Rob Beschizza

CrunchPad of Singapore

More CrunchPad details, in a Mike Arrington profile published by the SF Business Times:

"We're going to make some really big announcements," said Arrington, who predicted a prototype would be ready for unveiling by the end of July. "We're full on. These prototypes are real."

Arrington started work on the Crunchpad after meeting an expert in electronics manufacturing in China, and these days he estimates the project commands three-quarters of his time.

"There's factories that just churn stuff out. It's pretty simple," said Arrington, who has incorporated a separate company called Crunchpad Inc. that has 14 employees in Singapore.

Tech blog titan Michael Arrington's next big thing: Hardware [Bizjournals]

Rob Beschizza

In a land where there is no Kindle...

... Borders' eBook is "finally a rival to the Sony Reader." [Times]

Rob Beschizza

Ned Kelly Thumbdrive

Ned Kelly was an infamous outlaw of the Australian outback. Now he is a thumbdrive. [Etsy via Chipchick]

Steven Leckart

Buy Me A Shuttle-Bike Kit, Please

I don't speak Italian, so I don't know what these folks are saying. But I'm not certain that really matters. These kits, which fit in backpack, can be used to create a pedal-powered boat out of a bicycle. It comes with a rudder and two inflatable floaties you pump up &mdash get this &mdash via pedaling. The Shuttle-Bike technology dates back to 1992 and has been available for purchase since at least 2003, and yet I've never seen one in person, even in San Francisco.

I want one.

Rob Beschizza

Touchscreen fan controller for PCs

NXZT's Sentry 2 Touchscreen Fan Controller is, presumably, what you've been waiting for if you hate buttons but still want to control your fans. But the best part is that it is isn't an LCD: it's "touchscreen" in the sense that stuff in the 80s and 90s were touchscreen. And why not?

Rob Beschizza

Baby Crying Analyser

ThinkGeek's "Why Cry Baby Analyzer" purports to decipher the exact meaning of a sprogling's wails. For entertainment purposes only, one presumes.

Steven Leckart

O Beautiful For Spacious Bag, For Amber Waves of Beer

Timbuk2's Dolores Cooler messenger sack can hold a 12-pack of canned PBR*. The lining is insulated. One of the straps features a red pop top. All you need now is a designated cyclist.

*Person who comes up w/the best addendum, wins.**

**The prize: respect and admiration from your peers.

Rob Beschizza

Mnemosyne

If the desire to spend ten grand on an aluminum soma cube thumbdrive ever takes you, this one, by Toshi Satoji Design of Milan, comes highly recommended. [Mnemosyne via Akihabara News]

Joel Johnson

Europe, meet your new phone charger standard

Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, Qualcomm, Research in Motion, Samsung, and Texas Instruments have all agreed to accept microUSB as the standard phone charger format starting in 2010. Wonderful, welcome development, and I hope it means we'll get this by proxy here in North America.

Apple playing along has interesting ramifications to not just the iPhone, but to the entire iPod family: Will the long-standing Dock Connector, used by countless third-party accessories, finally be on the way out?

Joel Johnson

Four iPhone accessories I'd buy tomorrow...if they existed

The iPhone is an all-in-wonder device, capable of replacing an increasingly large number of other gadgets. But there's some things that it can't do—things that are so specialized that they're best made possible by aftermarket peripherals.

Now that the 3.0 firmware makes the addition of peripherals possible (at least through the dock connector, if not Bluetooth), here are a few accessories I'd like to see:

⌦ Tripod mount – It would be dead simple for a third-party to make a case with a couple of the standard issue screw holes: one in the bottom for portrait; another on the side for landscape. This makes even more sense now that the iPhone 3GS can shoot video.

⌦ Underwater housing – I know—how would you use a touchscreen underwater? I'm just a whiny gadget blogger. It's my job to complain about this stuff—it's up to manufacturers to figure out how to make a touchscreen that works even through a waterproof membrane.

Bonus points if it's actually able to be taken to recreational scuba depths (~100ft). Update: My Google is weak: iDive makes a speaker housing that works with iPhone. (Thanks to @danfrakes seting me straight.)

