Stuff Geeks Want

We featured a few weeks back a Nikon digital camera with built-in pico projector. Here we go again, but this time one that works with thr Apple iPod.

It’s the PK101 Pico Pocket Projector from Optoma. Smaller than any iPod and weighing only 4 ounces, this little baby displays images as large as 60 inches up to 10 feet from your iPod.

At 4.1 x 2.0 x 0.6 inches, it is not much bigger than the remote control bundled with many larger projectors, yet it’s able to accommodate not only a DLP imaging engine and an LED lamp but also a rechargeable battery capable of powering the device for 1.5 hours—and even a tiny speaker.

We were very impressed with the image quality and ease of use. We were able to get images up to about 8 feet diagonally from about 12 feet away. Color was good, but the better the resolution of your images or video the better the projection quality will be.

Based upon the latest LED illumination advances and DLP imaging technology, it’ll give you two hours of viewing time. it’s got a built-in, re-chargeable battery that you hook up via USB or with the included AC power adapter.

Buy for $219 from Amazon

Just because the iPhone or iPod touch is so ‘finger-dependent’ doesn’t mean we have to be obsessed with constantly touching it (really!). The Viewbase from In Your Face frees your hands for more important things.

Clamp it to a plane’s tray table, your monitor at work, your car visor, or anywhere else you go, then snap in your iPhone or iPod touch.

Every model will fit the Viewbase, including a protective cover, and grips both flat and round surfaces up to two inches in width. It features a flexible 8-inch neck and an adjustable swivel head for optimum viewing.

Buy for $30 from Amazon

If the weight of your iPhone isn’t an issue and protecting it from the most brutal elements is, then you want an EXOVault.

It’s machined aluminum or brass in two pieces that screw together. The aluminum is anodized and is very hard to scratch, the manufacturers tell us. While it makes the iPhone substantially squarer, it add just 1.5 ounces to its weight.

Yes, it’s certainly different from the oh hum plastic and rubber iPhone cases we see everywhere. Just think of it as the ultimate and impenetrable condom for your iPhone.

Buy for $95 from EXOVault

We get a lot of press releases here at StuffGeeksWant. So many of them are written like a product brochure and it’s our tough job to break them down into easy-to-understand language for you, our loyal readers. Case in point…the much talked about Tech 21 iBand iPhone case.

It’s made with d30, “a specially engineered material made with intelligent molecules.” (Translation…it’s spongy silicon rubber that becomes strong as steel when it’s impacted.) “They flow with the product but upon shock, lock together to absorb the impact energy.” (Translation…your iPhone ‘takes a licking and keeps on ringing’.)

It fits only the iPhone 3G and 3GS models, but we can attest to the unique toughness of this case. It wraps around the edges of the iPhone, and doesn’t cover the back or front, so it won’t protect from scratches. Its raised edges might help by elevating the phone off surfaces slightly.

It’s got a “unique slimline design that complements your iPhone 3G.” (Translation: It looks good to the Ladies.)

Well worth the investment compared to many so-called ‘tough iPhone cases’.

Buy for $29 from Amazon

With new studies showing those who text while driving are 23 times more likely to cause a crash than a non-texting driver and rumblings that a federal law banning the practice is imminent, the demand for Bluetooth in-car speakerphones will no doubt pick up. But there are two problems: (1) most of them sound like crap and (2) well, YOU sound like crap to the person you’re talking to.

Maybe, just maybe, Jabra’s new offering – the Cruiser – might be the answer to everything. It’s the first speakerphone to use ‘Dual Microphone’ technology that Jabra claims eliminates background noise and cancels out any echo (really?!). There’s also ‘Voice Announcements’ where the speakerphone will access the address book to speak the name of the caller, or read the number aloud if it’s not in your contacts.



The Jabra Cruiser can also play MP3s stored on a mobile through the speakerphone, and through the car stereo using its built-in FM transmitter. When a call comes in, it will auto fade then mute the music.

