With Macworld Expo starting earlier than ever in 2009, we’re well into our final preparations for the show. The Dr. Bott booth will be located in South Hall #1912, right next to the Apple booth. If you’re going to be at Macworld Expo, stop by and you’ll get a first-hand look at some of the most innovative products for Mac, iPod and iPhone — many of which will be making their debut at the show.

The Dr. Bott booth will feature exhibits for 20 Dr. Bott vendors, including Axio, Blackmagic Design, Blue Microphones, Bookendz, Brenthaven, Case-mate, Cinemizer, Dr. Bott, H-Squared, iDowell, ifrogz, iPevo, It’s About Time Products, Matias, MCA, nekFIT, Softpress, Ten One Design and Thermapak. It will also feature the popular Dr. Bott Store, where show attendees can purchase product on-site at a special show discount.

We hope to see you there!

Dr. Bott is proud to announce a distribution agreement with Axio. Axio are the makers of backpacks and laptop sleeves created around creative professionals, motorcyclists, musicians, designers, riders, and MotoGP racers.

If you are at all familiar with the sport of BMX then you have heard of Bob Haro, creative mind behind Haro Bikes. Axio products are designed and developed by Bob, an avid Mac enthusiast.

Axio products are absolutely unique and stand out in the competitive bag market. Axio’s Hardpack and Hardsleeve are the definition of protection with their hard outer shell. They offer the ultimate in safety and security, particularly when riding a bike or motorcycle.

Dr. Bott is offering the entire range of Axio products with some SKUs shipping today. We are now taking pre-orders for other products and expect product to be arriving in the coming weeks. Please contact your Dr. Bott customer representative if you have any questions.

Yesterday, H2O Audio announced that surfing pioneer Laird Hamilton has signed on to their Board of Directors. As a member of the Board, Hamilton will be heavily involved in both brand marketing and the development of the next generation of surf-related waterproof products. This announcement follows the September 2007 signing of US Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer and World Record holder Natalie Coughlin as their top swim products advisor.

The fact that H2O Audio is aligned with such key figures in the world of water sports is a ringing endorsement for the innovation and quality of their products.

Be sure to check out their entire line of outdoor and waterproof accessories (Reseller Link).

A ton of cool products were debuted at Macworld this year, but one of the most innovative is surely the Audiowrapz Speaker Case for nano (Reseller Link) for the 3G nano by ifrogz. This silicone case with built-in speakers turns your nano into a handheld stereo or video player and offers great protection at the same time.

If you’ve ever wanted to listen to music or watch a movie on your iPod without using headphones, this is the perfect solution! Just slide the nano into the inner hard plastic sled, connecting the nano to the speakers by way of the headphone jack. No batteries to mess with, and it really doesn’t draw too much power from the nano.

The speakers put out great sound for their size, and at $24.99 retail you can’t go wrong. ifrogz won Best of Show awards at Macworld from both iLounge and iProng, and the case was also featured on GeekbriefTV’s first post-Macworld video podcast. Make sure you check out the reviews, and get stocked up on Audiowrapz!   

iLounge Best of Show

iProng Best of Show 

Geekbrief.TV Brief #298

Good day to all!

Tonight on the Donny Deutsch BIG IDEA (CNBC) is part two of the Road to CES featuring H2O Audio Founder and CEO Kristian. Additionally, Kristian is featured in an AMEX Plum Card ad that will air during the show.

I hope you get a chance to check out the show, as he will be talking about the growth of the company and the exciting new products coming to market this year.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/22541986/site/14081545/

Dr. Bott is proud to announce the immediate availability of BookEndz (Reseller Link) products. BookEndz offers an array of docking stations to compliment various laptops from Apple including the MacBook Pro. The docking station replicates all of the connectors and ports from the sides of the MacBook and routes the connectors to the dock and uniquely manages the new MacSafe Power Connector. The allows for all the peripheral devices normally connected to the sides of the MacBook Pro - Power, Ethernet, Video, FireWire 400, USB, Audio Out to be plugged into the back of the dock, and remain plugged in, independent of the computer. Taking the computer from the office or the home, or moving to from one room to another, doesn’t require disconnecting and reconnecting several devices.

