I have no idea how to pronounce its name properly, but the $80 AViiQ laptop stand is hands-down one of the best stands I’ve ever seen. It’s durable, incredibly light and compact, and holds my MacBook Pro at a very comfortable 12-degree angle above the desk.

I’d marry it if men were allowed to marry metal.

The AViiQ is a premium product, and it’s priced and packaged as such. Inside the gorgeous container you’ll find the actual AViiQ, a micro-fiber bag for transportation, and two extra rubber feet for the stand. I thought the bag would be an interesting little extra, but I’ve learned over the past few weeks that you’re almost required to use it.

This is because the accordion-like design of the AViiQ causes it to spring open whenever you fold it up. Don’t get me wrong: it does fold up into a *very* compact  metal sliver, but without the micro-fiber case (or a rubber band, if you want to MacGuyver it), the whole stand will open up right after you fold it shut, like a Jack that doesn’t want to stay in The Box.

Setting the stand up for use is simple five-second affair. Once the AViiQ is out of its case, simply unfold it and then fold the top portion in on itself until it creates a triangle (there are slots cut into the whole stand so that the rubber feet lock nicely into place). After you’ve locked the stand in place, you can put your computer — any laptop up to 17” in screen size — on top.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that my first impressions of the AViiQ in action made me quite the skeptic. I’d place my 13″ MacBook Pro on it  and then watch the computer slowly, but surely, slide right off. As it turns out, there’s a bit of a sweet spot you have to find on the AViiQ, where the bottom of your laptop rests on the gray rubber feet at the front of the stand, and the back of the laptop rests on the black rubber feet at the rear. It sounds a little complicated when I spell it out, but it isn’t, and once your laptop is in the right spot, it won’t budge.

I’ve had the AViiQ for nearly three weeks now and have used it every single day. It certainly isn’t the tallest laptop stand (you’ll still want an Xtand if you want to use your laptop like a monitor), but the AViiQ keeps the screen at a much more comfortable viewing angle. I can’t say that the stiffness in my neck after several hours at the computer is gone, but it’s significantly less now that I use this laptop stand. It’s also very handy on the couch or if I use my MacBook for some surfing before I sleep, because of the keyboard’s slight elevation makes it much easier to type on.

So would I pick up an AViiQ stand again? Absolutely. I realize the price level isn’t for everyone, but I put a lot of thought into what I carry around, and the look and feel of the AViiQ fit in perfectly with my MacBook Pro. It’s also a “future-proof” laptop stand, since it can accommodate most any sized laptop (up to 17″), so I’ll still be able to use it if I decide to upgrade to a larger laptop a few years down the line. In fact, I highly doubt I’ll stop using this accessory until I get tired of laptops altogether and decide to hook right into the Internet through an Ethernet socket in my face.

—

The AViiQ is available from AViiQ.com for about $80. The unit I used in this review was sent to me by the Max Borges Agency.

The USBCell is a neat little AA battery that comes in packs of two, and it charges through the USB ports you already have on your computer. I don’t need to tell you how amazing and convenient this product can be for travelling and general home usage, but I do need to tell you how it all works. This is a review, after all.

Most everything about the USBCell is the same as any other AA battery, down to the physical size and weight. The major difference is the slightly reduced battery capacity (1300mAh, as opposed to the 1500-2000+ mAh on my other rechargeable batteries) and, of course, the hidden male USB port in the green cap. The cap is held securely in place by a simple elastic string, but it works, and doesn’t seem like it will break off any time soon.

Charging the USBCell takes about five hours, and the LED will stop glowing once the battery is fully charged. You won’t want to touch the batteries while they charge because they get quite hot, but you won’t suffer from burns either.

There isn’t too much more to say about the design of the USBCell, except that it isn’t obnoxious. Each battery takes up only one USB port, and none of the space above or beside it. This means you can comfortably fit two USBCells in both of the USB ports of a MacBook Pro without blocking anything else.

Battery life wasn’t all that simple to test, although I didn’t expect to see that big a difference, given the rate that most AA-charged accessories use up battery. I started my “test” on June 22 by charging each USBCell to max, and then stuck them into the Magic Mouse. The curious thing was that the Magic Mouse refused to report a battery life of 100%, and showed 81% instead. After a month of intermittent usage my Magic Mouse is down to about 56%, according to the Mouse Preferences pane on my MacBook. Frankly, this seems like totally normal battery drain, but I’d warn other users not to expect the USBCells to last as other rechargeable batteries (which would likely have higher capacities).

