Since I first got my iPad about 2 months ago, I’ve been looking for a suitable “man bag” to carry it around in. I decided on the Switch Satchel bag from Brenthaven.  I bought mine from a seller on eBay,  and was quite happy to receive it within a week.

The Brenthaven Switch Satchel bag is designed for netbooks from 7 to 10 inches, which means it fits the iPad perfectly, whether inside a case or just bare “naked”.  This is really a minimalist bag, so if you like to carry around a lot of gear this might not suit you.

The “Switch” part of the bag’s name actually refers to the flap.  The flap is attached to the bag via two clips and a strip of velcro.  You can take off the flap and switch it to the other side for a different look.

There are 2 versions of the bag :

- Highway 99 / Amsterdam (first photo above)

- Gray GI Joe / Natural (the one I bought)

At the back, you can see a carry strap.  There’s also a back pocket which is deep enough for some documents or a folded newspaper.

At the front of the bag there’s a pocket for more documents and gear, plus a phone holder (which can take an iPhone inside a case), some pen holders and a key ring.   There’s a smaller zipped pocket right in front.

The main compartment has a separate zipper, too.  This compartment is padded on both sides, which should provide adequate protection for your iPad or netbook.

If you have your iPad in a case, not to worry because there’s sufficient space in the main compartment.  I usually have my iPad in a CAPDASE case, which adds quite a bit of bulk.  As shown in the photo above it will still fit nicely.

If your iPad is naked (sans case), then there’s enough room for a paperback novel, a newspaper or a couple of magazines.

There are a couple of features which set Brenthaven apart from other bag manufacturers.   First is Zero Impact. The Brenthaven Switch Satchel is “Zero Impact”‘ which means that Brenthaven promises to invest in Green projects that offset any impact that their products have on the environment.  You do need to register your bag at their website before they can invest carbon credits on your behalf.

Second, Brenthaven promises a 100% Lifetime Guarantee on their bags.

Overall, this is a great bag that should last you for years. You should be able to get the Switch Satchel for around $40.

Buy Brenthaven Switch Satchel bag from Amazon.

When Apple launched the iPhone 3G, there were a few raised eyebrows at the new, impossibly small power adapter. Well, it turns out that some of those adapters were not particularly well made. The metal prongs can break and remain inside a power outlet, possibly causing electric shocks. Apple has issued a recall notice for the power adapters.

If your adapter has the green sticker shown in the photo above, you’re safe. Otherwise, do check out Apple’s website for details on how to get your replacement.

One week after ordering it, I received my Seidio 1600mAh extended battery from Singapore. Considering that Singapore is just “next door” to Malaysia, this is quite a long time. Since it’s only been a couple of days, I have not yet fully conditioned the new battery.

I needed this replacement battery because the one that came with my Treo 680 was faulty. I have been using a spare battery borrowed from a friend in the meantime.

Off the bat, I have to say that there’s not much of a difference between a standard 1200mAh battery and the extended battery. Perhaps this is because I am used to the Treo 650 battery life, which would typically last me 2 days or more. With the Treo 680 standard battery, I have to recharge every night. By lunchtime, the 1600mAh battery have dropped to 65% capacity.

I will need more time to fully appreciate the increased capacity of the battery. It just so happened that over the past few days I have been using my Treo 680 heavier than usual, due to some testing at work. I have been sending 200-300 SMS each day for the testing.

I bought my Treo 680 battery from Worcell.com, for S$90.

It seems that they are going to go with Micro-USB as a standard. This is a smaller version of the Mini-USB found in a lot of devices, including the new Palm Treo 500v. It will take a while to roll out the changes, but expect more and more new phones to feature Micro-USB.

Personally, I can’t wait to be able to change phones while keeping my accessories.

[ via Daily Tech ]

I read a blog post on Engadget today about Panasonic’s latest Secure Digital (SD) card, a 16GB SDHC. That really got my thinking about my first ever SD card, which was a 16MB Panasonic that I received free with my Palm m505 in 2000. At the time, 16MB seemed more than enough for all my photos and ebooks. 16GB these days will get quickly filled up with movies and large files.

