Being the resident “extreme” iPhone case enthusiast (and also the klutz who drops his phone most often), I was intrigued by the new cellhelmet Kickstarter project. This $44.99 case combines svelte design with protection against drops, but bundles it with an actual insurance policy that replaces your iPhone if damaged while in the case.

The case in and of itself isn’t magical, and according to David Artuso of cellhelmet creator cellpig.com, the case isn’t “superman.” The design has angled edges to protect against drops, and a choice of six different colored backplate shields to protect the glass, providing great protection without the bloat of other solutions.

What sets the cellhelmet apart is the bundled insurance policy, administered by Global Warranty Group. Should the iPhone break while in the case, a $50 handling fee covers any repairs required, or complete replacement if necessary. I’ve written about iPhone insurance before,  this case including the insurance for the $44.99 purchase price is what makes it interesting.

The plan does not cover water damage, nor does the case protect the water sensors, but according to gadget insurance provider SquareTrade, glass breakage accounts for 82 percent of its claims. The cellhelmet is competitive with SquareTrade’s own insurance program, but is slightly less expensive, applies even to used iPhones, and of course, comes with a case. Your iPhone has to be in the cellhelmet for its policy to apply, however.

Coverage lasts for one year from the time you purchase your cellhelmet, and should you ever have to claim a total device replacement, you’ll have to buy another cellhelmet, but that’s consistent with other third-party insurance programs. If all your device requires is a screen replacement after an accident, you get unlimited repairs.

For slightly more money than a stylish iPhone case, and slightly less than a third-party insurance program, you can get both by backing the Pittsburgh-based company’s project on Kickstarter. Not a bad deal, especially if you can’t seem to keep a firm grip on Apple’s beautiful but somewhat slippery smartphone designs.

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Flygrip $29.95

I was amazed as to how quickly I fell in love with the Flygrip’s simplicity of design and elegance It’s a clip that sticks on the back of an existing iPhone case, or Flygrip’s custom case. While it adds some bulk to the back of the case, it actually isn’t annoying. Quite the opposite. Fully retracted, it allows you too hold your iPhone securely with your ring and forefinger, leaving the rest of your hand able to type. Being able to text and tweet easily on the go made me a believer out of me.

Not only does it make the iPhone easier to hold, but the Flygrip can also act as a kickstand for both portrait and landscape mode, which made catching up on email during lunch an absolute breeze. At $29.95, it’s affordable, and you don’t have to give up your existing case.

xPrintServer $149.95

Although Apple’s AirPrint only supports a limited set of printers, iOS products like Readdle’s Printer Pro and desktop products such as Ecamm’s Printopia have extended the iPad’s print capabilities. Lantronix has a desktop-and device-independent solution to make existing network printers available to any iOS device also on the network. The device supports up to 10 printers, and retails for $149.95. It’s a great option for small businesses that want to quickly and easily make their existing printers available to employee devices.

Prizm Stand $24.95

The Prizm series of iPhone and iPad stands from Hub Innovations is another simple, elegant product. The stand is made up of two metal pieces that come together to hold your iOS device in place while charging or just on display. Starting at $24.95, they come in a variety of colors and can be custom engraved.

I liked that these stands didn’t suffer from the feature bloat or bling overload of most other accessories at the show. This is the type of holder you’d use at home or at your business to frame your iPad with style and without stealing the focus of what’s on the iPad screen. In fact, the metal can be engraved with company information to help provide a custom branding solution. They were at hit with show-goers, so it stands to reason they’d succeed with customers and clients, too.

Wormhole Switch $39.95

One of the few non-iOS focused innovations at the show was the Wormhole Switch by j5create. This product uses an attached of USB connectors to not only control another computer’s keyboard and mouse, but also transport data between computers while avoiding the network entirely.

Even the fastest broadband networks can’t match raw USB speeds, and anyone who’s transferred a large file over a home network knows how much it slows things down. While other USB-direct connect options exist, this product makes it easy for even novices to set up, with software that loads directly from the device.

At a reasonable price of $39.95, the time you’ll save waiting for files to transfer is well worth the cost.

iKeep Charger $49.99

The iKeep Charger is a combination iPhone and micro USB charger conveniently connected to a retractable cord with a carabiner hook for clipping onto a bag, belt loop, etc. The AC plug folds invisibly into the unit, making it easy to quickly charge your iPhone or other devices while on the go without adding bulk. Unlike the iPhone’s stark black and white options, the iKeep Charger comes in eight different colors to match your outfits, or simply your personal taste.

There are my top picks from the show. What stood ou to you? Let us know in the comments.