Then again, the big difference between the USBCells and everybody else is how ridiculously easy it is to juice them up again. It’s so much more convenient to simply recharge your batteries right at your computer. Hunting for your AC charger doesn’t require gargantuan amounts of effort, but that little bit of time and effort that you save every couple of weeks (when it comes time to recharge those AA’s) does add up. I  even think that this convenience is worth the $20 price tag for a two-pack of USBCells, despite the fact that the same amount of money would buy you four-pack of rechargeable AA’s from most competing brands.

——

You can find the USBCell online or at your local BestBuy in Canada and the US for $18 USD or $21 CAD for the two-pack.

The free two-pack of USBCells that I received for review was provided by the Max Borges Agency.

I recently had the opportunity to use the Motorola Dext, an Android 1.5 device that has only recently been unleashed on the Bell network in Canada. The Dext is one of three Motoblur-modified Android devices being released here in the Great White North, although it’s the only one of the three with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. If you’re looking to get into the Android scene the Dext can make an interesting starting point, but you should also know that there are much more powerful Android phones out there (like the Motorola Milestone on Telus).

ANDROID 1.5 (skip this section if you’re already up-to-snuff on the Android OS)

The first thing I noticed about the Dext is that it’s “stuck” on Android 1.5. That’s not to say that Android 1.5 doesn’t work (it does), but it’s essentially a firmware version that came out in April 2009. In other words, the Dext may be new in Canada, but the firmware is a little over a year old. This is a pretty big deal even if you’re not a techie, since it means that newer apps like Facebook and the DoubleTwist media player simply can’t be downloaded, and the major Android improvements of the last year, such as the improved virtual keyboard, better voice search, and general speed increases, simply aren’t available to enjoy on the Dext.

There is, of course, the possibility of an OS upgrade in the future, but it’s nothing to hold your breath for, given the state of custom software on Android. This is due to a disconnect between Google, which develops Android OS, and the handset manufacturers like Motorola, who design hardware and software modifications like Motoblur. It seems to take an average of 6-12 months for manufacturers to get a phone out to the market, and Motorola can’t simply update the Dext’s firmware without first modifying their Motoblur software to comply with the latest version of Android.

But now that I’ve gotten that techie whining out of my system, I will say that Android 1.5 is a very interesting change, especially coming from an iPhone 3GS. The Dext is slower than my iOS 4 device, but it’s usable once you make a few tweaks. It’s a far cry from the laggy, sad brick that was my HTC TyTN on Windows Mobile 6 (what I used before moving to the iPhone).

The biggest items to talk about in the Dext’s case are widgets, overall system speed, and what you can and cannot install.

Customizable widgets were one of the biggest things to hit 1.5, and there are quite a number of them available by default, or downloadable though the Android Market. There are general widgets for weather, calendar items, Google searches, as well as more specialized ones for checking the amount of available RAM on the device, or checking your current standing in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (a PC gaming title). Most of these widgets are free, but some of them are paid, or come as part of paid applications from the Market.

Widgets definitely have to be one of the killer Android features, since they provide an enormous amount of at-a-glance on the five home screens. However, in my two-week experience with the Dext, I also found widgets to be one of the biggest device and battery killers, and it was really when I started to kill them off one by one that my experience improved.

I even ended up turning off the Motoblur Happenings widget, which is one of the biggest selling points of buying a Motorola-made Android device (aside from the hardware design, of course). For all of the customizability that widgets allow, I found that they simply slowed the whole device down too much, and I enjoyed Android 1.5 much more by nuking all of them and using a home-screen replacement called Slide Screen instead.

I have to admit that I was quite surprised that Slide Screen was 1.5-compatible. Many of the interesting or high-profile apps I had wanted to try out during my first Android test drive simply weren’t available on the Motorola Dext’s Android Market. The Bell website boasts that Facebook and Twitter and MySpace are available on the Dext, but what the site really means is that you can access all three services through Motoblur. The specialized Facebook and Twitter Android apps (the latter of which is apparently quite good) are simply unavailable on Android 1.5. I was also disappointed to find out that other apps, like the newly released DoubleTwist media player, are Android 1.6+ only. So while Android’s Market may be growing and improving daily, finding out which apps you can and cannot use on the Dext is a guessing game at best, and it’s strange to have to play such a game on such a spanking new device.

