case

I have to put our Always On supervising producer, Eileen Rivera, on front street a little bit this week: that woman hates the Samsung Galaxy Beam. More accurately, she hates the cheeseball YouTube videos that promote the Beam's signature feature: its built-in pico projector. And I agree ... those ads are bad. Like, bad, bad.

But after spending some time playing with the Beam, I have to confess, I was kind of taken with its little parlor trick! I can't imagine using it often, unless it was for work, but it would certainly thrill the grandparents as a better … Read more

Editors' note: This post was updated December 21, 2012, with five new products, including cases from Aduro, Covert, Samsung, Sena, and Urban Armor Gear.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 has quickly become one of the most popular Android smartphones, and like the iPhone, has spurred a cottage industry of cases and covers.

In boiling down the best of what's currently out there, I tried to provide a good mix of well-designed, affordable cases with more expensive models that offer some unique attributes.

One thing to watch for when buying cases these days is that you can come across pricier products … Read more

If you're still enjoying the dog days of summer, sitting by the pool drinking lemonade (hard or otherwise), good for you. But here in CNET-land, we're already gearing up for the fall rush. This week, we've had our noses to the grindstone reviewing Samsung's most lovely laptop, as well as do-it-all NAS drives, among other tech products. We had a little fun too, though, with an iPhone case you can use in that pool should you decide you absolutely have to surf the Web while you surf the waves. (You don't by the way, but … Read more

Seth Froom was the victim of a violent robbery last summer. His response was to create the Yellow Jacket, an iPhone case crossed with a Taser. The project is currently up on Ingiegogo for fundraising.

As far as stun guns go, the Yellow Jacket makes sense in that you are likely to have it with you at all times, in a convenient place where you can reach it when you need it.

However, you might be nervous about having 650,000 volts of electricity surging around your phone. Froom says that tests of the prototype have shown that calls stay connected during discharge. … Read more

I know e-books are convenient, but I just can't tear myself away from running my fingers down the spines of real books and listening for that crinkling sound of a fresh hardcover bending open. I like the way they look. I like the way they feel.

My iPad may finally get that same sort of love if Out of Print's new Kickstarter project meets its goal. Backers will have their choice of 10 different classic literature book covers to adorn their Kindle Fire or iPad 2 or 3.… Read more

There's a more secure way to capture your skateboarding and mountain biking exploits than by duct taping your iPhone to the top of your helmet.

Optrix, a company that once ran over one of its own cases with a very large Dodge truck, has now taken on the task of protecting your iPhone during extreme sports activities.… Read more

Apple's next iPhone hasn't even been announced, but that hasn't kept third-party case manufacturers from getting products ready to go.

Case in point (pun intended), this new crop of cases that have shown up on Shenzhen, China-based TVC-Mall. Spotted by jailbreak enthusiast blog Cydiablog (by way of Macrumors), these cases promise to fit Apple's next iPhone. That's complete with a rectangular cutout on the bottom, presumably where Apple's reportedly tweaked dock connector will be.

Buyers beware though. TVC-Mall, which makes accessories for numerous technology manufacturers, says there's no guarantee the case will work … Read more

iPhone cases come in all shapes and sizes. Well, OK, the shape and size tend to be pretty uniform, but there's certainly no end to the variety and versatility of iPhone cases.

Like the one that adds a tripod mount. And the one that adds a fold-out keyboard. And don't forget the licensed "Star Wars" iPhone cases and custom photo iPhone cases.

Now, for those people who feel the pen is mightier than the thumb, there's the binder-clip iPhone case. Designed for the iPhone 4 and 4S, it adds a mini-clipboard to your device -- ideal for those times when you want to jot a few notes, old-school.… Read more

On first read, the patent application (uncovered by AppleInsider) seems to underwhelm. Apple describes a form-fitted case that would contain an opening that aligns with the microphone on the device (in this case, an iPhone).

The opening would contain a thin mesh, foam, or featherlike screen that would reduce the amount of wind noise that makes its way to the device's microphone.

Apple leaves the door open for many variations of its case, stating that it could be made from rubber, silicon, polycarbonate, acrylic, or plastic.

The mesh windscreen would be embedded into the case and extend across the … Read more