The aura Year of the Dragon for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S honors the auspicious Chinese Year of the Water Dragon.

TORONTO, Canada – January 31, 2012 — iSkin, a premium brand for fashion and technology lifestyle accessories, announces today a limited edition of its aura line of iPhone 4/4S cases to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

The Year of the Dragon edition features an intricate laser-etched engraving on an aircraft-grade aluminum fused onto a durable, lightweight, soft-coated polycarbonate frame. It showcases an ultra-light, ultra-thin form, adorned with a unique, decorative design that captures the spirit of the Dragon within the Shēngxiào Chinese Zodiac.

This limited edition possesses the same features that are expected from all iSkin premium cases, including a flash guard that eliminates glare when using the built-in flash of the iPhone in dark environments, and an ultra-clear front screen film that adds yet another level of protection to the front of your iPhone 4/4S.

The aura Year of the Dragon edition arrives in three distinct colors symbolizing Prosperity (metallic red), Love (metallic pink) and Unity (metallic black). It will retail for $44.99 (USD) and is available immediately at: www.iskin.com/iphone4/aura/ and soon at select retail partners around the world.

The case has 2 pieces: a back that has semi-flexible edges that wrap around the front of the iPad, and a plastic frame that snaps over the edges of the back.  This provides protection for your entire device.  The case is lightweight, and adds minimal bulk – no small factor considering that the original iPad is a fairly hefty device.   The reptile case sports a faux-reptile pattern on the back.  It is comfortable to hold, although I find it a little slippery.  On the other hand, that slippery-ness allows it to slide in and out of the pocket of my new Scottevest very easily.

The case and frame cover the power and volume buttons, but do not impede their functionality, although the power button cover ends up being flush with the frame, making it a little harder to find with your finger tip.  The mute switch is not covered, but it ends up being recessed.  The hole around it is plenty large enough to allow even my thumb to reach.  The power and headphone jacks are also uncovered, however, the case comes with plugs (2 of each) that fit into the frame and cover those jacks.  I haven’t put them into my case; I figure they would be annoying to remove and easy to lose.

Along with the case, SwitchEasy also sends several extras.  Included in the package are a microfiber wipe, a screen protector, and a stiff card for applying the protector.  Also included are two nifty stands.  They fold down flat for easy transport, and quickly unfold to hold your iPad in an upright position for viewing video or reading e-books.  It would also be a great angle for using an external keyboard, but not great for using the internal keyboard.

SwitchEasy also sells cases for the iPad 2, several models of the iPhone, and several models of Mac laptops.  These moderately priced cases are a nice value, especially when bundled with the extras that are included.

I’m going to start with the obligatory comparison to the Otterbox. As most of us know, the two best known Otterbox cases are the Defender and the Commuter. The Defender is BIG. It makes your slender iPhone bulky. It never occurred to me to use one just for this reason. The Commuter, on the other hand, does not add considerable bulk, and with the available colors, can be quite attractive while keeping your iPhone safe from most drops. There is no comparison in “girth” between the Otterbox Defender and the LifeProof case. The Defender is still just…enormous. There is a better comparison between the Commuter and the LifeProof case when it comes to size. The LifeProof case adds width over the Commuter, but the Commuter adds thickness. But while the size comparison can be made only to the Commuter, the protection factor can be made only to the Defender. Confused? Let’s leave the comparisons behind and move on to the features of the LifeProof case.

As you can see from these first two images, the LifeProof case boasts a clean design, and is a solid, single color. (The case is also available in pink, purple, and white.) There is enough “grip” on the sides to give you a sense of security, and the knowledge that your expensive iPhone will not slip out of your hand (even though it’s protected against drops).

So what makes the LifeProof case special? The LifeProof cases completely seals in your iPhone. Yes. Completely. LifeProof offers “the four proofs.” You are protected against snow, dirt, water, and shock. (Shock being a physical jolt, as opposed to electrical.) And the magic number seems to be 6.6 (2 meters). You can drop your LifeProof protected phone from a height of 6.6 feet up, and you can submerge your phone up to 6.6 feet down without worry.

