Logitech Cube. I couldn’t resist… when these two adorable black and white little cubes came, a smile just spread across my face. They are so cute! And the unboxing was fun, as things got exposed layer by layer. Adorable packaging and product design… it’s all about the details. As for the eraser sized little presentation mouse device itself, i am not sure if i have much use for it regularly… but it feels great in my hand and i can’t stop playing with it… plug the usb in, turn it on, and sliding it around on the desk its a mouse with scroll… picking it up you can start a presentation and flip/click/etc to change slides. Though the little case for it strangely reminds me of a finger brace… anyhow! Adorable black and white cubes, fun packaging details and more on the next page!

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Tags: gifts - Logitech - shopping - technology - unboxing

So many fun things to share with you from the last few days, but so sleepy this 1am and currently in the Côte d’Azur… so, silly things first. While visiting the Mercedes-Benz factory in Bremen, i couldn’t help but admire their Gran Turismo 5 + PS3 + Logitech circle of racing fun set up in the lobby. The design details of the racing pod are great ~ but even better is the Nürburgring mat it sits on, complete with each twist and turn labeled. The PS3 mount even resembles an engine! See all of the details on the next page!

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Tags: games - Logitech - Mercedes-Benz - video game

Last in my series of posts about my adventures with smart TVs ~ sponsored by the fun folks at Intel’s smart TVs! As usual ~ content and pics and all that fun is all me and they are supporting me to do it!

So what ELSE can you do with a smart TV? Apparently be watched. Watch people. (and no, not the vid chat type we talked about before.) That sort of thing. Ok, so maybe it’s not THAT creepy, though i suppose it kind of is in the example i’ll show you! But really, what we’re talking about here are security cameras! Logitech’s in particular! Indoor, outdoor, night vision security cameras! I was amazed that visit to the Logitech Loft in LA ~ you could peek and see in to the kitchen and balcony of the Logitech Loft in SF! And vice versa! And all through the Google TV ~ with the Logitech Alert app. But ok realistically, this isn’t awesome just for co-loft-shenanigans… think about it as a home security system that you can check WHILE watching TV (or internetting, or whatever else you’re probably doing with your TV in the center of your home). There’s a beauty to not NEEDING the computer or external screens to check in on your security cameras ~ be it for the backyard, front door, or vacation home… why not just use the screens you have, including the TV? And while you’re watching TV you can even picture in picture it… so take a peek on the next page of the Logitech Alert system i saw in action on Google TV!

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Tags: camera - Logitech - technology - television

Second in my series of posts about my adventures with smart TVs ~ sponsored by the fun folks at Intel’s smart TVs! As usual ~ content and pics and all that fun is all me and they are supporting me to do it!

Since the Logitech Revue unbox post - the question i’ve been getting non stop since i’ve started playing with the Logitech Revue GoogleTV is ~ “Really? How are you using it?” ~ and then i have to tell some silly story as if walking someone through how i watch tv… and how surprised i am to have found the Google TV integrating itself so easily in my day to day life. Unlike the way my Wii and PS3 never did… or the way an Apple TV/Roku/Boxee never did… Even with the limited number of apps on the Google TV platform, i’m surprised how much i’ve used it since plugging it in. The key? Perhaps HOW it fits into my media center ecosystem. I have a tendency to leave the TV on in the background when home, leave the DVR doing its thing collecting shows up while i travel/etc… and Slinboxing shows when i have downtime abroad and have a homesick moment… The key difference seems to be… it sticks itself right in between my DirecTV box and my TV… sure, i can play with the internet on my Wii and PS3 and such as well, but i have to switch sources, and boot them up… this just stays on, and is already connected when watching TV… so the transition is seamless to multitask while doing what i was already doing. SO since i got sick of trying to explain it ~ i’ve tried to make sense of it for you on the next page all in pictures! It’ll make more sense when you head there!

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Tags: Logitech - technology - television

First in my series of posts about my adventures with smart TVs ~ sponsored by the fun folks at Intel’s smart TVs! As usual ~ content and pics and all that fun is all me and they are supporting me to do it!

