The Gadgets Page

• @arghgame There is a bug with the game. My photos of captured ghosts always look like this. http://twitpic.com/1bod3p #

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At CES 2010, Konnet showed off their Shine iPhone Cases. I loved these cases because they are so very shiny.

Each case comes with a matching shiny screen protector.

The screen was so shiny that I could check out my hair and makeup in its reflection, so I was pretty worried that it would interfere with the screen, but when the iPhone was turned on, the screen showed through sharp and clear.

The case itself is slightly translucent.

If you’re looking for an iPhone case that will really get noticed, the Shine Metal case from Konnet is a real attention-getter.

The news in the air is that Palm is dead. They created the Palm Pilot and STARTED the palm computing revolution a decade ago, but what are they doing lately? With their stock plummeting, there are people out there saying that Palm is dead. Even Joy of Tech commented on it:

• The Joy of Tech comic… Desert Palm.

Considering that Palm was at CES for only one day, didn’t have a booth on the convention floor and only a suite at the Venetian, I’m not surprised by the lackluster earnings. They MUST have known that they were hurting for funds and that’s why they skimped on CES this year.

Here are Kevin Rose’s thoughts on this subject:

Palm IS dead, but they have been dead for a LONG time. It just took the tech world nearly three years to NOTICE their decaying corpse. I knew they were dead when I wrote this entry about putting video on the Treo.

• Gadgets Page » How To Put Your DVD on Your iPod or Treo

It took me a LONG time to just figure out how to convert a movie file and put it on my Treo. If you look at my face in that video, you can just SEE the frustration and exhaustion from dealing with this issue. Instead of an easy way that just worked, I had to jump through hoops, search for software and even write a whole tutorial so I would remember how to do it again.

When Apple released the iPhone and I was able to just download a movie and immediately put it on my phone, I heard the death rattle of Palm from across the country. I imagined all those years of being betrayed by Palm. They made machines that had the capability of playing music and video, but made it so convoluted, complicated and inconvenient that I was never able to get it to work consistently.

That was in JULY of 2007! Palm died a long time ago, folks. It just took you guys three years to notice the smell.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Swatch Watches. I’ve written about them many times (even when I’m not writing about watches):

• Gadgets Page – Search Results – Swatch

I originally fell in love with Swatch during the Eighties, so you can imagine my delight when the newest collection for Spring 2010 harkens back to those days. Here’s a commercial showing them off.

The models in this commercial look a lot like an old Benneton advert. The photo to the right was the closest I could find in my old advertisement collections. I didn’t realize how much I missed that sort of experimentation and daring with makeup and color until I saw it again in these Swatch ads. After years of bland neutrals, these exciting colors are enough to make me want to experiment with makeup again!

I heard about these Swatches back in February and I immediately wanted them:

• I am SO excited about the new Swatch Colour Codes Collection! When can I buy them?! DO WANT!! http://tinyurl.com/ybpdhas #

I had to wait a full month before I was able to get my butt to Vegas and buy as many as I had saved up money for. Here are some photos after the break: (Continue Reading…)

• How to print booklets with a Mac. http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-to-create-physical-booklets-with-a-mac/ #

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My iPad is pre-ordered and I’m eagerly awaiting its arrival. So much so that I created a papercraft iPad to test my Konnet iCrado dock. It looks like my new gadget will work with the iCrado perfectly! I’m so glad that the high back will be enough support for my iPad.

The nice people at Konnet gave me an iCrado while we were at CES this year to test and review. I have been using it for the last three months and I have to honestly say that it’s my favorite iPhone/iPod/iPad dock I have ever used.

It comes in a wide variety of colors and they had them all on display at CES. Because there are so many colors to choose from I literally locked up and couldn’t choose on my own, so they chose a yellow one for me.

