<![CDATA[Gizmodo: wallet]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: wallet]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/wallet http://gizmodo.com/tag/wallet <![CDATA[Top 10 Essential Tools for Your Wallet, Keychain, or Pocket]]> You want to be organized and prepared when you're walking around, but you don't want to lug around 10 pounds of gear and ruin your back with a mega-wallet. These essential carry-around tools are discrete, super-handy, and oh so brag-worthy.

Photo by joelogon.

We've previously covered the gear our editors and readers find handy to carry in their "Go bags" and laptop bags, and some of those tools (like a certain USB key) cross into the pocket-worthy realm. Otherwise, we tried to stick to very small tools and printables that do a really good job for this roundup.

10. Foldable Organizer

The PocketMod webapp is more than a simple printout maker. It's an expandable, customizable system for creating an 8-page, super-slim booklet with anything you want on any side. You can track your business mileage on one side while keeping your calendar and important contacts on another, or print out an entirely new pocket stuffed with travel maps and local attractions. Cool stuff, and definitely worth the wallet space. (Original post).

9. Compact keychain

If you've only got a few keys, and an eye for something different, you don't have to go with the typical ring-shaped chain. You really only need washers and a rivet to create a minimalist, quiet keychain. You can take it further by shaping those keys into a mini-Leatherman with a few tools kept in, attaching the rivets onto a money clip, or crafting your own compact key device. (Original posts: compact keychain, mini-Leatherman)

8. Universal club card

Some stores require them, some stores provide discounts with them, and others offer passive rewards and points for using club/membership cards and bar codes. Combine all of your codes onto a single card with Just One Club Card, or choose between a card and keyring tab at KeyRingThing. Actually, the two sites seem to have gotten together, and now offer combination cards with a nice laminate finish and firm back, so you won't have to worry about wear, tear, and faint barcodes. We love it when great webapps find each other. (Original post: Just One Club Card, KeyRingThing)

7. Indestructible, keychain-friendly USB drive

Maybe you don't need this exact model, but having a nearly-indestructible USB drive that fits on your keychain is convenient in ways you can't quite fathom until you've added it. You're almost never without a bit of storage for transferring or grabbing files. If you're the PortableApps type, you've always got a working Firefox/Pidgin/Thunderbird setup handy for being productive on someone else's system. At the moment, the 4 GB IamaKey sells for $22 directly, so it—or something like it—might make a great recommendation as a last-minute stocking stuffer. (Original post)

6. Compact calendar

Designer David Seah has been making "candy bar calendars" for some time now, and his 2010 compact calendar is just as beautifully efficient as ever. His are monthly calendars you line up and customize in Excel. If you're looking for more of an all-in-one solution, try The Small Calendar 2010 from Grafish Designs, or the Thumb Calendar 2010 design, both of which offer clever ways of peeking at today, tomorrow, and the future from a wallet-sized slip of paper. (Original posts: The Small Calendar, Thumb Calendar).

5. A baby (or really cute pet) photo

Wallets get lost, left behind, and lifted more often than you'd like to think. If your wallet is more misplaced than stolen, having a very cute baby photo in your wallet, even if it's not necessarily yours, seems to seriously boost your chances of getting it back. A not-too-close backup is having a cute pet picture. As they say in journalism school, every story (and wallet, maybe) needs a dog—or at least a really interesting human. Photo by °Eli. (Original post).

4. Earbud de-tangler

Ever pull out your tangled, knotted headphones and wonder if they're secretly holding gymnastics practice when they're tucked away? Keep your earbuds, cords, and plugs in place with a de-tangling tool. Our inner stylist loves this laser-cut earbud owl and its old-time-y wooden look, but you can also cut something similar from plastic. In fact, you can fashion an earbud holder out of a junk or expired credit card. If you've got no room for a single-purpose flat piece, at least train yourself in manual de-tangling methods like the devil horn wrap, the around-the-player wrap, or get fancy with a daisy chain or chain sinnet style. (Original earbud owl post)

3. A darned good pen

Yeah, you still need to write now and again. Whether it's a credit card receipt scrawl or a note you really want to be able to read later, having a pen that actually makes you want to write is always worth the price. We asked our script-friendly readers what pens they liked, and they came back with impressive results. In describing his trusted PenAgain, for example, Cowboy Bill wrote: "Helps my horrible handwriting. Busted knuckles from nuns' rulers." That's an endorsement from the heart, or at least the memory of hands.

