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Otterbox Has it Covered…Literally

OtterBox makes covers for the iPhone, the iPod Touch, the BlackBerry Storm, and the BlackBerry Curve 8350i.

These cases in particular as Mike McDonald notes, are “heads above most of the crap you’re gonna go grab at Wal-Mart and slap on your phone.”

Mike got a up-close look at the cases a while back at the Consumer Electronics Show. You can see them for yourself:

The OtterBox for iPhone 3G Defender Series consists of 3 layers:

1. A thin, clear membrane that covers your Touch Screen to help prevent scratches and dings.

2. A hard, strong Polycarbonate skeleton that surrounds your device.

3. A Silicone skin that absorbs bump and shock wrapped around it.

It also Includes a ClipStand holster. It should be noted that it will not fit the 1st Generation iPhone.

The OtterBox for iPod touch 2nd Generation Impact Series has a thin, skin-like design that protects against bump and shock. It’s actually designed to dissipate impact AWAY from your device.

It provides open access to the Touch Screen, headphone jack and sync/charge terminal. It also has an ergonomic design.

The OtterBox for BlackBerry Storm Defender Series case was designed to provide full access to all buttons, ports and functions of your smartphone. This includes the use of your camera, charging your phone, making calls, etc.

But like the others, it is also designed for “unparalleled” protection against harmful drops, bumps, shocks, scratches, dings and dust. It comes with a ratcheting belt clip as well.

The OtterBox for BlackBerry Curve 8350i (with Push to Talk) Defender Series is a “fully interactive” case, which enables complete usability of the trackball, keyboard, camera and Push to Talk features.

Sound is transmitted through this case via acoustical vents. The entire device is covered by the case, but each port is completely accessible

All surfaces of the BlackBerry are fully covered, yet all ports are accessible Silicone plugs. It ONLY works with this version of the BlackBerry Curve.

Each of these models is priced at around $50, except the iPod Touch model, which is about $20. Either way, they’re probably cheaper than replacing your device when you break it. And this is coming from a guy who broke like 3 phones in a year.

Not that we were too impressed with gOS when we first saw Rocket almost a year ago, but Cloud — the small footprint, quick boot Linux variant that Good OS introduced today at the Netbook World Summit in Paris — looks like an altogether different beast. Arriving pre-installed alongside Windows on the new Gigabyte touchscreen netbooks (perhaps some variant of the M912V), the new SplashTop-esque OS uses a web browser as its main interface, with an integrated dock providing such Web 2.0 mainstays as Skype, YouTube and the Google family of apps — and if this smattering of tools doesn’t meet all of your computing needs, you can always boot into your main OS from there. Cloud can be installed as a dual-boot partition on your hard drive or SSD as well as onto a flash chip hardwired onto a motherboard. That’s all we have for now, but you can bet we’ll be on hand to check it out at CES in January.

Filed under: Laptops

gOS “Cloud” instant-on OS comes to Gigabyte touchscreen netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that Mio hasn’t pumped out a GPS phone or two before, but the rarely-heard-from handset maker is reportedly on its way to delivering its first 3.5G touchscreen-based GPS phone in Q1 2009. Undisclosed sources singled out at DigiTimes have it that the mobile will be powered by a 3.5G chipset from Qualcomm and will come loaded with Mitac’s self-developed “Spirit” touch interface. Additionally, it’ll pack a 3.2-megapixel camera and should launch ahead of Garmin’s oft-delayed nüvifone. In related news, Mio is also scheduled to launch a GPS-packin’ MID before Q1 2009 ends, though it’s still unclear if it’ll choose a 7- or 8-inch panel to accompany the 3G radio and Windows CE operating system. Riveting stuff, huh?

[Via GPSTracklog]

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Mio said to be prepping GPS-enabled 3.5G touchscreen handset for Q1 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BenQ Joybook Lite U101 we spied back when it was announced in September has just launched, and though there’s nothing incredibly exciting here, we thought we’d give you a quick rundown, because we’re just cool like that. The U101 boasts completely standard netbook fair — an Atom N270 CPU, Intel 945GSE chipset, 1GB of DDR2 memory, with 80-160GB mechanical drives and 4-16GB SSD options. It’s also got a 16:9 display with a 1024 x 576 resolution (rare for a netbook), a 1.3 megapixel webcam, and three USB 2.0 ports. The sassy little number comes in blue, pink, white and black, and it can be yours for €398 ($503) in Taiwan right now, but we’ve got no word on when it will be available elsewhere. Dip this puppy in gold or something and then maybe, just maybe we’ll bite.

