At MacTribe, we regularly get new products in to review. Most of them are great, but some of them are fantastic. Here are three of our new favorites for you to enjoy--we highly recommend them!
Undercover Solutions PortaPocketMarketed mostly toward women--'cause, lets face it, men can put things in their pants pockets without worrying about what it does to the derriere--this great new release gives you freedom of movement as well as the ever important ability to go through your day feeling like a secret agent. Trust us, even if you're just carrying your credit card and ID so you don't have to bring a purse to the club, with the porta pocket strapped around you waist, ankle, arm or thigh (depending on your outfit of course) you'll feel like you're on a confidential assignment to enjoy yourself.
Extra pocket styles and bands are sold separately, and you can choose from a few different colors as well. Pink, black and beige are the basics, and straps range in length from 12" (ideal for ankles) to 36" (for those who really missed the fanny pack). Pockets are velcro or belt loop style and can be switched out if you need to carry lighter items on day, heavier the next; you can even buy a tall pocket, which is great if you want to leave your bulky sunglasses case at home, or if you have to keep EpiPens on you for allergy attacks.
Bottom line? They're wearable, comfortable and provide a great alternative to lugging a purse around. Two thumbs up.
www.portapocket.com | Price: From $19.95
Joby Gorillapod and GorillamobileWhen we saw these at the PhotoPlus Expo, our little hearts started beating faster. Moveable, flexible, and ridiculously cool looking, these tripods and device stands totally take the cake in our book: they range in size, able to support anything from eleven ounces to eleven pounds, and though they look like unitaskers their uses are actually myriad.
Use the Gorillapod to mount your still camera, camcorder or flash rig to basically anything that's not moving--or curl its legs around the handlebars of your hog to create the ultimate motion picture. The Gorillamobile holds any mobile device you can think of, from iPhones and iPods to gaming devices, GPS units, mini cameras...and it comes with three methods of attachment to make sure your devices are stable though it all. The iPhone version comes with a case that attaches to the stand instead of your phone so you don't have to sacrifice any Apple design, and Joby's developing an app (free though the App Store) that will equip your iPhone camera with a timer so you can clip you phone onto its tripod, set the timer and get your shot.
The Gorillapod Original comes in a bunch of fun colors, but everything else is pretty basic--we'll take the trade for the sheer coolness and whimsy of the product.
http://joby.com | Price: From $21.95-$99.95, iPhone stand for $39.95
MMDesign DiscsoxLove DVDs and CDs but hate the bulky boxes? In the era of downsizing, space is at a premium; we don't know about you, but we just don't have space for one more DVD case. That's where DiscSox come in--they're sleeves that hold your media and the cover art so you don't have to sacrifice the pretty pictures for space in your entertainment center. The sleeves are sold in packs or as part of a kit with a metal or plastic tray to stand your media up an angle for easy viewing and selection.
With these babies, you can store sixty five DVDs in twelve inches of space. That should sell you, even if the viewing labels and custom storage trays don't.
DiscSox also makes storage solutions for other media, like CDs, as well as cabinets, chests and cases for those lucky enough to have the space to use them.
www.mmdesign.com | Price: $22.95 for a 25 pack of sleeves, Kits from around $50.00
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iPad Costs
iSuppli Corp., which generally waits until it can actually get the new Apple product to estimate its production cost, has decided to forgo hands on examination in the case of the iPad. They have--from just looking at it, it's amazing--decided the base model only costs $219.35 for Apple to produce. According to AppleInsider the base model won't make Apple anywhere near as much profit as the 32 GB model with 3G wireless priced at $729...that one reportedly costs only $287.15 to produce.
That's some profit! No wonder Apple execs have said they'd stay nimble on pricing! With demand for the iPad under scrutiny and this week's news that the "Take Picture" hint was removed from the Address Book app in the iPad simulator even we are starting to wonder if it's not worth waiting for the 2nd generation.
Trust us, it's painful to say.
Google Challenges the Internet
"Think Big" indeed. This time, Google is setting its sights on the very way we transmit information and asking people from around the country to nominate their city or state to be included in an ultra-high speed open internet network of Google's building. Set to include anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 people, this network will boast 1GB per second fiber optic connections that Google reps are hoping will bolster developer creativity, test new ways to build the infrastructure and challenge internet service providers to band together to create a better internet instead of shunning change to maintain their bottom lines.
This is huge news, and we hope our city is on the receiving end of the new interwebs...here's the official Google Blog if you want to read it all in detail or submit your community.
Dogs on Twitter
From the country that's given us karate and karaoke comes the newest iPhone app: that's right, Japan's Index Corp. has announced the release of "Bowlingual," the dog emotion translator. Latest in a long line of technological advances, this app (to be released this summer) analyzes Fido's bark and puts it into one of six categories, like "needy." Or "happy." Then it adds a caption based on the emotion and allows you to snap a photo of your pooch in its current mood; as if that weren't enough it can modify that photo to enlarge your pet's eyes...oh...so cute.
Seriously, the app is set to sell for $5 and will post your pet's barks to Twitter. Silly? Yes. Fun? Probably!!
Will you let your dog speak his mind? Tell us here.
