Gizmodo: iband

iBand Cases For The iPhone Made With Shock-Absorbent Flubber

Sean Fallon — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:40:00 EDT

UK-based Tech 21 have devised a real-life, mailable, flubber-esque gel that becomes rigid on impact. This substance dubbed "d30" is used to safeguard an iPhone or iPod Touch from owners with buttery fingers.

According to the product page, d30 cases can offer up to "150% more protection than other cases." Of course, that protection doesn't extend to the screen, which is probably your number one concern. [Tech 21 and Recombu via CrunchGear]

iBand Jams with iPhone and Nintendo DS, Lacks Ringo Starr

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 08:08:37 EST

Here's a video of a new band that uses iPhones and a Nintendo DS to play their music. Unluckily, they call themselves iBand. Luckily, they are not as bad as the name. And in any case, they show the great possibilities for having fun creating music with these devices. Giz fan Seb, one of the players, tells us how:

Since Electroplankton on the Nintendo DS we constantly think about implementing those sounds, and since the iPhone we like to play with PocketGuitar. Now that iAno came out we just had to try this out! As you said in your article: there has to be an iPhone band! It's the next step. And as we're devoted Giz readers we thought we'd give it a shot and sat down to improvise a little and pressed record on that digital camera.
Unfortunately we only have two iPhones, so we dug out that dusty Nintendo DS. But we want to take it further. There are some guys with iPod touches in our neighbourhood, so we'll gather them and add a drumset with the BeatPhone app and a guitar and lose the DS. So you can expect another song in the next weeks.

[Thanks, Sebastian]

iBand Prototype Handshake Recognizer

Gizloco — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 13:14:06 EDT

Ah, Corporate America, with its esoteric rituals and power lunches. One of the more recognizable aspects of this subculture is the role of the handshake: who's hand is on top, how firm was the pump and how sweaty were the palms are but a few of the attributes used to discern the intentions of the handshaking parties. With this in mind, researchers at MIT set out to create a device to help you remember just whose hand you're shaking. As we all know, there's nothing more embarrassing than forgetting the name of the guy whose hand you just shook.

The iBand works by having users input biographical information into a kiosk, which is then stored in a database with an ID number. When two iBand users meet and shake hands, IR sensors in the wrist bands exchange information. Following the conversation, if you've forgotten the name and contact information of the other party, a simple glance at the iBand reminds you what the deal is. Since it's only a prototype, it can't be purchased quite yet, if ever. I wonder what would happen if the iBand made an embarrassing identification mistake? – Nicholas Deleon

iBand [Human Connectedness Research Group via Me, My Coke & I