Think about how much of what you do on your portable devices is Internet related. Then, in 2011 think about how much of your data isn’t even stored locally — email, photos, calendars, notes, the list goes on and on. Google’s Chrome OS embraces this cloud-based concept.

A few months back when installing Parallels (to run Windows 7) on my work iMac, I saw there was an option to install Chrome OS. While I had heard about the OS being run on Google branded mobile devices (not to be confused with Android OS), I hadn’t had a chance to play with it, but was intrigued by the concept.

Google’s Chrome OS (or Chromium OS) web site is very simple, and describes it as such:

Chrome notebooks are built and optimized for the web, where you already spend most of your computing time. So you get a faster, simpler and more secure experience without all the headaches of ordinary computers.

Have you used the Chrome browser on your Mac or PC? You’ve pretty much utilized Chrome OS. With just a few other settings for things like connecting to wi-fi, and a few icons representing the clock and battery charge, you’re already using Chrome OS. Any applications are actually web apps, utilizing the same store that you can already access through the Chrome web browser.

I can totally see this being utilized on a tablet, or some other device where it’s all about surfing and the absorption of information, and light content creation (Twitter, Facebook, some blogging, etc.). In the same way a netbook or tablet aren’t poised to usurp real computers for hardcore tasks such as video/photo editing, software/web development, etc., Chromium OS isn’t either. It’s a made as a lightweight alternative for slurping up content on a portable device. With that in mind, it does a fine basic job.

Read more about the Chromium OS

The first Google Chrome OS notebooks will be available June 15 (via Mashable)

Remember back in the 80′s one of the many goofy gimmicks — the slap bracelet? It was the metal bracelet wrapped in a loud color or pattern. Fast forward to 2010 with Apple’s release of their 6th generation iPod Nano — a tiny little square of a music player that features a touch interface and a representation of an analog watch.

Soon after the 6th gen iPod Nano’s release, it was only natural that a bunch of third party accessories were released that allowed the Nano to highlight that analog watch screen — bands, cases, etc.

Griffin’s twist on the watch concept was to bring back that slap band — complete with a rainbow of silicone color options. My review unit was green, which was perfect in March around St. Patty’s Day. The Nano slips in and is tightly secure. The Nano itself comes in a bunch of colors, and that ends up being an advantage of the Griffin Slap — because once the Nano is concealed in the Slap, the Nano’s color disappears, meaning you can have a new color scheme with a new Slap, which is much cheaper than another Nano.

While nestled in the Slap, you can still access the headphone jack, along with the button on the top of the Nano. The slap part itself is a bit gimmicky, but it’s a quick way to get it around your wrist, though I found after slapping it on, I liked to adjust it a little bit to be a bit tighter. Either way, it is entirely secure — just a personal preference.

Because it’s housing a iPod Nano, the Slap ends up a little bulky under a long-sleeved shirt, but after a few minutes, I didn’t even notice it on my wrist, other than the bulge beneath the long sleeve. There’s not much else to say. If you own the sixth generation iPad Nano, and would like to use it as a watch, or just have a music player on your wrist, this is a decent way to do it. The colors are nice, and can be a great way to complement or contrast the color of your Nano.

The Griffin Slap retails for $24.99, and is offered in nine different colors. Slap by Griffin Technology

For full disclosure, Griffin Technology provided this review unit. I’ve received no payment for the review am being fully honest in the above review. http://bit.ly/griffinreview

I first heard about the Griffin AirCurve with an older model – one designed for an older version of the iPhone, but I never saw, nor heard it in person. It was a curious device, able to passively amplify the iPhone’s tiny little speaker to a higher volume without power – AC or battery.

The next time I heard about the AirCurve was more recently – when people who had upgraded to Apple’s iPhone 4 found their beloved AirCurve’s passive amplification didn’t work with the fourth iPhone model, as speaker location had moved, as had the contours of the new phone. People found ways though to modify both pieces to make them work. I still hadn’t heard, nor seen a Griffin AirCurve.

Griffin has now released a version, made to mesh with the latest iPhone hardware, calling this version the AirCurve Play. They recently sent me a review unit of the new AirCurve Play, and the thing is highly impressive. It does what it promises, and it does it well, with no frills. It’s basically a big piece of clear plastic, allowing you to see the acoustic channels used to amplify the iPhone 4. The iPhone sit snuggly in the unit, and there’s a metal kickstand to allow the unit to be propped up for video playback in either landscape or portrait mode, though I preferred the looks and stability of it in landscape mode.

