It doesn't take a genius to cook up this marketing plan for Das
Keyboard. You make high-end keyboards, you hold the Ultimate Typing
Championship. This year at SXSW, Das
Keyboard brought the two finalists--Nate Bowen of NYC and Sean Wrona of
Ithaca, NY--to Austin Texas, and crowned a winner. Both typists have
been clocked at 150 words per minute, but this contest wasn't even
close.
The championship had two rounds, and Sean Wrona won the
first round easily, hitting an unbelievable163 words per minute. The
current world record is for typing 158 words per minute, according to
the Guinness Book of
World Records.
The second test included a mix of
unintelligible phrases and code that required multiple keyboard
commands. Despite the complex material, Wrona beat his opponent 125 to
72 words per minute. That is the round I captured on video below.
After
Wrona collected his $2,000 prize, I asked him if his fingers hurt. He
shrugged and said: "My fingers are fine, although it is kind of
uncomfortable on the wrists."
You can test your typing skills at ultimatetypingchampionship.com,
but don't expect to see my name on the finalist list. I still look at
the keys when I type.
Check it out, netbook owners: Scosche has announced a new line of products just in time for CTIA, and they've all been created with netbooks in mind.
The SkyCaster (above) is a wireless RF computer headphone set with a USB transmitter. With them, you can roam up to 100 feet from your netbook and still enjoy 2.4Hz clear digital audio--even through walls, floors, and ceilings.
You can choose from three different charging devices: the InVert, NetVolt, and NetVolt Home. The InVert works with a vehicle's power socket, while the NetVolt includes a USB port for charging two devices at once in the car. The NetVolt Home is a universal netbook wall charger.
Keep your netbook scratch-free with the new NetBook Protect line of cases, including the NetSuit Pro and the NetSuit reversible sleeve. Look for the entire lineup to reach stores in April and May.
Don't toss the cardboard box your Lowepro Magnum 650 AW camera bag came in. In some parts of the world it would be called "housing." The box is that big and so is the bag. This square-cornered, $250 photo and laptop bag holds every camera and lens you own or are likely to buy: two digital SLRs; up to 10 lenses and/or flashes; and a 15-inch laptop in a sleeve that opens to form a protective sunshade. The Magnum 650 even makes sense for people with a lot less gear.
If you're used to carrying a backpack or messenger bag that's bursting at the seams with your laptop, peripherals, gadgets, and other items, the new Booq Mamba Shift backpack may be perfect for you.
Booq designed the backpack for gamers, but its spacious interior and dozens of pockets are perfect for anyone who just needs to carry a lot of stuff at the same time. It doesn't matter if you're taking your gaming laptop to a LAN party or you're just planning an all-night study session at the library, the Mamba Shift has enough space to carry all of your gear with you and fit easily on your back.
The Mamba Shift features a slick, water-repellent ballistic nylon exterior to keep your gear dry when it's raining, and a soft, water-repellent interior lining that will protect your laptop, iPod, headphones, and other accessories from scratches and dings while you carry them around. All of that protection and packing space won't come cheap though, you can purchase the Mamba Shift now from Booq's online store for $149.95 US.
The Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85 Dual Access Photo / Laptop backpack (model 3385, $110 street) could be the only backpack you ever own. With all the inserts in place, it holds a digital SLR camera, multiple lenses and accessories in the bottom half, stuff in the top half, and a 17-inch laptop in a padded slot against your back. Remove the inserts, then remove the top-bottom divider (it takes a lot of pulling, but it comes out), and you've got a big single-compartment daypack. You can access your cameras from the top or side (the Dual Access part of the name). There's not much to dislike about this backpack except the main zippers take effort to open and close, and that's because they're seriously weather-sealed.
Premiere gaming peripheral maker Razer has apparently decided that these crazy new Mac computers aren't just a fad. Yesterday at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Razer announced that all upcoming Razer products will include Mac driver support. This includes the upcoming Razer StarCraft II peripheral suite,
"I'm very proud to say that at Razer, we are committed to supporting both Mac and PC gamers," said Robert "Razerguy" Krakoff, president of Razer USA. "We are constantly working to increase driver support for Mac with our existing Razer products and have plans to release all of our new products with dedicated Mac and PC drivers."
