Filed under: Peripherals

If you're an amateur or professional videographer and you'll be attending Macworld Expo 2010 in San Francisco this week, Data Robotics has a contest just for you.

Come up with an original video (less than 60 seconds in length) that best captures the spirit of Macworld 2010, submit it to a special Drobo Flickr group by February 19, and you'll have an opportunity to win one of two Drobo S five-drive storage devices (note that non-Pro Flickr users are limited to 2 video uploads per month). The Drobo S connects to your Mac via USB 2.0, Firewire 800, or eSATA, and can be populated with up to five drives for tons of storage. TUAW has reported on the new Drobo S and Drobo Elite devices in the past, and they're a popular storage tool for anyone who needs vast amounts of expandable storage but doesn't want to hassle with administering a RAID array.

To find out if you've won the contest after your entry has been made, just follow Data Robotics on Twitter at http://twitter.com/drobo. Full contest rules and instructions can be found here.

I think all of us were surprised at the entry level cost of the new iPad at just US$499.00. In a recent article at ars technica it's stated that the pricing "confirms what a major shift in strategy the iPad is for Apple's business." My colleague Sang Tang also says the evidence is persuasive that the price of the iPad makes it disruptive for competitors.

The iPhone wasn't designed from scratch to print things, but it can be done. I've reviewed some solutions in the past, including one that required you to run a small print server on your computer, which then directs your print jobs to any local printers. There are also some apps that print photos directly to printers.

I've just tried ePrint, which has some limitations, but gets the job done without any print servers. There are two versions of the app: The free version, ePrint Free [iTunes link] lets you print contacts, notes (more on that later), photo albums, and even brings up the camera so you can fire off a snapshot and print it immediately. The paid version [iTunes link], meanwhile, is U.S. $2.99 and adds the ability to print web pages as well

Setting up is easy. The app will find your printers in a snap if your phone is in Wi-Fi mode, and you are running Bonjour zero configuration setup on your network. You can also elect to enter the IP addresses of your printers as well. If your printer is color, and you send color images, you'll get them in color.

There are a few catches, however. To print a web page you either have to enter a URL for it in ePrint, or set a preference to bring up the last web page viewed. When you go to print notes in either app, it doesn't mean from your Notes app. ePrint can only print from the ePrint Notes app, although you can still copy and paste any text into it and print away. That's how I test-printed an email, because Apple doesn't allow any way to print an email or anything else directly. After doing a 'select all' on an email, I copied and pasted it into the ePrint Notes app, and it worked just fine.

Belkin has announced the release of their latest FM transmitter for the iPhone and iPod touch, the TuneCast Auto Live. You know these things -- they plug into your iPhone or iPod touch's dock connector, and then send a local FM signal out to your car's radio, enabling wireless transmission of your music or podcasts. I've got a Belkin transmitter already (the TuneCast Auto -- more on that in a second), but I'm interested in this new one, because it can be used with a free iPhone app [iTunes link] that will actually use your iPhone's GPS information to find a good station for you right away.

That seems helpful -- my current issue with my Belkin is that here in Los Angeles, where the radio stations are almost as thick as the fast food joints, I can't seem to find a solid station to keep it on that's clear enough to actually listen to. If you're in a busy urban area, there's so many signals flying around that these transmitters are more or less useless. I don't know if the GPS app would help me (seems like I'd have to keep changing the car's station while I move even if I could find a clear signal here in the city), but if you're in the market for an FM transmitter and are in a place with a little more room on the radio dial, the $79.99 TuneCast is as good a choice as any. As for me, I'll probably go for an aux hookup straight into my dash the next time I have some car audio upgrade money.

It's this week! It's almost a sure bet that we'll finally, after all of these years, see the Apple tablet unveiled this week, and to celebrate, Frog Design (the company responsible for many of Apple's designs back in the day) has given Wired some old shots of prototype tablets from the Cupertino company ... from 1983. Of course, Apple has released tablet-like devices before, and they've been thinking about this type of computer for a long time. But back in 1983, they apparently commissioned some concepts for an unreleased tablet called "Bashful" (so called because it was designed to work with the Snow White "industrial design language" that Apple used back then in the //c and other releases.