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The show focused primarily on the iOS ecosystem, with traditional Mac OS X software pushed into the background. Special attention was paid to applications and accessories to get sound and video into and out of your iOS device, not just on the exhibit floor, but throughout Moscone West. Still, there were other hidden gems for everyday users, too.

Most of the OS X software developers weren’t showing new products or improvements, but demoing what they already have. One notable exception that drew me in was the newly launched latest version of Fantastical by Flexibits, which works in conjunction with OS X calendar software (iCal, BusyCal, Outlook) to quickly enter calendar items with natural language directly from the menu bar, kind of a Siri for the desktop.

Once you ignore the gimmicky stuff like iPhone cases with integrated bottle openers, and lots of bling (sparkle screen protectors from Crimsoncase), most user-aimed products seemed to want to make iDevices easier to use in more places. Judging by the show’s offerings, users seem to want to hold their iPad with one hand (Newertech, Hub Innovations, Grablet and others), make it waterproof (Drycase and Drybags), and have better input devices.

Steve Jobs would have shed a tear seeing so many ways to avoid using iOS device touchscreens. Some standouts are multiples styluses from Lafeada in the shape and style of lipstick and eyeliner, as well as Adonit’s Jot Stylus that had a “target” zone via a precision disk instead of the typical imprecise rubber tip found in most styluses. My favorite, though, was the NuScribe combo pen and stylus from Newer Technology. I love not having to carry both a pen and stylus.

Not only do people want to take their iOS devices everywhere, but they want to be able to take desktop functionality along for the ride. Nivio has a soon-to-be released subscription-based service called nDesktop that allows you to remotely run Windows applications as well as rent traditional software such as the Microsoft Office Suite on both your iPad as well as your OS X device, sort of like a more feature-rich version of OnLive Desktop’s free iPad Windows virtualization app. Sanho’s CloudFTP device is an iOS-friendly portable NAS server that is in the final stage of production after a successful Kickstarter launch. These products help fill the gap between the portability of iOS devices and the flexibility of the desktop, making the decision between an iPad and MacBook Air even more difficult.

Among the products geared towards consumers at the show, the lines between tablet and desktop computing are blurring, and the changed branding of Macworld| iWorld this year reflects that.

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1. Clean that screen

You’ve got a gorgeous screen on that iMac, but it’s covered by dust, debris and who knows what else. You may be tempted to use a bottle of glass cleaner — but don’t. That can harm the screen. My recommendation is to use Klear Screen kits, along with their microfiber cloth. They remove the debris while protecting the finish. If you don’t use Klear Screen, make sure whatever you do use is designed for glossy screens. For laptops, I highly recommend Radtech’s Screensavrz to prevent transfer of oils from the laptop keyboard onto the screen.

Let’s not even talk about that keyboard and how dirty it is. If you can shake it out, go ahead and do it. Then give it a good wipe with a safe, keyboard-specific cleaner.

2. Check the hard drive and keep it running right

Your hard drive stores your digital life and is a common point of failure in Macs. When’s the last time you checked the status of yours? Lion’s recovery partition makes this extremely easy. Hold down command-R at startup, and choose the recovery partition so that you can run Disk Utility on your main drive. For more information, check Apple’s detailed site about Lion Recovery.

Computers running operating systems older than Lion will need to boot from a CD or external hard disk to fully check the computer’s hard drive and perform minor repairs. If you want, you can also use third-party programs to expand your recovery and repair options.

Both Tech Tool Pro 6 and Drive Genius 3 have background monitoring of your hard drive to give you early warnings of problems, but if you want a free simple SMART warning program, check out the free SMARTReporter. Advance warning of a hard drive failure can be crucial to saving your data.

3. Replace that surge protector and test the battery backup

Do you know how old your surge protector is? Are you using one? If you don’t know when you bought it and you don’t know the amount of joules it protects against, it’s time to get a new one. Remember that a power strip isn’t necessarily a surge protector. One well-placed electrical “event” can turn that wonderful Mac into a glorified paperweight. As a general rule, when you get a new Mac, it’s also time for a new surge protector. I prefer name brand protectors from providers I trust such as Belkin, APC, and Tripp-Lite.

Similar to a surge protector, battery backups (UPS) tend to be set it and forget it. But batteries have limited life spans, and you don’t want to find out your battery is bad the hard way. It’s time to test the battery. Save your work and unplug your UPS from the wall. Did your Mac stay up? If it didn’t then your battery may be at end of life. Some vendors have software that will check the battery’s health and provide for graceful shutdowns during a power outage.

