While it’s convenient that the iPhone and the entire iPod line (minus the old-school firewire versions) can recharge over USB, I’m sure at one time or another we’ve all been in the situation where you connected your device to someone else’s computer to charge it, only to have it try and sync with their copy of iTunes. But the Sync Blocker cable solves that problem with a simple switch that can be set to charging & HotSync, or just charging. It’s just $12.99 from USBFever.com and supports all of the iPhones and iPod Touches, as well as the more recent versions of the iPod Classic and Nano.

[ Sync Blocker USB to Dock connector cable for iPhone / iPod ] VIA [ The Red Ferret Journal ]

By Evan Ackerman

From the Brando’s ‘obviously great idea’ department (which they seem to be paying attention to more and more lately) comes this brilliant (albeit slightly flowery) USB cable with an integrated SD/SDHC card reader. It works just like a normal USB cable, except that plugging an SD card into the slot will terminate the USB connection and your computer will start reading the SD card. Whatever you have plugged into the cable will continue charging, though.

At the moment, the SD reader only only works one way on the cable, but it would be pretty neat if you somehow had the option to read the card from the device you had plugged in, or vice versa. Even so, it’s a steal at $12, considering you could easily pay that much for a USB cable or a card reader.

[ Brando ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

Well here’s something I’ve been eagerly awaiting for a few months now. MonoPrice.com (who doesn’t actually make the cable as far as I know) has revealed that come March 15th they’ll be selling a Mini Display Port to HDMI adapter for the low, low price of just $14.25. Unless you can find 50 or more friends who’d also like one, at which point the price drops to just $12 each. The adapter was originally supposed to be available in January of this year, though it’s pretty obvious that didn’t happen. But it’s better late than never, particularly since it doesn’t seem like Apple will be providing one of their own, and even if they did, the ‘Apple tax’ would put it well above $15.

[ Monoprice - Mini Display Port To HDMI Adapter ] VIA [ Engadget HD ]

Tired of your guitar being laughed at by all the other guitars at rehearsal? Well I guarantee they won’t be laughing once you connect one of these bad-to-the-bone pistol shaped cables. Ok, technically it’s just the jack that’s pistol shaped… Ok, just the jack’s sheathing, but it still shows all those other musicians you’re not taking any crap! The cables feature “99.99% oxygen-free copper conductors and dual-shielded construction with a single end termination for strikingly fuller tone and drastic noise reduction, quality-molded connectors with corrosion-resistant 24K gold-plated tips to preserve signal strength, and flexible symbol-printed jackets” and come in lengths of 12 ft ($24.95) or 20 ft ($27.95) from Core One Creative.

[ Pistol Instrument Cable ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By Luke Anderson

If you’ve ever worked at a retail store, you probably know that the margin on most types of cabling is huge. The store only pays a few bucks for that $15 ethernet cable you picked up (or just about any other kind), which is why they’re always suggesting you get one. If you do a lot of networking, you learn to make your own ethernet cables. This is good for two reasons, you make it the exact length you need and you save a lot of money. Well it seems that the same theory will soon be applied to HDMI cables.

Audioquest has announced a like of HDMI connectors that can be terminated by anyone with the right tools. The 19 wires that make up an HDMI cable might look a little daunting (an ethernet cable only uses 8), but their system works by splitting those into a set of 9 and one of 10. By crimping these separately, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle. They even claim that crimping the wires produces a better signal than with current soldering techniques (take that Monster Cable!). We still don’t know anything about pricing, so it’s entirely possible that this sort of thing will cost more than pre-made cables, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

[ Audioquest ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Evan Ackerman

These corkscrewy cables are Flexicords, which can stretch out to 10 feet from their coiled length of about 1 foot. It’s designed to help keep things neat and tidy by keeping excess cable from lying around all over the place for you to trip over and fall and smash your head open. Flexicords aren’t sproingy; rather, they have “patent-pending Memory Cord™ Technology” that holds the cord in whatever position you bend it into, which opens up all kinds of exciting cordy art project possibilities. To recoil the cord, the Flexicord packaging includes a “simple recoiling tool” which is basically just a tube that you wrap the cable around.