Kudos too to Griffin for making the AirCurve Play with iPhone cases in mind. The unit comes with a spacer “case” allowing naked iPhones to fit snug, but with the spacer removed, all three of the iPhone 4 cases I had, could be kept on the phone when installing it in the AirCurve Play. Your dock cable fits as well, allowing you to charge and/or sync as well.

As for amplification, the thing delivers on what it promises. Playing a song or video out of the iPhone 4′s built in speaker, and then installing it in the AirCurve Play, the music and videos were impressively louder. No distortion or coloring of the music was added. That being said, nothing other than volume was added – which is both a plus and a minus. It’s louder, but don’t expect this to take the place of much larger and more expensive docking speaker systems. The AirCurve Play doesn’t enhance lows or highs. It simply adds volume. But for a mere $19.99, this is a steal, making the most of iPhone 4′s built-in speaker – well worth 20 bucks in my opinion.

For full disclosure, I received this review unit free of charge from Griffin Technology, but received no other compensation for reviewing the unit. The opinions expressed above are solely my unbiased reviews of the AirCurve Play.
http://bit.ly/griffinreview

When the iPhone 4 came out, cases that both fit it and were also attractive, were few and far between. Fast forward a few months later, and there are quite a few, though a lot are your basic glossy or matte black.

Enter the Griffin Technology iPhone Outfit Ice line of snap-on cases. The Outfit Ice comes in multiple colors, which includes a jet black, but also red, blue and pink. My review unit was the red, or “true red,” as Griffin labels it.

The company describes the Outfit Ice as, “a hard-shell polycarbonate case with soft micro-textured finish.” The finish is what stands out as a different to me. It’s a satin-like finish, that is really smooth, but not to the point that it’s slippery or clumsy in your hand. Sadly, this unique finish is also the only complaint I have with the case. The satin-like finish shows off fingerprints and the oils of your skin even worse than the glass of the iPhone itself. Unfortunately, I found it more difficult and time-consuming to keep it clean than the phone.

After a few weeks of use, the oils and fingerprints didn’t affect the case as much it did initially. Partially, the change was that its sheen was became slightly “worn in” as it spent time in my pocket, and against my ear. Overall, I like the case and appreciate its unique color and finish, without being overdone.

For full disclosure, Griffin Technology provided this case for review, and I will honestly continue to use it in rotation with two other cases I purchased.

In case you missed my post just a few days ago, I started writing up the applications that have made it onto my iPhone and stuck. Sure, many an application have come and gone, but there are 14 applications that have stood the test of time and have proved quite useful.

8. Ambiance – This was one that if it was any more than a buck, I wouldn’t have done it, but for $0.99, I thought it was worth a shot. It’s basically a set of looping ambient sound effects including rain, city traffic, crashing waves and a whole slew of others that you can use as background noise whether you’re trying to take a nap, or trying to concentrate on work. The developer has multiple times added new sound effects. All of the sound effects add up, and the app is pretty big. But you can customize which sounds you want on the phone to drop the app’s file size. You can also set sleep timers to have it play for an allotted period of time.
Cost: $0.99

9. Facebook – Facebook’s iPhone application is a must for anyone who utilizes the social networking web site. Now in its second version, the application allows you to do check Facebook messages, look at photos, read up on friends, etc. It’s almost as full-featured as web site. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that it’s lacking is support for the myriad applications people can add to their profiles. No big loss there in my opinion.
Cost: Free

10. AstroTilt 99 Levels – AstroTilt 99 Levels is a Breakout/Arkanoid clone where you bounce a ball off of a paddle at the bottom of the screen to break blocks at the top of the screen. Like the games it emulates, there are powerups that give you larger paddles, a more powerful ball, etc. The 99 Levels version is free. There is a pay version with more levels, but honestly, 99 is plenty for an occasional quick game.
Cost: Free

11. Tris – This free Tetris knockoff is exactly that – a free Tetris clone utilizing the touchscreen of the iPhone/iPod Touch to rotate and drop the pieces. Tapping the screen rotates the pieces. Dragging down the screen moves the pieces down. On occasion, I’ve had problems where the app isn’t responsive and pieces don’t move, but this is a rare occasion. Overall, this is a nice and polished little game for the iPhone and definitely worth the download.
Cost: Free

12. Enigmo – I bought this on the day the application store opened and it’s a polished example of utilizing the touch screen and the graphical capabilities of Apple’s two touch screen portables. The object of this puzzle game is simple – using the provided gadgets and pieces, get the dripping liquid(s) into a container somewhere else on the level – bouncing, shooting the droplets around the level. The game is reminiscent of the old PC title, “The Incredible Machine.” Nearly 10 bucks is a bit steep for a game for the Apple portables, but it’s a lot of fun and gets fairly difficult fairly quickly.
Cost: $9.99

