It’s the Black Glass Growl Style by Ryan Collins and I made a video to show it off in all it’s shiny reflective and magnificent splendour.

I have set this as my default growl notification style across all the apps that notify me. You can download the style here. If you don’t already own Growl, it is available in the Mac App Store for just $1.99/£1.49. Grab it here!

Source.

What I love best about Stamped is the non-clutter. You only see what your friends are giving their stamp of approval – no comments from strangers. The typography is beautiful as you can see from the photo above.

Read an in-depth review of Stamped on Beautiful Pixels and remember, if you’re on Stamped then feel free to add me: purplelime

Stamped: free [iTunes App Store link]

I’m not a fan of skins or permanent cases. While practical, I just hate to see the beauty of the iPhone design hidden away so like with the iPhone 4 I decided to go for a sleeve/pouch that I can easily slide the phone into between uses.

I happened upon the SwitchEasy website where I found the DUO. Made from high quality real leather and sporting a unique design where the phone can be pushed in at either end and still be held in place securely, I decided to order the White straight away through Amazon.co.uk for just over £19.

The material inside is a soft microfibre which cleans your iPhone with every use. It also comes with 2 anti-static Screen Guards, a microfibre cloth and a Squeegee Screen Guard applicator.

I’ve been asked on Twitter a few times over whether I am concerned about whether the iPhone could drop out of one end. My answer is not at all as it is securely held in place by a discreet inner safety strap and the case feels very snug around the phone.

If you’re looking for a stylish sleeve for your new shiny white (or black) iPhone then I’d recommend the SwitchEasy DUO which is also available in black, tan and brown.

The Griffin Arrowhead is a very compact and portable solution for the iPad. The two weighted and rubberised feet have internal magnets so when not in use you can just snap them together and pop them into your bag which makes them perfect for travelling and accessing mobile internet from your iPad wherever you go!

My iPad feels totally secure when in the Griffin Arrowhead, either in landscape or portrait. I recently had a poor experience with another of Griffin’s stands where the iPad slipped and fell backwards out of it, crashing onto the desk. That left me feeling less confident about trusting my device in another stand. However I have put the Arrowhead through its paces and I am 100% confident it is entirely safe.

It’s has a perfect viewing angle to have on the desk to watch a movie or catch up on BBC iPlayer.

Here’s how it looks on my desk in action.

The Griffin Arrowhead costs just £15.00 from 3 Accessories Store. It’s not just designed for the iPad, the Arrowhead will also accommodate most tablets up to 10″. For the price of this stand I would highly recommend it.

I first started collecting Droplets by JamFactory around two and a half years ago. This kickstarted my little vinyl toy collection and I’ve gone on to purchase toys by James Jarvis, Kidrobot and Spider Baby Boom. One of the vinyl toy stores I have discovered in the past 12 months is Dinkybox. I’m a bit like an overgrown kid in a sweet shop, mesmerised by the colours and the wonder of it all, overwhelmed by what to choose but knowing that either way I’m going to leave with a big smile on my face. It’s a treasure trove for designer vinyl collectables as well as books, comics and art supplies.

My first ever purchase from Dinkybox came last October. It was the Kidrobot Ninjatown Business Ninja complete with neck tie, coffee mug and mobile phone, for Tom at digital introvert as a mascot to help celebrate his new business venture.

Not only was the delivery of the item(s) prompt but I was struck by the friendliness of Sue, one of the brainchild’s behind Dinkybox, who added her own personal note in the dispatch email to thank me for my purchase. From that moment on I knew I would be using Dinkybox again. There’s just something lovely and warm about receiving an email from the founder who seems as excited about your purchase arriving as you are. It’s no surprise that they are fellow collectors, so are just as passionate about the toys they sell as the ones who come to buy them. That will always ensure they have my custom – it’s more than simply just a transaction to them.

One of the things I love about Dinkybox in particular is you don’t have to go the blind box route [hoorah!] which sadly is the condition that some sites have when purchasing their toys. I dread to think of the money I have spent trying to complete my Droplets Series 1 and 2 collection by buying blind box, only to open it up and find it’s the design I already have. As fun as that box opening is for the first thirty-seconds, you soon realise that the odds of getting the colour you want is stacked against you and I am now resigned to the fact that both my Series 1 and 2 collections of JamFactory Droplets will never be complete. That’s where blind box loses its charm.

My latest purchases from Dinkybox have come this week, first off in the form of Kidrobot Ninjatown White Ninja…

I think you’ll agree he is super cute and is a perfect match with my white iPad 2 [and doesn't Dinkybox look amazing on there too?]

My second purchase is Kidrobot Dunny 2011 Mr Frames…

I’ve become a big fan of the Kidrobot Dunny range which has some truly unique designs and I expect I will be building that particular collection up next.

If you want to have an office as cool as mine [check out my collection] with charming characters that make you smile, then head over to Dinkybox and pop something into your box!

