iPad-iPhone road warrior weapons of choice: a 2011 guide
December 23, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment
by Bill Palmer
This iPad and iPhone user is about to hit the road – for about a month. It’s a cross country journey that’ll see me living out of suitcases and staying in one too many hotels as I work my way westward in time for CES, Macworld 2011, and quite a bit else along the way. With most of what I own packed away (did I mention I’m also moving to a new residence in the process?), I thought I’d take a moment to share to iPad, iPhone, and MacBook related tools that I’ve chosen to keep handy at all times over the next five weeks. Some of these products are more perfect than others, so to speak, but they’re what I rely on when I’m playing road warrior. Depending on your travel situation, you may find them handy as well:
Mophie Juice Pack Plus for iPhone 4: Even as comparatively long lasting as the iPhone 4 internal battery is, working from the road often means whipping out my iPhone and doing “real” work directly on it. Try that for an hour and see what’s left of the internal battery. The Juice Pack Plus doubles my iPhone’s battery and fits perfectly with it stylistically. Learn more.
Dexim P-Flip for iPhone 4: Too many hotel rooms don’t have an electrical outlet next to the bed. And because I’m too insecure to leave my iPhone on the other side of the room while I’m sleeping, I get around that quandary by docking it in the P-Flip overnight. It’s a flipstand with a battery built in, meaning that so long as I remember to charge up the P-Flip during the day, it’ll keep my iPhone 4 fully charged overnight. Also doubles as a bottom snap-on battery in a pinch. Learn more.
Kensington PowerBack for iPad: The first of its kind, the PowerBack is to the iPad what battery cases are to the iPhone. Killing the iPad’s long lasting battery isn’t easy, but this product gives me the freedom to. Learn more.
ZAGGmate with Keyboard for iPad: For day to day iPad use, I have no problem with its virtual keyboard. But in those instances where I’m using my iPad in place of a laptop, writing full length articles on it, that’s when I like to break out the physical keyboard. When I’m at home, Apple’s own iPad Keyboard Dock is my weapon of choice. But it’s not really meant for travel. So I travel with the ZAGGmate with Keyboard, which is designed with portability in mind. Learn more.
Kensington PowerBolt Duo: Most car chargers are a dime a dozen. But rise of micro chargers, which eliminate the traditional big bulb design in favor of a barely-there streamlined look, changed all that. A dual micro charger, one of whose ports charges the iPad at fast speeds? Let’s just say that the ability to keep both my iPad and iPhone charging while I’m driving, and with a small form factor charger, is of value. Learn more.
Twelve South BassJump for MacBook: My MacBook Pro is my main computer whether I’m at home or on the road. Naturally, at home I’ve got it connected to nice multi-component speaker system. On that road that’s not so practical. Rather than lugging along a traditional small two piece speaker system which sounds like a small two piece system, I instead opt for this little USB subwoofer which works in conjunction with my MacBook’s built-in tweeters instead of replacing them. The result is a form of 2.1 audio from my MacBook which only requires me to haul one speaker unit. Learn more.
Just Mobile Lazy Couch for MacBook: Don’t be silly. Always use a laptop stand at home which keeps your MacBook elevated (so it won’t run overly hot) and angled toward you (for better typing posture). But the laptop stand which usually resides on my desk isn’t exactly travel-worthy, so rather than traveling with a portable or fold-up laptop stand (I’ve tried various over the years), I’ve finally settled on a simple set of rubber-topped props which work surprisingly well and take up very little space when not in use. Learn more.
Aviiq Portable Laptop Stand: review
July 22, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment
The new Portable Laptop Stand from Aviiq brings a new definition to the word svelte: as if to prove a point, the entire retail packaging is only about two inches tall and two inches deep. But the real shocker comes when you open the box to find that the stand itself is folded up to only about a quarter inch thick (although still two inches tall and more than a foot wide). It folds out into four very thin interconnected metal panels, whose edges then fold back to form a triangle on one end of the stand. The result is a very thin, very lightweight, and presumably very portable full-fledged laptop stand. It’s a clever enough trick that you almost have to see it in action to believe it.
