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What to get when you've got a budding hipster in your life
It's that time of year again! You know, the one when you have to hand over your hard-earned cash or dole out the credit card digits to get the loved ones in your life a little something celebratory. Lucky you, we've got a slew of great recommendations in our easy-on-the-eyes Holiday Gift Guide. Need something for that all-too-hip member of the fam? Then consider this: Lomography's Diana Deluxe Kit brings back the kitsch of the light leak prone plastic camera to deliver photos with Instagram filter-like results. And it comes with a slew of lenses and viewfinders so you can always capture that magic shot. And that's just a taste of what our gift guide has to offer. Dive in here for the full monty!
What to get when you've got a drone enthusiast in your life
It's that time of year again! You know, the one when you have to hand over your hard-earned cash or dole out the credit card digits to get the loved ones in your life a little something celebratory. Lucky you, we've got a slew of great recommendations in our easy-on-the-eyes Holiday Gift Guide. Need something for that special someone who just really, really wants to fly a drone? Then consider this: DJI's Phantom 2 Vision+ quite literally puts the power of an unmanned aerial vehicle in your hobbyist hands -- you can set waypoints with a smartphone or tablet. Best of all, there's no assembly required and you can even capture HD video memories from up above with that onboard camera. And that's just a taste of what our gift guide has to offer. Dive in here for the full monty!
What to get when you've got an amateur photographer in your life
It's that time of year again! You know, the one when you have to hand over your hard-earned cash or dole out the credit card digits to get the loved ones in your life a little something celebratory. Lucky you, we've got a slew of great recommendations in our easy-on-the-eyes Holiday Gift Guide. Need something for the budding photog in the fam? Then consider this: Sony's compact RX100 III is the perfect fit for when you want more than what a smartphone camera can offer without the steep cost and bulk of a DSLR. And that's just a taste of what our gift guide has to offer. Dive in here for the full monty!
Nexus 6 review, Lisa Kudrow talks 'The Comeback' and other stories you might've missed
This Saturday, why not sit back, kick up your feet and let us bring you up to speed on all the latest tech news. Over the past seven days, we spoke with Lisa Kudrow about "The Comeback," reviewed the Nexus 6, investigated the legal issues behind Airbnb, and more. It's all just a click away, folks. Oh, and be sure to subscribe to our Flipboard magazine!
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Laptops
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Chances are you stick with a laptop longer than a smartphone -- not everyone can afford to upgrade machines every two years, after all. And since you'll be using that notebook for a while, it better be a mighty capable one. Whether you're shopping for a lucky relative or friend or perusing for yourself, this shortlist of laptops and Ultrabooks is a great place to start. Our resident laptop expert Dana Wollman, along with others from the Engadget team, break down the best systems for all budgets.
Engadget's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Smartphones
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Who doesn't want a new smartphone? Even if you love the handset in your pocket, there's bound to be a newer, higher-specced device calling your name. If you're generous enough to give the ultimate mobile-tech gift, we'd like to help. We've lined up the hottest phones both on- and off-contract, from less than $100 to north of $500. Extra points if you foot the bill for the giftee's early termination fee.
Engadget's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Cameras
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. With smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 1020 offering outstanding photo performance, you may wonder why you'd want a standalone camera at all. Leave it to the professionals and photo enthusiasts here at Engadget to clarify why a devoted shooter is still your best bet if snapping stills and video is a serious hobby -- you won't find many of these specs in a phone any time soon.
Daily Roundup: PlayStation 4 facts, coding in the education system, PlayJam GameStick review and more!
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.
Engadget's 2013 holiday gift guide
It's that time again: The approaching holidays provide a perfect opportunity to take inventory of the best gadgets on the market across every budget and category imaginable. And what better way to highlight your best bets than stealing from the wishlists of Engadget editors? Not to brag, but we have pretty good taste. Come for the expert advice, and stay for the giveaways! Enter the raffle in each of our guides for the chance to win one of 11 Sony products. Keep this page handy, as we'll be adding guides throughout the month. Happy holidays!
