iPhone Waterproof Case

If you can’t manage to part with your iPhone while you’re around a lot of water, you might want to make sure that you protect your iPhone. This case seals all of the water out and still gives you the use of your iPhone while it’s at it. It even still allows for you to listen to your music and use the camera. Which means you get cute pictures of your kids while you’re at the pool without having to worry about them drowning your iPhone.

Somehow, even though you can hook up your headphones to your iPhone it will still keep all of the water out. It also still makes it possible to use the touchscreen on the iPhone. This useful case has a serious geek side though, it comes with a lanyard so that you can wear it around your neck. Which with this around your neck you’re probably not going to win any ‘Best Dressed’ awards. You can purchase the case for $32 from Sanwa, but you’ll have to find a way to get it shipped out of Japan.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

iPhone Document Scanner

The iPhone Document scanner was designed and built by Kyle Koch and was an answer to problems he had taking pictures of class assignments (so that he didn’t loose them).

Documents taken by hand normally came out clear, but occasionally there was a bit of blur which is why this iPhone Document Scanner was his answer. Mixing this custom document scanner with software like Evernote and you have quite a decent system to store all of your documents digitally and as it’s all stored on the iPhone it means you can sync it with your computer and take documents everywhere with you.

The Phone Document Scanner measures 15.5 inches in length, 9.5 inches wide and 15 inches tall. The unit is handmade but is still available to order at a cost of $45 per unit. Shipping is done all over the world with shipping costs and orders made here.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

Track your weight through your iPhone

Sticking to a diet is never a simple task, you end up having to jump through a bunch of hoops just to keep yourself on track. Then on top of it, you have to keep yourself motivated enough to care. Well this Wifi Scale could be the visual motivation you need to keep eating right. Instead of just weighing yourself and scowling over the numbers, you can discover if you’ve gone up or down over time. You can even keep an eye on the ups and downs when you’re away from the scale itself.

This very thin and chic looking scale links up with your iPhone to help you keep an eye on things. Through your iPhone you can view a graph that shows whether you have gone up or down, which might be just enough to keep you from ordering what you shouldn’t on your lunch break. The numbers over time can be compared to references created by nutrition doctors. It sends all of this information automatically, when you step on the scale. You can purchase it for €130 or about $180.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

Big Bang Speaker

I have often grumbled that cartoons these days aren’t nearly as awesome as the Roadrunner cartoons. Now that everything has to be politically correct, blowing up a coyote or causing him to fall down a cliff is apparently damaging fragile young minds. Personally, I think cartoons are just lacking those big cheesy explosions. The ones with round bombs and long fuses that always seem to malfunction at bad moments. Well you can show your love of those classic moments with this Big Bang Speaker. Which very much resembles a very cartoonish bomb.

It even comes with the bright red cord that happens to stick out of the top, making it look like an already lit fuse. It will work with any portable sound system just as long as it has a headphone socket. To keep it powered up you can use either 4 AA batteries or opt for charging it up through your USB port. You can purchase the Big Bang Speaker for £29.99 or about $49

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

New Sleek Skins for Your BlackBerry

Why should iPhone owners get all the style? iSkin has now released its first cases for the BlackBerry Curve, Storm, and Bold.

The Vibes line of cases are available for all three BlackBerry models, and the Vibes FX line is available for the Curve. The difference is that the Vibes cases come in solid colors, while the Vibes FX cases have an argyle pattern and a screen protector that doubles as a mirror when your BlackBerry is off.

Not just eye candy, both lines offer high-gloss color with the look of a soft case, but the protection of a hard shell. They're also embedded with Microban antimicrobial protection to keep your phone germ-free.

Vibes cases sell for $29.99 and Vibes FX for $32.99. See the whole lineup at the iSkin site.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

microUSB the new generation Mobile Charging Standard

For the last few years the GSM Association has been trying to get a charging standard across all mobile phones. Finally, the new standard has emerged with microUSB being the new way to connect a charger to your mobile phone. The roll out will start in Europe over the next few years where the large manufacturers which includes LG, Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Research in Motion, NEX, Qualcomm and TI. Strangely enough, there is no mention of HTC who have become big in the smart phone race. However, I believe that most, if not all, of their phones already use the microUSB standard to charge.

Although it’s nothing to get overly excited about, it does mean that if you happen to get a new phone then you will always be able to charge via a USB cable rather then having a bunch of pesky power leads lying around your home which don’t get used that often. From personal experience I know it’s annoying to have a Nokia, LG and HTC phone in the house and each of them needing separate wires to charge.