4. Clean up your cables

While you’re behind your Mac or on the floor checking your UPS and surge protector, do you know what each of those cables back there do, or if you still even need them? Organizing cables isn’t just about aesthetics. Disorganized cables tangled together creates the potential for chain reaction disasters: Pull too much on that iPod, and the entire string of computers and hard drives comes tumbling down. I’ve seen it, and it isn’t pleasant.

It’s time to trace those back, get rid of the ones you aren’t using and organize the rest. Lifehacker had a great article about how to get these under control. Oh, and you might as well dust that area, too, while you’re at it.

5. Check those logs

Your Mac has a little black box that records all sorts of problems and errata. Open up your Console app and it’s all there. It might be an application crash, a slowdown, or just general weirdness. For those of us who have trouble reading the logs and what they mean, Log Leech is well worth the $10. It makes your logs more Mac-like, and easy to find.

6. Lighten your load

Like many of you, I’m embarrassed with the collection of old manuals, disks and obsolete tech in my basement. It’s time to get rid of it. Old disks and manuals can usually be donated to libraries for their inventory or their big tent sale. While Apple has a recycling program, it’s limited to certain items, but your local Goodwill will usually take most items via the Reconnect partnership with Dell as will most Best Buy  locations.

These six tips will ensure that your Mac has a happy and healthy 2012. Anything you would add?

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1. Rule your Inbox with automate routing

Rules don’t have to be complex, but they can be incredibly good at keeping less important emails out of your sacred inbox. Any aspect of a message can be set for routing. A common rule I recommend setting up is to take those notifications from Facebook, Twitter and other services and put them in a social media folder.

Other easy targets for rule making are any email lists you are on (create a rule to immediately put any message from that list into it’s own folder) or any places you regularly purchase from (create a folder for e-commerce that contains all the emails from your regular purchase places). Apple has a great tutorial here.

2. Unsubscribe

We’re all on many email lists, whether by accident or on purpose. All those daily deal sites, combined with the “subscribe to our newsletter” checkmarks you forget to uncheck fills your inbox with unnecessary items. Ideally, you can mark these items as junk within Mail, but the app isn’t always that smart, and providers will change the message slightly over time to trick junk mail filters.

You might be afraid to click unsubscribe for fear that you’ll somehow confirm to a spammer that your email is valid. While that may be correct for true spammers, clicking unsubscribe on messages from reputable vendors won’t put you in danger. Go ahead and click that unsubscribe button, and regain your inbox.

3. Use folders and smart folders to keep things close at hand

The inbox should be used for incoming items only. Once you’ve read it, it’s time for it to go somewhere. If it requires action, create a folder called “take action” and move it in there. If it doesn’t require anything on your part, move it to an “archive folder.”

The only problem I see with a folder is that an email can only be in one folder at a time, but that’s where smart folders come in. For example, if you put all your online purchases in an e-commerce folder that includes your Apple purchases, your Amazon purchases and all that other online stuff. Just create smart folders that filters both Amazon and Apple separately, and that way you can have them in both places and quickly find that receipt.

Moving items into folders is incredibly easy with a little noticed function. When you move an item to a folder, notice on the message menu the “Move to … Again” and the command-option T shortcut. Just press that button to make your message quickly move to the same mailbox you just moved your last message to. Very empowering seeing those emails quickly disappear from your inbox. If you want a few more quick keys to instantly route your messages, create your own keyboard shortcuts using the keyboard System Preferences pane.

Inbox zero is an attainable goal in Apple’s Mail app thanks to the tips above. It’ll still take some time, but the feeling of seeing nothing in the inbox and no number badge in the dock can be quite exhilarating.

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1. Get the right tunes

Whatever music source you use, get in the groove during your workouts. My favorite right now is Pandora radio, since I find variety an excellent motivator when working out.
A good set of Bluetooth headphones is also probably a wise investment, since they prevent cords from getting caught during activity. My favorite right now is the Jabra Sport. Not only does it do audio and voice, but it also does FM so I can tune into the TV audio at the gym.

I also recommend Yurbuds. You send Yurbuds a picture of your ear and they match a product for a near perfect fit. The plastic molding is grippy and stays in your ears even while sweating. They also channel the sound directly into your ear and block out some of the background noise.

2. Track what you eat

Start with small steps tracking what you eat simply by taking a picture. Mealsnap is great for this. Being aware of what you eat and making it a habit is a great place to start.

When you’ve got that habit and want to start counting calories, the Lose It! app is a good choice. While I’m still a big fan of Livestrong’s calorie tracker, the excessive ads and upsells on their website became a turn off. Lose It! is free and has a clean, simple interface. It also can give you reminders if you don’t log meals.