You can get Flexicords in HDMI, S-video, composite, CAT5, and four flavors of 6 foot USB cables. They’ll be for sale in February online for a little bit more than you’d pay for an equivalent non-Flexicord cord.

[ Flexicord ]

By Luke Anderson

I’m nuts about cable management. I’ve spent several years as a network technician, and there’s nothing worse than trying to untangle a mess of cords. Everyone has their various methods for keeping everything nice and neat, though many people just start plugging things in and making sure that it looks good to the average passerby. Of course when it comes time to rearrange things, you’ve got a wonderful ball of cords that requires the assistance of a snake charmer to untangle. Whichever type of person you are, I’m sure that these Flexicords from E-Filliate will appeal to you.

Picture your average cable or cord, then cross that with a pipe cleaner. What you’re left with is a cable that when bent actually keeps its shape. That’s almost exactly what the Flexicords are. They come in a variety of sizes and flavors such as USB, S-Video, HDMI and more. These were just shown off at CES, so we don’t have any additional information on pricing or availability.

VIA [ GearLog ]

By Luke Anderson

In case you weren’t aware, any time that a retail employee tries to get you to upgrade to a “higher-quality” cable  for just about anything, they’re really just trying to rip you off. While there may be the slightest gain in signal quality, rarely is it ever worth it. Having worked at retail stores in the past, I can tell you that cables actually have the highest profit margin of almost anything else in the store, which is why they get pushed so much. Knowing that, you might look at these Free Angle HDMI cables from Panasonic and think that they do offer additional benefits.

Sure, there are some situations where you might need an angled cable, but most HDTVs that I’ve worked with don’t need them, even if they’re being installed directly onto a wall. If you don’t specifically need a cable that can adjust its angle, don’t waste your cash. You’ll be paying $60 for a 3-foot cable or $80 for a 6-footer.

[ Panasonic ] VIA [ Crave ]

Sometimes even the smallest of innovations can make a big difference. Panasonic, a company that doesn’t normally come to mind when you think of cable makers, has quite literally developed a new twist on the HDMI cable. While current HDMI cables can require up to 9cm (3.54 inches) of space behind a flatscreen TV depending on where the connections are located, the new Panasonic Free Angle HDMI cable features a connector that can be swiveled 180 degrees, requiring only about 3cm (1.18 inches) of space. It doesn’t make a big difference if your flatscreen is sitting on a TV stand, but if you wanted to mount it on the wall, I imagine these would be extremely convenient. The cables should be available this August in either 1.5 meter (4.92 feet) or 3 meter (9.84 feet) lengths.

[ Pocket-lint - Panasonic launches "free-angle" HDMI ]

By Luke Anderson

I spent several years working as a network admin, and can vouch for the fact that having a bad cable can significantly degrade your performance. Of course, since most ethernet cable is the same, it’s really hard to find a crappy cable, unless it has been severely abused. So what, you might wonder, is the point of dropping some extra cash on a premium cable which promises better performance?

The short answer is that there really is no good reason. The long answer is the same, only with more words. Denon is selling Ultra Premium Link Cables which are supposedly crafted from “high-purity” copper, which is supposed to increase performance. Honestly, when it comes to Cat5 (or Cat6) cable, copper is copper. You’re not going to get any better performance because they have “better copper”.

The only thing that I see here that might make this stuff worth more than it’s run-of-the-mill competition is the fact that it is insulated. There are certain factors that lead to interference if your cable isn’t insulated. Of course since most of those factors include draping your cable over an air conditioner, or other device which consumes a lot of power, it’s really a moot issue.

So just how much does this extra-special networking cable run? Just $500 for a 1.5 meter cable. Seems like a steal to me.

[ Denon ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]