Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

I tend to have too many things cluttering up my desk, so I’m always on the lookout for gadgets that help free up some space. If you happen to have an iPod dock, USB hub and a memory card reader sitting somewhere near your monitor, it might be time to invest in a Simplifi dock from Griffin Technology.

This handy iPod dock not only looks good, but serves a few different functions. Not only will you be able to sync and charge your iPod (or iPhone), but it will read most major types of memory cards and even give you a couple of spare USB ports. Definitely worth the $70 price tag.

[ Griffin ] VIA [ EverythingUSB ]

By Jonathan Kimak

Artists Aristarkh Chernyshev & Alexei Shulgin have created some fan art for the iPod. Their gigantic wowPod takes an iPod and makes it human sized and warped. Looking at it for a minute makes me think that it may not be the only thing that is warped.

The interesting thing about this piece of art is that the wowPod actually works. Video and music really play from this work of…art.

I’m curious to see how Apple reacts to this. Will Steve Jobs et al. love the wowPod enough to feature it in an ad or buy it and send it to WillItBlend.com.

[ wowPod ] VIA [ Tuaw ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Speaking of watching movies on a portable device, this overly-named ‘EZ-18B’ stand from Bird-Electron for the iPhone & iPod Touch features a 60mm full range speaker so you don’t have to rely on their crappy mono speaker if you’ve opted not to use headphones. The stand’s speaker connects to the iPhone or Touch via a simple stereo mini-plug, and while it’s nice that it doesn’t require its own power source, don’t expect the sound to be particularly loud. The front panel where you rest your device also features a 45 degree angle providing a ‘perfect’ viewing angle, and even comes with a silicon seat to protect your toys from scratching against the metal finish. But even with a built-in speaker, the $79.99 price tag from AudioCubes is a bit ridiculous given the plethora of cheaper and even DIY stands already available.

[ Bird-Electron EZ-18B iPod Touch Speaker Stand ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The recent trend of turning everyone into rockstars and guitar heros in the privacy of their own home continues with this SingStand microphone from Memorex. It basically just lets you sing along with your iPod or any audio device that has a standard headphone jack and can fit in the round dock located directly below the microphone. The base of the SingStand features a set of 4W full-range speakers complete with balance and echo controls to make it feel like you’re singing in your bedroom, or on stage at Madison Square Gardens. It also features dual microphone inputs if you feel like singing a duet, and there’s even a keyboard input for hooking up that Casio that’s been collecting dust in the closet. You can get it from Memorex for $69.99.

[ Memorex SingStand ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Jonathan Kimak

If you have kids or even just younger siblings you have probably had your iPod “misplaced” at one time or another and have magically found it in their room(best case scenario). Now you can protect your iPod from thieves and relatives with Master Lock’s iCage.

The iCage looks and acts a lot like a bike lock. It has a flexible security cable that can wrap around many different objects and a lock box that uses a 3-digit security code. It also comes with shrink wraps that can protect the screen from scratches.

The nano version sells for $14.99 and the iPod Classic version sells for $24.74. All the ports and controls remain accessible while in the iCage, so you can keep it locked and still use it. Of course this also means that someone else could still use your iPod wherever you lock it, they’d just be easier to catch and give a good atomic wedgie to.

[ Master Lock iCage ] VIA [ Slippery Brick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Now here’s a portable DVD player that’s a bit more useful. Instead of being restricted to just playing movies that come on a plastic disc, it also gives you access to all the movies, TV shows and music you might have on your iPod. The 8 1/2 inch widescreen LCD display is a lot easier to watch than the rather compact one the iPod features, and it makes it a lot easier for more than one person to enjoy. The iPod slides into the front of the player and is protected by a clear plastic cover, and I assume it can be then controlled using the DVD player’s included remote since the touch wheel is inaccessible.

On a 5 hour charge the battery pack is good for about 3 hours of DVD playback, or about 4 hours of iPod video playback, and it also charges the iPod while in use. Other features include an AV out port for connecting the player to an external display, dual headphone jacks and support for DVDs, VCDs, CDs and MP3 CDs. You can get it from Hammacher Schlemmer for $269.95.

[ The Portable iPod Video Enlarger And DVD Player ] VIA [ Gear Live ]

By Jonathan Kimak

There are probably more iPod docks in the world than there are iPods. So the fact that there is another dock on the market isn’t surprising. Yet this one looks rather nice. The Xi jukebox was created specifically for housing the iPod in a full scale 1950’s inspired jukebox.

The jukebox contains the traditional numbered buttons, some nice speakers(Mk7 Twin channel amplifier, 150w per channel, 2 x tweeter 2 x mid range and 1 x 12 twin cone bass speaker), an LCD display screen for viewing the videos on your iPod and a remote control.

Each jukebox is hand built to order and also features LED lights throughout that can be changed depending on your preferences.

The price? Close to $11,000.

[ Xi Jukebox ] VIA [ Born Rich ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Fox seems to be on a real ‘limited-edition engraved iPod’ kick these days. First it was The Simpsons themed iPods, and now there’s a collection that will appeal to X-Files fans too. Obviously timed to coincide with the latest film that hit theaters a few weeks ago, you have your choice of a black or silver iPod Classic, or a black or silver iPod Nano. They each feature different laser-etched X-Files artwork on the back, and like The Simpsons iPods, come individually numbered since they are only a limited edition. The designs are OK I guess, but I’m going to hold off for one that features the real stars of the series, the Lone Gunmen.

The X-Files themed 80GB iPod Classic is $329 from the Fox Shop, while the 8GB iPod Nano is $269. And unfortunately the Lone Gunmen

[ Limited Edition X-Files iPods ] VIA [ Chip Chick ]

By Andrew Liszewski

There’s nothing that really makes this particular iPod-compatible jacket stand out, but that’s probably why it caught my eye. The simple styling and color scheme help hide the fact that you’ve secretly got an iPod tucked away in a pocket, which is great if you’re worried about it getting stolen, or are just worried about looking like the type of person who would wear a jacket with an iPod remote on the sleeve. The jacket features a mesh lining, bungy sleeves and hem for wind protection as well as inner cuff hand warmers for those days when it’s cold, but not cold enough to wear gloves. It also features a set of ear phone loops near the collar to keep your earbuds from getting lost in the jacket when you’re not wearing them. It’s currently available from the XARA website for $150.

[ XARA iPlay Jacket ] VIA [ talk2myShirt ]