Category: Accessories

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Innergie 3-in-1 Magic Cable: The only USB Cable You’ll Need In Your Bag

Because I travel for a living, I’m always looking for ways to consolidate and have smaller peripherals and gadgets. I carry a bunch of cables because I never know what I might need. This also includes a variety of USB cables. I carry iOS Device Sync/Charge Cables, USB Micro cables for charging things like my Jawbone BT headset and a USB mini cable for connecting hard drives.

The Innergie 3-in-1 Cable does it all

This one cable allows me to connect or charge the vast majority of devices that I carry. I can use it to charge/sync my iPhone or iPad. I can use it to connect a USB hard drive and I can use it to charge a variety of my USB peripherals such as my Logitech Ultrathin iPad Keyboard, Jawbone BT Era Headset or Jambox. The design is pretty cool. All 3 connectors are available by simply unplugging down to the one you need. If you need the iDevice 30 pin connector, then simply plug all 3 together. If you need one either the USB micro or mini just unplug the connector above it and pivot out the one you need.

My only complaint with this cable is that it’s very short (20cm). It’s fine for connecting to your computer, but if you’re going to plug something into a wall charger then you’re probably going to want it to be longer. You can use an extension cable like this one. The only other downside is that you can only use one type of connector at a time. This means that you’ll still need to carry multiple cables if you want to charge multiple devices at once.

I got a couple of these to keep in each of my bags. Now I know I’ll always have the right USB cable.

You can get the Innergie 3-in-1 Cable here.

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Review – The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad 2 and the New iPad

Sometimes I get comments here, jokingly about how much money I just cost you because I reviewed something cool that now you must have. Well you’ll take pleasure in knowing that it just happened to me too. My colleague and gadget buddy Dave Helmly just showed me his latest gadget and in about 3 seconds I knew I’d have to have one.

The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad 2 and the New iPad

I’ve tried other iPad keyboards and while they work, I usually just ended up carrying my Apple Bluetooth Keyboard. The problem I had with the ones that are designed to be a case for the iPad is that they typically added more weight and bulk to the iPad than what I was willing to carry. At that point I figured I might as well carry my MacBook Air. That all changed when I saw the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover! First of all the “ultrathin” part is key. I use Apple Smart Covers now and I don’t want any cover that’s much thicker than those. Logitech brilliantly designed their Keyboard Cover as a “Smart Cover”. That’s right, it magnetically snaps on to the iPad 2 and the New iPad just like Apple’s Smart covers do. Just snap it on and close it. It maintains a very low profile and is very thin when attached. The next smart thing they did was they made a magnetic slot to dock the iPad in to prop it up either vertically or horizontally while you use the keyboard.

The keyboard is bluetooth as you would expect and rechargeable via a standard USB micro cable. Speaking of the keyboard itself, the first key I looked for was the import Shift Key on the left side! The other keyboard I tried (Brookstone) didn’t have a Shift Key on both sides and that really bothered me. Typing on this keyboard seems very natural. I can’t speak to battery life yet as I’ve only spent a few hours playing with Dave’s, but I’ve already ordered one for myself. Damn you Dave you just cost me money (again)! 🙂

You can get the Logitech Ultrathink Keyboard Cover for iPad 2 and the New iPad here for about $99.

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CloudFTP Lets You Share a Hard Drive Wirelessly with Your Devices, even your iPad

I ordered this little gadget before heading out on my current tour and got a chance to try it out in the hotel lounge with one of my colleagues. CloudFTP for all intents and purposes is a little adhoc access point with a USB port on it. Technically you should be able to hook up just about any storage device to it and share the content on that device wirelessly with your devices (computers and iOS/Android devices).

I figured I’d give it a real world test and time for a CloudFTP review. I took it out of the box, read the little manual that comes with it (so I could figure out how to access it), plugged in my LaCie Rugged Firewire 800/USB 2 backup drive into and fired it up. After a few moments it was up and ready to go. I then went to the web browser on my iPhone, keyed in the URL and there it was!

