Logitech trots out another keyboard case, this time for the Galaxy Tab 10.1

You might have noticed that accessory makers have a habit of churning out stuff for iDevices first and everything else second. Specifically, though, we’re noticing that in the world of tablets, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is fast becoming companies’ No. 2 once they’ve gotten the iPad squared away. Take Logitech, for example. The company just announced a keyboard case for Samsung’s deliciously thin slate — a near facsimile of the one it released for the iPad a few months back. To recap, this isn’t your garden-variety folio case with a keyboard and kickstand, but rather, an aluminum lid with a full ‘board lining the interior. Logitech also attempts to justify the steep $99.99 price with shortcut keys for copying and pasting and cushioned corners that offer a modicum of protection in the event of a drop. But does that make it worth it? We’ll leave that to your and your wallet.

Logitech trots out another keyboard case, this time for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you’re riding dolphins

When we’re out on the water, we’re constantly longing to take our phones and mp3 players for a swim with us… aren’t you? Now we can enjoy a little “I’m on a Boat” when we’re actually on a boat — thanks to Grace Digital Audio’s Eco Pod — without worrying about our handheld’s survival. The company announced today that its latest sand, shock and waterproof enclosure is now available — and it even comes with a set of waterproof earbuds. While the added protection will set you back $50, the ability to bump Katy Perry while exploring a coral reef is, indeed, priceless. Scope out the full PR after the break for all the specifics, and get your white water rafting playlists ready.

Continue reading Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you’re riding dolphins

Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you’re riding dolphins originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovi hits Hulu with patent infringement lawsuit

Mo money, mo problems, right Hulu? Seems it, considering the newly up-for-sale content hub has just been slapped with a patent infringement suit. This latest bit of intellectual property beef centers on the online content provider’s alleged unlicensed use of Rovi’s electronic program guide technology. According to Reuters, the company, which currently powers the streaming likes of Blockbuster On Demand and CinemaNow, is seeking financial compensation for potential “lost license revenue and treble damages,” potentially tripling any future settlement award. While Hulu has yet to issue a statement on the matter, we’d be willing to bet those takeover talks are taking a backseat until this gets sorted.

Rovi hits Hulu with patent infringement lawsuit originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BookBook Case Makes Your iPhone Look Like a Tiny Tome

Twelvesouth bookbookiphone

The BookBook case makes your iPhone look like a tacky fake leather-bound book

TwelveSouth has shrunken its BookBook MacBook case down to the size of an iPhone 4. It has also added a few pockets into which you can slot a couple of credit cards and your ID, along with a place for a few banknotes.

Unfortunately, the tackiness of the leather-bound book design has grown as its size has shrunk.

The BookBook is beautifully made. The leather is thick but not too heavy, the iPhone (or iPod Touch, if you must) fits snugly and the stitching is top notch. And when opened out as a wallet, it really looks classy and understated.

But when you close it and look at the spine, it’s as if you have walked into a particularly tacky furniture store, one which has cardboard boxes on the shelves in the shape of classic books. The spine is a strip of distressed and embossed leather which doesn’t so much look old as it looks cheap, and the gold lettering and Roman numerals (XII, of course) just make things worse.

Which is a great shame, as the idea of combining your phone and a wallet is a good one, and in this case very well executed. Even the transparent plastic sleeve for your ID has a lozenge-shaped cutout to let you easily slide it out with your thumb.

On the other hand, you might be the kind of person who loves to pretend his high-tech gadgets are olde-worlde artifacts, in which case you should go and buy this straight away. When you’re home you can leave it on top of the fake oak (MDF) cabinet that hides your HDTV.

The BookBook for iPhone 4 is available now for $60.

BookBook for iPhone [TwelveSouth. Thanks, Andrew!]

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BookBook iPhone 4 case doubles as wallet, attempts to fool miniature luddites

So, you’ve finally accepted the reality that smartphones aren’t a passing fad, but you’re no less concerned that the special tech-hater in your life might get hip that you’ve abandoned reading books for flinging unhappy fowl. You’re further concerned that you won’t have space in your skinny jeans for both a wallet and an iPhone. Well, it sounds like Twelve South’s BookBook iPhone 4 case has you and your ridiculous smartphone-conversion anxiety covered. The little leather-bound sleeve not only masks your iPhone in what looks like a miniature Bible binding, but also acts as host to your wallet’s contents. If you’re looking to fool folks into thinking you’re really reading a tiny tome titled BookBook, the case can be yours for $60 at the source link. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading BookBook iPhone 4 case doubles as wallet, attempts to fool miniature luddites

BookBook iPhone 4 case doubles as wallet, attempts to fool miniature luddites originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aviiq Portable Charging Station does kitsch-free USB juicing in small black bag

We’ve seen some rather inventive USB chargers in our time, but surprisingly few have managed to make charging while traveling a painless process. Aviiq’s new Portable Charging Station, on the other hand, has threatened to make the outside world a more welcoming place when it comes to juicing up. Acting as a sort of USB hub in a bag, this little black travel sleeve lets you pack and power three USB devices — even an iPad — with one outlet. What’s more, the station allows for easy syncing by way of a retractable USB port. So $80 ain’t cheap, and it won’t cook up pork and beans while you sing Camptown Races, but if you’re willing to shell out a little extra scratch for a practical USB travel charger, you can get your hands on one at the source link below. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Aviiq Portable Charging Station does kitsch-free USB juicing in small black bag

