Despite the overwhelmingly digital nature of my life these days, I am still in love with paper and pens. Granted, I don’t get to use them as often as I used to when I was in school but I still enjoy a well-balanced pen that writes smoothly and crisply and a fresh pad of paper. To satisfy this need, I have a Moleskine notebook and a Pilot Hi-Tec-C pen and I try to keep them close to me wherever I go to jot down quick notes and thoughts. However, keeping a pen with that notebook has always proven to be harder than I thought, at least until now.

I came across the Quiver, a product by Quiver Global thanks to The Gadgeteer. It’s an elastic and leather contraption that attaches to a hardcover notebook and holds a pen or two for you. The single-pen version slips over the spine of your notebook and the double-pen version slips over the front cover. Though I only wanted a single-pen holder, I didn’t want that version interfering with my ability to keep the notebook open and write in it, so I opted for the double-pen version since that slides on over the front cover instead of the spine.

The picture above shows what it looks like on my 5-inch by 8.25-inch Moleskine notebook (a Le Petit Prince limited edition version that I purchased through Amazon).

I find that it works very well and doesn’t interfere much at all with my ability to write in the notebook. I use my notebook to jot down to do lists, outline projects and sometimes a little poem or bit of prose here and there. When I leave the house, the notebook almost always goes with me if I’m carrying a messenger bag and/or my laptop.

You can order the Quiver from Amazon here or directly from the company’s own online store here. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions at all about it.

The version of the Quiver I have fits notebooks with covers between 8 inches and 9.25 inches tall. It does not fit the Morris Lessmore Dodocase for the iPad that I reviewed recently, in case you were wondering (its cover is 10 inches tall).

Given how little I use pens these days, my pen collection is very lackluster at the moment. However, I do have a unique stainless steel pen with a neat holder and a Hi Tec C cartridge heading my way eventually thanks to Kickstarter. I backed the Pen Type-A back in September and they’ve been having trouble with fabrication so delivery is taking far longer than expected (which seems to be normal for every Kickstarter project I’ve backed to date) but I’m looking forward to receiving that. I’ll definitely post about that when I receive it since it’s a unique item not yet available anywhere else.

I’m in Arizona visiting family, which is why I haven’t posted anything here recently. We’re doing the tourist thing and visited the Grand Canyon, the red rocks of Sedona, and Montezuma Castle. I’ve only passed through Phoenix before on connecting flights and this is my first time actually spending time in Arizona and it’s been a great trip so far.

I’ve posted some pictures using Instagram – you can see my Instagram gallery in the sidebar on the right or follow me on Instagram using the iPhone app (my user name is marianne). Chris and I plan to record a podcast episode when I get back home this week and I hope to get back into my routine more quickly than I did following the trips I took earlier this year. Next up on my review list are the Capta, as mentioned in my Dodocase review, and the Just Mobile Xtand Go for the iPhone 4/4S. The Capta is a stand/tripod mount accessory for smartphones that was provided to me courtesy of BiteMyApple.co and the Xtand Go is an in-car mount for the iPhone, provided courtesy of Just Mobile.

At any rate, episode 58 of the podcast I co-host with Chris Meinck is now available in iTunes. In it, Chris and I talk about iPhone 5 rumors that have cropped up recently, including those about some Liquid Metal components it could contain (a brand name that always makes me think of  Terminator 2 and Robert Patrick impersonating a cop and chasing Sarah Connor) and what is claimed to be the next home button for the upcoming iPhone model. We also talked briefly about Apple’s quarterly results for Q2 2012, which were phenomenal as usual.

Also on our agenda was the latest teaser video from Samsung for the next Galaxy S phone in which the company essentially calls iPhone users sheep (you can see that video here). While I’m not personally offended to an extent to be really bothered by this, I do find it puzzling and worrisome that Samsung’s marketing folks think that making fun of the people you want to buy your product is a good thing. I can’t think that “mock your potential customers” is taught in any marketing class. At the very least, Samsung has turned me off from considering their Galaxy products by this alone.

