The 1 GB of RAM integrated into the drive allows it to outperform other USB 3.0 hard drives according to Buffalo. Data transfer speeds promise to be up to 408 MB/s, which is 2.3 times faster than typical USB 3.0 hard drives according to Buffalo. The storage device works for both PC and Mac computers.

The drive is available in 2 TB or 3 TB capacities. The drive measures 1.8 x 5.0 x 8-inches and weighs 2.2 pounds. It gets power from an included AC adapter. The drive supports Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP in 32 or 64-bit flavors.

The DriveStation DDR is formatted in NTFS by default and requires reformatting to work with Mac computers. The 2 TB version of the drive is available for $139.99 with the 3 TB version available for $179.99. Both versions of the drive can be picked up online and in some retail stores right now.

[via Buffalotech.com]

With the Big Toe you’re going to be bringing this “unstoppable force of knowledge” to your computer the same way you’ve brought him into your heart with the plush he’s been represented in before today. This cute beast joins Babo, Wage, Ice-Bat, and OX in the full Uglydoll collection. This whole collection is now available in 128GB storage stick size as well!

“Mimoco has always had a pretty awesome relationship with David Horvath and UGLYDOLL. We couldn’t be happier to produce yet another character with Pretty Ugly, especially since Big Toe is an original UGLYDOLL character from 2007.” – Mimoco PR gal Jessica Smiley

Each little bot contains its own unique collection of bits and pieces for the greater good of your notebook, smartphone, and tablet the first time you plug them in! You’ll have wallpapers for your machines that tip the greatness of the drive itself, icons so you can be sure you’re seeing the right monster, and icons for the rest of your folders if you like as well. It’s all lit up real cool – and each of them will only cost you a cool $24.94 for starters.

Be sure you’re picking up your Big Toe today or be forever mournful: there’s only 2000 of these limited-edition oddities in the world! Have a peek at the rest of our Mimoco coverage in the timeline below, and be sure to let us know if you’re a proud owner of a MIMOBOT or six already!

We’ve seen AC outlets that feature integrated USB ports in the past. Newer Technology has announced the next generation Power2U AC/USB in-wall charging solution. This charging solution is a new outlet that requires you to remove your existing outlet in the wall and place the new outlet in its stead.

The Power2U device has two traditional AC outlets designed for use in the US and a pair of USB ports built right in. The USB ports now have tamper-resistant receptacles with little doors that slide down over the top to keep children from poking things into USB ports. You should be able to plug-in two USB charging devices and two standard AC outlet devices into the same outlet.

The new generation outlets also now come in a 20 amp rated unit along with the original 15 amp rated unit. Newer Technology says that the 20 amp model is designed for both residential and commercial, hospitality, education, and municipal applications. Both the 15 amp and 20 amp models are UL listed in featuring Smart Power functionality that only provides the power required by the device attached to the outlet or USB socket. The USB ports also automatically turn themselves off when the cable is removed. The outlet is now available in white, white, ivory, and light almond. The 15 amp model is available for $29.95 and the 20 amp model is available for $39.95.

[via Newer Technology]

A new USB air purifier has turned up from Sharp called the Sharp IG-DK1A Humidified Plasmacluster Ion Generator. That is a long name for device that has a pretty simple function, this device is designed to humidify the air you breathe and create lots of ions. Negatively charged ions are used by a lot of air purifying devices to attract dirt particles and other tiny particles floating in the air.

Once those particles of dirt, pollen, and dander are attracted to these negative ions they clump together and then fall to the ground. The particles might not be physically filtered from the air you breathe, but my removing them from floating around in the air you’re much less likely to breathe them in. One of the biggest upsides to this sort of air purifying technology is that there are no filters to be replaced.

This particular air purifier is able to create quite a few negatively charged ions to the tune of 25,000 ions/cm3. The air purifier measures 124 mm x 182 mm x 166 mm and weighs 820 g. The device also has a small 300 mL water reservoir that consumes water at 30 mL an hour. That small reservoir is used to humidify the air. The internal fan of this device can also be powered using a normal AC adapter if you don’t want to plug in near your computer. The air purifier sells for $220.

[via EverythingUSB]

The new external storage solution features multiple interfaces and is called the Multi-Interface HDD. The store solution is offered in three capacities including 1 TB, 2 TB, and 3 TB. The drive has multiple interfaces including USB 3.0, eSATA, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800.

Maxell says that the drives are hot plug and play allowing them to be plugged in and unplugged while your computer is up and running. The hard drives inside the external storage solutions are high-performance 7200 RPM units with at least 16 MB of cache. The drives are designed to work with Apple and Microsoft Windows computers as well as Windows Server 2003 and 2008.

The external storage solutions are housed inside the durable aluminum housing offering shock resistance and supporting a wide temperature range. The drives can operate in a temperature range of -20-degrees Celsius to 60-degrees. The 1 TB storage solution will cost $213, the 2 TB solution will cost $276, and the 3 TB solution will cost $351. All three capacities are the same physical size measuring 5.61 x 1.38 x 8.52 inches.

