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IRL: ASUS Transformer Prime, Verbatim Dual USB Power Pack and V-Moda's Crossfade LP headphones
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. You love your gadgets because they're awesome. Or maybe you love them because you spent $500 and decided you'd better learn to like them. Whatever the case, chances are you've learned to forgive their flaws and enjoy them enough as they are, force-quits and all. That about describes this week's IRL, in which three Engadget editors make peace with their imperfect gadgets: an occasionally crash-prone Transformer Prime, the easily scratched V-Moda Crossfade LP headphones and Verbatim's Dual USB Power Pack, with its short little charging cables.
Verbatim's Store 'n' Go V3 thumb drives pack USB 3.0, start at $20 for 8GB
Portable flash drives specced to USB 3.0 have been around since before Apple's original iPad was introduced, but finding 'em on the cheap can still be quite the task. Enter Verbatim's Store 'n' Go V3 drives, which are set to fit said bill, starting at just $20 bucks for 8GB of storage with options up to 64GB. The USB connector retracts for storage to save you from fussing with caps, and you'll also have your pick from "seven trendy colors." Mum's the word on the maximum transfer speeds you can expect, but we doubt it's a major concern at this price. The Store 'n' Go V3s are already on sale and you'll find more details in the press release after the break.
Verbatim's Store 'n Go Plus thumbdrives get rugged, sport a one-piece suit
Still carry around thumb drives? No worries, we do too from time to time. If you're in the market for a new compact, portable storage device, Verbatim has just revealed their Store 'n' Go Plus. With capacities ranging from 4GB on up to 32 GB, you're sure to find a suitable USB 2.0 option for your workload. The System in Package design doesn't force you keep up with an end cap and sports a ruggedized design that should withstand lengthy stays in your messenger bag. Available later in Q1, the family starts at $19.99 and heads north. We have to admit, though, these aren't nearly as awesome as the Swiss Army variety.
Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard is tiny, overpriced and flawed
The more I review compact keyboards and keyboard folios, the more I am inclined to believe that the best keyboard for an iPad is no keyboard. The new Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard (US$84.00) added ammunition to that argument. The Ultra-Slim keyboard is typical of its class: it is small, lightweight, has good battery life, and connects to your iPad or iPhone through Bluetooth. In fact, the Ultra-Slim is probably the slimmest and lightest (6.9 ounces) Bluetooth keyboard I've seen. And that's exactly where I have a problem with it. Make no mistake: the Ultra-Slim is perfect if you want the lightest possible keyboard around for Mac, iPhone, or iPad. But my concern is that so much effort went into making this keyboard compact that it's almost impossible to use. My current gold standard for keyboards is the Apple Wireless Keyboard. The one I have has given me years of flawless service, I can type quickly and accurately on it, and it's compact enough that it has traveled with me on trips where I want to use a keyboard with my iPad. The Apple Wireless Keyboard is just a bit over 11 inches wide, and a little over 5 inches deep. The keys are nicely spaced both horizontally and vertically, and it's a fantastic keyboard for fast typing. Now let's look at the Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard. It jams approximately the same number of keys into a keyboard just over 8.5" wide and about 4.5 inches deep. As a result, there's no spacing between the keys at all, and it's quite easy to accidentally press two or more keys -- even with small hands like I have! How small is that keyboard? Well, if you hold up the Verbatim Ultra-Slim next to the virtual keyboard on the iPad, they're about the same size. There's a hint here, folks -- if you think the iPad's keyboard is too small, then the Ultra-Slim is going to be too small for you as well. %Gallery-142675% Charging is done through a standard USB to micro-USB cable, and there's an on-off switch right next to the micro-USB port so the keyboard can be turned off to save battery life when not in use. There's also a button to enable discovery mode on the keyboard. Getting back to the keys on the keyboard, they're just too small. Take the shift keys, for example -- the left one is about .75" x .5", the right