We are proud to have BookEndz part of the Dr. Bott team. Please contact your account representative for further information.

ifrogz (Reseller Link) is relatively new to the iPod industry. But they understand how important first-to-market is to everyone, and are committed to getting great products into your stores fast. In fact, yesterday we received our first shipment of their products for iPod nano 3G (Reseller Link). I can see that many of you already know this, since much of our initial shipment has been purchased. Having form-fitted silicone cases in stock and available for you to purchase only 22 days after the announcement of the iPod nano 3G…that’s impressive.

My expectation is that ifrogz cases (and headphones) will make a big splash this holiday season. The products are unique; it’s not just another silicone case. In talking with Scott (ifrogz CEO), production capacity and quick turnaround of orders shouldn’t be a problem at all. They have been making silicone wrist bands (reminderband.com) for 3-4 years now, so creating and producing great silicone products is almost second nature for them.

ifrogz is worth checking out.

A bit of entertainment news from our friends at Innoventive Software.

FrameForge 3D Studio (Reseller Link) user Will Bigham won best director honors on the Fox reality television series “On the Lot.” In fact, three of the top ten finalists (Will Bigham, Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein) previsualized their short films with the storyboard software.

These young directors faced incredible pressure as they shot a different original short film every other week. FrameForge 3D’s advanced previsualization and storyboarding features helped the finalists to preview and refine their creative projects. FrameForge 3D is the only storyboarding software that allows users to see exactly what their camera and lens collection will produce before shooting live.

Executive Producer of “On the Lot,” David Goffin, was impressed: “Glad you can be a part of making these filmmakers achieve their dreams. The software is great.” Andrew Frank, the Supervising Producer, added, “I look forward to using it for my television shoots!”

Congratulations to Will from all at FrameForge 3D Studio and Dr. Bott!

Dr. Bott is pleased to welcome iFrogz (Reseller Link), the makers of various iPod and iPhone accessories. iFrogz has taken a unique approach to their iPod cases, differentiating themselves with a three-piece design. The Wrapz are the main shell and are made of 100% silicone. The Bandz surround the main shell and provide added support, protection, and style. The Bandz leave open the areas for the headphone jack. The last piece is the Screenz, a protective sheet of transparent plastic that lays over the front of the iPod. It protects the iPod (especially the screen) from wear and tear. Each Screenz has decals placed on them that cover the click-wheel, allowing the user to style their iPod with the picture of their choice.

iFrogz has come to the plate not only with iPod cases, but with many other unique products for the music lover. Check out what all the buzz is about with iFrogz. Please contact your account representative for further information.

So the new iMovie 7 that is contained within your new iLife ‘08 package allows you to make movies faster and easier than ever. I am sure it will be awesome! The only problem we hear is is that it doesn’t support plug-ins. It comes with a total of 12 transition/effects (circle open and circle close are examples of two of them) and doesn’t yet offer a way to utilize any other plug-ins since this was a rebuild from the ground-up (according to the announcement from Steve yesterday morning). This may leave a bit to be desired for the tried-and-true Home Auteur who enjoys the power and control provided by third party plug-ins such as the Slick products from GeeThree (Reseller Link).

Luckily, Apple wrote in a nice little save at the last minute.

When you install iLife ‘08, which includes iMovie 7, it does not remove iMovie 6 and rewrite over it. So for those of us with Kubrick-like films in the works… let’s go ahead and install the new iLife and let our kids use the new iMovie 7 to create their masterpieces with greater ease than ever before. And until the assumed “plug-in void” catches up to the new iMovie 7’s flawless ease of operation, we can still add a sweet ripple effect or two and let the professionally crafted credits roll in iMovie 6 still.