American Idol, iTunes and the iPod shuffle

I admit that I’ve been caught up in the American Idol craze over the last couple of years. Here we are in Season Seven, and I always make sure that all the American Idol shows are scheduled to record on my PVR just in case I miss them or want to go back to watch them again. My favorite episodes of each season are the first and the last: The beginning to see everyone sing, especially the entertaining weirdos, and the ending to watch the true talent and to see who wins the big-money recording deal.

Now there are more options for American Idol since Apple announced last week that Season Seven will be available on iTunes starting March 11. This new offering kicked off last week with the top 24 semifinalists and goes for 99 cents per song or $1.99 for the full video performance.

“We have some truly outstanding talent this year, and by working with Apple and iTunes, we’re giving viewers another great way to enjoy America’s brightest new stars from Idol,” said Simon Fuller, creator of American Idol and founder of 19 Entertainment. “I’m sure there will be many memorable performances that viewers will want to relive from this 2008 season.”

At the moment, when you open your iTunes program, click on the iTunes Store and you’ll see the American Idol logo prominently at the top. Once you click on that, you’ll see the pictures of the 24 contestants - click on your favorite, and you can download their song and soon the video, too.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said, “We’ve created a special section on the iTunes Store for Idol fans with an incredible array of music and video performances from television’s most popular show. We think American Idol viewers are going to love the ability to purchase and download Idol performances from iTunes.” iTunes also will provide exclusive direct links from the free streaming performance videos on www.americanidol.com. Here you can click through to iTunes so you can own and enjoy your favorite performances on your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV.

Open your iTunes program to check this added iTunes Store item out or download iTunes (version 7.6) for free at www.itunes.com to start.

Portable Charger For Your Toys

Nearly two years ago I wrote about Voxred’s original Turbo Charge and its capability to save just about any dying cell phone. As an update to this, the next generation TC2 was at CES this year, and thankfully after stopping by their booth, I was handed a review unit to play with. It saved the iPhone a few times from dying as we were walking around the show floor. (Note the battery was not low from me forgetting to charge it. The dying battery was a result from jabbering on the phone, surfing the web and checking e-mail multiple times).

The TC2 features the Algor Chip, which regulates the flow of energy to your battery. Because of this chip, it’s guaranteed not to overcharge or damage your device. A regular charger would send a full charge to your battery, risking damage or fire to your device.

It’s powered by two AA batteries and can give your device up to three charges. There’s an LED light on it that you can sort of use as a flashlight if needed. The battery saving on/off switch has a warning system that tells you when it’s time to replace the batteries. Perfect for when you’re traveling or on the road often, the TC2 is compatible with various cell phones, iPhone, iPod touch, iPods or portable gaming devices (PSP, Game Boy, Advance SP, Micro, DS or DS Lite).

Find the Turbo Charge TC2 for $24.95 (one adaptor) or $29.95 (seven adaptors) at www.turbocellcharge.com. Each comes with two AA batteries, and additional adaptors can be purchased on the website as well.

Apple Drops Price on iPod Shuffle

In addition to the new iTunes announcement, Apple dropped the price on its iPod shuffle (1GB) to just $49. This is perfect for you if you never wanted to spend the money on an iPod before. This low price is a great way to test the iPod waters. A new 2GB shuffle also was announced for $69.

“At just $49, the iPod shuffle is the most affordable iPod ever,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “The new 2GB model lets music lovers bring even more songs everywhere they go in the impossibly small iPod shuffle.”

The iPod shuffle is the most wearable iPod with its weight of half an ounce. It can hold up to 500 songs (2GB) or 240 songs (1GB), comes with a handy clip to attach to your sleeve or pocket, and a shuffle switch capability that allows you to either play your handpicked playlists in the order you synced them from iTunes or let it shuffle your songs. The battery life is about 12 hours, and it comes with headphones and a USB power adapter.

These affordable iPod shuffles are available in silver, blue, green, purple and a PRODUCT RED special edition at your nearest Apple Store (www.apple.com) or Mac Made Easy in Kailua (www.maceasy.com).