It’s amazing how fast flash memory capacities have increased in just 7 short years. The jump from 16MB to 16GB is 1,000 times. I am still amazed today on just how convenient the SD card format is. I like the balance between capacity and physical size. I have MicroSD cards which are smaller than my thumbnail for my Nokia phone, but I’ve never really been comfortable with that.

Imagine 7 more years down the road, when we’d have 16 terabytes of data in one SD card!

Palm, SDHC Card

Is your Treo 650 smartphone showing its age? My own Treo has plenty of scuffs and scratches — after all, it’s been heavily used (not to mention clumsily dropped many times) for almost 2 years. If you’re planning to use your Treo 650 for a while longer, why not get a replacement housing for it?

Brando sells the Treo 650 replacement housing for US$50. Please be aware that the replacement housing is not new, but rather used/refurbished. For the money, you get the following :
- One front cover
- One back cover
- One battery cover
- One middle chassis
- Keypads

So how do you change your own housing? Of course, it’s DIY. Thanks to Larry of PalmIsLife, Gear Diary has clear photos and translated instructions on how to do it. Based on the photos, it looks simple enough. If you’re not confident on doing it yourself, it’s best to get someone to do it for you — but it’s going to cost you more.

Palm, Treo 650, Smartphone

Since we know that the new Treo 680 smartphone can use the high speed, high capacity SDHC expansion card, it really was a matter of time before our Treo hackers got into the code. There apparently has been some success in transferring the necessary SDHC software drivers from the Treo 680 to the Treo 700p and Treo 650.

What’s so great about SDHC? Well, it can hold up to 8GB capacity at the moment, and there are already a few relatively affordable cards out in the market. For example, you can buy the 8GB 60x Class 2 SDHC Secure Digital Card by Ultra from Amazon at just US$149.

[ via Phone News ]

Palm, Treo 700p, Smartphone

Here’s another reason to buy the new Palm Treo 680 smartphone : it supports the new SDHC format. SDHC (SD High Capacity) cards are the next evolution of the popular SD (Secure Digital) format expansion cards that we have seen being used in Palm handhelds and smartphones since the Palm m505 days. Some folks at the Treocentral discussion forums have reported success using the higher capacity, 4GB and 8GB SDHC cards on their Treo 680 smartphones.

Previous Palm OS Treo smartphones did not support the SDHC format, and also were not able to use 4GB SD cards without a hack. The 8GB 60x Class 2 SDHC Secure Digital Card by Ultra costs US$149, which is actually not that bad.

[ via PalmInfocenter ]

Palm, Treo 680, Smartphone

With the new antenna-less Treo 750v coming soon, do you worry that your old Treo will look dated?  Treoantenna.com has the answer – shorter replacement antennas.  The antennas, which cost around US$30, come in blue or gray and you can install them yourself in 5 minutes.

The antennas are not yet available, but when they do, they’ll come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

[ via PDA247 ]

Palm, Treo, Smartphone for Treo Today

It looks fine, but upon closer inspection, we find :

The headset wire has been well-chewed by a certain kitten who I shall not name at this time. Suffice to say, with this original headset, I can listen to podcasts, but callers could not hear me speak through it.

Palm’s 2-in-1 stereo headset for the Treo costs US$29.99, which was more than what I wished to pay for. So off to eBay I went, and soon I found a compatible headset – an OEM Hybrid Stereo Headset that works with the Treo 650 and the newer Treo 700 series. It cost me only US$6.99, and worldwide shipping was an additional $9.99. It arrived within a week.

Being a stereo headset, it comes with both left and right earbuds. There is a microphone and a lapel clip. To answer calls, all you need to do is press a button on the microphone. There’s even a volume control. Sound quality is good – for podcasts and phone calls, I didn’t notice any difference in quality compared to the original headset. However for music, the difference is simply night and day – of course in stereo it sounds much better! In fact as I type this blog post, I am listening to Prince on my Treo.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the quality and price of this OEM headset. The eBay member I bought it from is called malcolmwireless, and I would certainly recommend buying from him (I have no relationship other than being a satisfied customer).

Palm Treo 650 Smartphone — for Treo Today