Bulletproof iPad Case Still Won’t Stop the Tablet’s Biggest Threat: Fingerprints

If you find yourself living in a wartorn part of the world—dodging gunfire and errant shrapnel all hours of the day—a bulletproof iPad case might not seem like overkill. But for the majority of iPad users, this resilient case does nothing to protect the tablet from more immediate and pressing daily threats.

Sure, a bullet would instantly put the device out of commission, but a spilled can of soda can be just as deadly. And we won't even go into the horrors of having a friend leave greasy fingerprint streaks all over its pristine display. So while VestGuard UK is certainly to be lauded for applying its expertise in making bulletproof vests to create a case that can shrug off a shot from a 9mm handgun, it might not be as popular a seller as they hope. Particularly since it will probably come with a price tag fit for a Department of Defense budget. More here.

Google Brings Wallet Support To Nexus 7

Chances are, even if you’ve been a longtime smartphone user, you’ve yet to make a wireless payment over NFC. Even with Google Wallet being on the scene for as long as it has, limited support from carriers has largely kept the feature away from Android users.

Now sure, a seven-inch tablet doesn’t make for the most convenient device with which to make payments on-the-go, but if you’re already lugging it around in a bag, you might be interested in giving Wallet a try now. It may not save you any time compared to pulling out your credit card, but the integration with Google Offers might end up finding you a deal or two, and there’s always the convenience of having multiple payment and loyalty cards digitally stored in one device. For now at least, it’s only available for users in the US. More here.

Apple’s Next iPhone Could Be Thinner Due To New Screen Technology, Will Reportedly Use nanoSIM

In case you were missing your daily dose of iPhone 5 rumors — or whatever the name of the next Apple smartphone will be — the Wall Street Journal chimes in, quoting “people familiar with the matter”, claiming that the phone could be thinner.

This can be mainly due to the fact that Apple will allegedly go with a new type of display for its next phone, using so-called in-cell technology, which doesn’t need an extra layer above the display itself for the touch sensor but incorporates it inside the screen. The extra layer is usually a couple of microns thick but even that small dimensions could be important when producing a phone.

Also, this new screen, will improve display quality; it is allegedly in production and waiting to be incorporated in the next Apple phone which, according to Financial Times, will use nanoSIM cards instead of the currently used microSIMs, being also 40% smaller. More here.

These $150 Earbuds Are Probably the Only MartinLogan Speakers Someone Can Afford

MartinLogan makes expensive speakers. They're the kinds only the most anal-retentive audiophile would consider buying. The company's Motion Vision Soundbar costs $1500, and forget about the top-end CLX speakers. Twenty-five grand? No, thank you. At $150, the new Mikros 70 in-ear monitors aren't a bargain, either—but if they sound good enough, your average joe might actually consider them.

On specs alone, the Mikros 70 headphones might look like others on the market: They're aluminum with 6.6mm drivers, so they should deliver a nice mix of tones. The Mikros 70 are in-ear buds, so the little gel tips seal sound into your ear canal, making the low-end sound better and blocking outside ambient noise. The headphones are definitely designed to be used with a phone, as they come with an inline remote and microphone. The headphones have a sensitivity of 98dB (@ 1kHz), which is high enough that the output from a phone is plenty to drive the headphones.

So if these headphones are better than the rest, it's because of superior engineering that doesn't show on specs alone. MartinLogan is a company with quite a pedigree, so hopes are high. They may or may not be worth the money, but one thing's for sure: They're freaking gorgeous. More here.

This Ice Cream Cart Runs on Sunshine

In New York City, the instantly-recognizable tinkling of the Mr. Softee truck approaching is the hallmark sound of summer. Those old white trucks might deliver melty dairy goodness, but whatever comes out of their tailpipes can't be good for the planet—which is what makes thesesolar-powered ice cream carts so awesome.

Designed by Springtime, a Dutch design venture, the carts have solar panels on the roof, which juices up the batteries to keep the scoops are ice cold. It totally makes sense that in the thick of July, you'd use the oppressive power of the sun to keep the fridge running. When it's this humid, you constantly feel like a pot of cooked rice, and ice cream is the perfect thing to cool you down. More here.

Charge Your iPhone with Burning Pine Cones

The idea is brilliantly simple: burn whatever you find in the woods—sticks, leaves, pinecones, whatever—and let the stove transform the heat into electricity you can use to charge via USB—and it should provide about the same output as your laptop. No bulky solar panels, no extra battery packs—though it will add an extra two pounds to your kit. And since it's a real fire and not some extra charging gadget, you can actually use it to boil water and cook with—and that's really why you're sitting out in the wood anyway, right? More here.

Camping Cutlery Adapters Make Your Marshmallow Stick Far More Useful

Most campers don't have the outdoor skills necessary to build a shelter, set a trap, or even start a fire. But there's one thing even the most amateur outdoorsman can make—a marshmallow stick. And with these cutlery adapters, that primitive tool can then be used to consumer more than just s'mores.

