By Chris Scott Barr

I’ve become rather fond of my iPad, for a number of reasons. Not only is it great for reading books and surfing the net, but I like to doodle on it. It’s hardly a replacement for a Wacom tablet, but with a stylus you can make some decent pictures. Unfortunately unless I’m carrying it around in a bag, I don’t generally keep the stylus with me, which is disappointing when I get the urge to draw. Thankfully Ten One Design (makers of the Pogo Sketch Stylus I use) have released an iPad case with a stylus holder.

The new Particle case should do a great job of keeping the most easily-damaged areas safe from harm. Unlike most others, it actually leaves much of the back open, to reduce heat during long-term use. The case has raised feet on the back, so the exposed parts aren’t resting on whatever surface you may set it on. The side features a clip where you can store your Pogo Sketch, which is included (a $15 value). For $35, I’d say it’s not a bad deal for those who like to draw on the go.

[ Ten One Design ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While earbuds are a slightly more inconspicuous way to enjoy your music over a pair of headphones, particularly when you’re out and about, a lot of people have problems actually keeping them in their ears. So instead of burrowing a rubber cushion deep into the ear canal to act as an anchor, these Medis earbuds from UrbanEars use something called the ‘earclick’ solution which secures itself using two separate pressure points in the ear. (The cartilaginous antitragus just above the earlobe and the inferior crux located near the upper part of the ear. Thanks to Charlie over at Wired for looking that up.) And since no two ears are alike, I’m assuming, the Medis come with four variable sized swappable pads to ensure a snug fit for anyone.

As for tech specs, the earbuds boast a fairly large 15.4mm driver which should provide robust sound even though they sit just outside the ear canal and don’t channel the sound to your eardrums, a fabric cord which is less prone to tangles, an inline remote/microphone and various 3.5mm stereo plug adapters allowing them to be used with pretty much any smartphone or media player on the market. Most surprisingly though is that they retail for just $50, and if black isn’t your favorite absence of color, there are 11 other particularly bright hues to choose from.

[ UrbanEars Medis ] VIA [ Wired Gadget Lab ]

By Andrew Liszewski

One glance at the iSnapMe and you can instantly figure out the innovative technology that lets you easily snap a picture of yourself with the current crop of front-facing-cameraless iPhones. In essence it shrinks the bathroom mirror that so many people rely on for self-shots, to a small rear-facing mirror (a couple of them actually to bounce your image around to the back of the phone) that attaches to the back of your iPhone with a set of suction cups. It should in theory work with any cellphone with a smooth enough backing for the suction cups to do their thing, and is available from the iSnapMe.com website for just $19.95.

[ iSnapMe ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Lasers, is there anything they can’t improve? Regular tag? Boring. Laser tag? Amazing! Regular pointers? Dull and ignorable. Laser pointers? Captivating! And it turns out that lasers can work their magic when it comes to pico projectors too. Last year I reviewed AAXA Technologies’ P1 Pico Projector, and the biggest gripe I had with it, and with every pico projector I’ve played with since then, was the fact that you had to constantly refocus the image whenever the projector was moved. And given they’re designed to be handheld most of the time, they move a lot.

Since the light from an LED tends to diffuse quickly, the image from an LED-based pico projector constantly needs to be refocused as you change its throw distance. But since the light from a laser has a high coherency and manages to stay very focused over long distances, the image from a laser-based pico projector never needs refocusing. In a nutshell it’s a clever solution to the issue I raised in my previous review. Now granted the technology isn’t perfect just yet, but as far as I’m concerned the new L1 from AAXA Technologies is now the pico projector to beat. And if you want to know why, you can find my full review after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Chris Scott Barr

Running cable is a pain, regardless of what it’s for. Be it networking cable, wires for your TV, or anything else, it always gets tangled up and looks unsightly. Sure, you can try to run it through your walls, or install some sort of cable management system that hides it, but these aren’t always viable options. One company thinks they have the perfect solution, called Wiretape.

These Wiretape cables are super-thin (sadly we don’t have exact measurements) strips that are essentially flattened-out versions of your regular cables. They are so thin, in fact, that you can hide them away simply by affixing them to a wall and painting over them. This also makes them great for hiding under carpets and such. The cables are supposed to be rather durable as well, as they are touted to withstand extreme temperatures and can be folded numerous times. We should see these available in USB, HDMI, Cat5, VGA and other flavors sometime in September.

[ Wiretape ] VIA [ GearLog ]

By Andrew Liszewski

No one wants to be the stereotypical tourist when traveling, fumbling through phrasebooks in an attempt to find the right thing to say so you can find your way around. So here’s a rather simple and elegant solution to the language barrier, created by Art Lebedev, who’s ironically best known for thoroughly over-engineering the computer keyboard. All you have to do is get a local’s attention, point at what you’re looking for and then point to the question mark. (A confused shrug should work too.) It’s probably a good idea not to wear something over the tee though, as grabbing a stranger’s attention and then proceeding to undress in front of them may not be a graciously accepted custom the world over. Get it from Art Lebedev’s online store for ~$20.