Getting A Handle On Cable Tangles

One of my biggest pet peeves is having a big spaghetti mess of cables behind my desk or anywhere near me in the home or office. For years I used cable ties for my cable management needs, then after awhile I moved onto Velcro since it’s reusable and can be undone quickly.

The next step up is Monster’s Cable It, which I discovered at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month. It was among seven Monster products that were honored with the 2008 Design and Engineering Awards by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). It’s a unique product that pulls your cables together into a sheath-type of contraption.

It’s incredibly simple to use, and much faster than using cable ties or velcro. Once you have your cables gathered up, you snap open your Cable It, place those cables in and zip it back up with the included EZ Cable Zipper. If you need to take it apart and add more cords, it unzips just as easy. It literally takes seconds to clean up your cables with this. Additionally, if you need to adjust the length of your Cable It, you can cut it to length with a regular scissors.

Cable It comes in three sizes - small (3-5 cables), medium (5-8 cables) or large (8-12 cables). For small jobs to big projects, the lengths vary from eight to 50 feet, and available colors are black, gray or white. Prices range from $12.95 to $99.95 at www.monstercable.com.

Singing A New iTune With Apple TV

Ah, the Apple TV ...because of its previously limited capability, I never had any desire to own one, so I never bothered to buy or even think about buying one until recently. At Macworld last month, the price was lowered to $229 for the 40GB model, and an added software update made it much more appealing to think about.

Since Valentine’s Day was coming up, I decided to cave in and buy one for the husband for his Valentine’s Day gift. The funniest thing was that he also bought one for me. Not only that, but we ordered it on the same day, about two hours apart from each other (not that it’s important, but I’d like to point out that I think mine was ordered first). So, oh well, there we were, a spoiled couple with an extra Apple TV on our hands. Thanks to the nice folks at the Apple Store, we were able to easily return the spare in-store.

As soon as I plugged in the remaining Apple TV, I synced it to both our computers (one at a time), and now we can watch our iTunes content, including TV shows, movies and rented iTunes movies on the TV through this wonderful device. In addition, the software update allows you to view photos on Flickr, .Mac web galleries, and watch YouTube content. From what I’ve watched so far, the picture looks extremely clear.

Existing Apple TV owners receive the just-released update for free, and the new Apple TVs will come with it. The larger 160GB model is $329 and both 40GB and 160GB boxes are available at www.apple.com or your nearest Apple Store. Working hand-in-hand with the improved Apple TV are Elgato’s EyeTV 250 Plus and Turbo.264, both featured at this past Macworld. These have been out for a little while, but the EyeTV 250 Plus has been updated, and as with other Elgato EyeTV products, it basically turns your Mac into an alternative TV.


You may have read in my column a couple weeks ago about the analog to digital conversion . . . this could be another solution to that issue. The EyeTV 250 offers the flexibility of a digital and analog TV tuner in one, since it gives you free-to-air digital TV to your Mac (ATSC), unencrypted digital cable (Clear QAM), and conventional analog TV via standard cable or antenna. Best of all, you can record your shows with whatever method you choose to watch them in. From what I had available at the time, I did my test recordings with the conventional analog. Even with that, the picture looked very clear on both my computer and iPhone. I can only imagine how much better the digital would look.

Honestly the coolest thing about this is the EyeTV2 software. During the setup process you tell it which cable service you subscribe to, can have it search by title, actor, etc. and it displays all the results. Once your desired program shows up, you can have it set to record with the click of your mouse button. It records onto your computer, which you can watch off your iPhone, iPods or, of course, Apple TV. If you’re looking to externally burn your videos, the package comes with Roxio Toast 8. For you folks that still have VHS tapes lying around, the EyeTV 250 also has a VHS Assistant that will convert your tapes into digital files.

To complete the circle, Elgato’s Turbo.264 lives up to its name and gives you turbocharged exports of your videos so you can watch it on your iPhone, iPods, Apple TV, Sony PSP or the Zune. It won several Editor’s Choice awards, including the one from Macworld magazine.


