Jealous of your friends with the Kinect gaming systems? Box the Bag is a new iPad app that makes a clever and sophisticated use of the iPad's camera to achieve a lot of what the Kinect accessory does for Microsoft's Xbox.
It's time to ask more of your case. Sure, a case should protect your iPhone or iPad, but what if it could do more? What if it was made of a glow in the dark material so you could find it at night? What if it had an actual custom QR Code built in so someone could get in touch with you to return it, even if the battery ran out or the device was locked? And what if it could be used as a way to share your contact info similar to the Bump app?
I was a little skeptical of the Audyssey Audio Dock Air when I first saw it, but thanks to some changes, it's now a great deal. The first change is a $100 discount from the $400 list price. The second change is Apple's pending micro dock which will make traditional docking speakers somewhat obsolete. Finally, the third change is AirPlay integration in Macs and PCs, in the latest verion of iTunes, and Mountain Lion.
Open it. Plug it in. Print. Such is the claim of Lantronix and their xPrintserver, a much needed device that turns just about any printer into an iPad, iPhone and iPod touch compatible printer without any software changes or specialized apps. Well, I tried it, and it's a valid claim. The xPrintserver is a brilliant piece of technology, especially if you have a favorite printer at home or work that otherwise would be left out of the iOS party.
Just like the earbuds that ship with iPods and iPhones, the Apple USB cable isn't meant to be the highest quality item to come out of Cupertino. Apple does a lot of things right, but their cables and earbuds just don't cut it.
I've used a variety of external battery packs over the years, but none have met all of my needs, until now. The Peak from myCharge packs plenty of power, with up to 6000mAh but what really helps is the built-in 30pin Apple PLUS microUSB connectors, and an on-board USB port. And most importantly, that 30pin cable provides enough juice to power an iPad.
This means you don't have to worry about lost cables, and you can be charging up to three devices at a time. The other bonus is fold out wall prongs to recharge the Peak.
You don't have to settle for plastic or even metal accessories thanks to Altaz. I had a chance to use their latest Micro-Fi miniature speakers and they represent such a pleasant juxtaposition of today's technology and real wood speakers. The Altaz Micro-Fi is highly reminiscent of the bookshelf speakers I had in college, back when people cared about how things were made.
As a matter of principle, I try not to buy the higher memory configurations of iPhones and iPads. It doesn't seem right to charge an extra $100 for 16GB or even 32GB of additional memory, considering SD cards sell for a fraction of that amount. But I do find myself running out of memory, especially when it comes to videos and music.
Fortunately, PhotoFast has a low cost, reliable solution. The i-FlashDrive is a USB flash drive with a 30 pin connector on the opposite end. You can plug the USB end into your computer and copy files in either direction.
I like cars. Guilty as charged. We have a couple of convertibles (an Alfa Romeo Spyder, a Fiat 2000) and now, even a Vespa. When we get a new vehicle, I try to buy a small diecast toy of that particular model. Just something to look at while the vehicles are in storage during the winter.
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