[ Traveler’s Phrasebook T-Shirt ] VIA [ bookofjoe ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Nintendo’s E3 presentation wrapped up a short while ago, and thanks to the chaps at Kotaku, here’s one of the first photos of what the latest generation of the DS actually looks like. It’s not that far off from the description that was leaked over the weekend, with a wider 3D-capable top screen and the standard touch screen on the bottom. But new additions include an analog ‘slide pad’ that’s hopefully a marked improvement over what the PSP had, a slider on the side of the screen for adjusting the depth effect, and a pair of cameras on the outside for snapping photos in 3D.

On the inside it’s got built-in motion and gyro sensors, an always on wifi system for downloading game content from the internet or from other 3DS’s even if you’re not playing a specific title, and improved graphics, though not drastically given the demo they showed of a new Kid Icarus game that will be available when the system launches. And speaking of games, Nintendo also went through a quick list of titles in development for the 3DS and there’s some exciting stuff in there including DJ Hero 3D, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Saints Row, Dead or Alive 3D, Ninja Gaiden, Street Fighter IV, Riiiiiiiiidge Racer and most surprisingly, a Metal Gear Solid title.

Now even Nintendo admitted that showing off the 3D effect was impossible via a 2D video, so after their presentation they flooded the theater with 3DS units running timed demos. And Gizmodo’s Mark Wilson posted one of the first hands-on with the system and had this to say about the 3D effect.

In our 2-minute demo, we weren’t able to actually play anything. Instead, Nintendo had the demo units (tethered to models) running through a loop of 3D spinning images of famous characters like Mario and Yoshi. Head-on, the new screen is bright, colorful and, yes, 3D. You look a bit more into the screen than the images jump out, like a window—an effect that’s surprisingly natural, actually—until you view the screen from the side. Anywhere but head-on, the 3D effect fails completely and the colors wash out a bit.
…
I’ll hand it to Nintendo, they seem to have made 3D extremely intuitive. In our admittedly brief hands-on, we were impressed but not necessarily floored by the tech alone. Until developers really exploit the new technology, the experience is akin to the average decently made 3D movie: Neat, but not necessarily integral to the experience. Nintendo still needs an Avatar to really sell the idea.

There was unfortunately no announcement on when the 3DS will hit stores, but given the hundreds of demo units that were paraded out after the presentation it’s safe to assume they’ve already gone into production.

Update: Just got a press release from Nintendo in the mail and it includes mentions of a few other titles being demo’d for the 3DS at E3 this week including PilotWings Resort: “a flying simulation that lets players soar above Wuhu Island.” I was a big fan of the original PilotWings for the SNES, and it looks like Nintendo’s already got an impressive lineup of titles en route.

[ Kotaku - Your First Look At The Nintendo 3DS & Gizmodo - First Hands On: Nintendo 3DS ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There are many benefits to biking instead of driving a car or even taking public transit, but just because it’s a fairly low-tech mode of transportation doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy your electronic amenities. The BioLogic ReeCharge from Dahon is another dynamo powered charging solution for bikes that features a 1600 mAh lithium polymer battery and a single USB port allowing you to charge your cellphone or even power a GPS device.

The electronics that buffer the “incoming and outgoing current so it’s safe for all electrical devices” and the battery are all housed in a splash-proof silicon case so you don’t need to disconnect it when you get caught in the rain (your other electronics are another story) and for reference it’s able to fully charge the iPhone in about 3 hours. The BioLogic ReeCharge should be available next month for $99, but you’ll already need to have a dynamo system installed on your bike since that’s not included in the price.

[ Dahon BioLogic ReeCharge ] VIA [ Bike Hugger ]

By Andrew Liszewski

One of the easiest way to conserve energy at home is to simply shut the lights off when you leave a room, but it’s easy to forget. So I like to compare this wireless occupancy sensor from Lutron to my dad, who spent most of my childhood roaming the house, turning off lights and lamenting about last month’s power bill. Thankfully the Radio Powr Savr (which also conserves the letter ‘e’ it seems) doesn’t come with a sermon about electricity costs, and will quietly turn on or switch off the lights whenever someone enters or leaves a room.

Since it connects to Lutron’s dimmer switches wirelessly using radio waves, installing the sensors doesn’t require any wiring whatsoever, not even power since the unit’s batteries are rated for 10 years before needing to be swapped out. It even has a test mode that will illuminate the unit when it detects that someone has entered a room, so you can easily find the optimal location to mount it. Of course all those savings do come with a one-time investment of $130, but over time it should pay for itself in theory.

[ Lutron Radio Powr Savr Wireless Occupancy/Vacancy Sensor ] VIA [ Apartment Therapy Re-Nest ]