It has certainly given me a confidence I didn’t have before. Last night at dinner was the first time I didn’t snatch my iPhone off the table when the waitress came round with drink refills! In the past I was worried that even a splash could ruin my iPhone. Now I know that even if the waitress pours the pitcher of iced tea directly on my iPhone – it’s well protected.

The first question you’re now asking is “what about sound quality if it’s completely sealed?” The microphone has a special thin Goretex vent that keeps the water out but allows sounds to pass. I’ve found the sound to be quite good, and no complaints from callers at the other end as to my voice quality. The back of the LifeProof case is actually used as a sub-woofer, and I believe the sound is better in the case than out when I’m playing music. The speakers, themselves, are covered, but one of the many LifeProof patent innovations allows LifeProof to distribute sound around the device, making the whole device a resonator.

The docking port is covered by a door that opens easily, and clicks shut to maintain the seal. Only your OEM sync/charge cable will fit through the door – it is a precision fit. The LifeProof charge port door will last 10,000 cycles. That is about 10 years if you open and close the charge port door three times a day.

I believe that one of the reasons the LifeProof case adds width has to do with the volume and mute buttons on the side. As you can see, they are precision molded, yet this case fits both GSM and Verizon iPhone 4 as well as the iPhone 4S. There was no wiggling or fitting required to get anything to line up, yet they all work as though time were spent during the case application. One interesting point here is that the operation of the mute switch is now backwards. Pushing down actually pulls the switch up into the non-mute position, where pulling up pushes the switch down and mutes your phone. Yes, I found this out the hard way. It does, however, make sense, and doesn’t take long to get into the habit of pushing up to mute your phone.

The headphone jack is also covered. In a rather unique solution, instead of a cover similar to the dock door, LifeProof has a screw-in plug. I must admit, it reminds me a little of the old stub antennas, and is the only truly unattractive feature of the case.

Should you want to use your headset, you can remove the plug, and plug your headset directly into the phone, or you can use the provided dongle. The dongle plugs in and screws closed, maintaining your waterproof seal.

The power button is similar to the volume buttons. You can feel it, and easily press to switch on or off.

One of my favorite individual features is the screen protector. It is, of course, built into the case. Crystal clear, it lays flat on your iPhone’s screen and allows you to use your touch screen normally. It is shiny, and gives your iPhone that same pristine look as when there is no case or screen protector being used. It does, however, attract fingerprints. (I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to find anything that actually repels fingerprints.) You may also notice from the above photos, how well the screen covers the home button. It’s not a cutout, it’s a total contour – and I love it.

There can sometimes be a slight air pocket between the screen protector and your screen. LifeProof suggests pressing your iPhone against your chest while pressing against the back of the case. I have only noticed a slight differential in my screen, and that’s at the top, where I sometimes notice I need to apply the tiniest amount of pressure.

Some cases have caused problems with the iPhone’s camera, particularly when using flash. LifeProof’s CrystalClear double anti-reflective (AR) coated camera-grade glass lens delivers the sharpest eight megapixel images possible, with perfect camera flash operation.

LifeProof’s support starts before you purchase your case, with a series video tutorials that include how to apply your case. These tutorials are well put together, and cover almost every aspect of use.

The LifeProof case is by no means cheap. It will set you back $79.99. Of course, if you are interested in a case that will absolutely protect your iPhone from what life throws at you, whether it’s knocking your phone off the table, or dropping it into the commode, then it’s well worth the investment.

You can buy your LifeProof case directly from the LifeProof store, Amazon, and BestBuy. And soon you will be able to LifeProof your iPad 2.

We will be bringing Diana back soon. After an entire show devoted to choosing an Android tablet, she bought an iPad and is in love.

Speaking of iPads and love, Jerry’s house got (another) new toy….iPad 2 for Lara!

I got a Kindle Touch very comfortable!

AT&T / T-Mo merger no mo

Mirosoft Office for iOS YES!

