Marianne Schultz

the musings of a geeky girl

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Review: Quirky PowerCurl – a power cord organizer for your Mac laptop

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While I admire the split design of the power cord for Apple’s portable computers, they’re not the easiest to wind up neatly when you’re using both of the included cords. I find myself carrying and using both of them when I’m about and about so that I can reach power outlets that are more than 5 feet away from me and to avoid blocking an outlet that could be used by someone else with the power brick.

To solve this problem, designer Jeff Scholen created the PowerCurl, a product idea that was submitted to, refined, and created through Quirky. I helped influence the PowerCurl (a tiny, tiny bit) during the design phase and purchased one when they became available for retail sale and it has been a staple in my gear bag ever since. Read on for my review and a video overview of it in action.

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Review: Adonit’s Jot Pro Stylus for the iPad

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Image courtesy of Adonit

I’ve now spent a couple of weeks with the Jot Pro stylus and like it a lot – enough to get rid of the other styli I’ve collected over the past year and a half or so since the iPad first came out. It offers more precision than the other rounded-rubber-thing tipped styli currently on the market. And it has an ingenious hidden feature: a magnet that lets you attach it temporarily to your iPad 2 to prevent it from rolling way if you need to take a break from writing for a few moments.

The Jot Pro’s tip is metal with a clear plastic disc over it. You can see where you’re writing more easily and it writes very smoothly, feeling almost like you’re using a pen on paper.

My detailed review is now up on YouTube – it’s embedded here after the break.

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Review: Just Mobile’s Laptop Cooling Bar

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Image courtesy of Just Mobile's Flickr

Have you been looking for a highly portable way to prop up your laptop and improve its ability to cool itself while on the go?

This is a product that has actually been out for quite a while now but is still a staple in my gear bag when I travel and I even use it at home. It’s simply a bar of solid machined aluminum made by Just Mobile to prop up your laptop to allow air to circulate under it to keep it cooler, and to raise the keyboard to a more ergonomic angle for typing.

The MSRP of the cooling bar is $39.99 and you can find it on Just Mobile’s site here or on Amazon. Read on for my full review so you can determine if it’s worthy of a spot in your gear bag too.

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Review: Mas Design Replacement Titanium Back for the iPhone 4

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If you listen to the everythingiCafe podcast that I co-host or have caught a few of my blog posts here, you know that I think Apple’s decision to make the back of the iPhone 4 glass was a stupid one. I mean, really? An eminently-droppable portable device that costs at least $200 with a carrier subsidy made mostly out of glass? How was that a good decision, design aesthetics aside?
Installed 3

At any rate, I’ve been trying out metal replacement backs for my iPhone 4 almost as soon as they were available, starting with a very nice beveled one from cnn.cn that I still love. However, I found some new ones recently produced by Mas Design made out of durable and exotic titanium and simply had to try one out. Read the rest of my review after the break.

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Review: Treegloo case for the iPad 2

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Have you been looking around for a moleskine-style notebook case for your iPad 2? If so and Treegloo has been one of the cases on your list to consider, check out my video review of it.

I ordered this case in April and received it in early May and have been using it since then as my “travel” case for my iPad 2.
My review is kind of long (it’s thorough, I swear!) so if you’re not interested in watching the whole thing, you can skip through to my pros, cons, and conclusion starting at around 9 minutes and 24 seconds. Or, you can just read them right now:
Pros:
  • “Base models” fairly inexpensive (start at $35 plus shipping)
  • Handmade in USA using materials from USA
  • Wide range of customization options
  • Kinetic latch is unique and works well
  • Holds iPad snugly
  • Looks nice overall
Cons:
  • Not as neat and tightly made as Portenzo or DODOcase (corners, alignment)
  • Sleep/wake switch cut-out is very off
  • Hard to get to lock orientation/mute switch
Conclusion:
  • It’s a nice case overall but if you’re looking for very neat/tight construction go with Portenzo or DODOcase
  • I like it and have been using it without issue
  • Be patient when ordering – manufacturing takes time
You can order the cases at Treegloo’s site here: http://treegloo.com/
If you have any questions about the case, email me through my site’s Contact form.