Ironically, the Jawbone Icon HD and Nerd package ($140) seems designed for the anti-nerd; those who have trouble adjusting BT settings on a computer and end up erasing the entire hard drive and setting the house on fire when they try.
Like many other connected security cams on the market, Stem Innovation’s new iZon ($130) touts an easy, all-in-one package that lets you monitor your home from the web or an iDevice through its app — but with with apparently less frills, and at less expense.
The iPad’s screen apparently wasn’t designed to be sullied with anything other than human fingers. there’s an oft-refferred to quote from Steve Jobs saying as much: “If you see a stylus, they blew it,” referring to other touch-screen designs that rely on the stylus.
But we don’t always use Apple’s gadgets the way Apple intends. Most of the time, sure, we stick to the script, because the damn things are so well designed that any deviance ends up as a fool’s adventure. Using an iPad with a stylus, however, isn’t foolish. Whether or not you use one — to scrawl notes, draw, paint, as a way of circumventing long fingernails or just ’cause you like it that way — styli (or styluses, depending on your preference) are here to stay. Here’s a by-no-means-exhaustive showdown between a few picked off from the herd. All these styli are, of course, capacitive, which means they conduct bio-electricity from your hand, down the shaft and onto the screen.
In all the hubbub with HP killing the TouchPad and spinning off its PC division, one might forget that HP still has a strong connection with Apple: They’re the only printer manufacturer with printers that fully integrate prinitng from iOS, thanks to HP’s inclusion of AirPrint on many of its printers.
The HP Officejet 6500A Plus ($200), with its all-in-one features, automatic document feeder, wifi connectivity and removable duplexer for double-sided printing, is already an attractively spec’d printer. Toss in AirPrint capability and you’ve got a strong contender to fill any iDevice-toting home/small office manager’s priniting needs.
A big advantage of these Four-Thirds cameras is that you gain the ability to swap lenses like you can with an SLR — but in a much smaller, lighter and generally more portable package. Olympus says their new PEN E-PM1 is their most portable yet.
I’ve been yearning for someone to get this right ever since I wrapped my hands around an iPad 2: the perfect marriage of Smart Cover and back protection for the iPad. Damned if Griffin hasn’t just nailed it with their new IntelliCase ($60).
Somewhere, as Wagner’s Flight of the Valkyries is playing n the background, squadrons of Parrot AR Drones face off against Griffin’s new Helo TC somewhere over the Atlantic (since Parrot is based in France and Griffin in Tennessee, I figured that’s where they’d probably meet up).
How many times have you been walking around you home or office using your iPad and it slips out of your hands? I did it a number of times with my first iPad — thankfully without causing too much damage — but with the HandStand 2 ($50) you can eliminate drops altogether.
No, that’s not an electronic Tootsie Roll — It’s Logitech’s brand-new $50 iPad Speaker (actually, they’re calling it the “Tablet Speaker”; because, apparently, there are other tablets out there. Who knew.)
When I initially stumbled across Canopy’s Kapok ($70), it seemed like a groovy idea: A case that had dedicated buttons for shooting photos and video is exactly what the iPhone needs, I thought. Plus, other app developers would be able to use Canopy’s API to add functionality to their apps through the buttons. Brilliant.
But then came the iOS 5 unveiling, with the revelation the camera app would gain its own hard button (in the form of the iPhone’s volume up button), and no other app developers have taken advantage of the kapok’s hard buttons. So is it still as shiny a toy as I’d orginally thought? Here’s what some hands-on time revealed…
Review by Kelly Keltner
I have a love/hate relationship with routers. I love what they do and the freedom they give me; hate that they never quite live up to my expectations. I’ve been through numerous routers over the years and have yet to find one that truly impressed me. However, Belkin’s N750 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router ($130) might be the first that I’ve had a good overall experience with right out of the box.
Why bizarrely cool? Forget that it’s an app-enhanced fitness gadget that sands data to your iPhone; sure, that’s neat, but there are a stack of devices out there doing the same thing.
No, Scosche’s little myTREK fitness gadget is that nifty because it tracks bio data using a method straight out of the future — it uses light beams.
