How much stuff does one person really need to carry on them at all times? I rarely have cash, so an ID and my debit card are really the only two cards I need. Oh, and then there’s my phone. If you’re able to slim your wallet down to only two or three cards and carry an iPhone 4, then TRTL BOT has the perfect case for you.
The Minimalist 4 is, as the name implies, a very simple case for your iPhone 4. It protects your phone with recycled plastic, and holds up to three credit cards (or other similarly-shaped cards). Really, what more does a person need? For $30, you’ll be able to pick this case up at the end of the month (or pre-order it now). If you’re like me and still have either the 3G or 3GS, you can get a similar Minimalist case for your phone right now for just $25.
I’m not advocating that a company should just go out and blatantly steal another company’s idea, but it happens, so you might as well swipe a good one. For the most part this Kensington PowerGuard is your run-of-the-mill battery pack case with a 1200 mAh lithium polymer battery good for about 4 more hours of talk time, 5 more hours of video playback and up to 22 more hours of music. It’s also got a microUSB charging and sync port which is nice, volume buttons allowing you to press through to the iPhone 4′s own set and an LED battery life indicator.
However, it’s the addition of nothing more than a thin slit on the back of the case that makes it most interesting. All you have to do is jam a credit card (or any sturdy card) in there and bam! you’ve got an instant stand that works in portrait or landscape orientations. The PowerGuard case has an MSRP of $59.99, but hopefully they’ll make a case-only version featuring their brilliant ‘Card Stand’ technology.
Laptops coming out of HP these days are usually pretty impressive. Some of you may remember our earlier HP Envy 15 giveaway. The Pavilion dm4 on special today, with a Core i7 configuration, can be had for as little as $954.99 after a $300 rebate, consisting of a $150 rebate and a $150 stackable coupon on any configuration above $1,199. This particular price would get you a laptop with a Core i7-620M processor, a 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 Switchable Graphics card, 500GB 7200RPM HDD, 14″ BrightView LED LCD, TrueVision webcam, Fingerprint Reader and much more.
For the past 6 years my Nikon D70 has been a phenomenal workhorse of a camera, and while it’s not the greatest low-light performer, I haven’t found a significant reason to upgrade it. Until now. Today Nikon officially unveiled the replacement to their D90 with the D7000 which is targeted at “Photo Enthusiasts” according to their press release. But there’s a lot for even professional photogs to like:
Continuing the tradition of innovative technology that began with the revolutionary D90, the first D-SLR to capture HD movie, the D7000 features a new 16.2-megapixel CMOS sensor with low-light ability never before seen in a DX-format (APS-C) camera. The new EXPEED 2 TM image-processing engine fuels the enhanced performance of the D7000 along with a new 39-point AF system and groundbreaking new 2,016 pixel RGB 3D Matrix Metering System to deliver amazing image quality in a variety of shooting conditions. Additionally, the D7000 D-SLR provides full 1080p HD movie capability with full-time auto focus (AF), enabling users to capture their world with both striking still and moving images.
Like I said my only complaint with my D70 these days is its low-light performance and noise even when boosting the ISO to just 400. But the D7000 boasts a native ISO range of 100-6400 which can be expanded to a “Hi-2″ setting of 25,600. The D90 was quite a champion when it came to low-light photography, and I expect even better results from the D7000. And even though I’m still pretty apathetic towards it at this point, the D7000 also improves on the D90′s video recording capabilities with the ability to capture 20-minute 1080P/24fps clips with full-time autofocus (including face priority and other AF functions) and manual exposure control. If for some reason you prefer the video-like look of 30fps you’ll have to drop down to 720P. Clips are captured as H.264 files which can actually be edited or trimmed in camera, and since video gobbles up a lot of storage, those looking to pick one of these up for their next low-budget feature will appreciate its dual SD card slots.
The D7000 will be available sometime in October with a body-only MSRP of $1199.95, or you can pick one in a kit that includes an AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens for $1499.95.
