Virtuoso Metro Stylus & Pen for Tablets
Company: Kensington
Price: $17.99 MSRP
The ease of use of touch screens on iPhones, iPads and other similar products that utilize capacitive materials that allow the user to simply touch the screen to make changes or allow input have really changed the communications landscape in the past several years. Yet, there are still limitations that occur, especially when it is cold outside and the user is wearing gloves or other instances where, for whatever reason, that “human” capacitive touch is not occurring.
Kensington Protective Cover & Stand
Slim case for iPad 2
Price: $39.99
Company: Kensington – Direct link
I look for iPad 2 cases that are thin, lightweight, and cover the back of my iPad. While I like the idea of the Apple Smart-cover, frankly, I don’t think it covers enough for $69. I prefer to look at the high quality cases offered by Kensington.
Orbit Wireless Mobile Trackball
Company: Kensington
Price: $59.99 or lower online
Requires: Mac OSX 10.5.6 or higher
I’ve owned and used a laptop computer since late 2001. In that time I’ve always used the trackpad; I was happy with it. Recently I decided that I needed a little more control than I was getting with the trackpad, so I bought a wireless mouse. I love it, though I primarily use it when editing video. When the opportunity arose for me to review a wireless trackball, I jumped at the chance.
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PowerLift Back-up Battery and Dock
Kensington
For iPad and iPhone
$49.99US
On a recent trip to France I decided to ditch my digital SLR’s and do the unthinkable. I brought only my iPhone and a point and shoot camera instead of my heavy digital SLR’s. I was worried about the battery life of my phone as I didn’t want to be running to the hotel frequently to charge it up using the European adaptor. Instead, I brought the nifty PowerLift Back-up Battery, Dock and Stand by Kensington. It turned out to be a very wise decision. The item contains a lithium-ion polymer battery and has 4.0 Wh (watt hours). Kensington offers a two year limited warranty on the charger.
Two small, versatile, high-value computer accesssories:
Presenter Pro Remote with Green Laser
Kensington
$80
XtremKey
LaCie
$50 to $230, depending on capacity
In commando, stealth mode, I strolled casually into a retail store featuring computers by a well-known company from Cupertino. I unscrewed the base cap from LaCie’s XtremKey deluxe all-terrain USB flash storage drive, exposing its USB plug tip. I discretely inserted XtremKey into a rear USB port on a new iMac, and its icon mounted instantly on the computer’s Desktop.
OMG! Where did Guy go? Since the show must go on, Tim Robertson (TechFan) hosts the podcast as Day 2 of the Macworld Expo takes center stage. With Tim and Owen Rubin reporting from the showroom floor, we talk with Apparent Software, HP, iStreamer, Jaksta, Kensington, MacKeeper, and MindVision Software.
Links:
Apparent Software
HP
iStreamer
Jaksta
Kensington
MacKeeper
MindVision Software
Two Unusual iPad Case/Stands Reviewed by Jackie Richards, Guest Writer
PowerBack Battery Case with Kickstand and Dock
Kensington
$90 to $130 online
PowerBack is a combo iPad case, stand, and battery pack. A metal kick stand supports PowerBack in four different easel positions: two each portrait and landscape. The hard plastic shell case of robust construction has precise grid edges for aligning and sliding your iPad in and out.
A Micro-USB port on the bottom rear connects PowerBack to a computer or other USB charging source via an included cable. You may need an inexpensive Kensington or third party USB wall or car charger if you discharge all iPad and PowerBack juice while away from a computer. Blue lights flash to indicate incremental charging capacity: 20 – 40 – 60 – 80 battery fuel gauge, as Kensington calls it. The company claims up to five extra hours of power and our tests confirm that approximate range, depending on iPad activity.
Kensington KeyFolio
Company: Kensington
Price: $99.99 USD
kensington.com
A new breed of iPad cover is about to hit the stores. These covers have integrated keyboards and make the combination of iPad and keyboard look and act a bit like a netbook. I was lucky enough to get a pre-release version of the Kensington KeyFolio Bluetooth and case for the iPad.
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Kensington Portable Notebook Locks Review
Company: Kensington
Kensington MicroSaver DS Keyed Ultra Thin Notebook Lock – $49.99 at Kensington
Kensington ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock – $18.15 at Amazon.Com
My oldest son will be taking his brand new $1,000+ MacBook Pro High School, graduation gift to college this fall, and frankly, I can’t afford to replace it. He will need to take measures to be sure no one steals it. A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds in the USA and I really don’t want him to become a statistic.
