Oh! Gizmo

By Chris Scott Barr

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen opened last night, and in celebration of the movie PDP has released a pair of Nintendo DS Lite cases. The “armor” transforms your DS into either Bumblebee or Megatron, and has a matching stylus. Unfortunately the transformation is purely cosmetic, so your handheld isn’t actually going to do any special tricks. Although from the looks of it, the Megatron stylus could double as a weapon for self-defense if anyone tries to get their grubby paws on your stuff. You can pick up each case/stylus combo for $20, or a single case or stylus for $13.

[  PDP ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When you take your laptop out of its sleeve or case, what do you do with said holder? I generally set it down next to me and ignore it until I either need something out of it, or am ready to put my laptop away again. Well one company is trying to make their laptop sleeves a little more useful while you’re on your computer.

The Artmu laptop sleeves unzips into a flat surface. You set your laptop on one side, while the other can be used as a mouse pad. Granted, in most cases you don’t really need a mouse pad, but on the occasion that you’re working on a reflective surface it will really come in handy. The sleeves come in a variety of sizes and colors, starting at around $15.

[ Artmu ] VIA [ Aving ]

By Andrew Liszewski

After using an iPhone for a couple of years now, I only yesterday realized how poor the camera’s macro capabilities were. Now obviously it’s not something I use on a regular basis, but the ability to snap usable photos of text from magazine articles or even business cards can definitely come in handy. So the options for iPhone 2G or 3G users are to either upgrade to the new 3GS, which could be rather expensive depending on your current contract, or just grab this Clarifi case from Griffin Technology for just $30.99 (currently on sale).

Not only will the durable polycarbonate case protect your phone, but it also features a sliding macro lens on the back which improves the iPhone camera’s focus distance from about 18 inches down to 4 inches, allowing you to finally take half-decent close-up shots.

[ Griffin Technology Clarifi Case ] VIA [ Cool Hunting ]

By Andrew Liszewski

CES is a veritable playground of every type of electronic device you can think of, but one of the things that really caught my eye at this year’s show was a line of laptop bags and gear cases of all things. Now if you’re the type who just crams all of their toys in a bag and couldn’t care less about what happens to them, there’s a good chance you’ll have no interest in this post. But if you’re like me and need to be assured your stuff isn’t going to get dinged or scratched up in transport, you might want to take a few seconds and check out my hands-on look at the Cocoon laptop bag.

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This post is syndicated with permission from GamerFront.net

For 10 to 12 hours a day during the week I work in a small office with wooden floors and a low ceiling and every noise is amplified, not the least of which being my pc with it’s 6 fans (not including the fan on my graphics card which beats them all). It’s not until a power outage, or re-arranging the office when everything is shut off do you realize just how much racket a PC can make and that it’s time for a change. Enter NZXT’s WHISPER Classic Series chassis, engineered from top to bottom to provide a quieter computing experience.

Assembling an ultimate gaming rig or digital audio workstation based on the WHISPER chassis is an enjoyable task thanks to its smart layout and a pre-drilled wire management system that makes routing cables a snap. One thing to keep in mind when putting a system together is the length of the cables coming from the power supply and the positioning of the power connections on the motherboard, some motherboards have their power connections placed towards the top which can for an impossible reach for some power supplies.

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By Evan Ackerman

As loyal readers who care about my safety, sanity, and well being might remember, my laptop was stolen about a month ago. Yeah, that sucked. It’s been replaced (I’m writing this review on it, can’t you tell?) but I needed to get myself a new case for it, so I thought I’d try out a new case/tote from Uniea called the Omniverse. I’ve got a review for you, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

By Andrew Liszewski

Try as they might, I’m just not convinced that my iPhone is ever going to replace my DS as my portable gaming device of choice. But given a good chunk of those billion apps sold through the App Store were games, I have to assume that there are plenty of people using the iPhone or iPod Touch for that purpose. And it’s those people that the Jam Jacket Game will appeal to.

It’s basically another case designed to make gaming with the iPod Touch a bit easier, but unlike the ridiculous GameGrip from last week, the Jam Jacket Game features a set of considerably more subtle ‘handles’ on the back providing a better grip on your device. At $19 it’s a cheap way to protect your Touch (it’s actually not iPhone-friendly) and it even comes bundled with a clear adhesive screen protector.

[ DLO Jam Jacket Game ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The term ‘wooden iPhone case’ doesn’t conjure up an image of the sleekest, sveltest way to protect my device, but somehow Etsy seller Substrata has managed to create just that. Their series of handmade wooden cases for the 3G are shaped and sanded to compliment the iPhone’s curves, and the inside is contoured to hold the phone snugly. Just keep in mind that while your phone is being protected, you won’t have access to any of the buttons.

It looks like there are three versions of the case to choose from, depending on your wood grain preference, and given they’re handmade, the $84.99 price tag is not that surprising.

[ Wood iPhone Case - Custom handmade box for iPhone 3G ] VIA [ 7Gadgets ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While wandering the floors of a trade show like CES, the only thing more important than having a bag for stashing press kits and other assorted crap is finding a comfortable place to sit while writing. Unfortunately for me that turned out to be the floor 90% of the time, but not next year! Thanks to Hammacher Schlemmer ($129.95) I’ll always have a place to sit, and shout directions, with this Messenger Bag Director’s Chair.

The chair folds down to less than 4-inches thick and while the whole package weighs about 9lbs it can actually support weights up to 250lbs, which equates to about half of the brochures I had stuffed in my suitcase when I left Vegas. As an added bonus there’s a cup holder on one of the armrests for holding your perpetually empty water bottle, and various pockets for storing other gear.

[ Messenger Bag Director's Chair ] VIA [ The Design Blog ]