Another key feature of Lose It! is that it can interact with other devices, such as the Withings WiFi Body scale and the Fitbit (more about that later).

3. Track what you do

Eating is only one side of the weight loss equation. How much you burn (or don’t burn) in a given day is the reason why the person next to you eats so much and stays slim, while you just even look at a bagel and gain three pounds. Both Lose It! and Livestrong Calorie Tracker will allow you to enter exercises, but don’t take into account more passive daily activities. While a pedometer will help, why use analog when digital is more fun?

The FitBit tracker ($99) is at heart a pedometer, but with added features. It tracks how many steps you take and uses your basal metabolic rate to determine how many calories you’re burning. The FitBit also uses gamification techniques, such as badge rewards you can tweet and share on Facebook, to keep you motivated. It can also be used as a clock and a stopwatch to track your workout routines.

I also like the fact you can get instant readouts to check your goals with the Fitbit; when you see you’re a few steps short of your daily goal you might decide to take that far away parking spot, or take the stairs instead of the elevator. Best of all, FitBit integrates with Lose It! so that way your activities and food log are shared between the two programs, giving you much more accurate results.

4. Break through the plateau with monitoring

Often, people attempting weight loss will hit a plateau. I faced that simply because my body adapted to the changes in my routine. The way to break through is not to look simply at your level of activity, but also at how hard your body is working.

The new Garmin ANT+ adapter for the iPhone along with the Garmin Fit App is a great way to do that. ANT+ is a widely adopted standard for monitoring devices, and in particular heart monitors. Some trainers have them, or you can purchase them independently. With a heart monitor you can determine exactly how hard your exercises are, and set accurate goals regarding heart rate and calories burned. That digital readout on the treadmill or elliptical is only an estimate, while a heart monitor combined with data you provide it can give you a much more accurate accounting of how hard you’re working.

The Garmin iPhone app keeps data for each session so you can compare. Some days I focus on distance, or pace on others, and always try to keep my heart rate in the zone. As I became more physically fit, I had to push myself harder to keep the same results. Gamification of weight loss through statistics helped me quickly punch through the plateau by changing my workouts.

5. Get a good night’s sleep

Let’s face it, if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you don’t feel like tracking your food and you don’t feel like working out. Your Mac can help with that.

The free program F.Lux will dim your Mac’s monitor to match sundown and sunrise, thereby giving you visual clues it’s evening. Bright light says “wake up” while gentle reduction in brightness says “it’s time for bed.” I also wrote about how to use parental controls to keep you on task, and force you to stop working at a specified period of time. If you really want to focus yourself, turn off the Internet on your Mac at a scheduled hour.

For tracking your sleep, you can see my round-up of hardware devices here. The FitBit also tracks sleep. You can then use the sleep data to help you focus on why you had a “good” or a “bad” day.You can then modify your eating habits and workout schedule to achieve better sleep results.

You can also use apps like Pzizz to help you feel mor restful. The software generates unique “sound journeys” to help you transition from hectic day to gentle night.

If your sleeping partner doesn’t want to hear these sounds, there’s a solution. First you need some SleepPhones. This soft headband includes a set of integrated speakers and can plug directly into a headphone jack. Then attach a BlueBridge mini-jack RX to the SleepPhones. Now you’ve got an effective wireless solution for nighttime audio that won’t endanger your partner’s rest or your Apple gear.

Got any tips of your own for using your Apple devices to meet your fitness goals? Let us know in the comments.

Disclaimer: This isn’t medical advice, just one Apple enthusiast’s perspective and vendors mentioned provided items for review. Always check with your medical professional before starting an exercise program.

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1. Set up Time Machine

If you aren’t using Time Machine, it’s time to start. This is your first, best line of defense on a desktop or laptop. Backups made using the built-in OS X feature are non-intrusive, and recovery of files is nearly instant. Although external hard drive prices are high right now, most everyone will benefit with Time Machine. Hook up an external hard drive and OS X will ask you to use it for Time Machine. I generally recommend getting a hard drive 1.5 times the size of your internal drive.

2. Set up online backup the proper way

I suggest online backup services as your second line of defense. It’s important to keep backups offsite in case of a disaster or theft at your location. If you do your initial backup all at once it can take months and you’ll find you are missing a key file just when you need it — I wrote about how to optimize your strategy here – and be sure to leave your computer on and awake if you want your backup strategy to work. Also, please remember that sync software like Dropbox isn’t a true online backup system, since it has the ability to remove files.

3. Back up your online email system

If you use online email systems such as Gmail, you need to back that up as well. Don’t rely 100% on your provider. Your account could get hacked, or you could accidentally delete your email. Follow this guide on backing up your Gmail using POP access. A similar strategy would be applicable to Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo (though Yahoo may require a paid upgrade to do it).

