One of the things I’ve spent the past couple of weeks working on has been a comprehensive roundup of some of the summer’s hottest new keyboards, including models from Logitech, Microsoft, Eclipse, and Matias. Logitech’s new Fantasy Collection is affordable, attractive, and aimed at people who want to personalize their workspaces without shelling out a ton of money. Microsoft’s new Arc Special Edition is a media center keyboard with sharp looks, a nice curved design (perfect for lap and couch use) and a tiny receiver, the Matias USB Keyboard + Smartphone Stand comes with a space to rest your phone and a powered USB hub, and the high tech Eclipse Litetouch Keyboard offers sharp looks and a high tech LCD keypad on the right side of the keyboard with customizable function buttons!

I tested each one of the keyboards over the course of several months, and when all was said and done, I had some pretty strong opinions about them all – some of the more than others. Head over to check out the review and leave me a comment either here or there: I’m curious to hear what you think!

[ Tom's Guide :: Keyboards of Summer - 4 New Keyboards, Tested ]

For this site highlight, I wanted to take a quick trip through some of their new products that I think are worth picking up, or at least adding to your wishlist:

• 
  Star Trek Limited Edition Watch

  I don’t wear a watch – I use my cell phone to keep time, and if I need to know what time it is I usually just pull my phone out of my pocket and glance at it. That being said though, this is the kind of watch that would make me want to wear a watch all the time – partially because I’m a Star Trek fan and partially because it’s just a gorgeous watch. The face is beautiful, with the delta shield carved out of the back to reveal the gears and spinning innards in all of their bronze and ticking glory. It never needs to be wound and doesn’t take batteries, and it just looks sharp on the wrist.

  Aside from that, the Star Trek Limited Edition Watch truly is a limited edition – only 1701 will ever be made and sold, so if you’re interested in one, I’d strongly suggest dropping the cash on one now, since they won’t be around for much longer!

• 
  Star Wars Belt Buckles

  These Star Wars Belt Buckles are perfect to show off your Star Wars fandom without wearing something too over the top. They’re perfect gifts for the Star Wars fan in your household, and since they’re made of die cast metal and attach to just about any standard belt buckle, you don’t have to run out and buy a new belt just to use it.

  Just choose your side: Empire or Rebel Alliance, and buy the buckle that works best for you! I’m not normally a fan of big buckles, but these are well-sized, good looking, and perfect if you wear your shirts tucked in or out over your waist!

• 
  Gravity Activated Flipmill

  I kind of love salt and pepper mills. I have a thing for them, I don’t know why – I don’t collect them or anything, but these ones I think I simply have to have. Just turn them over and they get to work, automatically grinding the salt or pepper that’s in them and dishing out your selected spice all over the food, waiting patiently below.

  Best of all, they cater to the lazy because you can do it all with a single hand – you don’t need to hold with one hand and twist with the other, or push a button, or anything like that – just flip the mill over!

• 
  Mechanical Kitty Coin Bank

  This is probably the most adorable coin bank I’ve ever seen. Just put the coin on the little fish holder, and the kitty pops out of the bank, snags your coin, and then absconds back into his little box, keeping your coins safe until you need them for something. But then again, the whole point of a bank is that your money goes in and doesn’t come out – and fierce little kitty is so adorable you probably won’t ever want to open the bank up and take your money from him, so it’s perfect to help you save!

  The bank is straight from Japan, so don’t mind the text on the side of the box being in Japanese. Also, the kitty is available in brown or white, so snag the one you think is cutest.

• 
  Twist Equation Alarm Clock

  If you’re the type who needs a little mental stimulation when you wake up in the morning, or at the very least you’re the type who hits snooze endlessly and winds up being late for everything, this clock is for you. When the alarm goes off, you’ll have to solve the mathematical equation on the front before the alarm stops and leaves you in peace. Ideally, by that time you’ll be awake enough to actually know that you shouldn’t just roll over and go back to sleep – your conscience will have kicked in and you’ll know it’s time to get up and get yourself together.

  The math here is no slouch, either – it’s not going to be the same thing every day, so don’t expect this to keep you awake one day and then be just a more intricate snooze button every other day – this is a pretty good way to get yourself out of bed in the morning and keep your brain sharp in the process!

There you have it! A little something for everyone – and definitely some gear that’s made its way onto my ThinkGeek wishlist. If you like these suggestions, please consider buying through my links above; your purchase helps support Gears and Widgets when you buy after clicking through from here!

