cradle

If it looks like an iPhone and walks like an iPhone, it must be an iPhone, right? Yet the iPod Touch isn't quite there.

Sure, you can install a voice-over-IP app like Fring, Line2 (a personal favorite), or Skype and make calls over Wi-Fi, but you still have to plug in a headset or rely on the speakerphone -- you can't hold the iPod up to your head and talk into it like you do an iPhone.

Not yet, anyway. Indiegogo project MorphCase lets you use your iPod Touch like an iPhone, effectively replacing the need for a … Read more

Your iPhone may be getting more and more wireless, what with iCloud and Wi-Fi syncing and all, but there are times when it's nice to have a dock.

Of course, most docks are little more than stands, offering few, if any, features beyond charging and syncing.

Enter the Foundation Dock, a Kickstarter project that's arguably the most versatile iPhone dock to date.… Read more

Many iPod Touch owners harbor a secret dream of using their devices as iPhones, bypassing long-term contracts and pricey service agreements in favor of cheap/free calls via Vonage, Skype, and other voice-over-IP apps.

Just one problem: Wi-Fi ain't everywhere. Without it, iPods can't make calls, stream media, play online games, or do any of that other good stuff.

One possible solution: the FreedomPop iPod Touch 4G Sleeve, a case that adds 4G wireless capabilities to your iPod.

Sound familiar? Back in May, FreedomPop started taking preorders for its FreedomSleeve, a $99 iPhone 4/4S case offering WiMax-based … Read more

Cradle of Rome combines the popular tile-matching puzzle format with an empire-building element; the Roman Empire, of course. It's similar to plenty of other puzzle games we've seen, but the Roman twist gives this puzzle game a fun extra challenge.

To play Cradle of Rome, you must first download the Free Ride Games manager, which will then download the game--along with plenty of others, if you're not paying attention. The price of admission is steep for this free game; advertising appears both in the form of videos that delay and interrupt your game and as Flash-based banner … Read more

We tend to find puzzle games addicting, and Softendo Cradle of Persia is no exception. There's nothing particularly remarkable about this game, but it's lots of fun.

The program's interface is plain and attractive. The object of the game is to collect money, materials, and food to build a new city. In practice, this simply means solving a series of increasingly difficult puzzles. Cradle of Persia is another variation of the ever-popular tile puzzle; in this instance you drag your mouse over at least three matching tiles to make them disappear, and to advance to the next … Read more

Building on its Spiderpodium line of flexible stands/cradles for smartphones, Breffo has unveiled a flexible stand for tablets, including the iPad, called the Spiderpodium Tablet.

The company says the Spiderpodium Tablet's uniquely designed, eight flexible notched legs allow it to hang from--or secure itself to--"virtually any surface that is not flat and make it adaptable to being used with multiple devices, in multiple ways." It adds that it can securely grip any small- and medium-size portable device available on the market.

Breffo says the Spiderpodium Tablet will be available January 12, though it hasn't … Read more

A couple weeks back I told you about the Sprint ZTE Peel, an iPod Touch accessory that sounded almost too good to be true. For a mere $79.99, plus a no-contract monthly service fee of $29.99, you could add 3G connectivity to your Touch.

Goodbye, pricey iPhone! Hello, much more affordable iPod Touch-Phone! Well, not quite. Now that I've had a chance to test-drive one, I must admit it's not what I expected. Here are five reasons why:

1. It's not actually a dock.

I mistakenly assumed that the Peel plugged into the Touch's dock connector, much like an external battery/case hybrid. But it doesn't: the Peel is actually a kind of specialized MiFi 2200, one that's been molded to function as an iPod Touch (second- or third-gen) case. Just pop in your device--or don't. Makes no difference.

2. Only two devices can access the Peel's connection.

Either the preliminary information was incorrect, or I made a mistake, but I originally wrote that two other devices could tap the Peel's 3G goodness at the same time as your Touch. In reality, it's two devices total. Again, it doesn't matter if your Touch is snapped into the enclosure or not--two devices, period. I wouldn't call that a deal breaker, but it's a little disappointing given that the MiFi supports up to five. On the other hand...… Read more

Back in June, I wrote about a rumored iPod Touch accessory that sounded almost too good to be true: the Peel, a combination case/cradle that would bring SIM-card-powered phone calling to the device.

The just-announced Sprint ZTE Peel has little in common with that rumored device except the name, but it's no less tantalizing. Drop your Touch into the cradle, press a button, and presto: you're connected to Sprint's 3G network.

But wait, there's more: the Peel doubles as a Wi-Fi hot spot, allowing up to two other devices to tap that 3G goodness at … Read more

The Breffo Spiderpodium is a simple, yet effective way to hold your small gadgets in place during any of a variety of activities ranging from driving to biking to just watching a movie, but only if you have the imagination to make it work for you.

The Spiderpodium consists of eight flexible, rubber-coated wire arms protruding from a rubber center. These arms can be bent and posed in pretty much any direction, orientation, or shape and will hold their position. Breffo's plan is that you'll use the arms to wrap around your small electronic devices, holding them in the orientation of your choosing.

We were able to, for example, attach a smartphone to a vehicle's dashboard air vents for easy access to the screen for selecting music, answering calls, and viewing maps for turn-by-turn navigation. People who use their GPS navigator in multiple vehicles can leave the bulky suction cup cradle in one vehicle and use the Spiderpodium to hold their device in place in other cars.

We were even able to successfully suspend a GPS device and a smartphone from our vehicle's vents during testing. The Spiderpodium's stability during spirited driving will ultimately depend on your skill in positioning the spindly widget, and the anchor to which it is attached, but we experienced no catastrophic failures with a variety of devices.… Read more