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Leave Your Credit Cards At Home: iCache’s Digital Wallet/iPhone Case Is Now Available

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 12:47 PM PDT

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Well, it’s about time. Many of us were absolutely floored by the iCache Geode mobile wallet when it first appeared back in April, and now the company has announced that the hotly-awaited accessory is now available for $199.

In case you missed it the first time around, the iCache Geode is an iPhone case with a particularly wonderful twist — in addition to just wrapping a protective layer of plastic around your phone, it also sports a rewritable magstripe card on its rear end. Once the corresponding app has been installed on an iPhone 4/4S, users can store their credit card information on their smartphones and write it onto the so-called GeoCard.

That one card can effectively become any credit card you own whenever you need it, eliminating the need to schlep all that plastic around. What’s more, there’s a small e-ink display also mounted on the back of the Geode which displays the barcodes for loyalty cards that have been stored in the app. To tie it all together, a small fingerprint reader sits just south of the iPhone’s home button, ensuring secure access to your digital funds.

iCache founder (and Oracle alum) Jon Ramaci has been working with his team to create the Geode mobile wallet for the past three years, and it seems like their efforts have paid off. Their Geode Kickstarter campaign garnered $352,918 in funding, absolutely demolishing their original goal of $50,000.

Though their Kickstarter campaign officially wrapped up back in April, that doesn’t mean the team has been resting on their laurels. They’ve been busy getting their manufacturing processes squared away — last time Ramaci and I spoke, he mentioned all of the production would take place in the United States — and responding to customer requests for more colorful cases and a way to carry around ID cards. In short, these past few months have been busy but fruitful — they even took home a few E-Tech Awards from CTIA 2012.

This is quite the milestone for the iCache team, but if recent reports are any indication, they’ll have to keep on their toes. Two of the major recurring rumors about Apple’s forthcoming iPhone deal with substantial hardware changes — specifically a much longer body and a redesigned dock connector — that would render this particular $199 purchase useless. Ramaci is no stranger to these reports though, and mentioned to me that the company would do what it could to help their customers out if a dramatic redesign actually came to be. He noted that the company was mulling over offering existing users a 50% rebate on a redesigned Geode if the current model won’t fit the new iPhone, but for now we’ll have to wait and see what Apple has up their considerable sleeves.

Holy Strategic Partnerships, Batman! A Brief History Of Nokia’s Batman Obsession

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 11:25 AM PDT

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The Nokia Lumia 900 The Dark Knight Rises Edition handset has made its way on the interwebs recently and it’s nothing short of a beauty, with a black polycarbonate unibody frame and a laser-etched Batman logo across the back. Moreover, the phone — which is usually limited to either a black or white background and a handful of color themes like Nokia blue, teal, lime, mango, and pink — will also come with a black and grey theme.

Of course, plenty of Dark Knight Rises content will come pre-loaded as well, including a game called Claim Gotham City and the Dark Knight Rises app. We had gotten a glimpse of the phone in what appears to be official press shots (or renders) a few days ago, but the first hands-on photos of the phone have surfaced, courtesy of Phonerpt.

Take a look:

Now, the Lumia 900 Batphone is far from the first Batman/Nokia collaboration to date. After a little light research, I’ve learned that there are quite a few Nokia batphones out in the world.

Here’s a brief image-tastic history of Nokia’s obsession with Batman:

Nokia 5800 XpressMedia

In 2008, a now-incredibly famous movie hit the silver screen. You may have heard of it: The Dark Knight. It featured Heath Ledger as the Joker, who tragically died before the movie was ever released. But it also featured another shining star known as the Nokia 5800 XpressMedia. The phone appeared in the trailer for the movie and was then blogged by dozens of tech sites. It was the first touchscreen phone Nokia put on the market, complete with stylus and three home buttons. It was nicknamed the Tube, and ended up in a handful of music videos including Britney Spears’ “Womanizer”, Flo Rida’s “Right Round”, and Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad”.