My Teh Awesome for the week was the eBay app for the iPhone. Though it’s been around for a while, it’s an app that I use almost daily to browse for yet more gadgets, accessories and designer bags (my one girly indulgence) to buy and to keep an eye on the items I put up for auction to make room for new acquisitions. Chris’s Teh Awesome was the SmartFuel iPhone app that helps you find the best gas prices nearby to save a little money when you fill up your tank.

We have not yet recorded an episode for this week but we should squeeze one in within the next few days before I head out of town for a trip early next week. Once that episode is available, my plan is to post about when it’s in iTunes in a more timely manner.

The Morris Lessmore case, which costs $64.95, was made in partnership with Moonbot Studios in honor of the Oscar-winning animated short film, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. (You can buy the short film directly from the iTunes Store here and there’s also an interactive iPad book app for it here.)

The case looks and feels just like a hardcover book on the outside and is made by hand using traditional bookbinding techniques. The exterior of this particular model (DODOcase offers several different models with different materials and color combinations) is faux red leather and it has a cream linen cloth interior. As with all of DODOcase’s cases, it has a bamboo frame on the inside to hold the iPad, with rubber pads in the corner to grip it and cushion it within the frame.

Here’s my video review of it:

DODOcase has made improvements since the original version I owned for the first-generation iPad (you can see my review of that version here on my old site) – the iPad is very secure in the frame and the rubber pads are solidly stuck to the frame, which was not quite the case with the first case I had from them a couple of years ago.

I know my video reviews can be very, uh, thorough, so here are the pros and cons in case it’s TL;DR for you:

Pros:

• Sturdy and well-made
• Lovely, looks just like a book
• Excellent iPad camouflage
• Holds iPad securely but not so tightly that it’s too difficult to remove

Cons:

• Expensive
• Hard to stand up in landscape orientation on slick surfaces

If you’re looking for a high-quality, well-made case for your iPad, I definitely recommend DODOcase’s products. Though it’s a bit expensive, the Morris Lessmore DODOcase is both pleasing to look at and use and holds and protects the iPad well. It’s compatible with both the iPad 3 and the iPad 2 and can be purchased directly from DODOcase here.

I recorded this video with my iPhone 4S and a neat stand/tripod mount accessory called the Capta, provided by BiteMyApple.co. You can see more information about the Capta here and it’s next on my review list.

Related reviews:
Treegloo case for the iPad 2
Portenzo case for the iPad 1

We also talked about a couple legal issues Apple’s involved with, namely the Lodsys patent suit and a recent decision that allows Apple to intervene a bit in this suit on behalf of developers, and Apple’s response to the Department of Justice about the claims that Apple colluded with book publishers to set ebook prices.

My Teh Awesome of the week was Osfoora, a Twitter app for the Mac. I think I may have mentioned Osfoora for the iPhone and iPad in a previous episode but a recent update to the Mac app added Tweet Marker, a service that keeps your timeline position in sync across apps that also use this service, regardless of platform. Since I read Twitter on a variety of devices, this feature is incredibly useful for me. (On the iPhone and iPad, I use Tweetbot, which also makes use of Tweet Marker.)

Chris’s Teh Awesome was iTunes Match. He did a walkthrough of how to set up this service and he is very happy with how it lets him access his entire library from anywhere and lets you replace music you’ve ripped at a low quality with a higher-quality version from Apple. I also subscribe to iTunes Match and I’ve been pretty happy with it as well.

Chris and I talked about the Department of Justice’s charge against Apple and book publishers, some recent rumblings about iTunes and a possible overhaul Apple may be doing, speculation on a 4-inch screen in the next iPhone model, an unfortunate Chinese teenager who sold a kidney in order to buy an iPhone and iPad, and more.

We had a suggestion from listener Jon of Awesome Apps about how iOS developers can help each other get exposure in the App Store, which we talked about at great length. I took this as an opportunity to revisit some of the points I covered in my tips for app developers on how to get an app reviewed from a major review site, an article which I admit has a bit of a snarky tone but is still meant to be helpful to developers.

My Teh Awesome of the week was the SGP Steinheil Ultra Fine screen protector for the iPad 3, which I blogged about recently. It’s a fantastic screen protector that cuts down on glare and fingerprints and I highly recommend it. Chris’s Teh Awesome was the Clear to do app for the iPhone. I have Clear as well and it’s a lovely app to use (and I reviewed it for my day job here) and it’s a great choice if your to do list needs are simple and straightforward.