My hard drives directory structure. I could access any file and if the file was iOS compatible such as a PDF or movie I could see it right then and there. Speaking of movies, I get asked all the time about plugging in hard drives or other external drives into an iPad or iPhone to carry movies around and up until now I never really had a good answer. This would do the trick nicely. The first movie I tried wasn’t in a format that iOS liked (it was an AVI file) and therefore it copied the movie to the iPhone and then I was able to open it in the VLC App and it played just fine.

The movie playing above is streaming wirelessly from my LaCie hard drive to my iPhone 4s via the CloudFTP

I tested another movie that was in the proper .MP4 format and it streamed. However, I will note that about halfway through the movie the video froze and the sound kept going. Not sure if that will be an ongoing issue or not. I was also impress that the built-in USB port had enough power to run the drive without the drive or the CloudFTP being plugged into a power source. The second thing that impressed me even more was that it didn’t seem to matter what format the drive was in. My hard drive was Mac formatted and it still showed up as the “C” drive with all the directories (folders) showing.

Battery life is up to five hours and you can share documents, music or photos with up to 8 users at a time or movies with up to three users. It creates a WiFi network for your devices to join but keep in mind it’s not a WiFi Internet Router and therefore there is not internet connectivity while you’re connected to it. However, you can configure it to join your existing network if you like.

The Bottom Line

I don’t know how much use I will get out of this. I primarily got it as a method to quickly share files between computers and multiple users. I don’t run into those situations often, but when I do this device should come in real handy. The small size is also a plus as I can just keep it in the ThinkTank Cable Management 30 accessory bag that I carry in my laptop bag. The only thing I don’t really like about it is that while it does charge via USB, it comes with it’s own proprietary charging cable and that means having to keep up with more more cable as opposed to using a standard USB micro cable to charge. Other than that it works as advertised.

You can check out CloudFTP here for $99.95 and it comes in either Black or White

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LCD 4 Video Offers My Readers Some Exclusive Deals

Owner George Haddad

My friends over LCD 4 Video have given you, my readers some Exclusive Deals on some of  their Video and Photography Gear! It's always great when a vendor is willing to give my readers some deals and I'm pleased to share them with you:

 

LCD4Video iLED On-Camera Dual-Color LED Light Kit $50 off at $199.95

Use Promo Code "TERRYWHITE" and order here

 

LCD4Video iLED-XL On-Camera Dual-Color LED Light Kit $50 off at $299.95

Use Promo Code "TERRYWHITE" and order here

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera (Body Only) $50 off at $2,249

Use Promo Code "TERRYWHITE" and order here

 

Elinchrom D-Lite-4IT 400Ws 2 Light To Go Set (90-260VAC) $674.95

No promo code needed, order here

 

Elinchrom BXRi 500 Twin Flash Head Kit for $1,449.95

The same lights that Scott Kelby uses on his Light It, Shoot It, Retouch it Tour

No promo code needed, order here

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A Software Update To My Watch

  

Along with the iPhone 4S introduced this week, Apple also did minor updates to the iPod line too. With the iPod nano Apple added additional clock faces. The original iPod nano 6th gen only had a black face and a white face for the clock. There are now 18 clock faces for the iPod nano including Kermet, Mickey and Minnie Mouse as well as some digital faces and even faces with moving gears. The good news is that you don't need to buy a new 7th gen Nano to get these faces. Apple also released a software update for the existing iPod nano. I installed it Tuesday and got all the new goodies. 

 

It could be better

There is one thing stopping this from being near perfect and that's the fact that you still need to press the physical button on the side to see the time. I wish there was a way to set it so that it stays dim until you touch the screen or perhaps use the accelerometer to shake to see the time. Other than that, it's great having so many clock face choices that I can change anytime I feel like it.