[via Maxell]

Buick’s next-generation IntelliLink infotainment system works with wireless connectivity for your mobile devices, customizable options galore, and an easy-to-use user interface from start to finish. And it’s all builds on a hearty connection of both safety and security with OnStar. If you’re an OnStar user, you’ll be able to access city-by-city weather reports and ultra-simple embedded navigation using their “traditional Blue button” – rather handy.

You’ll be working with connectivity to a selection of apps for music, starting with Pandora. With Pandora you’ll have a collection of custom-built radio stations with new music coming in by the day – you’ll also be working with a set of 60 “favorites”, starting with radio stations outside of Pandora. These stations can be AM, FM, or XM, and you’ll have plenty of space left over to store “favorites” in contacts, destinations, and music from media aside from radio.

You’ll be able to connect with your media and your apps for control of the many various things IntelliLink works with using your touchscreen or by controlling your system with your voice. IntelliLink employs natural language voice recognition allowing you to control most anything you’d be able to control with your finger. You can enter destinations, browse media, safely place calls, play music, and control a variety of other functions as well.

If you’re a fan of using your touchscreen interface, you’ll find the controls to be rather familiar. You can do what Buick calls a “fling” through your lists, swipe up and down, and drag all around – basic control cues you’ll have learned well by now due to your everyday use of your smartphone or tablet devices. You can also control your music, set destinations, and more with IntelliLink’s connection to your smartphone – this done with a USB cord or Bluetooth wirelessly.

Of course the audio experience you’re going to have with the output this IntelliLink system is controlling depends entirely on the vehicle you’re driving. With the 2014 Buick Regal you’ll be working with a new nine-speaker Bose sound system including “strategically placed” tweeters and a fabulous subwoofer – you’ve got an acoustically optimized interior as well. With the 2014 Buick LaCrosse you’ve got seven standard speakers including the, again, “strategically placed” tweeters as well as a subwoofer all coming together to complement a quiet, acoustically optimized interior – with optional 11-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound being available as well!

Have a peek at our Buick tag portal for more information on the IntelliLink system as it appears in more vehicles through the future, and don’t forget to check the rest of our Car Hub for auto action from here until forever!

For instance, when you’re away from the computer it can monitor incoming messages from Skype, Instant Messenger, Outlook, and other locations. The device has customizable alert options and bright white LED lights. It also features a loud ringer and vibration alert to get your attention when you aren’t at your desk. Software included with the device allows you to set up VIP contacts and preferred alert settings.

That means only the most important contacts will interrupt you outside of normal hours. The device also features red “waiting” lights that glow to indicate when you have a pending message if you missed the device’s initial alert. All of the messages that come in are viewable in the Sonic Alert Messaging Window allowing you to keep all communications in one place.

The Sonic-connect 2 is plug-and-play capability and is small and compact enough to take with you on the go. The device gets power and connectivity to the computer from a USB port. Multiple Windows operating systems are supported including XP, Vista, and 7. However, the device is not compatible with Mac computers. The Sonic-connect 2 is available now for $49.95.

[via Sonic Alert]

The air purifier is able to clean the air around your desk of dirt and odors. The purifier has a two-speeds and stacked filter elements to clean the air as the air is pulled through the purifier. The filter set up has six layers total and is capable of trapping particles in the air as small as 0.3 µm.

That is an impressively small particle size and the device could go a long way towards improving the air quality in your office or cubicle. The purifier also features an integrated ionizer to help capture dirt and other allergens. Another feature inside the device designed specifically for killing bacteria and germs is an integrated ultraviolet light.

Hospitals all around the world use ultraviolet light to kill airborne bacteria and germs so as strange as using UV light sounds, it is a proven method. The USB purifier sells for $65, so the device isn’t exactly cheap. You could probably go down to your local Walmart for Target store and pick up a plug-in air purifier that would do much better job, and do it quicker.

[via EverythingUSB]

This machine is able to connect to your PC directly via USB, allowing you to take your mom and dad’s record collection and convert it into MP3 files using the software included in the box – Audacity, that is. The model number on this beast is PVTT2U, having a rather small effect on the final outcome of your newly-minted go-anywhere sound system. Inside you’ve got two built-in anti-magnetic speakers that are forward-facing rather than upward facing as many ancient systems were – here you’re going full force forward for the future.

The way you charge this beast is through its USB port. This is the same way you connect to it with your PC. Unlike many models in the past, you’ve got a rechargeable battery in this machine, allowing you to charge up, pack up, and play right out in the middle of a field. Bring some flower people music with you and have a good ol’ summer shindig if you wish!

The full unit is 10.63 x 13.78 x 4.33 inches and you’ll be able to work with Stereo RCA output as well – connect to your massive speakers! You’ll be able to switch between 33, 45, and 78 RPM for your different sized albums – full-sized, singles, and in-betweens! This machine will be available to you right this minute (or rather soon) from Pyle Audio straight from their online store for $188.99 USD – sounds like a hot early Spring pick-up for the Black Sabbath fan in all of you, yes?

Note also that we’ve previously reviewed the PLTTB8UI Record Player and found it be be rather fabulous – big time!

