Welcome to Gearology
Technology has a short memory.
Every year brings a flood of new phones, laptops, handhelds, headphones, cameras, keyboards, and AI gadgets, each one promising to change everything. Most are forgotten within months. A few become classics. An even smaller number quietly change the direction of the industry without getting the credit they deserve.
That’s what Gearology is about.
I’m John Biggs, former editor of TechCrunch and Gizmodo, and I’ve spent more than two decades reviewing gadgets, interviewing founders, covering launches, and watching technologies rise and fall. I’ve seen products become billion dollar businesses. I’ve also watched brilliant ideas disappear because they were too early, too expensive, or simply misunderstood.
Gearology covers both sides of that story.
You’ll find reviews of new hardware, buying guides, industry news, interviews, and the Gearology podcast. But the heart of the site is Tech We Loved, a continuing series about the devices that shaped the technology world before quietly slipping away.
TiVo. Palm Pre. Chumby. Pebble. CueCat. CrunchPad. iPod Hi-Fi. Notion Ink Adam.
Some were commercial failures. Others were ahead of their time. Many introduced ideas we now take for granted. TiVo changed how we watched television. The Palm Pre helped define the modern smartphone before Android and the iPhone took over. Pebble proved there was a market for smartwatches years before Apple entered the category. Chumby showed what connected home devices could become long before smart speakers arrived.
Every one of these products has a story worth telling.
Tech We Loved isn’t simply nostalgia. Each article looks at why the product existed, who built it, what problems it tried to solve, why it succeeded or failed, and what today’s designers, founders, and engineers can still learn from it. Technology doesn’t move in a straight line. The best ideas often appear years before the market is ready for them.
We’ll also spend plenty of time with what’s new. I’ll be reviewing handheld game systems, laptops, keyboards, cameras, audio gear, retro hardware, and the odd gadget that catches my attention. Some will be practical. Some will be wonderfully strange. If it deserves a closer look, you’ll probably find it here.
I started Gearology because I wanted to build the kind of publication I enjoy reading. One that takes hardware seriously, remembers where today’s ideas came from, and isn’t afraid to spend time on products that everyone else has forgotten.
This newsletter is reader supported because good reporting takes time. Every review involves hands-on testing. Every Tech We Loved article requires research, interviews when possible, and digging through old manuals, advertisements, patents, and launch coverage to piece together the full story.
I already have dozens of products lined up, with many more waiting in the wings. If there’s a gadget you loved, or one you’ve always wondered about, send me a note. There’s a good chance it’s already on my list, and if it isn’t, I’d love to add it.
Thanks for reading, and welcome to Gearology. I think you’ll find that yesterday’s gadgets still have plenty to teach us and today’s gadgets will continue to amaze us.
Why subscribe?
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives. You’ll also get access to Tech We Loved, our throwback series on gear that won (or lost) our hearts.
Have a tip or new product?
We are a small crew but we try to support anyone who is making a difference in tech. Please email tips, news, and review opportunities to tips@gearology.tech.
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