The iPhone may be Apple’s first “official” phone, but apparently they toyed with the idea 25 years ago. Way back in 1983, designer Hartmut Esslinger, the same guy who made the Apple IIc computer, came up with this phone/tablet prototype.

Writing an electronic check with the 1983 iPhone.

The 1983 version of the iPhone obviously never made it into production, but it’s still a cool concept. Although writing a physical electronic check seems a little silly now that we have online banking. The image is from fudder.de.

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Robert from USB Fever sent me a USB car adapter charger and I wanted to chime in with a quick review.

As expected it’s literally plug-n-play. Works without a problem. What originally got my attention about this simple device was the two port connectivity. Easy to charge his and her cell phones, iPods or PDAs.

A nice glowing red LED shows the unit is working and charging. It would be nice to have a switching LED for when the battery is full. I did notice the USB car adapter charger has over-current protection. This means if your car outputs a spike in volts the charger will cut off power before your device gets fried. (more…)

IOCELL introduced their version of the U3 launch pad - I like the name better - very direct with “USB Computer.” U3 might have gotten more traction with that name.

IOCELL created a launch pad to provide the user with an easy-to-use interface for launching portable applications. Really, the same thing as U3, the difference being IOCELL gives you the ability to make any application portable for storing and running off your UFD.

It appears IOCELL (like U3) uses a micro-controller (chip logic) to confirm the drive is a “USB Computer” version and thus launches the IOCELL interface without seeing the default Windows screen “What do you want Windows to do?” question. IOCELL is calling this COB Technology (Chip-On-Board).

To get the IOCELL with COB Technology look for the Castella brand name. Available from 1GB to 4GB sizes.

Looking to install U3 on a regular flash drive? It won’t happen and this is why…

Source: IOCELL

Everyone can use a virtual friend, and what better friend could one have than a USB buddy.

Okay, so you probably don’t need a virtual friend, but for those who work from the home office, extreme introverts or Harry Potter fantasy freaks (Disney too) you can get this USB virtual friend and pre-progam over 100 says to keep yourself entertained.

With embedded infrared motion sensors your virtual buddy will always know when you’ve arrived or when you’re leaving. The set of USB buddies will run about $30 or specific gender for $17.

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For the average tech guy, getting that perfect computer enclosure is like women hunting for that perfect shoe. The difference being most women buy their shoes throughout the process whereas men simply browse. Well, today you should consider buying. The CoolerMaster iTower930 has everything you need for a standard computer case or computer server. It’s about as close to ideal as you’ll probably get.

Knowing more information is the ticket of the day, CoolerMaster has a forward thinking design which includes four hot swappable hard drive sleds which are SATA along with a host of easy access connection ports. (more…)

Funny how things happen. I just got off a forum page reading up on how much folks hate Blue LED lights and here comes Brando with a product update email to include this “I Love You” LED laptop light.

I use a Compaq LED laptop light from time to time and it only has two white LEDs and I’ll tell you that one more would be nice. Just a little more light would be perfect and I’d probably use the USB gadget that much more.

So, although not a great fit for the Techie guy, maybe a good gift for the Techie girl. At just $9 it’s a good addition to your iTunes gift card to ‘that’ girl friend.

I Love You USB LED light product page

Apple’s iPhone has enjoyed favorable reviews since its recent debut, but it got some criticism on Capitol Hill in Washington this week.

The phones, which cost between $500 and $600—are usable only on AT&T Inc.’s wireless network and will remain that way until 2012. Even though the phones become expensive paperweights if customers quit AT&T’s wireless plan, the company will still charge a $175 early termination fee, said Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., chairman of a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet.

Markey described the phone as a “Hotel California service. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave—you’re stuck with your iPhone and you can’t take it anywhere.”

Timothy Wu, a law professor at Columbia University and commentator on technology issues, described the cell phone industry as “spectrum- based oligopoly” where customers have given up their property rights.

“Imagine buying a television that stopped working if you decided to switch to satellite,” Wu said. “Or a toaster that died if you switched from Potomac Power to ConEd.”

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