4. Test your backups

I’ve written about this before, but if you aren’t testing your backups, how do you know if they’re working? Do you know how to restore in case of disaster? Trust but verify as they say. Simply try restoring files from your backups to make sure they work as expected.

5. Back up your iOS devices

With iCloud, backing up to your computer isn’t technically necessary because you can restore from the cloud. On a practical level though, that takes time, and there’s also no guarantee your backup will always be there when you need it. At least every month, it’s important to hook up your iOS device to your computer for a quick and immediate backup of your data. To do a manual backup via iTunes, follow these instructions.

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Get settled in for the long haul

One of the key downsides of online backup is the time it takes to actually get your initial backup into the cloud. Some companies such as CrashPlan and DollyDrive allow you to ship a physical hard drive to “seed” your backup, greatly reducing the amount of data that needs to be transferred online initially.

If you aren’t with these companies or want an alternative, you can create a tiered backup strategy. If you do it all at once, it can take months and you’ll find you’re missing key files when you need them. Here’s what I typically recommend in terms of a staged approach for the average user:

1. Work first. Realize that while most people say pictures are the most important items to back up, those typically take the longest to upload. I prefer to start with the Documents folder. These typically are probably the hardest to recreate, as well as being time sensitive. This is the folder you’re also working in most often, so you may be more likely to accidentally overwrite things. If you use Outlook or Entourage, exclude the Microsoft User Data as the database for those email programs tends to be huge.

Keep an eye on the backup program, and make sure it not only successfully backed up that initial folder, but is also correctly backing up changes daily. Typically this takes just a few days. Once you have that folder backing up, the next folder I suggest is the Desktop folder. For convenience (and a bit of poor training), many users keep documents on the desktop rather than the Documents folder.

2. App and system settings. Next is the Application Support and Preferences folder in your user library folder. These contain the settings for your various programs as well as some supporting data files.

After you’ve got those critical files happily updating it’s time for the bigger folders such as email and the rest of your library folder. Email, of course is very important and annoying if lost, but often it’s already stored elsewhere, like on your email provider’s servers.

3. Photos and home video. Once you’ve got the documents and various support files and folders, it’s time to tackle the photos. More and more users keep copies (albeit at a lower quality) on services such as Facebook and Flickr, as well as sync photos to their iPhone, so it probably isn’t so urgent for most. What I do recommend is to spend some time and back up your photos manually by periodically burning them to disc from iPhoto. Be sure to keep these disks offsite in case of disaster, maybe with friends or family.

4. Music last — or not at all. Finally, after these elements are successfully updating each day, it’s time to back up the rest of your hard drive and can go with the software’s suggested recommendations. You might think about excluding your iTunes folder, however. With iCloud and iTunes Match, you might consider waiting on these folders or not backing it up at all. A large media library can choke a backup system for months without a large return on investment. While Carbonite or Mozy is trying to back up a movie you ripped off of DVD to entertain the kids on your last road trip, it’s missing the actual pictures from the trip. Which are more important?

General tips

A general recommendation I have for the initial load is to upgrade your broadband speed, at least for a month or so. Most companies will give you a free trial period of around 30 days at a higher speed in hopes you keep the service. Take advantage of that and upload like crazy, although be careful if you use a metered service not to exceed your monthly bandwidth limit.

Make sure your Mac doesn’t go to sleep during the initial backup period. I’ve seen clients subscribe to an online service and never get an initial backup because the computer is shut down when not in use. Unfortunately, they often learn this when they try to restore after a disaster. Ouch.

Each hard drive is unique, so your data may not conform to these guidelines, but consider a game plan for your initial backup and make sure that you stagger that backup so at least something new is being backed up every month. Nothing hurts more than to have a data disaster and find you’ve been paying for a service and it hasn’t been backing up the stuff you want.

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1. Take a picture of your products and serial numbers

Whether you want to inventory your items or need a handy reference when there’s a problem, taking a picture of the product as well as its serial number means you won’t be in the awkward position of trying to talk on the phone while on the floor with a flashlight trying to read those teeny tiny numbers.

Plus, if you should have a theft or disaster, having a visual record of your items makes it easier for your insurance company to settle your claim.

2. Schedule your items with insurance

Speaking of insurance, I suggest contacting your homeowners, renters, or business insurance provider to see about separate insurance for your most expensive technology items. While insurance providers and policies vary, typically scheduling an item provides it extra protection and covers it separate from your regular deductible. If your computer is scheduled, many times it will even cover data recovery should your computer be dropped or damaged.

