By Andrew Liszewski

The iPhone’s greatest strength is not what it’s capable of, but the unique ways app and accessory makers have found to use those capabilities. And if you’re a guitar player, the AmpliTube iRig is the perfect example of that. It’s a combination of a $39.99 interface adapter that lets you plug your guitar, or really any line level signal source, into the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, and the AmpliTube application with virtual effects including 5 amps (clean, crunch, lead, metal, bass), 10 stompbox effects (delay, flanger, phaser, overdrive, distortion, filter, wah, fuzz, octaver, chorus), 5 cabinets and 2 microphones (dynamic and condenser).

The adapter cable includes an output for connecting a pair of headphones, an amplifier or a set of powered speakers for live performances, and while the full & unlimited version of the AmpliTube software is $19.99, there’s also a $2.99 LE version and a free version which can be expanded with additional stompbox modules via in-app purchases.

[ AmpliTube iRig ] VIA [ Gearlog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m sure we’ve all seen the plethora of accessories made from stripped circuit boards, including everything from Christmas tree ornaments to clipboards, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone attempt to make a pen from one, and I can understand why. You see companies like Montblanc, and even BIC, spend a lot of time perfecting the ergonomics of their writing instruments so they feel comfortable in your hand.

But I’m afraid ‘comfort’ isn’t the first term that pops to mind when I look at this pen entombed in a circuit board coffin. Sure it’s interesting to look at, made from recycled materials and will never roll off your desk, but those things won’t make it comfortable to use for anything longer than signing your name. $4.99 from Perpetual Kid.

[ Recycled Motherboard Pen ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The WikiReader provides an easy way to bring an offline copy of Wikipedia with you, wherever you go. But the $99 price tag, and the fact that you have to read off of a relatively low-res LCD display won’t appeal to everyone, particularly printed book lovers. So a website called PediaPress, Wikipedia’s official print-on-demand partner, lets you create an actual book from Wikipedia content, delivered right to your door.

The creation process looks extremely easy too. On the left-hand side of the Wikipedia website you’ll find a ‘Create a book’ option in the ‘print/export’ section. Once activated an extra toolbar will appear at the top of every Wikipedia page allowing you to add pages, articles and entire sections from the site to your book. And when complete, you even have the ability to re-order the content and organize it into chapters before sending it off to the PediaPress website. The softcover, 8.5″ x 5.5″ books start at $8.90 for 100 pages, but the price will obviously increase as the page count does, and hardcover options are apparently coming soon.

[ PediaPress ] VIA [ GeekSugar ]

By Chris Scott Barr

One of the reasons I enjoy PC gaming is that you have a lot more choices when it comes to your peripherals. I can pick my keyboard and mouse, or even choose to use a controller for input. If I want to use a headset, I have hundreds on the market to choose from. Unfortunately that’s not the case with console gaming. If I want to chat with my friends on Xbox Live, I’m stuck either using the dinky headset that came with the console, or finding one of the special headsets that is on the market. I’m always on the lookout for new ones, and Rude Gameware has a rather interesting offering.

The new Primal Wireless Xbox 360 headset is one of the very few wireless options that you’ll find. It uses an infrared wireless transmitter to deliver sound up to 25-feet away. The biggest hurdle is always getting the sound from the 360 to your ears. Since most people connect their 360 via an HDMI connection, there is little room to connect your headset between the console and the TV. The Primal Wireless headset gets around this by using the audio output connection from your TV. The mic connects directly to your controller.

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By Andrew Liszewski

As I understand it, a Brita pitcher isn’t the most thorough water purification system you can buy, but the low price point and ease of use has made it quite popular. So while the Restore Clean Water System does appear to improve on the Brita’s design with the addition of a UV light that removes 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses and 99.95% of microbial cysts, the downside is that you have to plug it in for the light to do its thing.

The last time I checked, the inside of my fridge was devoid of any power outlets, so once you fill the Restore pitcher, which also has a carbon filter like the Brita, you’re going to have to leave it plugged in on your counter for the second step of the purification process. You can’t just fill it up and stick it in the fridge for the water to get cold. Now if the extra step with the UV light works as claimed the hassle could be worth it in the long run, but there’s the other issue of the Restore’s $99 price tag which is considerably more than even the most expensive Brita.

[ Restore Clean Water System ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By David Ponce

Well folks, after two posts and hundreds of entries, the Random Number Generator God swooped down and selected one John McArthur from Carrollton, Georgia as the winner of our giveaway. It was a fun machine to review and we were happy to be able to give one away, though as always, we feel a little bad that for every winner there are hundreds more people disappointed. Fortunately, we’re pushing to bring you more and more of these, so just… keep reading!

Incidentally, John… how do you like it? Let us know in the comments!

By David Ponce

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Moviestorm. All opinions are 100% mine.

Moviestorm is in the business of helping you make 3D movies, relatively easily, at home. It’s an interesting concept. They provide you with software that runs on your home computer, but isn’t resource intensive; it’ll run on PCs with a 1.5Ghz processor, Windows (XP, Vista & Windows 7), any old 3D video card and as little as 1GB of RAM. The videos it produces won’t be competing with Pixar anytime soon, nor does the company try to position their product as such. No, this isn’t some professional grade stuff, but it is rather full featured. And it is surprising just how versatile it can be.

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By Andrew Liszewski

I’m going to wager that a vast majority of the people reading this will never own a Rolls-Royce Ghost, whether it’s due to the price, practicality, or the fact that you’ve already spent your untold millions on a Veyron or similarly-priced supercar. But the handful of you that might be considering one will be able to confidently walk into a Rolls-Royce dealership knowing exactly what you want to order thanks to their official Ghost app available for the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPad.

The app lets you configure a Ghost on the inside and out, including exterior color and wheel styles, interior colors and finishes like upholstery and wood veneers and other optional equipment like visible exhaust tips. You know, the kind of stuff you don’t want to have to stress over once you’re placing your order. Unfortunately while the app is free, meaning anyone can live out their Ghost fantasies, it’s over 40Mb in size thanks to included videos and other Rolls-Royce propaganda, which means you’ll have to connect to a Wi-fi network to download it.

[ iTunes App Store - Rolls-Royce Ghost ] VIA [ Autoweek ]

By Andrew Liszewski

3D isn’t something to be afraid of, it’s just another tool for story tellers that happens to be stumbling through its infancy right now. But the prices for 3D TVs? Well yes, that’s definitely a source of nightmares. But Viewsonic has a provided a relatively affordable way to sample the 3D waters with their PJD6531w projector.

As projectors go, it’s definitely not at the top of the heap when it comes to specs, with a 3000 lumens brightness rating, 3200:1 contrast ratio and limited 720P ‘HD’ resolution. But it is capable of projecting that at 120Hz which is necessary for viewing 3D content, and it includes all of the necessary video hookups you’ll need including HDMI 1.3. And when you factor in that online stores like TigerDirect are currently selling it for just $699, it’s not a bad investment should this whole 3D trend disappear yet again.

[ Viewsonic PJD6531w ] VIA [ Electricpig ]