 

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day the iPod nano is an iPod first that just happens to have a clock display. If you need a watch that you can just look at and see the time, then this is not for you. However, if you want to carry a sizable music collection, some photos, have a way to track your runs/walks and have a stylish watch, then check out the new lower priced iPod nanos. Here's the band I use.

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Keep it Sexy with a tvTray

One of the things I've always envisioned doing in my photography studio is using flat panel LCD/LEDs to display my photography in addition to prints on the walls. Now that I've moved to bigger digs I've installed a few flat panels and they are driven by Apple TVs. I contemplated whether or not if I would mount the flat panels on the walls or use stands. My interior designer said "mounting on the wall is more sexy." How could I argue with that? He was right! Of course mounting a flat panel HDTV on the wall these  days isn't really that hard. What makes this more challenging is figuring out what to do with any equipment that you plan to connect to it. Certainly one option would be to run long enough cables and store the equipment in a closet. However, in my setup this wasn't feasible. Since I only planed to connect an Apple TV to each panel at this point, I needed a solution to either mount it or hide it. Since the Apple TV 2 is so small you could actually hide it behind the flat panel. The only problem with this is potentially losing a great deal of range with the IR based Apple TV remote control.

H-Squared comes through again!

 

These guys are awesome. They have a variety of different products to mount your Apple gear on the wall/ceiling. I started using their products years ago to mount my AirPort Extreme base stations and Mac mini. I remembered seeing one of their new products, the tvTray while attending Macworld Expo this past winter. I visited their website for a second look and within about 2 seconds I knew that this was exactly what I was looking for.

Mounting an HDTV on the wall is sexy. Seeing the cables is not! I wanted a solution that would also make the cables disappear. I decided to mount the tvTray right underneath the HDTV so that the cables would run up behind the TV and out of sight. It worked beautifully!

Check out the tvTray here at H-Squared.

 

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Guest Review: Arkon Window/Console Mount for iPhone 4

 

 

by Jason Lykins

About 6 months ago I switched from using the built in GPS on my Truck to using my iPhone and the Navigon App exclusively for all of my GPS needs. Since then I’ve been laying my phone on my lap, on my center console or on my dash and picking it up or just listening to the voice guidance. Terry has his favorite mount for some time. Made by Magellan, but was more than I was willing to pay.  I just wasn’t ready to shell out close to $100 for a mount for my cell phone. As of this writing I’m in a hotel room in Milwaukee where I’m visiting from Cincinnati for my brother’s wedding. I didn’t want to have to look down or worry about my phone sliding all over the place during this trip so I hopped online and purchased the Arkon IPM514 mount for the iPhone4. (Actually I bought 2 of them, one for me and one for my girlfriend. Brownie points!) I got it in the mail just in time, and for under $15 shipped I couldn’t be happier!
 

Mounting

This mount is just what I was looking for. I didn’t want to mount it to my window; rather I wanted a way to secure it to my dashboard to put it right at eye level for me. I searched the vent mount options, but in the end I chose this model for its dash-mounting feature. The base of the 514 has a suction cup on it to allow for securing to the window if you want, but it also comes with a circular two-sided tape mount to place it on your dashboard/console. On my truck it worked great, as I had a flat spot right at the top of the dash to secure it. In my girlfriend’s car the mounting was a little trickier because she didn’t have as many flat areas, but we made it work. The mount itself pivots at the base where it connects to the suction cup, as well as a “ball head” style pivot where the base meets the phone holding plate. This allows for many mounting positions giving you many different options when it comes to deciding on where to place your unit.

The plate that holds the phone is spring loaded to allow for use with many different styles of smart phones, although with my iPhone in there it feels like it’s almost at the end of its range so I don’t know if a longer phone would work in there. The prongs that physically hold the phone in place are adjustable so having a charging cord connected isn’t a problem.
 

Conclusion

The Arkon IPM514 is a great solution for anyone that wants to mount their cell iPhone to their dashboard or window for GPS use but doesn’t want to empty their wallet to do it.