MOTOBLUR

By default, Android syncs with a Google account for contacts , calendar appointments, and Gmail (in its own special Android app — other e-mail accounts use a separate app). Motoblur adds Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to the mix of synced accounts and adds extra details to your contacts. This simplifies things and shows you all the e-mails, text messages, or relevant status updates for each of your contacts in a tab right beside all of their actual address and personal details. It’s a great extra touch, but it’s a bit too much for the Dext to handle.

The same can be said of the Motoblur Happenings widget, which displays all the status updates and relevant Facebook/MySpace/Twitter messages right on your home screen. It’s an attractive and interactive display  (Facebook comments and Twitter replies are built right in), but swiping through the aggregated updates can feel sluggish. The best way to view your Happenings is to tap on the widget after it pops up to toggle a full-screen list mode. It’s here that you can really appreciate how active your Facebook friends and local Twittersphere are, and it’s much easier to manage your 300 notifications by simply scrolling, instead of swiping through one item at a time.

There were a few Motoblur features that I didn’t thoroughly test out, but should be mentioned for the sake of being thorough. The Motoblur service requires a specialized login that you create when you first set up the device. This login preserves your widget layout and social networking details, so that moving to a new device is as simple as entering your username and password. Another use for your login is for tracking down your Dext through the Motoblur website (you even have the option for a remote wipe, if you need it), but I only learned about this feature by visiting Bell’s website. It isn’t terribly obvious that you’re afforded these extra luxuries thanks to your Motoblur login.

After a few days of trying to adjust to Motorola’s approach to social networking, I decided to throw in the towel and opt for something simpler. My demands of the Dext were modest (Calendar, Contacts, Phone, Browser, and TwiDroid for Twitter), but I really think the tsunami of information that Motoblur throws at you requires a much more powerful device, and a different kind of user. Quite frankly, I found Happenings a little overwhelming, and was much happier when I synced only my Google contacts to the device, and kept a near-vanilla Android 1.5 setup.

HARDWARE

I think the hardware design is the best part of the Dext. Despite its $80 contract price, the Motorola Dext feels like a much more expensive device.

The screen is flush with the bezel, so there’s very little worry about dust building up on the front of the device. The top features a standard 3.5mm earphone jack, the right side houses sleep/power and camera shutter buttons, and the left side of the device is where you’ll find the volume buttons, silent switch, and micro-USB charge/sync port. There’s absolutely nothing along the bottom of the device, except for the slick metallic finish which hides fingerprints nicely. The back of the device features the 5MP auto-focus camera (top-left), loudspeaker (bottom) and one of the most interesting looking battery doors I’ve seen. The back plate of the Dext looks great and is quite fingerprint and scratch-resistant to boot.

Removing this back piece will reveal the 1390mAh removable battery, as well as the micro-SD (2GB with the device) and SIM card trays. Since the Dext is on Android 1.5 you won’t be able to place apps on the included SD card, but you do have 512 MB of ROM for that. The device’s 528 MHz processor and 256 MB of RAM run adequately on a minimalist Android setup, but tends to slow down when used as advertised in promos (read: leaving the Happenings widget running).

The phone is quite pocketable despite the presence of a physical keyboard, and the whole package is a pleasure to hold and use. There’s a heft to the phone that inspires confidence in the build quality, and the sliding mechanism is spring-loaded and clicks assuredly into place. Despite my complaints about speed in Android 1.5, the orientation changes are near instantaneous when flipping the screen up.

Doing so will reveal the landscape QWERTY keyboard, which is backlit and easy to get used to (despite the left-hand side directional pad). The keys are quite close together, but their convex design makes them easy to differentiate, even in the dark.

Touchscreen

The 3.1” capacitive touchscreen on the Dext is good, if just a little small. Taps register well for the most part, but I did encounter some problems with the software keyboard (which isn’t really a hardware problem, I know). The lower-right corner of the screen works just fine with other apps and taps, but there seems to be a real dead zone that prevents the backspace, l, and p keys from being tapped reliably when the on-screen keyboard is active.

Phone

Telephony on the Motorola Dext is just fine, and there really isn’t anything to like or dislike. My test callers told me that the device sounded no different from my iPhone 3GS, which tends to simply sound alright. The loudspeaker pumps out a good amount of sound, but you’ll need to flip the device over to really make the most of it.

