like Microsoft which is a world in and of itself.

The idea of Foursquare is simple. As described by TechWorld:

Vertu: Crappy Phones for Rich Idiots

Nokia's luxury line confounds

Like that "I Am Rich" iPhone app that cost $200 and did nothing but display a glowing red icon, expensive but ultimately useless novelties have always perplexed me. They're amusing from a distance to those of us without buckets of spare cash, but does anyone actually buy them? Apps may not cost much of anything to make, but what about real, tangible goods with production costs? Hundred-dollar computer cables must have some kind of market for companies to keep making them and stores to keep selling them. $20,000 Nokia handsets must have at least one buyer in the world, or else Vertu wouldn't exist.

Safeguarding Your Child's Tech Gadgets

By implementing some of these safequard tips, these smart, high-tech devices can have a positive impact on your children in terms of both learning and

More and more kids are becoming acquainted with technology at a young age. They're exploring smartphones, iTouch, iPhone, and even iPad devices. But just how safe are these hi-tech devices in the hands of young children? After all, there's the opportunity that inappropriate pictures, videos, songs, and movies could make their way into the viewing field of a young child with a simple tap or touch.

BlackBerry's Post-Holiday Tablet Sale

The suffering PlayBook is indicative of a new trend in media storage

I think BlackBerry is feeling the heat. They went from producing the most coveted line of business-class smartphones to rolling out B-network cast-offs in only a few years. In attempting to gain relevance through a new line of gadgets, they unleashed the PlayBook a little while back. It seems as though they thought their brand still held some sway over consumers, as though a BlackBerry tablet would still be cooler, edgier, more desirable than an Acer tab or a cheap off-brand computer. Looks like they thought wrong. Having sold probably very few PlayBooks during the holiday season, BlackBerry is now offering all of their PlayBook models at some very drastic discounts.

The Battle of the Smartphones

When I was growing up, computers were still new but even then, there was a great divide between PC and Mac users. Still today, you are either a Mac person or you are not. Owners of each type of computer are fiercely loyal and can instantly rattle off a list of what makes their brand superior. That rivalry has grown, expanding now to smartphones. You are either an iPhone person or you are not. In many cases, the alternative is Android, and the battle lines have been clearly drawn.

Simple Fixes To Save Your Monthly Bill From Data Overages

As simple as switching some settings and downloading a couple free apps. Finally, some GOOD news!

I’m one of the lucky ones. I use my smartphone perpetually for work, looking up current news, sharing between my various devices, checking social networking sites for feedback and interests, and I’m using all of this data for one low flat rate. I got in right under the wire earlier this year before Verizon’s new aggregated plans came out. With the increasingly data-heavy apps and user habits, companies are finding it difficult to provide unlimited data plans for a single rate, so they’ve switched to terraced plans where using more data means paying more dollars. For customers that means major overages if you’re not careful. Here are a few tricks that you can use (and me when I have to re-up in another 18 months), to transform your phone from a data hose to a data sieve and lower the chance of overage fees.

From Darren Murph of Popular Science, the following tips are easy fixes on your phone to slow the transmission of expensive data, without really giving up any of the phone’s capability.

Make Power Cords Universal!

Okay, I have a rant today, and I’m sure many of you have faced the same problem I am facing. I have major cord overload. You don’t realize how many gadgets you have until you try to organize all the cords to charge said gadgets. In our case, we have a drawer completely full of cords, and several of the more frequently used cords are stationed near plugins for easy access. They add up to a lot of cords.

Logitech M305: A Wireless Mouse That Really Works

Over the past few years, I have tried a couple different wireless mice. I have always been disappointed in how they work, because they skipped or were slow to respond. As a result, I stuck with a dinosaur of a mouse, nursing it back to health and being loyal to the very end. When it died, I couldn’t find another wired mouse I liked, so I was forced to give wireless mice another try.

Are Netbooks On Their Way Out?

Dell will discontinue their line, but are the mini-computers going away across the board?

A laptop seems to be part of everyone's personal electronics tool belt these days, but exactly which portable computers are sticking around for the long haul? Dell recently announced that they're about to stop producing their line of netbooks--those cheap micro-computers that started soaring in popularity just a few years ago. They're still available from plenty of other manufacturers, but does Dell's choice to discontinue the Inspiron minis indicate a trend away from the netbook?

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