Hasta La Gadget!

We knew this was coming, just no one thought it would be quite this fast. The iPhone 5 has only been available for a matter of hours and surely many of you are still patiently (or impatiently) waiting in line to get your very own 4-inch iPhone. Today however those sneaky folks from Cygnett have already done the inevitable iPhone 5 drop test.

Cygnett is a popular accessory and case manufacturer, and we’ve taken a look at plenty of their impressive products in the recent past, including some for the iPhone 4. Today however they’ve already got this awesome new smartphone from those Cupertino folks and are breaking them already. In what appears to be one of the first iPhone 5 drop tests, enjoy watching the screen crack!

So how does the all new and improved iPhone 5 handle the 4 foot drop? Quite well actually. Even with no case involved the new brushed aluminum design seems to handle the rough ground somewhat okay. No shattered glass everywhere and the back still looks pretty, aside from a few scratches. The front glass covering that beautiful and bigger 4-inch Retina Display takes on a little damage however. This time around it surely isn’t bad and won’t hider your usage too bad. Obviously you’ll want to protect this beauty with a new case from Cygnett, right?

Apple worked hard on the new design, while not too different from first glance, they’ve made significant improvements to the overall design. From the small details and level of precision, to making it lighter while stronger at the same time. Obviously you guys all know this already though right? If you’re still on the fence about buying the new iDevice you’ll need to take a look at our iPhone 5 review, then for more details hit our iPhone 5: Which model, where, and why post! That poor iPhone is cracked already. Sad right?

Cygnett does the inevitable iPhone 5 drop test is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

In addition to unveiling all those laptops, HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping. (Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by chance, you don’t have NFC on your laptop — and you probably don’t — the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device. Look for it in November for $39. Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front, HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there’s also the Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for $29 and $39, respectively.

Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the $29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite v2. For audio lovers, there’s the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts) will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port, allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out the list is the Webcam HD 4310, an $89 shooter capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.

Continue reading HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories

Filed under: Peripherals

HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Over the years we’ve come across a few signs that pointed to the possibility of touchscreen-enabled iMacs, but Steve Jobs had already dismissed this as a possibility for current Mac form factors. Quoting the man at the “Back to the Mac” keynote from two years ago: “It gives great demo, but after a while your arm feels like it’s going to fall off. Touch surfaces want to be horizontal.”

So perhaps our fantasy’s still stuck in the “research project” phase.

Luckily, the more adventurous touchscreen lovers can look to third-party solutions. For MacBooks you have Axiotron’s Modbook, except you lose the keyboard and you can’t perform the modification yourself. As for iMacs and Cinema Displays, we’ve been following Troll Touch for its resistive touchscreen replacement panels, but they aren’t exactly affordable and most of them have to be installed by the company. Even its user-installable SlipCover series starts from $899, anyway.

This leaves us with the Zorro Macsk, a cheekily named iMac accessory hailing from TMDtouch of Shenzhen, China. The 21.5-inch model is priced at just $199 on Amazon with no modifications required. Plus, it supports multitouch — a glaring omission from Troll Touch’s Mac lineup. So is this truly a bargain? Or is it just a case of “you get what you pay for?” Follow past the break to see how we got on with the Zorro Macsk.

Continue reading Zorro Macsk review: instantly add touchscreen functionality to your 21.5-inch iMac

Filed under: Peripherals

Zorro Macsk review: instantly add touchscreen functionality to your 21.5-inch iMac originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 Sep 2012 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Smartphone cases that have extra batteries inside have been around for a long time. The type of case was one of the accessories that became common for users of the original iPhone years ago and then came to market for myriad of other devices. One of the companies making many of these battery cases is PowerSkin.

PowerSkin has announced a new battery case for the Samsung Galaxy S III that has an internal rechargeable battery to extend runtime of the smartphones and NFC technology inside. The company claims that this is the first ever NFC-enabled smartphone battery case for the device. The silicone case has a 1500 mAh battery inside.

The NFC wireless technology allows the smartphone to communicate with other devices close to it using magnetic-field induction. The case has special technology to allow NFC signals to pass through the silicone case for quick information sharing. Other features of the battery case include smart power management that shuts off the PowerSkin internal battery when the phone is fully charged.

That smart management saves power inside the case’s battery for longer run time when it’s needed. The case has LED lights on the back to indicate how much power is left in its internal battery. The case also ships with the cable needed for charging and synchronizing of the phone while charging the case. The Samsung Galaxy S III PowerSkin is available right now for $79.99.

PowerSkin debuts first NFC-enabled battery case for Galaxy S III is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I think we all know the talk of the technology world for the next few days is going to be the launch of the iPhone 5 and new iPods yesterday. With the iPhone 5 getting a new docking connector called the Lighting connection; many people are wondering if their community use existing iPhone accessories with the new device. Apple does have the Lighting to 30-pin adapter available ranging from $29-$39 depending on the model.

One thing that’s worth stressing before you pay the money for the Lightning adapter is that your gear won’t necessarily work even with that adapter in place. Apple has warned that not all devices will work with the new iPhone or iPods even when you use the adapter because that adapter doesn’t put out an analog signal.

That means any of your devices that require an analog audio signal won’t work. What HiFi says that most audio devices do, in fact, require an analog audio signal. That means before you waste money ordering the adapter you’ll want to check with the manufacturer of your audio gear and determine if you need an analog audio signal or not.

Another caveat of the fancy new adapter is that it doesn’t support video and iPod out. If you have an analog device you hoped to keep using your only hope is that accessory manufacturers come up with an adapter that allows digital to analog conversion before the signal reaches your device. When or if a DAC adapter accessory will be offered remains to be seen.

[via What HiFi]

iPhone 5 won’t work with some accessories even with Lightning adapter is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.