[Via Fudzilla]

Filed under: Laptops

BenQ Joybook U101 launches, gives almost no joy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Come on, you didn’t think Nokia’s only response to the G1, iPhone, and Storm would be the 5800 XpressMusic, did you? Word on the ground at this week’s Nokia World conference is that Espoo is planning a major announcement tomorrow — and hey, is that a countdown timer to the keynote that just went live on Nokia’s site? Interesting. Our pal and yours Robert Scoble says that Nokia execs are running around bragging that “the Internet” is totally in the dark on this one, and that only a small number of people within the company have seen the new device. That’s certainly got our ears perked up — we’re guessing this is something a little more major than that hinted-at touch Communicator. We’ll let you know right away if you want to stay up with us — the event is scheduled for 3:15AM EST.

Read - Scoble’s take
Read - Nokia countdown clock

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia teases major new product launching tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Word on the street has it that the Samsung P3 will be getting its official launch at CES in January, and to whet your appetite we’ve got a video unboxing for you courtesy of those crazy kids at Generation MP3. Apparently the same form factor as the venerable P2 (but in an all aluminum enclosure), the PMP sports haptic touch, WQVGA 3-inch (480 x 272) display, Bluetooth, microphone, speaker, FM tuner, plays all the expected media formats, and will be available in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB. Also in the video, we get a pretty extensive look at those widgets everyone’s been talking about. But don’t take it from us — you can see for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Samsung’s P3 unboxed and caught on video

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Samsung’s P3 unboxed and caught on video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looking for an electric bike that does the peddling for you? You have plenty of choices, particularly if you’re willing to drop over $2,000, but finding one that uses regenerative braking to extend the life of its meager on-board batteries isn’t so easy. Panasonic’s Vivi RX10S is about your only choice until February, when Sanyo’s new eneloop-branded bike is set to start pulling weak (or just lazy) Japanese riders up up inclines before recharging itself on the way back down. On a hilly course a charge is said to last about 35 miles without braking, 46 by charging only when braking, and 62 miles in “auto” mode (charging on downhills, too). If you live in Japan it’ll be yours for 136,290 yen, about $1,450 US — but if you live around here we’d recommend not canceling your spinning class just yet, because while Sanyo pledges to ship this elsewhere in the world “at some point in the future,” it could be awhile before this thing starts hitting the diamond lanes near you.

[Via PhysOrg.com]

Filed under: Transportation

Sanyo’s eneloop hybrid bike has basket, will travel originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Something about this Acer Aspire One with wheels just looks so… right. After suiting up the laptop with a tiny motor, some “crazy” wheels and an Arduino Diecimila, the crafty DIY-er wrote a bit of code that commands the unit to perform simple movements like turn left, turn right, move forward, and pause, while transmitting some breathtaking video of its travels back to a different computer via WiFi. The unit doesn’t do reverse yet, nor can it pop wheelies — after all, it’s no Rovio — though the wishlist of possible improvements is fairly uh… impressive. Check the video (not the Acer-transmitted one) after the break, though we have to give you fair warning: the robot steamrolls a cat near the end.

Continue reading Arduino-armed Acer Aspire One and wheels tools around, shoots video

Filed under: Robots

Arduino-armed Acer Aspire One and wheels tools around, shoots video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Both practical and not-so-practical applications for the Wiimote have been around since Nintendo’s console launched, but this latest hack is quite possibly the oddest thus far. Ken Moore, tinkerer extraordinaire, has inexplicably converted the controller into a new-fangled theremin. By coupling IR-infused gloves with a JV-1080 synth and the Wiimote’s built-in Bluetooth, he’s been able get his PC to recognize the left hand position as volume, and the right hand position as pitch. Once the IR camera in the Wiimote sends the positioning info back to the PC, MIDI sends it to the synthesizer to create sound. Now, you could just pick up a copy of Guitar Hero or Rock Band if you wanted to casually riff on some classics, but if you’ve got an intrinsic urge to perform a rendition of the original Star Trek theme, this might be your speed. Peep the setup in video action after the break.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Wiimote repurposed into theremin, Vincent Price’s ghost perks up

Filed under: Gaming

Wiimote repurposed into theremin, Vincent Price’s ghost perks up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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