Hasta La Gadget!

You know who you can count on to protect your technology? Fisher Price, that’s who. We know, it sounds a bit crazy, but what other company out there is thinking about safeguarding your gadgets from those adorable yet greasy-handed kids? The company is kicking off Toy Fair with a few new gadgets that do just that, and first up, is that cute little Laugh & Learn iCan Play iPhone case up there. The $20 plastic enclosure stores any generation iPhone or iPod Touch and has a screen cover to protect your precious capacitive LCD from “dribbles and drool.” Seriously, OtterBox has its work cut out — the toy even has rattles and handles to entertain when mommy or daddy have to yank the phone out to make a call. And because looking at e-mails, texts, or apps could get bit boring for those three to 36-month-olds after awhile, Fisher is adding a few new Laugh & Learn apps to the App Store later this month.

What about the older kids, you ask? Well, they won’t be interested in your brand new point-and-shoot when they’ve got a Kid-Tough See Yourself Camera of their own. Or at least that’s what the company’s hoping — the plastic camera has a rotating 1.2 megapixel lens with a 4x zoom so kids can take pictures of themselves and then check it out on the 1.8-inch LCD screen. The shooter houses a SD card slot and is powered by four AA batteries. Sure, it doesn’t have the latest and greatest specs, but what $70 camera do you know that can customize shots with “fun digital stamps”? We told you your gadgets would stay safe and sound. The iCan Play Case and Kid-Tough camera won’t be available until this summer, but we’ve got the gallery of hands-on shots below so you can check ’em out earlier.

Fisher Price releases iCan Play Case and Kid-Tough See Yourself Camera, you’ll thank ’em originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s been no shortage of cases for Verizon’s flavor of the iPhone 4 — Ballistic, iLuv, iKit, AGF and Scosche have already announced ones of their own — but if you’re looking for a mainstay in the industry, you can now turn to Mophie. The company’s life-doubling Juice Pack Air has been ever-so-slightly reengineered to work with both AT&T and Verizon iPhone 4 units, with initial shipments expected by the end of the month. At first it’ll ship in black with silver accents, while soft-touch red and glossy white versions are scheduled for release shortly thereafter. Still $79.95, and still awfully hard to resist for 3G power users.

Continue reading Mophie sneaks out new Juice Pack Air with Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 compatibility

Mophie sneaks out new Juice Pack Air with Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 compatibility originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every great gadget needs a great case. Been looking for something a little more high-level to wrap your new iPad in? iKit, a licensed Apple accessory brand, has just unveiled its latest creation, the iPad Exec Case. The case features a sleek look and provides secure protection for the iPad.

The case is slim, so it won’t add much bulk to your tablet, and delivers form-fitting protection. It allows full access to all controls and functions, guaranteeing a durable solution against drops while still maintaining functionality. The case comes in either black or gray for $39.95.

For those who love the look of a vinyl record but would prefer to actually listen to an iPod, there’s the new VintageVinyl Record case. It gives the appearance of vinyl, as if a real vinyl record was molded onto the back on an iPhone 4. It’s available today for the AT&T and the Verizon iPhone 4. It’s new school meets old school, says case-maker Lenntek.

How realistic is the case? There are precision-cut grooves on the case to fully give the look of a vinyl record. The case comes with two record labels that can be written on and placed on the back of the case for a custom look. It’s a smart choice for the clumsy, as the soft-touch rubberized coating on the sides gives owners an extra grip. Lenntek is selling it for $34.99.

Much of this stuff was shown off publicly for the first time at CES last week, but we thought it might be interesting to get everything that wireless charging company Powermat has planned for 2011 into one convenient place — and that’s exactly what this here slide deck has done for us. The first products in the pipeline for this year include a charging case for the Nokia N8, targeted for early Q2, along with a two-device portable charging mat that includes a built-in battery (7,800mAh!) that promises up to four full smartphone charges while staying completely off the grid; look for those to run $40 and $130, respectively. Later in the quarter, you’ll get a white two-unit mat (all of Powermat’s gear is black right now, so it’s a nice change of pace), several colored iPhone 4 cases, a BlackBerry Torch case, and an $80 so-called Power! Case for the iPhone 4 that integrates an external 1,800mAh battery for extra juice on the go.

Moving on to the third quarter of the year, you’ll see a dual-power one-device mat that can be powered either from the wall or a USB port for $40, a car mount that inductively charges your Powermat-enabled device, and an iPod touch case. Finally, the 1X Rechargeable Mat comes late in Q3, packing some undetermined (or at least unlisted) amount of juice into a mat that looks roughly similar to the existing one-device mat that’s already on the market; like Powermat’s other battery-powered mats, this one lets you juice devices when you’re not near an outlet, and it’ll be available for $70. Hit up the gallery for the full deck!

Powermat’s 2011 product roadmap: colorful iPhone cases, extended batteries, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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