The screen of the monitor is 10.1-inches and has a resolution of 1280 x 800. The product gets connectivity and power from a USB cable. The little display uses a stylus that needs no battery and supports 512 levels of pressure sensitivity. Using the pen you can make annotations on just about anything you can think of and you computer will accept handwriting.

The product is designed to work with various electronic form software including Wacom’s own software offering and SoftPro SignDoc and xyzmo SIGNificant. The display has a stand that allows you to view it at angles of 15 or 20°. Users that prefer can also lay the screen flat on the desktop surface.

The display also includes integrated AES encryption for security. The device measures 12.2 x 8.3 x 0.6-inches and has four user assignable express keys. The worst part about this product is the price tag. Wacom is asking $749 with the shipping date set for April.

[via EverythingUSB]

Founder and CEO/Chairman Anthony Kory spoke this week about the two services saying “we are all used to looking at videos, marketing information and more on a computer screen. It works, but we have lost the satisfying feeling of holding something in your hand.” He continued, noting “we wanted to bring back that satisfaction by using technology in a very personal way.” According to Kory, the reaction most often shown by users that open a card or brochure with their video technology inside is a mix of surprise and wonderment. They often exclaim that they didn’t know such technology existed in the first place!

Above you’ll see a presentation video made by PIM to show the options available with their service – high quality video and sound onboard. It’s also clear that PIM is able to work with interactive buttons and implement their display solution on most any product – even inside a gift box! Below you’ll find Spreengs, the sister-company of PIM, in business to offer up traditional greeting cards and invitations with this innovative thin screen solution.

Spreengs are “the first customizable video cards ever”, so say the creators of this solution for your next-level invite or greeting. You’ve only to import video into your computer from your camera to your computer then transfer the video to the card you buy from Spreengs. This card can be re-charged and changed as many times as you want. You’ll be getting a simpler card than you’d be able to get if you were a massive company working with PIM, but there it is – a lovely simple solution that’s both easy and rather nice to work with!

This next-generation video solution will be shown at CeBIT here in 2013, and we’ll be there too! Stay tuned for the March 5th through 9th set of CeBIT events to see the whole trade show straight from SlashGear in our lovely CeBit 2013 tag portal!

Your 100 bucks will get you an interesting device that is approximately the size of a large flash drive. The gadget is designed to plug into your vehicle’s USB port allowing you to access all sorts of content including music, podcasts, and audio books. The device has built-in Wi-Fi and when you park in the driveway, it’s designed to automatically sync with cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and other services.

The device will sync with those accounts and automatically transfer any new audio content to its own internal storage. The device has 4 GB of internal flash memory but only 2 GB of that is available for storing audio content. The little gadget has 1 GB of RAM and a microSD card slot to expand storage when you need to. Inside the box is also an Arm Cortex A8 processor operating at up to 1 GHz.

Users can choose specific audio content they want to store on the device and the Automatica also has a web service that allows you to manage the audio files stored on the device. If your smartphone can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, Automatica can add new content anywhere you can get a mobile signal. The device also has an available specific car power supply kit since most cars don’t provide power over USB port.

[via automatica]

The paper outlines the way in which Google’s privacy warriors intend to change the online world, starting with passwords and security tokens. “Along with many in the industry, we feel passwords and simple bearer tokens such as cookies are no longer sufficient to keep users safe,” note Grosse and Upadhyay, launching into talk about what Yubico has to offer. The group’s cryptographic card is currently working to connect with your account via USB interface, attaching itself to your accounts with a single click.

Think of it as a car key for the automobile that is your online life.

“Others have tried similar approaches but achieved little success in the consumer world. Although we recognize that our initiative will likewise remain speculative until we’ve proven large scale acceptance, we’re eager to test it with other websites. …

We’d like your smartphone or smartcard-embedded finger ring to authorize a new computer via a tap on the computer, even in situations in which your phone might be without cellular connectivity. ” – Grosse and Upadhyay

For those of you thinking about how Google is getting involved in this fabulous security for the future, know this: they’ve developed a protocol for device-based authentication that “they say”, as Wired puts it, “is independent of Google [and] requires no special software to work.” The web browser you’re working with will of course need to be able to support the device authentication you’re using, but that’s about it.

Think about using a USB stick to start up your online life whenever you want to log in, wherever you go. Can you imagine anything going wrong with this type of situation? Let us know your concerns or excitement – or both!

The version of this device that we got here is the Purple while the folks at MiPow also have Orange, Charcoal Gray, and Silver available now. You’ll be able to charge this device up with your own microUSB cord from a wall socket the same as you would your own smartphone and you’ll be able to charge your Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry device up at will. In fact, if you’ve got any sort of device that charges with either a micro USB (included in the device’s build), or full-size plug USB charging cable (like an iPhone 5 Lightning cable, for instance), you’ll be able to charge here.

Five of the sides (all but the bottom) are anodized aluminum while the bottom is “painted by a fine rubber” as they say, anti-slip and all. We’ve had a look at a few other MiPow devices this week as well including the SP 5500 mobile battery, also known as the Power Tube 5500. This machine works with 5500mAh battery capacity and is available in a massive amount of different colors – and it’s got a flashlight on it as well!