I can’t vouch for those seventeen inch, ten pound PC laptops that some of you use, but in my tests with my comparatively svelte fifteen inch MacBook Pro, I found the Aviiq to be just as sturdy as other laptop stands that don’t fold up. The catch here is that at $79, this is one of the more expensive laptop stands I’ve ever used – so for the Aviiq to be worth its pricetag, it’s imperative that you’re actually going to travel with it and take advantage of its portability, which obviously doesn’t come cheap. As far as travel goes, it does have some fairly sharp edges when folded up, so the included cloth carrying bag comes in handy in terms of making sure that it plays nicely with the other items in your travel bag.
Bottom line, the Aviiq is a great option if you really want a laptop stand that you can travel lightly with.
Tom Bihn intros Co-Pilot iPad bag
April 8, 2010 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment
Those looking for airplane travel with their iPad may find interest in Tom Bihn’s new Co-Pilot travel bag, designed to tote the iPad along with other essentials. Coming in a choice of solid red, blue, gray, black, or a checkered pattern, the Co-Pilot is made of ballistic nylon. In addition to the internal iPad pouch, the bag also comes with a separate iPhone pocket as well as an external pocket for a bottle of water.
Those looking to put the $110 Co-Pilot to good use will have to wait awhile, however, as today’s pre-orders aren’t expected to ship until mid-June.
iPhone app assists in dining abroad
March 12, 2010 by Beatweek · Leave a Comment
iPhone and iPod touch users dining abroad who are befuddled by the menu choices may find solace in the BabelMenu app, which boasts of 1500 international dishes in 19 categories, translated in 4 languages, complete with ingredients, description and photos.
Filters are also included to include or exclude dishes that are vegetarian, spicy, high in cholesterol, and high in sugar. BabelMenu 1.0 sells for $4.99.
Learn more about BabelMenu in the App Store.
review: tugo
February 21, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment
The tugo turns out to be a very simple product, as I was able to attach the rubber wrapper-arms to my suitcase in about twenty seconds the first time around, and in about half that in subsequent tries once I figured out what I was doing. Gravity will motivate a full cup to remain perpendicular to the ground no matter the angle you pull your suitcase at, so the odds of a spill are remote, particularly if you’re using a sippy-lid. But gravity won’t cause the whole apparatus to come sliding down the handles, at least with the two different-branded suitcases I tried it with – in other words, the whole thing is surprisingly stable for basically being one big piece of cut-out rubber.
The obvious drawback is that each time you retract your suitcase handle, you’ll have to undo the tugo (easy), stash it your suitcase pocket, and then re-attach it the next time you want to use it (again, easy). The catch? The tugo is designed for Starbucks-style cone shaped coffee and tea cups, and I couldn’t get it to work with a twelve ounce can of soda, my morning beverage of choice. But you coffee and tea drinkers might find the ten bucks a worthwhile investment, particularly those of you who pay half that much for a cup of designer coffee to begin with.
Learn more about the tugo at goodtugo.com
review: booq Taipan Lift
February 4, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 1 Comment
The way it works is that the two internal straps that normally keep the bag from opening more than about 20 degrees can be unsnapped so the bag lays flat. I’d never thought about a feature like this, but seeing as how the only visible scratch on my MacBook Pro is a direct result of one of those plastic TSA bins, I’m suddenly in love with the idea. I thought about waiting to write this review until I had the chance to actually take it through a TSA checkpoint – but then I recalled that, at the risk of politicizing the issue, I’ve never encountered two different TSA agents who had an even remotely similar interpretation of the rules or the law, so any TSA experiences you might have with this bag won’t necessarily be the same as mine anyway. Suffice it to say that even if this bag allows me to avoid putting my laptop into a plastic bin most of the time, it’ll be a welcome change.
As far as standard laptop bag criteria, it’s got too many internal pockets to even count (again, a plus for travelers with gadgets), including slots for pens, cards, and so one, plus an external pocket on each size (one zippered, one not). The adjustable shoulder strap is well padded and removable, and my only complaint about the handles is that unlike some other bags, the two handles can’t be bound together; you have to reach for them both when you go to pick it up. Stylistically, the orange highlights are what make the otherwise all-black bag stand out. It’s not inexpensive ($99 for 15 -17 inch laptops, $89 for 13-14 inchers), but it’s a well done product.
Learn more about the Taipan Lift L and Taipan Lift S