2. Multi-tool, credit-card or standard

We agree with Steve Sussex's assessment of the Leatherman Micra—it's just as useful to computer geeks as to outdoor types. If carrying an actual knife on your keychain won't fly with security at work, or you don't want to clutter it, consider the 11-function, credit-card-sized survival tool, also recommended by Cool Tools. You get a ruler, a knife and screwdriver plane that can work in a pinch, and, perhaps most helpfully, a bottle opener you never forget at home. Even if you forget to pull it from your wallet before a flight, it's only around $5, and a fairly clever conversation starter. (Original posts: Leatherman Micra, credit card tool).

1. A backup system

The wallet is where you should keep all your essential IDs and cards, but it's good to have a fallback plan for when you leave it at home, or in the cab. Inspired by a Real Simple article (now dead-linked) on using clear pockets and cords to separate ID badges, Gina wrote up a diet plan and backup system for your wallet, based on her own use of a Slimmy minimalist wallet and just the bare essentials. If you find yourself holding up the line to dig through a virtual filing cabinet of receipts and cards, consider putting your own money holder through boot camp.


What's the most essential item on your own keychain, in your wallet, or loose in your jacket pocket these days? Share your stuff in the comments.]]>
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<![CDATA[Carbon Fiber, Biometric and Bluetooth iWallet is the Undisputed Fort Knox of Wallets]]> A $600 carbon fiber and Kevlar wallet ($299 for fiberglass version) might seem expensive, but if you frequently forget your wallet or cellphone, it could be the best money you ever spent. It's loaded up with Bluetooth and biometrics.

Here is how it works: the wallet connects to your cellphone via Bluetooth. When the two objects are separated by more than 15-30 feet, the wallet will sound an alarm. So, in reality, it is really protecting you from losing two important items. The wallet also features a biometric fingerprint reader that will only open for its owner. On the other hand, if you leave both your cellphone and wallet behind, you are still screwed. Probably even more so since the wallet was so dammed expensive. The wallets are available for pre-order now in several colors, with shipments starting on December 11th. [iwallet via Gear Diary via OhGizmo via DVICE]

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<![CDATA[Gifts for Design Lovers and Jon Ive Wannabees]]> I go through the world marveling at the objects around us—from lamp posts to toothbrushes to buildings to sailboats—looking for details, craftsmanship, function, beauty, and purpose. If you know someone nutters like that, here are some gift ideas:

Click here to see all the gifts in a single page.

Objectified: This documentary has its ups and downs, but it's good. If you are new to industrial design, it is going to give you a good view on how they make all these objects around us. More importantly, it will explain to you why they are the way they are, and what good design is all about. If you are not new to industrial design, it's worthy just to see Dieter Rams talking about design, and listen to Jon Ive getting all lyrical with his British accent. A perfect stocking filler for just $10. [iTunes Store]

New York Coffee Cup: It seems ordinary, and it is. It's not beautiful either. But with time and use, certain objects become popular icons that resonate through millions of photos, illustrations, movies and daily scenes. The New York "We Are Happy To Serve You" paper coffee cup, introduced in 1963, is one of them. Designer Exceptionlab collaborated with the Sweetheart Cup Company to turn the latter's paper cup into beautiful ceramics that actually feel like paper. The ordinary and disposable—180 million are used in NYC every year—turned into permanent design. $14. [Moma Store]

Lego Architecture buildings: There are many to choose from, including landmarks like New York's Empire State Building and Chicago's John Hancock Center, but my favorite is Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house, perhaps because I always wanted to live in a house like that in the middle of the woods. That or in a sailboat across the world. Or both. From $20 for the landmark buildings to $100 of the Falling Water House. [Lego]

Paul Smith wallet: I know, wallets are boring. But not these. Why? They have neekeed ladies. The pretty pin-ups wallets designed by Paul Smith come in different sizes and configurations. The leather is beautiful, and so is the printing. How do I know it? Because I have the one in the photo. Start at $195. [Paul Smith]

BeoVision 10: Hookai, so generally I don't like B&O's overpriced AV equipment. I don't like most of their designs either. They just don't seem honest enough to me, except for the BeoVision 10. If I wanted to have a TV, this would be the one. I'm partial to projectors and silver screens, though. $8700 [B&O]