There have been Mac-compatible Razer peripherals before, of course, including the DeathAdder mouse (above) and Naga mouse. The Razer Orochi, Mamba, and Imperator all have basic Mac support. Now all Mac owners need are some games to play with these mice.
Does using a notebook computer mean you always have to be tied to its small screen and flat keyboard? Not if you get the Warpia Easy Dock. This wireless solution works with Windows 7/Vista/XP and Mac OS X 10.5/10.6 notebooks and lets them beam their information to a desktop setup.
The Easy Dock comes in two parts: a receiver that you plug into your monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers, and a USB dongle that plugs into your laptop. There's no setup required. Once you plug the dongle into your notebook, it will begin transmitting the image from the screen with a resolution up to 1400 x 1050 pixels.
It's a handy solution for those who want the portability of a notebook, but prefer a more comfortable setting at home or in the office. The Easy Dock will set you back $149.99.
Whether you're waiting to pre-order an iPad or planning to line up outside an Apple Store on April 3rd and snag one in person, you'll probably want to carry your precious new tablet in something to keep it safe. Booq announced a number of new iPad cases and protectors this week, including the Boa skin XS, a durable neoprene and nylon iPad sleeve with a padded exterior and a soft, non-scratch interior to keep your iPad safe and sound inside your bag or under your arm.
The Boa skin XS is already available on Booq's online store and in a
number of technology retailers nationwide, so if you want to pick up
your case before the iPad starts shipping, you can get one now. Even
though the Boa skin XS is designed for the iPad, it will likely fit
other ultra-light laptops, netbooks, and tablets as well.
After the name of the Apple iPad was made public, a wave of feminine-hygiene jokes and puns followed. This period has yet to let up, but the Hip Hand Maids want to help contain the flow, with the new iMaxi iPad cover case (with protective wings!).
The iMaxi Pad ($30) has a durable vinyl outer layer and a quilted inner cotton sleeve. It folds neatly into a tight square, so you can easily store it in your bag or backpack. When open, the protective case measures 22.5 by 26.5 inches. The outer part of the pad is white, while the inner part of the pad can come in either red or white, depending on your squeamishness threshold.
GelaSkins, makers of designer prints and skins for laptops, the iPhone, Blackberry phones, the XBox 360, and the Amazon Kindle, unveiled a new series of Marvel Comics designs today featuring superheroes such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and the X-Men. Designs feature the Iron Man we know and love from the movies, Spider-Man both in his modern look and battling the Rhino in classic comic-book-cover style, and an X-Men panel that looks as thought it were lifted from an old comic book.
All of the new skins are available for a wide variety of devices, including multiple generations of the iPod and iPhone, and laptops of multiple sizes, including the 13-inch Macbook all the way up to the 17-inch Macbook Pro. GelaSkins was kind enough to send along some advance copies of the new Marvel Comics designs, all available at GelaSkins' site today. Lots more photos, after the jump.
You don't have to be an organization fiend to love these new products by Skooba, but it helps. Check out the Cable Stable, above left. This organizer opens like a book and features a grid of elastic hold-downs in different sizes and orientations. The strips can stretch and expand to accommodate nearly any portable gadgets, cord, adapter, or other accessory. If you travel with a half-dozen electronic accessories, this is a great way to organize the cables you'll need to power them. It lists for $39.95.
The new Skooba Wraps (above right) are simpler but just as handy. These padded squares can be wrapped and self-secured around nearly any mobile device. Protect a digital camera with the small wrap or a notebook with the large one. The company says they're an ideal way to cope with the challenges of air travel. Ranging in price from $12.95 to $17.95, they look like helpful accessories to have on hand.
At CES earlier this year, Turtle Beach was quiet about new products might be coming down the pike and didn't show off much in the way of new audio hardware. But the company has a long and storied history of superior audio quality, especially among gamers and audiophiles, both for its sound cards and its gaming headsets. Today, Turtle Beach announced it would build on the popularity of its X1 gaming headset for the Xbox 360 with the Ear Force X11 headset for the Xbox 360 and PC.
