Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth Headsets

Do you want an option for carrying your Bluetooth headset without having to wear it in your ear all day, hanging it around your neck, or risk breaking it in your pocket? When you are driving and your Bluetooth headset isn’t in use, do you place it in one of your cup holders like I do? The Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth Headsets is available here in the TiPb iPhone Store for $14.95 and it just might be the answer for your Bluetooth headset-carrying needs. Read further for the full review!

Case Design

The Speck Clip Pod case is triangular in shape with rounded corners, a metal belt clip with the “Speck” logo on back and an elastic mesh pocket in the front to store your Bluetooth headset. The pod is a hardened shell with a soft cloth interior to protect your Bluetooth headset. The Clip Pod can accommodate most Bluetooth headsets, up to 2 inches wide and 3.25 inches long. Included is a Velcro-secured Nylon strap for attaching the Clip Pod to the visor in your car.

Performance

I haven’t used a Bluetooth headset very often in the past due to the hassle of not having a convenient way of carrying one around with me. Wearing a headset in my ear constantly is not comfortable and I don’t care for that look. I don’t wear a headset on a lanyard around my neck and I don’t want to risk breaking my headset by carrying it in my pocket. Having the Clip Pod for carrying my Bluetooth headset is the answer to my headset-carrying challenges.

The Clip Pod is slightly cup-shaped, providing a recessed area for your BT headset to be safely tucked away. When placed in the pocket, the Nylon mesh/Vinyl combo with a sewn-in elastic band keeps your headset firmly in place with the hardened protective shell around it. Protection in the front of the Clip Pod is compromised in order to allow easy access to your BT headset. This compromise is both a pro and a con, in my opinion. When your iPhone rings, you want to be able to access your headset quickly.

When strapped to your visor, the less-protected open front is not really an issue, but if you are wearing the Clip Pod on your waist, you will want to be careful to avoid crushing your headset against hard objects. The metal belt clip is very robust and should provide lots of wear without failure.

Verdict

The Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth headsets is a nice little accessory to have if you tote a Bluetooth headset. I think it is especially useful in the car - strapped neatly to your visor, it’s a great place to tuck away your BT headset when not in use. In my case, it keeps my cup holders free and substantially reduces the risk of loss or damage.

Wearing the Clip Pod on your belt or waist is a handy way to carry your BT headset on your person, but protection of your headset is compromised by easy accessibility. Personally, I have not used a BT headset carrying case before and I’m glad to have found such an accessory. It isn’t perfect - although the pocket keeps your headset firmly in place, it is vulnerable to bumping against hard objects, like counters - but the pros outweigh the cons.

Pros

• Strong metal belt clip
• Protective recessed hardened shell
• Included strap for securing to car visor
• Elastic mesh pocket for secure storage and easy access

Cons

• Storage pocket provides little protection against hard objects, like counters

   

 

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Speck Products Clip Pod for Bluetooth Headsets

Review: Jobs for iPhone

Despite some limitations, Jobs is an effective time-tracking tool that provides you with reliable billing records.

Voodoo Pad 4.1 adds iPhone client

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, iPhone, iPod touch

VoodooPad (which we've covered many times) is a bit of a different take on the classic snippet / information manager app, allowing you to create a personal wiki with entries for whatever you might like to keep track of.

With the recently released version 4.1 Gus Mueller has added an option to export documents to his new, free iPhone client (iTunes link) for access to your wikis on the go. Like most iPhone / iPod touch syncing solutions, this works over WiFi on the same network as your Mac. This is in addition to the previously offered WebDAV syncing and iPhone optimized pages.

VoodooPad comes in three versions: a free lite version, a $29.95 regular version, and a $49.95 Pro version that adds a few features, including a built-in webserver; demos are also available. The iPhone / iPod touch client is a free download from iTunes.

