leather

Fisker Karma is so green, even interior uses low-carbon leather

Less than three months on the market and the Fisker Karma is already getting high praise for being "green" and luxurious. Just last month, the near $100,000 plug-in hybrid was named "Luxury Car of the Year" by BBC Top Gear magazine.

Part of what makes the Karma so luxurious is the used interior material from Bridge of Weir. The EcoStandard and EcoSport models' seat, steering wheel, dash, door casings and center console trim are all wrapped in the Scottish company's locally produced "low carbon leather," Bridge of Weir said in a press … Read more

Apple updates iPad 2 Smart Cover lineup with dark gray option

Apple has quietly tweaked its iPad 2 Smart Cover color offerings. Gone is the candy-colored orange polyurethane Smart Cover, replaced by a sleeker, infinitely more subtle dark gray option.

Also adjusted are the original polyurethane colors of blue, green, pink, and light gray, each being made "more vibrant" according to sources reporting to MacRumors. As for the leather iPad 2 Smart Covers, "Apple has slightly tweaked the color on the navy version to make it 'more navy' than the original version," according to the source.

Perhaps the best tweak, though, is that Apple has now color-matched … Read more

My E3 travel test: iLuv's leather iPad 2 keyboard case

Can iPads replace laptops in mission-critical, hot-and-sweaty environments? My colleague Dan Ackerman gave it a go at last year's E3, and I'm giving it a try as I head to L.A. this year with a keyboard-case twist, using iLuv's new leather folio. (I'll also have a laptop backup plan.)

The Professional Case with Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad 2 doesn't have a catchy name, but this type of case isn't about looking sleek … Read more

Kindle cover issue still affects some users

Last year we wrote about how Amazon was having a problem with its Leather Cover that was causing the Kindle to malfunction and lock up. Amazon promised to look into the issue and replace the defective covers.

Well, as Dave Zatz over at zatznotfunny.com writes, Amazon actually took the cover off the market and now only offers the Kindle Lighted Leather cover. Zatz blogged about how his mother had a problem with her Kindle going haywire on her while she was traveling and had to contact Amazon customer support when she got back.

Zatz says the customer support rep told his mom that what she'd been experiencing was not unusual, but he "wouldn't elaborate on the cause, other than to finger the official Leather Cover." The rep promptly instructed her on how to remove the cover, then gave her a $60 credit to purchase the Kindle Lighted Cover. … Read more

Trade up to a leather laptop case

Many laptop bags and cases have been reviewed on these pages, and the vast majority of them are well-made, functional, and completely appropriate for lugging a portable computer around town. The only problem is that you wouldn't want to be seen dead with the majority of them. No matter how many side pockets and shoulder pads they include, there's still a vestige of either college campus backpack or corporate stuffed-shirt nylon briefcase in just about every one.

That's why I keep finding myself ditching whatever high-tech, waterproof, ballistic nylon, gimmicky bag I've been using for a … Read more

Maclove's Apple cases send a message

Ever since Steve Jobs pulled out a MacBook Air from a manila envelope at a Macworld keynote address in 2008, a few accessory makers have been inspired to design leather manila envelope cases for the Air. Well, we noticed that a company called Maclove has gone a step further and designed a whole line of "Messager" leather manila cases for Mac products.

We had a little trouble finding Messager cases for sale online, but the iPad version appears to cost about $50 (shipping not included). If this style suits your fancy, Amazon does have a number of manila-style … Read more

Amazon promises to replace problem Kindle covers, look into issue

If you have a new Kindle and have poked around for a cover for your device, you may have noticed some diverging user reviews on Amazon.com of the non-lighted Kindle Leather cover. While the cover has many five-star reviews, there are more than 100 one-star reviews claiming the cover has problems that cause the device to freeze or reboot itself.

In a recent review, for example, customer Gunjan Srivastava writes:

I bought a Kindle 3 (Wi-Fi only) about three months back and was using it without any trouble. Then, I bought this leather cover and suddenly my Kindle ran … Read more

15 must-have iPad cases

The biggest change to our on-the-go computing habits in 2010 has been the introduction of Apple's iPad tablet. While ultraportable and Netbook laptops are still very important, there's a pretty good chance that meetings, day trips, and coffee shop work sessions are now conducted with the help of an iPad instead.

Picking the right case for your iPad is important, and we've gone through dozens to compile this roundup of useful ones. We're still searching for the holy grail of the perfect iPad case, but many of the examples collected here are either solid all-around products … Read more

iPhone 4 charging case showdown: Mophie versus Dexim

Raise your hand if your iPhone 4 has ever flashed the 20-percent-left battery warning at a most inopportune time, with no usable or practical outlets in sight.

Yep, me, too. I've been the girl scanning cafe walls, poking at ambiguous hinged metal floor plates, and scouring airline gates in the hopes of finding a power source more times than I'd like to admit. If that's you, too, you should consider investing in a charging case that's equipped with its own battery pack.

Over the last few weeks, I slipped CNET's iPhone 4 into both the … Read more

Amazon's secret weapon: Kindle Lighted Leather Case

With Amazon's third-generation Kindle shipping soon, much of the talk has been about the device itself. But it's worth taking a moment to examine one of the better designed add-on accessories we've seen in recent years: the Kindle Lighted Leather Case.

What's so impressive about it? Well, as most everybody knows, one of the weaknesses of an E-Ink display is that it's not backlit so you need a light source to use a Kindle, Nook, or any E-Ink e-reader in the dark. Of course, a lot of people like to read in bed, especially insomniacs, … Read more