And because I'm going for ideas here and not bullet points, you could combine something of the first two points and get another good one: an Action case that could be clipped to vehicles or athletes that is rugged enough to withstand a few hard knocks.

⌦ Multitool – You can already get an iPhone case that doubles as a wallet. So why not one that turns the metaphorical Swiss army knife into a literal one? I'm sure someone like Gerber, Leatherman, or Victorinox could make a slim case that held at least a knife, scissors, and a bottle opener. (And hopefully designed it in such a way that you wouldn't be torquing it against the iPhone screen. Krueesush!)

⌦ Keyboard – There have been wireless Bluetooth hacks that need jailbroken phones and ones that work by tricking the phone (which can be purchased), but as of today there's still not a good way to use an external keyboard with the iPhone.

The onscreen keyboard works just fine for daily use, but as someone who writes several thousand words a day, I would love to be able to use a portable full-size keyboard. My little dream is that it could be the Apple Wireless Keyboard paired over Bluetooth, but at this point I'd be happy with something that connected through the dock.

With the speed of the 3GS, coupled with push updates that enable a primitive multitasking, I think I could happily live without a laptop—or even a netbook—for days at a time. But I've got to have that keyboard if I were going to do any real work.

Photo: Mike Rohde

Steven Leckart

Review: Therm-A-Rest Sleeping System

Kevin Kelly pointed me to the idea of ditching a sleeping bag for a tech blanket. He learned the tip from Ray Jardine, who extols the virtues of lightweight backpacking and camping in a series of books, including the recent Trail Life.

The basic premise is that the flattened bottom of a sleeping bag is wasted material, since you're compressing the insulation. A blanket can provide more warmth because it contours to your body rather than maintaining a bag or mummy shape. Plus, it's much easier to overheat if you're crashed out in a bag, as opposed to a blanket you can drape and quickly adjust throughout the night.

Ray sells his own quilt kits, which I'd love to try. For the recent BBG camp trip, I used Therm-A-Rest's $50 Tech Blanket (pictured). It is light to carry (1 lbs, 5 oz.), warm (quilted nylon exterior, polyester fill), and packs quick, easy and small (mine packed up smaller than the no-frills sleeping bag I have).

What's particularly smart about Therm-A-Rest's set up is that their Fitted Sheet ($21) and blanket have snaps positioned periodically lengthwise, allowing you to quickly attach and remove the blanket. Not a pain to set up, take down.

Better yet, it was far more comfortable than any sleeping back I've ever used. We were camping in mid-50sF, and I was never cold and never too warm. What's more, unlike a sleeping back you might unzip and find completely open by the morning, the Tech Blanket provided enough room on either side for me to turn over without disrupting the whole tent. If you were camping in warmer weather, I'd imagine un-snapping one button on either side in the middle of the night wouldn't be too difficult either.

Note: I used the blanket and sheet with Therm-A-Rest's $100 LuxuryCamp self-Inflating mattress and $28 Compressible Pillow. You don't have to go all-out and get either of these. My favorite makeshift pillow is a small fleece case a friend made and gave to me. You just fill it with your clothes, towel, etc.

The only thing you want to be sure of, is that you use a pad that's size/shape is comparable to the fitted sheet. Otherwise, you won't feel as snug.

The sheets come in medium, regular and large which are 20x66 in., 20x72 in. and 25x77 in., respectively. If you already have a sleep pad that size, you should go for it. Again, we're talking $21 for the sheet and $50 for a blanket that could also serve double duty at home. I'm in.

Joel Johnson

Video: Clever woman designs a better British power plug

While North American electrical plugs aren't exactly tiny, our poor Ukensian brothers and sisters have to deal with horrible three-pronged knobs that turn British power cords into injection molded bolas. (Are they so big because there's a fuse in the plug itself as standard?)

Sip your coffee deep then, as did I, so you may properly choke when this woman shows her idea for a folding plug that is as thin as a MacBook Air, but fully compliant with the UK plug standard, fuse and all. Screaming downstairs about how awesome it is when she shows the extra design for a multi-port plug when you mistake the sound of your dog for your girlfriend, then experiencing terrifying vertigo when the ceiling screams back, is—as always—completely optional. (Thanks, Charlie!)

