Technabob » cable

CordLite Illuminated iOS Cable: A Simple Solution for a Very Simple Problem

Lambert Varias — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:30:07 +0000

This is how much technology can coddle us: someone’s come up with a charge and sync device for iOS devices that has built-in LEDs to make it easier to plug it in in the dark. I usually just use my iPhone’s own light or feel which end is which, but why go through such arduous processes when you can buy a solution right?

But even though I think the CordLite is overkill for its intended purpose, I see its value if I treat it as a Swiss Army cable. It’s a cable and a flashlight!

Pledge at least $30 (USD) to CordLite’s Kickstarter fund and you’ll be one of the first to own one if it goes into production. I suggest you order a backup CordLite for when you can’t find the first one.

[via Zagg]

Colorful Incase Mini Cable Kit: USB to Everything You Need

Range — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:00:50 +0000

With all of the gadgets people are carrying around these days, it makes sense to keep some cables with you, just in case you need to connect some of them together. This new kit from Incase looks pretty sweet, and the fact that the cables come color-coded makes them even easier to find in the provided handy case.

The USB Mini Cable Kit measures just about 5 inches-tall and takes up very little space in your bag. It covers all of the essentials, including a micro USB connector for smartphones and cameras, mini USB connector for cameras and other electronics, and an Apple Dock Connector for all of your iOS gear including iPhones, iPads and iPods. Each 4 inch-long cable has a standard USB connector on the other end.

The kit is available in the fluorescent colors shown here, or in grey, black and white. It sells from Incase for $24.95 (USD).

[via NOTCOT]

Eidetic USB Connector Makes Sure You Plug It in Right, Every Time

Hazel Chua — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:00:46 +0000

Earlier today, I bent the USB plug on my flash drive because I jammed it into the hub on my laptop the wrong way. This wasn’t the first time I plugged it in the wrong way, although it’s the first drive I’ve ruined because of it.

This is where Lim Jae Min’s “Eldetic” design for USB ports and the USB connector comes in. He’s come up with a smart design that would make sure you plug in your drives and cables in the right direction, just by feeling the actual port or the connector itself.

This would save time, ease frustrations, and make sure you won’t break a flash drive again just because you tried to put it in the wrong way.

Too bad it would require retrofitting existing devices and cables in order to implement this sort of idea – which should have been part of the original USB Type A connector standard. At least Micro USB and Mini USB connectors don’t have this problem.

The Eidetic USB was one of the award winning entries in the 2011 red dot design concept awards.

[via Yanko Design]

Hub and Mini Hub Makes Standard Cords Retractable, Untangleable

Lambert Varias — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 21:00:03 +0000

I know, that’s a made up word, but we’re talking about a made up accessory, and it’ll stay a concept unless you pitch in. The Hub and Mini Hub are receptacles with a built-in retraction mechanism so you can store and tidy up your cables with just a press of a button.

The Hub will fit cords up to 3mm (about 0.12″) thick and 3.77ft. long such as USB cables while the Mini Hub is made for cords up to 2mm (about 0.08″) thick and 4.9ft long, like headphones. I’ll wait here while you go measure your cords and make those numbers mean something. No? Not going to measure? Okay then, let’s just watch this video:

If you want to see the awesome push-button action again, I suggest you watch this video instead. It’s just the demo minus the talking part. Both containers are made of aluminum, but the inventors – Chadwick Parker and Joe Huang – have yet to decide whether they’ll be shiny or anodized.

Head to Kickstarter and pledge at least $30 (USD) so you can be the first to own a Hub and Mini Hub. As of this writing the concept still hasn’t reached its target funds, but with almost two months to go and with such a sound idea, I’m willing to bet my life savings (i.e. nothing) that the Hub and the Mini Hub will see the light of day. And if the actual products end up being shiny then they’ll reflect the light of day to your eyes, promptly blinding you, rendering your touch-operated devices moot. At least your cords will be organized.

[via designboom]

Urbanears Turncable Headphones: Always the Right Plug

Range — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

While I have to say that I’m initially intrigued when I see loud and glaringly-designed headphones, once you get past the look, you need to focus on the sound. That being said, Urbanears‘ headphones have always used nice color palettes and designs, standing out from the crowd of mostly black headphones that are all too common. Urbanears most recent creation is the their new Turncable design.

