Articles by Judie Lipsett Stanford

iPhone 4 Wooden Case Roundup: Miniot iWood vs Species Case vs Root Case

There’s something to be said about wrapping your electronics in a wooden case; not only does wood give devices composed of metal and plastic a warmer feel, wood’s organic nature also ensures that your case’s pattern will be one of a kind – even if it is one of many similarly styled cases sold. One of my absolute favorite iPhone 3GS cases was the Miniot iWood Cobra, a case I paid € 130 (~$170) for and waited over 4 weeks to receive. When I moved from the 3GS to the iPhone 4, it pained me to know that my favorite…


Your Favorite Geek May Be a “Geeks of the Week” Trading Card

Oh, this is so totally cool! Think Geek is now offering the first of 52 “Geek of the Week” trading cards! The cards are broken into sets of eight — I guess because doing sets of seven didn’t look symmetrical enough(?), but anyway! Seriously! How can you resist Veronica Belmont dressed as a warrior princess? In 2010, illustrator Len Peralta set upon a challenge: interview 52 members of the geek-elite, and use that newfound familiarity to create likenesses of them. Each geek would be depicted in iconic representations that best reflected their style and personality. His medium of choice: trading…


Mobile Fun’s TypeTop Swivel Mini Bluetooth Keyboard for iPhone 4 Case Creates the Smallest Mobile Office

With so many keyboard cases being introduced in the past few months for the iPad, people who were using their iPhones as mobile offices might have been feeling a bit left out. They need feel that way no longer. With the introduction of Mobile Fun’s TypeTop iPhone 4 Keyboard, the iPhone comes into its own. Swivel design gives many different angles to use iPhone and Keyboard Adds a stand to your iPhone for FaceTime and viewing media Full QWERTY keyboard makes typing easy Built in battery won’t take power from your iPhone 4 Connects wirelessly through Bluetooth Adds just 0.9mm…


MWC: One Last Look at Mobile World Congress 2011

Beyond hamming it up with wandering oompah bands at Mobile World Congress, Helena and I managed to  get hands-on time with some of the new devices and technologies that will be causing a stir in 2011 and beyond! HTC’s New Android Devices HTC won me over with their lovely new ChaCha. After using the BlackBerry Bold for a week, with its tiny little keys that I never got used to, the generously sized keys on the ChaCha, along with its softly curved body … I so wish that my Tru SIM had been installed in one of these babies. Helena…


The Aligata iPhone Leather Sleeve Review

Uncomplicated good looks, even contrasting stitching, and leather which will only get more beautiful over time as it is used … these are what you’ll get when you purchase an iPhone leather sleeve from Aligata. Don’t be fooled by the name, though; the iPhone Leather Sleeve will also fit other similarly sized phones and devices. Because he knows how much I like this combination, Tom from Aligata sent me a nude beauty sleeve with yellow stitching. This particular type leather usually comes with white stitching, but for a fee (and a little bit of prior-to-ordering discussion) you can specify other…


MWC: Hands-On with HTC’s Newest Devices

Helena and I were able to spend some time at the HTC VIP lounge this afternoon, time that was well spent fondling the six devices introduced by HTC earlier today. Of course the one that most captivated us was the 7″ Flyer, HTC’s new tablet device. It will be shipping with Gingerbread instead of the newer Honeycomb, which seemed odd given that all of the other tablets and the majority of new phones we’ve seen have featured the newer version of Android. If it means that we can get our hands on it sooner (and that there might be a…


MWC: AppUp, MeeGo, Open Source, and Tablets

The partnership between Nokia and Microsoft that was announced the other day has caused some speculation that the Intel powered AppUp store in general, and the MeeGo in particular might be the losers in this story. Helena and I spoke with Peter Biddle, General Manager to AppUp Products and Services, and he said that despite this partnership, AppUp and Meego will thrive. Proprietary systems have a place in the ecosystem, and so do open ones. Further scaling the development of flexible, open software platforms and applications for all mobile devices, Intel demonstrated a compelling new MeeGo tablet user experience to…


A Lifesaver in Barcelona, the Tru Enabled BlackBerry Bold 9700

I wanted to put in a quick mention for Tru, the service that offered to send me an international BlackBerry Bold 9700 to use for Mobile Congress Week along with their Tru SIM. The ultimate goal is that we’ll compare what I would have spent on the same amount of Tru usage versus AT&T’s best international rate (since they are my regular carrier) after Mobile World Congress is done. Here’s where it gets even better, though. DHL came through and got the BB Bold to me before I left. Because Tru was worried that it wouldn’t arrive in time, they…


MWC: Hands-On Photos with Sony’s Three New Experias

CES saw the release of the new Sony Ericsson Experia Arc, but tonight we got to see three new Experias: the neo, the pro and the long-awaited PLAY — the Playstation phone. Oh my. I had a chance to attend the press conference where these were introduced, and a moment to fondle all three. The Experia neo: The phone I am most excited about personally is the neo; it has a beautiful screen and an amazing camera that works well in even the worst lighting situations. This phone is very media focused, and it comes equipped with HDMI support, an…


Mobile World Congress for a New Perspective

I’ve been to CES 9 times in the last 10 years, and for discovering or covering consumer electronics, there is no better show. But for really digging into the latest mobile phones and the technologies that power and differentiate them, there has been one show that has long been on my radar: Mobile World Congress. Last year, I was talking to Helena from Chip Chick, another long-time tech blogger who has never been. When the subject of MWC came up, we both got reflective, remarking upon how we had both always wanted to go. Without much thought for how we…


En Route to Mobile World Congress: Swiss Air Gets It!