As you can see above, the tablet isn't exactly "elegant" by today's standards, but it is interesting how similar it actually is to many of today's smartphones and handhelds, considering that we're talking about almost 30 years ago now. One model had a floppy drive attached (which was gigantic), and apparently they even considered a version with a phone on it as well. We still don't know for sure what Apple's release this week will look like, but it's fascinating to think just how far back the planning for this week's unveiling actually went.

A quick note to our European readers. Apple has released a new, slimmer USB power adapter for iPods and iPhone.

This new adapter supports all iPod nanos, iPhones, iPod Touches, iPod classics, the second and third gen iPod shuffle, the fourth and fifth gen click-wheel iPod, and even the iPod mini.

Here is the Google Translation link to the Norwegian Apple Store new Apple USB Power Adapter page.

Thanks to reader Christian S. who sent this in.

It's no secret that I am an unabashed fanboy of Mac accessory design firm Twelve South. Their BackPack for the iMac and Apple Cinema Display is sleek and utilitarian, and the BookArc is a stylish way to stash that MacBook Pro when you want to use it with the cover closed. So it was with a great deal of interest that I read about another of the company's accessories, the BassJump portable subwoofer for MacBook.

The idea behind the US$79.99 BassJump is simple -- the built-in speakers on the current MacBooks do a poor job of replicating the low-end of the sound spectrum, so why not add a USB-powered subwoofer to the mix to make the MacBook sound better?

The BassJump portable subwoofer kind of reminds me of a shrunken Mac mini. Five inches on a side and a tiny bit over two inches tall, the speaker has a rubberized base to avoid sympathetic vibrations that could ruin sound quality. There's no power supply -- as noted earlier, this is a USB-powered accessory.

You're not going to be able to use the BassJump as a replacement for a high-end audio system. The existing speakers in the MacBook line do an "OK" job of replicating the higher frequencies and the BassJump can fill in on the lower frequencies, but the combo still doesn't beat a dedicated audio system. But if you have a need to pump good-quality sound out of a MacBook for a presentation, or just don't want to be tied to a set of earbuds or headphones when listening to your iTunes library, the BassJump is a great solution.

Now here's a fascinating app -- Inklet is a new Mac app by Ten One Design that purports to turn your Macbook's trackpad into a tablet-style input. The program uses the multitouch trackpad interface to sense where and when you're touching the pad, and then translates that into "drawing" marks just like a Wacom pen tablet. Unfortunately, the trackpad doesn't have sensitivity built-in (it can only tell when you're touching, not how hard you're pushing), but with Ten One's Pogo Sketch stylus, which I presume sends pressure information back to your Macbook somehow, you can get that "line thickness" functionality -- press harder for a thicker line, or less for a thinner line. Pretty awesome. It's not as big or probably as sensitive as a commercial Wacom tablet, but just for doodling and messing around, it's a much cheaper solution.

Inklet requires Snow Leopard to work, so if you're running anything pre-10.6, you're out of luck. The software is $24.95, and their website has been brought to its knees by recent press, so you can download it from Apple's site if you can't reach it the official way. The Pogo Sketch stylus is only required for pressure sensitivity, but it's a very reasonable $15. Like I said, if you're like me and want a Wacom but haven't had the cash or inclination to spend on it, Inklet could be the stepping stone you're looking for.

We'll have a full TUAW review of Inkjet within the next few days.

It's Saturday night and you're out and about painting the town red, or whatever color it is that towns are painted these days. Whether you end up at a night club, a lounge or a bar, there's a good chance there's going to be a DJ spinning up some tunes at the venue. And there's a good chance that you'll see a glowing Apple in front of the DJ, as said DJ may be accompanied by a MacBook or MacBook Pro. If you've ever looked into doubling your Mac as a virtual turntable, then this post may help you scratch the surface -- err, vinyl.

So far, only the jailbreakers have been able to pair up a Bluetooth keyboard with their iPhone, but ION is working on a hardware solution -- they're showing off what's basically a dock at CES that has a full-size keyboard connected to it. Very interesting. Of course, it makes the iPhone a lot bigger (though their marketing says it's for travelers who want a little something less than a full laptop computer -- if only there was a device released to fill that need), but it's also battery-charged, so it'll recharge your handheld while allowing you to type out emails and messages on a full keyboard.