These premium DJ headphones have a cable with a 6.3mm adapter – perfect for DJ gear and guitars on one end – and a standard headphone 3.5mm plug on the other. Depending on which you need, you plug the other into the headphones. That’s a pretty smart idea and it keeps you from losing those pesky adapters.

Urbanears has yet to announce pricing or a release date for the Turncable headphones, but if their past releases are any indication, they should be reasonably priced.

[via NOTCOT]

GuitarConnect Pro Connects a Guitar to the iPad or iPhone

Shane McGlaun — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:30:24 +0000

Griffin has unveiled a new device for musicians that is pretty cool. It’s called the GuitarConnect Pro and allows the connection of an electric guitar, bass or other musical instrument with a 1/4-inch plug to connect to your iPad or iPhone. The device gives an all-digital connection to the tablet and allows the player to record directly with GarageBand and most of Core Audio apps.

The adapter device connects to your iOS device using the charge-and-sync port, and has a thumbwheel to adjust the input level. This makes the iPad or iPhone perfect for practicing the guitar and it will let you play and record sessions on the go easily as well.

You can pick one of these up right now for $79.99(USD) and record all you want to your favorite music app. I wonder how good tbe recordings sound. If any of you are guitar players let us know how this works if you pick it up.

Curly Cable for iOS Devices Effortlessly Extends, Tames Tangles

Lambert Varias — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:00:18 +0000

Here’s another one of those “Why didn’t I think of this?” ideas. Luca Mainini, Manuel Marino and Davide di Malta of Dev Design 2.0 had a multo buona idea: emulate the coiled form of telephone cords to make a charge and sync cable for iOS devices. The Curly Cable can be stretched from its original 8″ to an amazing 70″.

Here are the inventors with their uhm, indie Kickstarter video:

Ride a slinky to Kickstarter and pledge at least $15 (USD) to order a Curly Cable (wig not included). It’s already raised almost four times its target funds, so you’re basically pre-ordering it at this point. Check out the xlSync if you’re looking for an even longer – albeit not tangle-proof – cable.

[via TechCrunch]

Cable Jive dockBoss+ Cable Hooks Your Android Device to an iPod Dock

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:30:24 +0000

I have been using an iPhone since they first came out. I recently moved to an Android smartphone to see how the other half live. So far the thing that irritates me the most is that I didn’t think about all the gadgets that my iPhone was designed to work with that I have around the house. I can’t use my fancy alarm clock anymore or the streaming audio Bluetooth thingy in my car made for the iPhone.

If you have this issue too then you want to check out the CableJive dockBoss+ cable. The cable is an interesting offering that plugs into the Apple 30-pin dock connector on your docking whatnots and then has a micro USB plug for charging your Android device and a headphone plug that shoots the tunes out to your device.

Naturally, there are some caveats. For instance, you won’t be able to get all the integration the devices offer with the iPhone. The controls and remote won’t work is what I mean. You will need to control your tracks on the Android device. The Cable Jive dockBoss+ cable ships September 28th, and sells for $29.95 (USD).

iPhone Sync/Charge Cable w/ USB Hub Should Come Free With All MacBooks

Lambert Varias — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:58:34 +0000

Apple’s laptops are slim and sexy, but their svelte figures come at a price, and I’m not just talking about how much they cost. Not only do they have too few USB ports – all of Apple’s laptops only have two USB ports, except for the 17″ MacBook Pro, which has three – the ports are also placed very near to each other, making it very easy to block one while using the other. Which is why I think Apple needs to make this the official design for their iOS cables:

I can hear MacBook and MBP owners going yesssss, yesssss. This is a three-port USB 2.0 hub joined to an iPhone/iPad charge and sync cable made by DITS. As someone who owns both an iPhone and a MacBook, I really really really need this cable. Now.

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be up on DITS’ online shop yet, so I can’t even tell you how much it costs. I really hope Apple turns their cables into something like this; hell even two ports would be welcome.

Prettify Your Cables by Wrapping Them in Florafil

Hazel Chua — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:15:43 +0000

Nothing annoys me more than the sight of cables and wires in disarray.

I have a lot of those plastic wires to hold the cables together in a bunch. While these don’t really make things look better, it does make everything more organized and orderly.

Give your home a touch of green while hiding away unsightly and messy wires at the same time. Florafil cable covers are made of flexible rubber which was obviously inspired by vines.

The designer behind these up-the-wall creations is Tania da Cruz, who derived the concept from wanting to give beauty to an object that is usually left unadorned although functional (in this case, yes, it’s the wires.)

