A RECORDING STUDIO THAT FITS IN A POCKET
Mikey Digital, $100, Blue Microphones
The iPhone is capable of making remarkably good recordings, but its built-in microphone is not. One solution is the Mikey Digital, from Blue Microphones.
As the name implies, the Mikey is a digital microphone that attaches to an iPhone or iPad to add much higher recording quality. As some users have noted online, Mikey Digital will not work with an iPod Touch; that device requires Mikey for iPod, which is no longer made but can be found online.
The technical elements of the microphone are two pressure gradient condensers, a design that captures extra detail. A cardioid microphone, it captures sound in a vaguely heart-shaped pattern that picks up most of the sound from the front, and some from the sides.
The microphone has three gain settings -- automatic, low and high. Automatic is for things like lectures, which have quiet passages for which the microphone can adjust; quiet is for distant sounds, like bird calls; and the loud setting will keep the sound from overloading at concerts. Three indicator lights flash red if the microphone is overloading.
A BOX OF CRAYONS FOR THE IPAD
Digi Tools, $20, Crayola
DigiTools is a set of physical coloring tools for the iPad that includes 3-D glasses and three apps. It is an effort by Crayola to bring the crayon's waxlike simplicity to touch-screen coloring, and a second chance to gain some needed credibility in digital creativity, after the poorly regarded iMarker.
The business strategy behind DigiTools has become common -- offer a free teaser app that will not work unless you visit a toy store and buy a physical product. In this case, it is a set of tools for $20, scheduled to be in stores in two weeks.
From an iPad's point of view, each of the eight tools has a unique fingerprint. That is how it knows the difference between the Airbrush, a Sticker Stamp or the forklike Digital 3-D Stylus, which lets you doodle in 3-D, providing you're wearing the special glasses included with the kit. As with any standard capacitive tablet stylus, a tiny electrical charge is transferred from your skin to the screen, so no batteries are required.
Because specific functions like airbrushing or stamping are paired directly with each tool, the tools do seem easier to use. Also, it is possible to save a coloring page and share it with Grandma through e-mail or Facebook. If she likes it, she could download the drawing, print it and stick it on her fridge. Just like the good old days.
