Only in the last year did I finally replace my older than dirt mercury switch type thermostat with a programmable model. Although I've enjoyed the convenience of having the heat automatically come on in the morning before I wake up and then not come on while no one is home during the day, changing the program times is a big pain in the you-know-what. Doing so consists of pressing and holding a button till the info on the tiny LCD blinks. Then more button pressing is required to cycle through the days of the week, program times, etc. It takes a minute or two just to change the temp for a specific day and time. The Nest Thermostat looks like a much more elegant solution. It has a ring (sort of like an old style thermostat) that you rotate to adjust the temperature. After a few days of adjusting the temp, Nest learns to program itself to keep you at a comfortable temperature while also conserving electricity. At $249, the price is considerably more than other programmable thermostats, but if it works as well as it looks, I'd definitely like to give one a try in my house.
I've said it before, but I love cases, covers, and bags as much as I love gadgets. I've been on an iPad 2 cover kick lately, and I have one more to tell you about. iFrogz makes cases for a variety of Apple mobiledevices, headphones and audio gear, and cables. They sent me an iPad 2 Summit Case to try out.
Most pictures in this review can be clicked for a larger view.
The Summit case weighs 13 ounces on my digital kitchen scale. It measures about 9.5" long X 7.35" wide X 0.65" thick. It does add weight and thickness to the iPad 2.
The Summit Case has a polyurethane exterior, but it has the look and feel of leather. There is no branding on the exterior of the case. The black stitching blends in with the black polyurethane, and the stitches are even and straight. The Summit is a folio-style case, and it has no closure to keep the cover closed. The exterior is available only in black, at least for the models now available. The faux leather has a sheen, but it's not glossy. The exterior is rigid; I don't know what the reinforcing material is. It should add screen protection.
Inside, the case is lined with a medium-gray fabric with a very realistic-looking suede texture. There's an iFrogz label sewn into the seam on the cover. You'll notice the front cover has three "grooves" running vertically; these work to convert the Summit Case into a stand.
The iPad 2 is held in a polycarbonate core that cradles the back of the iPad 2 and snaps just over the edges of the device. This core is available in black, blue, green, pink, and white. The case I received has a medium blue core. Inserting the iPad 2 into the core seems easy, but you need to make sure that the rim of the core is snapped securely over the edges of the iPad 2. I found out the hard way that I didn't have mine completely snapped into the case. Luckily the iPad 2 landed on the sofa beside me instead of into the floor. Once it's snapped in, the iPad 2 is very secure. It took a bit of effort to remove the iPad 2 when I wanted to photograph the empty Summit. The core will add protection to the back and sides of the iPad 2.
I often find book-style covers hard to use because of the weight of the iPad 2 makes it hard to hold vertically. I tend to use my iPad 2 horizontally, and the front flap often is in my way with many of these covers. You can fold the Summit's front cover completely back, so you can hold the iFrogz Summit horizontally quite easily..
The core has cutouts for all controls and connectors and the back camera. I didn't have any trouble using any controls, and I could plug in headphones and the charging cable with no problems. There's a grid over the speaker that doesn't seem to interfere with the iPad 2's sound.
The front cover has a magnet under the sueded lining, so it can sleep/wake the iPad 2. Because there is nothing to hold the cover closed, it can open and turn on the iPad when you're carrying it around.
Most folio-style cases I've tried also convert into a stand, and the front of the case attaches to the back with a hinge of some sort. The front usually only attaches to the back at that one point, and the whole case has an extra decree of "floppiness" when you're trying to hold the case like a book. iFrogz has a cure for this floppiness. First of all, the flap that attaches the front to the back is much larger than used in many other cases. Most of the back is covered with the faux leather, and only a small amount of the polycarbonate core shows as a color accent. Inside, the spine-side of the core is attached to the faux leather exterior with a strip of Velcro. The core is held tightly against the PU back piece until you rip open the Velcro. It's not a very loud rriiippp, though.
