The Cords might be a nice name for a cover band for The Chords (yeah, we just heard of them too), but the cords – as in wires and cables – are a pain in the ass. Aviiq Portable Charging Station ($79) is a portable charging station that organizes your cadre of um, cords, while giving you juice for up to four USB devices at one time. Less clutter means less stress, and less stress means more time to familiarize yourself with toe-tappers like “Maybe Tomorrow.”
Save yourself $8 and the unavoidable shame of being a grown man in a laser tag arcade with Hasbro’s new NERF Lazer Tag system. Pair your gun ($40 each, set of two for $70) with an iPhone or iPod Touch and you’re ready to play. Enjoy the slick HUD view, showing your gear and power level, and even the trajectory of your last blast. Like all good addictive games, there’s ample leveling up to be had, with new attacks and gear just waiting to be unlocked. Those 4th graders won’t know what hit ’em.
Bet you never made anything like this in shop class, huh? The Serene Audio Paisley Speaker brings your portable music alive with a sexy-as-hell style, incorporating bamboo into the design. The asymmetric enclosures eliminates the creation of standing waves and storage of energy for improved transparency and smooth frequency response, and for $495 a pair, you can fill any room with rich sound. Just don’t invite your panda friends over for the un-boxing.
Nissan – wait, Nissan? Yes, Nissan – says they’ve invented a plastic phone shield that heals itself when scratched. Hmm… color us pretty darn intrigued. The Nissan Scratch Shield uses a polyrotaxane mix that the automaker developed for its cars a few years back, and it promises to protect your precious cellular device with a 22nd century-style regenerative skin. Once scratched, Nissan says the surface waits for you to gather a few friends around, then morphs back into its original shape, leaving your phone scratch-free. Depending on how big the slash is, the healing process takes between an hour and a week, so you’ll have plenty of time to call over those out-of-state buddies. It’s being beta tested in Europe right now, and it should go on sale later this year. Whether it slithers its sci-fi self over to the US remains uncertain, though.
Look closely. Apple’s GarageBand app is experiencing a phenomenon known as shrinkage. The popular iPad program has been adapted to for use on the iPhone and iPod touch. You can still plug your electric guitar into either of Apple’s iOS, and you can still record your amazing (ha!) voice or any acoustic sound with the built-in microphone. Your display options are just, well…smaller. The newly tiny app allows users to record and mix up to eight tracks and then share the final asterpiece with friends and family. Lucky for them. The new app runs on iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch (third and fourth generation). For users who have already purchased the iPad build, the update is free. New users will pay just $4.99, a small price to pay for fame.
Harman Kardon symbolizes the finest in sound and design to the style conscious and discriminating audiophile. Its newest release, the Bridge IIIP, continues this tradition. As a dock for your iPhone and iPod, it transmits digital files to any Bridge-ready A/V Harman Kardon receiver. Multiple inserts are provided for various iPod models, ensuring total compatibility. While docked, the Bridge IIIP automatically charges your iPhone and iPod, keeping the party going as long as you want. Control your iPod and iPhone with the included Harman Kardon system remote control with easy-to-read, on-screen messages and entertainment track selection. Priced at $129 and available at H/K.
