‘Twas the day after MacWorld when all through the house,  not a creature was  stirring ~ not even a mouse.   Okay, I couldn’t help that.  But at some point during the three day event plus one preview evening  for the media, it sure felt like Christmas in Moscone Center;  all the iParaphernalia on display and on sale to the people who perceived MacWorld to still be a techie playground.  And there were still  a lot of them, but as reports have it ~ perhaps not as many as those in the past.

MacWorld 2012

This was my first MacWorld so it was a fun one to cover as I only completely converted to almost all-Apple products in the last year.   I knew what to expect and prepared to weed through the throng of offerings to find the best of the show and after the First Look (on Wednesday) opened to the media, I already marked my map.  Even so, I came home with products to sample and test and we batted 25%  GREAT and another 5% GOOD as far as accessories and doodads were concerned.  (NOTE:  apps will be reviewed separately).

So, without further ado, here are the things we liked and considered Best and Favorite in Show.

ART

OLLOCLIP

Olloclip 3 in 1 lens system for the iPhone

The OlloClip is a handy, well made 3 in 1 system designed to easily attach to the camera viewer of the iPhone and takes fish eye, macro and wide view photos.  In short, it’s packed with so much power in its very small body.  It does not feel like a blog of cheap plastic, its constructed well, comes with covers for the lenses and takes really good photos.  Can’t wait to use it in better lighting but you can see the fun effects in the photos below.  The lens comes in a handy little carrying pouch.  The booth was packed and selling was brisk.

  

 Above photos taken on Friday evening with out Clout & About reviewers with fair -to-poor lighting. 

NomadBrush

This, for me, was my favorite find, and not just because its inventor, Don Lee, was a really sweet man ~ but because it is  a super awesome fun and useful brush that wakes up the artist in anyone (and somewhere in you, there’s a Monet wanting to wake up…ya?)  This brush and I have been inseparable since I put the brush together and downloaded an art app on my iPad.  I have fallen asleep at 3am relaxed and mesmerized as I doodled my way into afew images.

  

Your finger can't do the walking and painting here, can it? Drawing by Tifa Tate, Clout & About Reviewer

Still in drawing and sketching, some of the strokes above were done using the JotPro from Adonit.   This one’s cool.  I had to remove the screen protector (shield) on my iPad to really enjoy the smooth lines you can get using this precision stylus pen.  We liked the feel and control you feel when using the JotPro stylus.   If you like to sketch or if you need to use the pen for signatures and such, I would recommend this.  We gave it a really good test this weekend and it held up very well.

Jot Pro by Adonit

SOUND

X-MINI

Powerful punch from these mini capsule speakers from www.x-mini.com

x-mini Sound Systems pack a punch! Did I mention loud and clear?

MacWorld was largely also about sound ~ and these guys were some of the reason the show was loud.  These fun colorful mini capsule speakers amazed me and piqued my curiosity  just as I was about to leave the show.  You had to listen to it to believe how much boom box power you got in these portable speakers.  I’m talking good vibration here of the ultra portable kind,  excellent bass and yes, I had many people who wanted to test this one.   They come in the mono series (which is what we had to test) and stereo sets.  Coming soon is their blue tooth version.  The speakers are rechargeable and they’re very well made in Singapore.

When you think about it, we have all these great gadgets with us from which allow us to access  music from many sources.  Just because we want to go portable doesn’t mean  you have to settle for poor sound quality.

SNUGG BUDS Earphones

Snugg Buds Earphones

There was something different about Snugg Buds earphones.  They were made to be comfortable and secure, almost forming a vacuum seal when you set it to your ear.  The surround sound was crystal clear and amazing.  I tested this one myself and set my standard headset aside.  Many styles are available, some with a bling factor and for sports enthusiasts.   Apparently, not all headsets are created equal.  This is premium sound right here.  This one was the best of the three (earphones)  we tried out and it beat the others overall in terms of quality of sound, comfort and durability.

Next up, we’ll tell you which iPad and iPhone covers we loved best and what other accessories made our Hit List.  Stay tuned for Part 2!