TUAW's Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Mike Wehner
I buy a lot of stuff I probably don't need. But while that leaves my bank account bare for long stretches of time, it also means it's easy for me to pick out items that truly stand out from the rest. This is my first personal pick list for TUAW, having joined the team just a couple of months ago, but I have several items that I just can't get through a day without, so let's begin! iPhone 5 (starting at $199 with contract) I have a nasty secret to share with you all: I really, really wanted Apple to reveal an all-new iPhone at the end of 2011. So much so that I started to buy into all the loosely-sourced rumors that the iPhone 5 would debut before 2012, complete with the new, larger screen that I wanted so badly. When the iPhone 4S was announced, I was impressed with its functionality, but still a bit disappointed that my iPhone 4 wouldn't be replaced by a larger device. So I did the unthinkable: I purchased the Galaxy S III as soon as it became available. When the phone of my dreams -- the iPhone 5 -- finally became a reality, I simply couldn't stop myself from returning to the iPhone pool, and I'm glad I did. The iPhone 5 is the finest smartphone I've ever owned, and despite being dwarfed by Samsung's best offering in terms of screen size, the fit and finish of Apple's newest iPhone just can't be topped. Of course, if you're on this site already, you probably don't need me to tell you that the iPhone 5 is the cream of the crop, but when it comes to my own purchases in 2012, it's the last thing I'd be willing to part with. Mid 2012 13" MacBook Air (starting at $1199) I've wanted a MacBook Air for a while now, but in 2012 I finally got the chance to own one myself. If you've never used one, it's difficult to explain just how much faster things move on a notebook without a disc-based storage drive. You click and it happens instantly. There's really no going back. But that's only one of the reasons why I adore the Air so much and the rest of the list includes what you might expect from an Apple product, like the notebook's extremely sturdy construction, remarkably thin design, and impressive battery life. Targus Backup Batter for iPad ($60) There are few things that upset me more than having a gadget die when on a trip or in any other situation where I can't immediately recharge it. The Targus Backup Battery for iPad has pulled its weight for me on many occasions, and during long flights it has become an inseparable part of my carry-on gear. The company has a few different backup battery offerings, including ones marketed specifically at smartphone users, but the iPad version is all you'll really need. You can recharge just about anything with it, and I've gotten several full charges for my iPhone 5 out of a single fully-charged Targus unit. Simply outstanding. Fellowes Designer Suites Laptop Arm ($130) As someone who spends his workdays from the comfort (and endless clutter) of a home office, finding organization and productivity solutions isn't as easy as it was when I worked in an actual office. I can't just call and IT or maintenance guy anymore; I have to find what works through trial and error. With my acquisition of a new 2012 MacBook Air earlier in the year, I started looking at various laptop stands and other options that would allow me to use it as an easily-accessible 3rd (or 4th) screen. The Fellowes Laptop Arm is exactly what I needed, and its simple design and sturdy construction are commendable. Add extra touches like a cord organizer and foam grips that don't scratch my new aluminum notebook, and it simply can't be beat. Antec Bias Lighting kit ($13) I get headaches. I get headaches a lot. So, when I get a skull-splitting pain in my brain after sitting at my desk for 10 hours, it's pretty clear that my eyes -- and their torrid relationship with my LCD monitors -- are to blame. To give my peepers a bit of relief, I decided to try out bias lighting. For those of you unacquainted with the concept, bias lighting is the idea that by lighting the wall behind your monitor, your eyes will be less likely to cry foul when staring at them for hours on end. Antec's Bias Lighting kit consists of 6 reasonably bright LEDs on a long adhesive strip. The strip is powered via a USB port, so it's always on when your computer is up and running. I have three of these strips currently in use: One on the back of each of my 24" ASUS monitors, and a third running along the back of my desk, just for good measure. I still get the occasional eye-strain pain after particularly lengthy writing sessions, but I can safely say that my intake of Excedrin has dropped considerably since installing them. If you get computer-related headaches, it's easily worth the price to see if bias lighting works for you. Munitio Nines earphones ($169) Munitio makes high-quality earbuds that you probably won't find at your local discount electronics outlet. The company's "Nines" line is its top-tier offering, and they're totally worth it. I had my Nines for about six months now, and they've gone everywhere with me. In fact, they've even gone some places where other earbuds would have met their demise, including my washing machine, a glass of Sprite, and my cat's jaws. I won't explain how each of those events occurred, but the important part is that they are just as loud and clear as the day I got them. They might be the last pair of earbuds you ever buy. iPhone and iPad apps I use every single one of these almost every day: Angry Birds Star Wars, Amazing Breaker, Bad Piggies, Flick Home Run, TwitchTV, Puffin Web Browser, Starbucks, Letterpress, and TurboScan.
