Noreve Tradition Leather Case For iPad

Noreve's Tradition iPad case is fully made out of leather of your choice of texture and color. The Tradition case has a folio style design that has some functions to let you use your iPad in both landscape and portrait positions. Once you slide in your ipad from the top into the tradition, you will notice that you iPad is fully usable and uncovered. When inserting the iPad into the Tradition case, you will get a very tight fit that is very secure so your iPad will stay safely in the case without you wanting it to come out. The overall design of the case is very simple and without any writing of logos except a very little badge on the front bottom corner which is a nice touch. The finishes on the outside of the Tradition case will vary depending on your choice, you have the choice between various finishes of leather and textures. On the inside there is a nice embossed texture of Noreve writings on the surface where the iPad slides into the case. Also, this part is lightly cushioned to help protect your iPad's back side. Surprisingly the Tradition case has a slim form factor and keeps a low slim profile.

Protection: The Tradition case is a great protective folio case all around. When your iPad is inside the case it's protected from front to back. The front side is of course protected once you close the flap over the iPad. The Tradition is lightly stuffed with padding. The Tradition fully covers and does not expose your iPad when fully closed. I still cannot say that you can drop your iPad with this case on and hope for the best however, it will give you great protection considering it's a folio style case that fully protects the glass screen once closed. 

Functionality: The Tradition case offers some great useful functions, however I found that only one single function actually works correctly. The landscape function works the best and is very stable when type and touching the screen. This is done by flipping out the stand that is located at the back of the case that is held in place by two small clips. The landscape angle cannot be adjusted but it is set in a perfect viewing angle and stays very stable on flat surfaces and works very well. With that same stand you are able to set your iPad in a portrait position but because the stand does not click into place or securely latches it will eventually fold back if you touch your iPad's screen a few times. Also, the Tradition's flap will have to stay opened to the side and it will be in your way of work. Another function you can use is for typing in lanscape by flipping over the front flap and setting your iPad on a flat surface to start typing at a low angle. All your ports and buttons are always accessible even when the Tradition case is fully closed with a magnetic closure.

The Tradition case also has four slots on the inside of the flap for business cards, credit cards and also slip pockets for small documents. I would not recommend using credit card and such because once you decide to open up the flap, your card will be exposed. I would recommend the Noreve Tradition B for more security or even the Noreve Sleeve if you don't plan on using those slots and pockets. The Tradition is available in various colors and leather textures. Price $81.

Noreve.com

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

Quirky Beamer Case For iPhone 3G/S

Feeling left out since the new iPhone 4 now has built in LED flash? Well you can now get a little closer to enjoy the experience of the iPhone 4's LED flash with the Beamer case by Quirky. The Beamer case is a slider style case with a built-in LED flash that is so blinding bright, it's not even funny. The Beamer case has a very nice soft touch finish with a matte texture that also gives you a great grip. There are some downsides to this case, starting with the big side button that is used to turn on the LED flash. This button is very big and positioned right where you hold the case in your hand, making it very uncomfortable to hold. The button sticks out and is very noticeable. To turn on the LED flash, you just click the button and the LED flash will turn on for 4 seconds and then will turn off by itself. You cannot turn the LED flash off, so you will always have to wait 4 seconds until it turns itself off, which is very limiting. So basically this LED flash can be used as a flashlight as well and does a fantastic job at it. 

The Beamer case is nicely made and feels very sturdy. You have full access to your ports and buttons. The Beamer's LED flash is powered by two coin type batteries that are located inside the case and are user replaceable. The Beamer case does add bulk to your iPhone because of the built-in LED flash and batteries, but it does not add any weight and using it with your iPhone on an every day basis could get a little uncomfortable to some because of the button on the side. Because of the 4 seconds that the LED with stay on, using it as a flash isn't really going to work and instead it will act as just a very bright light. The Beamer is available is both black and purple. Price $38.

Quirky.com

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

iSkin Duo Case For iPad

The iSkin Duo case for the iPad is a beautifully looking high quality silicone case. The first thing you notice once you put on the Duo on your iPad is the color combination that flows so beautifully with the iPad's design. The Duo has a black front frame which fully covers the iPad's black bezel and also adds outstanding finger grip thanks to the attracting circled pattern design. The Duo also has a micro texture pattern on the back for even more grip and traction on both sides, and all this actually works to give you a good grip of your iPad. The Duo is a very slim a non bulky silicone case. Although the Duo protects your iPad all around, you might still want to look out for dropping your iPad on the ground. 

The Duo is a very unique case that is also dockable and made to work with both Apple's iPad Dock and Keyboard Dock. We all want to protect our iPad's and use a case that we don't have to take off in order to dock, and iSkin has hit it big with the Duo. All the cutouts on the Duo are cut perfectly while the power/sleep and volume bottons are covered and stay super responsive. Also, a nice little feature you will notice is that the Duo has an integrated port cover for the headphone jack which protects from dust and other particles from entering the port while it's not in use. The Duo does attract lint but very little and on most of the colors that the Duo comes in, it's almost unnoticeable.