one is about .4" square. On the Apple keyboard, they're 1.5" x .675" each -- a ton of space by comparison. Verbatim made the insane move of cramming even more keys into the bottom row of the keyboard than are on the Apple keyboard. The Apple keyboard has an fn key,a control key, two option(alt) keys, two command keys, the space bar, and the arrow keys in the bottom row. The Verbatim keyboard jams two Home button keys, a key to hide or show the iPad's virtual keyboard, and the backslash key into that same row -- 13 keys in a small space. One other gripe is that some of the keys are in totally non-standard positions. For example, the quotation mark key that's normally next to the Return/Enter key on a Mac keyboard is squeezed between the left shift key and the letter Z. The backslash is on the bottom row instead of on the right side of the "QWERTY" row of the keyboard, and the delete key is on the top row instead of the number row. Verbatim threw a number of iOS device-specific keys onto the top row, including a lock key, search key, brightness keys, cut/copy/paste, reload, rewind/play/fast-forward, and volume keys. These are fairly standard with most Bluetooth keyboards designed for use with the iPad Conclusion All things considered, I cannot recommend the Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard. It's too small for any reasonable typing, many keys are in non-standard locations, and the price ($84) is ridiculously high. Apple's Wireless Keyboard is only $69, Logitech's Tablet Keyboard is $70, and there are generic Bluetooth keyboards that look much more comfortable for use with an iPad for as little as $13. Just yesterday, TUAW reviewed the AmazonBasics Bluetooth Keyboard that is regularly available for as little as $29.99. My advice? Either learn to use the virtual keyboard on the iPad, which I've actually found gets much better the more you use it, or get the Apple Wireless Keyboard.
TUAW TV Live at 5 PM ET: The 2nd anniversary show
Time flies when you're having fun. Yes, believe it or not, TUAW TV Live has been polluting the blogosphere every Wednesday afternoon since December 22, 2009, making today the second anniversary of this live video stream. Viewers have been treated to hundreds of product and app demos, interviews with fascinating guests, and most of my hat collection. Today I'll have more of the same on tap, including demonstrations of the Doxie Go scanner ($199), the Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard ($84), Newer Technologies' NuTouch Gloves ($19.99) and NuScribe ($19.99) stylus/pen, the Autriv High-Sensitive Magnetic Stylus ($19.99), the very cool Deckster Re:Class iPod nano watchband (CAD$165), AblePlanet Clear Harmony active noise canceling headphones ($299 with an 8 GB iPod touch), and the most important of all -- the Opena iPhone 4 case (AUD$39.95). Please note that the last demo involves beer... As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel. The chat is now available as well on IRC: join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv.
Verbatim Store 'n' Go USB 3.0 hard drives add color to your otherwise drab storage needs
Our parents always taught us that it's what's on the inside that counts -- and that's why we don't ever take them hard drive shopping with us. Sure these Store 'n' Go drives are pretty standard 500GB HDDs, but hey, they come in Caribbean blue and hot pink, so they should fit in nicely with that neon fanny pack we just picked up to haul around our computer peripherals. The drives sport USB 3.0 and come loaded with Nero BackItUp software. You can pick them up for $100 from Verbatim's site -- they shouldn't be too hard to spot. Decidedly less colorful press information after the break.
Velve OLED lighting panels cover a broader spectrum (video)
The University of Michigan may boast the best blue, but Mitsubishi subsidiary Verbatim is showing off OLED lighting of a different color; several of them, actually. Demonstrated this week at the Fuori Salone show in Milan, these 14 x 14 cm Velve-branded lighting panels are amongst the first color tunable OLED light panels, giving off what Verbatim calls "colourful lighting with a luxurious feel; as smooth and as rich as velvet." Velve. Velvet. See what they did there? Sample Kits will be available in Japan later this month for ¥90,000 ($1,063), and Verbatim hopes to see the technology put to use in consumer products by the end of the year. Suddenly white light OLEDs look positively old hat -- here's hoping the price comes down before we burn through our incandescent stockpile.
