Design
Standeazy for iPhone
1For the past week I’ve been trying out Standeazy for iPhone.
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 an iPhone 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]
Cool Bananas Shockproof case for MacBook Air
0I’ve been trying out the Cool Bananas Shockproof case for 11″ MacBook Air from Gearzap over the past week and just wanted to write a few words about it.
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]
AluPen for iPad
11I took delivery of AluPen for iPad yesterday, having ordered from Amazon just a couple of days ago. I’d read some independent reviews recently of the best stylus to use with the iPad and AluPen came out on top of most of them. The reviews on Amazon also seemed largely positive, so for less than £15 I decided it couldn’t hurt to give it a go.
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]
CushCase for iPad 2
0After buying my iPad 2 almost a week ago, I’ve been keen to find it a sleeve to live in to protect when not in use. I had been thinking about buying the Smart Cover, but I’m the kind of girl that likes her tech fully enveloped in softness and protection all over, not just the screen.
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]
CushCase for MacBook Air
8Having not found a suitable sleeve for my MacBook Air in the 6 months I’ve had it, I went on the search for one a few days ago and came across a nice range by CushCase. I spotted the denim sleeve for every size of Mac laptop except the 11.6″ model in UK online retailers and was about to purchase it from CushCase.com for $23.99 plus $7.99 shipping until I decided to give trusty ol’ eBay a whirl.
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]
about.me and moo
3With the multiple online profiles we all tend to have scattered across the internet thesedays such as Twitter, Flickr, last.fm, Tumblr, Facebook etc, it’s sometimes difficult to keep all the information together in one place so that people can find us and follow us everywhere we are. That’s where about.me comes in.
I can link to all of my social sites under one roof and customise the look of my page. Looking at the directory of profiles you can see just how creative (and professional) people have been getting with theirs. I created my profile image using the ‘Folded Poster’ preset in Flare for Mac app.
Two weeks ago about.me made me an offer I couldn’t refuse – 50 free business cards from Moo. They arrived this week and I must say they look very professional – and include a QR code on the back which, when scanned, will take you (or whoever you give the card to) to your about.me profile. I personally used this iPhone app called Scan by QR Code City which is absolutely free.
Sign up to their site, create your nifty profile (and add my page to your directory!) and get your free pack of about.me business cards before the offer ends.
iDrops for your Mac
5I’m a creature of habit when it comes to the wallpaper I use on my iMac, MacBook Air and iPhone. If I can have them all matching up, the better and once I find a clean wallpaper I very infrequently switch away from it.
Several months ago I found a very clean wallpaper which was inspired by the iOS 4 default wallpaper, called iDrops. This is the wallpaper I keep coming back to on my iPhone in particular. The package includes:
- For 16:9 ( 1280×720, 1920×1080 )
- For 16:10 ( 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200 )
- For iPhone 2g,3g,3gs and iPod Touch 1g,2g,3g ( in two variations )
- For iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4
- For iPad
Here it is in all it’s glory on my MacBook Air and iPhone 4:
You can download the iDrops package from deviantART.
The Real Glowing Apple Logo [updated]
10As most of you know I’m just a little bit fond of the company with the big glowing fruit as their logo, considering 99% of the content I write about here is about them! So, when a friend on Twitter dropped me a DM a few weeks back alerting me to an Apple Logo desk lamp, it didn’t take me very long to hit BUY IT NOW, baby!
I ordered it on 17th February and it arrived this morning, all the way from Hong Kong. I plugged it in right away and lucky for me my home office blackout blinds came in very useful so I could check out what it will look like in the evenings, despite the glorious blazing sunshine outside which seemed a shame to block out even momentarily. It looked absolutely stunning, something that a camera wasn’t going to pick up too well due to it’s brightness. Photo can’t do it tremendous justice – but take it from me it’s a lovely not-in-your-face glow, using a 25w bulb.
This evening I popped the switch and there was no glow. The bulb is cloudy so it’s hard to see inside to see whether it’s blown, but I am *hoping* that it is just as simple as a blown bulb and not power supply related. Tomorrow I’ll buy a new bulb and hope for the best. If not then I’ll get onto the seller and see about getting a new power supply – and hoping hard that it won’t take a further 12 days for the replacement to arrive, should that be needed. I’ll keep you updated.
You can buy the lamp for £25 on Buy It Now but I believe the seller also has some auctions on it if you prefer to wait it out and see if you can get it for just that little bit cheaper. The lamp is also available with other power supplies so if you’re not in the UK then there should be an option available to you. And it’s not just white – there are a few colours available.
I’ll let you know how I get on tomorrow when I buy a replacement bulb. Fingers crossed.
UPDATE
As expected, it was indeed the bulb that blew and the lamp is now in full glowing operation. It seems thesedays it’s increasingly difficult to find a screw-in frosted candle bulb so for pure testing purposes I had to opt for the clear which didn’t look quite as good as the frosted one did yesterday. However I’m sure once I expand my search I’ll be able to find one.
Angry Bird Plush Toys
2Earlier this year I downloaded Angry Birds for iPhone and promptly kissed goodbye to all my free time. It’s the most fun, addictive, infuriating and frustrating game I have ever played – yes, THAT good! Since Angry Birds Halloween was released last week I spent hours a day trying to total all the grinning pigs with the cute Angry Bird characters and realised they hold a special place in my heart!
I went in search of merchandise and to my delight noticed that plush toys were being made and reportedly coming soon. Then tonight one of my Twitter friends tweeted that the Angry Bird Plush Toys were available for pre-order at $14.99 each.
I wanted the blue bird originally, okay so I wanted them ALL, but it showed as Out of Stock so I settled on the yellow one. After numerous attempts at completing the transaction via PayPal I kept getting errors which weren’t very specific. I have funds in my bank account so there was no problem with that, but PayPal wasn’t playing ball and kept returning me to the merchant. My friend Stephen kindly offered to purchase it on my behalf and it looks like it’s been confirmed now that the order was a success.
I decided to go for the blue bird in the end, which on a second check was showing as In Stock. The Angry Bird Plush toys will start shipping in December. If you know anyone who has wasted hours, days, weeks or even months on Angry Birds then this is the perfect Christmas gift for them.
PadStand
11I’ve been looking for a cheap affordable stand for my iPad for some months now. I wanted something that would allow me to view it in portrait and landscape mode for viewing movies and TV shows while I work at my desk. I didn’t want anything heavy or to take up much space when not in use.
About two weeks ago I happened upon PadStand. A lightweight and affordable stand with a small footprint. I read a couple of reviews, watched the video then had to decide which of it’s five flavours I wanted it in; Charcoal Black, Ice White, Ocean Blue, Emerald Green or Candy Pink. I opted for the safe colour that goes with anything – black! After payment I was notified pretty quick of despatch, but sadly the item didn’t turn up and after informing PadStand they quickly sent out a replacement which I received last week.
As you can see from the picture, it takes up virtually no room at all and with it’s soft sides means no scratches to our expensive gadget! Best of all, it looks great!
PadStand is priced just £9.99 with £1.99 postage.
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