Special guest: David Artuso from CellHelmet

MISC 

• Edward: Facebook’s entry to stock market not so good as expected: $38, then $42 and then the day ended at $38 but it will reach over $100 so worth buying now
• Edward: LTE starts big time in Eurotrashland , now also for smartphones not only USB sticks and routers
• http://www.cultofmac.com/167907/waterproof-your-iphone-with-this-amazing-japanese-condom/ The Japanese phone condom (?!)

Apple 

• No rumors!

Google and Android

• Edward: already 8 million pre-orders for Samsung Galaxy SIII / S3
• Edward: Siri-clone of Samsung stolen and available for all Android 4 phones
  http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/19/3031621/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-rom-leak-s-voice-available-android-4-0

Microsoft 

• Edward: Windows 8 UI will be more primitive, no transparent windows and glossy effects, what the duck?
  http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/18/3029547/microsoft-windows-8-drops-aero-glass 

App Picks

• Diana – ColorNote https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socialnmobile.dictapps.notepad.color.note&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd
• Alli – CardMunch http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/cardmunch-business-card-reader/id478351777?mt=8 Thanks, Patrick!
• Edward – WhatsApp 2.0
• for Windows Phone, now profile picture can be set:
  http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/apps/218a0ebb-1585-4c7e-a9ec-054cf4569a79
• David – Pic Collage http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/pic-collage/id448639966?mt=8

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You  can do all this directly from the Color Splurge app. Take a new photo, use an existing photo from your photo album, or a photo from your Facebook album. Once you’ve uploaded your photo, you can desaturate the color – you know, add in color to only where you want it.

It’s a very simple app that does exactly what it’s supposed to do. In the above photo you can see a photo I desaturated of my nephew playing soccer. Once you’ve done your color magic, you turn that photo into something special – again, right from the app.

Your photo to a product inside the app. There are a variety of products available from coasters (as seen above), to iPhone or iPad cases, keychains, and bookbags.

For more on the process, see the video with Garry Green, President of Liberty Synergistics, and the full press release below.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. – May. 3, 2012 – Representing one of the fastest-growing segments in wireless, ivoke™ will exhibit its mobile SDK, API, skinned websites, and mobile web technology applications in booth  #4572 at the International CTIA WIRELESS 2012 show.  For the first time, ivoke will present mobile app partner, Color Splurge, a free iTunes mobile app that allows users to desaturate and color their photos to generate high quality images. Attendees can view the many personalized products that can now be created from the mere touch of a smartphone screen.

As more individuals use smartphones as their primary photo device, billions of photos have been building up in the digital world, creating a pent up demand to create something tangible with them. ivokeMOBILE™, the ivoke mobile technology, created in response to this growing demand, provides an interactive experience that enables customers to snap photos, customize the appearance of the images, then send them to print on a variety of retail products, including mobile accessories, mugs, key chains, wall décor, apparel and other merchandise.

“Consumers crave individualism and self-expression,” said Garry Green, president of Liberty Synergistics, Inc. “The ivoke technology platform gives people the opportunity to personalize items and gifts, and provides  app and web developers and partners with new revenue streams. ivoke empowers consumers to order personalized items directly from our partners’ websites and/or mobile applications. CTIA is the ideal showroom to present innovative technologies that empower consumers to memorialize life’s events.”

Leveraging the 28-year history of parent company, Liberty Synergistics, ivoke has seamlessly created an ecosystem of content creators, online communities, personalized skinned sites, retailers and other channel partners where individuals can create personalized products, while partners can establish a new, consistent and risk-free revenue stream. To learn more about ivoke, visit www.ivokenow.com.

CTIA WIRELESS is the most comprehensive marketplace for mobile innovation and technology in North America. To learn more, visit www.ctia.org.

