Grace Digital Audio Eco Extreme

If you want something rugged for taking on a bike or to the beach, you might like the Eco Extreme. The manufacturer claims it is both waterproof and shock-resistant. It seems to seal pretty tightly, but I haven’t tested it in watery conditions yet.

The Eco Extreme is designed to stand upright when desired, includes a carabiner for attaching to backpacks, and a pouch for storing cards and other small items in addition to your music player. It requires 3 AA batteries (not included), but the Eco Extreme will not charge your iDevice, since it uses the headphone jack to connect. This is a bonus if you ever want to use the Eco Extreme with something other than an Apple product.

The 3-inch speaker is pretty small, and is rated at 3 watts and a frequency range of 200Hz – 10KHz. It puts out decent sound for its size, but don’t expect high fidelity. However, the Eco Extreme might be a good way for the kids to listen to music while at the pool or the beach.

The Eco Extreme comes in several colors, retails for $49.99, and is available from the Grace Audio website.

iMainGo X

If you want better sound quality, and don’t mind doing without the shock- and water-resistance of the Eco Extreme,the iMainGo X, which also has a number of additional features.

It connects to your music player using a standard headphone jack, and it has a flexible, clear plastic cover on one side so that you can access your player’s controls without taking it out of the case. You can use the iMainGo X with iPhones as well as iPods and iPod touches, and with other MP3 players. Since it has both an aux and mic in jacks, it can even be used with iPads, Kindles, tablets, and laptops — even gaming consoles and guitars! Unlike the Eco Extreme, the iMainGo X has an external headphone jack if you want to keep your music to yourself — in fact, it has two, so your kids can share in the backseat without disrupting your peace and quiet.

The design is kind of cute — it looks a bit like an old-style cassette Walkman. The holes where the reels would be are actually the speakers, and their fidelity is much better than the Eco Extreme. I was quite impressed with the quality, frequency range, and volume that can be produced by the two 37mm (about 1-1/2″) speakers. You can even daisy-chain more than one iMainGo X if you want more sound.

The iMainGo X uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery rated for 12 hours of playback time, and it comes with an AC adapter, a travel bag, and a carrying strap. It retails for $69.95, and is available through the iMainGo website and other online retailers.

SuperTooth Disco

The SuperTooth Disco is the 800-pound gorilla of portable sound. With a rating of 28 watts, this speaker can put out an amazing amount of high-fidelity sound, with excellent frequency response. In fact, I’ve found that it’s a bit difficult to set the levels low enough to not blast out the neighbors, which is hardly surprising since the SuperTooth Disco has specs that include two standard speakers rated at 8 watts each, plus a 12-watt subwoofer.

As you might guess from the name, ths SuperTooth Disco connects to your player using Bluetooth A2DP, so it can be used with Macs, iPods, iPhones, iPads, and many other devices. It also has a standard audio line-in jack, so you can use a cable if you wish. I’ve been using Bluetooth, and playing music from my MacBook Pro has never sounded so good. I’ve heard interference on rare occasions, but never often enough to be a problem.

The Disco includes a NiMH battery pack rated at 10 hours of playback time, and an AC adapter. At 89 x 315 x 70mm (3.5 x 12.5 x 2.75 inches) and weighing 1140 grams (2.5 pounds), this is definitely a speaker that you won’t want to put in a backpack or on a bike, although it does come with a carrying case. But if you really want to share your music with a crowd at your next summer party, the SuperTooth Disco can handle it.

The Disco retails for $149.00 and is available in the U.S. at department, specialty and mobile phone stores; the manufacturer’s online shop seems to be only for European orders.

The Speakal iPig

This one’s a bit ridiculous, and could be a relative of the Swoop, but I have three friends with kids who said they want one after taking one look at it.

The iPig actually has very good sound. It comes with five speakers, including a 15 watt subwoofer. The iPig puts out 25 watts, and it has adjustable bass and treble, so it’s not far behind the SuperTooth Disco in sound capabilities.

You can control the volume by touching the pig’s ears, which is a nice touch. To make other changes, you’ll need the included remote, which works fine, but is tiny and will probably get lost quickly. The iPig can be operated with an included rechargeable lithium-ion battery rated at 6 hours of operation, or using the included AC adapter. It will even recharge your iDevice through the dock connector in the pig’s head. It’s portable, but its shape isn’t conducive to carrying, and it’s surprisingly heavy, so I’m not sure kids are going to want to lug it around.

