Pentax’s Optio RS1500 costs $150, takes 14-megapixel photos and sports a removable face plate for adding custom skins to the digital point and shoot.  It ships with 10 trendy looking skins, 1 clear plate, a set of colored lens rings to complement and for those looking to stand alone, you can design and print your own using an included Adobe Air application.  Additionally, it can capture 720p video, has a 3-inch LCD, 4x optical zoom and SD card slot.

Pentax says the RS1500 will ship this April for $150.

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We’ve seen skins for the iPhone that disguise it as something that it isn’t (here and here).  Unfortunately, neither of them made the device any less attractive from a thief’s perspective.

The VHS Laptop Skin however makes your laptops, PC or Mac, appear as a set of old and used VHS tapes.  Course, you’ll already need a collection for it to fit in, but you get the idea.  Some of the movies include Indian Jones, King Kong and The Muppets.  There’s also versions for the iPad, iPhone, etc, but they don’t sell it as well.

You can by the VHS Laptop Skins for $20-30 each.

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There are two known truths in the gadget world — that the iPhone 4 has a great camera for a phone, and that the Leica M9 is one of the coolest looking cameras ever. So San Francisco photographer Joey Celis is kinda a genius for designing this Leica M9 iPhone Skin. Sadly, it’s not going to be made for sale — Celis considers it a “one-off”. Definitely makes him cooler than the rest of us iPhone users, though.

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This is a skin that turns your iPhone into a Gameboy.  But before you get too excited it goes on the back of the phone, not the front.  Which means you can still use the phone as Apple intended.  A skin that converts your iPhone into a working Gameboy – now we’re talking.  You can pickup the iBoy skin for $10, though we’re not sure if there is a version yet available for the iPhone 4.

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The word “skins” was first popularized by Cuba Gooding Jr. in Boyz in the Hood.  MusicSkins have just unveiled their new line of protective skins for the iPad and for the first time due to their larger size people will actually be able to appreciate them.

The $20 fully removable skin will come with clear screen protector for the face of the iPad while the back is made from an anti-scratch, anti-UV coated vinyl with a residue-free 3M adhesive.  Slurp!

Over 1000 Musical artists, TV themes and more will are available now from MusicSkins for your iPad.  You like?

[via iLounge]

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Okay, admittedly, sometimes you really want just the right skin for your iPhone or iPod.  Your skin says a lot about who you are, how you feel about stuff, and junk.  And of course, you definitely want the coolest one you can find.  And maybe you can’t find a skin with your favorite supermodel on it, or with a sharp enough resolution image of the Klingon Empire’s sigil.

Now, you can make your own.  Thanks to the iaPeel (like eye appeal, only Apple style) you can print off gadget skins for your Apple portables in whatever format you want.

The iaPeel kit will set you back a mere $21, and comes with some basic design software and five skins that’ll work with your inkjet printer of choice.  Plus, you can make your Apple gear into total clotheshorses and make multiple skins, for different occasions or even days of the week.  Imagine the fun you’ll have with your friends when you whip out your iPhone and say, “This is my Thursday skin.”

Of course, if you actually do try that, you may not have friends much longer….

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When we saw Powermat’s offering at CES 2009 we were pretty excited.  After all, who doesn’t want to ditch the always cubersome plug in process for all their mobile gadgets.  But like most gadgets, especially those that offer a game changer to the industry, skepticism is abound.  So does the Powermat live up to all it promises to be?

First, let me note that I’m an iPhone user.  For some reason PowerMat’s PR company failed to send me the necessary compatible skin, so with that said I wasn’t able to give the device what I feel is a true and full blown iPhone perspective review.  On the other hand they did send me a shit load of ‘receivers’ (that’s what they call the attachment to make your mobile device compatible with their charging pad), which included one for the Blackberry Curve (8300/8310/8320/8330/8350i), Blackberry Bold, Blackberry Curve 8900, iPod Touch (2nd Gen) and an iPod dock that is compatible with the iPhone.

There are a two Powermats to choose from – I received the Portable Powermat.  It’s a foldable 3 piece device that includes the Powercube universal charger, 8 compatible tips for all your devices and a magnetic locking carrying case.  When folded its footprint is about the size of a coffee table sized coaster, and about 2-inches high.  While I’m not a huge fan of the universal charger – I think it defeats the purpose of the device since you have to still plug something in – it does offer an all around charging resolve for any of your gadgets.

The receivers themselves add some significant bulk to your mobile products.  While I didn’t receive one for my iPhone, the iPod Touch receiver though not massive in size, adds some relative girth to the portable player.  The Blackberry receivers on the other hand replace the device’s battery cover, which make their integration a bit more seamless, practical and less bulky.

The PowerMat itself of course needs to be plugged into the wall, which in this particular setup included a plug with a its own spindle making for easy storage and transportation – it too fits neatly in the carrying case.  When a ‘receiver’ is properly placed on the Powermat it denotes this by sounding a tone and illuminating an LED (both of their intensities can be adjusted by up to 3 levels (on, half, off) by locating the two buttons on the rear of the Powermat).  Adjacent to these buttons is an additional USB plug for those devices that don’t have a compatible receiver and/or you run out of space on the Powermat’s surface.