During Apple’s press conference earlier in the week, they claimed that the infamous “death grip,” or the common name given to the signal loss you get when holding the iPhone 4 a certain way, is by no means exclusive to the iPhone 4 – they claimed that just about any mobile phone manufacturer suffers from the problem, and that you can find a way to hold any phone that will reduce signal and force calls to drop.

Almost immediately, Apple’s competitors in the mobile space, like Nokia, Samsung, and HTC, all fired back claiming that this was anything but true and their handsets were immune from any sort of “death grip.” So what does a smart tech columnist do? They put it to the test!

The fine folks over at PC Mag grabbed a bunch of phones they have for testing (and other hilarious objects) and decided to see if they could death grip the signal out of them as well. The results are in the fantastic video above – those with a sense of humor only need apply, but the results are pretty interesting – sure, if you pretty much wrap both hands around some phones you can force some signal loss, but in most cases it’s slight or the grip is so unwieldy that you’ll never find yourself holding the phone that way. Even so, other phones suffer from the death grip pretty substantially. You’ll have to watch the video to see the results!

[ PC Mag :: Death Grip Testing on iPhone Competitors Shows Mixed Results ]

So the Motorola Droid X is out in the wild, and sure enough, I’m happy to say that on the day it was released, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play with one – a couple of my colleagues got theirs on launch day, and trust me, it’s as gorgeous and fast as the reviews have said it is. The esteemed Sascha Segan over at PC Mag gave it 4.5/5 stars and the Editor’s Choice award, and while there’s no disputing the fact that it’s definitely a huge device – larger than most people would expect a phone to be – it’s got a gorgeous screen, Motorola’s UI is attractive (even though you can’t turn it off,) and it’s remarkably thin and light.

Over at Revision3 though, there’s a brand new episode of Unboxing Porn featuring what else but the Droid X! The last episode featured the iPad and was utterly hilarious, and this one’s no different – it’s actually a really great way to describe a new product, do a little unboxing shots, and talk about the new features in a way that’ll hold attention.

…that’s what she said.

[ Revision3 :: Unboxing Porn: Motorola Droid X ]

Today is Droid X Day, meaning that while it’s not as big a deal as a new iPhone or anything, the Droid X launches today on Verizon Wireless.

As much as Verizon Wireless has gotten a great deal of publication, love, and overall approval from smartphone lovers and geeks alike for the release of the Droid by Motorola and the subsequent releases of other powerful exclusive Android phones like the Droid Eris and Droid Incredible by HTC, prior to their releases, leaks, and announcements, Verizon Wireless was the carrier that people begrudgingly signed on to because the voice and data networks were robust and covered the majority of the country – business signed on so they could get their employees cheap BlackBerry phones, and if you wanted a smartphone your options were BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, all on horrible horrible devices – the rest of us either had to jump ship for another carrier that had good handsets and smartphones, or we had to deal with feature phones or simple handsets because we couldn’t give up the network.

I’m in that boat – I was ready to jump ship to AT&T at the end of my contract last year just because I wanted a smartphone and Verizon Wireleess’ selection was awful; and then something glorious happened. The Droid by Motorola was released, and to this day I consider it one of the best technology purchases I’ve ever made, and I haven’t considered leaving for AT&T, iPhone or no, since then. The combination of a solid Android phone that’s not loaded up with Verizon Wireless’ standard suite of bloatware that you find on their feature phones and their amazing network, and even though I still think the iPhone is a slightly better device than the Droid, the combination of the Droid and Verizon’s network simply overwhelm the combination of the iPhone and AT&T’s network.

The odd thing is that I don’t know that I’m not the only one here. So how did this happen? Google and Verizon Wireless are closer now than they’ve ever been, and both are dedicated and determined to working together on Android phones. So did Google ride to Verizon Wireless’ rescue and save their image from cementing as the stodgy, old carrier with cheap voice handsets but good call quality, bargain basement smartphones for individual users, and the only way to get any attention from them is to have a BlackBerry and be on a business plan? Here’s a hint: I think so, and let’s dive into why after the jump.