TUAW's Best of 2012 Personal Picks: Kelly Hodgkins
It's the holiday shopping season and many of you are trying to find that perfect gift for the Apple owner in your life. Rather than a plain gift guide to help you navigate the sea of hardware, software and accessories, we decided to bring things down to a personal level and provide individual lists of TUAW's favorite gear. Each writer will share a list of the top items that we bought or used this year. I get to go first, so here is my list: iPad mini (starting at US$329) The iPad mini was criticized in early reviews because it has a non-Retina screen. Yes, I notice a small difference when I switch from the Retina iPad to the mini, but once I start using the mini, it's like any other iPad. I love the portability and the 4G LTE connectivity of the device. And for parents, the size and weight is just perfect for using while you are feeding a baby or holding a sleeping child. Belkin Dot Cover with Stand for the iPad Mini ($39) The iPad mini needs a case and after trying a few from Griffin and Logitech, I decided on the Belkin Dot folio case. It covers the edges of the iPad and gives it some protection in a fall. It also has a solid stand that lets you prop up your iPad mini on your desk. The outer material has a grippy feel, while the inner part is soft to the touch. Fourth-Generation iPad (starting at $499) Though it's not an upgrade that I would recommend for everyone, I did sell my iPad 3 on eBay and used that money to buy an iPad 4. I did this primarily for the Lightning port, so I would only have to travel with one charging cable. The improved performance of the fourth-generation model was an added benefit. ZAGGkeys PROfolio+ Keyboard Case Cover for iPad 2/3/4 I wanted a good keyboard case for my iPad 4 and my latest choice is Zagg's PROfolio + case. The keys on the keyboard are solid and the case has a nice rubber coating that makes it less slippery than leather and a bit more protective in a fall. I also like the backlit keys, which are nice when I am working in a darkened room. The only complaint against this case is that the keyboard part won't fold back flat, so using the iPad on the couch as a tablet requires you to remove the device from the case. iPhone 5 (starting at $199 with contract) I bought the iPhone 5 for its bigger screen and LTE connectivity. I had an available upgrade and am on a shared data plan with free tethering, so buying it to use a stand-alone phone and a WiFi hotspot for my MacBook Pro was a no-brainer. Otterbox Defender Series case for the iPhone 5 ($49) Though the iPhone 5 has shed the glass backing of the iPhone 4/4S, I still need a rugged case as my children are always grabbing my phone. The 1-year-old chews on it, the 3-year-old throws it and the 5-year-old runs into the corner to play Minecraft on it. The Otterbox case provides ample protection for the phone and I'm impressed with the improvements the company has made with its cases over the past few years. They are still bulky, but Otterbox has trimmed them down a bit over the years and has use a more rugged rubber that doesn't stretch or tear as easily. Satechi 10000 mAh Portable Energy Station ($59) I tear through the iPhone 5 battery when I am out and about running errands or traveling. I'm always using the phone to check my to-do list, my grocery list, my email, incoming tweets and so on. When traveling any distance, I use Glympse and Apple Maps for navigation. I need an external power supply like the Satechi to give me those extra hours of usage. As an added bonus, the battery pack will charge the iPhone and iPad at the same time. Wacom Bamboo Stylus Solo ($20) Sometimes I like to use a stylus to write and draw on my iPad. I chose the Bamboo stylus because it has replaceable nibs, which is much needed in a household with children. It only takes a few seconds for a 1-year-old to chew off the end of the stylus, drop it and run. Nikon D5100 DSLR Camera ($549) I needed a DSLR for work and selected the D5100 due to its price and feature set. It's an entry-level DSLR with a price tag of just under $600 with a kit lens. It's RAW-compatible with OS X Mountain Lion and takes video in Mac-friendly MOV format. One of my favorite features is its side-swiveling LCD display which is perfect for those tough angle shots. It's a great all-around camera. A close competitor to the D5100 is the Canon T3i. Panasonic HC-V700M video camera ($449) The V700M from Panasonic is not the most Mac-friendly video camera on the market as it shoots HD video in AVCHD format, which can cause some Macs to go into a panic. I deal with this format by converting the clip to MOV before importing it into iMovie. Despite this drawback, I love the V700M as it has the best zoom feature and image stabilization I have seen on a consumer-level camera. It also has an SD card slot and 16 GB of onboard storage. Kinivo BTH220 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones ($29) For $30, the Kinivos are great for listening to podcasts and videos on your Mac or iOS devices. They are not for audiophiles, but they are perfect for someone who wants an inexpensive set of wireless headphones to have around the house. The Kinivos also support the headset profile so you can use them to send and receive phone calls. iPod nano seventh generation ($149) Last, but not least is the latest iPod nano. I bought this mainly to replace my dying Cowon D2, which I have had for years. I like the small size and the larger screen of the latest nano. The Bluetooth was the clincher. I just had to have the hands-free for exercising on the treadmill. Software that I am digging Here's a list of iOS software that I use on an almost daily basis: WeatherBug Elite, Grocery Gadget, PocketMoney, Scanner Pro, Glympse, LastPass, Total Control Multicam 8 for my baby webcam, Minecraft, in:play for music, Tweetbot, Woot On!, cPRO+ for Craigslist, Camera +, Over, Rdio, CalenGoo, Netflix, Say Anything, Evernote, 2DO, Penultimate, Maxjournal, Amazon Cloud Player, Google Drive, Chronicle Touch Bill Reminders and Dropbox. And now my OS X choices: Fantastical, Alfred, Chronicle Bill Management, Reeder, Dropbox, Image Bucket, Chrome, Fluid, Evernote, Handbrake, iClip, Markdown Pro, Pixelmator, Howler Pro, Snapheal, Textual IRC, TaskNotes, Tweetdeck, Postbox and VLC.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2012: smartphones
Welcome to the Engadget holiday gift guide! Picking presents for friends and loved ones is never a simple task, and with thousands of options for each category, buying technology can be an especially frustrating experience. We're here to help. Below you'll find today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. And don't forget to enter our giveaway -- leave a comment for a chance to nab AT&T's LG Optimus G. If you have any gadget junkies in your life, there's a good chance they're craving a new smartphone. Whether you're on a tight budget or have a fat wallet, simply look to our surefire list of the best and most unique mobile devices to place under the tree. But enough with the chatter... let's start shopping!