Verbatim's diminutive MediaShare Mini NAS: memory not included
Verbatim, whose business is memory (and whose name means "to reproduce word for word," by the way) has done a Rick Moranis job on its MediaShare NAS, resulting in the MediaShare Mini. One third the size of its predecessor, this guy retains its slight stature by going the Iomega iConnect route of eschewing on-board storage altogether for four USB ports (so it looks like you'll have to factor the four thumb drives into the purchase price). And like the full-size MediaShare NAS server, this bad boy supports remote access via HTTP, support for a number of handhelds (including the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm Pre), Facebook integration, DLNA-compliant media streaming, and more. Look for it now for an MSRP of $90.
Verbatim's USB 3.0 Store 'n' Go external drives play nice with magnets, your data
We're guessing from the photo up there that Verbatim is saying your data is safe even if you happen to drop a magnetic paperclip dispenser on it. That's cool, because we happen to have one of those sitting right here on the desk, and for too long we've lived in fear of the thing toppling over and wiping the bits right off of our drives. But, the real talking point here is the interface: Verbatim's first USB 3.0 external storage. It'll be available in your choice of three sizes, with 500 and 750GB models shipping later this month and a 1TB monster coming in November. Naturally they're also backwards compatible with last-gen USB but will surely cost well more than those drives who are exclusively down with 2.0. How much more? That we just don't know right now.
Verbatim's Clip-it is a USB drive with paperclip ambitions
It sure is hard to differentiate yourself in the highly competitive world of ever-shrinking USB storage. To avoid this trend of disregard, Verbatim has sent its latest offering off to paper management school and the results are now apparent for us to see. The new Clip-it comes with an added incision in the middle of its lilliputian body that allows it to act as a paperclip or maybe even a handsome accessory to your geek chique outfit. Verbatim makes sure to tell us (about eleventy times) that the Clip-it has scooped up a red dot Design Award for its ingenuity, and prices the thing at eminently affordable €8.99 (2GB) and €11.49 (4GB) levels. Those correspond to $12 and $15.34, respectively, meaning you could have the whole set of seven colors for less than what you'd have to spend on just one iWatch.
Macworld 2010: Visiting with Verbatim
The products on display at the Verbatim booth, not surprisingly, all centered around storage: both solid-state and magnetic devices were featured, including the wicked small "Tuff & Tiny" USB drives, which deliver capacities between 2 and 16 GB in a size more appropriate to a fake fingernail than a portable flash drive. The company is also offering several portable hard drive models, including the SureFire with Firewire 800 connectivity for best Mac performance. The warranty on most newly-purchased Verbatim drives has been extended to 7 years -- by then, a 500 GB drive will undoubtedly seem very small. Catch the video below for a brief tour.
Verbatim announces 'world's first' SSD ExpressCards with 256-bit hardware encryption
Amongst the various high rollers who read Engadget -- defense industry big wigs, international businessmen, and the like -- security is a major concern, and over the last couple years we've seen quite a number of storage products featuring encryption, from IronKey thumbdrives to Seagate HDDs. If you're a man (or women) with plenty of secrets and a free ExpressCard slot, this next item should be right up your alley: Verbatim's SSD Secure ExpressCard features AES 256-bit hardware encryption, can be scored either in 16GB or 32GB capacities (with 64GB on the horizon) and is designed to securely delete drive contents after ten incorrect password attempts. Compatible with Windows 7, XP, and Vista, this is due to hit trendy European retailers soonish with prices starting at £90 ($150). PR after the break.
Verbatim InSight USB drives display name, free space even when disconnected
Verbatim, a name we mostly come across when looking for blank DVDs, has announced its new line of InSight portable USB hard drives. The storage devices are diminutive (weighing less than 6 ounces, measuring 6-inches in length), are being billed as "sleek" and "durable" with their fetching "piano black" finish (and who are we to disagree?), and are available in capacities of 320GB or 500GB. But the attention grabber here is the Always On display, which is -- you guessed it -- always on, displaying the drive name and available free space, even when disconnected from the computer. Available now for $119.99 for the 320GB or $149.99 for the 500GB. Full PR after the break.