Designed by Sharon Myoung, the S&S cutlery simply requires a camper to find a stick, shorten it to a usable length, and then sharpen the point so it can be twisted into a threaded bolt. Assembly really only requires minimal skill levels, but the final product can vastly improve your outdoor dining experience. More here.

This Outdoor Table’s Recessed Grooves Stop the Wind From Blowing Away Your Meal

When the weather is beautiful you want to spend as much time as you can outdoors. And that includes enjoying meals on the patio, which designers Marco Marotto and Paola Oliva make even more enjoyable with their conceptual dining set that stops the wind from blowing everything away.

The Bye Bye Wind set of table and chairs look like your typical plastic patio furniture, but the table's surface features recessed areas for plates, cups, and serving trays that prevents them from being swept away by even the strongest of backyard winds. And for each guest's sitting comfort, the back of the chairs feature small pockets for stashing a phone, keys, or anything else that's uncomfortable to keep in your pockets during a meal. 

The center of the table even has a plastic bottle crusher so you can keep empty beverage containers safely stowed, and from the looks of the design the Bye Bye Wind set should be fairly easy to produce using the same techniques as other plastic furniture. More here.

A Quad-Core Computer for $130

When Raspberry Pi released their diminutive, ARM-based PC for $35, people were rightfully chomping at the bit to get their hands on something so cheap and small and hackable. But the 700 MHz, single-core ARM 11 processor it wasn't exactly a powerhouse. Enter Hardkernel'sODROID-X, which packs a quad-core Samsung Exynos chipset on a 3.5 inch motherboard.

With each Cortex-A9 core clocked at 1.4 GHz, the ODROID-X also has 1 gigabyte of RAM, a Mali 400 GPU, six USB ports, ethernet, audio in/out, Micro HDMI and an SDHC reader. Plus it's capable of running Android or Ubuntu, giving you computing flexibility. Sure, it's no Ivy Bridge, but the Exynos processor is pretty amazing for its size. And for $130, this little chipset could become the heart of your next DIY project. More here.

New 2012 iPhone Body Reportedly Leaks, Gives the Glass Front its Time to Shine

KitGuru has unearthed what it claims is a "test sample" with the glass front panel roughly intact. Sitting next to an iPhone 4S, it's suggested that the new model would stuff in that bigger screen more through a better use of the available area -- there's much less blank space than on the iPhones we've known since 2007.

These Rugged Headphones Should Brighten Up Your Workout

Essentially a toughened-up version of the excellent Klipsch S4i earbuds, these little fellas come in red, yellow, orange and blue, and are, happily, water-resistant. They pack the same 8.5mm dual magnet drivers as their non-rugged cousins and come with an Apple-compatible inline remote/mic to boot. What's more, they look really quite nice. Well, if you like primary colors.

They're due to hit the shelves next month for $99. More here.

A Privacy Chair That Draws All the Attention to You

The Booth lounger is a good way to say "I don't want to talk to you but I kindly invite you to stare at me." With a removable hood, you can send the memo that although you don't want to be bothered, you still welcome attention and intrigue.

At first glance you might guess this chair was designed by Lady Gaga. But it actually comes by way of ADDI, a Swedish design house. Sweden, maybe you were. More here.

The World’s Most Aerodynamic Triathlon Bike

Often in athletic competitions an athletes biggest advantage comes from their gear. So if you're a cyclist after a first place finish, Cervélo's P5 triathlon/time trial bike has been designed and engineered to be the most aerodynamic ride on two wheels.

To ensure the bike slips through the air with as minimal resistance as possible, Cervélo has gone to great lengths to minimize drag. Including hiding every single wire and cable inside the P5's curvaceous frame, and using unique surface finishes on different parts of the bike to optimize airflow. And since the P5 is designed for longer competition rides, there's even streamlined spots for stashing water bottles and snacks.

Cervélo claims the engineering improvements made to this version of the bike could result in shaving up to 30 seconds off of a 25-mile ride, which could easily mean the difference between a medal and just finishing the race. And while at $6,000 it's definitely far more expensive than a Schwinn, as far as professional racing bikes go it's a downright bargain. More here.

Bits Stored on a Single Molecule Could Lead to Petabyte SSDs

If there's one fact of computing life, it's that there's never enough storage, and if you think it's bad now, just wait 'til you're downloading 4K movies. Still, research is at least keeping up, and now scientists can store bits of information on single molecules—which could pave the way for petabyte SSDs.

The project, undertaken at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, saw researchers embed a magnetized iron atom into an organic molecule made up of 51 atoms. The idea is that the organic shell protects the information stored in the central atom, while its magnetization allows data to be stored.

In fact, by applying current to the molecule, it's possible to flip the lone atom's magnetic charge, altering the resistance of the molecule. Subsequently measuring its resistance allows the researchers to read the state of the atom, and then change it again and again. That process means the molecule is capable of storing a bit of data. The result is published in Nature Communications.