The iPig comes in regular and “cool” versions; the regular version has round eyes, and the cool version looks like it’s wearing shades. Oh, and if you don’t like white, it comes in yellow, pink and black, and the same manufacturer makes the iPanda, the vaguely apple-shaped iPom, the miSoccer soccer ball, and the ghostly iBoo.

The iPig retails for $139.99 and is available from the Speakal website.

Disclaimer: All speaker systems tested for this review were provided by the manufacturers.

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Like some of you, I’m quite the “Apple purist.” I’m not a fan of fancy cases that junk up my Macs. I don’t like skins for my iPods and those plastic snap cases for my laptop. We all know that Apple designs beautiful products, so we might as well show them off! Balancing protection and beauty, the stylish and functional cases from Waterfield Designs are some of the highest-quality cases I have ever used.

Originally starting with one case design in the late 90s, Waterfield now boasts a collection of more than 50 uniquely designed cases for portables, iPhones, iPods and even some unique items, such as the iPod Hi-Fi. Though Waterfield Designs does not sell its products in retail stores, it has still managed to garner quite a following from Apple users around the world.

The personal attention and customer service from the company is second to none. In the past five years, I have owned around eight Waterfield bags (for various equipment). Out of all of them, I only had an issue with one particular sleevecase. Being that it was a few years old, the velcro was no longer as “clingy” as it once was. One simple email to the company resulted in a wonderful email that said, “Hey, no worries! Just send it on in with a note that says ‘Please fix my case in a hurry! I’m going to miss it!’” I mailed my case in, Waterfield replaced what needed to be replaced and priority mailed it back to me. Now how’s that for customer service? Not only that, but every time I buy a product from them, inside is a handwritten “Thank you” note from Gary, the founder.

Smart Case for iPod touch & iPod classic

The big secret to Waterfield Designs is that its success is completely customer-driven. With not selling products in retail stores, I am constantly amazed when I see more and more people with these unique cases and every owner is literally beaming about their purchase.

Much like Apple, Waterfield sweats the small things. For example, the inside of most of Waterfield’s bags are gold, simply because that makes it easier to see the contents! Latches to access the cases, including the signature aluminum aircraft buckle, are designed for one-hand access.

Many of you have probably already realized that buying a case for a laptop can be a pricey endeavor. With the customization options available on most cases from Waterfield, you’re not buying things you’re not going to use (like excess shoulder straps). Beyond accessories, even certain elements of some cases are customizable. For example, I keep my MacBook Pro in a standard sleevecase when I travel most places. Unlike traditional sleevecases like you would find with Incase, Waterfield gives customers the option to have their case open vertically instead of horizontally. Simple as it may seem, this means I can charge my MacBook Pro while it stays inside.

Travel Cases for iPod Speakers

Waterfield Designs also shines in its product selection, with cases for more unique items as well, such as the Apple Keyboard, Mac mini, SLR cameras, the Amazon Kindle and more. The best part is, all of these cases are custom designed to fit these products, so it’s not like you’re buying a stylish bag and just hoping your PSP may fit inside it.

Before you march off to the Apple Store for another case, give Waterfield Designs a look. It is definitely worth the time. If any of you are current Waterfield customers, please leave comments and let me know which bag or bags you’ve purchased and your thoughts on them. The advertising Waterfield Designs gets comes directly from its customers so don’t just take my word for it; let’s hear what everyone else has to say.

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Despite an incremental speed increase, the biggest update to the MacBook Air at WWDC was the price. The low-end model is now $1,499, down $300, while the high-end model with a solid-state drive now sells for $1,799, a jaw-dropping $700 price drop.

Available in two models, the low-end version now features a 1.86 GHz Intel Core Duo, formerly 1.6 GHz, along with a 120 GB hard drive. The high-end now runs at 2.13 GHz, but more importantly has a 128GB solid-state drive. This is a huge improvement over the low-end model, not in capacity but speed. The problem with the 120GB mechanical hard drive is that it spins at 4200 RPM, resulting in a noticeable performance bottleneck. While the MacBook Air 128GB SSD is no Intel X-25M SSD, it’s still a big leap up from the mechanical hard drive. Apple is clearly addressing a major flaw with the MacBook Air by lowering the price on the SSD model. Unfortunately, that’s the only flaw being addressed.