The Turbo.264 accelerates the process of exporting video to the H.264 (MPEG-4) format. Usually when you convert video to this format, it takes up tons of processing power from your Mac. The Turbo.264 takes the strain off your machine and allows you to multi-task and do other things such as surf the web, or in my case write this story. This is also great if you post numerous videos online (i.e. if you’re a video podcaster).

EyeTV 250 Plus goes for $199.95 and the Turbo.264 sells for $99.95 at www.elgato.com or www.amazon.com.

Starbucks Expanding Wi-Fi With AT&T

I’ve been a T-Mobile Hotspot subscriber since the service became available in Starbucks. I find it to be very convenient, especially since Starbucks is almost a second office to me, mostly when I’m traveling away from Hawaii. There’s usually a Starbucks nearby where I can stop to do my work as well as take care of the coffee fix.

This new initiative between Starbucks and AT&T will further expand the AT&T network to more than 17,000 hot spots in the U.S. and 70,000 globally. Starbucks card holders can enjoy up to two hours of free Wi-Fi service per day at Starbucks, and qualifying AT&T broadband and AT&T U-verse Internet customers will have unlimited free access at Starbucks. Pretty soon I can stop paying my $30/month for the T-Mobile HotSpot service. That means I can have two hours a day for free with a cup of coffee that I would buy anyway. What a deal!


“This is what our customers have been waiting for - free Starbucks-quality Wi-Fi,” says Chris Bruzzo, chief technology officer, Starbucks Coffee Company. “Through our new partnership with AT&T, we also welcome their millions of current customers who can now come in and enjoy free Wi-Fi as part of their daily Starbucks experience. “Now more than ever, Starbucks is focused on the in-store experience for our customers,” he adds. “As we continue to build our technology offerings in ways that both enhance and expand the Starbucks Experience for our customers, we made a strategic decision to expand our existing relationship with our long-time technology partner AT&T to include consumer Wi-Fi.”

For the non-qualifying AT&T customers or non-Starbucks card holders, you’ll pay $3.99 per two-hour session, or an unlimited monthly access of $19.99, which is $10 less per month than what I pay now for the T-Mobile HotSpot. We’ll see how it goes, since T-Mobile HotSpot customers will be able to continue to access Wi-Fi services at no additional cost through an agreement between AT&T and T-Mobile. Perhaps T-Mobile will lower the price.

The AT&T change will roll out this spring to the nearly 7,100 Starbucks locations across the U.S. on a market-to-market basis. Unfortunately there are no specific dates Starbucks could give me for when this will be functional in Hawaii. I say just be on the lookout for it sometime early this year.

Meeting Up With Guy Kawasaki

You probably saw Guy Kawasaki on the cover of this issue of MidWeek (http://www.midweek.com/content/story/midweek_coverstory/just_for_starters/) before you reached this column. I’ve been itching to write about meeting him in my column since right after I attended Macworld, but waited because I wanted it to coincide with the cover story.

When I originally did the interview with Guy, I brought along my husband and my best friend Eva, who was our ride around San Francisco, not to mention an entrepreneur herself. She takes care of the West Coast operations of the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue chain. It was just funny how we were supposed to be there for my story interview, but Guy was so excited to meet “the L&L girl” that in the first few minutes of our meeting we ended up talking about local plate lunches, the L&L locations and Eva’s experience in his area. Heck, my first job in high school through college was given to me by Eva’s parents at L&L.

Anyway, that’s proof right there that not only is Guy a local boy all around, but he has a passion for the entrepreneur. In addition, he’s truly a down-to-earth family guy from Kalihi. He even suggested I challenge his son at a game of Halo 3!

I’m just excited for the new websites he’s trying to promote, seeing where this takes him next. Check the sites out for yourself - Truemors (true-mors.com) and Alltop (alltop.com) - these are also mentioned in Guy’s story in this issue.

Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry 4 (DMC4), the latest in this popular series from Capcom, came out last week for PlayStation 3 (PS3), Xbox 360 and PC. My choice is the PS3, but one of the very first things you need to do with this version is let the game load some files onto your console’s hard drive. Thankfully it’s a onetime deal that only takes 20 minutes.