It seems right now that the phones included with in this scheme are smartphones only with the basic type phones still using regular chargers.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

iPhone Charger with a 12v Car Adapter and Wall Charger in One

Here’s a hot tip for ya- the Hottips! Charger, an all-in-one charging solution for your iPod or iPhone (yes the exclamation point is actually part of the name!). Got the new iPhone 3GS and plan on using it heavily? You’re gonna need to charge that puppy up. This compact charger has a 12v lighter connection for charging on the go in your car, boat, or RV. The folding 110-240v AC wall plug is ideal for charging at home, in your office, or on the road in a hotel or airport.

The bright LED glows when your iPod or iPhone is charging and dims when it’s done. There’s a 5 foot long charging cord included. The sleek looking black and silver Hottips! Charger is compact and lightweight at just 2.5″H x 2.5″W x 1″D and 4.64 oz. Ideal for traveling both for business and pleasure.


Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

Beware of Magnetic Cases with the iPhone 3GS

Yep, I've succumbed. After waiting since 2007 for the iPhone to come to T-Mobile or Verizon, I've pulled the trigger and ordered a shiny new iPhone 3GS during the first wave last week. Never mind that it took until Wednesday of this week to get to me, but that's another story.

I acquired a few holster-style cases from various sources, and I can tell you this: the Compass/Magnetometer in the iPhone 3GS does not like magnetic closures on the cases. I first used Speck's odd but very protective SwitchWay case, and after using it, I found that I had to recalibrate the compass every time I took the iPhone out of the case. I also used a no-name holster that I'd used with an iPod Touch, and that also garnered the same results.

The no-name case uses two magnets to keep itself shut, and the SwitchWay uses four magnets (it can be worn vertically or horizontally). Apple's support docs have warned against using magnetic cases since the iPhone 3G last year, but I'd used the no-name case with the first generation iPhone while I tried it out back in 2007 with no ill effects.

According to a review on iLounge.com, the SwitchWay was redesigned with a Velcro closure, and I'd certainly recommend one if you like a holster for convenience. In any case, I'm off to the Apple Cube to get a DLO HipCase, which I know has Velcro.

I should point out that calls, emails, and text messages came through fine in any of the cases, magnetic or not, so that's not an issue, but it is exceedingly annoying to have to re-calibrate the Compass everytime I needed to use it (including in maps). It also took progressively more time to reclaibrate the Compass the longer I kept the iPhone in the magnetic cases. Buyer Beware!

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

SIM Unlock for iPhone 3G

If you use an iPhone 3G and have updated to OS 3.0 then you can use this SIM unlock card to use any other mobile network that you want.

The advantage of using a SIM Unlock card is that you do not need to jailbreak your phone with UltraSn0w and there are no changes at all to the firmware on the phone when using this card.

To get the Sim Unlock to work you simply slide it in-between the phone SIM card contacts and the phone and then have the ability to use what ever SIM card you want.

The unlock card does cost $34 though, so you really need to weigh up the advantages with this one.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

USB Flash Converter for Mobiles

The Mobidaptor is quite a handy device which allows you to hook up a USB flash memory drive up to any device that contains an SD or microSD slot. If you have a need to get some files from phone to PC or vice-versa and don’t want to email them (and don’t have your USB cable) then this is perfect for you. You simply just plug in the flash drive to the Mobidapter which in turn, connects to your phone and copy away.

A limit of 32GB is in place on the host which pretty much covers the majority of flash drives out there anyway.

The unit is powered from the SD or microSD slot meaning that batteries are not needed. It is priced at $65.

Technology Update: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.

Charge your phone with Solar Charger 4-Port USB Hub

This is one of those gadgets that would be great to just toss into your laptop bag. It’d make traveling easier and when your cellphone is dead, due to you forgetting to charge it, you’d have a backup method to charge it up again. Whereas owning a solar charger is usually on the expensive side of things, this keeps things affordable. Which is fantastic when you consider it’s both a solar charger and a USB hub.

They offer a few connectors to go with the solar panel, such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola phone and Samsung. Then of course your USB gadgets can be charged as well, so if you already have a USB charger for your phone and none of the connectors work, you could do things that way instead. The port section of the device has a total of 4 ports. Making it ideal for when you’re traveling and just need a couple of extra ports on your laptop. The panel can charge even under weak light, but they don’t say how long you need to charge it and how much battery life that will get you on your phone. You can purchase it for $21.99 on USB Fever.

Techno Uptodate: Daily Updates on newly launched Gadgets, Gizmos, Mobiles, PC's & Laptops, Hacking, Gaming & Emerging Technological Trends.