3. Track key information in your Address Book and iCal

If only you’d contacted tech support before the warranty expired, the broken gadget would have been repaired at no charge! There’s an easy way to make sure you have all your info on hand when you need it.

As you take pictures of your items in step 1, put the serial number and warranty expiration date in your Address Book along with tech support’s phone number (create custom fields for Serial Number and Tech Support if you wish). Attach the picture of the item to the address book entry.

Then put the warranty expiration in your iCal Now you’ve got all the info you need in one place and won’t miss that warranty expiration date.

A bonus outcome of this tip is that if you are at the electronics store and you have questions about compatibility or which model you own, the information will be handy so long as you sync your address book info manually or through iCloud.

While these tips won’t prevent problems from occurring, they’ll help protect you from further cost and inconvenience when they do.

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Based on the app race, Ron Paul would win the nomination

The Ron Paul App (free) has biographical details, voting records, books and links to websites about Ron Paul. It even has a Words with Friends portal so you can find other supporters to play with. Other apps for Ron Paul fans include Ron Paul Mobile ($0.99) and Ron Paul Words of Wisdom ($0.99).

Rick Perry also seems to have an official iOS app (free) that looks to be just a fundraising tool. Upon install, I was presented with a login screen and had to go the main website and sign up before I could make it past the screen. Even after I signed up, I still couldn’t log in, though, so it’s not really a very strong competitor. Amazingly, no other Republican candidate seems to have an official app.

If you want a quick overview of the primary race

Pocket Polls (free) covers all the candidates, giving their positions on a dozen of different issues such as abortion, gun control, and immigration. If you want a thumbnail sketch of each candidate, this is the app for you.

If social media presence is important to you

If you’re into social media, the 2012GOP ($1.99) app is your go-to app for deciding who to vote for. This app takes all the candidates’ Twitter accounts and lets you examine not just their tweets, but how often they’re retweeted and the tag clouds of what they’ve said. Ron Paul has double the mentions of Mitt Romney, but Newt Gingrich has them beat hands down in terms of followers, and Buddy Roemer has the most retweets.

If you want your iPhone to quickly decide for you

Candidates (free) will ask you your opinion on 16 different issues and allow you to weigh the importance of each. At the end of the quiz, it will rank candidates (including President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as Republican primary candidates) based on how their positions match up with your answers, and you can click on each candidate link for more information.

If you’d rather make a more informed decision

Proud Republican ($1.99) aggregates news from 15 different national sources such as Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Post so you can read what others are saying about candidates and the election. The app even integrates conservative talk radio sources, too, so you can hear live what’s being said about the race on-air.

If you just want to keep track of the race

Maybe you live in one of the states that doesn’t usually have an impact on the national primaries, or you want to see how your candidate is doing post-election, then USA Election 2012 is ($0.99) the app for you. While not directly Republican-focused, since that party has the primary-season spotlight right now, that’s what the app is currently directing its attention. Once the Republic candidate is settled, it should provide a more balanced perspective.

Read a variety of polls to see who’s ahead, find out how fundraising is going (according to the app, Mitt Romney is winning this one) and read news about the economy and general election stories. This may not help you decide who to vote for, but it will help you keep track of who’s winning and give you an idea of why.

Which criteria you use to decide who to vote for — either on your home screen or in the ballot box — is up to you. If you live in Iowa though, be sure to download the Iowa GOP app (free) which gives you detailed information about the caucuses and how to get involved.

Disclosure: No actual endorsement is being made of specific candidates or parties, and no apps were provided free for this overview.

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In Notification Center, tapping on notifications launches the app they’re associated with. Your first instinct might be to clear out all notifications associated with each app to keep your Center clear. Don’t. Just leave one for each app, and then you can use the Notification Center as a quick launcher for those programs.

To save time, go to Notifications in Settings and optimize your Notification Center. You can do this by choosing the order in which notifications appear, how many recent notifications to display from each, and whether or not they appear in Notification Center at all. Experiment and find the combination that works best for you.

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1. Create a “My Documents alias, and other shortcuts on the desktop

Steve Jobs wanted your desktop to remain as uncluttered as possible, but PC users are used to seeing key items there. Putting an alias to the Documents folder on the desktop and renaming it My Documents is a good idea during their adjustment period. The same goes for commonly used applications like Mail, Safari, etc. Once they get used to using the OS X Dock, they can ditch their desktop shortcut crutches.

2. Modify Finder Preferences to show key items on the desktop

New Mac users may find Lion’s tendency to keep things hidden unsettling. Go to the Finder Preferences and make sure to check that all items show on the desktop, including hard drives and mounted CDs. Also set New Finder windows to open in the user’s home folder or documents, rather than the new, somewhat confusing “All files” view.