[Images via TrustedReviews and Phonerpt]

Nokia 6205 Dark Knight Edition

Then, in June of the same year, Nokia realized the potential of putting actual Batman imagery and design language on the phone itself, and came out with the Nokia 6205 Dark Knight edition. It was a basic flip phone, with a flash-enabled camera and tons of pre-loaded Batman content like ringtones and wallpapers. It had a Batman home screen background, along with a Batman icon along the back of the solid black (rather sleek) flip phone. Verizon sold the device, along with a white version for non-Batman fans.

[Images via Engadget]

Nokia Batman Concept Style N19

Also in 2008, a Finnish Nokia designer named Heikki Juvonen came up with this concept design, likely piggy backing off of the hype from the 5800′s cameo in The Dark Knight. It’s now known as the Nokia Batman Concept Style N19, and it’s said to have a “futuristically transparent” display. There’s no list price for it, nor is there any spec sheet. Essentially, it’s an awkwardly-designed feature phone inspired almost entirely by Batman, from the wing-esque keypad section to the black and goldish coloring.

[Images via ITechNews]

Nckla Batman/Spider-Man phone

About a year later, Shenzhen picked up on the trend. So, this isn’t necessarily Nokia’s obsession with Batman, but rather Nckla‘s (think Prado instead of Prada). This phone hit the web in June of 2009, and seemed to be the lovechild of a Spider-Man fan and a Batman fan. It came in both black versions, and white with red and blue trim. Along the back there is a large Batman symbol, which is a part of the loudspeaker, and the small speaker on the front is also emblazoned with a Batman icon. The phone also happens to light up in blue and red.

[Images via JustAmp]

Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Knight Rises

Fast forward a couple years, and you’ll find the Nokia Lumia 800 Dark Knight Rises smartphone. It’s nearly identical to the 900 Dark Knight Rises, but without the big brother’s LTE connectivity, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display, and front-facing camera.

[Video via NokiaLumiaDownload]

[Images via PC Authority, ITechSources, and PocketLint]

Ikea Further Details Its Upcoming Uppleva HDTV Line

Posted: 01 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT

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Watch out, Best Buy and Samsung. Ikea is seemingly doing to home entertainment systems what Apple did to portable electronics. The company previously revealed its upcoming entrance into the home theater market. As the video above clearly shows, Ikea is injecting a full dose of their Swedish magic into the Uppleva line. Never mind about the thought that Apple might disrupt the TV market. Ikea is already doing it.

Ikea gets it. Francis Cayouette, an Uppelva designer, said it best in the video, “People actually consider the TV as a piece of furniture but it is always something that looked very technical has a lot of cables, is complicated and it just doesn’t fit in the home environment.”

As someone who sold TVs for a good chunk of my admittedly short adult life, I can attest that there is a lot of truth in this statement. The majority of buyers look at TVs as another piece of furniture rather than an electronic toy. Consumers often look at the style of the casing or stand before they consider the technical specs — if they consider them at all. The TV set most often sits within their house at a prime location, often being the centerpiece of a living room. By selling furniture system along with the screen Ikea is essentially reinventing TV shopping. But as this video shows, the HDTV itself isn’t a slouch either.

As previously detailed, the screen is a top-of-the-line 1080p display with a 400Hz response time and built-in apps. This video sheds a bit of light on the remote, which uses a sliding mechanism to hide the number pad. The user interface seems simple enough with a grid of large icons. Ikea previously stated that it would sport popular apps like YouTube, Netflix and more.

“The expression should come from the solution and not the electronic itself,” said Cayoutte. That mantra is very similar to the underlining thought in most Apple products. Instead of a smooth glass or aluminum exterior, Ikea is wrapping its electronic goods in laminated press wood. But the result as a simplified user experience is the same to the user.

The Uppleva line is set to hit key European locations this summer with a more broad release set for next year. Complete systems including a Blu-ray player, 2.1 audio system and furniture are expected to retail for less than $1,000 — and of course some assembly is required.


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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:16:00 AM

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Posted By e Readers Tips to e Readers Reviews at 6/02/2012 05:17:00 AM
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