We’ll be installing some security software within the machine, but how should we physically protect it? Answer: Go to the #1 seller of laptop locks, Kensington.
Kensington produces a variety of locks for home and business solutions including desktops and laptop computers. We’ll take a look at two solutions for laptops.
Both locks attach to the security slot built into most laptops. Both employ super strong carbon steel cables, and both are fairly easy to use.
Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Quick Release Cradle for iPhone & iPod touch
Company: Kensington
Price: $29.95 MSRP
http://us.kensington.com/html/17595.html
The Kensington Windshield/Vent Car Mount with Quick Release Cradle for iPhone & iPod touch is a mount kit for your iPhone or iPod touch for your car. The design is very simple and it works pretty well. It comes with three parts: a windshield mount, a car vent mount, and the iPhone/iPod cradle that can be attached to either one of the two mounts. It is very straightforward to set up just by looking at the pieces. The cradle pivots 180 degrees so you can have your device either on left, right, or vertical orientation. It may be useful if you use your iPhone as a turn by turn GPS device.
Kensington Expert Mouse
Company: Kensington
Price: $99.99
kensington.com
TO BALL OR NOT TO BALL
While Apple was not the first to develop and implement pointing devices within the personal computing environment, they were certainly the company that brought the technology to its fruition. First introducing the mouse pointing device within the Lisa platform, Apple would refine the devices themselves and the graphical user interface which supported the mouse, within the Macintosh platform circa 1984.
Over time, it became clear that the over usage of a mouse could contribute to a Repetitive Strain Injury. Many companies developed different solutions to combat this problem. As a graphic designer in the late 80’s, I was forced to look for an alternative to the standard mouse. Enter the Kensington Turbo Mouse.
Kensington Nightstand Charging Dock for iPhone
Company: Kensington
Price: $39.99
http://us.kensington.com
Do you use the hotel clock radios when you are traveling? I don’t because I always have problems with them. Either I can’t figure out how to set them, or they just don’t go off for some reason. I’ve also had these go off in the middle of the night, thanks to some wise guy.
I thought I might be able to use my iPod Touch for an alarm, but there wasn’t a way to check the time in the middle of the night. Power up your iPhone or iPod Touch in a pitch black room and you’ll burn your retinas out.
I was intrigued when Kensington introduced the Kensington Nightstand Charging Dock (KNCD) for iPhone (and iPod Touch).
The KNCD is a simple charging dock that holds your iPhone/Touch in landscape mode. To complement this set up, Kensington has released an app named Rise&Shine for free in the app store.
FX 300 Speaker To Go
Company: Kensington
Price: $30
http://us.kensington.com/html/11679.html
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Kensington’s remarkably small, weatherproof FX 300 universal portable one-piece speaker is an instant favorite at MyMac. Washing the kitchen floor yesterday, I hooked its strong, flexible D-ring to my belt, as I listened to most of the current MyMac podcast with maximum convenience.
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Kensington ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock
Company: Kensington
Price: $24.99
kensington.com
In its promotional materials for the ComboSaver Combination Portable Notebook Lock, Kensington notes that in the U.S. a laptop computer is stolen every 53 seconds (this from a 2005 FBI/CSI survey). Other studies have shown mind-boggling statistics on laptops “lost” at airports, to the tune over 12,000 per week! Although many of those losses occur at security checkpoints, a number of them take place in common areas like concessions and lounges. Sure, some of these laptops may have been legitimately lost, but it’s hard not to argue that an ounce of prevention, in the form of a simple notebook lock, is worth at least a pound of cure when it comes to theft.
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“I need more power, Scotty.”
Kensington Portable Power outlet
Price: $24.99
Kensington 4-Port USB Charger for Mobile Devices
Price: $29.99
http://www.kensington.com
Being able to power up and recharge our personal electronics in today’s world has become very important. Not only for road warriors, but also for families that have multiple devices. Take my family, for example. We have five iPods that need regular charging. Even a Mac tower doesn’t have that many ports, and what happens if your Mac is down? Take those devices on the road and you’re faced with a new set of recharging problems.