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1. iTunes gift certificates and apps. If you have an app, TV show, or songs you’d like to share, you can quickly and easily gift them to someone right from iTunes. Generic iTunes gift certificates are available in amounts of $10 to $50 in $10 increments if you’re not sure of a person’s exact tastes.

2. Online backup. Nothing says “I love you” like the gift of preventing data loss. If someone you’re buying for hasn’t developed an onsite backup strategy, you can both give a gift and do a good deed. Both CrashPlan and Backblaze (two of my favorite online backup services) offer gift subscriptions for $50. Sure, it isn’t a very fun gift, but it’s practical, and when a recipient accidentally lose a file, they’ll hopefully remember how you helped them.

3. Audible. I’ve been an Audible fan for a very long time. Someone who has a long commute to work will appreciate the wide variety of books that they can listen to via the service. You can give an individual book (the geek on your list will love “Ready, Player One” narrated by Wil Wheaton) or give a monthly subscription that allows for multiple purchases. Three month subscriptions start at $45.

4. Pandora One. For the audiophile who loves their custom stations and playlists but winces when they hear an ad, how about a gift subscription to Pandora? No more pink cupcakes. I’d suggest Spotify, but gift subscriptions aren’t available in the U.S. yet. Coal in that company’s stocking for sure.

5. Hulu+ or Netflix. If the hard-to-shop-for person on your list loves TV or movies, a gift subscription of Hulu+ or Netflix will allow for streaming of video content to their iPad, iPhone, and desktop. Unfortunately Hulu+ doesn’t work directly on the Apple TV, so Netflix would be a better choice for users of that device. Both products have gift subscriptions that start at $7.99, and both give you a choice of attractive gift certificates to print at home.

There you have it. You didn’t procrastinate, you were simply waiting for the perfect gift, and now you have a great list. Happy holidays and next time, plan ahead!

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Tweeting while in the shower? Blogging while in the bathtub? The Lifeproof iPhone case makes it possible, and even manages to do so without adding much girth to your device or sealing it away in a cumbersome bag-style cover, like other alternatives.

A thin, yellow, rubber strip helps seal the case tight. While I didn’t take it in the shower, I did take the empty case into a bathtub multiple times and saw absolutely no leaks inside. I wasn’t quite adventuresome enough to try it with my iPhone inside, but third-party tests and user reports suggest it works as advertised. All the iPhone physical buttons are protected, and an integrated screen protector covers the home button. A screen top protects the headphone jack, and a flip cover protects the dock connector. The screen protector also didn’t take away from the quality of the iPhone’s Retina display. The speakers are protected with Gore-Tex, designed to let sound pass through but prevent water from getting in.

I was unwilling to fully test the shock protection with my own current-use device, but  I did a few drop tests with already cracked iPhone screen components and the protection was impressive.

As a functional daily case it had some drawbacks for me. The dock port is tight, and the only cable that fit in my tests was the one my iPhone came with. If you have a lot of third-party sync/charge cables, you may want to think twice about this purchase. However, Apple’s own cables fit just fine, so this may not be a limiting factor.

The headphone jack is deeply recessed in the case, requiring an adapter (included with the case) to use most headphones. It’s annoying, but not a major problem since you can easily keep an adapter attached to your favorite pair of headphones. I lost the tiny screw top protector (which seals the headphone jack when not in use) multiple times. Fortunately, Lifeproof provides an extra protector in the box.

While the home button is easily accessible through the screen protector, I found other controls such as the volume and sleep buttons a bit difficult to use. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it is inconvenient.

Removal of the iPhone from this case was a breeze. I often had to remove it to work with my other iPhone-enabled devices. Typically, cases with high levels of protection require multiple steps to remove the iPhone, so the ease with which the Lifeproof comes on and off is a big plus.

Although callers did not notice a difference in sound quality during normal phone calls, they reported reverberation and feedback during speakerphone calls. I noticed the quality of the sound was a bit muffled, but I was told I received a faulty unit and the second one had improved sound. I also reviewed the instructional videos Lifeproof had online about the case, and made sure it was seated properly. Be sure to watch those videos, because properly fitting the case to your device can make a big difference in sound quality.

Generally, I really liked this case and would recommend it to anyone who works in environments where water damage could become an issue, or for anyone who simply wants more protection without a lot of bulk and complication. The need to use an adapter for the speaker jack, as well as some third-party accessories was annoying, but the cost of those is still much cheaper than replacing a water-damaged phone. Overall, this is one of the best rugged cases out there, with the added benefit of extremely high water resistance.