Xbox & Kinect selling like hotcakes    (no pepper spray needed)

• Xbox 360 sold more than 960,000 con­soles in the U.S. alone, with more than 800,000 sold with­in a peri­od of 24 hours.
• More than 750,000 Kinect for Xbox 360 sen­sors were sold in the U.S. – stand­alone and bun­dled.

Paypal on Cyber Monday – up more than 500% from last year. Wowza!

Google Maps 6 for Android – indoor mapping.

Hello iTether Goodbye

iOS 5.1 beta…blocks all those shortcuts everyone was so excited about 2 weeks ago.

The case roundup: Graft Leverage for iPhone 4 – FTW!   e13tron Hybrid?  Not so much. Full review of LifeProof case coming.

 
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The leather is nice quality; it is not smooth, yet not too heavily grained for my overly-sensitive fingers.  The case itself is fairly thick at just over an inch, but that is understandable given the design.  The cover is sturdy and rigid; and it is nicely padded, with the ROOCASE logo embossed in the lower right corner of the front.  The Nook could probably withstand a fairly intense jolt while inside.  It has dual zippers to close the cover, which means that it could be zipped shut while the power cord is plugged in.  The zipper pulls are a little larger and heavier than I like.

The interior is advertised as microfiber, but it feels fuzzy – more like crushed velvet.  Unlike my old case, the stitching of the interior doesn’t leave smudges on the screen.  There is an elastic pen holder in the center.  The elastic is wide, but the loop is so large that even the heftiest of pens would not be held tightly without a clip.

There are two business card holders and a flap for papers, but the case is a little small to hold an 8.5×11” paper folded in half; less a design flaw than a limitation of the size of the Nook.

The case has an inner sleeve for the Nook itself.  The sleeve attaches to the case via two large round pieces of Velcro.  This allows you to stand the sleeve sideways in the case, and using the large kickstand on the back of the case, to stand the Nook in a readable position.

The fit of the sleeve is fairly accurate, and the Nook is securely fastened inside via a top flap which folds inside the back and fastens with a strip of Velcro.  The sleeve has cutouts to access all the buttons and the power jack.  The top flap partially covers the headphone jack on mine.  If the flap were even 1/4″ narrower, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Unfortunately, you also can’t access the microSD card slot without taking the Nook out of the sleeve.  For most people, this probably isn’t an issue, but since mine has a dual-boot card (which must be removed to switch from Android to the Nook software), it would be nice to have access without pulling it out of the sleeve.  There are holes in the back of the sleeve over the Nook’s internal speaker.  Although I didn’t try it with the sleeve removed from the case, the sound would probably be fine, but I suspect it would be muffled if it were set inside the case, or even flush on a table or desk.  Since I don’t use my Nook for music, this isn’t an issue for me.

The kickstand, which is slightly recessed in the back of the case, has magnets which hold it closed when not in-use, and the construction of the stand itself seems fairly sturdy.  There is a piece of ribbon that is intended to keep the stand from extending too far, but on mine it is longer than the reach of the kickstand, so it serves no real purpose.

ROOCASE (http://www.roocase.com) makes a variety of case styles for many different devices.  This design retails for a little under $50, but if you search, you can find it for less; I found mine on Amazon for $27.  I would recommend these both to protect your device and for their excellent appearance.

The BookBook for iPhone 4 is Twelve South‘s latest addition to the BookBook line, further extending their reach into Apple’s mobile product lineup. Reading their website it looks to be as elegant and functional as the rest. Complete with money, identification and card slots, you should be able to keep your bare necessities with you all in one place. I was intrigued enough by what I read and saw that I had to take this case for a spin to see if it really lives up to its claims.

First Impressions

My order arrived in the standard UPS brown shipping box – but the actual packaging was a small treat for the eyes. Textured dark brown boxing with red internals holding the BookBook in place. Twelve South obviously takes pride all the way down to presentation, because even the packaging was nicely designed to highlight the BookBook itself.