Have a peek at our whole CES 2013 offering in hands-on and up to the minute updates in our giant CES portal all week long. Also be sure to be on the lookout in the future for more MiPow action from all angles – they’ve also got Bluetooth headsets and speakers. Fun stuff for everyone!

1TB of storage just slightly bigger than the size of a thumb rocking USB 3.0 speeds. That’s just crazy. I want one already. Sadly as I’m sure many of you know, the price tag is pretty ridiculous. Now like mentioned above, we’ve seen 1000 GB flash drives before, so lets talk about the speed in this crazy fast thumb drive.

Kingston has added this to their HyperX Predator series for the simple fact that it’s blazing fast and they didn’t compromise on speed when building this device. Kingston’s Predator doesn’t skimp on speed, at all. Promising read/write speeds of up to 240MB/s and 160MB/s, respectively. Nice right?

It might not be as fast as many SSD’s available today, but then again this this is relatively small and fits in your shirt or pants pocket. Then as usual Kingston’s popular wireless storage WiDrive was updated and their new model features removable storage — instead of the integrated versions available today. Add this 1TB thumb drive to that and you’ll have your own 1TB of sweet sweet storage. Almost your own personal cloud as the storage is all accessible over WiFi. The 1TB HyperX Predator will be available later in Q1, and while the price hasn’t been disclosed yet, the 512GB version is available for a staggering $1,750. Tough pill to swallow right there. Expect a rather steep price when they reveal all the details later this month. Start saving those nickels.

Project Ophelia is the handiwork of Dell’s Cloud Client Computing Team – formerly the Dell Wyse team – and given the initial enterprise focus, as you’d expect there’s a good dollop of security in play. There’s support for Citrix, Microsoft, and VMware remote-computing platforms, and onboard Bluetooth and WiFi for connectivity; Bluetooth is used to hook up a wireless keyboard, mouse, gamepad, or other peripheral.

No external power supply is needed, with Project Ophelia getting all its juice from the USB port. Inside there’s Android 4.0, with preloaded web, social networking, and media playback support, as well as Android app support; it’s unclear if that includes Play market access.

Project Ophelia will be available in the first half of 2013, Dell says, though it hasn’t yet suggested pricing. One possibility is a deal with cloud access providers or companies with OnLive ambitions, who might rebadge the stick to suit their own service.

Specifically speaking, the Nessie utilizes what Blue is called “adaptive processing,” which combines an equalizer, de-esser, and level control. Through using this adaptive processing, the microphone can clean up your audio as you’re recording it, which could mean that you spend less time editing your track after you’ve finished recording all of your audio. Provided this feature works as good as Blue claims, then it should prove to be a very handy feature indeed.

Of course, implementing real time processing isn’t going to solve all of your editing woes, which is why Blue is also including a “studio-grade” pop filter and a shockmount to help cut back on rumbling and vibrations while you’re recording. You’ll also be getting three recording modes with Nessie, with one tuned to give you richer vocals and another designed to deliver more detailed sounds from instruments. If you’d rather do without those two modes, the third lets you record raw audio, which you can then manually edit after the fact. This way, if you’ve already got audio editing down to a science, you can have complete control over your recordings.

Nessie features a zero-latency headphone jack, and is USB plug-and-play compatible with both Mac and Windows. If you want to record on the go, you can use one of Apple‘s 30-pin to USB or Lightning to USB camera adapters to hook up Nessie to your iPad. If you want a Nessie for yourself, it’ll set you back $99.99, but at the moment, it’s unclear when Blue is planning to make it available. We’ll have that information for you once Blue makes it available, but in the meantime, keep it tuned here to SlashGear for more straight from CES 2013!

We’ve seen powered Backpacks before that pack internal batteries to charge our favorite smartphones, tablets, and more, but this is made to handle any and all situations. With nearly enough pockets to store your entire office, an awesome industrial design, and 3 USB cables to handle a wide array of devices you’ll never be without juice.

TYLT’s new Erergi Backpack rocks a 10,050 mAh battery that’s built in, and will be able to charge your average smartphone almost each day of the week, depending on size. They’ve equipped this backpack with an array of compartments to store everything, and they’ve also got a place specifically for your tablet.

You can charge a single device, or up to three simultaneously. It sports three USB ports on the side and enough cables to access the nearly 10 different compartments. Every area of the backpack can be provided with juice to charge devices, but it comes with 3 cables already routed for your convenience. The TYLT Energi Backpack can be charged back up via micro-USB, as well as a full USB 2.0 port on the side for easy recharging on the go. It’s currently available for $169.

The PowerDock 5 consists essentially of a massive power source with five large bays that hold your smart devices upright, one next to the other, as they charge. The side of the PowerDock 5 has a set of 5 USB ports where your own cords will be attached. This machine is able to work with smartphones and tablet of all types, again, just so long as you’ve got the cords your devices use on the regular.

Next you’ve got the Griffin PowerBlock Universal as well as the PowerJolt Universal. Both of these accessories work with ChargeSensor technology – this technology “senses the requirements of any device plugged into it, providing optimal charging for all USB-chargeable devices.” The PowerBlock is a low-profile plug that’s made to fit in nicely along with the rest of your plugs in a power strip.