Steven Leckart

8 iPhone Apps For Camping

I picked up my first iPhone last Friday. I've yet to take it camping, but I'll be heading out into the wilderness this coming weekend. Nothing hardcore, but some light hiking, stove-top cooking and tent living.

Here are the apps I'm most curious to try, even though there's some mixed feedback on iTunes. If you have any experience with these or can recommend additional apps worth paying for (or free ones worth the time), please leave your suggestions in the comments.

I'll be posting any truly useful favorite(s) after I return.

1) TrailBehind ($.99): User-generated maps with info about specific trail heads, summits, streams, state park landmarks, and more.

2) Park Maps ($.99): GPS maps of 250+ national parks and recreational spots in the U.S. The reviews are mixed.

3) Knot Guide ($3.99): Version 1.7 got pretty high marks from iPhone App Reviews.net. Version 3.3 offers instructions on 68 knots. For $4, it better be exceedingly better than...

4) Knot Time ($.99): Only 28 knots, but instructional videos sound clutch. However, some 3G S users are said to be experiencing issues with playback. As soon as an update's in place, I'm game.

5) Flashlight ($.99), Flashlight. (FREE), Torch (FREE) and Super Torch ($1.99): I use a headlamp, but the idea of having a less direct mood light for reading in the tent seems appealing. Since some of these let you tweak the color (i.e. red), too, you can preserve your night vision.

6) Motion-X GPS Lite (FREE): I've read it's one of the most accurate mapping apps. Bonus: you can plot your pace and set specific locations to help you make your way back to camp, for instance.

7) Anti Mosquito ($.99), Repel Mosquito ($.99), Mosquito Repeller($1.99) are just a few of the apps which emit high frequencies that supposedly keep away pests. I'm skeptical. I used Bug Spray (FREE) last Saturday at a wedding in a wooded area in Sonoma County. I got one small mosquito bite on my neck, but that's fewer than some of the other people I was with. Needless to say, I can't really say for sure whether this app helped or not.

8) AccuWeather (FREE): If you're spending any prolonged period of time camped outdoors, you'll want to know more than the chance of rain and current or predicted temp. 411 for humidity, pressure, winds = good. A long-term forecast of 5 to 15 days = good-er.

After the jump, see why it's not such a bad thing to be paranoid about taking your iPhone into the wilderness...

This post is part of a theme day: BBG on Camping.

photo by proviatoes

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Steven Leckart

Review: GoBe Solar Briefcase & Power-Hub

As soon as I stumbled on the Provo Craft's GoBe system at Maker Faire, I was dying to get my hands on one. I'm an optimist, but one who's been disheartened by the dearth of consumer-ready chargers that can handle the output necessary to power any device larger than a cell phone &mdash and even the ones that claim to charge phones don't always work so well.

The GoBe is a terrific device for luxury car campers or, perhaps, touring cyclists willing to trade off-the-grid power for extra weight. There are two components: a 12-lb. solar panel and 9-lb. power hub with AC, DC and USB outputs. Not especially lightweight, but comfortable to manhandle since both parts feature integrated handles. The GoBe is advertised as taking about 10 hours to fully charge, which was roughly my experience when I recharged my battery at home after camping with it (note: you must charge the power hub via wall socket before using outdoors for the first time).

While camping, we used our GoBe to handle one basic task: power a travel-size iPod dock. Which it did mightily. Normally the device would run on AAs, which aren't exactly a hassle to carry (plus, there are obviously packable solar chargers for reusable AAs). However, there was something extremely satisfying about powering our tunes via solar charger. Plus, after 4 hours of charging the meager device, there was plenty of juice left &mdash I think about half. And that's kind of my main complaint: think.

I haven't played with a solar charger that is 100% perfect. And this one isn't either.

The power hub's three indicator lights are helpful, but not nearly enough. Green = a full charge (or close to it). Red = little or no juice. Yellow = ??? ...I realize including an LED displaying watts and volts consumed wouldn't be practical power-wise. On the other hand, having to mentally calculate your power usage isn't so fun, especially if you're using the power hub while it's simultaneously charging.