Once the Velcro is open, you can prop the edge of the core into the grooves on the front cover. The Summit works well as a horizontal stand in these three positions. I found it worked well as a typing stand for the on-screen keyboard when I skipped the grooves and just "collapsed" the stand.
The iFrogz Summit is a nice option for people who want a folio case that converts into a horizontal stand. It's well made with design details, like the Velcro, that some cases overlook. The black polyurethane exterior is sedate, and the polycarbonate core allows you to go as business-like (black) or as wild (pink) as you like. At $60, it's priced well, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx8LyeEzut4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Best regards
Ray1man
Since a lot of users want to use their iPad for games, Atari thought that they could make an accessory for that.
I suppose it is an effort from the company to make gaming as old-school as possible for the company's old-school titles. For example, you can get a lot of 2600 games on Atari's Greatest hits iPad App like Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command and even more.
Of course, the 2600 joystick had only one button, and this guy has four. The joystick is also a different look than the old school console system, but the ball on the top is welcome. Perhaps you can get an attachment for a trackball like the Centipede arcade game of yore (actually, it was the early eighties).
This Atari Arcade Duo Joystick has been making the rounds on tech and gadget blogs, and most of them have been making comparisons to the iCade. The iCade definitely has the arcade-style video game set up and this product is available at ThinkGeek for a price of $99.99.
It seems that small point and shoot video cameras like the Flipare going the way of the Dinosaur, as they are being replaced by smartphones like the iPhone 4. But have you ever considered using your iPad 2 as a video camera? Makayama gives you the ability to attach various accessories such as lenses, microphones, lights, tripods and even an optical viewfinder to your iPad 2 with their new Movie Mount case. This Smartcover compatible case offers some cool features such as the ability to attach 37 mm conversion lenses, like wide angle and zoom. It even allows you to easily slide the lens out of the way for on the fly changes. You can pre-order the Movie Mount for $69.95, with availability in October. Check out the demonstration video after the jump.
Happy Owl Studio has a line of cases that incorporate an iPad 2 frame into a book-style case. Half the case has a zipper compartment that has room inside for your phone, credit cards, pens, and other essentials. The back half of the case holds the iPad 2 in a frame that leaves ports and buttons open; even the back camera has a cutout. The Wallet for iPad 2 is their unisex design, and it's available only in black. They don't specify the material used, so I'll assume that means it's artificial leather. The case can also be used as a horizontal stand for viewing and as a typing stand (shown). The Wallet will start shipping at the beginning of September, and it is available now for pre-order for $79.99.
Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, News
Tagged: iPad 2 case and stand
Happy Owl Studio Wallet for iPad 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 20, 2011 at 11:06 am.
Historical vikings, I mean. The ones from Minnesota we definitely have evidence of horns…
The phrase appeared in Rousseau's "Confessions" when she was only 10 years old.
He had four different sets of dentures: gold, hippopotamus ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth.
He wasn't tall either, but just average size.
Most of the infrastructure work was done before Moussolini came to power.
Before he was fifteen he had actually "mastered differential and integral calculus." So there's that.
If there is evidence of violence or an unusual absence one can be filed much sooner.
It's not digestible, but it goes through your system at roughly the same rate as other food.
The term came from people planning to meet at 4:20pm to smoke.
Nothing man-made is.
So that thing you did in front of your goldfish… He remembers.
Many do use sonar primarily, but all bats have eyes capable of sight.
This was popularized in an early Disney nature film that was shot on a soundstage and the Lemmings were actually pushed off the cliff by photographers.
Red doesn't stand out as a bright color for bulls, but the movement of the matador's cape does in fact enrage them.
So you can stop trying, that beard just might never come for you… Ma'am.
Children are just crazy.
There may be less of them, but so long as people carry the gene there will be redheads.
At least not directly. You can still do things while drunk that will kill brain cells.
It just seems that way. This statistic is actually impossible to measure.
