Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

We thought the AirMail was our most favorite niche case of all time, but the homegrown Ply Laptop Case is really making a case (ahem) for top honors. After hours upon hours of masterful plywood bending, sanding and carving, the wooden case you see above was created. Internally, the case is lined with cork to “provide additional heat resistance and protection,” and best of all, those with the requisite skills can make one to hold any size machine you can dream of. Now, if only there was a TSA-approved version…

[Via MAKE]

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

We could tell from the press shot that this here laptop bag was far and away the most beautiful of the TSA-approved bunch, and a recent review over at Gadling confirms it. Put simply, the Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer is “fantastic,” and even the reviewer found himself startled at just how much he dug it. The build quality was remarkable, the ease of use was commendable and the design itself was obviously worthy of praise. The only real rub is the bloated sticker; the price of admission is a stiff $220, and that’s before you add in any useful straps or extra packing cubes. Unfortunately, the critic didn’t actually attempt to clear security at an airport with the bag, though we don’t suspect you’ll have any too many difficulties. Check the full writeup and a hands-on gallery in the read link.

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Filed under: Desktops

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Filed under: Desktops, Peripherals

While the Acrylic Cowboy family of cases still has our hearts (okay, so maybe it’s just the mascot that does it for us), Antec’s latest offering is certainly worthy of praise. The aptly-dubbed Skeleton is wrongfully hailed as the “world’s first open air case,” but in reality, it is one of only a handful. Even with all that openness, there’s still a 250mm fan up top along with a 92mm one up front, but we suppose there’s no harm in being too careful. It also provides four drive bays, a layered tray design, seven expansion slots and a meager assortment of ports. You will have to provide your own power supply when the time comes, however, and you’ll also have to wait a tick to find out a price and release date.

[Via BoingBoing, thanks Matt]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

We’re not saying a transparent box designed to “acoustically amplify” your iPhone speakers is an unmistakable ripoff or anything, but we do believe your $19.99 would be better spent on materials and beverages of choice as you exercise that DIY muscle. At any rate, Griffin Technology has today introduced the AirCurve (that’s the thing we just described) alongside the Clarifi ($34.99; pictured after the jump), a polycarbonate protective case for your iPhone 3G. Unlike alternatives, though, this one has a “close-up lens,” which supposedly gives your iPhone 3G the ability to take remarkably detailed macro shots with even “more accurate colors.” Call us jaded, but both of these things have marketing hoopla written all over ‘em.

[Via iLounge]
Read - AirCurve
Read - Clarifi

Continue reading Griffin unveils AirCurve acoustic amplifier, Clarifi case for iPhone

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Filed under: Gaming

Correct us if we’re wrong, but the Lian Li XB01 chassis for the Xbox 360 marks a notable departure for the case mod industry. Far from making the 360 “more badass” or “more laptopy,” the Lian Li XB01 merely aspires to make the 360 what it should’ve been out of the gate: cool and quiet(er). The folks at bit-tech.net put one through its paces, and have discerned that it “looks pretty pimp.” They do note that the $150 case isn’t built with quite as high of standards as Lian Li is known for, and there were a few minor quibbles, but once they tossed the Xbox 360 innards inside and booted her up, it became clear what the XB01 is all about: the 360 run silently without a disc, and only makes a bit of noise with a DVD in. Unfortunately, as soon as you toss a game in the drive noise is once again deafening. Oh well, maybe next year we’ll get a 360 that doesn’t require earplugs to play… and at least hard drive-based games are right around the corner.

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Call us biased, but we still prefer Ben Heckendorn’s portable ColecoVision over this one, but that’s not to say we don’t deeply respect the immense amount of work that went into the mini ColecoVision. The seller of the unit stripped a ColecoVision PCB from an original casing and got to modding; when all was said and done, the miniaturized version still operated fine and required a lot less floor space. ‘Tis a shame the bidding just ended — now you’re stuck with Atarimax’s oh-so-similar (but not nearly as satisfying) MulitCart as you embarrassingly attempt to relive the past.

[Via technabob]

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

Now that the TSA has doled out the official verbiage about what it considers a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag, expect to see the usual players toss in an option or two for frequent fliers. Thus far, all we’ve seen are cases that get the job done while throwing style to the wind in the nearest dumpster; now, however, we’ve a better option to choose from. Tom Bihn’s stylish Checkpoint Flyer meets all of the TSA’s requirements while still looking like a briefcase we wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with. The 2.6-pound bag is crafted from US 1050 denier ballistic nylon and 500 denier Cordura and includes a trio of pouches on the outside, splash-proof zippers and ten smaller pockets for stashing those increasingly rare bags of peanuts / pretzels. It’s available now in three colors for $220 (yeah, we know, but it’s made in the US of A).

[Via Electronista]

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Filed under: Gaming

It’ll take some DIY muscle, but if you’re tired of sending your Xbox 360 back to Microsoft after suffering yet another Red Ring o’ Death seizure then this custom case is for you. Designed specifically for the Xbox 360, the $150 PC-XB01 chassis from Lian Li is now shipping globally with the promise of a silent, vibration-free, and cooler running gaming experience. And really, besides a bag of chips and 100mg of Guarana, what more could you ask for? Oh right, a warranty extension.

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Filed under: Desktops

Lego computers are about as old as the case mod scene itself, but while many have qualified as interesting, we’ve never seen a truly sexy Lego box before Luke Anderson’s all-black “Lego Computer,” which seems to distill all we’ve ever loved about high-end workstation boxen into lovable Lego form. Bonus points for full documentation of the project released under the Creative Commons license. Time-lapse vid is after the break.