Both models still have only 2GB of RAM, RAM that is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be upgraded. This seems especially curious when one considers that even the 13″ MacBook “Pro” has a high-end model with 4GB of RAM. Another deficiency, at least when compared with the MacBook Pros, is that the battery life on the MacBook Air remains at around 5 hours, the same as it was when the MacBook Air was introduced in January 2008. Another flaw, or absence of update, concerns the mouse button. The MacBook Air still has one, unlike the MacBook Pros. Why?

While the price drop is welcome, this MacBook Air is looking a lot like an interim update. Those who need the lightest, thinnest MacBook right now might want to consider it, but a true upgrade will probably come early next year. Look for more RAM, better battery life, and possibly a fast SSD drive then.

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Starting off the WWDC announcements of the day was the immediate availability and updating of the 15″ MacBook Pro. With a faster processor, new connectivity, and greater storage, this update will be minor for most people.

Something Lost, Something Gained

In an interesting move, Apple is dropping support for the ExpressCard on this model and instead, replacing it with a built-in SD card slot. ExpressCard was very popular for many travelers, giving flexibility for 3G adapters, additional FireWire ports and other connectivity options. While seeing it leave the 15″ model may be a bummer for some, the inclusion of an SD slot could open up new opportunities for better third-party add-ons. It remains to be seen what the real reason for this move is. (Why SD versus CompactFlash or another competing format?) I have yet to be able to find out if this SD slot supports newer SDHC cards.

More Storage & Battery Life

The new 15″ MacBook Pro supports larger hard drives, including up to 500GB 7200RPM drives. Additionally, the newer models come standard with 4GB of RAM with support for 8GB (like the 17″ model). Also, a new built-in battery similar to the 17″ MacBook Pro, offers seven hours of battery life. This trend may eventually make its way to the new 13″ MacBook Pro at some point as well, considering Apple generally likes to reduce the burden of consumers changing batteries (from a simplicity standpoint).

Processors & Displays

The new models come with processor speeds ranging from 2.53GHz (and 3MB L2 cache) up to 3.06Ghz (and 6MB L2 cache). The new LED-backlit displays offer a 60 percent greater color gamut than the previous models for a richer color experience.

More Attractive Pricing

Perhaps the biggest attractive feature of these new MacBook Pros is more economical pricing. The new MacBook Pro is available today and starts at $1,699, $300 less than before.

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Well, first the news. CNET’s Ina Fried reported yesterday that Microsoft has confirmed its long-rumored plans to launch an HD version of its portable music player in the fall. (Paul Thurrott says September 5.)

Microsoft has left no room for doubt in our minds as to how it views Zune HD. Chris Stephenson, general manager of global marketing for Microsoft Zune, said, “This device is created to go head to head with the iPod Touch.” Head to head, huh? OK, then.

That must surely mean Zune HD supports a multi-touch UI, OTA content delivery, a rich catalog of apps including games, a killer web browser, native personal information management functionality, world-class media management/playback software, and a rock-solid software foundation on the desktop. Right?

Well, it’s not really clear. It has the (admittedly beautiful) Zune UI, plus the Zune software on the desktop (which is way better than Windows Media player). News of a new Zune-branded video service on the Xbox also sounds promising and suggests potential interop between the handheld device and Microsoft’s console-based video on demand service. But we will have to wait for next week’s E3 trade show to get more information on that.

It will indeed have a web browser — sadly, a touch-enabled version of Mobile Internet Explorer. (It doesn’t matter how they tweak the control paradigm, Pocket IE is still inexcusably bad. Ask anyone who has used a Windows Mobile device to tell you about Microsoft’s mobile browser. You will see the pain in their eyes.)

But no word on games. Or storage capacity. Or choice of models. We also don’t know yet how much it will cost. But we do know that it sports an OLED (480×272) 16:9 widescreen display, spits out 720p HD content (via a dock, not included) and comes with HD Radio. Yeah, oooh, exciting.

