Hasta La Gadget!

Airspresso uses a bike pump to make a creamy espresso

The Airspresso couldn’t be more appropriate for me to write about if it had my name written all over it. It’s a nerdy espresso maker which uses a bike pump to provide the pressure and drive the hot water through the grounds. It also looks hard to use, giving a good opportunity to complain.

It works like this: you put the grounds in the red part and tamp them with the included tamper. Screw this aluminum basket to the end of the plastic tube, balance on top of your cup and then add hot water. Then, screw on the lid, attach a bike pump and then pump it. Moments later you’ll have a quadruple 120 ml shot of espresso, complete with creamy crema thanks to the pressure.

The cool-looking gadget is designed for outdoors use, which means you’ll also need to bring along some way to boil water. And you’ll also need a flat surface, and probably a very steady pumping hand. I’m no flailer, but when I put air into my tires with anything but a floor-pump, the wheel and the bike wobble. Imagine doing the same with a 250 gram (9 ounce) tube filled with water. It will get messy.

Aside from these problems, though, the Airspresso seems like a good bet if you can’t stand the usual crappy camp coffee, and just have to have a perfectly made espresso when roughing it in the wilds of the back country. Oh, and it costs $180 Australian ($180 US).

Airspresso product page [Airspresso via My Cuppa and Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• MyPressi Makes Portable Espresso Machine, With a Twist
• Handpresso Wild: Portable Espresso Maker
• Lift and Press With Aerobie's Hardy Espresso Maker

The Meglio iPad handle doubles as a stand and knee-hook

Ever since I saw the new iPad and its fancy Smart Cover, I have been looking at my current iPad and its shabby black folio sleeve with disgust. The slim and practical Apple case I have consistently returned to over the past year is now dead to me. I can’t stand the way it covers and protects the aluminum back, or stops the iPad from slipping out from its place under my arm as I hobble around the home (still) on crutches.

Most of all, I hate it for not using futuristic magnets.

But even with the Smart Cover, you may want something to make gripping your iPad a little easier, and that’s where today’s Kickstarter project comes in. It’s called the Meglio and it adds a handy handle to your tablet.

The Meglio comes in two parts: a c-section polycarbonate strip that wraps around the back, gripping the iPad by its edges, and a bendy, blobby nodule that attaches to the band. This handle is rounded like a mouse to fit into your palm, and has a malleable carbon steel arm inside which can bend to your will. You can hook a finger or two trough the hole, or bend the handle to hang the iPad from your knee. This adjustable handle is what makes the Meglio different from the pointless Padlette which I mercilessly ridiculed back in December 2010. In fact, it might be worth the price alone just for the knee-hanging feature.

The Meglio was designed by Salman Paracha, and comes in two sizes, one for the horrible, fat old iPad and one for the magical, slim new iPad 2. Both will cost $50, and anyone who pledges $40 to the Kickstarter project will get one when it ships.

Meglio product page [Meglio]

Meglio: rotatable ergonomic handle and stand for iPad 1 & 2 [Kickstarter]

See Also:

• Hand-E-Holder Turns iPad into Giant Mitten
• Padlette Gives You a Handle on The iPad
• Velcro
• Ping-Pong Case Turns iPhone Into Tiny Paddle

Booq’s Booqpad iPad 2 case mixes the old and the new

The iPad 2 Smart Cover looks pretty sweet, despite my esteemed colleague Brian Chen’s griping about it, and may itself be reason alone to buy the iPad 2. And as soon as the iPad 2 launches, you can expect case manufacturers to start coming up with clever uses for those internal magnets Apple has squeezed inside the new tablet.

But until then, it is business as usual, and my inbox has yet again been flooded with news of newer, thinner versions of existing cases. None of these companies seems to be panicking, although maybe they should: According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, case-maker Zagg’s shares dropped 24% upon news of the Smart Cover.

If anything, Booq’s new case looks to the past instead of the future, stuffing in wad of paper on which you can do something called “writing” with a “pen.” It’s called the Booqpad, and also has slots for other Olde Worlde items such as a pen (or stylus), cash, and business cards. The paper refills are case-specific and feature sheets that are the exact same size as the iPad’s own screen. It shares something with the Apple case, though: you can buy plastic version ($50) and a leather one ($100).