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Setup

Setting up both devices requires no modifications to your router, and the should simply hop onto an existing network. VueZone uses a base station connected to your wired network and a series of battery-powered camera satellites that autoconfigure themselves. Add the base station, turn on the cameras and visit a website to check the video feed. The whole thing takes about five minutes.

iZon is a bit more complex. Setup is 100-percent iOS-based. The iZon camera is USB-powered and must be near a power outlet. On first install, it creates an ad-hoc wireless network you must connect to with your iOS device. You need to install the free iOS app to configure and view video. Once connected via its own ad-hoc network, you tell the iZon how to hop on your main wireless network, and you should be good to go.

Unfortunately, I ran into numerous glitches. The product support says the device works best with a WPA2 network, and indeed, it was unreliable on WPA. The app also was a bit unstable, and when it wouldn’t accept my password, there was no way to reset it. The setup process took about 30 minutes start to finish, though that includes resetting the network once I changed the password. The second time around, it only took me about 15 minutes.

Viewing and recording

The VueZone allows for remote viewing via their website, while the iZon allows viewing only via the iOS app and only for five minutes at a time. Both devices allow for recording upon the detection of motion, but with VueZone saving those recordings requires a $49.95 per year Premium account. iZon will directly upload private videos to YouTube. Personally, I liked the ability to view video via a website, but the additional yearly cost and initial and ongoing financial outlay for the VueZone may not be worth it depending on your needs.

Comparing the video between the two, the iZon displayed much higher quality in normal conditions. The VueZone didn’t have an infrared function, but it did have a low-light mode that worked well at night. iZon’s light settings weren’t modifiable. One key difference between the iZon and VueZone is the iZon can capture audio as well as video, while VueZone cannot. Both support activation upon motion, as mentioned, but since the iZon supports audio, it can also start recording if it hears loud noises. The motion detection in the VueZone was all or nothing: Either it detected motion in the area, or it didn’t. The iZon allowed for distinct zones and levels of audio and visual sensitivity (thought it didn’t always register movement or noise in testing even when there was some present).

Configuring the iZon via the iPhone app was really a pain. The settings didn’t always take, and the app constantly crashed. Changes to the device must be made while you are on the same wireless network as the iZon while the VueZone allows configuration from anywhere. Support for the iZon was excellent, however, and as an iOS based product, updates to increase reliability are likely.

Verdict

Which is better? If you’d like to view an area where you don’t have an electrical outlet, then VueZone is clearly the way to go. Neither camera is suited for outdoor usage, though the VueZone will go in more places since it doesn’t have to be tethered to power, although this does mean you have to take batteries into account. If that isn’t a problem, the iZon’s lower entry price and lack of ongoing cost might be the way to go, despite its more difficult configuration. The fact it doesn’t require a yearly subscription to auto-record motion is a big plus. I also liked iZone’s ability to customize the sensitivity of the audio and video recording zones.

A bonus (and for some killer) feature of the iZon app is that it will give you push notifications if there is an audio or video event the camera notices. I knew precisely and almost instantly if someone triggered the camera. The VueZone would simply record a motion event but wouldn’t notify you. When used for security and piece of mind while away, the iZon was definitely superior. I was a little disappointed in the reliability of the iZon, but support indicated patches were on the way that should fix some of the problems I faced.

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The iDAPT 4 uses one power cable to charge up to four devices at once from one power source. What’s unique about this product is its modular design and use of interchangeable tips. You can swap 3 of the charging bays at will. The standard U.S. pack comes with 6 tips: 1 mini USB, 2 micro USB, iPod-iPhone, Samsung 4, and Nokia2 (there are different versions of both Samsung and Nokia chargers). You can order a custom pack of tips on their website for over 20 different devices.

You can even order an AA-AAA battery charging tip. This was a killer feature for me, as I’m always needing to swap batteries in my track pad. Along the side of the unit is a USB port to give you a fourth place to charge. Plus, if the ports aren’t charging, they aren’t draining power, making this a much greener solution than keeping a series of power adapters plugged into the wall.

I’ve used the device for a few months now and generally I’m pretty impressed. Some devices like my Bluetooth headsets had a bit of trouble fitting on the unit due to their unique shape, but other devices such as my iPod, MiFi, and external battery packs worked without issue. For devices that didn’t easily fit, I just use the USB port on the side.

The unit comes in a variety of colors (even white for Apple purists) as well as power cables for the U.S., the U.K., the E.U. and Australia. Tips are generally $9.99, and the unit is available from a variety of resellers.

Disclosure: iDAPTt provided a unit for this review and additional tips.

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