Holiday Gift Guide: 10 gifts for around 10 bucks
It's a particularly tough time for families across the US right now, so we thought we'd try to find some budget-friendly alternatives for the holiday season. You can, of course, always make your own Apple-themed presents. Philipp Janssen's daughter helped decorate the corner of a MacBook Pro carton to create the fashionable iPhone 5 dock you see at the top-right of this post. You can read about other kid-friendly crafts in this write-up from a couple of years ago. Do you know how hard it is to find Apple-relevant gifts for about 10 bucks or less? Here's a hint. You head over to Google and enter "Apple gifts under $10," and Google will helpfully correct that to "Apple gifts under $100". It's not that Google is making any judgments, it's just darn difficult to track down inexpensive gifts. So frustrating was this, we were getting close to making a list that looked something like the following: $10 iTunes gift card $10 iTunes gift card $10 iTunes gift card $10 iTunes gift card .... Fortunately, a lot of brainstorming, Twitter blegs and hard research helped us track down a variety of gift possibilities. We reserve the right to keep the $10 gift card in our final list, but beyond that thanks go to the whole TUAW staff and everyone who responded on Twitter. 10 Gifts For About 10 Bucks 1. iTunes Gift Card - It's never the wrong gift when you allow the recipient to choose exactly the movies, music, apps and books he or she wants with a gift card. The iTunes Gift Card will never go out of style, and exactly on budget, it's the anchor for our list. 2. Macbook Mirrors - Widely available from numerous vendors on eBay, these little mirrors will set you back anywhere from $2 to $10, often with free shipping. I gave away a bunch of these last year. Steven Sande even "unboxed" his on an episode of TUAW TV Live. They aren't great mirrors, but they are great novelties. Available in both white and "MBA"-silver models. Kelly Guimont says she's ordering one for herself this year. 3. The JOYSTICK-IT Arcade Stick for iPhone - Starting at $8.99, you can add a real physical joystick to your iPhone for retro arcade fun. We reviewed this last year and found it to be more novelty than must-buy, but it can make a cute budget gift. If you want to splurge, the superior iCade Mobile gaming system is now just $17! 4. "PU Leather" case for iPad mini - You can pick up a folding leather case from Deal Extreme for $10.20, with free shipping. We haven't tested this one out but like the built-in folding stand. Deal Extreme offers super-inexpensive items from Hong Kong. I've bought lots from them in the past -- just be aware you're buying low-end goods and adjust your expectations accordingly. A similar case at a similar price, offering a magnetic latch is also available from Monoprice. 5. Touch Screen Stylus - Oleophobic screen or not, sometimes it's nice to use a stylus with your iPad instead of your greasy sweaty finger. This Monoprice stylus three-pack clocks in at $8. You can find similarly priced offerings from a wide range of dealers. 6. iPhone Hoodies - Accessorize your iPhone with the latest fashions. The Hoodie Case shown here started at under $10, although your street cred might be enhanced with one of the more authentic versions, which range up to about $20. 7. iPhone Stand - The well-reviewed Rabbit Mini Portable Stand costs $10 on Amazon. Easy to fold, highly portable, and (most importantly) stable, you can use the unit in both portrait and landscape without blocking the screen. 8. iPhone 4 Cases - At $7.50, you can let out your inner geek as your iPhone goes where no phone case has gone before -- unless it's Dave Caolo's phone case, in which case, been there, done that. To infinity. And beyond. 9. Lens set - Change the way your iPhone sees by adding on a wide-angle or fish-eye lens. Perfect for the amateur photographer, you can play with optics for about $9.25. These lenses reportedly work with most iPhone models. 10. Cufflinks - Know someone going to a wedding? Add a little geek chic to their style. Pick up a pair of novelty iPhone-styled cufflinks for about $7 on eBay. There are a lot of vendors, with a variety of color and model choices. It's just the thing for formal occasions.