Verbatim Tuff-Clip flash drives for the adventure nerd
We can't honestly say we've ever had a flash drive go bad because it wasn't tough enough, but apparently there's a market of globe-trotting ex-military jungle assassins out there big enough for Verbatim to join in with the Tuff-Clip USB stick. (Actually, it's TUFF-CLIP, because all-caps names are water-resistant to 100 feet.) Of course, you'll have to pay for those rugged good looks: the 4GB version is $30, while the 8GB is $50. Not exactly a steal when you consider this Hello Kitty stick we've been using cost us nothing more than our pride.
Verbatim's SureFire FireWire 800 external HDD does all it can to cater to new MacBook Pro owners
There's no question in our minds that Verbatim had brand new Macbook Pro owners in mind when it developed this addition to the SureFire external hard drive lineup. Let's run through the features: it comes HFS+ formatted for OS X, it's got touted support for Time Machine, and it features a FireWire 800 port, which is once again useful for Apple consumers, along with USB 2.0. It's even got a fingerprint resistant matte finish, which might just make you a bit envious given your own lack of matte options at present. Just a little bit larger and heavier than your iPhone, it comes with a leather case, all the necessary cables, and 250GB / 320GB / 500GB capacities, all 5400RPM, with prices ranging from $110 to $180.[Via Yahoo! Tech]
Verbatim releasing the first 6x LTH BD-R discs this fall
Blu-ray discs aren't getting bigger just yet, but cheaper & faster we might be able to help you with now that Verbatim/MKM is ready to deliver 6x BD-R LTH (low to high) recordable discs. A manufacturing process more similar to CD-R and DVD-R discs makes them easier to produce and this upgrade brings the max speed up from the current 2x LTH discs. Expect them to launch this fall along with compatible drives, so if you have something that needs 25GB/50GB of optical storage and don't like waiting, be on the lookout.
Verbatim trots out OS X-friendly 8GB Store 'n' Go retractable USB drive
Verbatim doesn't really make a lot of racket during the year, but come Macworld / CES, it pulls out all of the stops. Alongside a new family of delectable ExpressCard SSDs, the company is also introducing an 8GB Store 'n' Go Retractable USB Drive (Windows version shown) that caters to the OS X crowd. Verbatim's pushing two main selling points here: for starters, the capless, retractable design means that your USB socket will always be covered, and secondly, the password controlled access to the drive's private zone plays nice within an OS X environment. The half-ounce device is expected to land on store shelves in just a few weeks, though it'll cost you a stiff $59.99 if you're looking to pay MSRP.
Verbatim cranks out ExpressCard SSD for PC and Mac users
While certainly not the first ExpressCard SSD we've seen (heck, it's not even the first one from this week), we're practically drooling at the thought of these becoming more pervasive. Here at Macworld, Verbatim has announced its new 34mm ExpressCard SSD for PC and Mac users, which promises to be some five times faster than USB-based ExpressCards thanks to its true PCI-Express interface. The drives will ship at the end of next month in 16/32/64GB sizes, and we're told to expect read speeds of up to 125MB/sec and write speeds of up to 30MB/sec. Curious about pricing? Try $99.99, $149.99 and $299.99 from least capacious to most.
Verbatim debuts quad interface 500GB / 1TB external HDDs
While they aren't the first quad interface external drives on the market, Verbatim's adding to the bunch with a new 500GB and 1TB model. Slated to debut at this year's Macworld Expo, the pro audio / video-grade drives are Mac and PC compatible and tout USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 and eSATA II sockets. Each unit weighs 3.3-pounds and features 3.5-inch HDDs with 7,200RPM spindle speeds and 32MB of cache. Grab one right this very moment for $179.99 / $249.99, respectively.[Via InformationWeek]
Verbatim's new SmartDisk HDD is so small we could just eat it up
Because history has proven that hard drives must get smaller and more capacious, Verbatim went and released the 500GB 2.5-inch SmartDisk HDD. Despite claims from others, Verbatim says this marks the first available 9.5mm Z-height 2.5-inch hard disk. The drive is made up of three 166GB platters striped with Perpendicular Magnetic Recording at 5400RPM. With enclosure, it weighs in at less than 6 ounces and measures 3.38-inches by 5.38-inches by 0.63-inches in both USB and USB / FireWire combo versions. Expect it this summer for under $300.