So it turns out some corporations can play nice with Facebook… The rumors broke last week but today General Motors and OnStar officially revealed that In addition to an updated logo and brand re-launch, the service would be gaining some new functionality with the roll-out of its 9th generation of hardware. One of the new features that will probably be most popular with today’s social media addicted consumer is the ability to record Facebook audio updates through a vehicle’s OnStar system, or have their most recent news feed messages read back to them, all without having to take their eyes off the road. OnStar subscribers will soon be able to hear their SMS or txt messages read back to them as well, with the ability to respond with one of four pre-determined replies.
The 9th generation hardware also facilitates some handy new features like natural voice recognition, a Bluetooth accessible phonebook, advanced traffic and weather data based on your location and the ability to finally remotely reflash computer modules in the vehicle, allowing for over-the-air software updates. That last one is pretty important in my mind since it makes it easier to roll-out new updates and new functionality to consumers without them having to take their vehicle into a dealership. And last but certainly not least was the announcement that the Volt’s slick iPhone/Android app will be made available for pretty much every OnStar-equipped vehicle in GM’s lineup providing a lot more remote functionality than a traditional keyfob.
Convertible laptops aren’t exactly new. The concept has been around for a while, allowing users to change their seemingly ordinary laptop into a tablet. Their execution, however, always frightened me a bit. Namely, the ones I’ve used have all had a single hinge in the middle, at the bottom of the screen. While mostly stable, I always worried that relying on this single hinge would one day lead to it breaking. Apparently the people at Dell didn’t like that design either.
Dell’s latest netbook dubbed the ‘Dell Duo’ has a 10-inch touchscreen that swivels around so that the device can be used as a tablet. The difference is that it has the normal laptop hinges, with what appears to be a set of bars on either side of the screen that allow for swiveling. This looks like a much sturdier approach to the tablet design.
We don’t know much else about the Duo, except that it will use an Intel Atom processor and run Windows 7 Premium (instead of the Starter edition found on most netbooks). More details will likely emerge soon.
If you’re a fan of unusual clocks and leaving your hi-def TV running for hours on end, you might want to look into the Blu-ray version of Maarten Baas’ Real Time exhibition which was shown in Milan earlier this year. According to BLTD, the Blu-ray disc will include 12 hours of what appears to be your standard red segmented LCD display, but turns out to be a cleverly backlit artpiece with someone in the background physically painting and erasing the segments to change the time. As clocks go it looks like it’s horribly inaccurate, but as an art piece I find it oddly fascinating to watch… Will you look at the time!
Either I’m not spending enough time submerged while looking at interesting subject matter, or camera manufacturers have grossly overestimated consumers’ needs for waterproof cameras. The latest comes from Speedo, a name synonymous with water and awkward looking things, which is kind of appropriate given the lime-green finish of their Aquashot digicam.
The 5MP is probably more than enough for anyone not employed by National Geographic, though with no optical zoom you’ll have to do some underwater maneuvering to properly frame your shots. It can record VGA quality video as well, but you’ll want to immediately expand the 32MB of onboard memory via an SD card before you leave dry land. It’s also waterproof to a depth of about 10 feet (3 meters) and should you lose your grip the Aquashot will float to the surface instead of plummeting to the depths of Davy Jones’ locker. Available from Speedo’s online store for ~$180 (€140.00)
The IdeaPad U460 from Lenovo is a nice looking laptop that’s thin and light, measuring only .75-inch at the lowest point. It comes in Core i3 and i5 configurations, has 4GB DDR3 ram, an HM55 chipset, Intel HD Graphics, a Fingerprint Reader, a 500GB Hard Drive and an 8-cell battery. While the cheapest configuration normally sells for $899, Lenovo is currently running a $100 rebate on it; with a $150 stackable coupon from LogicBuy, you can bring the price down to $649, shipped.
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