Hasta La Gadget!

Don’t act like you haven’t thought about it, every slate device is just begging for the perfect keyboard accessory that can also function as a hard case. Some industrious souls have gotten on the case of building just such a contraption for the iPad, titled it the LapDock, and given it no lesser a goal than to completely obviate the need for laptops. Shh, no need to ruin their halcyonic existence with talk of the added connectivity, functionality, and versatility of laptops, just let it slide. As to the current state of affairs, well, the LapDock looks like a nicely carved wooden case with room for your iPad and Apple Bluetooth keyboard and that’s about it. Not the highest of high-tech implementations, but it’s still at the, ahem, prototype stage. Go after the break to see if it catches your fancy.

Continue reading iPad LapDock asks why you’d ever need a laptop, we can think of a few answers (video)

iPad LapDock asks why you’d ever need a laptop, we can think of a few answers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s pretty rare that Apple patent applications reveal much more than vague plans and ideas about future devices, but a newly-public filing out of Cupertino just comes right out and states the truth about gaming on touchscreen devices like the iPhone: it can be “somewhat awkward, particularly on a portable electronic device having a touchscreen” because the “user’s fingers block the action.” So what’s the solution? Buttons, dude-man. The patent describes a handheld gaming dock that fits around a “substantial portion” of an iPhone or iPod that has both physical input controls and secondary storage for game information like scores and save data. That’s certainly a nice idea, and one we’d love to see supported by Apple, but we’re also pretty certain this patent doesn’t have much of a chance as written, since we’ve been hearing about this concept since games first hit the App Store and similar products — including a keyboard — are on the market now. We’ll see — like so many of Apple’s patent applications, this one might well just linger on the vine forever.

Apple patent application shocker: games need buttons originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Novothink rolls out Solar Surge iPhone / iPod touch charging case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know, for all the praise the iPhone has received in its time, we never thought it looked quite Matrix-y enough. Thankfully, that all-important deficiency has been remedied by a man named Ryan Glasgow up in Portland, who has just started selling the above case to all who care to have one. It’s built out of stainless steel on the outside and silicone padding on the inside, with strategically located cutouts for wireless signals and heat emissions to get through. You can flip the front plate open, turning it into a rather outsized clamshell, or you can just talk with the lid closed, it’s all up to you. Aluminum and engraving options (how about “my other phone is a Vertu“?) are also available with each case costing a slightly spendy $95. See more of it in the gallery below.

iPhone gets a stainless steel clamshell case, we’ll wait for the titanium version originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week at Inhabitat we saw several hot advances in solar technology that stand to shape how our buildings are built and how we power the electronics in our lives. CASE in point: this beautiful glass photovoltaic system can be affixed to windows and actually magnifies the available sunlight inside into tiny solar chips to create electricity.

In other photovoltaic news, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania just unveiled the world’s first solar-powered circuits. These tiny chips may one day be integrated directly within computer touch screens, essentially transforming them into multitasking solar panels.

We’re also excited to see that the finalists of the 2010 Greener Gadgets Design Competition have been announced. Two of our favorites right off the bat are these wind turbine streetlights that harvest energy from passing cars and Rocco, the kinetic energy-generating rocking horse. Check out all the entries and vote for your favorite!

This week was a big week for efficient aviation as we learned of Portugal’s plans to replace PVC airplane parts with lightweight cork and watched as Seymourpowell floated a fantastic plan for a fuel-cell powered luxury airship.

Finally, the states may be getting charged for Super Bowl Sunday, but youth in Africa are kicking around a different kind of football — one capable of generating energy in off-grid locations. We also saw a similar concept called the swirl ball that makes doing laundry a blast – fill it full of clothes and water and then kick it around until they’re clean.

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: photovoltaics, footballs, and Greener Gadgets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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