The Florafil is still a concept design for now, but who knows? We might see them crawling into hardware stores sometime soon.

[via Design Milk via Oh Gizmo!]

Yarn Charging Cable: Encouraging Cats to Chew on Power Cords

Range — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:02:26 +0000

No, this isn’t a new toy for your feline friend, it’s a concept charger for your phone and/or other devices. While it makes sense to have something that’s longer than standards cords, I wonder if cats everywhere will rejoice upon seeing this charger that’s designed to look like a ball of yarn.

The Wool Ball Charger will allow you to have massive amounts of charging cable length, to ensure that you’ll always be able to charge your phone from the right plug. Wait, I thought that the future was going to be wireless? Seriously though, charging cables are rarely long enough, and it happens quite a lot that you just need those extra few inches, but instead you stuck with short cables. That’s what the Wool Ball Charger will try to resolve.

The Wool Ball Charger was designed by Yuchen Liu and the cord is wrapped up in a ball instead of a loop, like most cords are. I get the feeling that it would be hard to keep this shape once it’s uncoiled for the first time.

[via Yanko Design]

Cat5 O’ Nine Tails: Whip Your IT Dept Into Submission

Lambert Varias — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:54:21 +0000

Network’s down again? The new hire still doesn’t have his username and password? Facebook (not) blocked? Kwa-pish! Pay the folks at the IT department – or your household’s resident computer nerd – a visit and show them you mean business with feralswirl’s Cat5 O’ Nine Tails, a flogger made out of Ethernet cables.

On the flip side, you can also give this as a gift to get on your computer experts’ good side – after all, it’s actually meant to give pleasure. By giving pain. You can order the Cat5 O’ Nine Tails at feralswirl’s Etsy shop for $35 (USD). It’s available in different colors, and you can mix and match colors if you like. I think I’ll stick with my non-existent Wi-Fi whip.

[via Geeks are Sexy via Nerd Approved]

USB-It Stick-On USB Cable: Universal Stick-On Buffoonery

Lambert Varias — Mon, 16 May 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Hello geeks, look at your fruits, now look at this banana, now back to your fruits, now back to this banana. Sadly, your fruits are not USB-compatible, but if you get the USB-It Stick-On Cable, you can make your fruits and pretty much anything else a lot geekier.

Each pack of USB-It comes with two cords and several double-sided adhesive discs. Look down, back up, where are you? On a USB-compatible house. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s a USB-compatible Game Boy. Look again – your hand is now USB-compatible.

You can order the USB-It Stick-On USB Cable from ThinkGeek for $8 (USD). I’m on a USB-compatible horse.

Thanko iOS HDMI / USB Cable: Charge & Watch

Lambert Varias — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:12:02 +0000

This new adapter from Thanko lets users output video from an iPad, iPhone 4 or 4th gen iPod Touch to any HDMI-equipped display (via an HDMI cable of course) without fear of running out of juice, as long as you have a spare powered USB port nearby.

The cable can be ordered on Thanko’s website for ¥6980 (approx. $84 USD). It seems like sales are limited to Japan only, but I don’t see why it shouldn’t find its way abroad someday soon.

[via Akihabara News]

Scoshe Releases flipSYNC II Charging Fob

Chris B. — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:48:47 +0000

Where is that stupid charging cable? Last spring, Scosche released a cool USB charging cable that folded up into a keychain fob (much like the one you might have for your car). It was a pretty cool design that ensured that you had a charging cable almost anywhere. One major flaw was that they had decided to use a half-size USB connector. This not only made it easy to pull out of your computer, but it also felt like it could be easily broken.

The flipSYNC II is much the same device as its predecessor, however, they’ve fixed that one small issue. Somehow they’ve managed to cram a full-size USB connector into the fob.

You can pick one of these up in either iPhone/iPod or miniUSB/microUSB flavors for just $20.

Quirky Contort USB Hub Manages Its Own Cables

Shane McGlaun — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:59:01 +0000

Any computer user eventually needs a USB hub for one reason or another. It might be that your machine only had a few USB ports and you are out, or you may just need to get some ports further from your computer and a hub and long cable works well for that. Quirky has a cool new USB hub that will give you more ports and can take care of its own mess of cables.

The hub is called the Contort. Its integrated USB plug is on a flexible head made from TPE rubber. The hub has four ports on top and the middle section is expandable to handle USB cords. The device measures in at 34mm W x 142mm L x 24mm H and it can expand to 36mm H to hide more cables.