About Liberty Synergistics/ivoke™

Liberty Synergistics was founded in 1984, as a supplier to the photo industry.  Doing business as Liberty Photo Products, the company rapidly evolved as the product line grew and diversified.  Liberty has expanded in recent years, through organic growth, a series of acquisitions and further diversification of the products it supplies, taking on the name Liberty Synergistics, Inc. in 2008. The company launched its personalization division, ivoke™ in 2011 to provide channel partners’ loyal followers with new forms of self-expression and the ability to memorialize life events. Through its divisions, Liberty currently serves national, regional, and independent retailers; mobile, web and kiosk application developers; and brand partners throughout the world looking for new revenue streams and new forms of self-expression for their loyal followers. For more information about Liberty Synergistics, please visit www.libertysynergistics.com and www.ivokenow.com.

Life360, which will reach a 15 million user milestone at CTIA (that’s only 5M away from LBS giant, Foursquare), will talk about their expansion plans such as integrating the app with vehicle security systems so that users can see where their car is at any time. In fact, Life360 recently announced a Series A funding round with Bill Ford of Ford Motor Company as an investor.

Life360 is also talking to home security firms about integrating a dashboard into the app so consumers can access their home security system anytime, anywhere.

Calabasas, Calif. – May 7, 2012 – Musubo, the creator of mobile accessories that seamlessly merge fashion and protection, today announces four new additions to its collection of unique, eye-catching carrying solutions. Designed for iPhone 4/4S, the Ripple, Sexy, Eden and Double X cases bring fresh and exciting designs to your device, allowing you to showcase your distinctive style and taste while keeping your phone perfectly protected. Inspired by Tokyo street fashion, Musubo cases turn the real into surreal, ignite the imagination and spark conversation.

“Just in time for summer, Musubo accessories bring color and freshness to case design that hasn’t ever been seen before,” said Jeff Galant, CEO of Smart IT USA, Musubo’s exclusive U.S. distribution partner. “The cases are truly original and imaginative without compromising functionality or protection.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once I saw this press release, I was off to the Musubo booth at CTIA, where Jeff Galant gave us a tour and description of the entire new line.

Enjoy!

Toronto, Ontario, May 18, 2012 — iSkin, a premium brand for fashion and technology lifestyle accessories, announced today two brand new protective cases for the iPhone 4/4S that fuse strong protection with sexy style: the fuze and fuze SE.

iSkin once again raises the bar in premium protection for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S by designing & engineering a case that fuses shock and impact protection into an elegant, low-profile package. The fuze and fuze SE represent months of engineering and research & development, along with the development of an iSkin exclusive interlocking system that combines outstanding protection in a slim and fashionable form.

Protection

Unlike other hard cases, the fuze and fuze SE both feature a soft inner core that cushions the iPhone while its hard exterior absorbs impact. Both fuze models are finished to provide a sure grip on the iPhone, giving owners confidence while holding it. The fuze and fuze SE cover every vulnerable edge of the iPhone. The fuze and the fuze SE feature protected power and volume buttons, as well as a removable charging port (30-pin) cover to keep unwanted dust, dirt and spills from causing damage. In addition, the fuze SE has extended iPhone frontal protection with integrated home button coverage.

Fit and Finish

With aesthetics keenly in mind, the fuze features a modern tri-tone color scheme. It pairs a black matte-finished body with a blue, pink or grey front that’s accented with a white trim around the screen—for a look that’s akin to the sophisticated superhero. The fuze SE steps it up with an über-sophisticated black and grey color scheme that’s accented with a brushed aluminum front plate. Both cases are designed for those seeking robust protection without the bulky, industrial look.

Works with Speaker Docks

The new cases are thin enough that they may be used with speaker docks and the Apple Universal Dock (with cradle adapters removed).

Altogether, the fuze and fuze SE distinguish iSkin as a continued industry leader in providing advanced protection with premium style for the discerning iPhone owner.

Availability & Pricing

With all features and benefits considered, the fuze retails for an affordable 49.99 USD (MSRP), while the fuze SE retails for 59.99 USD (MSRP). The fuze is available online at iSkin.com and will appear at exclusive iSkin retailers in the weeks to come.