Google TV unboxing time! …with the Logitech Revue that literally disappears into my media center! As you saw earlier, amazon managed to get the Logitech TV Cam to me before the box itself, so you’ve already seen that unboxed. The Logitech Revue showed up the day after, so here’s the unbox/setup and first impressions… in usual Logitech fashion, the hardware is sleek, simple and feels great. So check out the unbox on the next page ~ as well as a peek at KidRobot’s new Simpson’s Mini Series 2…

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Tags: gifts - Logitech - shopping - technology - television - unboxing

First impression. Wow. I mean, i’ve heard ABOUT the Ultimate Ears Customs for some time now, but being custom, no one elses will ever really fit you perfectly… so you can’t know how incredible they can sound, until you try your own. And wow. They sound and feel amazing! Freshly arrived today are a set of Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors, which i got molded for back at NAMM (but was bad and had trouble deciding colors/prints/etc ~ as you can see, i went with the smoke!) From the goo they stuck in my ears, out came these perfect fitting molds hand made right here in socal! I’ve never loved the feel of ear plugs or headphones very much, but i barely notice these after wearing them for a while… and they sound incredible. While i can’t exactly SHOW you how they sound, i can show you the thoughtful packaging and what you receive when your customs arrive… take a peek at the unbox on the next page!

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Tags: audio - gifts - headphones - Logitech - packaging - shopping - technology - Ultimate Ears - unboxing

On design details to lust after, Logitech always manages to deliver ~ while mildly frustrating that my Logitech TV Cam arrived today ~ but my Logitech Revue/GoogleTV isn’t coming until tomorrow… it’s still such a pretty object, i’ll share the unbox first! It beautifully mounts even on the thinnest of TVs and sturdy enough, no need to worry about it leaping off in an earthquake. Armed with a Carl Zeiss wide angle lens with 5x digital zoom and two digital, directional microphones, it promises to take “HD video calls” to a whole new level. Since there’s no Revue to play with today, tried it out with ichat ~ and it works! Nice auto focus, wide angle, and

p.s. on silly design details ~ i love that the blue stripes seen in the website pics aren’t lit up when its off! It’s sleek and black and disappears right into tv…

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Tags: camera - gifts - Logitech - shopping - television - unboxing

When right in the center of downtown Los Angeles, and up on a tiny balcony of the 35th floor penthouse Logitech Loft ~ the city really sparkles at night! During the day ~ there was some secret TV show being filmed, with people repelling right past our windows down from the roof to the pool on the 7th floor… and helicopters buzzing the building from the half dozen helipads on nearby rooftops. Even got a chance to play around with the GoogleTV Logitech Revue early ~ as well as the Logitech peripherals - from the keyboard, mini clamshell keyboard, and video camera. But the occasion of the night? Logitech’s Ultimate Ears sponsored an intimate concert with Anberlin, as hosted by the winner of the Logitech Loft LA Contest - Rob Blasko (@roblahblah). Really the views blew my mind ~ and looking straight down was not for the vertigo afflicted… see more on the next page!

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Tags: events - gifts - headphones - Logitech - music - tv - Ultimate Ears

The super sweet folks of Ultimate Ears (an irvine based Logitech company) ~ reached out and invited me to visit them at NAMM ~ and little did i know that when i arrived at their booth, i’d be sat down in an ominous white leather chair, while Dr. Noy in white lab coat and all would make me bite down on a piece of foam while he filled my ears with mysterious blue quick drying goo. Ok, so to be fair, that’s the creepier way of wording it, basically they took impressions of the inner workings of my ears for some custom fit earphones by Ultimate Ears - while i’ve never been much of a headphone connoisseur, they’re catching me up quickly… i’ve been using their 700s since the unboxing and the sound quality has been awesome… but people can’t seem to stop raving about the customs… not to mention i’m fascinated by the idea that they can be customized to your heart’s content (color, graphics, etc) and they fill fit perfectly into your ears (and only your ears! unless you find an ear twin?)… more to come once i actually figure out how i want to customize my customs (any suggestions?) ~ but for now, take a peek at the fun Ultimate Ears NAMM booth! It had quite the crowd, but i tried to sneak a few fun pics of the ear molding process and some of the examples that were out!

