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AViiQ deal for TUAW readers: 25% off all accessories
AViiQ has been making top-notch Apple accessories for a while, and now the company wants you to get your hands on some of its products and save some money, too. It's offering a 25 percent discount off of your total bill when you purchase the goods on the AViiQ website, and this deal is only available through TUAW for the next month. What can you get for an amazing price? How about the world's thinnest laptop stand, the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand? iPad 2 owners will love the AViiQ Smart Case, a thin aluminum shell designed to work with the Apple Smart Cover, or the AViiQ Case Stand. Whenever and wherever I travel, I take along the AViiQ Portable Charging Station to keep all of my electronic devices charged up and organize the charging cables. The company makes some of the better Apple accessories on the market, and this is a chance for TUAW readers and their friends to take advantage of a special limited-time coupon code. Through March 19, 2012, just use the code TUAW25 when checking out of the store and you'll get 25 percent off of the purchase price of anything in stock at AViiQ.com.
Engadget's back to school guide 2011: accessories
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got a slew of accessories -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! Fall's slowly, but surely creeping back in, and we bet you've already started to gather up the necessary gear for your return to the residence hall. Sure, you've got the basics covered, with a computer, smartphone, MP3 player and even a tablet at the ready. But wouldn't it be nice to start the school year off in style with some handy accoutrements to trick out those digital crutches? Let's face it, you're going to need a lapdesk buffer zone between you and your laptop's scorching heat for those countless hours spent churning out term papers. Or, an external hard drive, so you can store those full seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and bring the late night funny to your stressed-out friends. However you manage to make it through the year and snag that 4.0 GPA, we've got a selection of accessorized aids to match your collegiate budget. Oh, and don't forget, we're giving away $3,000 worth of essential back to school gear to 15 readers, and you can be among the chosen few simply by dropping a comment below! Click on past the break to start browsing.
Aviiq Portable Charging Station does kitsch-free USB juicing in small black bag
We've seen some rather inventive USB chargers in our time, but surprisingly few have managed to make charging while traveling a painless process. Aviiq's new Portable Charging Station, on the other hand, has threatened to make the outside world a more welcoming place when it comes to juicing up. Acting as a sort of USB hub in a bag, this little black travel sleeve lets you pack and power three USB devices -- even an iPad -- with one outlet. What's more, the station allows for easy syncing by way of a retractable USB port. So $80 ain't cheap, and it won't cook up pork and beans while you sing Camptown Races, but if you're willing to shell out a little extra scratch for a practical USB travel charger, you can get your hands on one at the source link below. Full PR after the break.
iPad 2 Smart Cover-compatible cases: our roundup (Updated)
Apple's Smart Cover is a great, versatile screen cover for your iPad 2. It allows you to stand your tablet up, prop it up for typing in landscape and more; it even turns the iPad off automatically when you close it. But it leaves the back of the iPad 2 exposed, and as beautiful as it is, that metal can get all scratched up pretty quickly without some protection. So, here's a roundup of all Smart Cover-compatible back cases we could find.
AViiQ Smart Case for iPad 2 works with your Smart Cover
AViiQ is an accessories manufacturer that loves to do things with aluminum. TUAW reviewed the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand last October, which is a slender folding wedge of thin aluminum that props up your laptop and takes up little or no space in your bag. Now the company is putting some of that design and manufacturing expertise to use with a new iPad 2 product. The AViiQ Smart Case for iPad 2 (US$49.99) is now available for pre-order and looks like a winner. Unlike the Yoobao Products Executive Leather folio case reviewed by TUAW's Mel Martin yesterday, the AViiQ Smart Case is meant to complement the iPad 2 and Smart Cover, not hide it. The case is made of 1.5 mm thick anodized aluminum in all the right spots to provide the ultimate in strong protection, while using other materials where necessary to keep the Smart Case transparent for wireless access. It comes in colors that precisely match Apple's Smart Covers, or you could mix up the colors for an extra impact. AViiQ offers a 30-day money back guarantee on its products, so if you don't like the case you can get a full refund. Knowing the quality build on its other products, I don't think you'll be returning the Smart Case. We'll have a full hands-on review later this month.
iPad 2 accessories: The flood begins
No sooner had Steve Jobs bid farewell to the crowd at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco yesterday than the TUAW inbox began filling with news of iPad 2 accessories. While many of the accessories aren't as snazzy as the bath tub lid-inspired Smart Covers, I thought you might like to take a peek at what manufacturers have been working on under NDA. Booq is coming out with a nice looking folio case for the iPad 2 that includes a non-digital component -- a built-in and replaceable paper notepad. The Booqpad for iPad 2 (below) starts at US$49.95, with a "luxury option" available at $99.95. The notepad sheets are the same size as an iPad 2 screen and are perforated for easy removal. Knowing Dave Caolo's penchant for cool notebooks, I've been asked by his wife Mia to tell him to not buy one of these.
Pretty but pricey: Hands-on with the AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand
Question: What's a quarter-inch thick when folded, weighs a scant 5.5 ounces, yet can support a 17" MacBook Pro? Answer: The AViiQ Portable Laptop Stand. When I first heard about this lightweight laptop stand, my first thought was that it was going to be flimsy and incapable of holding up an iPhone. Was I wrong! The AViiQ stand won a Design and Engineering Showcase Honors Award at CES 2010, and as with new lightweight aircraft, it's all about the materials. The stand is made of a material called Hylite, which consists of thin aluminum sheets that are bonded to a polypropylene core. To allow the AViiQ stand to flex and fold in origami fashion, morphing into a laptop stand, thin lines are machined out of the aluminum, leaving just the flexible polypropylene. There are several tabs that are on the stand and used to lock the "standing" part in the upright position. The tabs have small feet that are molded from a thermoplastic elastomer so that your laptop and the stand stay in one place -- they won't slide, even on the most slick surfaces. %Gallery-104905%