13. Tap Tap Revenge – TTR is the DDR / Guitar Hero – like rhythm game that has a familiar interface anyone who has played any version of Rock Band or Guitar Hero – tapping the screen as dots scroll down to the bottom. TTR has continued to offer a bunch of free new songs at all skill levels. The vast majority of the tracks are by unknowns, but I’ve read some big artists are actually going to have a few songs in the game. I doubt whether these tracks will be free. Time will tell. There’s also a local two-player game where two people at opposite ends of the touch screen can compete.
Cost: Free

14. 21 Pro (Sponsored) – Free Blackjack with nice graphics. A nice little feature is it has a card counting display that you can utilize to determine how hot the deck is. The sponsored version (free) is pretty unobtrusive in its sponsorship. Two adds show up every time the shoe is shuffled and then it’s back to blackjack.
Cost: Free

That concludes my review of the apps currently residing on my iPhone. There are thousands upon thousands and would appreciate feedback and/or suggestions on further applications you’re finding useful and worth keeping on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Like the majority of iPhone and iPod Touch users, I’ve used the iTunes App Store a ton, downloading and installing a ton of applications.

Most stayed on my iPhone only a few days, or in some cases, only a few minutes. There are a ton of apps available from the store – both free and pay. A big bit of them are junk. Below is my list of applications still on my phone – the ones I use regularly, and a quick review of their utility and/or amusement.

All in all, I’ve got 14 applications installed on my iPhone presently. Below are the first 7:

1. Remote – Apple’s own free application for controlling iTunes and AppleTV’s. We are lucky enough to have a setup of three Airport Express units as our wireless network throughout the house. Two of those units are hooked up to external speakers, so we can route music from the computer to other parts of the house. The little application is a fast and useful way to skip through tracks, change playlists and adjust volume. Songs, artists, etc. can be quickly scrolled through in list view or cover art view. It shows album art for the track playing as well. This probably the most useful of the apps still on my phone.
Cost: Free

2. Twinkle – Twinkle is a Twitter client, with a twist of having its own network that utilizes the location sensing technology to show people sending Tweets in a specified proximity to your current location. There is at least one other Twitter application available, but I like the way this one looks and like the proximity feature. I do wish it had a tab like Twitter’s actual site for viewing @replies.
Cost: Free

3. WordPress – This is a nice basic little application for making new entries to WordPress-based blogs, either on wordpress.com, or on other hosts running WordPress’ software (like Keefer Madness). It’s great for making posts in a pinch, but like a lot of people, I’m not a huge fan of doing huge compositions on the iPhone’s keyboard. If I don’t have access to a computer, this is a great way to still get a daily post in. The only other limitation worth noting is that it is only good for making new posts. The application does not have access to the drafts made on the computers and vice versa.
Cost: Free

4. Jott – I’ve only got the free Jott account, so I know I am not using Jott to its fullest potential, but this one is already very valuable. I basically use this one to keep a to-do list for both home and work. The iPhone app is great for checking these to-do lists. It also has a little voice recorder, where you can record your voice for transfer to the to-do lists. This is great while on the go, in the car, etc., and a lot safer and more efficient than typing on the iPhone’s touch keyboard.
Cost: Free

5. WeatherBug – The iPhone already has its own basic Weather app using Yahoo! weather data. The WeatherBug application offers a lot more info and is visually superior. But in all honesty, I usually access The Weather Channel’s mobile site for most of my weather info. I could probably do without the Weatherbug app, but since it’s free and unobtrusive, I’ve left it on.
Cost: Free

6. Grocery Gadget – This is another simple free app that gets a job done. This one does what you would think from its name – it’s for making grocery lists. It’s got its own little database of products, and you can add onto it the items you buy. We use this one just doing the weekly grocery runs and it gets the job done. It’s free and is efficient to use once you’ve got your standard groceries in there to utilize week in and week out.
Cost: Free

7. Palringo – AIM has its own application, but this one allows you to connect to other chat networks as well, such as MSN, Yahoo!, etc. I can’t say I use it to chat a lot, but like having this as an option to connect to the instant messaging networks on the go. My only complaint is you cannot selectively connect to certain networks. If your account info is in there, it’s going to connect. I’m thinking eventually, they’ll add this feature. This is another one that is free.
Cost: Free

Stay tuned for the second half of the applications still on Keefer’s iPhone.