The first step to understanding what the world was like before there was a Droid on the market. There was a time when Verizon Wireless’ strongest smartphones were made by AudioVox, and if you wanted a smartphone your best bet for apps and features was to either get a BlackBerry and put your hopes in the hands of RIM (who, mind you, is still the number one smartphone manufacturer in the United States) or suffer through the experience of owning a Windows Mobile 6 device. Now, with RIM planning yet another major upgrade to the BlackBerry operating system (since the BlackBerry Storm and Storm 2 on Verizon Wireless were less than stellar successes although they’re both semi-solid devices) and Microsoft planning to get Windows Phone 7 onto the market at the end of the year, Verizon Wireless is poised to have a number of amazing devices on its network.

Still, back before the days of the Droid, people looking for smartphones had the choice of either springing for Blackberry or Windows Mobile, deciding to settle for a higher-end feature phone that would also play music like the LG Chocolate 2 or LG Envy. The only time Verizon Wireless was mentioned in the same breath as high-end, feature-rich smartphones was when people wished, hoped, and prayed for a CDMA-compatible iPhone to make its way to Verizon Wireless’ network (something that still persists to this day.)

Verizon Wireless was the carrier that everyone loved because of its network, not its technology, and technology writers and mobile phone fans alike hated on Verizon Wireless regularly for loading its devices up with bloatware, charging extra for services that are available on the Web for free like VZCast, and putting exorbitant prices on their music downloads — none of which I think has changed, honestly, but with the introduction of stronger handsets and a more hands-off approach, Verizon has managed to take the heat off of their higher-end users and the only folks who feel that burn anymore are VZW’s feature phone owners – primarily aimed at teens and pre-teens who either know better and will be upgrading soon or don’t know better and run up their parents’ phone bills.

The introduction of the iPhone and its exclusivity to AT&T changed everything though – we started to hear rumors that Verizon actually turned Apple away because they didn’t want to make the necessary changes to their network to support the iPhone and that AT&T was willing. Other, smaller carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile were agile enough to start releasing Android phones and Windows Mobile phones that could compete with the iPhone to some degree, even though none of them were remarkably successful in any way until the T-Mobile G1 running Android 1.6 was released. Verizon Wireless was stuck in the proverbial smartphone dark ages, unless you wanted a BlackBerry or you were in an enterprise that relied on BlackBerry devices. But even then, it was clear: the iPhone, the G1, and the Palm Pre’s respective successes, even as metered as they were, proved that we all wanted better phones.

Then we heard that the veneer of Verizon’s extremely lengthy and slow technology approval process was cracking, and Verizon Wireless was committing themselves to bringing new technology to their store shelves faster. Then we heard about a new touch-screen BlackBerry phone that would take on the iPhone: the BlackBerry Storm. Before it was released, people were calling it an “iPhone Killer,” and even after it was launched, the BlackBerry faithful called it as much, and defended its many flaws, claiming it could do everything an iPhone did and then some – the problem was that even though there were serious hardware flaws that you could overlook in a best case scanario, Apple had a leg up on what was most important with most smartphone users: apps and the ability to customize, tweak, and download tools to help you really make your phone your own and do with it what you chose. Between the lack of apps (still a problem with BlackBerry phones) and the hardware issues the Storm suffered from, it never got traction. Sadly, the Storm 2 – more recently released, suffered largely the same fate, but this time not because of hardware (the Storm 2 is actually a very strong handset) but because RIM simply hasn’t brought the apps to the table.

So here we were in 2008 and 2009, with one half-hearted attempt at taking on the iPhone and bringing a strong smartphone to Verizon Wireless. If you wanted a decent smartphone on Verizon Wireless, the Storm was your best bet, and it wasn’t a great bet at all if you wanted the same kind of experience you could get on a G1 over at T-Mobile, an HTC Hero over on Spring, or an iPhone on AT&T. Then Palm released the Palm Pre: a new phone with a new operating system from a company known for porting its devices to as many carriers as would take them. The Pre started on Sprint, but it wasn’t too long before everyone knew it was coming to Verizon Wireless.

Before that could happen though, Motorola and Google rode in to Verizon Wireless’ rescue with the announcement of the Droid by Motorola (and very quickly after, HTC rode in with the Droid Eris) and completely stole Palm’s thunder. Motorola hit the market first with the Droid, HTC hit the week afterward, and Palm’s release a month or so later fell flat. While sad for Palm (and eventually ended up with its $1.2 billion acquisition by HP) the waves that the launch of the Droid family of Android phones on Verizon Wireless was a huge deal for the carrier, and breathed a lot of new life into the smartphone section of its stores — life that it’s still feeling.

