Belkin - page 6

You probably made a lot of New Years resolutions to get off your butt and work out. You probably said you were gonna work out five times a day. Maybe more. Maybe you said you’re going to do one of those cool juice diet cleanses with a side of anorexia.

For those of us who made all these exercise goals, but are still binging on cheeseburgers, there’s an amazing — if not extreme — FitBit hack that can help. With just a FitBit activity tracker and a Belkin WeMo internet-controlled power outlet, you can set your daily activity goal, and if you don’t reach it, the system cuts power to everything plugged into your Belkin Wemo to give you some extra motivation to go jogging.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/iWORLD 2013 –

While Apple’s newer notebooks like the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro are certainly aesthetically pleasing, some trade offs had to be made in order to achieve such thin machines. Apple has been slowly paring down the number of ports it includes on its notebooks, most notable with the MacBook Air.

Even though these machines are becoming more and more capable all the time, the lack of connections on them puts a serious strain on their functionality. That’s where the Belkin Thunderbolt Express Dock comes in. This little attachment for your laptop gives you eight additional ports to work with right on your desk.

SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/iWORLD 2013 –

While the iPad’s audio has always been certainly passable in most situations, the tiny speakers that Apple crammed into the device aren’t anywhere near a suitable replacement for the sound quality that can be produced from larger, more substantial speakers.

In order to bridge this gap, Belkin is showing off at Macworld this year what they call the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater, a case for your iPad that integrates 2 4-watt speakers for a more immersive experience. Cult Of Mac’s Erfon Elijah talked to Brandon from Belkin at Macworld to learn more about the product.

LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – When I videochatted over Skype with one of Belkin‘s PR people a few days ago, I told them I was dumbfounded at the sound coming from the tiny speakers built into the pre-production Thunderstorm case they sent me to play around with (the review notes I scrawled down actually read “pretty fucking amazed with this thing”). Nate, whose face I could see gazing at me from Belkin’s Los Angeles office, seemed stoic. “Invariably people have that same reaction… we call it ‘the thirty seconds of wow.’ ”

It’s not very often I write on my iPad without a real Bluetooth keyboard. While I don’t mind the virtual, on-screen keyboard for responding to the odd email, anything more than that and I need real keys. For those of you who are in the same boat, check out Belkin’s new Portable Keyboard Case for iPad mini.

Belkin has become the first accessory maker to get authorization from Apple to build third-party accessories for the Cupertino company’s new Lightning connector. It just announced a new lineup of Lightning accessories, which are compatible with Apple’s latest lineup of iOS devices, including the iPhone 5, the new iPod touch and iPod nano, the fourth-generation iPad, and the iPad mini.

Quick test: see if you can guess what the following product does, just by decoding its cryptic name. Ready?

Belkin NetCam Wi-Fi with Night Vision

Be-be, wo-wo, boo-bee. These are the kind of phrases a human being can only get away with uttering in public if still under the age of two. Fortunately, these are also the only words these underdeveloped fools can manage. There’s probably a lesson about ability vs. ambition hidden in there somewhere.

Which is to say that the Belkin Wemo baby monitor is probably the best-named baby monitor ever. Even your dumb infant can ask for it by name.

The Speck PixelSkin HD is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) case that’s designed to give you “slim and smooth” protection for your iPhone 5, while offering “grippyness [sic] with high-contrast matte pixels.”

Its raised bezel aims to keep your iPhone’s display free from scuffs and scratches should you drop it on its face, while the rubberized covers for the volume keys and sleep/wake button prevent fluff and grime from gathering within nooks and crannies.

The PixelSkin HD comes in a variety of colors — including red, purple, blue, black, and grey, and it’s priced at just under $30. The PixelSkin HD was one of my favorite “simple” cases for iPhone 4S, so will it retain that status for the iPhone 5?

The Belkin Grip Sheer, provided by the fine folks at MobileFun, is an iPhone 5 case manufactured from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that promises to be “super durable, yet thin enough to slip easily into your pocket.”

Priced at just $21 (£16), the Grip Sheer comes in a range of fancy colors, and boasts a high-gloss transparent finish that’s designed to look good and feel great. It also provides you with access to all your buttons and ports, and leaves a nice big cutout for your iPhone 5’s camera and flash.

So, is the Grip Sheer a case you should be picking up with your new iPhone 5?

This is the iPhone Shutter Grip. Can you guess what it does? That’s right: It adds a handgrip and a shutter release to your iPhone, letting you snap pictures one handed, and generally take photos without dropping the iPhone.

It even has a built-in tripod mount, and a secret second button.

I start to feel twinges of separation anxiety when I get more than a few meters away from my iPad, so I can’t really imagine why anybody would want to use a remote shutter release for their iPhone that can trigger the camera from up to 30 feet away. But here it is, for you braves souls who can manage to cut the iApron stings: the iPhone Shutter Remote, from Photojojo and Belkin.

I’m actually typing this review using Belkin’s Bluetooth Keyboard Folio for iPad 2 ($100). There are a few keyboard cases out there created to both house the iPad 2 as well as provide an alternative to the iPad’s digital keyboard, but this keyboard case’s keyboard is an iPad-toting writer’s dream.

Thanksgiving is just two days away, and if you’re smart, you’re already prepared for it: you’ve got a turkey in the fridge, the ingredients in the cupboard, and the invitations all sent out. Or maybe you’re like me instead, and have found yourself up against the wire to throw a last minute Turkey Day feast. Either way, your iPhone and iPad can make putting on a holiday dinner much easier than the Pilgrims used to do it.

The iPod is essentially Apple’s typewriter: a piece of technology that reshaped society completely, then was made redundant by its descendants. However, the iPod’s birth a decade ago launched a legacy that can’t be ignored, no matter how hard you try.

For those of you rueing the fact that your iPad’s Smart Cover doesn’t protect your sleek baby’s bum, here’re two new options from Belkin — one of which practically gives your iPad a whole matching ensemble.

We’re big fans of Belkin’s products, especially the fantastic N750 Dual-Band N+ Router and the Conserve Insight energy meter.

Now you can get these gadgets, and everything else Belkin makes, for 50% off using a simple coupon code.

There’s no space the iPad hasn’t invaded — the kitchen in particular seems a favorite for me place for me to plop it down in. I’ll look up recipes, stream live TV news in the background while I’m cooking or kick back with the Grey Lady over breakfast.

But Apple’s probably going to void your warranty if they find egg yolk in the iPad’s innards. Never fear — Belkin has just announced a whole aisle’s worth of iPad accessories for the kitchen that’ll keep the iPad mess-free.

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.

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.

Belkin’s a big name in accessories, and you’ve probably got at least a few of their iPod or iPhone cases floating around your house. Today they’re expanding their line-up for the iPad with two new offerings: the Grip 360 + Stand and the FlipBlade.

The Grip 360 is an all-in-one accessory that can be used in three configurations: as a carrying case, a handheld case and as a stand. On the back is a flexible hand strap that makes the iPad easier to hold one-handed; the strap titularly rotates 360 degrees depending on which configuration you want to hold your iPad in, or removed entirely. It sells for $69.99.

The FlipBlade is a bit different: it’s a compact support for the iPad that allows you to prop your tablet up in either of its orientations, and which folds up for easy traveling. The design’s nice, but at $29.99, seems a bit overpriced for something a cheap plastic business card holder will do with more portability for less than a buck.