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Tags: audio - gifts - headphones - Logitech - music - NAMM - shopping - Ultimate Ears

I love products to play with during breakfast. Perfect way to start the day? I had a chance to poke at Ultimate Ears (recently added to the Logitech family, and locally based in Irvine!) over breakfast at King's Highway with a guy who works for Logitechin Palm Springs at the Ace and he let me keep them to play with (especially after they'd been in my ears!) and just to be super clear, no, i'm not writing about them because of that! As for why i'm including them in the netbooks section ~ every netbook totally needs a good pair of headphones to go with them ~ since often when netbooking, you can be somewhere pretty public (be it at the cafe or in an airplane)!

On top of the nice sound quality ~ it's the design details of this particular set that grabbed me. I love how subtle, tiny and pill like these Ultimate Ear 700s are ~ they totally reminded me of my chill pill necklace and capsule pills in general when i saw them. So tiny! Not the kind of headphones that basically end up looking like funky earrings... Also while the packaging leaves a bit to be desired (bit too much plastic and not all too interesting box graphic design) ~ the case is perfect to protect your buds in your netbook case or bag and at the very bottom in the inside has the cutest little infographic showing you to wrap the cord around your fingers. Silly, but someone clearly spent a bit of time on the details! Also extremely subtle, the right side earbud is red, the left is black! Take a peek at the unboxing and design details on the next page!

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Tags: audio - gifts - Logitech - music - shopping - technology - Ultimate Ears - unboxing

UPDATE!!! Congrats to our winner, Philip in Seattle!!!!

It's been a while since i asked YOU what you're up to, who you are, etc etc ~ and advertisers are curious to know more (as am i!). So 2009 NOTCOT Survey time! I know how not fun these can be, so i consider it a huge favor and really appreciate it if you can help out and take the survey here! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

ALSO! To make it more fun, i'll pick one winner from the surveys to send one of my latest obsessions! The Logitech Squeezebox Boom! (Just make sure you fill in your email at the end of the survey if you want to be entered!) I will pick a winner on Monday, so get that survey in by Sunday night!

This also seemed like a fun chance to show you the Logitech Squeezebox Boom up close too! When i moved into the new NOTCOT HQ ~ it was far too quiet and too many rooms! So this Boom has been perfect! It is nice, simple, sleek and portable ~ i can use it room to room and outdoors even ~ just needs wall power (not sure why no battery option!) ~ and it can tap into my wifi or ethernet (or plug in ipod, etc) ~ play any of the music on my computer/network, internet radio (which apparently includes every local station these days too!), Last.FM, Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius, and more! I was skeptical about the sound quality at first, but its been incredible for its size, and great for rooms/kitchen/etc. Bonus? It runs on the SqueezeCenter which is a breeze to setup, and it's all open source so you can even program games and weather and other random features to be displayed... also works great as an alarm clock! ... and it networks with all of the other Squeezebox networked players as well! [Retails at $263 at Amazon]

Take a look at more pics on the next page ~ i love the little design details like the rubberized wheel and the thumb indentation on the remote... and don't forget to take the 2009 NOTCOT Survey!

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Tags: gifts - giveaway - Logitech - music - shopping - technology

Is it time for a cheesy ~ Squeezebox Duet "it's more than meets the eye"? Ok i couldn't help myself, but there seems to be a lot more potential to this duo than most have been writing about, and i have pics below if you don't believe me. I was a bit skeptical when i first heard Logitech acquired Slim Devices, but its nice to see that the combination is producing some gorgeous technologically lust-worthy results. While at first glance, this is just a new variation of the open source SqueezeNetwork family ~ with a main displayless receiver and a remote that looks like the harmony meets ipod (and the duet can be split up and integrated any which way with your existing slim devices)... upon closer inspection and some forum browsing, it turns out that that remote has far more than expected.