Braun wall audio equipment by Dieter Rams: I don't care if they work or not. I just want two L 450 flat loudspeakers, one TG 60 reel-to-reel tape recorder, one TS 45 control unit, and a PCS5 turntable. That's how beautiful audio looked in the sixties, and nothing has ever come close. And you know, actually I'm sure that the units you can find up for auction—mainly in Europe—still work fine, unlike their modern counterparts. You can find them on eBay starting at around $400. [EBay]

IMPOSSIBLE Replica of the America schooner: Yes, it is a sailboat. It's also one of the most beautifully designed objects I've ever cross paths with: The replica of a 1851 schooner called America. The original went to England to challenge the Brits at their own sailing game and won, becoming the origin of the America's Cup race. It's an example of beautiful honest design, in which every detail answered a need, nothing was extra, and every element was beautifully handcrafted, in harmony with everything else on board. The 140-foot schooner can carry 49 people, although I would like one just to carry two grown-ups and supplementary little people all around the world, with friends coming and going all the time. Just too expensive for most of us.

DON'T BUY Gadget cases: I have a hard time thinking about Jon Ive getting pissed off, like they would say in Inn-Gland. So calm, so civilized and zen and British... until he sees someone using an iPhone with a horrible case around it. I imagine he goes bonkers every time he sees his beautiful iPhone—one of the most minimalistic and beautiful electronic objects in existence—wrapped in a bag of naffness. Putting a case around a beautiful object is just not a possibility for anyone who really loves good design. I don't care if it's to protect it. I shattered my phone against the asphalt the other day to the tune of a $200 replacement, and I'm not putting it in a case. Why? Because beautiful objects are made to be enjoyed as they are, as the designer imagined them.

Sure, you can personalize them with a gelaskin or something that you make on your own. That's part of the life of the object too. But stuffing it into a fugly mass-produced plastic case? That's like someone putting golf pants in Michelangelo's David. Or your grandmother covering her sofa with a plastic cover. Or your going through life not loving or taking risks just because you are afraid you are going to break or get scratched. What's the point if you can't enjoy something fully? Exactly, there's no point. Don't buy. [Don't buy]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite gifts for design lovers in the comments-include pics and pricing if possible.
All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

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<![CDATA[Atari Wallet Is Awesome Until You Put it in Your Back Pocket]]> These Atari wallets are half awesome, half impractical. I mean, they're retro cool and all, but who wants to sit on a plastic cartridge? [NilesZ]

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<![CDATA[Ray Gun Wallet, For Future Spending]]> Fact : Guns from the future belong on your person. And this ray gun wallet is the best way to score pocketable space weapons for at least the next decade or so. Handmade by sandwiching the geek chic design along with Japanese newspaper clippings between vinyl, the wallet won't look like a laser-firing galactic dildo, but holding one in public may scare your friends and significant others all the same. Then again, you aren't trying to look "cool" cool, which is why you're thinking about laying down $13 for this wallet. [etsy via superpunch]

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<![CDATA[Find One, Find All - I'm on Your KeyFobz, Making a Noize]]> If, like me, you lose your keys and wallet on an almost daily basis, then you just might be desperate enough for gadgets like this. The Find One, Find All is a little radio receiver that you attach to your commonly lost items. You can then use another one— yes, you have to buy two—to track it down. There are six keys, and additional units can be programmed to different numbers. Lost your keys? Press 1. Lost your wallet? Press 2.

fofa2.jpgThe unit programmed to that number will then start to make a noise that, "gets louder the closer you get to it." Just like any other noise would do then, really. A set of two FOFAs is $24.95, and additional units are $12.47 each. If you're really dedicated to never losing your keys again, then you could splash out for the $99 Loc8tor handset, which will track down up to 24 fobs. [Inventor Spot]

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<![CDATA[Stewart/Stand Wallet Protects More Than Just Your Money]]> Woven industrial-grade stainless steel is the material used for this Stewart/Stand-designed wallet, meaning your moolah and credit cards get grade-A protection from rain, sweat—and even identity thieves looking to get their hands on your RFID information.

Made from the same finely woven steel used in petroleum processing and aerospace applications, the wallet is, apparently, as smooth as silk. The fact that it doesn't stretch, rip or stain means that it is virtually indestructible. But it's the RFID protection that is the most interesting facet of this silver-colored billfold.

The steel in the wallet creates a Faraday cage, a shield that blocks out external electrical fields, which means no access for any baddies who are trying to steal your identity—unless they're an old-fashioned fingersmith, in which case you're screwed.

