Hasta La Gadget!

Keyboard cases for iPad are many and multiplying, but at this point it’s a question of refining the best concepts, not creating dramatically different devices. The Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad is a great example, taking a lot of cues from the massively popular Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad and folio style designs to create a solution that might be as near as perfect as tablet typers can get.

• Keyboard is 6.4mm thin
• 160 hours battery life
• Magnets for secure closure and three viewing angles
• MSRP: $99.99
• Product info page

The Ultimate Keyboard Case is not small, but it isn’t big either. It avoids feeling anywhere near as bulky as a total hardcase like the Brydge, but don’t expect something with the low profile of Apple’s Smart Cover, for instance. But it sill manages to be just about as low-profile as the Logitech Ultrathin, and it has a few extra tricks up its sleeve, including a protective cover for the back of your iPad, three possible viewing angles for your device, and a sound port built into the case that redirects the iPad’s speaker output for better listening.

The materials feel top-quality, it weighs only 411 grams (slightly more than the Ultrathin’s 355 grams) and its keyboard layout feels natural and won’t impede your touch typing abilities. The design of the keyboard component and faux leather hinge means that you can use it with the keyboard folded back in behind, without keys awkwardly facing outward where you can accidentally hit them with your fingers, as is often the case with folio designs.

As mentioned, the Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case is great to type on, with one small quibble: the recessed design of the keys means that it can be awkward to hit the space bar, since your thumb will also brush up against the base of the case itself. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does annoy when you’re coming from a standard notebook or desktop keyboard. But the dedicated keys, including a microphone key that brings up Siri on later generation iPads or voice dictation on earlier ones, as well as the convenience factor outweigh any downsides.

The Ultimate Keyboard’s other big feature is its use of magnets to allow for three different viewing angles. It’s a nice trick, and one that works well. The one limitation here is that if you’re trying to type in an unstable setting, say on a very bumpy car or train ride, the magnets can actually become dislodged. As long as you’re using the Belkin on a flat surface and you aren’t on Safari, however, the magnets do their job and offer a bit of flexibility vs. the Logitech Ultrathin.

I feel like we may be reaching peak keyboard case, especially for the standard-sized iPad. But Belkin’s Ultimate Keyboard Case, though somewhat late to the party, shows that there’s still some depth left to be plumbed in terms of wringing innovation out of the overcrowded space. At $99.99, it’s not cheap, but if you’re looking for a way to make your iPad a much more capable text-entry machine, while still offering full protection for your iPad itself, this is a good option.

There is nothing quite like the smell of a newborn baby, and of course, the promise and joy that a new life is able to bring into one’s life. The thing is, there are instances where new mothers are separated from their newborns right after birth, no thanks to a host of reasons, where among them include complications that arise post birth, a premature birth, or for some, the need for post surgical recovery. Of course, this moment in time would definitely be very hard for the mother, who has for at least 7 months already did her fair bit in making sure that said child would have a relatively safe passage into this world. In order to ease the pain of this separation in a virtual manner, the Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles will be relying on the wonders of an iPad in their neonatal intensive care unit for video teleconferencing purposes between mothers and children.

The new program will be known as BabyTime, where it also offers a new mother the ability to speak with the clinicians who happen to take care of her baby. This is more than a welcome feature, especially when things do seem to go downhill at the moment, as this particular connection between mother and child is one that remains all life long, even right from the very beginning. The iPad will be set up right beside the infant’s incubator the moment said infant enters the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, while the new mother would be on the receiving end of an iPad herself, as she can log onto BabyTime twice a day.

Selma Braziel, nurse manager for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, said, “The BabyTime program will reduce fear and stress in the new moms as they are able to see their babies and also communicate with the doctors and nurses.” I can totally identify with what she said, and it makes a potentially traumatic experience more manageable, which is always a good thing.

Source
[ Moms keep in touch with newborns using iPad copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Welcome to Friday evening everyone. First up, it seems HTC will be releasing a variation of the HTC First without Facebook Home, and we’ve a piece on whether you should wait for this handset. Speaking of HTC, it is also rolling out the HTC One Live Experience tour in the US. T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 is now up for pre-order (and an update is rolling out), and the iPad’s prices have been slashed, hinting that a new model could be on the way.

The wonderful Google April Fool’s joke – a pink Tesla Batmobile – is rolling around California right now, and EA has responded to the “Worst Company in America” poll with a statement that it can do better. It looks like the folks in Austin, Texas could be seeing super fast Internet thanks to Google Fiber in the future, and the cube-shaped Android gaming console OUYA has started shipping.

Microsoft has been vocal about Facebook Home, and also has new Microsoft Stores opening up this month. Samsung has rolled out the Galaxy Note 8.0 in the United Kingdom, and BlackBerry’s R10 and Q10 handsets will be hitting shelves soon. Alienware unveiled an Ubuntu version of its previously Windows-only X51 laptop. Improved contacts and a passcode lock have been rolled out for Evernote Hello for iPhone, and the ever-popular Minecraft for PC has exceeded 10 million in sales.

Speaking of games, Black Ops II Uprising DLC will be available on April 16, and GameStop has expanded its trade-in program for electronics. Netflix has added 720p HD for Windows Phone 8/7.8, and Arthur Frommer, not willing to see the popular Frommer’s travel guides go out of print, bought them back from Google. On the automotive front, T-Mobile’s data plan for Audi will start at $15 per month, while the science story of the day involves the Hubble telescope finding the most distant supernova to date. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of the night folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: April 5, 2013 is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google launched its Google Wallet service nearly two years ago, and has since been a great way for Android users to pay for stuff without the burden of having to carry around their wallet everywhere they go. Apple, not to be outdone by Google in its Maps and possible Street View space, is expected to develop its own digital wallet within the next year or two, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

Munster believes a payment option for iOS users will use a technology that will replace or be in addition to NFC, although its system will work with already existing mobile payment solutions. The mobile payment option is expected to be made available with the iPhone 6 in the first half of 2014. Munster also believe Apple will rely on its iTunes database as it currently holds over 500 million accounts, which the majority of those most likely have credit cards linked. Hopefully if what Munster predicts becomes true, Apple will find an easier way to approve transactions that wouldn’t require iTunes users to input their password every step of the way.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iOS 7 Concept Reimagines Lock Screen, Text Messaging And More, Apple Patent Hints At Their Own Version Of Google Street View,

iOS 7 may be running behind schedule, but we’ve seen some amazing concepts over the past couple of weeks that have certainly made us excited about all of the possibilities for the future of iOS. We’ve seen some concepts that suggest a new app switcher as well as being able to resize icons and widgets, but the iOS 7 concept we’ll be featuring today is kind of a generalized concept that helps improve a number of areas of iOS.

The concept featured above was created by Ran Avni, which he imagines an iOS 7 that features an improved lock screen, text messages as well as the addition of OS X’s mission control feature. The best part of Avni’s concept is it doesn’t seem too far fetched to include in iOS 7 as many of what Avni suggests in this concept doesn’t seem too complicated to use, which we know is one of the major bullet points for Apple and their iOS devices. Simplicity is king in Apple’s mind and we certainly think Avni’s concept is both simple and extremely useful.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iOS 7 concept video brings resizable icons and widgets to the table, Apple patent suggests gestures used to control devices from a distance,