What I like best about the iCrado is the way it connects to the computer. Instead of including the highly changeable and proprietary Apple Dock Connector, it has an open space to insert your own. I REALLY like this feature because if Apple suddenly decides to change how their gadgets accept dock connectors (like they did with the iPhone 3GS), then I can just change out the cord.

One note on choosing cords to use with the iCrado. Make sure you use a cord that doesn’t “lock” in place. You know, the kind where you have to press the sides to release the phone. Since the cord is housed in the iCrado, you won’t be able to press those buttons, so make sure you use a connector that doesn’t lock (like the one pictured above).

I have thoroughly enjoyed the iCrado for the last three months and I’m eagerly awaiting my chance to sync my iPad with it.

Update 04-03-10:

We just received our iPad and are so pleased with how it works with the iCrado. Since the official iPad dock isn’t available yet, the iCrado is the best dock out there. Here are a couple pictures.

• Super sick. I might be out of commission for a while. #

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As useless as Teledynamics was for the normal consumer, they had the foresight to show off these beautiful steampunk phones from Paramount Collections.

This is the Paramount Collections 1892 Eiffel Tower Reproduction Phone

This is the Paramount Collections American Eagle 1911S Reproduction Phone.

If you are looking for an interesting land line phone, Paramount Collections has an entire line of them:

• Paramount Collections Biscuit Barrel 1893 Reproduction Phone Black at Amazon.com
• Paramount Collections Antique Wall 1903 Reproduction Phone at Amazon.com
• Paramount Collections Roman Column 1897 Reproduction Phone at Amazon.com
• Paramount Collections Viscount 1920 Reproduction Phone at Amazon.com
• Paramount Collections Classic Christie 1921A Decorator Phone Black at Amazon.com

I wish I still had a land line just so I could have one of these gorgeous steampunk phones in my home.

I have NO IDEA what Motorola exhibited at CES this year. Seriously. I don’t know what iPhone knockoff they were showing to the amazement of others. When we walked into the Motorola booth, I noticed only ONE thing. Their booth display had large expanses of REAL grass.

To me, it was an amazing feat for them to have live plants in their booths, just for atmosphere. I reached down and let my fingers indulge in the soft and cool of it. I called out to the other Gadgets Page writers to come look at the grass, but they looked at me like I was insane. They urged me to come along.

I expected every person walking by it to reach down and touch it like I did. I filmed a minute of convention goers walking past the grass displays.

For every one person who reached down and enjoyed the touch of the plants, there were ten who didn’t even notice. We live in a world of wonders and we walk right past them on the way to the next Motorola cell phone.

If you would like to see what Motorola exhibited at CES this year, Engadget didn’t get distracted by the grass either.

• Live from Motorola’s CES 2010 press event — Engadget

• Motorola Backflip hands-on — Engadget

Back when the Apple Newton came out, my friend, Chuck, tried on every leather jacket in Burlington Coat Factory until he found the one with an inner pocket big enough to hold the Newton. It was a memory that has stayed with me for over fifteen years.

If you are planning on carrying your Apple iPad with you wherever you go, you won’t have to try on every coat in the store like Chuck did so long ago. All you need is the SCOTTEVEST.

At $100, they cost almost as much as Chuck’s leather jacket, but with 22 pockets, an earbud conduit system and a pocket especially for your iPad, it’s hard to argue with their usability.

I love that you can wear the vest to the airport, take it off for security and just put it back on when you’re done with your cavity probe. It makes the idea of disrobing for security a little less arduous.

They also make the SCOTTEVEST for women. Suddenly, the idea of a purse seems so old fashioned when I could carry everything I need in my jacket. The only problem I can see with that is the 100 degree weather we get in the summer.

Back in the early Nineties, we thought Chuck was crazy to choose his coat based on whether or not it could hold his Apple Newton. Now, the tables have turned and I’m suddenly feeling like Chuck did so long ago. “Does it have a pocket for my iPad?” is now a valid question when choosing a coat, jacket and purse. Clothing and accessory manufacturers, take note!