Apple iPhone Gear

iStabilizer Dolly Video Demo and Review

The other day we took a look at a neat way to create smooth video with the iPhone. (Check it out here.) That’s not the only iPhone camera accessory we’ve been reviewing and today we’ll take a look at the Dolly from iStabilizer. The Dolly is a great tool for taking panning video or creating a stable yet flexible base for time-lapse picture/video settings. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that it isn’t designed to work with a specific smartphone but rather, thanks to the included iStabilizer Mount, you can use it with a wide selection of smartphones in a…


iRig Stomp Now Available Everywhere!

When I reviewed the iRig Stomp last month, I said: It is easy to look at iRig Stomp and think ‘that’s it’? That is because ‘all’ it does is switch the signal path between using the iOS device or NOT using it. But in reality there is much more – it has to stand up to the rigors of BEING a stomp box, it has to have a clean signal path, and it needs to provide reliable functionality with all of the little extras IK Multimedia customers have come to expect. And iRig Stomp delivers admirably on all of those…


SuperTooth MELODY Bluetooth Stereo Headphones Review

SuperTooth isn’t a well-known company here in the US. They should be. In Europe the company is extremely popular and, based on the SuperTooth Disco Bluetooth speaker we reviewed last year, they make come great products. Most recently, we’ve had a chance to check out the new SuperTooth MELODY Bluetooth Stereo headphones. These on-ear headphones are smaller than we have seen with BT on-ear products and, at $99 they have a lower price than we have seen. But at that price do they FEEL like sub-$100 headphones? Do they sound like sub-$100 headphones? Let’s take a close look. From SuperTooth:…


Steadicam Smoothee Video Review

Some gear reviews require tons of pictures and text. Others don’t. This video look and review falls into the latter category. Why? Because the video we shot says pretty much everything that needs to be said about the Steadicam Smoothee. This is a gadget that lets you shoot video with your iPhone (or other small video devices so long as you have the proper mount) and get far smoother and better results than you would were you simply holding the phone. It works. It works well. I’m impressed. It took me a while to get fairly decent with the Steadicam…


EGO Mobile Hybrid Series USB Case Review

This falls under the category of “Cool ideas I wish I had had” ego mobile’s Hybrid Series USB Case for iPhone 4S (they have them for other phones too!) combines a minimalist iPhone case with a 4, 8 or 16GB USB flash drive. That’s a great combination, especially if you have a storage-challenged MacBook air! As the company explains, the case is “world’s first iPhone 4/4S case with removable USB drive stores 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of music, photos and more”. The USB drive “slides seamlessly into the back of the case”. This makes for a nice neat package. In…


Esoterism Presents the Moat-4 Aroused Comrade Urban Camo iPhone 4S Case

Most of our readers know I am an avid outdoorsman and hunter, but you all should also know I am a huge fan of our military. As a history teacher and patriot, anything that shows support for our troops is OK by me. I have many ex-students/athletes that have defended our nation bravely. One of my athletes gave the ultimate price, and my best friend took multiple rounds during the Battle of Fallujah and lived to tell about it. I also have a recent graduate who has become an Army Ranger. With all of that said, I naturally like all…


Evernote Page Camera Turns Your Smartphone into a Scanner

Evernote has long let you snap a picture of a page of handwritten text and save it to your Evernote account. That has always been my fallback position when I was taking notes but had left my Livescribe smartpen at home. In addition, when I was in Washington last week I didn’t bring my Livescribe pen. Instead, I typed out notes during the sessions using my iPad and Apple keyboard while the voice note recorder in Evernote was also active. It worked great and I didn’t really miss the Livescribe pen. Last week Evernote went one better and, in the process,…


The iRig Stomp Guitar Controller Review

Anyone who played guitar (or bass for that matter) in the late 1970s or early 1980s will immediately recognize the outline of the iRig Stomp (get it here)- because they had at least a couple they needed to transport everywhere with them. This involved making sure short patch cables worked, 9 volt batteries were on hand, and quite often carrying around a home-built wooden pedalboard if you were a guitarist with several so-called ‘stomp boxes’. Then came multi-effect digital pedalboards, and even microprocessor-based digital multi-effects … and along with them came prices reaching up over $400 for units from Boss…


Kanex Sydnee Smart Recharge Station for iPad Review

Our new computer lab will be ready for our students when they return this fall. That means our pre-school will have four or more iPads and our grade school students will, eventually, have access to a dozen or more iPads. That’s all good and well except for the fact that all those iPads need to be recharged. Sure we could get a power strip and put AC adapter and cable after AC adapter and cable into it but that would be bulky, ugly and inconvenient. The alternative would be a multi-iPad charging station. A few exist but most are big and…


DRACOdesign EVO for iPhone 4/4S Review

We recently reviewed DRACODesign’s Cleave Crystal case for iPhone 4/4S (read the review). It is a nice, bumper-style case that avoids the issue of signal degradation thanks to its non-metallic construction. As the company puts it By using polycarbonate as base material, the bumper is hard on the surface to prevent from scratch with elasticity around the frame of the bumper for shock absorption to protect your iPhone4/4S. CLEAVE weights only 9 gram while keeping the same aesthetics and mechanics design ingredients of DRACO IV. The amazing contours and curve lines of CLEAVE is a masterpiece of craftsmanship with ergonomics engineering…


Dexim ClickStik Review

We reviewed the Satechi BT MediaRemote back in July and were impressed with the functionality it brings to pretty much all iOS devices. Sure, it is good for controlling music from a distance but it really shines as a remote shutter control for the iPhone’s camera. Dexim has gone one better with their new ClickStik for iOS. We brought word of it a few weeks back and now we have one in hand. The ClickStik features a lightweight, multifunctional tripod and a matte-black Bluetooth remote shutter control. There is also a free app available through the App Store that “allows…