The Contort also has integrated cord anchors and those anchors can hold more than one cable if needed. Most of Quirky’s gear is pre-order and the Contort is no different. So far, 29 of the 1650 Quirky wants to build are spoken for at $29.99 each. If you want one, you can pre-order here.

Quirky Cable Collar Collects Cables Conveniently

Shane McGlaun — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 13:30:13 +0000

I’m a messy person. If you ask me to install your home theater, I will do it. I won’t like it though and I will leave a tangled mess of cables behind your entertainment center to remind you every time you look back there to hire someone next time. I will do the same for your PC, you are warned. If you want to keep things behind your desk or entertainment center tidy, Quirky has a new product for you.

The thing is called the Cable Collar and it is a plate that looks like those rings you hang a water hose on to me. Rather than going on the outside of your hose, the Cable Collar goes behind the faceplate to your outlet and allows you to wind the extra cable around it for a tidy install.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It has six holder slots around the collar to clip those cables and is large enough to hold up to 24-inches of extra cable. The plastic is heat resistant and it won’t affect the usability of your outlet. Quirky wants to build 3000 of them for $6.99 each and 118 are already sold. Get in on the pre-sale action now.

Apple Patent Hints at Magsafe Connector for iPhone and iPad

Shane McGlaun — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:37:32 +0000

I use an iPhone, but I am not a huge fan of Apple’s computers. I prefer Windows, but I will admit to being jealous of the cool MagSafe connector that MacBooks have. I have snagged my deckchair on the cord to my notebook before and ripped the thing off the desk damaging it in the process, so I can appreciate a breakaway cable.

A new patent app has turned up that shows Apple is at least considering bringing the MagSafe connector to the future iPad and iPhone models. The MagSafe power adapter that the notebooks use only changes, and since the iPhone and iPad charge and sync through the charge port, the MagSafe adapter would need to be tweaked to handle this.

I would assume Apple could do that without much of an issue. The downside is that a change to this type of connector on the portable devices would mean no compatibility with existing accessories.

[via Cult of Mac]

Scosche Sneakpeek 2 Makes It Easy to Hook an iPad or iPhone to Your Tv

Shane McGlaun — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:00:48 +0000

There are a lot of folks out there who have an iPad or iPhone that like to stream content with from various sources like YouTube, Netflix, their video camera or their media library. The catch is that it can be a hassle getting that video onto a larger screen for viewing. You can use a dock that has TV outputs, but those tend to take up a lot of space and if your entertainment center is as crowded as mine that can be an issue.

Scosche has unveiled a new cable today that is sort of like a docking station minus the dock part. The thing is called the sneakPEEK II, it has a normal Apple docking connector on one end, and the other end has both composite and component inputs. That lets you choose whatever input works best for your situation, and allows the thing to work on newer HD sets and older ones alike.

The cool part is that the sneakPEEK II will also allow you to charge the Apple device while you playback the video thanks to an integrated micro USB connector and AC adapter. Scosche points out that the cable is compatible with Netflix right out of the box. You can order yours up for some big screen streaming action for $59.99(USD). If it works with Hulu Plus on the iPad, it would be perfect for me.

Grape-Dr Supercomputer is the Greenest of Them All, but a Cable Nightmare!

Range — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:30:26 +0000

This Japanese supercomputer is supposed to be one of the most environmentally-friendly supercomputer arrays available. But is it just me, or is this the ultimate in cable management problems?

This supercomputer system is called the Grape-DR and is composed of 64 pairs of Intel’s Core i7-920 processors and a board mounted with 4 Grape-DR accelerator chips. This accelerator board diminishes the power consumption of the supercomputer five fold! In terms of specs, each Grape-DR accelerator chip kicks out 200 GFLOPS of throughput, while using just 50-watts. That’s less than a lightbulb for you science majors out there.

The system belongs to a Japanese university and research institute, and was ranked first in a list of 500 green supercomputers, beating by 5% IBM’s green supercomputer. For those of you keeping score, the system’s performance per unit power consumption is 815.43 MFLOPS/W – vs. IBM’s 773.38 MFLOPS/W. Take that, IBM!

I don’t know much about supercomputing, but from what I see, it can get quite messy, cable-wise. With all of its intelligence, you’d think it could devise some kind of cable management system.

[Tech-On via Ubergizmo]