Hasta La Gadget!

In recent years, the compact disc has, of course, begun showing its age. The format celebrated its 30th birthday over the weekend with a IEEE Milestone Award presented to Royal Philips Electronics for the company’s role in the creation of the CD. The anniversary marks 30 years since the demonstration of the format–codenamed Pinkeltje. Glad they opted to change the name on that one…

Since its first demonstration on March 8th, 1979, the CD has gone on to sell 240 billion discs. Not too shabby. Nor is the number of CD players that have been sold in that time–3.5 billion. While many of us are ready to declare the death of the format, it should be noted that in some circles, the CD is still alive and kicking. And then some.

Oh, and yes, before you ask it does seem like just the other day that the DC celebrated its 25th anniversary. The first CD was actually manufactured on August 17, 1982.

I’ve dropped—and in some cases, fatally damaged—many a cell phone over the years. Eventually, I just accepted that fact that I’m a klutz; scratches and dents add character, right? Well, when it comes to keeping my gadgets off the ground, it turns out there may be hope for me yet.

That’s where the Mobigrip comes in. According to the gizmo’s eponymous manufacturer, the Mobigrip is a “device leash” designed to help butter-fingered geeks keep hold of their portable tech. Intended for use with cell phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and the like, it’s essentially a quarter-sized, adhesive-backed disc with an elastic finger loop. The concept is simple: Stick the Mobigrip on the back of any device you’re prone to dropping and save it from future crash-landings by sliding your finger through the loop whenever you pick it up .

The little plastic rounds come in several different colors and are available at mobigrips.com for $10 each. Now you can go get a hold of yourself (and your stuff).

Scosche has announced that the passPORT Home Dock charging adapter for iPod docking stations is now available. This one is similar to the passPORT car integration system we tested last month, but instead fixes a charging error associated with several popular home docking stations. It works with the iPhone 3G, 2G iPod touch, and 4G iPod nano. The company originally announced it at CES in January.

The passPORT Home Dock accepts the inserts that come with each dock, and pass through all audio, video, and data features that are already enabled for that device—in other words, it won’t add those features if the dock doesn’t already support them. The passPORT Home Dock comes with the adapter for the Bose SoundDock I in the box. It lists for $39.99, and is available now at Amazon and Scosche, with Apple and Wal-Mart stores to follow in the next few months.

As if we needed more evidence that Microsoft is looking for new avenues in which to expand its Zune software (ahem, Windows Mobile, anyone?), the company has quietly split the music player’s team. Software and services no fall under the Mediaroom and Media Center TV head, Enrique Rodriguez. The hardware side will be supervised by Windows Mobile head, Tom Gibbons.

The move, of course, follow massive layoffs in Redmond, which impacted the Zune team–though the company hasn’t said to what degree.

“Zune the service needs to transcend Zune the device,” Rodriguez told CNET.

Last year I fell in love with the Speakal iPig, a pig-shaped iPod dock. But this year, I’ve found my new love: the iBoo. Just in time for Friday the 13th, this iPod dock from Speakal kind of reminds me of those colored ghosts in Pac-Man. Spooky!

The iBoo’s mouth acts as a sensor for receiving remote-control commands, and its eyes are two speakers; the subwoofer is hidden below the unit. Connect it to a gaming console, TV, or MP3 player. The iBoo is even RoHS compliant, utilizing minimal energy.

It retails for $89.99 and is available now in white, red, or blue.