Once you get the BookBook out of the box and in your hands you immediately begin to appreciate the quality of this fine leather product. Being the person I am, I thoroughly inspected the case before doing anything else. The leather was evenly stitched with no loose or untied threading. The binding is labeled “BookBook” in what would be the title area if it were an actual book, followed with the roman numeral “XII” in the volume area. All the lettering and accents are finished in a gold tone color which helps to give the case that vintage look.

The Twelve South logo is permanently stamped into the leather on the back cover at the bottom, where it does not detract from the styling of the case. The pieces of leather used to create the BookBook are all of different grains, thicknesses and color (common among leather products), but put together in a way that compliments each other creating a nicely finished handmade product. The outward presentation is further complimented by housing an equally well designed leather and cloth interior section for your cards on the left side and a soft leather and suede section that cradles your iPhone on the right. This much attention to detail shows the amount of care taken to create not just a high quality product but an experience for the senses.

First Time Out

I put aside my current Vapor Pro Black Ops Case and wallet to see if I could get by with only the BookBook. I knew from the start that my day job would in no way make it possible for me to use this wallet/case exclusively (just too many mandatory IDs and a badge), so I opted to use it only when off duty for starters.

My first weekend out with the BookBook I packed my driver license, two credit cards, some cash, and of course my iPhone 4. All that fits into the BookBook quite easily. Although it can hold up to 2 cards per slot I’d suggest putting only one card per slot unless it’s really necessary. The BookBook does not seem to stretch much due to its design so anything more than the maximum causes it to bulge and not close properly (although this could change since leather does tend to loosen over time). I started out by taking it with me for a few hours of cycling. I put the BookBook loaded up with the aforementioned items into my hydration pack along with the rest of my usual cycling gear. The good thing isn’t that it forced me to carry less than what I’m use to, but that it kept my phone and wallet items together in a small yet convenient package. No more fumbling through the gear in my hydration pack for cash or the phone in case of an emergency. Everything is in one quick and easily accessible place. This also allowed me to move everything to one smaller pocket in the bag making it extra convenient. I equate the BookBook to my ToolRap which holds only my essential bike tools when I’m out cycling. So the next time I’m ready to ride all I do is toss the ToolRap and BookBook in my hydration pack and I’m off to a worry free day of cycling.

My second time out was a night out dancing with my wife. Pocketability is, dare I say, excellent. I grabbed the BookBook which was already loaded with the same items as before, and it fit in my front dress pant pocket with no issues. The only thing worse than a wallet that won’t fit in your pocket is a wallet that bulges out like an extra appendage. Again, everything in one place and I was ready to go. We arrived at the club and almost like the promotional video I pulled out the BookBook, flashed my ID at the door to enter and it went right back in my pocket. During the night, removing it for use was just as easy as any other wallet I’ve owned. As the night went on, I figured the likelihood of someone putting down the BookBook and accidentally forgetting it as many might do with just a phone was even less likely to happen as people tend to put wallets back in their pockets right after use.

I found taking pictures was easy enough. I still have my ZAGG full body InvisibleShield installed on my iPhone so it fits a little tighter compared to how it would without. The iPhone is a little harder to push up to take a picture but it’s nothing I can complain about because the case is not designed for a completely covered iPhone. Some may not like the extra steps just to take a picture but consider this: unless you keep the camera app active at all times and the phone unlocked and in your hand, there is no way you are going to catch every special moment that happens. This is a phone that requires minimum screen activation after pulling it out of your pocket, bag or off your belt clip. Even with a dedicated picture button (iOS 5) you will still miss something.

Typing on the iPhone with the case works well. Holding the BookBook to type actually feels a bit better that holding the phone itself (in my opinion). The cover folds back, creating a small wedge that you can easily hold or place on a flat surface when using applications that can rotate into landscape view. The sides are also out of the way so you have full use of the entire screen, home button, front camera and phone speaker.