'Tis the season: Apple launches holiday gift guide, offers free shipping
Apple launched its annual holiday gift guide that bundles together the best gifts for the Apple owner in your life. The 2012 guide sorts gifts based on device ownership with lists for the iPad, Mac, iPhone and iPod. The iPad page showcases the newly released iPad mini, which Apple says is "the year's biggest gift, only smaller." As was the case in past years, Apple's does not discount the products included in its gift guide, but it does offer free shipping as part of the 2012 promotion. If you are looking for discounts on Apple products, then you will have to wait for Black Friday or Cyber Monday, when Apple usually offers small discounts on select Apple products to kick off the holiday shopping season. Other third-party retailers like Target and Best Buy will also cut prices on Apple products as part of their holiday promotions.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2012
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide for 2012! You've heard a thousand times how stressful this season is -- and we're not gonna lie, tech gift-giving is no cinch this year. With the recent arrival of Windows 8, there are a myriad of laptops, tablets and hybrids to choose from, and you're not getting off easy when it comes to other devices, either. A year's worth of stellar new smartphones, 4K TVs, gaming consoles and everything in between are ready to compete for your hard-earned dough. Sound daunting enough? Well, never fear, because we're here to guide you through the gadget storm with our curated collection of top products. And we want to reward you for doing your research: in partnership with AT&T, we'll be giving away one smartphone for each guide. (Look for instructions in each new post.) For now, click on over to our available category pages, and stay tuned for those to come -- identified by a faded link for now. Accessories Bags and Cases Camcorders Cameras . . . . Docks E-readers Fun Stuff! Gaming . . . . HDTV Laptops Portable Audio Smartphones . . . . Tablets Ultraportables
Holiday Gift Guide: Choosing an iPad stand
My friend Maya wrote to ask: "Which iPad stand should I buy? I can't seem to find any really positive reviews. I want it mostly for cooking, but it would also be nice to have something to stick my iPad on while it's charging so it's not just laying there for the cat to knock it off the counter." As we approach the gift-giving season, iPad accessories are probably on many people's wish list, so how do you know what's good and what's bad? As Maya mentioned, it can be difficult to tell from reviews, especially random reviews left on websites. Although Maya specifically asked about stands I will also mention cases because many of them also serve as stands too. Options Let's look at your general options. (Note: prices listed are all in US dollars, and have been rounded off to the nearest dollar because we all know that $X.99 is a marketing trick, right?) 1) Apple's iPad Dock [$30] is a weighed base with a dock connector on the back so you can easily charge your iPad, and then pick it up. I bought one of these for my iPad 1 and almost never used it. The dock is a great idea for iPhones and iPods, but the iPad is just too big for it. If you tap on the screen, it is very easy to feel like you're going to knock it over. Plus (and this will be a recurring theme as we look at iPad stands/cases), the iPad dock only holds the iPad in one orientation. Not to mention that it seems drastically overpriced to me. TJ's Recommendation: Strong Avoid. 2) Apple's iPad case [$40] is only compatible with the original iPad. That's not a bad thing, because Apple's iPad case was pretty much a complete dud. Despite being innovative for the ability to set the iPad up so that you could easily watch video on it or type at a slight incline (two designs that countless other cases would copy), it was expensive, not particularly well made, and extremely prone to collecting dust and other miscellaneous crud. TJ's Recommendation: Strong Avoid. 3) Apple's iPad 2 Smart Cover are likewise ridiculously overpriced at $70 for the "leather" versions and $40 for the "Polyurethane" (read: plastic) versions. And yes, I bought one. If you decide that you want one of these, at least check Amazon for less-awful prices. The Smart Cover is an extremely clever bit of engineering, and I'm always impressed by it, as long as I don't have to think about the cost. It will work as a stand ("landscape" mode only), and quite well, but I simply can't recommend it due to the price. TJ's Recommendation: Avoid, unless someone else is paying. 4) I reviewed the Griffin Loop last year and talked about how much I liked it. It's a (relatively) heavy, weighted base with a notch to hold the iPad in either portrait or landscape mode, and even had room for it to be plugged in if it was in portrait mode. The notch was big enough so that it would even work with some iPad cases without having to be removed. Its main drawback was that it was bulky and not really designed for travel, but if you just wanted to leave it somewhere like on a desk, it was great. Unfortunately, it was designed for the iPad 1, and when the iPad 2 came out with its thinner, more curved body, the "notch" designed for the more "square" edges of the iPad 1 now feels a little too big for the iPad 2. It just doesn't hold the iPad 2 as securely as I'd like. I still use it, but I'm a little more worried about it getting bumped. TJ's Recommendation: Avoid for iPad 2 Aside: Griffin does not appear to have updated the loop for the iPad, but they now make something called the Griffin A-Frame. I have not used one so I might be wrong, but it certainly doesn't look great. The iPad appears to rest on top of it, which looks precarious. That said, it has excellent reviews on Amazon.com where you can also find it for about $30 instead of the $50 list price. I can't make a specific recommendation for or against it, but it's another option. 