You can get the Arkon IPM514 for only $11.19 here from Amazon.

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My Custom iPad 2 Gelaskin is Here

Like I said in my iPad 2 Review, I really like the new Smart Covers for the ease of taking them off and putting them on and leaving the dock connecter exposed and dockable in keyboard dock as well as the charging dock. What I didn't like was having the back of the iPad completely exposed to scratches. So as soon as Gelaskins.com offered iPad 2 Gelaskins I placed my order. My custom designed Gelaskin arrived yesterday and fits beautifully on the iPad 2. Most importantly it works great with the Smart Covers. These skins don't use glue, they are vinyl decals that use 3M adhesive, which is repositionable. For example, I moved the one from my older MacBook Pro to my newer MacBook Pro in about 30 seconds. Since these skins are vinyl they are really designed for "looks" and scratch resistance. If you drop your device on a hard surface, it will likely get damaged. If that's your worry then get a case (not a cover or a skin).

I've been very happy with my Gelaskins over the years and this new one makes the outside of my iPad 2 complete.

You can get your own Gelaskin for a variety of different devices here at Gelaskins.com

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Review: U-Socket is here!

I remember about a year ago when FastMac teased us with this product. I'm sure they wanted to release it sooner, but they went back to the drawing board and redesigned a better product! The U-Socket is designed to replace your standard US 110V outlet with one that also has two powered USB ports. This way you can charge two standard USB devices and still have access to both outlets for other devices. I ordered three of these and while I didn't expect them until February, they surprisingly showed up yesterday. I was like a kid on Christmas day. I don't know why I was so excited to see such a simple product, but I just think these things are cool.

 

Before you do it yourself

Electricity doesn't really frighten me. Plumbing and Natural Gas on the other hand do. Although this device has standard electrical wiring like most outlets, it is an electrical installation and if you are the least bit squimish please please please hire a licensed Electrician to install yours. I'm not responsible if you, your devices or your house get fried! I warned you! I'm warning you again. Let a professional do it! With that said, I've been installing replacement outlets and light switches in my house for years. So I was not afraid to TURN OFF the circuit at the circuit breaker and then proceed with the installation. Although the wiring is very straight forward it took a little longer than usual. The biggest problem is that outlet is about twice the depth of a standard outlet. Yes it's designed to fit in a standard box, but it will be tight. The one that I replaced had a little plaster around the box that I had to take my time and chip away first. I also had to be more careful about how I ran the wires around the outlet itself as there is very little wiggle room. To this point I went to install the other two in a newer part of my home and the wiring was more complicated. While I could certainly do it, I would rather pay the electrician to do it as I don't feel like playing trial and error with the connections that are already in those boxes.

 

Success

Once I got it installed and restored power to the outlet I couldn't wait to test it. First I tested the regular AC plugs and they worked. Then I plugged in a USB cable and my iPhone 4 and heard the familiar tone the indicated that it was charging. 

What about the iPad? As you may or may not know the iPad wants 10v of USB power instead of the standard 5v required by most USB products. I expected to get the "not enough power" message when I plugged in the iPad, but to my surprise it gave me the same tone that it was charging. This is actually no different than using an older iPhone charger with your iPad. While it works, it will definitely take LONGER to charge it than the 10v power adapter that comes with the iPad So if I had to give it any strikes that would be the only one. I wish that the ports were 10v instead of 5v. Other than that I think these are really cool.

Correction: The iPad wants 10w, not 10v. FastMac notes iPad "compatibility" . So we're good here!

OLDER USB 2.0 ports only supplied 0.5 amp which would only charge an iPad while it's off or very very slowly while it's on.

Newer USB ports can supply the 1.5 amps that the iPad wants. The U-Socket has enough power at:

  • 2.4A-5V USB 3.0 Power Ports @ 2400 mA (total)
  • Charge 4 Devices Simultaneously

 

You can get the U-Socket here for about $24.