There is an SD slot by the battery... a headphone jack and ir transmitter at the top (in addition to the wifi connection it uses)... there is an adorable little speaker on the back... the demo units had the ability to browse flickr on the mini displays... in screensaver mode it is a clock (and i am 80% sure the guy told me it can be your alarm clock as well, but it was a crazy few days so i'm not positive)... and according to the forums this little remote even has a 3-axis accelerometer and an expansion port on the bottom. Being completely open source, you can only imagine some of the crazy applets and software that have been created in the beta program... and can you imagine what else this can be used for? (it already streams your internet music/sirius radio/etc!) See close ups and links to the forums, etc below!

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Tags: CES - gifts - Logitech - shopping - technology

This is not your usual list of Top 10 CES picks ~ here are 10 products that are actually relatively attainable (either out now, or soon, and aren't concepts), that made my wishlist far too quickly - and don't fall under the cliche mobile, tv, pc launches you've probably been reading about and seeing everywhere.

Freshly back from CES, and i can barely feel my feet. As can be expected - it was one insane 36 hour vegas trip filled with more gadgetry than you can imagine, taxi lines longer than those at amusement parks, bright lights, tacky hotel rooms, the drone of slot machines pinging away, camera crews/bloggers/businessmen everywhere, booth babes galore, 150" tvs, robots, giant dancing/singing frogs with waterfall projections at the wynn, etc... But before i get into all of that, i need some sleep! ~ So, see below for the full list, and rest assured i'll have some up close and personal pics/posts to show you some design details of these products and more probably in the next few days!

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Tags: Belkin - CES - events - gifts - Logitech - roundup - shopping - technology

Apparently the latest drool worthy design gadget from Logitech is the MX Air Mouse, which Engadget describes as their "attempt to bridge the gap between mouse and remote control with a touch-sensitive scroll-panel (instead of a scroll wheel) and a dedicated pause/play and volume control." You can apparently push the volume button and then flick the mouse to t he left or right to increase and decrease volume! So gorgeous, dying to play with one! This RF goodie is set to retail around $150 in August.

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Tags: gifts - Logitech - shopping - technology

We all have a soft spot for certain objects... on my long list are Wacom Tablets... especially in this gorgeous black, and not to mention it would look PERFECT next to the Logitech Di Novo Edge Keyboard. Saw this over at Engadget, apparently Wacom has a new tablet out in Japan, the Bamboo. Looks like a replacement for the low end tablets, but it sure is getting prettier.

Tags: Logitech - shopping - technology

This is the one. The one item at CES, that i am dying to actually throw money at (assuming it works well with a mac, i was so frenzied i forgot to ask). Out of so many tech toys at CES, this one is the one i crave.

Logitech Di Novo Edge keyboard... super thin, bluetooth, laptop like keys (i can type like a demon on it, vs this bluetooth apple keyboard, ugh), touch sensitive volume slider, mouse circular touchdisc scrolling... seriously, Logitech has been making some serious waves in human computer interaction. I can't imagine life without my MX Revolution (hyperscrolling has truly changed my life, the way i photoshop and blog)... the NuLooq changes the way i design. So while apple may be my os of choice... logitech is making me swoon with each new product.

Tags: gifts - Logitech - shopping - technology

This is the Logitech NuLooq, i have been trying to figure out how i missed this when the press release came out a few months ago, but none the less - here it is. For photoshop junkies like us, and those who need new ways to interface with their tech. I'm curious - have any of you played with it? and the new ToolDial?

Its an interesting new USB/dial/touch sensitive scroll/zoom tool for designers aimed at easing the constant tool switching we do while chained to our large monitors. My main curiosity is regarding the use of this tool while working, and how intuitive it really is. The physical design of this product reminds me a lot of various projects i worked on during my masters program - and the ability to combine various layers of dials/wheels for zooming and panning simultaneously intrigues me. So posting this as a physical interface worth playing with as a case study, and might need to buy it just for this reason! And i haven't even begun to discuss the idea of the ToolDial software/dock interface they've designed to match as well. [More details below]

Just noticed the Amazon page for it and the reviews seem surprisingly good. As for ToolDial, just downloaded the demo, and its actually kind of nice... will try it out for a few days, but off to get some 3:30am sleep now.

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Tags: Logitech