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Bluelounge Soba cable director organizes your wiring mess
Wiring and cabling, especially when you have a lot of computer equipment, can quickly get out of control. The space between my Apple Wireless Keyboard and iMac, as an example, looks like someone dumped a bowl of black and white noodles into a pile. That's why Bluelounge's new Soba cable director (US$24.95) is an aptly-named way to organize those crazy cables, since Soba is the generic Japanese term for noodles made of buckwheat. Soba comes in two colors -- black and white -- and uses a unique Vortex tube that zips open and closed to take up to three cables and hide them away. Each Soba comes with 10 feet of that tubing, a pair of end caps to make everything look beautiful, three mounting caps for attaching the Soba tubing to a wall or back of a desk, a Y-splitter if you have cables that need to go to two destinations at the end of a tube, a handful of small rubber bands, and a "zipper" tool to help insert the cables. Bluelounge's website shows the Soba cable director in use with some of their CableBoxes, which are a useful way to hide "wall warts" and power strips. With such a setup, it's possible to have one power cord coming from a wall outlet to a hidden power strip covered with AC adapters, then route the individual DC cables to their destinations with the Soba tube. I found the entire process of popping three small cables into the Soba Vortex tubing to be easy. I can see where with Macs like the Mac mini and Mac Pro, Soba would be valuable in keeping your desktop tidy instead of having a number of "noodles" running around. It's also a great way for MacBook owners to capture those various cables that are running to external drives and monitors, and replace them with one sleek looking tube. Conclusion Soba is a product that is long overdue. Through the use of an innovative tubing and proprietary caps, Bluelounge has created a very useful and quick method of organizing and hiding the spaghetti of cables that tends to surround most of our favorite devices. Rating: 4 stars out of 4 stars possible
BlueLounge Kickflip: An incredibly useful MacBookPro accessory
I write a ton of hardware reviews for TUAW, and I really get tired of seeing overpriced stands for MacBooks. The idea of these things is to just put your device into a comfortable position for typing while you're using the laptop on a flat surface or lap, but some of the accessory designers think that you want an expensive museum piece instead. Not so with the BlueLounge Kickflip, a US$19.95 (for 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display) or $17.95 (for 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display) adjustable stand that adds no bulk and almost no weight to your favorite Apple laptop. The Kickflip was released today by BlueLounge, in an act of perfect timing for the back-to-school crowd in another month. Design Highlights The Kickflip is made of a piece of black polyurethane that is hinged in the middle. It's attached to your MacBook Pro (or in my situation, a Speck SmartShell case) with a special gel adhesive band that makes it possible to remove it without damage. Normally, the Kickflip adds just a little height -- maybe about a quarter-inch -- to the back of your MacBook Pro. But when you flip down the hinged piece it raises the back of your laptop by about 1-1/4 inches, enough to really make a difference. Functionality HIghlights Installation of the Kickflip on either a "naked" MacBook Pro or on a shell like that I have installed on my MBP is quite simple -- you just remove a piece of paper off of the gel adhesive, align the top of the sticky portion with the back of your laptop, and press it into place. The adhesive has a strong grip and inadvertent removal of the Kickflip should not be an issue. So, now you're typing away on your MacBook Pro and need a little bit of angle to the keyboard to make it a bit more comfortable? Just reach under and flick that "kickstand" down and you're good to go. Ready to pop your MacBook Pro back into its carrying bag? With one hand, you can flip the Kickflip back up and get it out of the way. Conclusion I'm a sucker for well-designed products that are inexpensive, and the Kickflip from BlueLounge fits that bill. It works with either size (13- or 15-inch) MacBook Pro, and as you can see in my photo at the top of the page, it's also compatible with third-party shells. I just wish it had the ability to lock into one more interim position as well in order to give it just a tad more flexibility. Rating: 3-1/2 star rating out of 4 stars possible
Engadget Giveaway: win a studio desk, courtesy of Bluelounge!
Typically, our weekly giveaways feature gadgets, but we like to spiff things up on occasion. If you're fed up with your current computer desk or workstation (or perhaps you just need a new one for kicks), this will likely be a good opportunity for you to change all that, as Bluelounge is offering up one of its very own StudioDesks. The desks, which are valued at roughly $600, give you a sliding section, a storage compartment and the ability to tuck away your ugly cords. Even if you don't win one, it's worth taking a peek at the company's lineup. In the meantime, good luck! Winner: Congratulations to Alan Y. of Escondido, CA, who is this week's winner!
The Daily Roundup for 04.22.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
IRL: Bluelounge Messenger and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. How do you make our one-man French bureau really, really happy? Obviously, the answer is to give him sparkling wine, a baguette and maybe a striped boatneck shirt. And also, hand him a $3,000 camera to tinker with. If you're at all interested in the three-grand Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Mr. Steve Dent has some detailed impressions (and complaints) after the break. And if you're not, we're still on the hunt for the perfect gear bag.
