May 9 - 3:30pm EDT   Apple on Friday announced it would refund between $25 and $80 to as many as 2.3 million iBook and PowerBook owners, after a significant number of adapters went defective, fraying and sparking. The Los Angeles Times reports that US District Court Judge James Ware granted preliminary approval on March 24th on the 2006 class action filing. The agreement makes Apple responsible for paying for a portion of replacement power adapters for the portables. [full story]

May 2 - 9:45pm EDT   In brief: We have a review of Boynq Sound2Go, FileExaminer is on sale, Belkin is offering pink-ribbon cases to combat breast cancer, and Peachpit is now on Adobe TV ... We have posted a review of the Boynq Sound2Go, a compact portable speaker system for your iPod or any MP3 player that measures 8.5 x 6.5 x 4.75 inches in height. Its one-pound weight is a bit hefty for a suitcase, especially if you're limited to one bag on your airline of choice. It is useful for vacation get-aways, if you can still afford gas to go anywhere, or as a personal sound system on your desk at work. [full story]

March 24 - 7:10pm EDT   In brief: We have a review of the Booq Boa Slimcase, the book Take Control of iWeb '08 has shipped, an REM music video available is available now through iTunes and "Easter mEgg Hunt" hunt for Mac software participants have been announced ... We have posted a review of the Booq Boa Slimcase. The series of bags supports laptop sizes ranging from 13 to 17 inches, and fit Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops. The Boa Slimcases are available in portrait and landscape formats. The two models and three sizes per model are designed for the professional who wants to carry only the basic necessities of computing. This $115 bag fits 13 to 15" laptops, while the other more expensive ... [full story]

March 10 - 12:00pm EDT   The MacBook Air's thin design is causing some confusion for the technically ignorant, according to one blogger who says that the ultra-portable caused him to miss his flight. When going through the TSA airport security checkpoint, blogger Michael Nygard was held up as security staff gathered around his MacBook Air, trying to make sense of the slender laptop. One of the less technically knowledgeable staff points out the lack of standard features as cause for alarm. [full story]

February 29 - 12:15pm EST   UK-based Solar Technology today unveiled the Freeloader 8.0, a portable solar charger with a built-in battery, designed for the iPod and several other electronic devices. The Freeloader comes in silver and pink, and features two small sold-away solar panels that can charge the internal battery within 5 hours, supplying up to 18 hours of power for the iPod. Solar Technology is selling the Freeloader 8.0 for £30 (~$60 USD); as of now, it is available only in the UK. [full story]

February 15 - 2:20pm EST   MCE Technologies today began shipping the QuickStream DV/HDV, a portable camera-mountable self-powered digital video capture and storage device. Capable of capturing HDV in addition to standard DV footage, the device accelerates the video post-production process and can capture HDV footage directly to its hard drive while shooting from the majority of popular HDV cameras. The QuickStream DV/HDV is available with 80GB ($800) and 120GB ($1,000) of storage space, supporting up to six hours or nine hours of recording, respectively. [full story]

February 4 - 1:25am EST   The MacBook Air has caused quite a stir with its slender packaging and minimalist features, but many have wondered what they are giving up in terms of performance by trading in their MacBooks and MacBook Pros for the ultraportable. Primate Labs recently benchmarked the miniature laptop, and found that performance was around 80- to 85-percent of that of a 2GHz MacBook. While the Air pulled ahead slightly in memory and stream performance, it was lacking in other areas. [full story]

January 7 - 4:45pm EST   Philips today introduced several new home and personal audio products, also a new line of LCD TVs. Pairing up with RealNetworks, the company’s new Streamium NP1100 relies on the 4.5 million track collection offered by Real’s Rhapsody network, as well as internet radio, and PC music libraries to bring audio to the home environment. The device uses a black and white display to show track information, and has a built-in WiFi receiver to connect with users’ home wireless networks. Philips expects to ship the NP1100 in May for $150. [full story]

January 7 - 11:05am EST   Buffalo Technology today unveiled three new external drive solutions, as well as a new combination HD DVD and Blu-Ray reader-writer, at CES 2008 in Las Vegas. The company says its MediaStation Blu-Ray HD DVD drive is the first device of its kind to allow users to both read and write Blu-Ray content. While the drive can write to Blu-Ray optical media, it is only able to read HD DVD formatted discs. Using a USB cable, users can connect the drive up to a laptop or other mobile device to watch movies. The drive includes a full version of Nero, and will ship during the first quarter of 2008 for $650. [full story]

January 3 - 4:30pm EST   Hitachi Maxell today introduced an SRS WOW HD-enabled Bluetooth audio transmitter (site not updated) for iPod to enhance sound quality of the portable player's digitally compressed audio and video files. The new Bluetooth-enabled dongle is compatible with all full-size iPods as well as iPod nano and iPod mini, and uses the proprietary Apple DIN connector that attaches directly to the iPod dock. The company offered no shipment details or pricing. [full story]

December 24 - 12:50pm EST   USBFever.com has launched four new iPod accessories ranging from a tiny portable speaker earphones. The company's Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker serves as a tiny sound system that works with all iPod models. The speaker is small enough to hang on a keychain, and features built-in amplification via a Lithium-Ion battery that users recharge via USB. The Fingertip Mini Cube Speaker ($10) offers 0.8W power output, weighs 17 grams, and includes an on/off button. [full story]

December 13 - 10:35am EST   Miglia has released the TVMini+, a device that aims to offer complete digital entertainment with Miglia TV software in an ultra-portable format. The device plugs into a USB 2.0 port, thus enabling users to watch and record analog as well as digital terrestrial television. Supported by the DVB-T standard, the TVMini+ combines a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter and a video decoder for improved reception, according to Miglia. TVMini+ is available for $175, and comes with a 2-year warranty. [updated with proper images] [full story]

December 10 - 10:45am EST   Apple's iPod and iPhone rank among the top gadgets so far this holiday season in Europe, according to a comScore study designed to track the frequency of online searches. The firm studied 20 different models of gadgets from the game console, mobile phone, and portable music player markets across the UK, France, and Germany during the first three weeks of November. The study found that Apple's iPod is the second most popular item with 3.5 million searches, while the company's iPhone is the fifth most searched device. [full story]

December 4 - 10:20am EST   Apple has launched a new 'Get a Mac' ad highlighting recent test results, which found that a Mac laptop ran Windows Vista faster than all other portables. The commercial begins with the usual introduction of 'Mac' starring Justin Long and 'PC,' played by John Hodgman. 'PC' immediately notions for Mac to wait as he begins a telephone conversation with PCWorld to report a misprint. [full story]

November 29 - 1:15pm EST   IntelliScanner has unveiled its Wine Collector 250, a portable barcode scanner and companion software package for managing wine collections. The scanner and software provide instant wine bottle details using an internet-enabled database and AUtoFill technology, helping users to determine the best drinking time and build custom reports to facilitate collection sharing with integrated iPhone sharing as well as Web 2.0 publishing. Wine Collector 250 is already shipping for $300, with a special edition model that includes a corded non-portable scanner also available for $200. [full story]