Camera

The camera on the Dext is functional, but the software side of the Dext really lets it down. The camera app can take forever and a day to load up (or hang on startup, as it did during my first day out to take some sample shots), and that fact alone may keep you from trying to snap pictures with the device. That said, the Motorola Dext’s ability to auto-focus is useful for apps like Evernote and documenting receipts or important notes. The lack of an LED flash means that you’ll need an external light source for night shots, though.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Motorola Dext depends on how many widgets and background apps you run. I ran with the default setup of widgets for my first few days with the device, and this tended to kill the battery surprisingly quickly (the device usually died by the end of the day, or died while idling overnight). Removing all of the widgets increased the battery life dramatically, allowing the Dext to last at least two days on light-medium usage (a handful of calls, 30 mins tweeting/surfing, and a bit of texting).

Conclusion

Despite my best efforts as a newbie Android user, I simply couldn’t get the Dext to run as well as I had hoped it might.

There were always little pockets of lag while opening a new browser page, searching for a contact, or launching an app – and this is something you can get used to if this one device is all you’ll use, but it’s always noticeable when you’re coming down from a higher-tier ($200 on contract) phone.

The Dext is really a medium range Android experience, and it’s limited by the older Android 1.5 (newer versions of Android are simply faster, especially the newly released 2.2).

However, the price of the Bell Motorola Dext reflects all of this at $79.95 on a 3-year contract, and $399.95 for an outright purchase. So while you won’t be enjoying the fastest or most modern Android experience on the Dext, buying the device outright will still be a good $300 or so cheaper than a Motorola Milestone or iPhone 3GS.

—

Adding a silicone lump to something won’t necessarily make it better, but the idea works well with the Magic Mouse. The MMFixed (read: Magic Mouse Fixed) may not be pretty, but it’s the best $13 I’ve spent over the past few months. The positively anti-ergonomic design of the Magic Mouse is definitely something that Apple should have addressed on their own, but I’m just happy that an enterprising third party offered such a comfortable and affordable solution.

The MMFixed takes the awesomeness of the Magic Mouse and makes it a comfortable instrument, allowing me to work for hours at a time without my hand cramping up. Actually, let me rephrase that: I first used the MMFixed for two weeks *backwards* and started to experience significant discomfort after day 14. Then I realized I had been using the bloody thing backwards, and it’s been ridiculously comfortable since then. Just make sure the curve of the MMFixed faces your palm, and you’ll know it’s oriented correctly.

I love the Magic Mouse’s multi touch scrolling a lot more than the standard scroll wheel, and the ability to scroll sideways at any time is a blessing when working with large images. Unfortunately, as most Magic Mouse owners will attest to, the little Bluetooth instrument definitely takes its toll on your grip after a few weeks or months of use. No matter how you try to hold or palm the naked Magic Mouse, there will always be something odd about the vacuum beneath your palm where a supportive hump should be.

The silicone lump (with built-in suction cup) that is the MMFixed fills that void and conforms beautifully to your hand, providing a grip similar to more standard (and sane) mice designs. All you have to do is pop it on, slide it into a position that feels comfortable, and you’re done (I swear I’m only talking about the MMFixed…).

I’ve been using this little Klingon for about two weeks now, and I can no longer imagine the Magic Mouse without it. I consider myself a stickler for looks, and even though the silicone lump disturbs the clean lines of the device, it also doesn’t look all that different from the hump on most other mice. The colour may be just a shade or two off of the Magic Mouse’s, but it isn’t noticeable after the first day.

The only complaint I have about the MMFixed is the way it seems to lose suction every once in a while. This can be as often as several times a day, or as seldom as once every three days. However, this loss of position is never all that dramatic: you just notice the MMFixed doesn’t feel glued in place, apply a small amount of pressure, and enjoy being Fixed again.

I’m strangely ecstatic about having a silicone lump on my Magic Mouse, but it really has changed the feel of the device for the better. I’m also grateful to William Davidson for selling it to customers for such a low price ($15 USD, including international shipping), and I think all Magic Mouse owners would do well to complete the designs of their Magic Mice by sticking an MMFixed atop.

—

You can pick up your own MMFixed for about $12 ($15 if outside US) at MMFixed.com.

[Disclaimer: I don't actually recommend letting the Nano stick so far out of the armband -- I just thought it made for a nice picture.]

I’ve been testing the iSkin DuoBand for the 5th gen iPod Nano for a few weeks now, and have been quite happy with the fit. The anti-microbial coating and silicone skin are great extras — but at the end of the day, all I wanted was something that would keep the Nano in place during a workout, and the Duo Band has done just that.

Read More …