[via Infinite Loop]

Voodoo Pad 4.1 adds iPhone client originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Voodoo Pad 4.1 adds iPhone client originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Introducing Macworld’s new iPhone guidebook

Macworld has released a new 154-page guidebook for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Gartner: Smartphone growth slowing

Sales of smartphones recorded its lowest growth yet during the fourth quarter; increasing by only 3.7 percent, according to Gartner. But Apple was among the winners for the quarter.

iPod Touch 2G Untethered Jailbreak Now Available

Today is a good day to be a iPod Touch 2G owner. Particularly if you have been waiting for a jailbreak untethered jailbreak method to appear. The Dev Team put up a post late last night on their blog:

The iPod Touch 2G is now another member of the “pwned for life” family. It has a fatal flaw in its bootrom that means you will always be able to pwn these devices no matter what firmware updates come along. This is the full, untethered jailbreak, something that iPod Touch 2G users have not had before today.

For more information about this iPod Touch 2G jailbreak and to download the software that will be needed, you need to visit here. If any of you are feeling adventurous, be sure to let us know how it goes!

[Via blog.iphone-dev.org]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPod Touch 2G Untethered Jailbreak Now Available

From the Re-Organized Forums: TiPb Forums New Look

If you’re a regular in the forums, you may have noticed the changes that have taken place. We’ve moved things around a bit to make the forums a little more organized. So today’s From the Forums will be a little different.

Since the forums have been re-organized, we’d like to point out a few forum sections that have changed for all of you to take advantage of.

• iPhone Forum - This is for general chat about the iPhone 2G and 3G, including iPhone news and rumors.

• iPhone Help - Stuck? Need help? Have a neat trick you’ve found? This is the place to go!

• iPhone Jailbreak Central - Trying to Jailbreak? Wondering if it’s safe? Considering unlocking? Hack away here. Also discuss Jailbreak Apps here as well!

• iPhone Apps and Games - A place for discussion for any and all iPhone applications and games, including Web Apps.

• iPhone Sync: Exchange and MobileMe - Discuss how to get your iPhone synced up to the cloud, whether it’s via Exchange or Mobile Me. You can also discuss how the iPhone interacts with other email systems here.

To get in on some forum action be sure to register, we swear it will only take a few moments of your time.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Re-Organized Forums: TiPb Forums New Look

Apple Updates Shuffle: 4GB, VoiceOver

Apple Store goes down, Apple Store comes up with just what we expected: a new revision of the iPod Shuffle. It’s got 4 gigs of storage, comes in silver and black, and an all new feature: VoiceOver.

The new Shuffle is half the size of the previous — a feat achieved by removing nearly all of the controls off the device itself and onto the headphone cable. Only the Off/Repeat/Shuffle switch stays on device. In other words — don’t plan on using your own headphones with the Shuffle. While that’s a bit of a downer, the upside is that the headphone controls are very thoughtfully laid-out and easy to hit without looking.

VoiceOver and how the controls work — after the break!

VoiceOver is pretty darn clever. It actually gets created on your PC or Mac and then synced over to the Shuffle with your music. The upshot is that Apple has managed to add the feature without having to ask too much of the little device. The voice you hear will therefore depend on what type of computer you sync to.

Back to controls: the are three buttons. Volume up and down is pretty obvious, then there’s the middle button. A single click starts and stops music, a double click advances tracks. Holding down the middle button activates VoiceOver, which reads title and artist. Holding it down even longer activates a beep and then the Shuffle reads through your playlists, you can click to select the one you want.

In all, it’s a pretty neat little iPod, available now (ships within a week), for $79. Unclear is whether or not the feature is going to be made available to other iPods or the iPhone. Given that the heavy lifting of creating VoiceOver happens on the computer instead of the iPod, it seems like a no-brainer. It might be a little more dicey with the iPhone and iPod Touch, though, since you’re able to download music directly.

Any iPhone owners out there thinking of supplementing their Apple music phone with an Apple music gadget?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Updates Shuffle: 4GB, VoiceOver

Apple Releases Smaller 4GB iPod Shuffle with ‘VoiceOver’ and Playlist Support

Apple released two new iPod Shuffles with an even smaller design today. The updates were predicted at the very last minute this morning.

The new 4GB devices are priced at $79 and can hold up to 1000 songs. These new iPod Shu...

Further thoughts on the Kindle iPhone experience

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

It hasn't been a week since Amazon released the Kindle for iPhone app [App Store link] but the aftermath has been almost seismic. Kindle for iPhone has remained in the top ten free apps list since it was released. For a few days, it was number one. It looks like it was a good gamble for Amazon, and probably for Apple as no other smart phones (so far) have this app available. The Kindle for iPhone app also runs on the iPod touch.