We did record a new episode a few days ago but it’s not yet available in iTunes. I’ll post about it when it is. Remember that if you have a question or comment for us, you can submit it to us by voicemail at (646) 820-3431 or via email at podcast@everythingicafe.com. Your question will be played or read on the air and we’ll be happy to answer it as best as we can.

I don’t know how you non-screen-protector-using folks deal with the constant fingerprints. Even if I wipe it down every day I use it, it’s still too much. My OCD tendencies must be too great to cope with a naked iPad screen.

So, as with my iPhone 4S, I ordered an SGP Steinheil Ultra Fine screen protector for it, which arrived today. I’ve installed it and it’s every bit as fantastic as the version on my iPhone 4S. If you’re looking for an anti-glare screen protector, I definitely recommend this one. You can find it on Amazon here.

(SGP also makes an Ultra Optics version which I had for the iPad 2. I prefer the Ultra Fine version over that one, in case you’re choosing between the two. The Ultra Optics version may offer a tiny bit more clarity but it has a noticeable texture under your finger compared to the Ultra Fine version. Also, the Ultra Optics version collects fingerprints a little more than the Ultra Fine version, though it’s not nearly as bad as a naked screen, of course.)

Chris and I talked about a wide range of topics this week, including the selection of Ashton Kutcher to play a young Steve Jobs in an upcoming movie, rumors about the timing of the release of the next iPhone model, Consumer Reports and its recommendation of the 3rd-generation iPad and more. We also talked a lot about the Nokia Lumia, which is supposed to be Nokia’s new flagship smartphone. You’ll need to listen the podcast to see how we got off onto that tangent.

Chris’s Teh Awesome this week was OMGPOP’s Draw Something app, an iPhone/iPad game that’s like remote pictionary where you guess the drawings of your opponent and they attempt to guess yours. My Teh Awesome was Scrivener, a fairly heavy duty Mac app for writers that will help you craft that novel or screenplay with ease. It’s not cheap at $44.99 but it’s been a great help so far with my first novel, which had gotten long enough to be too hard to work with as a simple text document.

I neglected to blog about episode 54 of the show when it was released last week. That’s also available in iTunes if you want to take a small step backward in time to hear me and Chris talk about more about the 3rd-generation iPad, Apple’s problems with an Australian consumer watchdog organization over its 4G label for the new iPad, and some surveys that yielded interesting statistics about Apple products and Siri on the iPhone 4S. My Teh Awesome in that episode was the Morris Lessmore Dodocase for the iPad 2/3 that I recently got for my new iPad.

Image courtesy of Acme Made

I’ve always loved the look and feel of Apple’s aluminum laptops and while they’re pretty sturdy, they’re not immune to scratches and dents, even when they’re carried inside another bag. Though I have several laptop bags with dedicated compartments, my 11-inch MacBook Air is small enough that it can fit into other bags I have that lack a dedicated space for a laptop. For these bags, I wanted a slim yet protective sleeve for my MacBook Air and chose the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve.

There are ton of sleeves out there for the MacBook Air but the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve caught my eye for a few reasons. First, it has some additional reinforcement built into walls of the sleeve to provide even more protection against dents. Second, it’s a very slim, low-profile sleeve that adds little bulk to the already-thin MacBook Air. Third, though I’m not the kind of girl who’s drawn to pretty colors, I really liked the dark eggplant color available as a nice alternative from the black cases and bags I usually buy.

So far, the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve is definitely living up to my expectations and is keeping my MacBook Air protected, all while looking sleek and professional in the process and I have only a few tiny gripes about it. Read on or watch my video review after the break to find out more.

Materials

The Skinny Sleeve is made of what Acme Made calls StretchShell neoprene. Unlike other neoprene sleeves I’ve seen before (I last had a neoprene Incase sleeve for the 13-inch MacBook Air I used to have – you can read my review of it on my old site here), the Skinny Sleeve has a smooth texture that makes it feel like rubber. Acme says it’s water and stain resistant. In daily use it feels more resilient than regular neoprene with a surface that’s easier to wipe off and that won’t get snagged or fray.

