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In this day and age of never ending cords for our multiple gadgets and their myriad functions, it’s nice to see a charger camouflaged in an old book. Yes, for true (sentimental) bibliophiles, it hurts a tiny bit to know that a book has been put out to pasture, but it’s certainly a relief to know it’s not been chucked into some landfill, and it’s doing a different job altogether. The book acts as housing for a charger (it’s a solid unit), and means there’s no losing the cord behind your nightstand or desk.
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Love this. It’s a cardboard radio by designer Christopher McNicholl and SUCK UK. At the end of its life, the cardboard can be recycled (just keep it away from water until then). For more details, visit SUCK UK. (I’ll keep my eyes out for a US retailer, fyi.)
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Here’s a fun photo application for you iPhoners. Gif Shop uses your phone’s camera to create animated gifs. I got the chance to play with it yesterday and it’s pretty fun! It’s very simple to use: snap a few photos, set the animation speed, and you’re done. You need to create an account to upload the gifs to the web, but from there you can also post to Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. I goofed around and made a few examples, but here’s my best attempt at creating an amusing one for you all:
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We’ve featured quite a few different iPhone accessories here, each with its own unique characteristics, but I’ll have to say this is the first that merges a bit of traditional crafting and requires DIY hands-on user interaction. Reminding me of the Panier Perce bowls by designers Guillaume Delvigne & Ionna Vautrin, the Neostitch is a plastic iPhone case with a gridded backside, providing a surface to cross-stitch your own designs. If you’re not feeling ambitious at first, the case comes with a few patterns for you to start with. Available in white, blue, green, black, orange, and pink.
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Not proud to admit it, but I’ve never solved a Rubik’s cube. Wthh this on my desk, I could at least pretend I have when co-workers walk by, and also have a cool looking speaker to boot. Powered by USB and connects to audio sources with a standard 3.5mm audio jack.
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Smart. This MiniDock utilizes your existing Apple USB Power Adapter to cut down on cords and allow your device to charge directly into the wall socket. That means extra tabletop or counter space, not to mention less to cart around when traveling. MiniDock is available in three versions to fit either US, UK or EU style adapters and sockets.

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So, air purifers. I used to think I had no need for one, but after living on a busy London street for about 2 years, I saw enough dust and grime to make me believe otherwise. This purifier by Humanscale removes more than 99% of airborne particles and employs a silent, breeze-free and ozone-free operation. Those attributes combined with its smallish size (13″ W X 9″ D X 14″ H) hopefully means it would all but disappear when cleaning the air.

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Chances are that if you need a charging station you have one already, but if by some chance you don’t, this one has a nice handcrafted quality worth checking out. It’s from a shop in Estonia (yes, Estonia), so if you must have it, be prepared for possibly higher shipping costs and replacing the plug/power cord. Also, it has to be said if you’re handy DIYer, you could probably come close to recreating something like this in an afternoon, but I’d say keep in mind that the colors and finishing touches are what make this a charging station that stands out instead of just an ordinary box with holes.
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Here’s a neat little device which allows you to shut off power to whatever is plugged in after a set amount of time (1/2 hour, 3 hours and 6 hours).

Here’s a fun screensaver for Mac or PC.
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If the name Jasper Morrison rings your bell, you’ll be ecstatic to know his shop is now online. And what lovely offers are on hand? Well, the Punkt phone, of course, designed my Mr. Morrison himself. If you still have a landline, I’d say it’s a great choice; there’s a fully integrated answer machine, phonebook, and ten ringtones to choose from. The handset is upside down, which allows you to read who’s calling and answer the phone without picking it up.

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Celebrate handcrafted noise with this Voice Recorder by Richard Upchurch. No, there’s no fanciness involved, it’s just a box with a voice recorder in it. However, the fun to be had is in the playback button and the control knob where you adjust the speed and pitch. Maybe think about filling up break time with a little bit of silly sound business?

See the demo: brandnewnoise.com.
Also on vimeo.

Bringing up the name TDK to music lovers who didn’t grow up with an iPod is  sure to warm their hearts in some way. I’m still a bit young myself, but I certainly have great memories of dubbing  songs off the radio and creating mixtapes with handwritten liner notes. TDK is a storage media company, but has recently branched into the home audio market with these fantastic boombox-inspired stereos.

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The Phonofone III is the third iteration of a completely passive, non-electric ceramic amplifer designed specifically for the iPhone. (Check out our previously posted Koostik for a similar product done in wood). Using only clever acoustics, the iPhone’s volume is amplified up to four times. The Phonofone is handmade in Canada and only available in limited quantities. For such a unique and handmade product I would naturally assume it would adorn quite a lavish price tag, but it is actually quite reasonable. I’ve never seen any of these in person so if there any readers out there who can vouch for the sound quality please chime in with comments.

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Hmm, this is pretty neat. Using natural acoustics (specially designed sound channels), this dock amplifies the iPhone’s built in speaker by 2 to 4 times. While not intended to replace electronic amplifiers, the size and style might suit your needs for low to medium volume music. All of the external buttons and controls of the phone are easily accessible while the phone is docked and there’s several different wood bodies to choose from.

To learn more, visit koostik.com.