I’ve had my TiVo now for about four months. I was psyched from the day I got it setup, but wanted to wait to write a review until I made sure my love of this technology wasn’t because it was the newest gadget in my arsenal. Well, four months later, it’s still being used daily and makes me wonder how I ever watched television without one.

First, let’s break down what TiVo is exactly. Currently, Philips, Sony and now AT&T make the hardware, while the software and the guide data is provided by TiVo, Inc. There are actually two separate charges one pays when acquiring TiVo — the hardware cost and the TiVo service, which allows you to get daily channel lineups and software updates. The service comes in two flavors — monthly at $9.95/mo or lifetime at $250. Without one or the other, TiVo doesn’t work.

The hardware is the same stuff, no matter who’s making it . The unit consists of a big harddrive and a computer that allows its owner to record and manipulate TV in ways a VCR never could do.

Before getting into TiVo’s recording and scheduling wonders, another fundamental TiVo option is the ability to pause and navigate live television. The doorbell rings in the middle of a close basketball game. Pause it like you would a DVD or VCR, take care of the visitor and come back and pick up right where you left off. When the next commercial comes around, you can catch back up to live TV, being better off because you didn’t have to sit
through commercials.

Speaking of commercials, they basically become a thing of the past with TiVo. Both my roommate and I have ceased watching live TV, other than sporting events and the occasional HDTV program (TiVo can’t record HDTV, at least not in this generation). TiVo has three speeds to fast forward through, with the fastest being 30X, meaning commercials are nothing but a blur. Watching an hour show that’s been previously recorded now takes 40-45 minutes. While it sounds strange to use the word efficient in the same sentence as TV, TiVo does make watching TV more efficient.

Recording all those shows is the real beauty of the unit. If there’s a show you know you want to see, you setup a Season Pass and it automatically records it. You can even specify if you want only first-runs or repeats included. This is great, because I don’t waste time or space on the TiVo for something I’ve already seen.

Because it knows what shows you like, you don’t have to worry about being in front of the TV right at 8pm for your show. If there’s an program I want to watch live, like say Dark Angel, I wait until 8:15 to park in front of the TV. This way, I can skip through commercials and catch up with live TV right at the end, missing all the commercials and spending 45 minutes watching an hour show.

TiVo is very configurable and also records suggestions in its spare time. Basically, as you watch programs, you can give them anywhere between 3 thumbs up to 3 thumbs down, letting TiVo get a good sense of your likes and dislikes in under a week. So when TiVo isn’t recording episodes of your Season Pass-request shows, it seeks out the lineups finding things you may like, and it does a pretty good job.

You can also adjust the quality level of the programs it is recording. A better recording quality means a better picture (crucial also for anything action-oriented), but means there’s less room at any given time to record other things. I prefer to have my requested programs recorded at high to best quality, and the suggestions at medium or basic quality, but your mileage may vary. This is something you’ll want to play around with to optimize your options.

Another cool thing about the TiVo is that its OS is a linux kernel, meaning there are all kinds of hacks out there, and for the technically savvy, the customization is almost limitless. The most common hack is to add another hard drive to make your storage capacity skyrocket.

There is a lot of great community support for this technology as well, both by celebrities and also your everyday Joes. I found a wonderful forum, called the AVS Forum and you can find more than you’ll ever need to know on their message boards and FAQ and if the information isn’t already there, one of its posters/members is bound to know the answer.

The only real downside is the price. The cheapest standalone (non DirectTV) unit is $299 and you still have to factor in the monthly or lifetime service. Also, on larger TVs, the basic recording quality just won’t do it. We have a 53″ TV and the basic quality won’t do it for requested shows, although I don’t mind it for a lot of the suggestions, as they usually end up being played in a small PIP window while playing a little Playstation 2.

One other thing to be aware of is that TiVo’s guide data is only as good as the information they’re given. For example, I recently setup a season pass for TechTV’s The Screen Savers, requesting only first run. Well, TechTV hasn’t provided very good data and every episode has the same generic description. Because of this, TiVo assumes they are either all the same or all different, recording nothing, or recording the same episode four times in the same day. So far, TechTV has been the only channel I’ve run across that has this problem, but be aware that the accuracy of the data TiVo is given makes or breaks what is recorded and what isn’t.

If you watch TV and can scrounge up the dough for a unit, grab one. You’ll never be sorry you did. Owning a TiVo means less channel surfing, as your hard drive will almost always have stuff that you like to watch.