5) I finally found a stand that I liked in the elago P2 Stand for iPad (pictured above). It is a piece of metal cut specifically to hold the iPad. It has a small "footprint" so it doesn't take up a lot of space when not in use. It seems stable without being too heavy (although with a cat around, you'd always have to be careful!). The metal color is almost exactly the same as what Apple uses for its computers (if such a thing matters to you, I only noticed it after I bought it). The other nice thing about this stand is that it can hold the iPad in either portrait or landscape. There is a hole in the back of the stand for a charging cable to fit through. It is solid enough that I can tap on the iPad screen without feeling like it is going to tip over. It holds the iPad at a good angle for reading or watching a video/movie. The only drawback is the price ($30 at Amazon) which is definitely enough to elicit a "But it's just a piece of cut metal!" response from Normal People such as your humble writer's wife. Still, this receives the only TJ's Recommendation: Strong Buy on the list. Here's another thought... All of the cases/stands I mentioned above are $30-$70, which is a bit absurd. But there's another option too, one that I "discovered" by accident one day in my office, which has several distinct benefits: It is compatible with the iPad 1 or 2 (and almost certainly with the iPad 3, whenever that comes out) it will hold the iPad in either portrait or landscape it will allow for a dock connector to be attached in either orientation. Perhaps best of all, when not in use, it can fold flat for storage or put it in your laptop bag to bring with you. Oh, and did I mention that it costs around $5? What is this magical device? It's not an iPad holder at all, it's a wire-frame book holder. You can find one on Amazon.com for $5.12. Or you might find one in the supply closet at work that no one has used in ages. When folded, it's smaller than the iPad, so you can probably slip it into your bag next to the iPad (obviously you'll want to make sure that the metal doesn't scratch up the iPad glass). There isn't much weight to it, so you probably won't even notice it. And if you do find yourself with a recipe that's in a dead-tree cookbook instead of your iPad, you even use it to hold that cookbook open for you. Did you say "cooking"? Whichever stand you decide to use when using your iPad while cooking, remember that your iPad will fit inside a gallon-size Ziplock bag (or similar) which will not prevent you from using the touchscreen, but will protect it from spills, etc. Splatter happens. What to look for, and what to look out for Now you have several options for stands/cases, as well as some things to think about when evaluating them: Can it hold the iPad in either orientation? Can you plug it in while in the stand/case? Can you tap on the iPad without feeling like it is going to fall over? Be careful about when looking for iPad stands/cases as there are some which will only fit the iPad 1, and not all sellers are very forthcoming about that detail. Take a close look at the pictures they show (if any) and if you aren't sure that it works with the iPad 2, be sure to ask before you buy, especially if the price seems really low. They might just be trying to clear out old stock by calling it an "iPad Case" instead of an "iPad 1 case"! Oh, and always shop around for prices. The best price is almost never to be found on the official website. Amazon and Monoprice are your friend. Want more ? TUAW has reviewed a lot of iPad stands and iPad cases, so if you want a second opinion or more options than I covered here, feel free to take a look at those. Also check out our Holiday Gift Guide page for more seasonal suggestions.
Holiday Gift Guide: Portable cases
Welcome to TUAW's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We're here to help you choose the best gifts this holiday season, and once you've received your gifts we'll tell you what apps and accessories we think are best for your new Apple gear. Stay tuned every weekday from now until the end of the year for our picks and helpful guides and check our Gift Guide hub to see our guides as they become available. For even more holiday fun, check out sister site Engadget's gift guide. One of the first purchases to make for your new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is a good case. It'll be invaluable both for storage at home or toting it around town while keeping your precious portable safe. There are several styles to use from, and don't be surprised if you find yourself alternating between a couple of them. Backpacks A backpack should be the first choice to consider if you're a student, deal with a lot of books and papers on a regular basis, or find yourself needing to tote a lot of gear and needing to run through an airport. My current backpack of choice is the Tom Bihn Synapse (US$130). The entire Tom Bihn line is fantastic, and this particular backpack is the smallest on offer. It holds my 11-inch MacBook Air, iPad, Kindle, gear and books with ease. I've carried a full load in the Synapse on daytrips in New York City and have flown internationally with the Synapse with no weight issues. All of Tom Bihn's bags are built extremely well, and my Synapse still looks like new nine months after buying it. There are no built-in laptop pockets here, so you'll need to pick up a sleeve (covered below) to protect your MacBook. The Synapse is good for up to a 13-inch laptop, which means it covers both MacBook Airs and the smallest of the MacBook Pros. If you want more capacity for a 15-inch or 17-inch MacBook Pro, the $150 