The steel wallet is available in several designs and costs between $80 and $125.

[Stewart/Stand via Wired]

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<![CDATA[Dosh Waterproof Wallet Keeps Keys and SIM Cards Safe]]> BlueSky Design Group's Dosh wallet takes advantage of flexible and semi-flexible polymers so that it's not only tough and bendable, but waterproof to boot. You've got the usual space for credit cards and bills, an area for coins and a compartment that can hold keys and SIM cards. It runs on the large side and is missing the display area we're used to for a photo ID. Don't like that safety vest orange? You've got a few colors to choose from.

DoshWalletColors.jpgThe Dosh comes in orange, white, charcoal and chocolate, and sells for around 40 bucks. [Dosh via Popgadget]

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<![CDATA[Digital Photo Wallet Still Has Obnoxious Pictures of the Kiddos]]> Flipping out the accordion of pictures of your kids (or cats for the singles) is no more. This $50 wallet comes with a small digital photo frame that can hold up to 55 pictures. Connect it via USB for picture transfer and for recharging. The 1.4-inch screen is just small enough to prove that you can actually procreate, but not too big where people will see how ugly the kids (or cats) are.

Product Page [Via Outblush]

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<![CDATA[Duct Tape Wallet Kit]]> If following simple directions online in order to make a duct tape wallet is somehow too sophisticated for you, take a look at this Duct Tape Wallet Kit. myDuctBills shows you with a printed manual (complete with pictures!) how to make a wallet out of duct tape, and even gives you all the materials you need. Yes, materials such as duct tape.

The kit also comes with three bits of colored tape in order to stylize your end product, because really, people with duct tape wallets care loads about how their wallets look.

Product Page [My Duct Bills via Oh Gizmo]

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<![CDATA[Walletex Wallet Flash Credit Card MP3 Player]]> Carry around one less thing when you trade in your standard MP3 player for the Wallet Flash. It's a credit card-sized player with a double-sided USB adapter (you can plug it in any direction) and built-in playback controls.

The storage ranges from 128MB to 2GB, and is encased in a PVC shell which actually feels pretty solid. We're still worried about accidentally snapping it off when it's plugged into a PC, but that's true for all long USB devices.

The thing gets 5 hours of battery life and can even be integrated with barcode, RFID or USB functionality for authentication.

Product Page [Walletex]

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<![CDATA[Locking Wallet for Gambling Addicts]]> ReadOpenChipSm.jpgreno_arch.jpgYou know when you go to a casino, and you're up up up up up?! And then you keep playing, until you're so bust you can't even afford a milkshake at some crappy Reno Diner? And then you make out with the 60-year old cougar waitress for her tip jar, just so you can afford gas for the drive back home? No?

Then neither have I.

But if I were some sort of psychotic with a crippling gambling addict I'd probably consider getting the Winner's Bank 200 locking wallet...

As long as you leave the key at home, the wallet's metal, cigarette case sized shell will store your cash or chips so you can't lose em to the house. It sounds crazy. But it just might work. Or I might just get so desperate for money that I drive over and over the case with my car until it pops open. I mean, SOMEONE who is addicted to gambling, yeah, they might do that. Not me.

The instructions are mindblowing:

Instructions on how to use your Winners Bank200:

1.
Leave the keys at home!
2.
Also leave at home all credit cards, ATM cards, and checkbooks.
3.
Bring only a set amount of money, along with a positive, winning attitude.
4.
Have a "Winner's Game Plan." (Read "Winners Bank200 " Card)
5.
When you win, put it in. Put at least 50% of all your winnings.
6.
Winners Bank200 accommodates multiple monetary units including casino chips.
7.
When inserting paper money, fold the bill into eights.
8.
Pull out the "Winners Bank200 " Card, and position it to push the money in.
9.
"Showfor the Money!" into your Winners Bank200 by pushing it in.
10.
Do NOT attempt to pick or break your Winners Bank200.
11.
When you get home, insert the key into the back panel of the keyhole.
12.
Turn the key hard clockwise (to the right).
13.
With the key attached, remove the back panel and get your money out.
14.
Replace the back panel and secure it by turning the key counter-clockwise (left).
15.
Now you are a REAL Winner!