PS3 is the only version on which you have to do this file load, but I think it’s worth it because it made the screen loads almost seamless and very quick.One of the first things I noticed about the game-play is the phenomenal graphics. You can see beautiful landscapes,sunsets,buildings and details on the characters.

Although this is the fourth in the Devil May Cry series, if you’re a newbie, having played the first three is not a requirement. The storyline explains itself as you play through it, but it is nice to know the background if you aren’t familiar with it: Long ago the Dark Knights of Sparda rebelled against the dark emperor and waged a one-man war to save humanity. Thousands of years later, here and now, a religious organization worships this savior and takes it upon itself to rid the world of evil.


The game then begins with you as Nero, and you witness Dante slaughter your leader and fellow warriors. At first, I was kind of thrown off because in previous DMCs you play through the game as this Dante, a mercenary dedicated to the extermination of demons using superhuman abilities.

In DMC4, you play most of it as Nero, a knight in the Order of Maken with a sworn oath to annihilate all demons. Nero is extremely similar to Dante as far as moves, weapons and personality. Hardcore DMC fans need not worry, since you do play as Dante for part of the game along with his array of weapons and fighting styles. It would have been good if the game went into more detail about the connection between the two characters.

If you’ve played Devil May Cry 3 at all, this will be a relief to you. That version was much more difficult than this one is. DMC4 is no walk in the park, but its challenge is just about right. As Nero, you’re known for your demonic arm, the devil bringer. With this you can grab onto enemies, pull them, pick them up and slam them all over the place for some high-score combos. Throughout the game, you’ll encounter a number of secret missions along with your regular missions and puzzles to solve.At the end of each regular mission, you’ll encounter a big boss to defeat. This can become slightly repetitive, as the bosses start to look similar after a while.


DMC 4 also comes from the same producer as the popular Resident Evil 4. The nice graphics are attributed to the High-Definition 720p visuals that move at 60 frames per second.You’ll see a blend of old and new: Of course, Nero clashes with Dante, and appearances from Trish, Lady and others from the series.

Overall, I definitely give Devil May Cry 4 a thumbs up.My favorite aspects are, hands-down, the graphics, cool weapons and moves you can do. Because the game is loaded partially on my PS3’s hard drive, I think it helps it run more smoothly. The only “bad” thing I noticed about DMC4 is that the boss fights seem to be similar and feel somewhat repetitive. Not that big of a deal for me. Note: This is not a game for young children.

It is rated M for Mature (ages 17+) and goes for $59.99 at your nearest GameStop (www.gamestop.com) or www.amazon.com (free shipping). Additionally, the special collector’s edition is $79.99 and includes the game along with a ton of extras - Volume 1 of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series (DVD), four anime episodes, Making of Devil May Cry 4, music, digital artbook, and screensavers, wallpaper and icons you can use for your computer. Check out the website at www.devilmaycry.com for some free downloads and more game info.

Switching From Analog To Digital

For those of you still using the old rabbit ears to catch a TV signal, I hope you realize that, in about a year, you won’t be able to receive analog anymore. At midnight Feb. 17, 2009, all full-power television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100 percent digital broadcasting.

Let’s rewind a little: Analog TV vs. digital TV (DTV) - what is the difference? Analog TV has been used in television broadcasts in the U.S. since the 1940s, and is transmitted to your TV via continuous radio waves. DTV gives you improved picture, sound and more programming options. DTV also can send televised information more efficiently, since these broadcasts are basically encoded streams of zeroes and ones (the same binary language used by computers). The digitized signal is sent over the airwaves and received by your TV. Note this includes high-definition (HDTV), too. You can distinguish a DTV if you see any of these markings on it: DTV, ATSC, Integrated Digital Tuner or Digital Tuner Built-In. All equipment manufactured after May 25, 2007, should contain a digital tuner.

So if you’re still living in the analog TV world, you’ll need to purchase a converter box to be able to watch TV (but no need for a new TV). This box will convert digital broadcasts into the old analog format. The Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 requires the transition to happen, and ideally this will provide you a better TV viewing experience and help emergency responders protect our community by clearing the airwaves.