Brain Bag can fit up to two laptops and the $140 Smart Alec is the midrange bag between the Synapse and Brain Bag. I'm also a fan of Incase backpacks, which also wear well and have an insane number of pockets. The Apple Store sells the Incase Compact Backpack for $79.95, which appears to be the successor to an older Incase backpack I used for several years. The bag was well-padded and protected my electronics well. This particular model will carry a 15-inch or smaller MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Messenger A pick from Engadget's list is the Timbuk2 Snoop, which is a fantastic multitasker for keeping a lot of gear at your fingertips. The company bills this bag as a camera bag, and it also has a laptop sleeve. If you tote a camera around, the different compartments are good for its accessories, or you can tailor the pockets to suit your own needs. It's $150 through its site or you can find it starting around $103 on Amazon. If you have the money to spend, a Muzetto from WaterField Designs is worth considering. These sumptuous vertical messengers maintain a slim profile and are good if you're toting the basics and want to look stylish. They range from $219 for the MacBook Air to $259 for 15-inch MacBook Pros. For 13-inch and 15-inch laptops, however, you will need a protective sleeve like with some of the Tom Bihn bags. Briefcase If you're heading to a business meeting and want to look your most professional, these cases are the ones to check out. Space is sacrificed for a slim profile. Brenthaven has a number of briefcases for a good price that are durable and fit an office setting. The ProStyle III-XF is one of these and can be custom fit up to a 17-inch MacBook Pro. It has an X-Ray Friendly design, meaning you do not have to remove your laptop while going through airport security. These bags range from $99.95 to $119.95. For more rugged gear, Thule has a line of attache cases available through the Apple Store that allows you to use your Mac while still in the case. These run about $79.95. Sleeve For the absolute basic protection, picking up a good sleeve will allow you to toss your laptop in any bag. If you want to grab something while still at the Apple Store, the Incase line is there for you to peruse, and the cases cost roughly $40. If you're willing to wait a few days and want to order something online, the Tom Bihn Cache is $30 and dispenses with zippers. Waterfield has elegant-looking Sleevecases ranging from $37-45 and has a number of other sleeves geared toward the MacBook Air. Or, if you want your laptop to blend in with the books on your coffee table, TwelveSouth's BookBook cases are always a conversation piece.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: laptops
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. Let's get this out of the way: a laptop is an intimate gift. Even if you were to get away with paying just $400, it's a lot to spend on even your spouse (ten years is the netbook anniversary, right?). Not to mention, your lucky giftee will be spending more time with it, perhaps, than they do their friends, families and pets. At the same time, the selection is nothing if not overwhelming, and if you were to make a spreadsheet tallying prices and specs, you'd notice an uncomfortable similarity across different brands. So, we rounded up some of the best we've seen -- everything from all-purpose notebooks to Ultrabooks to high-end dream machines. If you're thinking of pulling the trigger, hop past the break for a few ideas and the (very brief) low-down on the trade-offs you'll be making.
Holiday Gift Guide: External Disk Drives
Welcome to TUAW's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We're here to help you choose the best gifts this holiday season, and once you've received your gifts we'll tell you what apps and accessories we think are best for your new Apple gear. Stay tuned every weekday from now until the end of the year for our picks and helpful guides and check our Gift Guide hub to see our guides as they become available. For even more holiday fun, check out sister site Engadget's gift guide. One of the most popular accessories for any Mac is an external disk drive. Whether you're using a Mac Pro to edit video professionally or a MacBook Air as an email and web-browsing tool, an external drive is useful for backups or providing additional storage for files that would overwhelm the internal drive in your Mac. In this edition of the Holiday Gift Guide, I'll describe some of the choices you may wish to consider when thinking about purchasing an external drive. Sizing An External Drive If you're using an external drive for Time Machine backups, you need at least 1.2 times the maximum amount of space on your primary drive for Time Machine to work. As a rule of thumb, I've always recommended buying a drive at least twice the size of your primary drive. If your primary disk drive can provide up to 1 TB of storage, get a 2 TB external disk drive. That will be large enough to store a bootable clone of your drive plus a good number of Time Machine backups. My personal rule of thumb is to get us as much hard drive as you can afford, and the recent bump in drive prices due to the Thai floods means that you're going to pay more for the capacity you need. What this means is that a 2 TB drive that was available for about US$60 back in the summer of 2011 is now pushing $170. Be sure to check the prices for any drive before you make your purchase, as pricing is very volatile at this time. Portable Drives Owners of MacBooks -- Airs, Pros, and the regular old garden variety MacBook -- are probably more in need of external drives than desktop owners. Laptops have a higher probability of being dropped or stolen, so keeping them backed up is important. If you happen to buy the low-end MacBook