The iSkin Duo for the iPad is really one of the best silicone cases on the market with very high quality materials and design. The only small downside to it would be a price, but I believe that once you do purchase the Duo case, you will no longer need another. The Duo is available in seven different vibrant colors. Price $49.99.

iSkin.com

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

Twelve South BookArc Stand & Dock For iPad

The BookArc by Twelve South is yet another incredible piece of accessory made for an Apple product, this time it's the iPad. The BookArc is made out of anodized solid heavy steel and aluminum that easily goes along with your other Apple products and of course the iPad. Not only does the BookArc look great but it also works very well. The BookArc is a stand for the iPad and can also be used as a dock. There are two soft silicone inserts, one is designed to work with your iPad without a case on, and the other is designed to work with most slim cases. The insert that will hold your iPad without a case will allow you to position your iPad in both vertical and horizontal positions while keeping your iPad in an upright angle. You can also position your iPad in a slightly tilted position. 

The second insert that allow you to use your iPad with most slim cases including the Belkin Vue Grip, will only allow you to position your iPad upright in both vertical and horizontal positions. The BookArc is very sturdy and securely holds your iPad in place. While touching and pressing on the iPad's screen, you will notice that is sits in place and will not tip over like Apple's iPad Dock. The BookArc has rubber feet that work great on any surface and will provide great traction. After using the BookArc for a while, I realized that it's the best stand and dock available for the iPad. It's a great alternative to the Apple iPad Dock and it works great, whether you want to dock your iPad neatly on your desk or pair an Apple Wireless Keyboard and work with your favorite typing app, the BookArc is just a beautiful and well designed stand for the iPad. The BookArc is also available for any Macbook. Price $39.99.

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Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

Neat NeatReceipts For Mac

NeatReceipts for Mac by Neat is a very portable scanner for receipts, documents and business cards. NeatReceipts comes with software that organizes your scans and picks up information on receipts like types of services and vendors, dates, prices and more. This also works the same way with business card. NeatReceipts works very well with scanning receipts and saving them on your computer with the supplied NeatWorks software, however the software itself does need some work. The scans at first don't some out very well at all, you must calibrate the scanner with the supplied tools and tweak the settings inside the NeatWorks software. After that's done, the scan quality improves much more (see sample in the video). 

NeatReceipts scans quietly and quick for a mobile scanner. I would not recommend getting this scanner mainly for documents as the quality is not great. You can scan documents directly to a PDF format with a single push of a button, which is very useful. NeatReceipts connects via USB and does not require any power source other than the USB connection. The design is very sleek and slim with a white glossy finish. The build quality of the NeatReceipts is very solid and built well. On the bottom, you will find rubber feet that provide great surface traction. NeatReceipts only has two buttons on the front, one to scan and one to scan directly to a PDF format. In the box you will the NeatReceipts, a travel bag, NeatWorks for Mac software, calibration tools and documentations. Price $199.99.

Neatco.com 

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

Everki Commute 15.4" Sleeve Review

The Everki Commute sleeve for 15" laptops features memory foam padding to protect your laptop and stow-away carry handles. I have never seen stow-away carry handles like the ones on the Commute before, while they are very useful they are also not so comfortable. They carry handles are very simple and without any padding to ease the weight of your carry for travels. The Commute can be used as a sleeve when you stow-away the carry handles but once you want to use those handles you might question the way Everki decided to go about this feature. Once you pull out the carry handles, the two zippers on both ends will not fully close but that's when the flap comes in-between the handles to form a seal and keep your laptop securely in place. The flap just uses Velcro to lock in place. 

I would rather have my zippers fully close and have carry handles available on the outside. But this is just the design of the Commute, and it seems to work. The Commute has one large outside pocket for documents, cables and or your power brick. The insides of the Commute are lined with soft felt on both sides to help protect against scratches. The overall design of the Commute is very simple, effective and modern. The Commute sleeve is available in 10.2", 13.3", 15.5" and 17" sizes. The Commute is also available in a basic sleeve without handles for 15.5" laptops. Price $19.99 - 29.99.

Everki.com

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief

Freecom Mobile Drive XXS External Hard Drive Review

 

The Mobile Drive XXS by Freecom is the world's smallest 2.5" external hard drive. It's ultra small and compact thanks to the way Freecom have built the drive's enclosure. The XXS enclosure is made out of protective rubber that's pretty thin and forms tightly around the bare 2.5" drive making it almost the same size of just a bare drive you would put inside your laptop. Also, with the rubber enclosure, you get great grip both on a surface and in your hand. With this black rubber enclosure, you will find it attracting a lot of dust and lint. The XXS is super silent and does not vibrate at all. There is no need for an external power source to power up this drive, it's fully USB powered. The Mobile Drive XXS comes with a very short USB cable to keep things organized and even more compact. However there is an issue with this short USB cable being way too short for some tasks you might be needing. That could not be an issue for most people who have longer mini USB cable around the house though.

The Mobile Drive XXS is both Mac and PC compatible, you will need to fully format the drive if you'll want to use it on a Mac or as a Time Machine backup. This is done in just a few seconds. After you've erased and formatted the XXS drive to a Mac Extended Journaled format, Time Machine will begin using it as your primary backup drive if you wish to do so. The Freecom Mobile Drive XXS is made and designed in Germany, and the overall quality does not disappoint as it feels solid and grips any surface with its tightly wrapped rubbery enclosure.

The Mobile Drive XXS is available in 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB capacities while retaining the same 2.5" form factor at 640GB, which is just amazing. If you need a fast drive you might need to look elsewhere because the XXS only comes in a USB interface with a slowish 5400RPM drive, however that is perfectly enough for most users. On the plus side, this drive operates extremely quiet for how minimal its enclosure is. Freecom does offer many other drive options as well. Prices for the Mobile Drive XXS range between $85 and $169.99 respectively. 

Freecom.com

Nir Schneider

Editor-in-Chief