Congress created a TV Converter Box Program for folks wanting to continually watch analog TV. The program allows each U.S. household to obtain up to two coupons (each worth $40) that can be applied toward the cost of eligible converter boxes. If your TV is connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service, you won’t need a TV converter box from this program.

The bottom line is you have two options: Buy a new TV (all new TVs will be able to receive/display digital TV signals) or make sure you have a DTV converter box. Chances are you’ll choose the latter option and take advantage of the coupon. That in mind, a box that stands out is Zenith’s Digital TV Tuner DTT900. I remember seeing it at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and it was honored with a 2008 CES Innovations Award for its consumer-friendly features and handsome styling. It boasts easy setup: Connect your existing antenna to the RF input and RF output to the TV. Best of all, it qualifies as a “coupon-eligible converter box.”

No firm price for the DTT900 yet, but it will probably be in the $60 ballpark. Visit www.zenith.com/dtv for more information and updates on availability. With the $40 off coupon, it’ll bring your out-of-pocket cost to about $20. There will be other DTV converter boxes available, and we’ll begin to see them on the market anytime now.

On the go with multimedia 3-D glasses

I love my HD and surround sound at home, but when I’m traveling, there is no way I’ll be packing my TV along with my whole entertainment system. The next best thing is multimedia 3D glasses. Today’s 3D media viewing glasses are not new, but have come far from the old days of cardboard red-and-blue cellophane glasses you’d wear at the movie theater (if you’re old enough to remember).

I saw a few media viewers at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year that I think are worth mentioning: Vuzix’s iWear VR920 and Myvu’s Crystal 701 and Shades 301. I’ve seen many 3D glasses over the past few years, but these are decent glasses I would actually use.

Using the Vuzix iWear VR920 is equivalent to wearing a 62-inch TV on your head. Well, sort of. It’s claimed to be the same as watching a 62-inch TV from 9 feet away. Hey, I’ll take that. It was recognized as an honoree for the 2008 CES Innovations Design and Engineering Showcase Awards.

The VR920 has a 1024x768 resolution. Not the best, but it’s compatible with multiple games, including the ever-popular World of Warcraft and Quake 4/Quake Wars. It promises to give you a fully immersive virtual reality experience, particularly with gaming. It’s powered with a USB cable you can plug into your computer and weighs in at 3.2 ounces. You’ll have a 32-degree field of view with 24-bit true color (16 million colors), a built-in noise-canceling microphone and removable headphones (so you can plug in your own if you choose). Vuzix’s iWear VR920 is a bit pricey at $399.95. To purchase or for more information, visit www.vuzix.com.


Myvu’s Crystal 701 ($299.95) and Shades 301 ($199.95) are similar to the VR920, but a little cheaper. The 701 gives you a VGA resolution with USB rechargeable battery (up to four hours per charge) and Ultimate Ears earbuds. The 301 does the same without the higher resolution, and its battery will last you 10 hours per charge. The Myvu line features Kopin’s CyberDisplay technology, offering high pixel density and sharp resolution for its small size."As portable media players like the iPod nano get smaller and flat-screen TVs only get bigger, consumers are faced with a dilemma: the desire for portability mixed with the need for a comfortable viewing experience,” said Kip Kokinakis, president and CEO of Myvu Corporation. “Myvu shades and crystal solve this small-screen dilemma by giving consumers on-the-go access to their favorite content in a lightweight portable media player on Myvu’s vivid virtual screen.”

Both will be available soon this spring at www.myvu.com, or you can pre-order at www.amazon.com/shades. Between the two brands, I thought Vuzix’s VR920 was significantly better than Myvu’s Crystal 701. It’s $100 more, but could be worth it. I didn’t get the dizzy feeling that I had wearing the VR920. I don’t know about the whole virtual reality experience with these viewers in general, but it’s a breath of fresh air. I was only able to play with these on the show floor, but I could see how using any of these for hours at a time might give you a headache. In any case, if you’re stuck on a plane or a small area for a long time with no big TV or multimedia options, these would be nice to travel with.

