stands

You got yourself a nice new bag to protect your precious gadget. But how do you protect the precious bag that's protecting your precious gadget?

Enter Workiture's el-BagPed stand, which gives you an elevated place to store your bag away from the icky gook- and germ-ridden ground. My laptop bags have spent years rolling around on office and train floors and have never once gotten a staph infection, but maybe they just have unusually hardy immune systems. … Read more

Tired of tangled earbuds? Of course you are; they're one of life's biggest hassles, right up there with newspaper ink that gets on your fingers and highway traffic jams that seem to happen for no reason.

The iAngle is a triangular cord-wrap designed to keep earbud cords neat and tangle-free.

But it also serves a second purpose: to prop up your iPhone, which is great for watching movies, hands-free FaceTime chats, reading your favorite blogs at the breakfast table, and so on.

I love double-duty gizmos like this. The U.S.-made iAngle works with all iPhone and iPod Touch models and comes in black, blue, green, pink, and white.… Read more

The case of the energy-hogging set-top boxes and DVRs highlights the challenges of changing existing industry and consumer practices to boost energy efficiency.

The New York Times yesterday ran an in-depth look at the issues surrounding set-top boxes and DVRs, which have become the biggest energy consumer in many homes. The National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, published an analysis two weeks ago which found that set-top boxes consume more energy than the TVs they're connected to, and more than EnergyStar refrigerators. Because they're on all the time, they cost consumers $2 billion a year when … Read more

An iPad stand is one thing. An iPad dock gives you a place to both sync and charge your tablet while keeping it upright--great if you like to use it as, say, a photo frame.

I've always thought the Apple-branded iPad Dock was a bit of a rip-off at $29. (Actually, a lot of Apple-branded accessories are overpriced, but that's a discussion for another day.) But 10 bucks? Now you've got my attention.

For a limited time, Verizon is offering the Apple iPad Dock for $9.97, plus sales tax. Shipping is free, and it's two-day … Read more

Very few cases offer true utility as well as nice style and design. The HandStand2 for iPad 2 does just that. The simple construction of the case allows you to easily attach it to your iPad 2--simply wrap the case around your iPad and you are ready to work.

The elastic hand band is tight enough to feel secure but not so tight that your fingers turn blue while using it. The rubber case holds your iPad 2 securely in place upside-down, while walking, and, of course, when actually using your iPad.

The HandStand2 also has a rotating base that … Read more

From time to time we like to highlight a project spotted on funding platform Kickstarter. This month we bring you the Tavoletta, an iPad/Kindle stand accessory that lets you prop your tablet device on your lap--or other body parts.

The folks behind the project are John Albano, Craig Robertson, and Geoff Strawbridge from Williamstown, Mass. (home of Williams College). They've spent a couple thousand bucks prototyping the Tavoletta, and are now looking for $30,000 in pledges to produce it (our headline's a wee bit snarky, but these guys are very serious, as evidenced by their Kickstarter video).

Here's what they say about the product: … Read more

As a general rule, laptop speakers bite. That means if you're using your portable PC to, say, watch a movie or listen to music, you're stuck using headphones if you want decent audio.

The Logitech Speaker Lapdesk N550 offers up a pair of bigger, louder external speakers housed in a comfy lap- and table-friendly riser. It normally sells for $59.99, but right now you can get a refurbished Speaker Lapdesk N550 for $23.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code logi_n550_51611 at checkout.

The N550 is designed for 14-inch-and-smaller laptops. Indeed, the accompanying photo shows it … Read more

Last year, when the iPad first came out, Element Case had a hard time keeping its slickly designed but expensive Joule stands in stock. Now that the iPad 2 is out there, the company's updated the Joule to the Joule Chroma and added some new color choices.

The company says the new Joule Chroma, which still costs a hefty $149.99, offers six new anodized colors "with a stunning satin, deep luster finish paired with a plush color matched ultrasuede liner." It comes with a three-position tilt foot that allows you to adjust the angle of your … Read more

We're used to seeing smartphone accessories geared toward certain platforms, so it's nice to come across something like The Zhip (pronounced "zip"), which can be used with a variety of smartphones, as well as the iPod Touch.… Read more