Folding the cover back is also what you do to make a call if you’re not using a Bluetooth headset. The BookBook feels good in the hand and seems to give you a better grip on the iPhone. As with most leather products it has a nice soft but firm feel and won’t easily slip out your hand.

All the ports including the Power button and ringer on/off switch are left open for easy access. Unless you absolutely must dock the iPhone, using a sync cable is no problem at all. Up and down indicators are stamped on the left side of the case so you know were they are. The leather is thick enough to protect the phone but does not get in the way of you using it.

Final Thoughts

First, I must admit I have been rather unimpressed by other phone case/wallets until the BookBook. I can’t quite pin down any one specific feature that initially attracted me to the BookBook over others, except that it seemed to be more of a complete package. But maybe that is the feature right there. Looking at other comparable offerings; most seem to be designed for a specific gender, lifestyle or just not completely thought out. The BookBook, on the other hand, is open to any lifestyle, any gender, and blends in to any occasion – be it business, leisure, or anything in between.

To say my test runs went well would be a gross understatement. I have so thoroughly enjoyed the BookBook that I’ve been using it on a daily basis since I got it 3 weeks ago. I’ve found that there’s enough room for your essential cards and a few dollars. And in this day and age, who really needs to carry around a wallet full of cash anyway?! Using the case is a no-brainer since there’s nothing to put together. You just load it up and go. There are no real negatives to this case unless you absolutely can’t find a way to carry less or you must have a case with a camera hole. Solidly designed and constructed, this is a great accessory for the iPhone 4. So if you’re looking for a case that’s well put together with its own sense of style, then the BookBook for iPhone 4 is for you. Available at Twelve South for $60, it’s money well spent for what it offers.

Google buys Motorola…blah blah blah.

Buy any cool accessories lately?
WD 1TB drive that fits in my 2nd Kinies purse/gadget bag
Just ordered the first interesting case in a while: http://www.padandquill.com/ The Little Black Book. It looked great before, but the lack of camera opening was a deal breaker. They’ve updated, so I ordered. I don’t “get” their case for MacBook Air. (BodyGuardz with Ciderz and carbon fibre)

Gratuitous plug for Zamzar.com
The greatest converter out there

Spotify

Help us pick a new printer.

Mac OS X 10.7.1 update: Apple Insider – http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/08/16/apple_releases_mac_os_x_10_7_1_with_wi_fi_improvements_audio_out_fixes.html
The update is available through Software Update and is a 17.4MB download. Apple recommends that all users running OS X Lion update to the latest version. Changes in Mac OS X 10.7.1, according to Apple, include:

Addresses an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari
Resolves an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out
Improves the reliability of Wi-Fi connections
Resolves an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion

The software update contains additional fixes for users running Apple’s latest MacBook Air and Mac mini hardware, released last month. For those users, the latest update:
Resolves an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
Resolves an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
Resolves an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media
Interesting point: devs were not given this build prior to release, they have 10.7.2 for iCloud testing.

Mail vs. Thunderbird

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Have a look for yourself:

I like taking a book and sitting in the shallow end of the pool, or at the water’s edge at the beach. But you have to be careful not to get the pages wet. I prefer reading on my iPhone, but I would never take my iPhone into the pool – without a DryCASE.

I was instantly drawn to the DryCASE booth, because their display was a working aquarium (fish included!) with an iPhone hanging inside…under water. I had to go check it out. I had already learned about Clever Wraps, but this seemed to be something well beyond rainproofing your gadget. You still have full access to your touch screen, so with the DryCASE, the possibilities are endless. Imagine taking your Galaxy S with you when you go snorkeling! Facetime from the hot tub. Or just listen to your music while swimming laps, because DryCASE offers a 3-way headphone jack so that you can use your earbuds even through the case. (They also offer DryBUDS, their own earbuds which are waterproof to up to 12 feet.)

Each DryCASE also comes with a neoprene armband, so you are set to engage in your favorite water sports.

Enjoy the video demo from CTIA:

Some of these are beautiful, some will make your eyes bleed. And there’s still more to come!

And this last one is just for Jerry: