Road Tested Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Third Rail zaps iPhone case market with detachable battery pack

by Michael Rose (May 11th, 2011)

For every gadget that claims to charge an iPhone on the go, there's sure to be a constituency that swears by it (or quite possibly at it). With external battery packs from HyperMac, Zagg, Kensington, Newer and Monoprice, you can dangle a cable; ...

Incase Convertible Magazine Jacket for iPad review: Smart Cover without the iPad 2

by Richard Gaywood (Mar 20th, 2011)

I cannot imagine using my iPad without a case. It's not that I'm paranoid about protecting it so much as I just find it very difficult to type on without some sort of prop. Perhaps how I use my iPad is unusual: I draft blog posts on it, use it ...

The iPhone 4 and a Mac on a photography trek

by Mel Martin (Jul 23rd, 2010)

Until a recent trip up to Canyon de Chelly in Northeast Arizona, I hadn't fully realized just how important Apple products have become to my photo workflow. As I sat back to think about the number of ways that Apple has made my job behind the ...

Hands-on with the OWLE bubo: Better photos and video from your iPhone

by Steven Sande (Feb 7th, 2010)

A while back, we had a product announcement about the OWLE bubo (US$129.95). That bizarre name is actually a play on words: OWLE stands for "Optical Widget for Life Enhancement" (the company's name) and bubo is the genus for American horned owls and ...

Road Tested: the socially-developed Quirky PowerCurl

by Steven Sande (Dec 28th, 2009)

You've heard me rant about Quirky before on TUAW: it's a company that uses social development (i.e., group-think) to create innovative new products. Everyone who participates deeply in the creation of a product can benefit monetarily from the sales ...

Road Tested: Newer Technology NuPower Charge & Sync +

by Steven Sande (Dec 2nd, 2009)

If there's something that is almost as common as fart apps, it's iPhone external battery packs. TUAW has done reviews and giveaways of a number of these units including the Richard|Solo 1800 and the Mophie Juice Pack Air. One thing that a lot of ...

Road Tested: Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 from Sprint

by Steven Sande (Nov 30th, 2009)

Back in August of this year, my local TUAW blogging buddy Erica Sadun posted some information about the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router. The MiFi device, created by Novatel Wireless, is a tiny Wi-Fi router with a built-in EVDO 3G modem. ...

Dropzone makes it easy to copy files, install apps

by TJ Luoma (Oct 15th, 2009)

We've mentioned Dropzone before as a Friday Favorite, but I just happened across the app while I was trying to solve a problem. I suspect many TUAW readers find themselves in the same situation that I am in: I use a desktop and a laptop. I often find ...

Oxford English Dictionary is the very definition of an ugly Mac port

by TJ Luoma (Sep 25th, 2009)

Upon learning that the Oxford English Dictionary was going to be released on CD-ROM for the Mac, I pre-ordered it from Amazon.com for $244 back in December (list price $295, currently $212). Due to Amazon's "pre-order price guarantee" the final ...

Road Tested: the Verizon MiFi portable broadband router

by Erica Sadun (Sep 2nd, 2009)

For the last couple of weeks, I've been testing the Verizon MiFi portable WiFi hotspot. After writing about the MiFi, a few months back, I was placed on a waiting list to receive a test unit. Could the MiFi enhance the iPod touch experience to bring ...

Road Tested: Dexim Dual Dock Charger

by Steven Sande (Jul 8th, 2009)

Living in a multiple iPhone and iPod household is both fun and annoying. It's fun to talk about cool apps and play multi-user games, but it's annoying trying to find a place to plug in our iPhones and iPods. Right now we have two iPhone 3GS's, an ...

Road Tested: Ecamm BT-1 Bluetooth webcam (& we're giving one away!)

by Steven Sande (Jul 7th, 2009)

Webcams are great, but when they're built into your display or laptop, they are usually good for only a couple of things -- video chats of your talking head or taking goofy pictures with Photo Booth. Ecamm, the development firm that makes the Call ...

Road Tested: AT&T Navigator for iPhone

by Steven Sande (Jul 3rd, 2009)

Like my colleague Mel Martin, I've had a serious GPS jones for quite a while. When I was in much better shape, I rode the local trails on a mountain bike with a Garmin eTrex Summit. It didn't have any maps, nor did I really need any for what I was ...

Road Tested: Mophie Juice Pack Air

by Steven Sande (Jun 11th, 2009)

iPhone 3G and 3G S owners now have an attractive, lightweight, and functional way to provide extra juice to their power-hungry devices -- the Mophie Juice Pack Air. Available in black, white, and purple, the Juice Pack Air is a slightly more svelte ...

Friday Favorite: Photomatix Pro

by Mel Martin (Jun 5th, 2009)

There are few times I have used software that really caused my jaw to drop. Photomatix Pro did just that. It's a Mac OS X utility that allows you to create what are called High Dynamic Range (HDR) images from separate digital exposures taken at ...

Road Tested: Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer laptop bag

by Steven Sande (May 26th, 2009)

After I traveled to Africa in February with a Tom Bihn Western Flyer bag loaded with geek gear, I wrote a post talking about how I packed that bag for the trip. It was the perfect bag on that vacation, as it allowed me to pack all of my gear into ...