Scosche kickBACK S iPhone 3G/3GS case - Review

kickBACK S By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla Every once in a while an accessory comes along that makes you think, "well, that makes sense, why didn't they just build that in?" One such accessory is the Scosche kickBACK S HyBrid case for iPhone 3G/3GS. Scosche The kickBACK S HyBrid case is a slim line case that acts as armor without adding much bulk to an iPhone 3G or 3GS (same chassis, different guts). Made of plastic and rubber in all the right places, it offers fairly good protection for your expensive and otherwise naked device. The kickBACK S also sports a tripod of non-slip protruding nubs on the back, so your phone doesn't skitter about when you plop it down flat. Front side, the rubber bumper is slightly raised around the periphery so you can also place your iPhone face-down on a flat surface without worry of scratching the screen, which remains unprotected (and touchable). The snug fitting housing has openings for the iPhone's headphone jack and the charge/synch port. Oddly, the kickBACK S intentionally covers the sleep/wake and volume buttons - as protection, according to Scosche, though likely a structural consideration inherent with its design. No matter, you can push through the rubber to activate the covered nibs at any rate. If you have and iPhone dock, note that the added girth of the kickBACK S, though modest, is just enough to make a no go zone out of such cradles. Of course, the kickBACK's real kicker is its kickstand, a hinged plastic support that will prop your iPhone horizontal and slightly angled when needed, snap in flush with the housing when not. Though the iPhone 3G/3GS is a great media player, especially useful for watching videos on long commutes or flights, it's a hassle when you have to hold the thing the whole time. The kickBACK S HyBrid solves this problem, obviously, as a hands-free prop. However, the kickstand does not lock into place when fully extended, so an overzealous tap on "pause" button (or whatever) can topple the whole kit and caboodle. Aside from that little shortcoming, the kickBACK S is well-designed; there's no denying its on-the-go usefulness making for a free standing video player, juke box, or even a bedside alarm clock (with certain apps) that you can actually look at without rummaging around the nightstand to find the thing. As a two-in-one product - i.e. a protective case and iPhone stand - Scosche's kickBACK S is a pretty good deal, priced in and around the going rate for comparable iPhone wraps that sometimes only do half as much. Currently available in the US in four combo flavors, black/black, pink/white, white/grey and clear/black, the kickBACK S is also expected in Canada "soon."

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Pentax K-x DSLR brings HD video recording to the masses

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla PentaxK-X Pentax K-x DSLR brings HD video recording to the masses New Digital SLR camera brings HD movie recording, high-speed continuous shooting, and user-friendly operation in affordable, lightweight chassis. Pentax may not be the first name that comes to mind when it comes to starting market trends or innovations, but its newly announced K-x DSLR camera is challenging that perception by bringing DSLR HD recording to the great unwashed. Coming in October, the new Pentax K-x features a 12.4-megapixel sensor, Live View with fast face detection for up to 16 faces and 1280 x 270 pixel HDTV movie recording at 24 frames per second (which gives recordings a more film-like quality and is the standard frame rate for motion pictures). What's more, this camera shoots 4.7 images per second and offers an 11-point sensor and in-body shake reduction, making it capable of shooting action and sports photography, just like pro and enthusiast cameras costing up to three times more. In fact, compared to other cameras in this space, The Pentax K-x looks to take the oxymoron out of "High-Performance Entry-Class" with base model pricing starting at US$649, C$699. Movie quality HD recording was introduced in DSLR cameras last year, but shutterbugs who wanted HD video capabilities on a 12 megapixel DSLR at "consumer friendly prices" had to choose between scant offerings in Nikon's $900 D5000, or Canon's more recent $1,000 T1i. In North America, Pentax will offer the K-x in classic black but also red, navy, or white to position it as a fashion or lifestyle product. The K-x also looks to push the power efficiency envelop as it's to take 1,900 images on four AA-size lithium batteries.

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Alienware unleashes world's most powerful laptop... so far

The Beast Unleashed - AlienwareBy Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla If you've $5k kicking around, has Dell got a deal for you: The Alienware M15x high-performance game system for your lap. Dell division Alienware recently updated its M15x line of high-performance gaming laptops, now with three flavors packing Intel's fierce Core i7 mobile processor in 1.6Ghz (2.8GHz turbo mode), 1.73GHz (3.06GHz turbo mode) and 2.0GHz (3.2GHz turbo mode) configurations. These monsters offer high-end, desktop class performance but in a 15. 6-inch notebook form factor, making them the most powerful laptops on the market today - or, the performance PC market being what it is, "at the moment" would be more precise. Interestingly, while common laptops usually try for smaller and lighter, M15x is in a class of its own, evident in every aspect of its design, which is heck-bent on gaming and processor intensive tasks. Its large, vented case is designed for optimum air ventilation to facilitate the cooling requirements of central and graphics processors. The "Anti-Netbook," as it were. The first laptop to offer Intel's high end mobile processors, the M15x starts at $1700 and offers a range of pre-built and customization options, including up to 8GB RAM, 250GB SSD drive, a 9 cell extended battery, 2.0 megapixel webcam, Blu-Ray optical drive and a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX video card. A fully configured, all options in, maxed-out M15x tallies up to well over $5,000.00 - before taxes. The price tag isn't the only that's heavy about the Alienware M15x; the laptop itself weighs 9 lbs. Certainly a heavyweight in more ways than one, but for hardcore gamers, the M15x is the most uncompromising yet portable piece of hardware that money can buy... at the moment.

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Countdown to Palm Pre in Canada

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla Bell's big play in the smartphone space, the Palm Pre is days away from shipping in Canada and it will be very interesting to see how this will play out. For Palm, its their major move to reclaim space in the smartphone arena they defined and at one point ruled with their Treo series which ended up running Windows Mobile as an OS because Palm's own OS was sadly lacking. Now with the new WebOS, its possible that Palm will rise from the ashes and once more dominate the smartphone market. Bell's a Ringing For Bell, the Palm Pre, represents its first major non-BlackBerry smartphone OS and direct competitor to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android handsets which have been visible since their respective launches from rival Rogers. We are awaiting the arrival of our Palm Pre and will put it through its paces. We look forward to reviewing WebOS, the Pre apps and and how the device works the day to day environment.

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