The price is supposed to be "slightly more than $100," and a release is set for the second quarter of 2010. If you've wanted to use a full-size keyboard with the iPhone but haven't gone for the jailbreak, we'll keep an eye on the release for you.

As expected, there are a number of iPhone and iPod-related accessories coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Here's a couple we've seen already:

• iHome's got both audio systems and alarm clocks on display -- the clocks even have a sync button that will pull the time in straight from your iPhone or iPod, so no more having to set it yourself.
• They've also got another unit for the kitchen, but is it just us or do these all look pretty much the same?
• Sharper Image has a clock that uses an app on the iPhone screen as the clock hands, while sitting in a dock that holds numbers around the handset. They also have a speaker dock that can pull sports, news, and weather information from a custom app and display it on a separate LED screen. Pretty cool, actually, even if an iPhone already gives you all of that information anyway.
• FLO TV and Mophie are trying to bring mobile television to the iPhone this year.
• And Tunebug is showing off "surface sound" speakers -- you attach a little piece to a bike helmet or other surface, and it turns the whole thing into a giant speaker, sending the music into your head. Freaky.

So far, as you can see, it's mostly clocks and speakers. Which sounds about right for CES, actually -- not everybody gets to release an augmented reality helicopter. We'll keep an eye on the show all this week, and let you know about any other iPod-related releases there.

Probably the coolest iPhone-related product to come out of the festivities at CES so far this week is the AR.Drone, created by a company called Parrot. It's a little working microcopter that's remote-controlled by an iPhone app, and it's decked out with all sorts of interesting gadgetry, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, and two cameras. A key feature is Wi-Fi integration, so the AR.Drone can actually be controlled by any Wi-Fi device, not just an iPhone.

Release is rumored to happen as early as March of this year, although the product itself is still somewhat surrounded in mystery -- we don't know a price, and even some of the features sound a little fantastical. Apparently the drone has an "autofly" setting, in which it'll follow certain visual stimuli in the environment, and it apparently also watches the floor for flight stabilization. The features go even further than that, with the cameras on the real-life drone providing an augmented reality game feed (like shooting robots around your house as you explore with the drone) back to the iPhone.

Like I said, the features are fantastical. Parrot hasn't actually been able to show off controlling the copter with the iPhone in anything but the video above -- apparently there's too much Wi-Fi permeating the air around CES. But this is the most-hyped item coming out of the first few days of CES for sure. It'll be interesting to see how the actual product looks and works as we get closer to the expected release. Boy, a price would be nice to hear, though it'll probably be high!

In 2007 I thought that my 8GB iPhone was as large as I would ever need. Two and a half years later and I've already filled up the 16GB storage of my iPhone 3GS. Enter AirStash, an expandable flash drive (via SD memory) that you will be able to access from your iPhone. Simply plug AirStash into your Mac, drag and drop some files to the mounted volume, and head then out the door with AirStash and iPhone in your pocket.

How the technology works is currently unclear (expect to see a demo at CES 2010), but a logical solution would be that AirStash automatically syncs its contents with an off-site server -- similar to what Dropbox does today. If it truly is as portable as that, it will obviate Dropbox's (and MobileMe's) need to install any client software if you are, for instance, using a friend's computer. Personally, I'd like to see Apple purchase Dropbox and turn MobileMe's cloud storage into something usable; but in the interim, I'm excited by the prospect that AirStash provides.

[via Engadget]

The Mophie Juice Pack and Juice Pack Air have been popular iPhone cases / external battery packs for a while. Now we're hearing that the manufacturer is going to add a credit card reader to its lineup of accessories.

The Mac Observer is reporting that Mophie will provide a credit card reader similar to the one used at Apple Stores, and possibly supply software to manage transactions as well. The company hasn't divulged its detailed plans for the device, but is expected to provide more information during CES 2010. The annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas will run from January 7th through January 10th.

A number of other companies, including Square and Verifone, have jumped into the iPhone credit card reader market, and it is logical that a company with iPhone accessory manufacturing experience would join the party.

Credit card transaction software for the iPhone platform made a big splash in 2008, but it appears that Apple's validation of the concept of using the device as a way to capture retail transactions has really opened the doors. The EasyPay checkout system (at right) used at the Apple Stores has garnered a lot of attention from customers who have asked if Apple would actually market the system. With the proliferation of third-party solutions, it's likely that Apple will stay out the market.