The PowerJolt also works with a low profile plug for your auto’s 12 volt accessory outlet with a powerful 10 watt charging circuit ready for action. This tiny beast has an LED power indicator to tell you when the device is ready to safely charge with and works with an internal SmartFuse with its own built-in circuit breaker with no fuses that need replacing.

The PowerDock 5 will run you $99.99, the ChargeSensor PowerBlock will be $29.99, and the PowerJolt will be out for $24.99, and the whole lot will be available in the Spring of 2013. Be sure to stick with SlashGear to see the full CES 2013 blast both in release and hands-on form all week though our giant CES portal!

This machine is made to be rugged, prepared to stick with you be it in your own home for an emergency or out along with you camping. You’ve got connectivity with radio along AM and FM as well as all seven NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather band stations – and an “Alert” system to boot! This “Alert” function, when activated, automatically has your unit broadcasting emergency weather alerts from your area.

The turbine is quoted as giving between 10 and 15 minutes of radio and flashlight use per one minute cranked – and we’ve generally found that to be entirely accurate. If you’re in an area where you’ve got your own supply of AAA batteries, you can feel free to use those too – and if you’ve got a wall socket, this machine takes in DC power via mini-USB. This machine also has the ability to “dump charge” your smartphone with its own USB port – plug your own microUSB cord in and let it pump up!

You’ve got the ability to play the radio stations as a standard radio would or you can choose to play tunes through the machine’s AUX-input. This means that if you’ve got your smartphone and an audio cord, you can plug in and blast the tunes out through the FRX3 like a pro! There’s also a 3-LED flashlight that can shine straight-up white or blink red, and all of the buttons around the entire device are illuminated. The area around the solar power panel is also glow-in-the-dark.

You’ve got a small display in the center of all this that shows you what you’ve got turned on or off, which radio station you’ve got on, and if you’ve got an alarm set up – yes indeed you can set this machine up to be your alarm clock, too. The display is back-lit so you can see it in the dark, and the whole device measures in at 7.875 H x 7 W x 3.5-inch D. You can pick this machine up at fine electronics stores near you for right around $60 USD, and it’s worth every penny.

Word of an update to the policies Apple has for accessories working with their mobile devices came down today via CNET where Apple spokesperson Tom Neumayr made just the past crystal clear. The actual “we’ve changed” part of the equation was left to the author to elaborate on himself with a simple “the company added that the guidelines have since been updated.” Neumayr spoke thusly:

“Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free. We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did not allow this.” – Neumayr

What we’re talking about here is not Apple telling the world that they may not have cords coming from devices with the Lightning connector as well as the 30-pin iPod connector in one, but that if they do, they’ll not be speaking kindly with them any time soon. Accessory makers around the world speak with Apple on a regular basis to get official licenses from the company so that they can get approval for the cords Apple designed. With the dawn of the Lightning cable, many accessory makers had to re-think their entire iDevice strategy.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see some of the brief history of the Lightning connector and make sure you’ve got your eyes open for the first dual-connector accessories in the very, very near future. Expect some Apple-approved dual-wielding docks by the middle of 2013, without a doubt.

Upon setting up the device, users will be directed to the Automatica website, where they will select which cloud services store their audio content, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and SkyDrive. The device can also be pointed to podcasts. Wi-Fi will need to be set up; the device can be connected to your home network, can be tethered to a smartphone for in-car connectivity, and can latch on to open networks when you’re out traveling.

INRETE President Giorgio Bernardi offered this statement. “This plug and play device allows for users that have a USB port in their vehicle to enjoy instant audio content – without any further modifications to the vehicle. Our goal is to simplify this process by making it easy to use, yet make it personal for each user with our online interface.”

Content is automatically synced from the cloud services and podcasts selected during setup whenever the USB drive is in range of a wireless network. This means the dongle never has to be plugged into a computer or manually messed with in any way. When a new podcast is released, for example, the device will nab it over the air for your listening pleasure. Automatica can be pre-ordered now from Automaticaweb.com for $99.

While I can understand needing to keep your backside toasty and warm during the cold winter months, some products Thanko offers are quite beyond my understanding. Having eight-year-old daughter who hates combing her hair, I’m quite familiar with morning crazy hair so perhaps this gadget does make a little sense. What you see here is a hairbrush that plugs into the USB port to charge an internal battery.

Once the battery is charged, you can fill a tiny little 15 mL container with water. The brush will automatically spray a fine mist allowing you to comb your hair while the brush sprays it with water. This might be the perfect thing for younger kids who have a hard time working a pump top bottle of detangler.

I would totally fill that little plastic container with detangler rather than water instead of fighting my daughter to let us spray her hair. The brush costs ¥6379, which works out to about $78. That makes this a very expensive hairbrush.

[via EverythingUSB]

The portable battery pack is ruggedized and water resistant to survive life in the wild. The outside of the device is covered in silicone and can survive drops. It also has an integrated LED flashlight to help you see where you are going.

The external battery pack is available in two configurations that differ in battery capacity. One of the configurations has a 7200 mAh battery inside and the other has an 8400mAh battery inside. Both capacities have the ability to charge two USB devices at the same time.