The good folks at Kensington have introduced a couple of products that go a long way towards satisfying your power needs.
Portable Power Outlet
When I am traveling on business or pleasure, one of the first things I look for when I arrive at my hotel room is an outlet. I usually have my iPod, a cell phone, my Palm T3, and my MacBook that all need to be plugged in.
SlimBlade Bluetooth Presenter Mouse
Company: Kensington
Price: $49.99 USD
http://www.kensington.com
About two months ago, I had to sit and take another work related training class. The instructor was utilizing a laptop with a USB wired mouse to move her PowerPoint demonstration through each slide. She forgot she was wired to the laptop and began to move away while she talked. Thankfully, another fellow sufferer sitting through this class saw what was happening and was able to grab the laptop before it fell to the floor.
The old way of doing presentations by sitting near the laptop so you can scroll through the slides has long been overdue for a change. Yes, there have been wireless mice using a USB wireless dongle to do wireless presentations but they still used a USB port to do it. Kensington’s SlimBlade Bluetooth Presenter Mouse changes the old way of doing things. Open up the package, follow the simple instructions, sync your SlimBlade to your Mac or PC via Bluetooth and get to work.
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Kensington Ci70 Keyboard with USB Ports
Company: Kensington
Price: $49.99 USD
http://www.kensington.com
I’m a pretty fast typist but the one thing I kept hearing while I was typing at home was “Why are you typing so loudly?” Hey, it wasn’t me, it was just the keyboard responding to my fingers flying over the keys. I’ve always, for the most part, used an Apple keyboard hooked up to my Macs. You know, the big, almost sounds like a typewriter, keyboards.
Now when I purchased and started to use my new MacBook in January, there were no longer any complaints of my banging the keyboard to death. Why, maybe because of the change in the keyboard style from the larger keys to the shorter, chicklet-like, keys on the MacBook. So when the chance came around to get a new Kensington Keyboard, with added USB ports, for my regular desktop Mac, I couldn’t resist.
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Portable Power Pack for Mobile Devices
Kensington
Price: $59.99
www.kensington.com
There is nothing worse then being stuck in an airport or on a long plane flight and having your iPod battery run out of power.
Having a rechargeable power pack for times like those is an absolute must, unless you enjoy staring across the aisle at some other guy enjoying his iPod.
The Kensington Portable Power Pack for Mobil Devices (KPP) is a small, lightweight (3.5 oz) device that measures 4” x 2.2” and contains a Lithium-Ion Polymer battery.
The good folks at Kensington toss out these stats. Continue reading »
The KPP will give you:
55 hours of extra iPod music play time (which I did not verify–who has 55 hours to kill?)
Up to 14 hours of iPod video play time (I’ll take their word on this)
Up to 5 hours of mobile or smart phone talk time
Kensington Expert Mouse Optical USB Trackball
Company: Kensington
Price: $99.99 USD
http://www.kensington.com
Over the years, I’ve used just about every type of mouse out there: Apple’s one-button mouse, trackballs, corded and wireless, small and large, two button up to multi-button. I even used the Kensington Turbo Mouse (version 3) during the mid-90’s and enjoyed its capabilities and ease of use. Fast forward to the present time and here I am using Kensington’s Expert Mouse, the descendent of the Turbo Mouse. How does it hold up?
Out of the box, the Expert Mouse is simple to install and set up. Plug the USB cord into your Mac, go to Kensington’s website and download the latest version of MouseWorks, install it and then set your preferences for what you want each of the four main buttons to do, set your click and scrolling speed and the pointer speed and you’re good to go. Want to open up an application? No problem, set it up in preferences as to what button you want to use and off you go. Launch a particular URL… set it up and away you go.
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Kensington Wireless Optical Desktop for Mac
Model 65354
Company: Kensington Technology Group
http://www.kensington.com/
Price: $79.99
I’ve never really been happy with a wired keyboard and mouse, no matter what Mac I use. It just feels too restraining and if I want to move a keyboard, the connecting cable is too short and I can’t do it. And whenever I’ve used a wired mouse, when I go to move the mouse, the cable always seems to find something to snag itself on or cause me to reposition myself or fight with the mouse. So when I got the chance to work with the Kensington Wireless Optical Desktop system; keyboard, mouse and RF receiver that also serves as a recharger for the NIMH AA batteries that are included, I took it.
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