Expert Blogs
I love the iPhone 4's design, with one exception. I am on record that the glass back is a design flaw that I would like to see go away and it appears that the iPhone 5 may indeed remedy that with a return to aluminum, the favorite material of Apple's recently knighted Sir Jony Ive. Indeed, the glass back is the primary reason I keep my iPhone 4 in a case, where it would harm the aesthetic appeal, per the late Steve Jobs. Fortunately, there are some good-looking cases, including a few with aluminum components. I've shied away from them because they often require special tools to insert or remove the iPhone from the case. Considering that some docks do not accommodate those cases, it can be a pain to carry a special wrench just to remove the case to dock the phone.
Technically, the season of Joy to the World might be wrapping up, but if you unwrapped an iPad this holiday season, you might want to consider one or more of these cool add ons from The Joy Factory. Branded with the Klick name, they offer a kick stand, desk stand, and wall mount for your iPad 2. They all use the same interlocking mechanism so you can switch from desk to wall mount easily.
The Soulo Karaoke reminds me of the old Mister Microphone commercial... Some Tom Cruise wannabe is driving past some girls and he shouts into his portable microphone "Hey, we'll be back to pick you up later!" Sure, it was a cheesy commercial but it demonstrated that a party no longer had to be confined to your home. It was now mobile! And the same is true with the Soulo and Karaoke parties!
If you like Karaoke but don't want to lug around a dedicated file cabinet sized device, the portability of an iPad or even iPhone makes a lot of sense. Plus if you would like to leverage iTunes for a huge selection of songs, the Soulo Karaoke microphone and the free companion app fit the bill. And Soulo does so with both wired and wireless microphone options.
The folks at Chic Buds keep coming up with fun and fancy accessories for an iPhone or any MP3 player and their latest, the Fauvette bejeweled bird speaker is no exception. Available in several feminine-friendly colors and patterns, and shipped in a metal 'lunchbox' style case, it's an easy gift because no matter what phone or MP3 player a person has, it's compatible. And cute! My kids loved the one we got for their music teacher!
When the iPad came out and ushered in the era of the tablet, I thought it might eliminate the laptop accessory market, but in reality, it just transformed it. Instead of laptop cooling pads, we are now being offered tablet stands. I'm naturally skeptical and there are a lot of vendors taking photo frame easels, adding the prefix "i" and charging ten times as much.
Multitouch touchscreens are the future, clearly, but they have one drawback, especially for those of us in colder climates. You can't use capacitive touchscreens, like that in the iPhone, with gloved fingers. At least not with traditional gloves.
When you read the specifications of this next product, you might think you are reading an automotive blog, but the iPad Butler (http://ipad-butler.com) is an iPad table and floor stand that shares many high tech features with premium sports cars. Carbon fiber, German engineering, aluminum structure... There are even vehicle accessories including both a headrest and a lighter adapter for mounting the iPad inside your car.
Because I typically have the latest and greatest of everything, people always ask me 'What should I give to the guy who has everything?' My canned response: 'Something to keep it in!' And it's true... as I get new gadgets, like smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc., I'm always on the lookout for the right case or bag to keep it in.
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