The OC Technophile

The MiliSkin at Richardsolo.com. Interesting

David Amodt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:02:45 +0000

The battle of external batteries and iPhone sleeves has picked up from one to many different versions. Brands such as Mophie, Case Mate, and others have developed iPhone cases that hold your phone and charge it at the same time. Now it looks like Richardsolo.com has the Mili Power Skin now available on their site at $69.95. We’ve had the chance to review several products from Richardsolo over time and their thinnest iPhone charger to date looks very promising. If you’re looking for a new iPhone charger/cover, check it out. If they pass along a review unit, we’ll be sure to get a review up soon.

New Into The OC Technophile: Redeye Universal Remote

David Amodt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:53:28 +0000

Into the OC Technophile’s offices this week is an arrival from Thinkflood called the Redeye Universal Remote control. It’s the all in one remote for all of your technical and home theatre gadgets via your iPhone or iPod Touch. We’ll have a review up this week, but here’s a picture to get you ready…

Review: The Aviiq Portable Laptop Stand. A Coffee House Companion.

David Amodt — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:49:56 +0000

We had this typed up a long time ago and it got stuck in our Wordpress cache for a while and never made it up. We received the Aviiq Portable Laptop Stand to review and what a beautiful and lifesaving device this becomes once you use it. It’s a very simple laptop stand but what stands it apart from any other, is that is folds up within 4 aluminum sheets and can be put in a backpack or laptop bag. It supports up to a 17″ laptop and supports it with ease. We had the chance to test it at various places including the office, various Starbucks locations, and libraries. Just take it out, unfold the stand, put the tiny hinges in their spots, and there you go, a perfect laptop stand. Did we say its light? It’s only 5.5oz.

Best of all within 10 seconds of taking it out of your bag, you can have a stand to support ergonomic comforts when typing. What also stands apart, is that Aviiq is a local Costa Mesa company here in Orange County. When a local company makes a product so perfectly, it’s truly great to use it and to review it.

You can pick it up today at aviiq.com for $79.95. Grab one of these if you have been looking for a perfect laptop stand for a while and want one that will last you a lifetime.

Sister site ipadfanboy.com has launched

David Amodt — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:11:23 +0000

We’ve launched a new dedicated Apple ipad fansite over at www.ipadfanboy.com. It’ll contain daily iPad news and updates. Check it out and let us know your feedback. Thanks

Where’s Skype for the iPhone 3GS?

David Amodt — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 08:00:52 +0000

So we’ve been waiting a while for the latest release of the Skype app on the iPhone 3G and 3GS and no update isn’t a promising thing. Since AT&T has allowed VOIP apps to use the 3G spectrum, several have popped up including iCall, Fring, and a few others, but the biggest one on the block, Skype hasn’t updated their app to include this functionality. The latest blog and news releases state it’s coming soon. But wouldn’t you expect that Skype has had this updated functionality built into the app or waiting to release it for a while now? Skype’s latest signings with Verizon make the AT&T relationship seem a little distrusting. Does Skype cozy up with both AT&T and Verizon, or just Verizon? Time will tell, but we’d like to see the update sooner than later.

Droid Getting 2.1 Android Update This Week

David Amodt — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:44:13 +0000

From a number of online sources, Motorola has confirmed that the Droid will be getting the Android 2.1 update this week via an OTA download. Enhancements including multitouch, widgets, enhancements to the virtual keyboard, and a music organizer will make the Droid that much better. Stay tuned and watch your Droid for the update. If you get yours, let us know in the comments.

Blackberry 9700 Review

David Amodt — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:35:09 +0000

Blackberry is constantly updating their lineup of phones and most recently updated their Bold line of phones with the Blackberry Bold 9700. If you’ve ever used the Bold line, the 9000 was the most recent of the line. It was a little larger than the current phone but proved it could handle anything thrown at it and had a strong battery life as well. The 9700 contains updated software, a smaller device factor, and proves that smaller things do come in better packages. No longer do you have the trackball but now have a trackpad which makes navigating the interface so much better. The 9700 also contains a longer battery life than most Blackberry units and has lasted us well through the day with multiple options open at the same time. The email interface remains the same as does the browser, but an upcoming browser update is in the words according to those in the know.

Overall, we’d highly recommend the newest addition in the Blackberry lineup as they’ve kicked it up a notch, to quote the celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. Sturdy, productive, and a professionals dream equal a great product. Grab it from AT&T today for $199 with a 2 year contract.

Mobile iPhone Credit Card Processors

David Amodt — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 01:29:11 +0000

The iPhone is one of the hottest selling mobile devices in the world and the business uses for such a phone are only growing. Being able to remotely accept credit cards from trade shows or fairs is increasingly a popular trend. Say you are a plumber who goes to a customers home for work and you want to charge them on the spot. Now, two new devices for the iPhone have hit the market. Marked from Square and Verifone are such techie toys. Square (www.squareup.com), doesn’t require a merchant account and plugs into the bottom of the iPhone 3G and 3GS. Just swipe the card, have the customer sign the phone’s pad, and email the receipt. That simple. The other main player in this niche market is the giant Verifone. In the past month, they have come up with a Payware Mobile product which fits onto the iPhone as a sleeve and lets anyone with a merchant account to accept credit cards. Via an iPhone app, it allows you to magically transform the iPhone into a mobile terminal and allow you to charge customer’s instantly.

The main differences in these products is that Square doesn’t require you to have a merchant account, whereas the Verifone product does. Size is also a major factor as the Square product is just a small square that dangles from the bottom of the iPhone and the Verifone product is a sleeve that fits the phone much like the Mophie Air Juice pack.

Have you tried any of these? Let us know in the comments.

The Apple Frenzy Has Hit The Comics

David Amodt — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:16:31 +0000

Courtesy of cwob.com and Andy Ihnakto’s twitter link, it appears as the Apple tablet frenzy has entered the comic world. Read and Enjoy.

Is it the iPad? the iSlate? We’ll See Wednesday

David Amodt — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:15:59 +0000

Apple’s new iPad, iSlate, or tablet device is all the rage across the internet. No one knows what Apple will call this mysterious internet device, but rumors of ipad and islate have circled the net. The NY Times and WSJ have reported and leaked various rumors, but on Wednesday, we’ll see what the truth reveals from Steve Jobs. What do you think? iPad, iSlate?