Typical magnetic drives currently need 3 million atoms per bit so, in theory, a device made using these new molecule bits could pack in 50 thousand times as much data in the same size. That's the same as having a standard SSD capable of storing petabytes of data.

Except, it's not quite that easy. You'd have to find some way of addressing each and every molecule in the drive, which is an insane idea. In reality, a device would include so much circuitry that—even using nanowires—it wouldn't offer quite the capacity boost that reasoning promises.

The concept, however, could well inspire similar techniques that could be used to shrink current SSD technology by orders of magnitude. So the petabyte SSD might not be quite as ridiculous as you first thought. More here.

Tiny Charging Cable Keyring Juices Androids and iPhones Alike

Carrying around a charging cable is a fact of life if you use your smartphone for more than just the occasional call. But instead of packing the bulky cables that came with your iPhone or Android handset, just slip this tiny USB adapter onto your keychain for emergency battery top-offs.

In addition to a 30-pin dock connector for the iPhone, the iBattz also includes a microUSB adapter for charging most Android handsets from a laptop or a PC. It's also got a microSD slot turning it into a miniature card reader or external storage device. And last but not least, a pop-out pin for removing the iPhone's SIM card tray. More than enough functionality to justify its$30 price tag, particularly the first time it saves you from a deceased battery. More here.

This Bowl Will Always Be Exactly the Size You Need it to Be

The Stretchy Bowl is the easy-to-store fruit basin that never wants to disappoint. Composed of a white metal base (which requires minimal assembly) and a matching metal hoop wrapped in a layer of breathable, elastic fabric, this bowl is always the right size to accomodate your haul of produce.

As you add more fruit to stretchy fabric disk, the bowl deepens. Without anything in it at all,HooknLoop's Stretchy Bowl ($59, with your choice of red, blue, or gray fabric) can be stored flat. So convenient! More here.

Foxconn Fanless Nano PCs get Priced, Dated and Tweaked

The giant manufacturer recently made them official, detailing a few unexpected tweaks in a Russian language press release. Now decked out in a sleek black finish, the nettops will sport the same I/O, but one image courtesy of FanlessTech hints that DVI might be thrown into the mix despite lacking a mention in the official press release. The AT-5250 model won't be walking the Cedar Trail with an Atom D2700 as originally planned -- instead, its sights are set on a 1.86 GHz D2550. On the other hand, the AT-5600 will pack a Radeon HD 6320 alongside the anticipated AMD E450 APU. Surpassing their presumed sub-$200 price tag, they're set to ring up at $260 and $280, respectively, when they launch this September. More here.

Scientists Find Molecule That Will Make Your Teeth Cavityproof

Scientists have discovered a new molecule that will make your teeth cavityproof and may change dental care forever. They have appropriately named it Keep 32—for your 32 teeth—and it can kill the bacteria that produces cavities in 60 seconds flat.

José Córdoba—a researcher at Yale University—and Erich Astudillo—from the Universidad de Santiago, Chile—claim that this molecule can be added to any dental care product, from toothpaste to mouthwash. In fact, they say it can be added to anything, even candies and chewing gum.

As long as the product stays in your mouth for 60 seconds, it will eliminate the dreadfulStreptococcus Mutans, making your tooth cavity proof for a number of hours.

They started the research in 2005 and now they are aiming to have this product in the market in 14 to 18 months. Once they go through human safety trials in the United States, they want to license the patent to dental care manufacturers like Colgate or Procter & Gamble, as well as companies like Hershey's or Cadbury.

If the Evil League of Dentists don't kill them first, that is. More here.

Dracula, The Mummy and six Other Horror Classics Coming in a Blu-ray set October 2nd

Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection will arrive on shelves October 2nd, and pack eight classic horror movies, all restored so they can be seen in the highest quality possible. Among the releases is Creature from the Black Lagoon restored for Blu-ray 3D (yes, like Dial M for Murder it was originally shot and released in 3D back in 1954), as well as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man,Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Phantom of the Opera. 

This is all a part of the ongoing Universal centennial celebration that's seeing its vaults unleash many of our favorites for the first time in high definition. Of course, the downside of a pack like this is that it's pricey -- the MSRP is $160, but it's available for preorder on Amazon currently priced at $112. More here.

This Skateboard Ceiling Fan Does 900s All Day Long

Over at Notcot's experimental studio they wanted to find a novel way to liven up the boring ceiling fan that hung over their heads. And since they were fans of gleaming the cube, they decided to replace its wooden blades with skateboard decks.

The mod was surprisingly easy, simply requiring the decks to be drilled so they could be bolted to the ceiling fan's angled metal brackets. And even though the decks have a lip at the front and back, the final mounted results were still properly angled to provide a refreshing downdraft. A word of advice if you're thinking of tackling the same DIY mod on your own fan, though. If you're recycling a used deck make sure to remove the skateboard's trucks and wheels first since the added weight would probably burn out the fan's motor well before this heatwave passes. More here.