Oh! Gizmo

By David Ponce

Well, you know, it’s not like everyone is running out of cash. Right? So there very may well be some of you out there interested in these handmade iPhone cases from a company called Sofbank.

The lacquer cases feature five different designs that pay aesthetic homage to the days of samurais and shoguns and come with elegant presentation cases with details regarding the crafting of the cases.

Yeah, and they also cost 99,800 yen or about $1,057. Pretty much everything from the links below is in Japanese, the kind that Google can’t handle since it’s an image, so maybe you can help out with details. Like, whether they’re available now, or whether they’ll even ship outside Japan.

In any case, hit the jump for another picture and links.

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By Andrew Liszewski

It’s still listed as ‘Coming soon’ on the Belkin website so there’s no pricing info just yet, but if you’re tired of holding your iPhone during a 2-hour movie, the BodyGuard Cinema polycarbonate case features a kickstand allowing you to prop it up on any flat surface for comfortable hands-free viewing. And when it is available you’ll have your choice of a Black/Silver or Caviar/Silver finish.

[ Belkin BodyGuard Cinema ] VIA [ GadgetGrid ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Oh the mighty cassette tape, how do you continue to be relevant in this digital age? Back in the 90’s I had a decent little collection of cassettes, most of which were mixes recorded either from other people’s tapes or off the radio. For those too young to have done it, trying to record songs off the radio was a huge pain, and usually resulted in the first few seconds of the songs getting cut off. Thankfully we don’t have to mess with such things these days thanks to our iPods and such. If you’re still partial to the retro look of an old cassette tape, why not stuff your iPod into one and use it as a protective case?

While that might seem like too much effort than it’s worth, the people at Contexture Design have already done it for you. They’ve taken a bunch of old cassettes and gutted, routered and otherwise rebuilt them to house your 4th generation iPod nano. It looks as though you’ll still be able to access all of the controls, just like any other good case. One of these is going to set you back around $40, so unless you really miss the 80’s/90’s, this is probably more expensive than it’s worth.

[ Contexture ] VIA [ BoingBoing ]

By Chris Scott Barr

I’m a gamer that plays on all of the current-gen consoles. However, I’m still more partial to my PC for most games. Unfortunately it’s the most expensive to keep up with, since I’m usually purchasing some sort of upgrade every few months. Of course that makes it all the more fun to show off. That’s why I usually have a really nice case with a clear side and maybe a light or two to showcase my components. That’s just something you don’t really see with consoles. There are a few cases on the market, but none that I’ve ever really thought would be worth the purchase. However, the new XCM Black Light Chameleon Case looks pretty tempting.

This new case replaces the current one housing your Xbox 360. Yes, that means you’ll actually have to remove it, but they claim that the entire process only takes about 10-15 minutes. In the end you’ll have a completely black case with a nice clear window. A set of LED lights can be configured to shine in one of 7 different colors, or to cycle through them. You’ll also get an illuminated fan shroud replacement. This $90 case is only going to work on HDMI-equipped 360’s, so you’ll need to keep that in mind. The price is a bit salty, but if you really want your favorite console to stand out, this is certain to do just that.

[ XCM ] VIA [ Technabob ]

By Chris Scott Barr

When I’m building a new system, be it for myself of someone else, I consider each component very carefully. The ultimate goal is to select parts that will provide the best performance for the buck. When it comes to the case, you want something that can accommodate all of your components (with some room for future upgrades), keep them cool, look good and still be within budget. The new M59 mid tower from NZXT looks as though it should fit each of those criteria.

The feature list for this case looks a lot like some of the other NZXT offerings, which have impressed us in the past. You’ve got 5 fans for airflow, including optional side and top-mounted 120mm fans. Like most of NZXT’s cases, you’ll find pre-drilled holes for mounting a liquid cooling solution.  The mesh front and overall look are probably enough to sell the case to most people, but there are two features that I’d like to point out, that should really make you think long and hard about upgrading your case.

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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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