Aviiq Portable Charging Station does kitsch-free USB juicing in small black bag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Voomote One turns your iPhone into a well organized universal remote

Voomote One

Ok, so the name isn’t great, but the Voomote One is actually kinda neat. It’s not the first universal remote adapter we’ve seen for the iPhone and, unlike the Surc IR case, you probably wouldn’t want to leave this bulky add-on attached to your handset when not in use. But, the app does have some convenient features, like the ability to create custom layouts that can easily be switched based on the devices in a particular room. So you can setup a living room profile to control your big screen and cable box, and a separate bed room one for your more modest set and a stereo. You can also create command macros that fire up multiple devices with the tap of a single virtual button. The Voomote app is available for free in the app store, but the actual IR-blasting sleeve will set you back $99. Check out the gallery below and head on after the break for some PR.

Continue reading Voomote One turns your iPhone into a well organized universal remote

Voomote One turns your iPhone into a well organized universal remote originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OLPC XO-3 cases may sport solar panels, satellite internet, grant three wishes

OLPC XO-3

We’ll give Nicholas Negroponte one thing, he’s nothing if not ambitious. The OLPC founder always has some pie-in-the-sky vision for the XO line of child-centric computers, including dual-screens and hand-cranks. Now that we’ve skipped right past the XO-2 for the ARM-powered, and still MIA, XO-3 it’s time for a whole new round of concepts. The latest is a series of accessory cases for the potentially Android-sporting tablets that boast satellite internet capabilities or solar panels for charging its battery. The former MIT Media Lab head has even suggested that a more mundane cover with a keyboard could be on tap. Of course, it would probably help if the foundation could get the machines out the door first. We haven’t heard much about the XO-3 since the last round of delays pushed its release back to February… of 2011. But you know what they say, better late, and all that jazz.

OLPC XO-3 cases may sport solar panels, satellite internet, grant three wishes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet and Keyboard Folio case hands-on (video)

Two Lenovo tablets in the same evening? Nah, it’s not the midsummer sun melting your cerebrum, but the same result just might happen after you ingest this one. True to rumors, the ThinkPad Tablet (yeah, that’s seriously the whole name) will indeed be shipping with a full-size USB port and an optional dedicated folio / case, and oddly enough, it’s that very peripheral that could set this unit apart from the masses. While it’s obviously no big chore to find a Bluetooth-enabled keyboard folio for the iPad, you probably won’t find a perfectly matching case with a tried-and-true Lenovo keyboard and a newfangled optical trackpad unless you’re ponying up for this guy. Internally, we’re looking at the same 1GHz Tegra 2 silicon as found in the more consumery IdeaPad K1, a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800) IPS display, a battery good for up to 8.7 hours of use, 1GB of RAM, 16/32/64GB of storage, 3-in-1 card reader, A-GPS, an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, front (2MP) / rear (5MP) cameras, a mini HDMI port (1080p capable!) and Lenovo’s own app launcher / app market.

In our discussions with Lenovo, it was made fairly clear that this guy was being aimed more at companies and less at consumers, but there’s absolutely nothing stopping the latter from enjoying a solid Honeycomb experience here. In fact, the ability to plug in a common mouse or trackpad (or combo device, for that matter) makes it far more useful than many of the ultraslim slates it’ll inevitably go up against. Also unique to the Tablet is a built-in active stylus, which is tailor-made to jot down highly important information cartoons in the company’s homegrown note-taking program.

The full-size USB port also puts it squarely in Eee Transformer territory, with the Keyboard Folio shown above making perfect use of it. In practice, the accessory worked beautifully, and while the $99 price tag may seem a bit steep, it’s not exactly cheap to go out and get a third-party case, keyboard and mouse. The company’s demanding $499 (and up) for it’s Android 3.1-based biz slate, with initial shipments starting today. Peek the hands-on video just after the break!

Continue reading Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet and Keyboard Folio case hands-on (video)

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet and Keyboard Folio case hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 00:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Versetta iPad cases promise form and fashion, deliver something else

Versetta iPad cases promise form and fashion, deliver something else

When we first got wind of Versetta’s line of iPad-toting totes, we were immediately intrigued. Handbags and cases that deliver form and fashion you say? Well, we took the extra two seconds to scroll on past the press release and found — to our surprise — the peak-a-boo bag featured above. Now, Versetta’s clearly taken some liberties with the English language here — its bags are more Paris, Texas than Paris, France — but we’re nonetheless impressed with the novel approach to stowing your iOS slab. The company’s pushing two separate lines for its pouches — one for professionals and one for ladies who lunch — both of which allow you to access your iPad, ports and all, without taking it out of its case. Sure they’re more QVC than LV, but if you’re into trap doors, you can grab a bag at the source link below. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Versetta iPad cases promise form and fashion, deliver something else

Versetta iPad cases promise form and fashion, deliver something else originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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