Considering Verizon Wireless’ history of lackluster smartphones and locked-down devices that never empowered its customers and users, and the almost 180-degree turn brought about by the release of the Android-powered Droid series of devices, you could very well say that Google’s Android and manufacturing partners like HTC and Motorola very well saved Verizon Wireless’ image, at the very least in the eyes of smartphone users, power users, the technocrati, and people looking for phones that did a bit more than just make calls.

Still, all of those people combined don’t make up the majority of the cell phone market, so while I don’t think it’s legitimate to say that Google or even the Google/Motorola/HTC triad actually out-and-out “saved” Verizon Wireless, it’s more than legitimate to say they certainly saved Verizon Wireless’s perception and image as a leading-edge and highly technological wireless carrier.

if you’re the type of person who’s looking to buy a PC instead of build one, or maybe you’ve already built a computer and you just want to go ahead and buy your next rig instead of spend the time and energy looking for components and putting them together, PC Mag has an excellent guide on how to pick the right pre-built desktop for you and your needs.

Obviously there are the things you should think about regardless of the type of user you are – getting enough drive space, making sure you get a processor that’s up to date, and then considering whether or not you can do with a nettop, or whether you need a high-end multimedia or gaming PC, and then of course, the courtesy warning about bloatware and all of the other junk that most manufacturers include in their retail systems.

Head over for some well heard pieces of advice, and some highly rated systems from the editors!

[ PC Mag :: How to Buy a New PC ]

If you haven’t heard the news, (and a lot of people heard the news and thought “what’s that?”) Microsoft killed the Kin, the smartphone designed to be a semi-smartphone for young people and teenagers looking for a device that had a focus on social networking and staying in touch with friends but didn’t need enterprise-level features.

Most people in the tech sector saw the announcement (and still see the commercials on TV) and shake our head sadly at what could have been a good product if it had been given the right attention, resources, appropriate marketing, and aggressive prices.

I’m completely agreed with the notion that the Microsoft Kin could have been an amazing product, and could have been the pioneer for a new generation of feature phones that could have stood alongside devices like the LG Envy and dominated them. Instead, Verizon took them and put them on the same stage as smartphones that were way more powerful, at the same price-point, and forced owners to have expensive smartphone-level data plans to support them.

The price was something I would have been able to get over if it weren’t for the fact that Verizon charged data fees on top of them when they don’t for phones that are more like the Kin. The Kin, at least in my perspective, was less of a mini-smartphone or smartphone-lite as it was a super feature phone that would help teens send messages to their friends, send them photos, take video, and then manage all of that content from a Web app powered by Microsoft.

The Kin could have been rolled in with Zune and Zune Marketplace and as a precursor to Windows Phone 7, and positioned as the first in an aggressive new generation of feature phones that would have forced LG and Samsung to up their ante and bring feature phones to the market that would really be fun and useful for young people who don’t necessarily want (or whose parents don’t want them to have) BlackBerry devices or Android phones or iPhones.

Instead, the Kin died a slow and painful death because it was horribly marketed to no specific target group, generically labeled as a “social phone” without any real look at what made it stand out or what the companion Web app was good for, it was priced too high on shelves at Verizon stores, and the requirement of a full data plan for it was the final nail in the coffin. They didn’t sell, and Microsoft pulled the plug.

Over at Engadget there’s a beautiful retelling of the true and inside story of the life and death of the Kin, which includes how things went wrong from the very beginning and the entire project turned into a “just get it finished and out the door” kind of project, even if it was flawed and even if people at Microsoft and Verizon both knew that the way it was positioned meant it wouldn’t go anywhere. It’s worth a read, if not for lines like this:

While it’s hard to argue that Kin is an awful product, the saddest part of the story is that many of the people responsible for it knew it was — they were largely victims of political circumstance, forced to release a phone that was practically raw in the middle.

[ Engadget :: Life and Death of Microsoft Kin: The Inside Story ]

The blog Technologizer has the results of a series of polls of iPad owners about their general satisfaction with the device and how it informs or impacts their opinions and thoughts about Apple, the policies around the iTunes App Store, and whether or not they feel like their iPad is an essential part of their lives or something that’s just a fun gadget to have and play with when they choose to.