The smaller capacity battery pack sells for $29.90 and the higher capacity battery cells are $39.90. The only downside I see to this device is that you would have to carry your device’s charging cable with you on the go. Both of the Tough Pro external batteries are available now at Amazon and other online retailers.

The PetiteKey offers several features, including being waterproof up to 100-meters, something that’s perhaps most convenient for those times your keys find their way into the washing machine. The connector is scratch-resistant, a necessary feature due to both the drive’s cap-free end and its perilous life on a key ring. The PetiteKey offers USB 2.0 connectivity.

Bundled with the PetiteKey are two extra services: Private-Public, and Wuala Secure Cloud Storage. Private-Public is encryption software allowing users to protect their files with AES 256-bit security and a password. Wuala Secure Cloud Storage is included for one-year, and provides an online account for users to store their data.

The drive is available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities, and is priced at $14.99, $22.99, and $39.99. You can pick up the USB drive from LaCie’s online store, or via one of the company’s partners. LaCie is a manufacturer of storage devices, and operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

[via LaCie]

The Mimo Magic Touch is the first model released by Mimo Monitors to be assured readiness to work with the official Mac OS X Touchscreen Driver distributed by Mimo Monitors as well. This driver works with Intel Macs only and is compatible with systems up to and including OS X Mountain Lion. The driver, incidentally, is an alpha release – but once the final version is ready for action, you’ll get that upgrade for free.

The folks at Mimo Monitors note that “that this software is proprietary and we cannot provide it without charging this nominal license fee.” This is why it’s not free, if you’d like to know. You’ll also get a free downloadable “Gesture Pack” that allows two-finger scroll, pinch / magnify, and rotate gestures galore. You can also download a “trial version” of the software from Mimo Monitors once you’ve got the Mimo Magic Touch if you’d like to be sure you actually want to work with it, too.

The Mimo Magic Touch is also a lovely touchscreen monitor on its own, working with Windows 7 with full touchscreen capabilities with a 1024 x 600 resolution display, an adjustable dock/bast, and connects with USB 2.0. This unit needs to be connected with a USB cord in order to function, but requires JUST the USB cord and no additional display cords to work. Neat stuff! You’ll be picking up the monitor for $299.99 and the driver for $35.00 USD.

The new product is called the Portable Battery Pack and has an integrated 5200 mAh rechargeable battery tucked away inside the bag. The battery allows you to recharge your devices on the go without having access to an outlet. Inside the bag is a Power Bank where the battery resides and a Cable Rack System.

The Cable Rack System offers four removable devices that you can coil cables around. The battery pack itself has four USB ports allowing you to charge four gadgets at the same time. The battery itself can connect to a wall outlet allowing you to charge the battery when near an outlet and your devices.

The bag is only 7 mm thick making it easy to take with you on the go. The battery will work with any USB gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, portable speakers, and even electric toothbrushes. The Portable Charging Station is available now for $159.99.

The adapter plugs into your Lightning-equipped device (either the iPhone 5, 4th-gen iPad, 5th-gen iPod Touch, 7th-gen iPod Nano, or iPad mini) and will allow you to use a standard micro USB cable to charge up your iOS device. The adapter is available online now and we’re guessing at Apple retail stores across the country as well.

This probably is one of Apple’s smallest accessories ever, and it can be yours for $19. The adapter first showed up in Europe last month due to a legal issue where all European devices had to be compatible with micro USB in some fashion, and finally, a month-and-a-half later US users are greeted with a viable solution to their surplus problem of micro USB cables.

Apple has slowly been rolling out its various Lightning accessories ever since the iPhone 5 launch, including a much-needed Lightning to 30-pin adapter for those who prefer using their older Apple cables, as well as a couple of Lightning display adapters with both HDMI and VGA options priced at $49 each.

The best part about this new feature is that it’s all software-based, so there’s no need to go out and buy an additional set of iTwin USB dongles if you already have some — they’ll work with the SecureBox update. All you do is plug the dongle in and link it to your Dropbox account. You’re all set from there on out.

Once everything is in place, the SecureBox software generates a unique key that’s stored on both halves of the iTwin dongle. A window will pop up into which you can dump sensitive files, and they will become encrypted automatically with the option to add a password for added security. Once that’s done, the files will be put safely in your Dropbox volume.

After the initial setup process, the two halves of the USB dongle can be separated and act independently. So, you’ll be able to send encrypted files to your Dropbox account from two different locations if need be. Obviously, this in itself poses as a security risk, since either of the dongles could become lost, so just practice extreme caution and always remember where your iTwin dongles are at all times. For more info on iTwin itself, read our full review.

[via Engadget]

This set of cases has a headphone clip, camera lens ring, USB drive (removable), kickstand for both portrait and landscape (using the USB drive stick as the stand), and multi-tool. The multi-tool has a standard blade, serrated blade, flat-head screwdriver, bottle opener, and a choice of colors – black or silver! Of course you’re going to want to pop the tool off the case when you’re heading to the airport – not allowed!