How is it to use? Actually, pretty darned good. Readability is high, and you can change the font size to your liking. Turning pages is just a matter of swiping your finger across the screen. A single touch gives you access to the table of contents of any book, and you can bookmark pages.

I liked the idea of the Kindle app so much, I actually broke down and bought the Kindle 2. The two devices interact, and you can have all your books on both devices. In fact, the iPhone Kindle app will come up on the same page you left off on the Kindle 2, or vice versa. I thought that would be an automatic function, but you have to tell each device to sync when you leave. Your mileage may vary, but that's what I am seeing.

Of course, even that rather cool function is a bit tricky with the iPhone, because its smaller screen can't display as many words as the Kindle 2 screen. Even though you are synced, you won't get a page that looks exactly the same. No big deal, though.

Read on for more...

Continue reading Further thoughts on the Kindle iPhone experience

Further thoughts on the Kindle iPhone experience originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Further thoughts on the Kindle iPhone experience originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prototype iPhone Firmware in the Wild

Prototype as in the early engineering test unit we saw briefly on Ebay and YouTube, we’re guessing. Apple had that pulled. Will they be able to pull the firmware now that it’s been leaked onto the internet? Probably not, but they’ll likely not be able to pull Steve Jobs and his iCommandos off the person who leaked it either…

If it’s not a gag, hoax, or other form for silly fun, getting a look at the origins of the iPhone OS could potentially help some developers… and some competitors.

(via Arnold Kim on Twitter)

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Prototype iPhone Firmware in the Wild

Apple Store Down! 4GB iPod Shuffle Commeth?

It’s not that the Apple Store is down — that happens fairly often. But on a Wednesday?! It’s a running joke that Tuesdays are Apple product drops. Did Daylight Savings Time bump Apple not just 1, but 24 hours into the future? Tough to know.

Tougher to know what they’ll be releasing this time, though chances of a 32GB red iPhone are next to none. MacRumors is hearing a 4GB iPod shuffle, though, which is scary big for a tiny device… and makes us think 32GB iPhone’s aren’t out of the question for an update later this year…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple Store Down! 4GB iPod Shuffle Commeth?

Apple Store Down, 4GB iPod Shuffle in the Wings?

As many readers have noticed, Apple's online stores have gone down for updates. At this time of day, that typically means that Apple is adding new products to the store.

According to one source who previously relayed accurate inform...

Google blocks popular iPhone SMS app

Google this week will block an iPhone app that used its chat program to grant unlimited free text messaging after users flocked to download it.

Review: Feeds for iPhone

This RSS reader is dedicated to choices—every individual user can decide how Feeds looks and how it works. While that clutters the application, it also means Feeds can fit almost seamlessly into your existing reading habits.

Mobile World Congress Update

Apple continues to lead the pack in the mobile industry even though they are relative newcomers to the business. It seems that all the major players want to emulate the success Apple has had with their own AppStores. With over 20,000 applications, it's not hard to see why other companies ...

Worldwide Coin Toss Review

Chocolate or Vanilla ice cream? Burger King or McDonalds...Worldwide Coin Toss (WCT) aims to help you make those tough decisions in life by randomly or NOT falling on heads or tails. Worldwide Coin Toss simulates the tossing of a real coin, except you have a choice of coins from over ...

Sudobility Air Photo Wifi Review

Have you ever wanted to print a picture from your iphone without hooking it up to your computer? Well, Air Photo Wifi is the answer and a very good one at that...With Air Photo, you'll be able to print to your networked printer as long as you have the server ...

Ability to Edit, Sort & Filter Google Spreadsheets Enabled

iPhone users have long had the ability to view their Google Docs online however not edit them. Now seemingly the ability to edit, sort and filter has been added to the Google spreadsheet application.  This is really exciting news and now you'll have even less of a reason to NOT ...

Oceanit Labs iFu Kung Fu App Review

Did you enjoy the iPhone's lightsaber app and are you a fan of badly dubbed kung fu movies? Well, who isn't! Now you can relive your favorite kung fu movies with iFu . Punching, kicking and taunting sounds are all included. If you aren't downloading it in iTunes yet, we've ...