Hasta La Gadget!

The minimalist look of Apple’s devices and peripherals isn’t for everyone. If you’re the type who immediately buys a colorful case for your new iDevice, check out Whooz, a set of colored stickers that will make your iPod, iPhone or iPad chargers and cables stand out.

There are two kinds of Whooz stickers: one for the iPod & iPhone and another one for the iPad. Each pack comes with four sheets; each sheet has one sticker each for an adapter, the USB end of an iOS cable and a pair for the stock earphones, if you still use those.

As you can see Whooz comes in a variety of styles, but if you’re willing to pay extra you can also order stickers customized with a drawing of your face in it. If that still doesn’t tell everyone else that your cables are yours, I don’t know what will.

Pledge at least $10 (USD) on its Kickstarter fundraiser to get a pack of Whooz stickers. The custom Whooz cost $100 for a pack.

[via Bonjour Life via Materialicious]

Most of you are probably too young to remember what the original Apple computer looked like. The few of us who do, recall it looking like a wooden box with a keyboard built into the top. In fact, the first Apple didn’t even come with a case – that’s just the case design that homebrewers built for the system. Now you can make your shiny new iPad look a bit like that wooden Apple 1.

The Wooden iPad Station from Hekseskudd is carved from black walnut wood, and holds both the iPad and Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard, turning your tablet into a retro-modern workstation. The slot holds the iPad in either landscape or portrait modes, and the Apple keyboard fits neatly into the cutout on top. There’s actually a little extra storage space under the keyboard as well.

While it’s definitely reminiscent of the Apple 1, this looks a whole lot nicer, and the iPad is about a million times (and that’s my exact mathematical calculation) more powerful than the old 8-bit system of yore. You can grab the Wooden iPad Station over at Ahalife for $139(USD).

While tanning beds are now the domain of irresponsible parents and young white women looking for some skin cancer, their UV rays were originally designed as a (quasi) legitimate medical treatment. Get your dose of vitamin D with this Oobject-assembled collection of illuminating medical devices. More »

iPhones can take plenty of abuse, but they get scratched up pretty quickly, which is one of the reasons why cases are necessary. Unlike some, I prefer to keep my phone in as good condition as possible, so when I inevitably upgrade and resell it, I get maximum value. The BookBook case from Twelve South is an interesting idea, since it combines a protective iPhone case with a wallet.

The BookBook case is nicely designed, and fits the iPhone 4 and 4S well. There are 3 slots for credit cards and ID cards, as well as a small slip pocket for some cash. The best thing about this case is that it keeps your iPhone screen scratch-free. Unless you are very diligent in always storing your iPhone in a pocket with nothing else, it will eventually get scratched up. Thanks to its phone pocket and folding cover, this case stops this from happening. The case can also be put inside a bag or purse without any problems.

Personally, I like my cases minimal and simple, but when I was offered this case for review, it made me wonder if that’s really what I wanted. For me, it’s not the best fit due to its bulk. The book-like cover is a cute idea, but the overall design makes the phone a lot thicker than it needs to be. That said, if you’re looking to travel light, it does combine wallet and phone case, and that’s all some people need when they go out clubbing.

With a list price of $59.99 (USD), the BookBook is one of the more expensive iPhone cases I’ve seen. In fact, it’s close in price to some of the waterproof cases that I’ve been looking at. That said, it’s reasonably priced if you take into account the cost of both a case and a wallet.

The BookBook case is available over at Twelve South in either brown or black leather. You can also find the case At TiG on sale for just $21 right now.

If you’ve ever played XCOM: Enemy Unknown, you’ll be familiar with the Battle Scanner, a gadget used by the game’s sniper class. The Battle Scanner provides visibility to an area covered by fog-of-war. A new company is currently working on a real world equivalent of that device. And not just because the Sniper won’t share his toy with the rest of us.

The yet unnamed device is being developed by Bounce Imaging. The device will have six cameras that can take two pictures per second, which will then be stitched together to provide a 360º degree of its surroundings. It will also have infrared LEDs to help it take pictures in low light. The ball will send the 360º view to a mobile device so the user can scout and plan in safety. Aside from the cameras, the ball could also contain various sensors, such as ones that analyze temperature, chemicals or radiation.

As with the Battle Scanner, this concept device will be extremely useful in combat situations. But Francisco Aguilar, the founder of Bounce Imaging, was actually compelled to start his company after the earthquake in Haiti back in 2010, where his concept device could have helped find survivors. Aguilar says the device will be tested by SWAT teams and Massachusetts police in January 2013 and could have a retail price as low as just $500 (USD).

[via New Scientist & Time via Digital Trends]