The case fits on your phone like a charm and adds less than 3mm to its surface. The bulk of the case is made of aerospace grade composite materials as well, so you’ll have some basic protection for the back and sides of your device. The USB stick comes in two iterations – 8DB or 16GB, and again, fits into the case in several different ways allowing you some on-the-go stand-up action for your phone.

The headphone clip allows you to keep your phones tight to the device when you’ve wrapped them around the phone, and the integrated lens ring works with a variety of lenses, each of them included in the package. There’s a macro lens, a fish-eye lens, and a wide-angle lens too.

For those of you still wanting to contribute to the Indiegogo campaign, there’s good news – if you’ve got an iPhone 4/4S now and plan to update to the iPhone 5, no worries! You get both an iPhone 4/4S case and an iPhone 5 case in the package together – and the multi-tool and USB stick fit in both! Check it out!

The Apple Lighting cord you’ll be getting – or have already gotten – with your future Apple mobile products is indeed reversible. You can plug it in without looking and you’ll always be putting it in the right way up. With the new cord working one way or the other like this, one would expect the order of the pins to be 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 no matter which side is up – but what Peter has discovered is that the same signals are coming from pin 2 on one side and pin 7 on the other. In other words, if you could see straight through from one side to the other, each pin would be the same straight through.

Only that’s not exactly it – it’s not that simple. The pins instead appear to line up 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to 1 7 6 8 5 3 2 4. His sketches here make it a bit more clear, if you’d like. Also above you’re seeing the chip inside the cord that does the dirty work.

Peter also discovered this Authentication Chip in the Lighting cord – this means that anyone hoping to create 3rd party cords will be having one whole heck of a lot more trouble doing so than they did with past generations. Each cord has a chip, each chip more than likely lets the device it’s plugging into what it’ll be delivering through which pin. The complexity of each element in the Apple mobile universe continues to expand – let us know what you think of it!

[via Apple Insider]

The Cotton Candy has seen various delays, improvements, design changes and more. We’ve seen tons of lower quality and cheaper alternatives appear on the market in their absence, but they’re finally ready to start shipping. Originally it was set to hit the market in March, but later that turned into May for developers and now it looks like the public can get their hands on these little miniature devices.

The new and improved Cotton Candy is still the size of a pack of gum, only the design is seriously improved. You’ll get a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, ARM Mali-400MP GPU, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and a micro-SD slot. On each side are the ports consisting of USB and HDMI-out for all types of use. Streaming movies, Android, Games and more to a display and hooking up wireless mice and more. The options are pretty limitless.

It currently runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and we might even see Jelly Bean, as well as other Linux-based operating systems. The device doesn’t support the Google Play Store either — so that’s a thing. FXI is alerting those two pre-ordered that devices are shipping now, and they’ll end the pre-order status for full store access starting October 1st. More details can be found at their website.

[via Liliputing]

The four versions of the flash drives available include Captain America, Thor, Ironman, and The Hulk. Each of the flash drives has 8 GB of storage inside the base along with a USB connector on the end. The company also offers a four-port USB hub with The Avengers logo.

If you feel the uncontrollable need to own all four of these flash drives, Best Buy is offering all of them in a special package. With the launch of The Avengers on DVD and Blu-ray today, Best Buy has a special offer with all four flash drives bundled with the DVD movie. The pricing on the DVD bundle isn’t announced at this time.

Each of the individual flash drives is available online at $16.99 each. The Avengers USB hub is also available online for $16.99. The USB connector slides out of the end of the flash drives and plugs directly into your computer.

The Smile includes a color measurement device and simple software. The software is wizard-based and uses graphics and video animation so users only have to follow on-screen instructions for quick and easy color calibration. X-Rite says that users don’t need to know anything about color science to get quality results using the Smile.

The device uses the same color profile technology as the company’s professional color calibration products. The Smile will work on LED or LCD displays. The Smile allows users to calibrate multiple monitors accurately and the software automatically detects when multiple monitors are connected to a single Mac or PC to allow for color calibration on each screen.

The Smile connects to a computer via a USB port and supports both Windows and Mac computers. The device also supports multiple languages, including English, French, German, and Spanish. The Smile is available right now for $99.

This connection mystery will stick around until either Apple confirms/denies the Lightning USB host possibility or when the iPhone 5 hits the hands of millions of citizens across the earth – at which point the hacks can commence. If the Lightning connector does indeed allow USB hosting with the iPhone 5 – and the iPod touch and iPod nano refreshes also announced this week – we’ll see a litany of new kinds of accessories in the very near future. It also opens up many doors to people deep in the world of Apple product hacking – not something Apple loves, but they’re there.

NOTE: Check out our iPhone 5 hands-on experience now!

Here’s the deal for the visual learners amongst us – with the current Lightning connector we’ve got Lightning on one end and USB male on the other – this allows the device to connect with your PC and other devices that exist as USB hosts.

If Apple has indeed included USB host functionality with the Lightning connector, we’ll still need an accessory from Apple to make it work – it’d look like this:

What do you think? Will Apple open their arms to a wave of accessories that already work with a massive amount of mobile devices right now – will there be some new requirements for compatibility? What will this big change bring if, indeed, it does exist?