The X11 adopts the design and some of the popular features of Turtle Beach's X31 and X41 headsets, such as an extra-long audio cable that allows you to game on the couch without worrying about pulling your XBox out of your entertainment center, and large ear cups that fit all the way around your ears for maximum comfort during long gaming sessions.
As you might expect from a company that specializes in rugged bags for outdoor use, the Overland Acadia ($100 direct), a "laptop-friendly" backpack, looks like it'd be right at home at a campsite or on a college campus. Offered in two ballistic-nylon colorways (Storm Blue/Sprout, left, or Black/Dusty Blue), the Acadia bag is roomy and tough--and also very comfortable to carry.
The well-made bag features padded straps and a padded back panel that keeps hard edges away from you. You slide your laptop into the side at the back of the bag, so no need to open up the main compartment i f you want to access it in a hurry. (The lined-and-padded sleeve measures about 16-by-11 inches inside, so my 15-inch laptop had room to spare.)
The Acadia has two front compartments; the smaller one at the top is lined with fleece to help protect the gadgets you might store there, and the roomier bottom compartment has its own smaller slots too. Finally, there's a large zippered mesh pocket inside the main compartment. And the bag has a handy side bottle holder (which also fits fold-up umbrellas nicely).
I carried the Acadia around with me for a few weeks, and it served me well. It never got uncomfortable, even when it was heavy--and you can fill this bag up with a lot of stuff. One thing I'm used to on my Timbuk2 backpack is that you can easily adjust its straps on the fly; I missed that on the Acadia. You can change its straps' lengths, just not as you're wearing it. But I like this bag's jaunty casual style (especially for students), and I think it'll take a long time to wear out.
Small- and medium-size businesses, LaCie has your storage needs covered with a line of three new big data solutions. They include the d2 Network 2 (with a single disk), the 2big Network 2 (with two disks), and the 5big Network 2 (shown above, with five disks). The line offers data access of up to 70MB per second and lets users share files or back up networked Windows and Macintosh computers.
LaCie designed the Web-based administration tool to be extra-easy, and it can be used to manage users, groups, and shares, as well as to place data use quotas easily. Admins can also join a Windows domain using Active Directory, to automatically import users and existing permissions.
The 2Big Network 2 and 5big Network 2 offer RAID 1 for redundancy, while the 5big Network 2 offers RAID 6. Each comes with a three-year warranty. The line starts at $229.99 and is available from the LaCie Online Store.
Thank you, Microsoft, for this unexpected deal. The little company from Redmond has introduced three mice that feature the company's BlueTrack technology, and all three list for under $30. That's the first time BlueTrack has been available at this price.
BlueTrack was introduced in September, 2008, and it lets the user mouse over any surface, including wood, glass, metal, and marble. As someone who's tried it, yes, it really does work that well.
The three new mice:
The Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 ($29.95) has an ambidextrous design and rubber side grips. It will be available in April in Lock Ness Gray and Dragon Fruit Pink (shown).
The Wireless Mouse 2000 ($29.95) is a full-size mouse made for portable use. It has an ambidextrous design and rubber side grips, and will be available in March.
The Comfort Mouse 4500 ($24.95) is a wired mouse for people who don't want to worry about changing batteries. Look for it in March in Sea Blue, Poppy Red, and Strawberry Pink.
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If you're used to carrying a backpack or messenger bag that's bursting at the seams with your laptop, peripherals, gadgets, and other items, the new 
Whether you're waiting to pre-order an iPad or planning to line up outside an Apple Store on April 3rd and snag one in person, you'll probably want to carry your precious new tablet in something to keep it safe. 
At CES earlier this year, Turtle Beach was quiet about new products might be coming down the pike and didn't show off much in the way of new audio hardware. But the company has a long and storied history of superior audio quality, especially among gamers and audiophiles, both for its sound cards and its gaming headsets. Today, Turtle Beach announced it would build on the popularity of its X1 gaming headset for the Xbox 360 with the 
Small- and medium-size businesses, 
Thank you, Microsoft, for this unexpected deal. The little company from Redmond has introduced three mice that feature the company's BlueTrack technology, and all three list for under $30. That's the first time BlueTrack has been available at this price. 