We’re all about calm abiding here at Cult of Mac (you guys read the comments, right?) So we were pleased to try out the portable version of emWave2, a computer-assisted meditation program for Mac.
The emWave2 ($229) is useful for all of those anxiety-inducing situations people face when not in front of their computers. A bit bigger than the iPod Mini, it comes with an ear sensor that plugs into a USB key and a software program that monitors your heart rhythms and breathing, plus a CD training guide.
Belkin today released its Keyboard Folio for iPad 2, a $100 Bluetooth keyboard case. Like Adonit’s Writer 2 (review coming soon), Belkin’s take on the iPad keyboard/case is a faux suede folio with attached BT keyboard and placeholder to carry the iPad 2 around in.
Lets’ face it — cycling is geeky enough with Lycra, weird cycling shoes and helmets so dorky they look like they were designed by population-control advocates — it doesn’t need the added panache of a Bluetooth speaker bungied to the handlebars.
Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air might look just like last years model, but don’t let that fool you the insides have been almost completely replaced. Powerful new processors and upgraded internal components make Apple’s powerful and ultra-portable notebook computer even better than last years model. I called it blazing fast last year, but this year I have to say it’s smoking fast. Its performance leaves some MacBook Pros in the dust.
I’ve spent two weeks with my new 13-inch MacBook Air putting it through all kinds of real world tests, using it daily for a variety of tasks like word processing, web surfing, image manipulation, and running various applications including Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit and Mac OS X Lion virtualization.
I’d like to share with you what I experienced during the first 14 days I used this new 13-inch mid-2011 MacBook Air.
Kanex just unveiled its SnapX today, a $69 switch that connects a single 24- or 27-inch Apple Cinema Display to a pair of Macs and allows toggling between the two.
Smart Cover? IntelliCase? Yeah, there’s no product-naming rivalry going on there. And just like its name, Griffin’s IntelliCase, is a cooler version of Apple’s ubiquitous iPad 2 Smart Cover, because it adds something sorely missing from Apple’s version: a back.
Review by Jordan Trimas
The Arctic P311 Bluetooth headset ($40) is an excellent option for those desiring a pair of über-comfortable Bluetooth stereo headphones without having to hock a family heirloom to afford them. My first impression, naturally, was that I probably wouldn’t get a top-performer for $40, so expectations weren’t high. But it was love at first listen when the P311s emerged from their packaging.
There’s nothing quite like the bliss of simply plugging a gadget into a slot and being rewarded with superb performance; and if the gadget happens to exude raw sex appeal, even better. Sounds familiar, right? Because that pretty much describes Apple’s entire lineup. It’s also a perfect description for the dynamic Samson Meteor Mic ($99).
Review by Jordan Trimas
The iFunner iTur is a hard-shell iPhone 4 case that incorporates a wallet compartment, in which you can store a few credit cards and your ID, accessed through a hinged door. But is it really funner than other cases? Nope.
Judging by the name “VooMote One” — the name German-based Zero1.tv came up with for its just-launched VooMote One app-enhanced universal remote for iPhone — German words sometimes don’t translate too well into English. Hopefully its super-customizable app will do all the talking.
There’s no shortage of covers for the iPad out there — but there aren’t many that many with Booq’s new Viper Slider’s executive panache at this price point.
Ever since we drooled over Griffin’s StompBox at CES, the more musically intrigued members of our gang have been eagerly waiting for the jazzed-up, four-switch pedal box to actually arrive (I’m pretty sure our Lonnie Lazar has been sitting there, forlorn and imploring, like some lost, guitar-wielding puppy). Wait’s over, Lonnie — it’s here.
If you haven’t already, stop reading this and check out Buster’s awesome review of the new MacBook Air. The machine is absolutely gorgeous. And powerful, too.
One of the MacBook Air’s main draws is its lightning-fast solid-state hardrive. An SSD outperforms traditional hardrives because all storage and data transfers happen virtually, instead of having to travel across a physical platter.
Apparently, Apple is shipping some of these brand new MacBook Airs with the same SSDs from older notebook models.