Note that this technology is a brand effort as well as a technology effort. Apple has made it clear that Thunderbolt is a technology that they’ve branded themselves – so to speak – while Lightening is another brand of theirs here with this cord first and foremost. We’re going to see a whole lot more of this technology in the near future from Apple, you can bet!

UPDATE: Check out the pricing and release details for the basic cord as well as the converter devices and adapters as well – up in the Apple Store online now!

This iPhone 5 news comes along with a massive bunch of details for the device that have been shown off all day long – and will be shown at great length over the next week as well. Stay tuned to our Apple portal for all the information you need on this iPhone 5 as it hits store shelves later this month – or so we expect! Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the iPhone 5 and whatever else we see here at the Apple event as it unfolds through the day!

What you’re seeing here is a collection of iPhone 5 (or The New iPhone, whatever you want to call it), cords right alongside some microUSB cords from the Meizu MX, a popular smartphone in China. It would appear that some manufacturer partners have gotten their hands on this collection of next-generation cords in preparation for the iPhone 5 being released later this year. The cord currently appears to have 16 pins – 9 on one side, 9 on the other, interchangeable in the plugging.

With this new cord, the iPhone – and possibly the rest of the Apple mobile universe – will be able to plug without looking. Where before when you’d plug your Apple cord into your iPad or iPod touch or iPhone, you’d have to make sure it was facing forward. Now it’ll be a whichever-way-you-want sort of situation. it’s also been tipped that the cord will be held in with magnets so that if it’s pulled out with force, your device wont go with it.

This device cord will likely appear again on the 12th of this month – Wednesday of this week! That’s the day that Apple holds their iPhone 5 event: and we’ll be there liveblogging the whole event for you! Check our liveblogging portal for all your Apple action right from the sourcd, and don’t forget to check our Apple portal as well for news bits right on the money, as fast as they’re announced!

The photo appears to show a scannable code for the USB connector end of the cord and a brand new (familiar) connector on its opposite end. This cord doesn’t appear to be a standard length, strangely enough, or it certainly doesn’t seem to match the length of the cords currently appearing in iPhone and iPad boxes in stores at this moment. Because of this, we’re going to go ahead and guess that this is a 3rd party component cord leaked from a manufacturer who has Apple’s plans well in advance of the final reveal.

Apple’s 30-pin connector is not restricted to construction by Apple alone at the moment, appearing in connection kits of all kinds across the Apple-loving accessory spectrum. You’re currently able to head out to your local department store and pick up a wide variety of 3rd party iPhone, iPad, and iPod connection cords, so a future cord made by a group other than Apple is certainly within the realm of possibility.

This cord’s abilities are as unconfirmed as the technology is in and of itself, but tips and rumors are abundant. What we’re assuming at the moment is that this cord will clip in to the device but with much less of a hard snap than the 30-pin connectors of the past. With this new technology presented by Apple, this cord will be much closer to the MagSave connectors currently working on the MacBook Pro – if you trip on the cord, it’ll pop out – that’s always been genius, and it’s high time Apple brought it in to their mobile device lineup.

Have a peek at our iPhone 5 portal for all the tips and rumors you could possibly want and head to the timeline below to see recent bits of news on the connector specifically – this one’s either one of the best hoaxes we’ve ever seen, or it’s verging on reality. Soon!

[via iLounge]

What we’re seeing here is that this lovely little connector may be two-sided, that meaning that it’s got pins not just on the one side as previous connectors have had. These bits (or the two on the right, at least) show the part that pushes in to the iPhone (aka the male end of the connection.) It’s also been tipped that there’s going to be at least one official converter plug so that legacy accessories may be used once the new iPhone is released.

It’s also been tipped that the new iPhone will be just one of the whole line of Apple mobile devices to be working with a new generation of ports. With this new port comes more room inside the device and, we must assume, more room for an LTE radio. Of course there’s also going to be more room for battery space as well – more time with no charging for us!

Have a peek at the iPhone 5 timeline below to see all the updates from the past week or so on tips, leaks, and all manner of rumors leading up to the final release. We’re currently expecting the next iPhone to be announced on the 12th of September – but that’s also only a rumor, so sit tight! Also feel free to hit up our iPhone 5 portal to see everything that’s run up on us over the last few months!

[via Engadget]

Be water, my friend – shapeless and formless. That’s what you’ve got here with the next addition to Mimoco’s unending collection of fabulous looking sticks of space. You can put whatever you like inside the container of digital goodness you’ve been given, but watch your back – this stick has the power of Jeet Kun Do, of course!

You’ve got the master’s yellow track suit, tiger claw cuts, and matching nunchucks from Game of Death – one of the most well-known costumes in the history of film! This USB stick is available at Mimoco now along with their whole collection of fabulous sticks, most of them in limited editions, all of them worth it! Now for those of you that’ve never seen Lee fight in Game of Death, it’s time for the funniest of the series – battle your way up the tower, old master!

Tap tap tap! Having used Mimoco USB sticks ourselves both for fun and at major tech events for quick transfer of data between computers, I can personally guarantee you’ll be getting your money’s worth here. The ink doesn’t break away, the plastic is strong, and the transfer is as quick as USB 2.0 will allow. Grab Lee now!