Jabra says battery life is about 14 hours of talk time and up to 300 hours of standby time.

Oh, read elsewhere it’s not available in the states and no one knows when? Stick with us folks. It’s available.

Buy for $100 from Amazon

We’ve seen a plethora of great iPhone accessories for the car, but few for cycling lovers. Well, Dahon (the makers of great folding bicycles) has come up with an iPhone mount that uses your pedal power to charge the iPhone as you go.

It’s the iPhone Bike Mount with ReeCharge. The company’s new BioLogic bike mount for iPhone and iPod touch completely encases the phone in a waterproof shell. Unlike most traditional waterproof enclosures the BioLogic has a welded touch-sensitive membrane for a front panel, which allows the phone to be used even when encased. The mount allows the case to be pivoted 360-degrees for use in either portrait or landscape mode.

Coolest feature: The ReeCharge system (formerly FreeCharge), which pulls power from a bike’s generator hub to charge not only the iPhone, but other electronic devices.

It’ll be out next January (bad timing to miss the holiday buying season) for $59.

Are you a ‘sound snob’? Looking for the perfect sound? This is about as close as you’re going to get to in-the-ear bliss…the Turbine Pro In-Ear Speakers.

The Turbine Pro headphones are shaped like the original Turbines. However, that’s where the similarities end: the Pros are much more lightweight and the metal housing is available in either gold or copper plated. The base of the In-ear speakers are made of a rugged heavy duty rubberized plastic and the 3.5mm jack is gold plated to achieve optimum contact.

The Turbine Pro comes with five advanced sound Isolating eartips, each one aimed to fit every ear size. There is also cord management on the Pro cabling so that they won’t get tangled.

No, these aren’t for someone replacing their chepo iPod earbuds Apple gave you. These are for serious music lovers looking for the ultimate.

Buy for $250 from Amazon

There’s a new battery backup device for the iPhone and iPods to join the dozens of others. This is the Travel Battery Pack and Charger for iPhone and iPod touch from Kensington.

It’s got a flip-down USB connector, which means no extra cabling to carry around, and the whole getup doubles as a kickstand for hands-free viewing of movies in landscape mode.

The battery pack has a built-in dock connector on one end and a USB connection on the other for recharging. An LED battery gauge is built-in. Kensington says a full charge of the lithium-ion battery pack will provide 23 hours of music, seven hours of video or as much as five hours of talk time to an iPhone 3G. It’ll also charge the iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod mini.

Buy for $70 from Amazon

The PocketDock Line Out Mini USB adapter from SendStation is by far the smallest device on the market that transforms the Dock Connector of an iPod into a mini USB port and line-level audio output port.

The palm-sized adapter can be used anywhere to (1) charge your iPod via the mini USB port and (2) crank audio out to any device via the line-level audio output port. There are two great advantages to the line-level audio output port: It lets you to easily connect to your home or car stereo or DJ equipment and line out consumes slightly less power, resulting in longer iPod/iPhone battery life.

Think of the PocketDock Line Out Mini USB adapter this way…it’s one less cable to have to carry around.

Buy for $30 from Amazon

Altec Lansing has announced the latest addition of its inMotion family – the iMT620 inMotion Classic – and it’s getting some early accolades for good quality and advanced thinking.

It’s a portable music system designed for the iPod and iPhone. It features a built-in FM radio tuner with four station pre-sets, built-in carrying handle (which few have), an LCD display that shows source, song and artist info, a handy remote that clips on the back for easy storage, a rechargeable battery with a five hour life and the ability to charge the handset while you listen.

Various early reviews we’ve seen sing this portable boom boxes praises: from great sound via its digital processing and twin three-inch drivers, to it’s clean sound with no iPhone interferance, to it’s compact size and ability to fold flat for packing.

Kudos to Altec Lansing for a great product with some ingenious thinking.

Buy for $142 from Amazon