[Via SlashGear]

Continue reading Monolith-esque Lego computer makes us want to pick up a Brick Separator and build a civilization

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals

As we surmised earlier this month with the formal introduction of Mobile Edge’s trio of TSA-approved laptop bags, the flood of competitors are now rushing out. One of the first out of the gate is Targus, delivering its Zip-Thru 15.4-inch Corporate Traveler Laptop Case. Just the first in the outfit’s sure-to-be-long line of checkpoint-friendly bags, this one measures in at 16.93- x 6.5- x 13.98-inches, weighs 3.74-pounds, is constructed from durable black ballistic 1680 denier nylon and can — of course — slip under those airport scanning machines with your precious machine still tucked inside. Unfortunately, it won’t be available for summertime travel (look for it to land in October), but you can go ahead and budget in $99.99 well before Q3 gets sticky.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Filed under: Desktops

Here’s the thing about PC cases — they spend a good bit of time showing off how fantastic the outside of component-filled boxes can look, but generally speaking, the innards are completely overlooked. Digital Cowboy is out to dramatically reverse the trend with its Acrylic Cowboy cases, which — by and large — place your hardware on the outside of the case. We can’t exactly see a rhyme or reason (outside of the obvious cooling benefits) as to why these were created, but so long as it stays far, far away from sodas, children and family pets, we’d say it’s the perfect way to showcase what’s really important in your gaming rig.

[Via Engadget Deutschland]

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Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs

Whether this gem is as sexy as OrigenAE’s LCD-equipped chassis is certainly debatable, but there’s no denying at least some level of hotness here. The towering Tyr X2000 enclosure was designed to keep your gaming / HTPC components safe and net favorable glances from those privileged enough to enter your abode. The unique design enables owners to access optical / hard drives from the sides, and there’s plenty of room to store those Family Guy re-runs with six hot-swappable RAID SATA bays. You’ll also find a few more absurd specifications such as room for eight PCI cards, enough fans to cool a small dorm room and support for a water cooling system. Mum’s the word on pricing, but c’mon, you can’t look at this thing and honestly believe it’ll be anything near cheap.

[Via HotHardware]

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Filed under: Desktops

We’ve seen seen some wild cases in our day, but few have matched the general bad-assery of the NZXT Khaos. The whole shebang is built from thick aluminum, there are eleven 5.25-inch drive bays, there’s support for dual power supplies, and a myriad of 120mm fans are locked and loaded for pushing all that hot air around. And hey, everything is better with a gutteral “Kh” before it, so you know it has to be good. Khaos will retail for $399 when it hits mid-June.

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Filed under: Desktops

We’ve seen a few heatsinks in our day, but Thermalright is taking things to the inevitable extreme with the new case it was showing off at Computex. The whole unit is pretty much one big radiator, with a bunch of internal heatsinks and heatpipes worked in for good measure — the only fan is the one on the power supply. Apparently one side of the case if for the processor, while the other side cools the graphics card, with a nice 150 watts of heat dissipation per side. What with this, and that Xbox 360 heatsink they were showing off at this show, it looks like Thermalright is quickly carving out a niche for itself when it comes to cooling overkill. No word on price, but this thing can’t be cheap.

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Truth be told, we still can’t believe this is the first commercially available glow in the dark Xbox 360 chassis, but then again, glow in the dark hasn’t been remotely fashionable since Bill Clinton left office. Still, if history is beginning to repeat itself, you know you want to be first on the bandwagon, and there’s no better way to throw it back than with the XCM Glow Pearl case. As it stands, the shell isn’t quite ready to be ordered, but we’re sure it’ll be worth every penny when your BFF sees just how gnarly this thing is in the dark.

[Via technabob]

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Filed under: Laptops, Peripherals, Wearables

Not one to just follow the crowd, BUILT has thrown an interesting twist on the oh-so-popular Neoprene laptop case. The Laptop Backpack enables users to tote their 12- to 17-inch machine right on their back along with textbooks, LAN party flyers and a copy of The Daily Bugle; you’ll also find a couple of smaller compartments for storing peripherals and accessories. The material itself is water- and stain-resistant, and the pack is available in two sizes to fit all but the most atypical of frames. According to BUILT, the new wave of laptop carrying should begin today at $80 a pop.

[Via BeSportier]

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Filed under: Storage

If you’re looking for an odd, yet usable storage solution, perhaps ACARD’s Mirror Smart Mini is the thing for you. The device uses two 2.5-inch SATA drives side by side in a small enclosure; the drives can be mapped as a hardware-based RAID 1 array, or can be used as separate devices. The aluminum casing plugs into your system using USB 2.0, but unfortunately requires an AC adapter for power, thus making it slightly less awesome than we want it to be. Regardless, if you’re moving around a lot and need a backup option, you might have found your $69 answer.

[Via Everything USB]

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Filed under: Gaming

See that PSP case floating in our tears of ennui? What do you think it’s called? If you said fat steaming turd of hyperconsumption… ding ding ding, you’d be right. Otherwise known as the overpriced pouch of fermented rat bile, this PSP sack of festering nipple sores from Cyber Gadgets costs ¥1280 or about $12.35. Ziplock baggie, 7 cents.

[Via PSP Fanboy, thanks Penny]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

What’s better than having a nice leather or cloth iPod sleeve to show off to your friends? If you’re thinking one made of imitation meat — you’re dead right! Apparently, a company in Japan is under the impression that you want to wrap your music player in a grade A lookalike, undoubtedly to the thrill of your vegetarian friends and family. Of course, don’t just get one for the shock value — this thing oozes pure, sophisticated style. If you’ve got ¥6,800 (or about $66) and dignity to spare, it can be all yours.

[Via DVICE]

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