Bluelounge MiniDock for iOS cuts the cord, declutters your life
Forget about that Klimt print and your torn John Belushi Animal House poster, if you've got a few of those Jony Ive-crafted iSlabs lying around, you should flaunt'em -- according to the designers at Bluelounge. Available for iOS owners in the US, UK and EU, the company's MiniDock makes use of your existing Apple USB power adapter for a cordless, outlet-mounted charging and display station. The design studio created the dock with a clutter-free existence in mind, but its focus on "customers who are passionate about their iPhones" is a much more telling inspiration. You can go ahead and snag one of these for $20 now, just keep it tucked away from any Android-toting houseguests.
Bluelounge's Nest iPad stand on display at CES 2011
One of the first things we did on the show floor here at CES today was stop by the Bluelounge booth. The company was showing off its latest product, called the Nest, an iPad stand due to sell for US$14.95 when it arrives in stores later on this year. There are plenty of iPad stands here at CES (and you'll hear about more of them this week), but the Nest's difference is that it doesn't even look like an iPad stand -- it looks more like a little dish with a rubber grip around the outside lip. If you lay your iPad across the top, it will hold in place either horizontally or vertically, or there's also a little tray that pulled out of the back that will hold up the device at a sharper angle. Since it's just a molded piece of plastic, there's not a lot of customization -- you can't really adjust the angle of the display even if you want to. But the tray still looks good even when your iPad is away, and you can keep keys, coins or anything else in there, so it provides a little functionality rather than just taking up space when you're not using the stand. The price is right, too -- you can buy nicer stands for more money, but for $15, the Nest seems like a good option. I asked Bluelounge what the reasoning was behind releasing an iPad stand, and they said that they'd seen "a noticeable increase" in sales of their Cool Feet laptop stand as the iPad came out last year, not to mention that everyone around their design offices was using iPads anyway. The Nest does a fine job of holding the iPad up with a clean and simple design.
Blue Lounge Cable Box Mini doesn't manage your cables as much as obscure them
As you well know, the gang at Blue Lounge will not stop until every man, woman, and child clears up that spider's web of cables that lay under, behind, or next to their desk. In order to further this mad mission the company's introduced something called the Cable Box Mini. It's a cable box, and presumably it's smaller than some other cable box. To be quite honest, we prefer this idea to more complex cable management systems: rather than run your cables through trays, or organize them with velcro wraps, you still make the same mess -- except this time the mess ends up in a box. Hit the source link to "Buy Now!" for $30, or head down to Target and pick up a plastic basket and an X-ACTO knife. PR after the break.
Mojito WiFi display aggregates social media, works of Ernest Hemingway
Digital picture frames have long since moved passed being simple photo frames, and it looks like an increasing number are now pushing photos all the way to end of their list of features. One such device is this so-called Mojito WiFi display from Blue Lounge, which will handle photos and videos just fine, but is primarily designed to pull content from Facebook, Twitter and other social media (in addition to news and weather). That's then displayed in your "LifeStream," which can apparently be customized to your liking, and browsed with the included remote if you don't feel like letting everything cycle through (no touchscreen here). Still no firm word on availability, but the 7-inch display will supposedly demand $299 whenever it rolls out.
CableDrop: the aspirational cable clip
There's nothing really new here 'cept maybe a design inspired by the union of two fleshy buns. Nevertheless, cable clips are one of those great ideas we just never get around to purchasing. So here's your chance. CableDrop adheres to your desk surface or wall to keep cables from dropping to the floor after you grab your laptop to go. Convenient as hell and just $10 for a pack of 6.
Bluelounge Design's CableBox is more set-bottom than set-top
If the cabling around your home theater rig is a rat's nest, then you might be interested in Bluelounge Design's new CableBox. Available in stylish white or black, the 6 x 15.6 x 5.3-inch box has such insightful features as: a removable lid for easy placement of corded items within the box; openings on opposite box ends so your gear can access the cables; and rubber feet on the bottom of the CableBox so it won't slide around. This is totally the sort of accessory we'd normally recommend as a DIY project involving a trip to Ikea and a Dremel tool -- there's a lot less here than Bluelounge's other offerings -- but if you're all thumbs then get in your preorder for an are-you-kidding-me price of $29.95.[Via TVSnob]
blueLounge's The Sanctuary keeps your gadgets encased, charged
We'll be honest -- we weren't exactly feeling blueLounge's grossly overpriced SpaceStation, but its boldly-named The Sanctuary actually strikes us as quite useful. The gadget organizer allows technophiles to stuff their handhelds into this black or white container for easy carriage / storage, and moreover, it includes a built-in panel of labeled plugs in order to connect all your gizmos to power at once. The unit comes with a dozen connectors for the most popular items around, but since it's universal, your options are bordering on limitless. Heck, there's even a USB port thrown in to charge any oddball device you may have laying around. Yeah, $129.95 is still a touch steep, but for the avid traveler who can never find room for 12 or so AC adapters in that carry-on bag, it's probably well worth the cost.[Via iLounge] %Gallery-20427%
Bluelounge SpaceStation doesn't add space, just wraps cables
Ok, we have no idea why a USB hub tucked inside a long box with cable management clips would cost $80, but we won't deny the SpaceStation is a clever and useful, if bulky and even a bit unsightly accessory. You know what we could really use though? A power strip with USB-charger ports. Why the hell hasn't anyone made one of those? Yes, we demand royalties for these gems.
