I'm Back & In A Geeky Frenzy

A few of you emailed me to ask me if I was okay because I hadn't blogged in a few weeks. Truthfully I forget that at least a few people actually read this blog and it never occurred to me someone would worry. Anyway, sorry I've been absent, but I've recently gotten the opportunity to partner with some people I really respect on a something I wrote with hopes of selling it and that combined with my full time gig has left me no time to blog. I will still be blogging in the coming weeks, but it just might not be super frequently. One reason I decided to blog today is that I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED regarding the new iPhone 4 that can be pre-ordered starting next Tuesday. If you don't have an iPhone yet or are toting around an older generation one like me, you should upgrade. I know, I know AT&T kind of sucks, but I swear it's worth it to suck it up for all the cool features of the phone.

Light As A USB

I'm not sure why, but I find these quirky USB flash drives that look like either a comb or a feather from Uncommon Goods entertaining. If you need a funny, but useful gift for your favorite techie, check them out.

Nook Not Yet Ready For Prime Time

My fear of the Nook from Barnes and Noble being a far superior e-book reader and panic over the fact that I had just received a Kindle DX that cost more, seems to be unfounded. The Nook has some cool features, but this review in the New York Times makes it clear that the Kindle is a better device for now.

The Gift To Get For The Gadget Lover Who Has Everything

I'm a geek, but even a non-geek would have to agree that these glasses from Vuzix that allow you to watch video from a variety of sources (iPhone, etc.) from inside them are pretty awesome. They aren't cheap, but for the right gadget lover who already has everything they are an outstanding idea for a present.

00Geek

I did this posting on good gifts for your favorite geek before, but today I thought I would do a spy geek edition that I'm calling 00Geek. Impressing geeks can be hard to do and they often have all the cool stuff they want, so here are a few ideas that might surprise a geek in your life or a client that your boss needs to buy a gift for:

These sunglasses with a camera in them from Think Geek are pretty cool and they're under a $100 bucks.

This Russian book spy camera from Uncommon Goods is also pretty fun and it's under $50

This Bluetooth handset that looks like a retro phone handset (also from Think Geek) isn't really on the down low, but it's so funny and will make people think you are so crazy that one could really go into spy mode and get away with anything.

If you want to take the 00Geek gift theme further, add some martini ingredients, glasses and a shaker to one of the items above.

Google Voice App Coming To You Soon Perhaps, But Not Me Yet

Google Voice (the original product was called Grandcentral) which is really useful and allows you to route all your numbers through one number and get your voice mails transcribed to read via e-mail has an app coming soon to the Android and Blackberry. Yay for you if you have one of those devices, but *sigh* for me and my iPhone. You can still utilize the service via any phone, but it's fairly clunky in some ways without the app. If you want to read more about it, the New York Times has a good article about it that clarifies the differences. I shouldn't complain because my iPhone still does some pretty amazing stuff. I think most assistants and truly almost anyone would find this free service useful and a great time saver.

The Gift I'd Most Like To Receive

One gift that I would love to receive is Amazon.com's e-book reader, Kindle. It's a really fantastic gift to give to someone who loves to read and travels often - especially if cost isn't an option. At over 350 bucks it isn't exactly a bargain, but for what it's capable of, it really isn't that bad. The second generation Kindle, aptly called Kindle 2 will be released later this month. The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, spoke about it today in New York. The New York Times blogged live about it, so if you want to check that out, click here.