The colors pop, and most of their cases are textured, so they feel good as well as look good. I really liked the ease of changing the back plates to quickly give your phone a whole new look.

Lewis showed me some hot covers that fit on the MacBook Air, but explained they didn’t have Macs to just leave sitting out. Lucky for him, I happened to have a Mac in my purse! So I took it out and he tried on the cover. Even though I had a skin on it, the snap cover fit quite well, and looked really nice.

Scanbox is what I call a d’oh – no brainer. It holds your iPhone level at the exact distance to photograph an 8.5 x 11 page. Like I said – d’oh! I have hundreds of photos of important documents that I’ve taken with my iPhone. I would say that 100% are not straight, or they’re at an angle so that one side of the page is closer than the other.

So yea…I backed Scanbox. Take a look for yourself on Kickstarter, and be sure to hit up the video below so you can also say d’oh!

Wired and wireless, DBEST has some amazing speakers and headphones.

Here’s Jeff Galant from SmartIT to show and tell more about DBEST.

Jeff also had a piece of sculpture masquerading as a speaker. Or maybe it was a speaker masquerading as a sculpture. At any rate, the sound was awesome, and it had some great features. Here are some photos.

Check out their website at bodydock.com.

You can check it out for yourself later, but the gist is, they wrap this guy’s hand in this orange goop and bash it with a hammer – and he doesn’t feel a thing. Are you as intrigued as I was?

What makes Impactology™ unique is the secret ingredient D30^® Impact Fabric used within our designs. It’s composed of a non-Newtonian polymer with an intelligent molecular structure. So clever in fact, that it has been adopted worldwide by the military for its power in impact protection on the battlefield.”

Take a look at the video below as we are introduced to the science behind Tech21 and Impactology, and the cases that are born out of this science.

Next up, we see how Tech21 cases are not just impact resistant, but scratch proof. Watch what happens when you use a metal brush on the back of a Tech21 case. In a word – nothing!

Finally, we see the Submariner case from Tech21. Two cases in one, this case is practically indestructible, but allows you to still use your touchscreen smartphone. It also gives you a secure place to keep your drivers license and credit cards while you’re off diving.

Now that we’ve seen the videos, let’s take a look at two of the products up close. First we’re going to look at the Impact Mesh for the iPhone 4/4S.

Here, we’re looking at the Impact Mesh in pink. As you can probably tell from the above shots, the Impact Mesh doesn’t add much bulk to the iPhone. In fact, it continues to look slim, and while this case gives you a good grip, it slides easily in and out of your pocket.

It’s when we begin to look at the sides that you can see the thin strip of orange, that is the D30 Impact Fabric material.

You can also see how well the case fits. The volume keys are covered, and you can easily reach the mute switch. The color is actually quite complementary here, with the orange appearing almost as a darker pink.

You can see more of the orange D30 peeking out at the top next to the headphone jack. Notice how the power button is also covered for protection. The docking port is open, and so far all my plugs (OEM and 3rd party) fit just fine.

This is a beautiful case that offers extraordinary protection. It feels good in the hand.

Next, we have the iPad 2 case. We were told that this case fits both the iPad 2 and the New (3rd generation) iPad, but found it to be just a little too snug for the New iPad, and too difficult to get on.

This case comes to the edges of the front of your case, and is designed to work with a smartcover. I would have preferred this case come up just a little higher on the sides. While it’s a perfect fit, it always seems like the iPad is about to come out of the case.

It’s surprisingly slim for an ultra protective case. This is a dual layer case, with the D30 hidden inside and well out of sight – pity, because it provides a nice splash of colour.

As you can see, the docking port is open, as is the camera hole. There is a vent for the speaker so that it does not affect audio at all.

While I totally love the iPhone case, I’m not completely sold on the iPad case. They do have other models, though. Keep an eye out for Tech21 as their products enter the US market.