Sometimes a gadget comes out that makes you think “Why wasn’t that invented a hundred years ago?!” In this case it pretty much was, albeit not as an iPhone accessory.  What you’re looking at is the iVictrola – essentially a gramophone attachment for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

You can thank New York designer Matt Richmond for this stroke of genius – or not, your call.  Either way what we have here is a wonderful looking device which amplifies your music without electricity (valves or otherwise) – simply pop your iPhone into the walnut base and the music from it’s speaker is amplified by bouncing through the enormous horn.

I like it – if only because it just prompted me to use the words ‘enormous horn’…

iVictrola – $425 USD via Etsy

Found via iPhone Savior

Apple announced their much-hyped tablet computer a few hours ago, dubbed the “iPad”.  It’s pretty much an oversized iPod Touch, down to the App Store lock-in and inability to multitask.

These are issues that we don’t mind in the iPhone, but is this really going to kill the netbook market?

Doubts aside, you can’t deny that it is a beautiful looking device.  It sports a 9.7 inch LED backlit 1024×768 display, has an on-screen keyboard and connectivity via wifi and (optionally) 3G.

Functionality wise it has a new eBook reader, and other than that does everything that your iPhone does.  Except for making phone calls, taking photos (this baby lacks any kind of camera) or fitting in your pocket.

If that hasn’t put you off entirely the iPad’s pricing ranges from $499 to $829, and UK prices are sure to be follow suit.  Personally I think I’ll pass…

This new watch from Diesel is either meant for the constant traveler or the unashamed nerd, but who cares either way – it looks like a crazy device from the future!

This enormous multi-dialed wrist-bling features the ability to keep track of – and display – no less than 4 timezones at once, and has a cool blue/orange face and black leather strap.

No news on UK pricing as yet, but in the US it’s advertised at $300 (£185).

(found via nerdwithswag)

Let’s face it, laptop cases are dull products.  Sure they might stop the screen cracking when you knock it about about a bit, but they’re hardly objects of desire. Enter the BookBook – a hardwearing case for MacBook and MacBook Pro which appears to have been hollowed out from an old leather-bound book.

It hasn’t of course – it’s been carefully designed to look like an old book but has a soft cosseting interior and a zip around the sides.  Each BookBook is hand crafted so no two are exactly the same.

The manufacturers are using the security angle as a selling point – i.e. you can hide your laptop in a bookcase and nobody would know the difference.  Whether that’s true or not isn’t really the point – it looks brilliant.

BookBook MacBook Case – $79.99 (£50 ish) from Twelve South.

(found via GadgetKing)

This jaunty looking device is set to be the best media-streaming solution for non-geeks since the invention of the TV.  If you haven’t heard of Boxee before, it’s an all-in-one application allowing you to play your movies and music on your TV as well as access online content.

Until now you had to download and install it yourself on a spare computer, hook it up to your home entertainment system and sort out things like remotes yourself.  Fine for the nerds among us, but a bit too much like hard work for everyone else.  This is all set to change however with the launch of the Boxee Box – a dedicated machine built by networking company D-Link.

Just plug it in and turn it on, and you’ll see what all the fuss is about.  No details yet on UK pricing but if the $200 price tag in the USA is anything to go by it should be reasonably affordable, and is said to start shipping within the first quarter of 2010.

More details

On sale now (in the US at least), the much-awaited Dell Adamo XPS has arrived.  There are two things that stand out here.  Firstly it is ludicrously, impossibly thin – just 9.9mm.  Secondly, whoa!  What have they done to that laptop?  Instead of a more conventional layout Dell have made a razor-thin keyboard which folds up into the screen to close.  Whether this is the shape of things to come or a huge mistake only time will tell.

Crazy hinges aside, this diminutive machine sports a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, a 128GB solid state hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM.  There’s no news on how much it will cost when it reaches these shores, but across the pond it’s going for $1,800 – around £1,100.

More info on the Dell Adamo XPS microsite.

Hard Graft Phone Card Wallet

While not specifically made for iPhones, the Hard Graft Phone Card Wallet just happens to be exactly the right size for one.  Who’d have thought?  The benefit of this though is that it will just as happily hold any other phone – so long as it’s no larger.

Hand-made in Italy in fine grey leather this offering has 7 card slots and works in the same way as those “magic wallets” of old – i.e. the elastic holds the phone in and allows you to open it in either direction – just like the card wallets by J-Fold if you’ve seen them.

€79 from Hard Graft direct.

iMojito

No, I’m not entirely sure why it’s called the iMojito either, but I’m sure there must be a good reason for it.  This black and blue polyurethane wallet (no leather here…) has a soft microfibre lining to keep your phone happy and six slots for cards and cash.  You can also charge your phone and have headphones plugged in without removing it from the case for convenience.

This one’s considerably cheaper, at $35 USD.  Available from Malcolm Fontier.

I think that my money’s probably still on the Case-Mate,  but hey – choices can’t be a bad thing…

Found via Uncrate and Cool Material.

As if there weren’t enough ways to spend well over 2 thousand dollars here’s another – a beautifully designed clock that features copper digits welded on to a bicycle chain that rotates around a gear to tell the time.

While it’s a fantastic piece of mechanical design and sure to be a talking point I don’t think the price is going to make it a common sight any time soon…

Cantena Wall Clock by Andreas Dober – $2338 USD from Unica Home.

Found via Boing Boing.

LaCie are no strangers to creating well designed computer accessories – from FA Porsche designed hard drive enclosures to brightly-coloured flat cables, they certainly seem to care about style as well as substance.  These new speakers, the Sound², are no exception.

Designed by Neil Poulton these fabulous speakers look like the infamous “speaker” icon when viewed from the side.  Comparing them to the ancient bricks I have sat on my desk is like comparing an Aston Martin with an aging Renault Espace.

Functionally they are well thought out also – they run over USB, requiring no separate power or audio connections, so no additional transformer to plug in under the desk, and you can keep your headphones plugged in while using them.  Of course, none of this means a bean unless they sound as good as they look, and for now at least the jury is still out.

£85.99 from the LaCie Store, or expect to pick them up for around £65 elsewhere.

OK, so it may not be the ideal time of year to be investing in cooling devices, but you might want to put this on your Christmas list in time for next summer.  What you are looking at, strangely enough, is a fan – although not as we know it.

The Dyson Air Multiplier has one obvious difference to most fans in that it has no blades.  The system works by employing a clever mix of science and sorcery:  It pulls air in at the bottom and channels it out through a tiny slot on the inside of it’s ring.   This forces air over an aerofoil which creates negative pressure and therefore sucks even more air through, multiplying the flow many times over.  Still with me?  Good!

The Air Multiplier comes in two sizes, with 10 and 12 inch rings, and is available in 3 different colour combinations.  It has a dimmer switch to allow you to set it at any speed you like.  At £199.99 this isn’t exactly cheap, but you’ll have hours of fun trying to work out exactly what makes it tick…

Dyson Air Multiplier

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