Instead of a zipper, the Skinny Sleeve has an elastic strap to hold it closed and keep the MacBook Air inside. However, I’ve found that the sleeve is snug enough that my MacBook Air does not slide out by itself, even when shaken vigorously, so the elastic strap feels a little superfluous.

The inside of the sleeve is lined with a softer fabric that won’t scratch your computer. And just inside this lining, you can feel the thin plastic inserts that provide the dent protection I mentioned. Acme Made doesn’t state this specifically, but these plastic inserts feel like they’re a millimeter or so thick. While they won’t protect the MacBook Air from a significant drop or a really hard thump against the corner of a desk, they should offer some protection from more minor bumps. And this brings me to my first minor gripe about the sleeve. These plastic inserts are right underneath the thin liner fabric and they can be easily shifted around and the edges can even be forced against the liner. Over time and with a lot of use, it’s possible these could wear right through the thin liner, though at the rate I’m using this case (a few times a week, on average), I think that would take a very long time.

Using the case

The Skinny Sleeve is made to accommodate the MacBook Air inserted thin-edge first (with the stem of the Apple logo pointing into the sleeve as you insert it). To fully insert the laptop into the sleeve, I find that I need to push down on the hinge side a bit since the sleeve is pretty snug. Once fully inserted, all you need to do is stretch the elastic around it to “close” it and you’re done.

I find the sleeve to be grippy enough that it’s easy to pull out of my bag. And the sleeve is cushioned enough that I have not worried about my MacBook Air inside it in any of my computer-specific or regular bags.

Removing the MacBook Air takes a bit of effort with both hands to reach in and get a good enough grip on the MacBook Air to pull it out and to hold the case steady. However, I don’t mind this at all since I’d rather have a snug sleeve than a loose one any day.

The Skinny Sleeve costs $39.99 (the price is the same for all versions for the different Apple laptop models), which feels a little too expensive for such a simple sleeve, especially for the version for the 11-inch MacBook Air that requires less material than the versions for the larger laptops. I got a slight discount on mine that brought it down to $35 shipped, which felt a little more reasonable.

Summary

Pros:

• Smooth neoprene feels durable
• Thin yet still protective and stylish

Cons:

• Thin plastic inserts *could* wear through inner lining over time
• Price is a little higher than expected for a simple sleeve, especially for 11-inch MacBook Air version

You can find the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve that I have on Amazon here or at Acme Made’s site here.

Chris and I both received 3rd-generation iPads on release day and while we both like it, I am more of a fan of Apple’s latest tablet than Chris, who doesn’t feel like it’s a significant upgrade from the iPad 2. Listen in to hear us disagree on how phenomenal the new iPad is.

We also talked about the claims of the new iPad overheating, which I think is poppycock and a non-issue (I only noticed a small portion of my iPad 3 getting warm after looking for it because of the flood of news items about this supposed issue).

After spending a good chunk of time talking about the iPad 3, we also talked about Apple’s recent announcement that they would begin offering a dividend to shareholders an a share repurchase program. And, we also talked about This American Life, the podcast that featured Mike Daisy and his supposed exposé of Foxconn and its poor working conditions and practices. It turns out that Daisy fabricated and exaggerated much of this information and This American Life officially retracted that episode. I was bothered by this because I had believed Daisy’s account of his trip to China and while I still believe that many of the things he described are happening somewhere at Foxconn and other manufacturers of Apple products (and those of many other American companies) and it’s disappointing to hear this was exaggerated to make it a more entertaining story to hear.

Chris’s Teh Awesome of the week was Adsense Zen, a handy iPhone app that lets you access your Google Adsense account on the go. My Teh Awesome was the iPad 3, of course. I’m really happy with it and love the retina display.

If you’re wondering about the title of this episode, this is Chris making fun of me for my treadmill desk. I also think it’s also in retaliation for my suggestion during the podcast that he go to the gym more often so the extra weight of the new iPad doesn’t bother him so much.

Join us next Tuesday for the live broadcast/recording of episode 54 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern at everythingicafe.com/live!