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I’m Reminded Once Again: You’re Probably Paying too Much for Cables

Many of you may remember my post from the summer of 2009 when I found some HDMI cables for as little as 17¢. By the way those cables are still working great! As a matter of fact I made sure to tell my friends and family NOT to be suckered into buying cables during the holiday season from the same retail outlets that they may be buying their holiday tech gifts from. In this price competitive landscape retailers often use things like cables to make up for lost margins on higher ticket items like HDTVs and Bluray players. For example, I laughed out loud when I cruised through my local Best Buy and saw this "great" deal on a Monster HDMI cable:

 

So Monster, let me get this straight…

You can get an Apple TV for less than $99. You can now get Bluray Players for less than $90. Yet you would have us believe that there is more expensive technology in your "cable" than the device it's being connected to? The bottom line is with ALL HDMI cables they are digital sending 0's and 1's. They either work or they don't! Here's a great post that explains the rip off even further.

By the way, although the cables I bought back in 2009 (I have a drawer full of them) are no longer 17¢, they are now only going for a few bucks here.

 

The Cheaper HDMI Cables Even Outperformed the GE Branded HDMI Cables

What? How does an HDMI cable outperform another one if it's all digital? OK, maybe "outperformed" is the wrong word. Let's say "more compatible". Over the holiday break I got the pleasure of setting up a NEW HDTV and receiver with all HDMI connections. I went to my HDMI drawer and grabbed the 4 cables that I needed. I hooked everything up and everything worked great. Although everything worked, there was one slight problem. Three of these components were literally either right next to each other or on top of each other and the 6 foot cables were longer than I wanted them to be. I remembered seeing some 3 foot cables at my local hardware store and they were reasonable priced around $8 each. I headed over and bought 3 of them to replace the longer ones. I plugged them in and everything was working once again. Later that evening I rented a movie via Apple TV in HD. However, when I went to watch it I got a warning I had never seen before:

"This content requires HDCP for playback. HDCP isn't supported by your HDMI connection."

WTF! Basically what this message means is that the HD Copy Protection signal isn't making its way from the Apple TV to the receiver/HDTV. I tried all the usual stuff of rebooting, restarting, etc. etc. and then it dawned on me that the only thing that had changed was the cable. I went and grabbed one of the no name HDMI "cheap" cables and replaced the GE branded cable and the movie rental played fine! It's hard to believe that there would be any cables on the shelves today that don't support HDCP, let alone from a name brand like GE, but there you have it! If you want to read more about this error, see this tech note.

 

It's not just HDMI Cables either!

A couple of weeks ago I finally decided to run that 100' Ethernet cable from one end of my house to the other between floors that I have been putting off for years. Of course I needed to buy the Cat6 100 foot cable to do the job. Normally I don't think about the price of Ethernet cables. There's a Staples within walking distance of my house and I typically run over there when I need a network cable. However, since it was going to be such a long cable I wasn't even sure if they carried them in stock in that length. I headed to website and sure enough they do have them, but then I saw the price:

It was $70!

 

I decided to check with my local Micro Center for a sanity check:

While they were a little cheaper at $65, the cable wasn't even in stock.

 

Then I wondered, "are they cheaper elsewhere?"

 

Sure enough they were. While it would mean ordering online and having to wait for it to be shipped (darn, I'd have to put off that chore a little longer 🙂 ), the savings would be worth it. Yes, this cable that I bought (heck, I ordered two) arrived a couple of days later via Priority Mail and is working fine. By the way, the 7 foot Ethernet cables at Staples go for $19.99!

 

This is just a reminder! More expensive cables don't necessarily work any better or last any longer, especially digital ones. Don't pay too much!

 

UPDATE from Twitter follower @photoandmac

You know you're in trouble when they offer "Financing" for your HDMIcable! 🙂 Ooooooohhh, Ahhhhhhhhh! I'm not making this up! This 39.4 foot HDMI cable goes for $2,200.99. Here's the link.