Product of the Month: December 2009

If you enjoy running, biking, or snowboarding, you’ve probably brought along your iPod to keep the energy flowing and have realized that reaching into your pockets to fumble with your iPod to change songs can be tricky (not to mention dangerous).

The “Quiver”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 aims to eliminate this hassle, sporting a simple yet ingenious design that allows you full control of your iPod or iPhone while keeping the headphone wires under control and your iPod safely tucked away. The design is reminiscent of an arrow quiver used by archers (hence the name) and is worn across the torso, similar to how you would wear a messenger bag. The material is stretchable and water-repellent, so it remains comfortable and will get you through virtually anything Mother Nature can throw your way.

Right on the front and in easy access in a line of five buttons that make up the “Quiver’s”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 “inSound” control system–allowing you to play and pause your music, answer a call on your iPhone, skip tracks, and raise/lower the volume. These controls are enabled by plugging your device into the dock connector in the “Quiver’s”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 main pocket.

Headphone management is the other area where the “Quiver”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 shines. No one likes to deal with tangled, dangling wires, especially in the middle of activity. The “Quiver”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 allows you to feed your headphone cord through the fabric and to the pocket where your iPod sits. This allows enough cord to comfortably and safely wear your favorite headphones without getting them tangled in a tree branch or other obstacle.

Once you have your headphones and iPod in place, adjust the “Quiver”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 to fit against your body snugly, and you’re off! This would make a perfect gift for the holiday season for snowboarders or skiers. Come by our retail stores and ask one of our staff members to give you a demo! Priced at $89.99 the “Quiver”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74793 is a great holiday gift!

“MagSafe”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74727 adapters are amazing–they can often keep a little stumble from turning into a full-on disaster with the way they just release the cord when the wrong pressure is applied. Sometimes, though, power adapters suffer some abuse due to our busy, on-the-go lives; even with good care, _fray happens!_

Well, our friends at “quirky”:http://www.quirky.com/ teamed up with the quirky community to create a fix for our fraying blues. The “PowerCurl!”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=quirky This bright orange creation allows your power cord to have a safe housing (the power cord fits into the PowerCurl frame), the wires from the MagSafe wrap around the PowerCurl so you don’t have to worry about the cord going everywhere (it will even house the extension cable!). But the best part is that the PowerCurl will help cut back with the cord fraying by the brick of the MagSafe because of the way it coils around the unit.

It also makes bringing your power cord much easier. You don’t have to worry about the cables going all over the place. I have a pocket in my backpack that holds this perfectly!

You might argue that the MagSafes have the legs on the power brick that you can wrap the cable around; however, I feel like they are a bit flimsy and don’t offer the same “toughness” that the PowerCurl does. For $11.99 you can’t go wrong!

It’s a lot cheaper that $79.99 for a new MagSage Power Adapter! **Tip:** **The PowerCurl is available in a “60W”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75009 and “85W”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/75010 size!** So be sure to get the 60W for your MacBook or 13″ MacBook Pro and the 85W for your 15″ or 17″ MacBook Pro!

The new “Bento 3”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74620 software from FileMaker allows you to organize your files and your life without having to learn a new program. Bento makes it easy to connect your address book, iCal and even iPhoto or Excel files. Its a great program to keep you organized and on top of your schedule on a day to day basis. With the new built-in templates you can easily organize your contacts, projects, to-dos and mailing lists. It’s a great tool to plan special events like birthdays and weddings.

One of my favorite parts of “Bento 3”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74620 is that you can organize and maintain your photos on your computer. The best part is that it reads from your iPhoto library so you don’t have to import your photos into Bento 3. It allows you to add much more detail for each of your photos than in iPhoto. With the grid view it looks almost exactly like iPhoto.

I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t sure if I needed another program to keep my files organized. After using “Bento 3”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74620 for a little while I found that is wasn’t very hard to learn the program and I was surprised how well it connected with my other programs. I have to say the thing I use most is the integration with iPhoto, but the way it creates simple and quick visual planning, it’s great. I would recommend this program to anyone looking to get better organized with their daily life and organize their thoughts and ideas in a simple and easy to use program.

Bento 3 is available in a “Single-Pack”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74620 for $49.99 or in a “Family-Pack”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74621 (five installs) for $99.99!

With little chamois bellies, these “Aroma Home”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=aroma Animal Screen Wipes are sure to add a little fun to computer or LCD cleaning! Easier to hold on to than other screen wipes, these animals will erase finger prints and any dust off your screen as well as reduce static.

Don’t worry, they won’t scratch your screens, but they will leave a nice lemony, clean smell–giving you some aromatherapy while you work! “Aroma Home Animal Screen Wipes”:http://www.smalldog.com/search/?find=aroma are also reusable and no training is necessary!

This is a fun holiday gift that is perfect for the person who has EVERYTHING! Available in four different animals – “Elephant”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74953, “Gorilla”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74954, “Pig”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74955, and a “Tiger!”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/74956

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