Technology & Gadget Blog

Oh, this is exciting.

If you know me at all, you know that I love my iPhone (love is perhaps too weak of a word). I also adore Chilewich, the company that makes fab vinyl textiles. Now Chilewich has gone the way of the Apple and has created a fab iPhone case. With Chilewich’s signature woven vinyl on the outside and a shatter-proof inner shell, this case is pretty darn close to perfection.

$45, apple.ca

The holidays are on their way and the Apple App Store has everything you need to throw a fabulous Christmas bash. While styleathome.com has all of your party planning, decorating and tabletop ideas covered, these 4 apps are ideal for getting the best food and drink recipes at your fingertips.

1 Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals ($7.99)
He’s British, he’s cute and now he’s gone mobile. With 50 brand new recipes and over 1000 hi-res step-by-step photos, this app doesn’t mess around. It also includes a shopping list for each recipe that you can cross off once you’ve purchased. Even better? Once it’s downloaded onto your Phone or iPod Touch there’s no internet connection needed to access the recipes.

2 Canadian Living Mobile (free)
Finally, the great recipes that our nation’s own food mag produce every month are now available in mobile format. Follow their holiday countdown or check in daily for the featured ‘Recipe of the Day’. Plus, check out tips on entertaining, holiday and style and bookmark recipes and articles that you want to keep close at hand.

3 Mixologist: Drink Recipes ($0.99)
A party isn’t a party without a great selection of mixed drinks. This app literally has every combination you can think of — over 7,900 drink recipes, to be exact. You can browse recipes, search by what’s in your liquor cabinet and also by category (Jello shots, anyone?). Definitely a must-have app for discovering your party’s signature drink.

4 All Recipes Dinner Spinner (free)
From the net’s best user-contributed recipe website comes an equally wonderful free app. With thousands of recipes to choose from, it may seem overwhelming at first, but the Dinner Spinner portion makes it easy as pie. Just choose the dish type, ingredients and ‘ready in’ time amount and the app selects all the recipes that fall under those categories. Need something that’s gluten-free? When using the recipe search function, you can filter what you’re looking for, whether it’s a variety of vegan dishes or meals with no wheat or milk.

Much like what you wear is a reflection of your style, so are your personal tech goods, in my opinion. You won’t catch me with an ugly laptop sleeve, iPhone case or mousepad. Which is why I L-O-V-E these wallpaper options for your PDA’s, by top designer Jonathan Adler.

Simply stunning and sized perfectly for 6 different smartphones (iPhone, Palm Pre, and an array of Blackberry’s), these wallpapers will guarantee you nods of approval from stylish techies and design lovers alike.

To view the whole collection, visit jonathanadler.com

I have to say, when I read about this, I almost cried (only because Apple hasn’t come up with something similar for the iPhone). The geniuses at RIM have developed a TiVo app for the Blackberry that will allow users to remotely schedule tapings from their phone. So what the heck does that mean, you ask? Basically, Blackberry and TiVo users can now set up their home PVR to record a show, regardless of where the user is located. I could be getting off the subway to go for dinner and remember that Mad Men is on in an hour — no problem if I’m a BB user! I can just look it up on my phone and hit record and a signal will be sent to my TiVo at home.

Since I am a Tivo user, I’m just waiting patiently for Apple to come up with their own TiVo app.

Remember that goop that used to come in a jar when you were a kid? There was really no purpose for it, apart from sticking it to things and driving your mother crazy.

Well now that goop has come back in a similar form and it actually has a purpose — to clean in between the tiny crevices on your gadgets. I tried using Cyber Clean on my keyboard at work and it did a pretty good job. For deep down dirt, you’ll probably need air compression, but Cyber Clean does the trick for picking up crumbs and dust bunnies trapped between your keys.

For info and to buy, check out cyberclean.com

Just the mention of IKEA makes me all warm and happy inside.Their designs are modern, super affordable and they go to great lengths to keep things eco-freindly. Basically, IKEA rules.

However, if I were to nit-pick, I do find the task of writing down aisles and bins and trying to find all the products in the warehouse a little tedious. I’m more of a ‘I see, I like, I pick-up’ kind of gal.

The iPhone app store has come through once again, this time with an awesome application called SwedeShop, where you can track the IKEA items you want for easy finding at the end of your trip.

5 cool features:

1 Record items you see in the showrooms and organize by section (cooking, textiles, etc.)

2 Add details to items like the name, quantity you need, price, and priority on your shopping list

3 Take pictures of items for reference and add to the item’s folder

4 Differentiate if the item is self-serve (i.e. in the warehouse) or in housewares (IKEA Marketplace)

5 List items you will need to order from the store

To purchase for $0.99, visit the iTunes App Store.

Tech Style has blogged before about the ultra hot (yet large) docking station from West Elm, and now the home decor chain has made me even happier. I’m not one for bulk when it comes to my tech, so when West Elm introduced their mini docking station, I was over the moon. Itsy-bitsy and laquered in white or espresso, this tiny tech charger sits pretty on a desktop or hallway console.

$34 US, West Elm.

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Those who know me well know about my iPhone obsession. I’ve blogged about it, dreamed about it, wrote about it in the magazine. Basically, we’re in love.

But … I think I’ve cheated on my dear iPhone.

I recently played around with the HTC Dream, and is it ever dreamy. Available in white or black (obviously the white is très chic), this phone comes with a touch screen and a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, for people like my boyfriend whose fingertips just mash the tiny touch keypad of the iPhone. And this dual punchpad phone doesn’t just slide up — the top screen glides to the side in a semi-circle motion. Very sexy.

“But what about my super cool App Store?’ my iPhone contested. Well, the HTC Dream is on your tail. With the Android Market, users can add thousands of apps or songs and also it features a barcode scanner so you can scan items in stores and get all the product details.

Even though it’s been out for several months now, I can’t help but daydream of this Dream … even when I’m spending time with my iPhone.

Contact your wireless provider for pricing details; htc.com

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