Here’s a spoiler: by and large, iPad owners are largely satisfied with their devices. They enjoy using them, they don’t feel like they’re particularly oppressed because of Apple’s closed-and-curated model to apps, and they admit that their iPad won’t replace a full computer or a laptop anytime soon, but they’re loathe to give it up.

This is contrary to the often loud and vocal perspective from people who generally don’t own iPads or any Apple product that the iPad is worthless, without legitimate use, or lacking in features or that the iTunes App Store model cripples the device (although they do find it troubling!) It’s another example of how the echo chamber of the Web may resound with one message, but the truth from the people who actually own and love their devices is something entirely different.

Here’s what survey respondants had to say -and while I am including this, I do think the survey results and graphs are worth looking at – in some cases just because most people said one thing didn’t mean that the combination of other responses led to a majority opinion in the other direction:

Executive summary in case you don’t feel like reading the rest of this article: They like it. A lot. Ninety-eight percent say they’re satisfied with their iPads overall; ninety-six percent think it’s a good value. In category after category–3G service, most of the individual bundled apps, battery life, speed, the absence of Flash–a majority of respondents are pleased.

In only one major area did unhappy campers dominate: A majority aren’t pleased with Apple’s App Store approval process. More than half also wish Apple had given the tablet printing capabilities, a memory-card slot, and a front-facing camera.

It’s worth noting that even with the furor around the iPhone 4 and its issues, there have been no massive problems with the iPad – no one’s reporting engineering flaws with them, no one’s returning them en-masse (to the contrary, many organizations are buying them in large numbers,) and there are no class-action lawsuits over them. The iPad may be one of Apple’s most successful first-gen new product launches in a long time.

[ Technologizer :: The State of iPad Satisfaction ]

The photo you see above (glorious or terrifying, depending on how you feel about all things anime and about figures and ball-jointed dolls) is from the desk of one Danny Choo, a man who has made a life out of his passions: technology and Japanese culture. Recently, on one of his sites, figure.fm, he held a call for submissions for the newest Otacool magazine.

His call for submissions is much like the call for workstation submissions over at The Classy Geek except I’ll be giving away prizes there, and Danny is highlighting the best workstations in the magazine.

That being said though, I’m always a huge fan of workstation photos, and because I’m into anime and manga and such I get special joy out of seeing all of the photos in this thread and bouncing around to some of the linked threads to see more of how people have their home, office, or home office workstations all set up and put together. Best of all, I get some inspiration on how I’d love to have mine set up!

[ DannyChoo.com :: Worldwide Workspaces ]

In a press conference today, Motorola and Verizon, along with special guest, Google’s Eric Schmidt, announced the newest member of Verizon’s Droid family, the Droid X – Motorola’s next generation Droid handset, which by the looks of it will be leaps and bounds past the current Droid by Motorola.

There have been rumors abound about the Droid X and the Droid 2 (they’re two different phones), and which one we would see today – turns out the Droid X is a new slab-phone with physical keys at the bottom, a bigger, higher-resolution screen, a 1GHz processor, 720p video recording, an 8-megapixel camera, 24GB of storage (8GB on-board and a 16GB SD card, upgradable to a 32GB SD card), and 3 microphones for superior call and recording quality. The Droid X will be available July 15th for $199.99 after a $100 rebate for new contracts or – thanks to Verizon – any Droid owner with a “new every two” upgrade coming in 2010.

The Droid X will also serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot for an extra $20 per month, which is a huge feature, and will support Android 2.2 “Froyo” and Adobe’s Flash 10.1 when they’re both made available later this summer (but not at launch.)

The Droid 2 continues to be un-announced phone, and although a few blogs claim to have had their hands on it, nothing official from Motorola or Verizon has been announced. The Droid 2 appears to be more of a direct upgrade to the existing Droid by Motorola – with a slide-out physical keyboard and a faster processor than the existing Droid but not as powerful as the one coming in the Droid X. The Droid 2 will retain most of the features of the original Droid by Motorola, and it looks like Motorola is positioning it as an upgrade and an additional device in the market as opposed to positioning it against some of the kings of Android phone performance like the Droid Incredible and the Droid X.

Regardless, if you’re looking for an upgrade to your Droid (although not many original Droid owners will have an upgrade coming this year) or want your hands on the most powerful smartphone on the market, you may consider the Droid X. Still, it was just announced today, so the reviews have yet to roll in.

UPDATE: PC Mag has some first impressions and video, live from the unveiling event!

[ Verizon Wireless :: Droid Does ]