"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
A different take on the typical Bluetooth keyboard accessory, the Brydge takes the iPad into notebook territory with its unique magnetic hinge—which, when holding up an iPad, is reminiscent of the way the lid of a MacBook Air opens—and optional built-in Bluetooth stereo speakers.
I see a problem with the hinge, though: it does not fold away neatly if you decide to put the Brydge away on its own into a bag. Why is that a problem if it is supposed to hold an iPad? Because sometimes I’ll want to use only my iPad. If it is attached to the Brydge, I’ll have to take the whole thing out and then detach the iPad from the Brydge. In this regard, I’ll prefer the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover; at least that thing is flat.
And, personally, I find the asking price—US$170 without stereo speakers, US$220 with—way too high.
And spare me the “If you want this, you should have gotten a MacBook Air” argument; the MacBook Air does not have the touchscreen, the 10-hour battery life, and the always-on 3G connectivity—no, a 3G dongle plugged into a MBA doesn’t count—that the iPad has.
So there.
I am back in the July we had spent together sitting at your playground, where sounds of the neighborhood, reminders of the reality that existed beyond the world we had bound ourselves to, played out over our conversations like a soundtrack to the film that had played only in our heads.
Watch this space.
iMockups for iPad is a great app to rapidly build website layouts.
Sketching out my thoughts, something I used to do in the past.
Too many of them clanging in my head.
An unusual sight I saw on the way back from lunch.
Cylindrical.
Gordy’s Vertical Camera Neck Strap
The problem I have with most other camera straps of this type is that the end that attaches to a camera’s tripod screw mount is almost always bulky and over-engineered.
This one is simple and unobtrusive. And it’s even better on my Sony NEX-5N because its tripod mount is on the opposite side of the camera grip, which means this strap won’t get in the way when I grab the camera to take a shot.
It’ll be my turn next.
Philips Fidelio SoundRing DS3881 Wireless Speaker with AirPlay
Philips, never known for their audio products despite being a co-creator of the Compact Disc, has been making small quiet waves with their audio products of recent years—rumor has it that Philips now subcontracts the design of its audio products to a third party. I was pleasantly surprised by the fullness of the sound from the affordable Philips DS1100 Docking Speaker I bought a year ago on a lark.
Apart from the beautifully minimalistic design, which is reminiscent of Bang & Olufsen’s or Bowers & Wilkin’s, I’m especially interested in this speaker because it has AirPlay. I’ve had nothing but a fantastic experience with AirPlay ever since hooking up my Apple TV to a Sony LCD TV, and I’ll write about this experience in a separate post soon.
If you don’t intend to use the SoundRing with AirPlay, it has a internal rechargeable battery that lasts up to eight hours, and, for non-Apple product owners, has Aux In for connecting any media player with a 3.5mm audio jack.
The tradition I got going in my first Project 365 four years ago was to make a camera-related purchase every 100 days.
Alas, this Canon EOS 5D Mark III isn’t mine; it’s a review unit from Canon Singapore, mine for four days only.
Pieces of Japan.
Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad 2 & 3
A Bluetooth keyboard that is thinner than anything out there on the market today and snaps, Smart Cover-like, onto an iPad for stowing. What’s not to like? Well, maybe the glossy piano black finish; I can see this being a fingerprint magnet.
Still, I can’t wait to upgrade from the Logitech Keyboard Case for iPad 2 by ZAGG that I’m currently using.
About
34, male and very Cancerian. Often irascible, even if he is prescient to his emotions. Lives for the resonance of beautiful passages, cinematic magic and aural bliss. Dabbles in fiction writing, photography, sketching and daydreaming in his free time, even though he is paid to do just those in a professional capacity.
He is, in other words, quite a geek.
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