Since I primarily use an iPhone I was stuck with the iPod Dock receiver.  It features an adjustable back for a variety of iPod sizes and has zero wow factor to its build or design.  In fact, it felt a built cheap, although I had no problems with mounting my iPhone into the serial port or charging the smartphone.  At first glance the two buttons appears to be a release mechanism for what appears to be a ‘locking dock’, but are in fact used for adjusting the back of the receiver to insure a snug fit no matter what iProduct you’re using.

The big question that’s been floating around since the announcement of Powermat is whether or not it can charge products in an energy efficient manner – in other words how much juice is lost when using inductive (magnets) charging.  In my experience the charging times appeared to be exactly the same as using a good old fashioned wall plug.  Powermat claims their portable power cord to have an Energy Star rating of 5, but their box and actual product seems to be devoid of this logo or mention.  Unless you’re a super green, you’ll have no problems over looking this concern.

What I do like about the Powermat is its ability to potentially declutter one’s desktop and wall socket of multiple cords and plugs.  Of course, each product will need its own receiver, which will be both costly and add some bulk to your mobile devices.  But this begs the question: how many mobile products do you own that need charging on a regular basis?  Ironically, as the wireless age has matured many of our products – PDA, cell phone, gaming device – have become all in one devices; case in point the iPhone.  So at the end of the day I only really found myself using the Powermat to charge my iPhone, which could have been done just as easily as plugging it into a wall or connected dock, though I did like the ability to remove my iPhone from charging at a moments notice without damaging a cord or connection.

Despite my review sounding a bit skeptical, Powermat has a produced a solid set of products.  It’s a tad bit on the expensive side, but if you so choose you could forgo the ‘receiver’ option and just use the included universal adapter.  Aesthetically, the Home and Office mat are more attractive, but the Portable Mat offers more versatility and is ideal for anyone travelling and doesn’t want to lug around multiple power packs from location to location.  When and if Powermat can provide their tech and IP to OEMs is when I believe the tidal wave of wireless charging will fall into place and we’ll no longer have to purchase the receiver skins.  Course, by that time rolls around Apple will have their own version in place much like the Palm PRE.

Pros:

• Aesthetically cool
• Removes the need for multiple power cords
• Includes carrying case, universal charger
• Power cord Energy Star 5 rating

Cons:

• Receivers add bulk to any device
• Always plugged makes it not so green
• Not really wireless charging b/c mat has to be plugged in

Available at Amazon starting at $100

The dreams of Telsa have yet to be fully realized, but that hasn’t stopped a many of a company from releasing products that lay claim to ‘wireless or wire-free charging’.  But alas, until that day is upon us we’ll have to settle with a variation there of, such as the WildCharger’s Pad and Skins.

The concept is straightforward: you wrap your mobile device in a rubber skin that contains 5 over sized pin head like contact points on its back.  When the device is laid upon the WildCharge Pad, which is plugged into an AC outlet, its contact points form a connection and suck down electricity. I use an iPhone, so the Skin contains a dock connector to transfer energy to the phone’s battery.

Safety is of a paramount concern with any device, especially with ones that involve electricity.  While I didn’t drag my tongue across the Pad’s surface I did place my hand on it while it was plugged in and a device was charging.  I received no shock and can honestly say that the device is safe.

The Wildcharge Skin did add some bulk to my iPhone, especially at the base where the dock connector juts out, and on the back where the contact points reside.  For every day carrying I didn’t mind the added bulk and actually liked how the rubber skin provided some added protection.  When it came time to minimizing my pocket bulk, though, I removed the Wildcharge ‘skin’ since it was just enough to be annoying and aesthetically disrupting to my pant leg.  Fortunately, it’s simple enough to resinstall the skins, but it takes a bit of pushing and pulling since the dock connector needs to be inserted first.

From an efficiency stand point the Wildcharge device charged my iPhone in the same amount of time as Apple’s AC plug.  When placed on the pad not only does the iPhone sound the familiar charging tone, but the Wildcharge pad displays a glowing blue LED light (it’s so bright it will light up part of a dark room).  I have my concerns to how much power the WildCharge Pad draws when not in use, but compared to some of my other devices in my apartment (e.g. Plasma TV, computer, microwave, etc), it’s a rather moot point.  So all you crazy greenies, you can just as soon unplug the device when not in use, although it will defeat its purpose.

At the end of the day I’m still not sold on a ‘wire free’ charging device.  Recently a consortium was formed to help set a standard, but until every manufacture decides to jump on the band wagon were going to end up with numerous after market devices, such as the Wild Charge.  And as far as I can tell it’s just as good as any other.  I’m not jaw dropped by the design, and although it lacks the spit and polish of Powermat’s offering, it gets the exact same job done at almost half the cost.

Pros:

• Easy to use out of the box
• Rubber skins provides protection
• Inexpensive compared to competition

Cons:

• Adds bulk and length to iPhone
• Always plugged in – uses power nonstop
• No wow factor technology

You can grab a bundle deal here for $80.

Revenge of the Fallen, the new Transformers movie hits theaters this week and will surely be a powderkeg of CGI explosiveness. To commemorate such a film, PDP is releasing two DS skins in the styles of BumbleBee and Megatron.  From the picture, the skins look like that nice type of plastic that begs for your stroking touch.  The Megatron stylus looks as if Jigsaw from Saw 12 designed it. Each skin and stylus will cost $20 for both, or $13 each.  In stores this week.  Till there gone!!

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