There’s nothing like boarding an international flight with the worry of whether or not your battery will die become you are done working, or if you’ll luck out and have a charging port under your seat. Swiss Air takes a proactive approach and sticks a USB charging port at eye level; its the perfect solution for people traveling with Mobile devices!


Swingline Introduces the Stack-and-Shred, So You Can Keep Your Secrets Hidden

Are you one of those people who sticks your insurance finalization forms in the trash? The kind who tosses bank receipts, deposit slips, paid utility and credit card bills in the bin? Do you make jokes about filing important documents away in “drawer #13”, but you really mean the overflowing bucket under your desk? If so, then you are also the type of person who is simply begging for their identity to be stolen. Yes, really. The solution is to shred those documents as they leave your hand, before they make their way into the garbage. Don’t even let them…


Nokia and Microsoft Get in Bed Together to Produce Prettier and Presumably Smarter Babies

This is so good, it’s almost hard to believe: Microsoft and Nokia have just formally announced their “Broad Strategic Partnership” as they “combine assets and develop innovative mobile products on an unprecedented scale.”  The joint press conference occurred at 2:00 a.m. PST/5:00 a.m. EST, and unfortunately (or is it fortunately?) I was still awake trying to catch up on things when the news came out. From a post titled “Open Letter from CEO Stephen Elop, Nokia and CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft” on the Official Microsoft Blog, here is a summary of what the two companies hope to achieve. (Note that…


Roman Catholic Church Sanctioned Confession App Leaves Me Scratching My Head

I’m not a Catholic, however I can’t help but be fascinated by the church’s ~2000 year history. I’ve even attended a midnight mass or two on Christmas Eve with friends over the years, and I’ve got to tell you — for sheer pageantry, tradition and eye-candy, it is hard to beat a Roman Catholic service performed in a beautifully decorated cathedral complete with full portions spoken or sung in Latin; it’s really impressive. However there are rites and procedures expected by those practicing Catholicism that I don’t fully understand, and one of them is confession. From what I have observed…


SCOTTEVEST Women’s Trench Review

When done correctly, a woman’s trench coat is the perfect jacket. A trench keeps its wearer warm, but it isn’t too heavy; trench coats are belted, so the woman wearing one gains an instant hourglass figure — whether she has one or not! The right trench coat can add instant sophistication to even the most basic outfit; but best of all, a well-cut trench coat can hide a multitude of figure flaws while taking an outfit from day to night. Scott Jordan let us know last October that SCOTTEVEST would be coming out with a women’s trench coat, and the…


Star Wars: Frames for the True Fans

Possibly just in time for Valentine’s day, but definitely in time for graduation or late spring and summer birthdays, comes the ultimate gift for any Star Wars aficionado: Star Wars: Frames. Imagine if you will, George Lucas sitting in his office with every Star Wars movie at his disposal. Imagine him sorting through millions of individual frames as he picks and chooses his favorites; every battle, every character’s emotion, every iconic scene laid out in front of him. The result of his selection process would ultimately become Star Wars: Frames, an 1,138 copies limited edition. Each set comes in an…


Anne Frank’s Life As a Graphic Novel? Yes, Please

all photos courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine When I was growing up, one of my most beloved books was a translation of Anne Frank‘s Diary. Then and now, the story of her life before her family went into hiding and what happened after they were betrayed evoked feelings that are impossible to describe. In 2007, my daughter Sarah and I visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. If you are ever in Amsterdam, you must go … simply must. Ernie Colón and Sid Jacobson, the duo behind The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, again teamed together and accepted the “challenge of…


Posts We Loved and Want to Share Again

photo credit: taivasalla As we brace for yet another winter storm here in the northeast (two actually but who’s counting) we can at least take some measure of comfort in knowing that January is finally over. [Now we just have to get through February and the first part of March and maybe, just maybe by then the snow will be gone.] January was a busy month for us. It began with CES 2011 and just kept right on going. At last count we had over 100 CES-related posts and dozens and dozens of other Gear Diary content. January saw the…


The Wilson Electronics SignalBoost DB Pro Cell Phone Signal Amplifier Review

I live in a rural area which is fantastic for wide open spaces and natural beauty … yet not so great for timely FedEx deliveries or wireless service. We  have much better GSM (AT&T & T-Mobile) coverage than CDMA (Sprint & Verizon); 3G is not here yet, so we must be content with EDGE. The nearest tower is several miles away from our home, and our area is hilly, so although we do get a cellular signal, it can be weak.


Incipio’s Bespoke Cases

While at CES, Dan gave me a code he had picked up at Incipio’s booth to create one of their “Bespoke Cases” for free. Curious about the product and the resulting case, I decided to give it a try with a picture I’d been holding onto for a while. Granted, the picture wasn’t as high resolution as I might have liked, but I thought it would be cool to see it on a case. After downloading the Incipio Bespoke App, I went through the customization process and added my picture. Although the option was present in the app to “move…


Checking out the ASUS Eee PC 1008P Seashell Karim Rashid Collection Netbook

I was selected to be one of a group of bloggers who’ll get the use of an ASUS Eee PC 1008 netbook for a year. This isn’t quite the typical netbook though, as this is a “Seashell Karim Rashid Edition” … and before you ask, no — I had never heard of Karim Rashid until I saw his name attached to this netbook. With that said, this is easily one of the most intriguing case designs I’ve ever seen. The entire surface of the netbook is covered in Karim Rashid’s soft-touch “Techno-chic Digi-wave design”, and instead of being the type…