Standeazy is a universal phone stand for smartphones such as the iPhone, or devices such as the iPod touch. It’s manufactured in the UK and made from Priplak® Polypropylene and is identically sized to a credit card which makes it easy to keep in your wallet and is super portable and sturdy. Standeazy will hold your iPhone with or without a protective case in landscape or portrait mode.

It transforms from a flat credit card sized piece of polypropylene into a stand perfect for using in landscape or portrait mode for FaceTime, Skype, watching TV and movies or a whole host of other mobile video apps. You can pop it into your purse or wallet and take it anywhere with you.

I was surprised at how sturdy this feels. This is how the Standeazy looks when you receive it…

The ‘assembly’ is very simple and is outlined on the pack. Simply lift the centre tab, raise the back support, engage tab groove in top notch and raise the foot stop and position the phone. It’s actually a lot easier than it even sounds!

This is how it looks in both portrait and landscape mode…

One of the ‘simple’ uses I’ve used it for is on my desk in portrait mode so I can easily read any texts or other push notifications that arrive on my iPhone without picking up or touching the device. I’ve also used it to view movies such as Toy Story 3, as you can see in the above photo.

Standeazy comes in 8 different designs, priced from just £3.50! If you want ultra portability then I’d recommend Standeazy.

[rating: 5/5]

The case is extremely slimline, so it won’t make your super slim MacBook Air look in any way bulky. Apart from it’s stylish looks in black nylon, I feel safe in the knowledge that this will fully protect my expensive laptop from any little knocks and bumps, with its shock-absorbing memory foam core and soft inner material. It’s perfect for using to carry on its own, or popping inside another bag or rucksack. Here are some pictures of the case.

I’m very impressed with the quality of the Cool Bananas Shockproof and the little design touches it has, such as the double zip with the Cool Bananas logo on each zip pull.

Cool Bananas Shockproof case for the 11.6″ MacBook Air is currently £20.95 from Gearzap. They also have a huge collection of other cases for the 11″ Air and also the 13″ option.

[rating: 5/5]

Unlike the Pogo Sketch and another cheaper unbranded stylus that I tried on my first gen iPad, this actually feels like a proper writing instrument. It is chunky and is sculpted from aluminium, giving it a good weight to it. The nib is made of a super soft material that glides fluidly across the screen and barely any pressure needs applying to the iPad for this to register. It feels entirely natural and you will feel like you are writing with a real pen on a notepad. This is the biggest difference to the other stylus’ I used and all stylus’ should absolutely be as natural as using a regular pen.

I downloaded Bamboo Paper, a free note taking app by Wacom, to try it out. I also shot a little video of me writing my name so you can see how fluid this is. It’s an absolute joy to use.

AluPen for iPad – £14.46 Amazon.co.uk

[rating: 5/5]

I browsed what felt like the entire internet, but everything fell short of what I wanted. What I really wanted was a denim sleeve to match the CushCase for my MacBook Air I bought last month. But a quick look at the CushCase eBay store I purchased it from and there were no denim sleeves listed to fit iPad 2.

I decided it couldn’t hurt to email the seller to enquire, given that that is how I obtained the denim sleeve for the 11″ MacBook Air. Once again CushCase came up trumps and they had the iPad 2 sleeves in stock (£8.99), just not listed yet. That was Tuesday, today (Thursday) it arrived. Like with the MacBook Air case I’m thrilled with it. Looks great and offers all round protection for my gadget. Best part for the iPad is the soft fleece inside which cleans the screen every time you slide it in and out.

At the time of writing, the denim sleeve for iPad 2 isn’t listed on the CushCase store but if you fire a quick email off to the seller I’m sure he’ll help you out.

[rating: 5/5]

I found CushCase on eBay and once again they had the denim sleeve for the bigger Mac laptops, not the 11″ Air. I emailed them to ask if they were expecting any stock of the 11″ in soon, but was told they don’t currently sell that size in the denim in the UK, however they said they could make one especially for me. All I had to do was order any other 11″ Air case and they would make the denim one for me. As luck would have it, they have a 40% off sale on across their entire range at the moment, meaning the case was just £9.99.

That was Wednesday and today I received the sleeve…

The material is proper denim and is darker than I was expecting which I LOVE! Inside is soft black fleece meaning a very soft and comfortable environment for the MacBook Air. The velcro fastening is very strong so there’d be no worries about it coming undone and the laptop falling out. It’s snug and perfect – I am thrilled to bits to finally have not only a stylish looking sleeve, but also one I’m confident will protect my expensive kit.

If you’re looking for a sleeve for your 11″ MacBook Air or any other size Mac laptop/iPad/laptop I would highly recommend CushCase on eBay. Not only were they super helpful in making the 11″ sleeve, they also dispatched it a lot quicker than I was expecting.

[rating: 5/5]