Verizon Wireless Offers Manga

So if there’s a way to plug one of those media viewers into a phone, the Japanese anime-loving Verizon Wireless customers will be happy to know that a TOKYOPOP video channel is now available on V CAST.

TOKYOPOP on V CAST offers about 20 four- to six-minute videos each week from its collection. The video selection includes Bizenghast, based on the original manga by M. Alice LeGrow; Rave Master, a popular series that aired on Cartoon Network directed by Takashi Watanabe; PiNMeN, a cult classic direct from Japan; and FMW, live-action reality-based sports.

I’m a Japanese anime fan, but I don’t have Verizon Wireless to experience this. If you do have a V CAST-enabled phone, the service costs you $3 for one 24-hour use or $15 per month for a monthly VPak subscription. It includes unlimited basic video (with TOKYOPOP on V CAST), Mobile Web 2.0 services, ESPN MVP and Get It Now. For more information, visit your nearest Verizon Wireless store or www.verizonwireless.com.

Getting In Tune With A Zune

Admittedly, I’ve been a stubbornly dedicated Apple iPod lover over the years. But I stepped out of my comfort zone when I decided to try out Microsoft’s Zune 2 and tote it around for a few days. This improved portable media player was introduced in fall 2007 to compete with iPods.

Three new Zune models were announced - a 80GB hard drive model and 4GB and 8GB versions with flash drives. I tested out the black 80GB, and was pleasantly surprised. What initially stood out for me was the nice 3.2-inch screen (diagonal) and the Zune Pad, a touch-sensitive button for navigating around. If you compare it to an iPod classic - yes, it blows it away.

This Zune Pad reminds me of a cross between the iPod classic’s scroll wheel and a laptop computer’s touchpad. You can use this to navigate the menus by sliding your finger in four directions. Items are selectable by clicking on the middle of the pad. As with an iPod, this allows you to skip through your songs, videos, photos and radio stations. Radio capability (FM only) is one thing the Zune has that the iPod does not.

It also has a glass screen, making it more scratch-resistant (in comparison to the plastic screen the first generation 30GB had). The user interface seems to have a more artsy, cleaner look than the original, along with its overhauled operating system. You can customize your background with just about anything, including images from your photo collection.

The biggest added features of Zune 2 are the wireless sync, extended wireless sharing and recorded television content to go. The wireless sync automatically synchronizes your Zune to your computer over your wireless network. It makes sure you have the latest podcasts and starts on its own when you plug it into its dock or plug it in to charge.

The extended wireless sharing allows you to share full-length songs, albums, playlists, pictures and podcasts from device to device. You can listen to any song you receive up to three times with no time restrictions, and pass along songs to your other Zune-using friends.


In comparison to the first generation, the new Zune is noticeably smaller and thinner, measuring in at 4.3 inches high by 2.4 inches wide by 1/2-inch deep. Microsoft basically tripled the storage capacity and made it physically smaller. The audio/video support hasn’t changed much from the first Zune with its support of mp3, WMA, protected-WMA (Zune Marketplace) and AAC for music, and WMV, MPEG-4 and H.264 for video.

Additionally, Microsoft launched the Zune Social online beta website (www.zune.net/social). It’s an online community that gives you a place to share your music tastes, experience, knowledge, etc. You can create a Zune Card that automatically updates to reflect the music you’re listening to on your Zune or Zune software on your computer. It’ll show your most recently played tracks and highlight your favorites. You can create a friends list, send messages and post comments. The goal is to eventually have the Zune Card enabled on the popular networking websites.

On the plus side, those features not available on the iPod make the new Zune appetizing, my favorite being the radio. Yet the biggest drawback for me is the software and the fact that it only works on a PC. The bottom line: I wouldn’t give up any of my iPods for the Zune 2, but since I enjoyed it, I’ll happily add it to my collection.

The 80GB goes for $249.99 (black only), 8GB is $199.99 and the 4GB is $149.99 (both flash models come in pink, green, black and glossy red). For your music downloads, the Zune Marketplace’s Zune Pass (music unlimited) is a flat rate of $14.99. Find these Zunes and accessories (AV Pack, Dock Pack, Car Pack, Cable Pack, Leather Case, Sync Cable, AC Adapter) at your nearest Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) or on www.amazon.com. Log onto www.zune.net to discover more of the Zune world.

