Marianne Schultz

the musings of a geeky girl

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Geek Alert: Listen to me on the everythingiCafe podcast

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I mentioned last month that I’m co-hosting a podcast for everythingiCafe.com, a great iOS/Mac site for which I’ve written in the past. The podcasts are available through iTunes and you can subscribe here if you’d like to make sure you’ll get the latest podcasts downloaded to your computer automatically.
The podcast is also broadcast live (you can watch and listen here: http://www.everythingicafe.com/live) and it’s looking like Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. ET is when you can tune in to hear Chris Meinck, the founder of everythingiCafe.com (and several other excellent sites), and me geek out. We cover the latest Mac and iOS-related news and also do a section called “Teh Awesome” each week to talk about something cool or unique we’ve come across recently.
You can also submit questions for us to answer on the podcast by calling 646-820-3431 and leaving a message including your first name and/or your forum name. Don’t hesitate to ask us anything at all and we’ll do our best to give you an answer.

First Impressions Review: Vaja Agenda 2 Case for iPad

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As I mentioned last week, my Vaja Agenda 2 case arrived recently and I’ve now spent a few days using it. I recorded a video today going over the case and my initial impressions of it:

(A quick note on the video – I meant to say “sleep/wake switch” instead of “home button” when showing the top of the iPad in the case.)
This is one of my longer videos at just under 10 minutes (I am nothing but thorough when it comes to a $200+ accessory, it seems) and I recorded it using my iPhone 4. I actually think it looks better than the other videos I’ve shot using my husband’s Flip Mino HD and I’ll probably keep using it unless my iPhone 4 is the subject of the video, of course.
In short, I have already grown to love this Vaja case. It’s well-designed and absolutely gorgeous. It has a few minor issues and is incredibly expensive, on the other hand. So far, I’m quite glad I got this case and it is most thoroughly edging out my DODOcase as my favorite.
I do plan on writing a full review of this case after I’ve spent more time with it, so stay tuned. If there’s anything you want me to cover in the review or if you just have any questions about it in the meantime, email me at marianne@macgirl.net or use the contact form here.

Just In: Vaja Agenda 2 for iPad

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I am far too excited about this case and wanted to do a quick blog post about it. The Vaja Agenda 2 case I ordered in early August arrived today and it is absolutely fantastic. I do plan to make a first impressions video of it soon (over the weekend at this rate) so you can see more of it shortly.

Vaja Agenda 2
I ordered it in black and red. The outside is Vaja’s standard grained floater leather and the inside is a smoother red leather stamped all over with the Vaja name. Like Vaja’s iVolution line, the iPad “pops” into a leather-covered plastic frame and is held securely without anything obscuring the screen, buttons, or ports. It’s a book-style case with nothing holding the cover closed.

In terms of functionality, it’s essentially a leather version of Apple’s own iPad case. A far more expensive, luxurious, and nicer smelling version, that is. (Why is the scent of tanned dead cow skin so wonderful? There must be something wrong with me.)

Like Apple’s case, it has a tab on the back that the front cover slides into to stand it up in landscape orientation for movie watching or place it at an angle for bettering typing/viewing on a table or your lap. Unlike the Apple case, the Agenda 2 is padded and offers more protection overall without adding too much bulk. I loved the functionality of the Apple case but hated the material out of which it was made – it showed dust and lint far too easily and felt like it offered no drop protection at all. The Vaja case is looking to be a perfect, higher-quality substitute for me.

Stay tuned for my video and review coming soon!
In case you’re wondering, I still love my DODOcase. However, the Agenda 2 appears to have the features and style to unseat it as the King of iPad Cases in my small collection.

First Look: Quirky Cloak case for Apple iPad

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I’m a member of Quirky.com, a social product development community that accepts ideas from anyone and allows community members to improve product concepts and “vote” to bring them production, and this Cloak case hit my radar a few months ago. The Cloak finally started shipping within the past week and I received my Cloak case today. I do plan to do a full review of the case but wanted to post a first look video of it to give an overview of the case for those of you thinking of ordering one now that they’re available:

My first impressions of the case are both good and bad. I like the versatility of the case with its pop-out stands and the good grip and protection it offers. On the negative side, the case is very heavy at 1.2 lbs so it’s almost like holding a second iPad in your hands (the iPad itself weighs 1.5 lbs).
Check out my video above and let me know if you have any questions about the case that you’d like me to cover in the full review. If you want to go ahead and check out or buy the case on Quirky’s site, you can find it here. (Disclosure: I earn credit with Quirky for any purchases made through that link.)

Video Review: Apple Bumper Case for iPhone 4

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Though I’d actually recorded this video earlier this week, I thought today would be the perfect day to publish it. If you haven’t already heard, Apple announced today at a special press conference that they will be offering a free Bumper case (other cases from 3rd-party manufacturers will also be available to choose from) to all iPhone 4 owners in an attempt to make up for the signal reception issues many have experienced with the device’s new exterior antenna design.

I’ve been using an official Apple Bumper case for the past couple of weeks and I wanted to share my opinion of it. Overall, it’s a very minimalist case that offers little drop protection though it is quite well-designed (which is exactly what I’d expect from Apple when it comes to an accessory for their flagship portable product). In particular, I think it poses a few issues for those who use 3rd-party accessories that connect to the dock connector or headphone jack and I demonstrate my findings in this video.
I don’t think the Bumper case is quite worth $29 given how little protection it provides but you iPhone 4 owners out there won’t have to worry about that since Apple will given you one on the house (or they’ll refund you if you’ve already purchased one). Look for the details on the offer later next week on Apple’s site (I’ll also post a link here when it’s available).
I can replicate the “death grip” on my naked iPhone 4 that causes the cellular data connection to be drastically reduced. The Bumper case does indeed prevent this for me since it prevents my hand from bridging the connection between the two separate antennas that constitute the iPhone 4’s exterior metal band. Though many of you might claim that I’m an Apple apologist/fangirl for saying this, this isn’t a big issue for me. I have read warnings about holding cell phones a certain way in order to avoid “blocking” the cellular antenna in the manuals for most, if not all, of the cell phones I’ve owned before the iPhone. It is a problem faced by all cell phones with internal antennas these days and the iPhone is no different. I’ve never dropped a call because of this issue and it hasn’t impeded my use of my iPhone 4 at all.
Without further ado, here’s my video overview of the Apple Bumper case:
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