It looks fine, although I’m really more interested in what these folks will come up with when they start playing with magnets. The Lady says she doesn’t like the new case as it offers no drop-protection, nor does it protect the back. She’s a serial gadget-dropper, so her concerns are understandable.

I have a few ideas. What about a case that sticks with magnets, but is like a book-cover. Think Amazon’s Kindle case, only with magnets instead of hooks. This would eliminate the straps and squeezy-edged grippers that are currently used. Or what about magnetic handles? Or a wall-strip like the magnetic knife-rack in your kitchen so you could hand the iPad up on a wall? Interesting stuff, right?

I’m sure that you all can do better though. Any ideas on clever uses for the magnetic iPad? Suggestions in the comments.

Booqpad [Booq. Thanks, Mark!]

See Also:

• Booq Boa iPad Sleeve, Like an Upgrade to Apple's Own
• Rush-Hour: Booq Bag Is an Office in Your Lap
• Mamba Shift Backpack Swallows Almost Everything

Flip’s new Video Action Tripod lets you attach your camera to almost anything. The clever fold-out design, combined with velcro straps, keeps the camera-mount steady whether you attach to your helmet or your handlebars. And best of all, it uses a standard tripod-screw, so you don’t even need to have a Flip camera to use it.

The tripod folds out from a compact package and acts as a regular, mini three-legged stand. Add the included, adjustable straps and it can be clamped onto pretty much anything you can wrap those straps around. Once in place, you can adjust the angle of the head and lock it onto place with a thumbscrew.

The only thing I’d like to add would be some kind of safety strap. The Action Tripod looks like it will remain firmly strapped to whatever you have lashed it to, but tripod screws have a way of working themselves loose, especially when shaking and vibrating.

The Video Action Tripod is available now, for $25.

Video Action Tripod product page [Flip. Thanks, Sarah!]

See Also:

• Gorillapod-Inspired Tripod Looks Like Robot Skeleton
• Shaky-Cam: DIY Bike Tripod
• New HD Flip Camcorder Slides into View

The Vintcase is a leather iPad case made in Spain. It is somewhat impractical, looks like a prop from Lord of the Rings, and it costs a wallet-lightening €79 ($109). Yet despite all this, I can’t help but like it.

Aesthetically, the case is almost the complete opposite of the iPad it envelops. Handmade in Ubrique, a city famous for its leather products, the Vintcase feels both exotic and ancient. It has a three-panel design. The iPad slides into its own pocket, much like it does into the utilitarian Apple case, and there are cut-outs for the home button, the speaker, dock port, jack socket and buttons. Both the rear panel and the bezel cover are fashioned from thick, sturdy leather.

To close the case, you first fold over another thick flap which covers and protects the screen. A third, thinner panel then closes over that from the opposite side, and the absurdly long “tail” wraps around a few times to keep the case shut. You can also use the case to prop up the iPad and watch movies.

The double-closure design is itself a good one, and offers at least as much protection as many more padded cases, especially on the corners, which is where you need it. But the thong that snakes around it is an accident waiting to happen. It takes too long to wrap and unwrap, and when not tied shut it dangles, ready to catch on a foot or hand and pull the iPad to its doom.

Thankfully, the strap is easily removed: it is secure with a knot on one end which stops it sliding through a slit in the cover. You just pull it out the other way to take it out. As you can see from the photos, I added a few squares of self-adhesive velcro to keep it shut without the cord — ugly, sure, but way more practical. You can of course still tie the strap around the case even after removal. Alternatively, you can tie it around your head so you look like a skinny, nerdy version of Conan the Barbarian, thus completing the fantasy movie makeover.

In the end, it comes down to your taste. If you like the style of the Vintcase, you won’t be disappointed with its quality. The leather is beautiful, and it is clearly put together by somebody who knows what he is doing. The iPad is snug, and amply protected. The problem? You’ll look like Frodo if you use it.

Vintcase product page [Vintcase. Thanks, David!]

See Also:

• Gorgeous $300 Leather iPad Case Mimics Apple's Own
• Even Cows Get the Blues: Whipping Post Leather Guitar Case …
• Leather Case Turns iPad into Netbook
• First Look: Leather Lumix GF-1 Ever-Ready Case
• Custom Carved Leather Brooks Saddles