Air with a built-in SSD, you only have 64 GB of storage, so an external drive might be a necessity to store media files. Portable drives should be light, durable, and bus-powered to be truly useful to the MacBook owner. The last thing you want to have to do is carry around an AC power adapter for your hard disk drive; you should be able to just plug it in and use it. Fortunately, most of these drives are bus-powered USB 2.0 or FireWire 400/800 models, so you're in luck. Some of my personal favorites at this time include the Iomega eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive ($149.99 for 1 TB, $99.99 for 500 GB), the OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini ($265 for 1.5 TB, $119.99 for 320 GB), and the LaCie Rugged Hard Disk ($159.99 for 500 GB). Desktop Drives Have an iMac or a Mac mini? A desktop disk drive is the answer for your storage and external backup needs. Desktop drives are characterized by larger physical size, external power requirements, and generally lower prices than portable drives. The least-expensive desktop drives are connected to your Mac through a USB 2.0 cable, while more expensive drives will also include a FireWire 400 or 800 port. You can also purchase Thunderbolt-equipped desktop drives, which are included in the next section of this gift guide and work with most new Macs. For iMacs, one of the best-looking and relatively fast drives is the Iomega Mac Companion ($239.99 for 2 TB, $369.99 for 3 TB). Western Digital's MyBook Studio is another large-capacity drive at a bargain price -- the drives originally retailed for $249.99 for 3 TB of storage, although the hard disk shortage at this time is driving prices much higher. Performance Desktop Drives and RAID For those who are using their Macs for video editing or who need mass amounts of storage, performance desktop drives and RAID arrays are a good idea. When I'm referring to performance desktop drives, I'm talking about those that are generally fast drives with a fast interface. Solid State Drives (SSDs) are in this category, as are Thunderbolt drives. RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives) uses two or more drives to provide either speed or redundant mass storage that can withstand the loss of a drive. Solid State Drives are getting bigger and faster, and for many newer Macs, they're a built-in feature or configure-to-order option. External SSDs are silent and fast, making them popular with a growing number of Mac users. OWC's Mercury Elite Pro mini drive can be configured with a 480 GB for $899.99 -- expensive, but very fast. Drives using the fast new Thunderbolt interface are still rare, but are starting to appear from many mainstream drive manufacturers. LaCie's Little Big Disk Thunderbolt series comes in 1 TB ($449.95), 2 TB ($549.95) and 240 GB SSD ($899.95) editions to fill your need for speed. Two RAID drives that I tested in 2011 were the WiebeTech RTX220-QR ($499 with no drives, $1099 with two 3 TB drives installed) and the CRU-DataPort ToughTech Duo QR ($429.99 with no drives from some retailers, price varies on size and use of HDD or SSD in the array). The latter drive is quite portable. The RAID products from Drobo remain popular despite being somewhat slower than traditional arrays, with the traditional FireWire 800 / USB 2.0 4-bay Drobo available empty (bring your own drives) for $399 and the 8-bay DroboPro for $1,499 (empty, supply your own drives as needed). The Cloud Alternative If your needs for backup space and storage aren't huge, and if you have a relatively fast broadband connection, then maybe you should consider the cloud alternative. There's no need for a physical external drive; you're just sending bits to a drive somewhere on the Internet. For backups, there are several very good services that work seamlessly with Mac OS X. Some of my personal favorites are Backblaze ($50 a year for unlimited storage), Dolly Drive ($96/year for 250 GB of Time Machine-compatible cloud storage), and Carbonite ($59 annually for unlimited storage). I like to work with documents in the cloud, since it's easy to collaborate with co-workers and also use files between devices. Apple's iCloud (free for 5 GB of storage, $100 a year for 50 GB), Dropbox (free for 2 GB of storage, $99 a year for 50 GB), and Box (free for 5 GB of storage, 50 GB for $19.99 per month) are all well-known and respected cloud services for Mac and iOS. Conclusion An external disk drive is a gift that remains useful for a long time. Although prices are a bit higher this year than before, there are still some bargains to be had if you shop around. In this gift guide, I've just named a few drives that I'm familiar with, but you can find many other models by perusing the websites of the manufacturers.
Engadget's holiday gift guide 2011: HDTV and home theater
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! We're well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties surrounding the seasonal shopping experience, so we're here to help you sort out this year's tech treasures. Below is today's bevy of curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. For a crowd-pleasing holiday gift, it's hard to do better than a TV (or something that plays on or plugs into a TV), so naturally we're here to help you out once again. Of course, this is an ever-changing industry segment, but we've got you covered -- regardless of whether you need a flat panel or a projector. If you're out shopping for someone that has (or wants to) cut the cable, or someone that has every channel, there's something for you. Of course, we'd also recommend keeping a close eye on the tablet and gaming categories too, but companies like Roku, Samsung and Ceton are making sure you have all kinds of options dedicated purely to video. Give them a look after the break.