The Winner's Bank 200 [The Winner's Bank]

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<![CDATA[Wallet 2.0, a Filing Cabinet for Your Pocket]]> There's no shortage of wallets from which to choose, but here's one that promises to keep you organized. Wallet 2.0 by Aeroportz resembles a filing cabinet you carry in your pocket. It's made of soft and pliable gummy silicone, holding your stuff in slim sleeves the company calls refill sheets. Each one can hold three cards, a few pills or lots of coins.

It's a design concept so far, but if its designer Steve Gates can make it a bit thinner and put some RFID-resistant foil in there, he might be onto something.

Product Page [Aeroportz, via OhGizmo]

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<![CDATA[Mophie Knox 2nd Gen iPod nano Wallet]]> Finally, a multi-use iPod case. This case, called the Knox, was designed to be a wallet and iPod case! It is constructed out of aircraft-grade aluminum and can easily hold your nano along with any wallet essentials like cash and credit cards. It has a small port so the wallet can stay closed but you can still listen to the iPod. The Knox is available for $44.99. I hope it's not too thick—thick wallets always make my ass go to sleep.

Product Page [mophie]

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<![CDATA[Pacific Design iPod Nano Uptown Clutch Wallet]]> As tired as we all are of iPod cases, this Pacific Design iPod Nano Uptown Clutch wallet seems pretty neat. It looks just like a standard ladies wallet with slots for credit cards and cash, but also has a pocket for the iPod Nano and a pocket for headphones.

At only $29, the Uptown Clutch is fashionable and cheap. A perfect present for your wife the next time she complains about how your presents for her are actually presents for yourself. As if she didn't enjoy that Norelco Bodygroom as much as I did.

Product Page [eBags via Popgadget]

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<![CDATA[Faraday Cage Passport Wallets: Jams RFID-Chipped Travel Docs]]> Wired News reminds us that today, the US starts issuing passports with RFID chips inside. Privacy nuts will want to remember these Faraday Caged passport wallets from DIFRWEAR. Beats us if it will "foil" (heh, get it?) the radio signals from your travel docs, but it sure beats wearing a lead overcoat through LAX Customs.

RFID-Blocking Passport Case [DIFRWEAR]
Chipped Passports Coming Monday
[Wired]

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<![CDATA[DIY Glowing Wallet (AKA "Walluminate")]]> 160.jpeg
Remember that glowing wallet we wrote about two weeks ago? Turns out, it sucks. this guy figured out how to do it better, with a little bit of DIY-spirit, using a few LEDs from an old cellphone, and some button batteries. Sweet, sweet mod. I'd like to be the guy in the club with a wallet full of light...and in this case, lint.

Walluminate Instructions [ Cre.ations.net ]

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<![CDATA[Walit Illuminating Wallet]]> We don't know how old this is, but after accidentally giving that woman—we think it was a woman—three hundred-dollar bills instead of three twenties because it was so damn dark, we thought you readers could find a use for this also.

The Walit wallet has an electroluminiscent strip on the inside of the wallet, where the cash goes, to light up your cash at night. The lights are powered by 4 replaceable watch batteries, and the wallet is made of "sexy leather"—the best kind of leather, in our opinion.

Available now for 14.95 ($27.70).

Product Page [Gadgetstorm via Oh Gizmo]

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<![CDATA[Silver Wallet #1 Ejects Credit Cards With Button Push]]> Not sure how this block of aluminum would feel in your pocket if you sat on it, but the Silver Wallet #1 has six slots for credit cards, driver's licenses or IDs and can spit them all out with the push of a button. Its mechanical battery-free design has six of those buttons, each with your choice of interchangeable icons or colors.

The Silver Wallet's manufacturer says credit cards' magnetic strips will last much longer when you're using this device because only the outside edges of the cards are touching anything inside the wallet. But what do you do with your cash? Available today for $39.99.

Silver Wallet #1 [fractalspin, via The Uber-Review]

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<![CDATA[RFID-Blocking Wallet and Passport Case]]> For those who are paranoid about RFID readers lurking around every dark corner, here's a wallet that blocks those signals, assuring you perfect privacy. Its shielding will make sure any passive tags you have stored in this wallet won't be able to inadvertently reveal any of your personal information.

The company also offers a RFID-blocking passport case, which will solve that problem of being an easily-identified sitting-duck American if terrorists should decide to carry RFID readers with them. The passport case is just $18, and at $15, the wallet is reasonably priced, too.

Product Page

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