Making A Case For Protecting Your Gadgets

Chances are you own a gadget of some sort. Hopefully you care about it enough to want to protect it with a case or covering. The options available are overwhelming, and I’m not going to go into them all, but here are a few that caught my eye at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Macworld.

Golla, a company from Finland, initially launched in 2003 and has been a hit in Europe, recently released its 2008 line of eye-catching bags at CES. The colorful collection includes six categories of mobile bags, music bags, digi bags, laptop bags, laptop sleeves and laptop backpacks.

“Our main 2008 collection will include many novelties,” says Piia Haapalainen, Golla’s head of design."We have dreamed up two new bag categories for laptops: sleeves and backpacks. Sleeves come in three sizes. With its slim and casual design, our laptop backpack is perfect for the urban people. In addition, laptop bags will be available in two sizes - both for 13-inch and 15-inch laptops.”

Personally, I played with the laptop sleeve. It made carrying my MacBook Pro on short trips to Starbucks convenient. Since it’s a sleeve, there’s no room to carry my power cord, but there is a small pocket on the outside into which you can slip small items (i.e. CDs, DVDs, USB or FireWire cables). As far as protection, along with Golla’s other products, the sleeve is lined with a black padding that will protect it from bumps.

Find Golla’s products at The Sharper Image (www.sharperimage.com), AT&T stores or T-Mobile stores (and Target when it opens here). Log onto www.golla.com to see the full product line.



I saw Speck at last year’s Macworld, but this year it’s back with more colors for the Apple MacBook/MacBook Pro and options for the new generation Apple iPod nanos, classics, shuffles and iPhone. For the past year, my trusty See Thru blue, hard-plastic MacBook Pro Speck case has kept my machine scratch- and dent-free. Now I also have nice, red SeeThru cases for my iPod touch and iPhone for trustworthy protection (see picture).

Additionally, I have an aqua-colored case to put on my MacBook Pro (also pictured), and one of my lucky friends will inherit my still-in- good-condition blue case. Prices vary depending on what type of case you buy (my aqua case goes for $49.95, and the iPhone/iPod touch cases are $29.95). Log onto www.speck.com to see the full selection or to purchase. These also are available at your nearest Apple Store (www.apple.com).

If you choose not to have a case around your device, you can use a skin. Gelaskins makes unique-looking designs that use artwork from a wide variety of artists. I enjoy the distinctive style of these Gelaskins designs. They range from anime to modern to Vincent van Gogh.

The skins are manufactured from a 3M vinyl material and will stick to your iPod/iPhone without any residue or damage when you remove it. The skin is easy to apply, but you need to make sure it’s aligned straight as you’re putting it on. With the first attempt at putting on my Gelaskin, it came out just a little bit crooked, but I could easily peel it off, straighten it out and re-apply it with no problem.

I’ve seen Gelaskins before, but new designs and sizes were announced for the iPod touch, classic, third-generation nano and iPhone. In addition, you can find Gelaskins for various types of Mac and PC laptops. The iPod/iPhone skins are $14.95, and the laptop ones go for $29.95 at www.gelaskins.com.

Previous to this year’s Macworld I had not heard of BodyGuardz, and I saw it for the first time as I was walking past its booth. This year it introduced a transparent, scratch-proof skin for the iPhone and line of new iPods and Macbooks.

If you prefer a simple, clear protective covering for your gadget, BodyGuardz is perfect for you. Attaching a BodyGuardz skin onto your gadget takes a little more effort than the Gelaskin. It comes with an application spray and a squeegee to flatten out all the bubbles that may be stuck in between.

Some people I know will probably be confused at this, and if that’s you, too, don’t worry, there’s a video on its website you can watch to follow the steps. If you take off your BodyGuardz, it does not leave behind a residue, but you won’t be able to put it back on. However, each box comes with two. BodyGuardz protects multiple products - see www.bodyguardz.com for the full list of products and prices.