I'm told the GoBe can expand the life of an average laptop battery anywhere from 3 to 6 hours, which is potentially great, but also a great reminder of the disappoints that continue to plague all things solar. There can be so many variables, least of all whether you're getting solid sunlight, so that range could be a bit disconcerting if you were really relying on this thing for power on a regular or semi-regular basis. i.e. this is clearly not something I'd exclusively count on to write my novel in the bush.

For car camping, though, it works well, since you don't have to carry batteries or pull any power from your car's battery. Should you have to power up your cell phone, GPS, camera, etc., you've got more than enough for charge-triage. And, provided you're camping somewhere with unobstructed sunlight (we did not), you won't have to reposition it throughout the day (we did).

Two more caveats: You get AC, DC and a USB port, however, if you neglect to bring a standard USB, for instance, you'll only be able to use a two-prong plug. Not a deal breaker, but I sure would have loved a typical U.S. Type B three-prong outlet. Yes, an adapter costs $5 at Radio Shack, but that's one more thing for me to carry, keep track of, and, let's be honest, lose.

Lastly, the thing is WHITE, which looks nice and modern, but will get dirty faster than a broke, drunk sorority girl at a $10,000-prize mud wrestling contest.

Now some bad news: The GoBe costs $350 (plus $45 for shipping). Not cheap, but not all that terrible considering a car inverter built just for a MacBook costs $150, only charges one device, and will drain your parked car's battery.

This post is part of a theme day: BBG on Camping.

Steven Leckart

Retro Floppy Flash Drive

[via Guaraná Rosa via Book of Joe]

Rob Beschizza

Gigabit powerline ethernet

Belkin's new Powerline HD starter kit claims to offer gigabit speeds through your home's power wiring. [Belkin]

Because of its high Gigabit speeds and consistent connection, Gigabit Powerline reduces online gaming latency and provides large bandwidth, making it ideal for online PC gaming and ultrafast high-quality transmission of multiple video streams. While the current fastest powerline technology runs at 200Mbps, Gigabit Powerline delivers content at 1000Mbps of speed.

My experience with this sort of gadget is that throughput drops hard and fast with distance -- a 200MBps model I tried offered only a few megabits worth of actual transfer over a 60ft run.

This one, however, is much prettier.

Rob Beschizza

Aluminum Pencil

Kaweco's "AL Sport" is a €40 technical pencil housed in a bad-ass aluminum body. It accepts .7mm leads and comes in a fancy presentation box.

Product Page [Hard Graft via Awesomer]

Rob Beschizza

Samsung Mini S2

Offered in pink, blue and white. But not in 640GB. [Akihabara News via Engadget]

Rob Beschizza

Seagate bumps FreeAgent pocket drive to 640GB

640GB is the new 500GB. Why Seagate? Because theirs come with very nice optional docks that include USB hubs.

Product Page

Rob Beschizza

Review: 20 minutes with Iomega's eGo portable drive

Given that one external 2.5" drive is much like any other, Iomega's latest batch presents a good choice: theirs are designed to survive a drop onto hard surfaces. The compromise is that they're a little larger than the competition -- compare, for example, to Seagate, whose recent models aim for ultra-thinness.

Tested, the drive had similar throughput to all the other 5400 RPMers on the shelf: like them, it comes with a dual-head USB cable and backup software. In casual testing, it survived drops of 3 feet onto tile floor without a crack.

Iomega's eGo drives come in dark red, white and dark blue and are offered at up to 500GB. A Mac edition adds Firewire 800 /400. But as far as Iomega's droppable drives go, I still prefer the leather edition.

Product Page [Iomega]

Rob Beschizza

4GB Louis Vuitton USB thumbdrive on special for $450

Product Page [Vuitton via ilvoelv]

Rob Beschizza

Minifit XL: moveable Laptop Fan

Most under-notebook cooling panels have a fixed-position fan. You may move this one around, to better hit the hot spots on your particular model.'