The truth is, we know barely anything at all about this thing. Perhaps Microsoft hopes the early announcement will generate some useful speculation and buzz on the intertoobs before next month’s WWDC (and news of a new iPhone) steals headlines and column inches everywhere — some observers have suggested this was Palm’s strategy in announcing the upcoming Pre when it did.

Either way, what is there to say about the Zune HD that makes it stand out from an iPod-saturated market? HD video output? HD Radio? Err… retro ’90s design?

I’m pleased someone is trying to win a share of what has, clearly, become Apple’s market. But when the de-facto standard for portable digital media devices is the iPod Touch/iPhone, any serious competitor has to make its products at least as good as them. Right now, I don’t see anything particularly compelling about Zune HD. But that doesn’t mean the compelling features aren’t there — just that Microsoft is doing its usual unfocused marketing.

When most other companies would have counted their losses and scrapped it years ago, Microsoft has demonstrated a stubborn dedication to this product, so it’s probably worth keeping an eye on where the company takes it next. You never know, Redmond might just surprise us.

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About seven months ago I made the decision to sell my Macbook and use only my iMac. I love this decision and I don’t regret it, other than one small issue…portability. This isn’t a huge issue but since I do quite a bit of traveling it does cross my mind once in a while.

Traveling without my iMac isn’t to say I go without a computer. I typically am given a loaner, or have a personal computer I am allowed to use on such trips, which is one of the reasons I decided I didn’t need my Macbook. However there is a catch, the computers I use are typically Windows machines. So how do I make the constant switch between the two machines without my own files, applications, or preferences? One simple application…Firefox.

One of the main issues I have with using a strange laptop is my hindered freedom when it comes to installing and customizing applications. However I was given Firefox to work with, which if used properly can be one of the most versatile and practical applications you can have installed. So how can you make Firefox bend over backwards for you?

On a consistent basis I use Gmail, Twitter, Pandora, Tumblr and various messaging clients. All of which have separate window/application on my Mac.

For email I use OS X’s Mail application, and I’ve gotten in the habit of not necessarily checking my mail. But rather having it check and notify me every thirty minutes or so of new messages. Aside from me just hating to go to the Gmail website, I find this to be much more productive. So to combat this on a computer without Mail, I installed the Gmail Notifier Firefox Extension.

After I locked down the basic survival need of email, I moved on to a few supplemental additions to my Firefox workhorse. I installed TwitterFox to fight my Twitter needs. TwitterFox lets me post, view, and reply to all of my friends on Twitter. This is one of my favorite clients for Twitter simply because I seldom find myself needing to actually go to the Twitter website, I can do everything from within this extension.

I, like many of you out there, love to listen to music while I’m working, and I rarely listen to the same artist song after song…I keep iTunes on a constant shuffle. Aside from just listening to my iPod, I like to frequent Pandora, and that is exactly how I’m bringing my music with me to an unfamiliar computer. Using Foxytunes, a Firefox extension that allows you to control nearly any media player out there as well as Last.fm and Pandora right from your browser.

Among listening to music, surfing the web, and Twittering I find myself blogging from time to time. Whether it’s a note to myself for later, or a post I want the entire world to see, I want the process of writing to be as frivolous as possible. So finding a blogging extension that fits my needs was a bit of a challenge until I stumbled across Scribefire, a blogging extension for Firefox. I have used just about every mainstream blogging platform in existence today, and this is a common trait between Scribefire and myself. Whether you use Tumblr, WordPress, Livejournal, or Myspace, Scribefire has you covered as far as your blogging needs go.

The last thing I needed was something for messaging. I could use Meebo, but I wanted something that I didn’t have to click into a tab each time I wanted to check my buddy list out. So I tried the Meebo Firefox Extension, which brings the functionality of the popular web service into Firefox, with a buddy list sidebar it makes messaging within Firefox a breeze and almost easier than using a standalone messenger.

Using a strange computer is always a hassle, but hopefully making a few customizations within a single application can ease the pain, and make the time pass a little faster until you can get back to that sweet, sweet Apple of your eye.

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I was prepared, but by the time I went to bed, although the lights had flickered a couple of times, the power was still on, and I was beginning to be a tiny bit optimistic that we would dodge this bullet. No such luck. I woke up around 4 AM, and the wind was screaming. Gusts had been forecast to about 45 MPH, but I would estimate we were getting more like 60 MPH sustained for about half an hour, at which point the lights died. I called the power utility and went back to bed.

