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

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

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 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

If it’s fairly often—like many people—check out Case-Mate’s iPhone 3G/3GS ID Credit Card Case.

This slim, attractive case features a slot in the back that can store 2 credit card sized items of your choice, and it only makes the case 2.5mm thicker.

Rejoice! You just cut the odds of losing your wallet or iPhone by 50%.

Buy for $30 from Case-Mate

UPDATE: Amazon has now added the 5th generation iPod nano’s for order. Because there are nine colors and two sizes, we won’t link to each one at the end of this article, but you’ll find a pull-down menu on each Amazon page to change to a different color.

iPod sales are falling for Apple as more people buy the iPhone/iPod touch. Little wonder why Apple released a new iPod nano 5th generation today with a built-in video camera and FM radio.

The new iPod nano comes in nine vibrant colors (silver, black, purple, pink, blue, green, orange, yellow, and Product Red) ships in 8 gigabyte and 16GB capacities (priced at $149 and $180 respectively), and bears a camera and external microphone mounted on the back for video and voice recording.

It also features a larger 2.2-inch color display, a built-in FM radio with 15 minute pause and record buffer, and a built-in pedometer. In terms of video, it shoots 640-by-480 H.264 video in portrait or landscape mode (no HD…bummer).

Buy the 8GB for $149 from Amazon

Buy the 16GB for $180 from Amazon

We say it around here all the time, but it’s often very true…the simplest things are the most effective things. This is another of them…the MovieWedge.

It’s a bean bag for your iPhone, iPod touch, Sony PSP, Microsoft’s Zune, Blackberry Storm…you get the idea. Do I really need to explain how this works? It holds your device in place on uneven and unsteady surfaces, gives you variable viewing angles, and it’s got a soft microsuede covering that blankets your precious little device in comfort. Oh, you can also use the microsuede for wiping the screen.

Buy for $11 from Amazon

The new Jawbone Prime features Personal NoiseAssassin 2.0 technology, for even better noise-reduction than its predecessors. Now you can carry on a conversation even with a fire truck wailing in the background.

And it’s dead sexy, so you won’t look like a cyborg or a blinking lighthouse.

Buy for $99.99 via Amazon
or $94.99 from NewEgg

It’s got an in-built, digital, 50-watt amplifier, down-firing 8-inch woofer, and four, three-inch, omni-directional drivers. You can plug it in with the 240V power cord, or use the rechargeable 12V NiMh battery and external charging kit.

My brother-in-law has two of these on his outdoor deck. You can set one up to feed both channels, or like him, have one for left and one for right. It receives its signal from up to 350 feet away via one of two different transmitters – the ICT-111 with a iPod dock (as shown in the photo), or the brand new UAT250US that connects to your standard DVD player, AV receiver and CD changer as well as to your PC via USB. You can then transmit music from iTunes, RealPlayer, MusicMatch, Windows MediaPlayer and many more. The only bummer on this speaker is the transmitter comes separately.

The Outcast Junior is made from UV stabilized, ABS plastic and can stand some pretty harsh elements. We were impressed by the sound, despite it not having a dedicated tweeter, as well as its design and battery life.

Buy for $500 from Amazon

Go read some of the in-depth reviews of this product. Depsite it’s high price, if you drive in areas with poor cell phone reception, this little baby is impressive.

Buy for $230 from Amazon

What’s different about SingStand is its unique design. The stand has a circular iPod dock in its middle and a microphone on the top. The amplifier and two speakers are at the base, with the powered, handheld, dynamic mic being connected via a 10 foot cable to the main system that’s at the base. You connect the iPod via the headphone plug, two microphone inputs as well as a guitar/keyboard line input.

Once everything is set up, you plug in any iPod, pick a tune from your library, and the ‘Auto Voice Control’ feature will filter out the original vocals so that you can do your Frank Sinatra impression over the top of any song. Oh, and if you need reverb to improve things with that concert hall sound, it’s got that too.

Buy for $83 from Amazon

So here’s an interesting solution…a floating, waterproof, wireless speaker you can use with an iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, computer, home stereo, TV, ANY audio source. It’s the PoolPOD from Audio Unlimited and it’s got a 900MHz wireless connection for up to 150 feet to a docking station where you simply plug your device via a 3.5mm or RCA output.

The sounds isn’t fantastic but hey, would do you expect for a waterproof speaker in a ball? We thought it sounded pretty good for a $72 wireless speaker that says no to water.

Buy for $72.00 from Amazon

The s4i is the first third-party headset to work with Apple’s VoiceOver feature that lets you control the iPhone through a gesture-based screen reader as well as the third-gen iPod shuffle, second-gen iPod touch, fourth-gen iPod nano and the 120GB iPod classic.

In addition, they now come with an in-line microphone and remote control for iPhones and iPod touch users to call or record audio. As with the original S4 models, the S4i set has the unusual oval ear tips that we’ve found to be more comfortable than circular tips found on other earphones.

But what might be most interesting is their new ’360-degree design’ that suppose to cancel out background noise. If it works as advertised, 99 bucks is worth it.

Buy for $99.00 from Amazon

CNET last week called HD Radio one of the decades biggest tech flops and it’s hard to argue that point. Put together the facts that radio stations failed early to make the financial investment in broadcasting equipment and HD’s creator, iBiquity, failed to mirror XM Radio’s smart move of getting sat-ready radios in cars years ago, and HD has had a tough road. That’s now changing with the first handheld HD Radio just out from Best Buy.

Made by KRI and sold by Best Buy under the Insignia brand name for just under $50, this little handheld beauty gives you regular FM stations as well as those enhanced with HD channels – which if you didn’t know are radio stations that piggyback onto an FM station and broadcast additional content like music, talk, sports and more for free, most of it commercial free.

The first thing you notice is the audio difference between analog FM and HD is dramatic. The frequency will first lock in on the analog signal and then the digital kicks in two to three seconds later with an ‘HD’ symbol confirming the station.

It’s got 10-station presets, a nice, bright, 1.5-inch LCD color screen, a 10-hour, built-in rechargeable lithium battery, an included USB cable for charging, headphones and arm band.

This unit works best outdoors depending on the signal strength of the station your listening to. It sounds great, is cheap enough and it’s lithium-battery holds an acceptable eight-hour charge in our tests.

Buy for $49.99 from Best Buy