Product Page [Cradia via xxx via Gizmodo]

Rob Beschizza

Soh Folding Calculator

Product Page [Metaphys.jp]]

Joel Johnson

Cideko Air Keyboard: 3D Mouse + Keyboard == Great Home Theater PC Controller

Shown at the most recent Computex trade show, Cideko's "Air Keyboard" combines a 3D mouse with a thumb keyboard, making it completely useless for any duty but home theater control—but it looks like it might be quite nice for couch surfing. The key layout is a bit odd, though, and there doesn't appear to be a Windows/Apple key, which could limit some commands.

Oh, and it looks sort of huge.

But the idea is solid! Cideko will be selling it soon, although whether or not it will make it to North America through official channels is anyone's guess.

I've been playing with the Boxee App for iPhone with my fancy pants new Apple TV that's sitting under the television. It replicates mouse and keyboard funtionality, but I'm not actually a huge fan of either the gesture or button modes. The lack of tactility actually bugs me a bit when I'm sprawled on the couch, a fact that shames me—Mr. Universal Device—just a little bit.

Steven Leckart

Gadget Accessories: Are These Do's Or Don'ts?

If you're going to sport a full-on utility belt, as opposed to a more diminutive one, should it be mandatory that you also wear some legit combat gear, ninja boots, or a Batman cape?

Or are bikini-clad, big sunglasses-wearing, cigarette-smoking 20-somethings somehow entitled to co-opt anything and everything when it comes to fashion?

After the jump, other geeky tech accessories that are difficult to pull off, unless maybe you are a bikini-clad 20-something.*

This post is part of a theme day: BBG on Fashion

*Disclaimer: I'm just making conversation. I don't really care what anyone wears.**

*Actually, I lied. No one should wear this booze belt.

photo: zaigee

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Joel Johnson

Loop pointer, a funky motion mouse for home theaters

Hilcrest Labs has released the "Loop pointer", a motion-sensitive "air mouse" with the proven ergonomic heft of a bagel. I'll give them this: there's something compelling about the shape alone that makes me want to give it a figurative whirl.

They've provided considerable compatibility with a wide variety of operating systems and devices—there's Mac and Windows support, sure, but also PlayStation 3 and Apple TV (if you flash it with a driver that lacks official support from Apple).

It'll cost you a shiny silver dollar and then 98 more. As a proud and pleased owned of a refurb Mac Mini that I've been using with Boxee and Plex for some luxurious evening soaks in old episodes of The Larry Sanders Show, I'm intrigued. It's a better solution that my crusty old wired Intellimouse sitting under the television and is just weird enough looking to not be embarrassing sitting on the side of the couch.

(These are official product images from Hillcrest Labs' support page, by the way. How awesome is it when a company isn't uptight about their product?)

Rob Beschizza

HomePlug

Cast in black matte rubber and featuring alien power sockets, "HomePlug" could easily be mistaken for a recharging base station for up to six vibrating buttplugs. It is in fact a British power strip with powerline ethernet. [Solwise via Red Ferret Journal]

Rob Beschizza

Monster Remote Control

From Monster Cables comes the MCC AV50 Home Theater Controller, a $50 universal remote. [PC Mag]

Wouldn't that 1970s look be great for one of those play-any-ROM retro handheld game consoles?

Rob Beschizza

Cardboard Happy Hacking Keyboard

This appears to be a cardboard Happy Hacker keyboard offered for aboyt $70. At what point does start taking the mickey? Let's see one made of cake.

Update: Alas, they just left the cardboard key tray in for the shot, presumably to make it clear what you're getting.

Joel Johnson

Levitron Revolution levitates your keepsakes, Dr. Strange figurines

Aaron M. writes:

I had a chance to see this new invention at the New York Toy Fair and it is finally public on their website.

There is a small disk which levitates a few inches above the surface of an illuminated base. The disk rotates on its own. You can place up to 4 ounces of whatever you like on the disk and it will endlessly hover and rotate while the lights from the base illuminate it.

If you have any kind of collection (action figures, minerals, shells, glass figures, etc), this is really killer.

Hopefully they'll post some movies soon. It should be available from retailers by Christmas (that is what they promised).