rings

iDo: How to marry your iPhone

People get pretty tight with their iPhones, but if you really want to take your relationship to the next level, put a ring on it, as Beyonce would say.

That's the idea behind the interesting new iDo iPhone 4 case from Rampant Innovations, which integrates an articulating finger-grasping ring to keep your phone from dropping. What's also cool is that the ring acts as a 360-degree kickstand to prop up your phone either vertically or horizontally.

We've been playing around with an iDo case for a couple of days and it's really pretty clever. The case … Read more

The 404 882: Where everyone did it in the '90s (podcast)

If you willingly choose to pay to see a movie like "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," you give up your right to complain about your fellow theater-goers. This is the lesson Wilson and I impart to our third co-host, who got suckered by the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes into seeing the pre-prequel to "Planet of the Apes."

The big news, of course, is Google's proposed acquisition of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, so we'll discuss what that means for existing patent trolls, Android handset competitors, and the Android platform in general.

Stick around until the end of the show, when we'll announce which two lucky listeners won our V-Moda Faders earplugs giveaway contest!

The 404 Digest for Episode 882

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5B. Air Swimmers let you fly your own fish. Rise of the Planet of the Apes: An animal-rights manifesto disguised as a prison-break movie. Weekend breaches: BART page by Anonymous.

Episode 882 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

How to customize text alerts by contact on iOS

Knowing who sent you a text message before even looking at your phone is extremely convenient, especially if you are the type who receives many SMS messages daily. One way to know who is on the other end of that SMS you just received, is to customize the text alert, based on a contact, on your iPhone. It is a simple process to set up, but one that is easy to miss if you aren't paying attention.

While this capability has been around for those in the jailbreak community from early on, it's a fairly new feature having been introduced in iOS 4.2.

Crave 34: Jasmine France: A legacy (podcast)

It's all Jasmine, all the time as the Cravers say a final goodbye to the lady of the show. Jasmine spent more than seven years working for CNET, which means the majority of her young adult life has been reflected through First Look videos. We take a look back at some of her best--and worst--moments, which chart hairstyles along with product categories.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

CES: Exercise your thumb with the Genius Ring Mouse

LAS VEGAS--While much of the focus on pointing devices went to Microsoft this year for its Touch Mouse, the less profiled accessory company Genius is also here at the show unveiling its own unique mousing solution: the Ring Mouse.

As the name implies, the ring mouse slips right onto your finger. It features a wireless 2.4GHz receiver inside. Using just your thumb, you can control slideshows, PowerPoint slides, and more using two small buttons that act as the left and right clickers on a traditional mouse. For the actual mousing, you simply use the small optical trackpad on top … Read more

New iPhone games: Lego Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Rage, and more!

It's been a huge week for iOS gaming. Yesterday witnessed the arrival of a dazzling new Star Wars title, and today I've got quick takes on five more noteworthy new games--starting with a just-in-time movie tie-in.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 A near-perfect replica of the outstanding console game, Lego Harry Potter (which I previewed last week) loses almost nothing in its transition to the small screen. (And for now, it's only for small screens: the game requires iOS 4.1 or later, which leaves iPads out.)

Alas, there's no option for cooperative play, and … Read more

Compose ringtones and drive trains: iPhone apps of the week

When Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Air a couple of years ago, I thought it was an incredibly sleek device that incorporated some great ideas about the coming age of cloud computing. Though the specs for the device weren't up to today's standards (they change so fast!), my main takeaway was that the MacBook Air was a great computer, but was just a few years before its time.

Just today, CNET's Erica Ogg wrote that someone familiar with Apple's plans says we're going to see a slimmed-down, cheaper MacBook Air at next Wednesday's Apple event. Erica goes on to talk about possible specs and pricing, wondering where a new MacBook Air will fit in Apple's laptop lineup.

My question to readers is, what would you be willing to pay for a slimmer (and probably more powerful) MacBook Air? Certainly you'll still likely be able to get a Windows laptop that's cheaper, but considering current prices for Apple computers, what is a fair price for a sleeker, more cloud-based Mac laptop?

Let's make it a contest. Here's my guess for the actual price of the Macbook Air that might be announced on Wednesday: $999. Give me your best guess in the comments and on Wednesday we can come back to see who's closest. Winner gets bragging rights!

This week's apps include a ringtone creator that uses MP3s from your library and an exciting puzzle game for wannabe train conductors.… Read more

For nerdy proposals, a ring box with video, audio

We've featured our share of geeky marriage proposals (and even weddings) on Crave over the last couple of years, but they generally revolve around the unique, geeky ways the asker asks the askee the big question. Not much attention has been paid to the physical element of most proposals: the ring itself.

Thankfully, we've found this Ivy Carat multimedia ring box. It's the size and shape of your normal ring case, but it has 128MB of storage, a 2-inch full-color LCD screen, and a small speaker. When opened, the box displays a short video or photo on … Read more

preGAME 19: Halo: Reach

This week on preGAME we're getting an exclusive First Look at Halo: Reach, almost two months before the game hits stores! In the studio today is Bungie Community Director Brian Jarrard, who will show us some of the single-player campaign as well as the revamped four-player co-op mode Firefight.

But first, we'll take a few moments to finally put E3 2010 to rest and go over a few things we thought were missing from the show. We'll also chat about the new Xbox 360 slim and figure out why the new console can't red-ring even if it wanted to. … Read more

New Xbox 360 won't red-ring even if it wants to

Even if your new slim Xbox 360 console malfunctions, you won't be getting the now-infamous "red ring of death" error. That's because Microsoft has actually eliminated all of the red LEDs from the system's internal make-up. Instead, any sort of problem with the console will now be displayed using various combinations of green lights, GameSpot reports.

While we're relieved to witness the end of those dreadful red flashing lights, we're still skeptical about the new 360's reliability. Microsoft made a point to mention the new system's "whisper quiet" operation, … Read more