Todd Bernhard

Author Details

Todd Bernhard's picture

Author Details

Todd Bernhard

Todd Bernhard is a bestselling (6+ million downloads) award-winning (AARP, About.com, BestAppEver.com, Digital Hollywood, and Verizon) developer and founder of NoTie.NET, an app developer specializing in Talking Ringtone apps including AutoRingtone. And his profile photo is of the last known sighting of Mr. Bernhard wearing a tie, circa 2007!

An iPhone is almost always attached to his hip or in his pocket, but over the years, Mr. Bernhard has owned an Apple Newton, a Motorola Marco, an HP 95LX, a Compaq iPaq, a Palm Treo, and a Nokia e62. In addition to writing for iPhone Life, Mr. Bernhard has written for its sister publications, PocketPC Magazine and The HP Palmtop Paper.

For a long time now, I have lamented the absence of a solution for converting HDMI to VGA, so I could project from my Apple TV or from an iPad using Apple's HDMI cable instead of their VGA cable. Why? Primarily because the VGA cable does not allow a way to charge the iPad when in use, whereas the HDMI version has a 30 pin female connector so you can plug in a syncing cable. Additionally, since most office projectors accept VGA, not HDMI, this has been the missing link for many professionals. As they say, when it rains, it pours. In recent weeks, I've received two such devices that convert HDMI to VGA and they each have their pros and cons.

I go to a lot of tradeshows and I see a lot of iOS accessories, especially speakers. It's rare to find a speaker, especially a small one, that can make a nice sound and be heard in a noisy trade show environment. So when I saw, and heard, an early version of the Mighty Dwarf Blue II at January's Consumer Electronics Show, I was impressed. It's now shipping and I was able to test a unit. It's well made, in a sleek, black glossy casing that looks like a futuristic UFO! The unit even comes in a solid gift box that uses magnets to keep a 'sneak peek' flap closed.

Wen you first see their product, you will think they made a typo with their company name and instead of Octa, they should be called Orca. But it's no mistake.  Octa's TabletTail is a vacuum-based suction mount that sticks to your flat backed tablet, ideally an iPad 2, and can give it a tail. The tail makes it easy to both grip the tablet and can be used as a stand to prop the device up.

Not everyone wants to keep their iPad or similar tablet in a case. The iPad 2 is wonderfully thin and to put it in a case is almost sacrilegious. Apple's Smart Cover is a nice enhancement but it doesn't always help you keep a good grip on the iPad. In fact, some users have found out the hard way that the iPad 2 can fall to the ground if you grab it by the Smart Cover!

For all you Mac users out there: Do you have a disorganized desktop? The Aluminum eXpress Keyboard Platform from BulletTrain (available this March) is a clever solution that positions the trackpad below the keyboard, and adds a palm rest.




The Aluminum eXpress Keyboard Platform is similar to an oversized MacBook, but you get a generously sized trackpad and everything is arranged in a comfortable, elegant manner.


 

In pinball, 'tilt' is a bad thing, but Technocel just launched a new brand/subsidiary called TYLT and it's a refreshing, overdue shift from their traditional line of black/gray boring but necessary power accessories. Indeed I wasn't planning to attend their press conference because what new or interesting products could they come up with? Longer coiled cables? Eco-friendly packaging? Ho hum. Surprise, surprise, surprise! It looks like Ikea or Frog Design had their way with the product line and the TYLT products could easily find a home at the Museum of Modern Art, let alone the Apple Store.

When I first saw an early version of Photo Table, I was instantly reminded of Microsoft's Surface which itself is designed to remind users of how we used to handle photographs, before the digital age.  Here, in Rochester, New York, that was the golden age for the one-time largest local employer, Kodak.  Remember ordering prints from "film" and then opening the envelope and scattering them across a table for viewing?  Now, we see photos instantly and rarely print them.  Even then, if we print them, it's the ones we specifically wanted in hardcopy.

Me and Steve Jobs

By Todd Bernhard

With the passing of my personal hero Steve Jobs, I have to take a moment to reflect upon how I got here and the role Apple and Steve Jobs played in my life.  As Yogi Berra said, when you see a fork in the road, TAKE IT!  There are many twists and turns that led each of us to the path we are on today so indulge me as I reflect on my path.  ONE MORE THING... Sign your organ donor card.  We had a few extra years of Steve Jobs thanks to the selflessness of a 20 year old.

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