CROON Audio’s Original Sound System Looks Great, Promises to Sound Just as Good

I went into the office today after a few weeks of vacation. While returning email I decided to listen to some tunes. My set up at work looks like this- I have an excellent Altec Lansing Speaker that Judie gave me for Hanukkah a few years ago connected to an Airport Express which, in turn, is plugged into the wireless ethernet post that comes into my study. It was that Airport Express that provided WiFi in that part of the building. More than that, however, it also takes the standard, docking stereo and turns it into an Airplay-enabled speaker. I…


Want to Get Healthy? There’s an App for That …

Yesterday we brought word of our new Gear Diary Health and Fitness Series. Withings must have been paying attention because they just released their new… and free… health and fitness app. As the release notes, Withings’ newest mobile application further simplifies the way any user can monitor and improve his or her weight, physical activity, heart and sleep quality. This free application is designed to be the ultimate health and wellness application that enables anybody to store, access and manage their weight, physical activity, heart and sleep data on a single user-friendly dashboard. I use a Withings blood pressure cuff…


Harman Kardon Bluetooth Wireless Over-Ear Headphones Review

Harman Kardon recently released their first line of headphones. The company has a long history of offering quality audio components and has now taken their experience and applied it to the burgeoning headphone market. As we recently brought word, their headphone line runs from in-ear to on-ear to over-ear styles. They were kind enough to send a pair of their BT Bluetooth over-ear headphones for review. Let’s take a look. As we note in the video review, the packaging is impressive. The company clearly gave a great deal of thought to the entire experience when someone purchases the headphones and…


Afternoon Video, G-Form iPhone Case Base Jump

Sure, this video is an advertisement for G-Form’s protective iPhone case but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome… or that these guys aren’t nuts. Yeah, flying through the air after jumping out of a helicopter and wearing an outfit that gives you wings isn’t my idea of fun. Neither is dropping an iPhone from that same helicopter. But the question is… does the iPhone survive? Here’s the video and the description. Gary Connery joined world-renowned fellow wingsuit and base jumpers Brett Kistler and Jamie Flynn on the Eiger in Switzerland. Suited up in G-Form’s extreme protective compression gear, the team…


Rokform Rokbed v3 mountable protective iPhone 4/4s Case Review

When is an iPhone case not an iPhone case? When it is the Rokform Rokbed v3 mountable protective iPhone 4/4s case. You see, the Rokform Rokbed v3 isn’t a case… it is a system. Oh, and it is an awesome one at that. In addition to the Rokstand we reviewed last week (read the review) Apex Carbon was kind enough to send us a review sample of the case and… more. Here’s a quick look and a chance to win the review sample. Even better, we’re looking at the Rokbed v3 AND the Rokmeister clip/bottle opener and… giving both away as…


The Miniot iPhone 4 Pouch Review

It’s no secret that I love to cover my gear in wood; I’ve written about wooden iPhone cases before, and recently I shared how much I love the Miniot Cover Mk2 for iPad. Not long after finishing the Mk2 review, I ordered and received Miniot’s Pouch. I knew going into this purchase that I wasn’t going to be receiving a “play-through” case, and I knew that functionality would be a bit limited with what basically amounted to a gorgeous, albeit glorified sheath. Did that stop me from ordering? Obviously not. Here’s a quick video from GearFest, where Dan puts me on the…


Elevation Dock Review; How Some Kickstarter Projects Overdeliver

Backing a Kickstarter Project is, as Judie and I have discovered, a roll of the dice. There is no guarantee the project will get funded and, if it does, no guarantee it will deliver on time. In fact, just yesterday I received to emails about projects that are “significantly delayed”. Then, even if the project does get funded, created and arrive there is no guarantee it will live up to its promise. Then there are projects like the Elevation Dock. It. Is. Awesome. The Elevation Dock was a Kickstarter project that sought to deliver what Apple never has — a good,…


Rokform Rokstand v1 Desktop Stand Review

There are iPhone and iPad stands, and then THERE ARE iPad and iPhone stands! ApexCarbon was kind enough to send us a RockForm RockStand for review and giveaway and it is, in a word, impressive. Yes, this desktop stand is more than a stand for your iOS device. It is an attention-grabbing sculpture, a conversation starter and, in a word, a piece of art. It is sure to quickly become a favorite. Perhaps best of all, it is also a highly functional stand. Let’s take a look and then… give it away!!!! From Rokform: The Rokform Rokstand v1 Desktop Stand…


New Line of Harman Kardon Headphones “Bring Superior Sound, Comfort and Audio Innovation”

In Harman Kardon’s new line of headphones “modern design meets sophisticated acoustic performance”. And while we cannot vouch for the sound (yet!), the look and specs of the lineup are impressive. The collection includes a pair of in-ear headphones that cost under $100 and a soon-to-be-released pair of  noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones at the top of the pricing structure. Here’s a rundown of the collection. At the low-end of the pricing structure are the in-ear NI headphones. At just $99.95 these headphones feature 9mm drivers. Ultra-light for comfort, the headphones have a rectangular black housing that is “shaped like the back…


iPhone 4 Cases Get Patriotic With Griffin’s New “Nations” Lineup

July 4th is long gone, but before you put away your flags and USA-themed partyware, check out Griffin Technology’s latest case line for iPhone 4 / 4S. Arriving just in time for the 2012 Olympics, this protective gear will keep your smartphone looking festive and patriotic. As a company known for their innovations in the world of electronic accessories, Griffin builds sturdy, well-designed cases to keep your i-baby safe from harm. “The Nations Cases are not only festive, but they deflect everyday bumps and scratches, without hindering your access to the Multi-Touch display, controls and connectors,” said Todd Word, Sales…