Hardly a Break in Routine

Unsurprisingly, the power was still off in the morning, and the utility’s recorded message predicting restoration at 6:00 PM, but deadlines don’t wait, and I had two newspaper columns to write. Happily I had to hardly break my usual Saturday morning routine. I usually do morning work on one of my Pismo PowerBooks, so I grabbed the one with a 4200 RPM hard disk, cranked the display brightness down a few notches, and got to work at about 10:30. By 2:00 I had both articles written, plus had spent about an hour dialed up to the Internet with the computer’s internal modem, answering emails and doing research, and at the session’s end the old G4-upgraded Pismo’s FastMac TruePower 6600 mAh extended-life battery, which provides an advertised 43% more capacity than the original Apple battery, still had 45 percent of its charge left. With two of these units fully-charged you’re good to go for an entire eight-hour work day, and well beyond with a bit of battery conservation strategy employed.

The Laptop Advantage

Laptops have some major advantages over desktop computers in power blackouts. While you can get relatively inexpensive UPS (Uninterrupted Power Source ) devices that will keep your desktop running for five to fifteen minutes, long enough to save your work and shut down in an orderly fashion, you’re not going to be able to do any real work on a desktop during an outage. To pull that off you’d have a gasoline, propane, or diesel fueled power generator, a large power inverter with plenty of battery power and recharge facility to back it up (power inverters are extremely inefficient), or a high-end (and very expensive) UPS.

On the other hand, you can keep a laptop computer going for a couple of days on its internal battery if you ration your use, and indefinitely if you keep a second battery, plus with a cheap power inverter and a car battery, you should be able to ride out even lengthy power interruptions if you have a means of periodically recharging the battery (ie: enough gas in the car).

The Proprietary MagSafe Adapter is a Problem

I also have a Kensington 70 Watt AC/DC Power Adapter (unfortunately discontinued) that works with 12 volt input as well as AC wall current, and which has proven very handy for recharging laptop batteries from a car battery or portable power pack during past outages. Unfortunately this adapter doesn’t support Intel-based Apple notebooks due to the proprietary nature of Apple’s MagSafe adapter, which they have thus far refused to license to third-party manufacturers. Apple does make a Magsafe Airline adapter, but it only works on aircraft and not in cars.

Happily, MCT Inc. offers a couple of solutions that include a genuine MagSafe cable for either Macbook/Macbook Pro or Macbook Air. Now you have no excuse for your battery going dead.

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Waving aside my dismay, I plugged my MagSafe into the MacBook and then reinserted the B-Flex 2. No power warning this go around – woohoo! I selected the new output option in my Sounds Preference Pane and launched iTunes. Expecting that I’d need to max my volume to get the most out of this little unit, I felt like Marty McFly in Doc’s garage – cranking all the dials I could to the maximum output. I hit play. Some of you may recall that years-old Maxell commercial of the guy in the chair getting blown-away by the sound…That’s more or less how I felt when Nickelback began to play through the B-Flex 2!!

In all honesty, this little speaker packs a mighty punch. It was more than enough to overcome the loud, server-filled, AC-blasting datacenter I initially tried the product out in. And it has fit the bill perfectly in scenarios where several people are working together in a conference – or war – room and the tunes need to be played loud enough for all to enjoy. They surely go the extra distance that the relatively weak MacBook speakers cannot.

That being said, the short 6 inch flex cord is a nice idea in that you can position it freely, but the sound of the dual speakers is limited to wherever your USB port is. On my MacBook, that puts the audio off to the left side. Not exactly a centere, or surround sound experience. But perhaps I ask too much… The other issue is that while small, the speakers are large, and heavy enough that the small USB plug tends to sag while plugged into the port of the notebook. It’s not a big deal, but I don’t feel great about the way it hangs its weight unevenly on the port itself.

So for $39.95 you can get some very impressive sound on the go (so long as you are able to plug your notebook into AC power). The downsides I experienced – in my opinion – were negligible compared to the excellent performance of the product. If you’re looking for a highly portable solution for your audio needs, the B-Flex 2 USB Speaker from JLab is at least worth a hard look.

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