Annex's Quad Lock is an outstanding iPhone case/mount system

Dan Frakes, 08 May 13 Thanks to an ever-growing, and increasingly diverse, array of apps for using your iPhone on the go--think GPS apps, cycling apps, and travel apps--one of the biggest questions iPhone owners have is, "How do I mount my iPhone [in my car/on my bike/wherever]?" The answer has generally been to buy a bike mount, and a car mount, and maybe even a separate dock or stand for your desk. Annex aims to fill all these needs with a single mounting system, and in my testing, it fits the bill.

Take notes the old-fashioned way with Penultimate for iPad

Cassandra Khaw, 08 May 13 While I can't remember the last time I did any amount of pen-to-paper long-form writing (do signatures count?), it's hard to refute that Evernote's free Penultimate for the iPad is a rather attractive concoction.

FatBatt keeps you off the grid longer, for a fee

Jim Norris, 08 May 13 Most replacement battery meter utilities take the information overload approach. Details run to multiple decimal places, and reports lay hidden behind obscure menu items, harboring deep secrets that require mouse-click symphonies to extract. Since laptops are factory-equipped with basic battery monitoring software, third-party toolmakers compensate with a checklist of features designed to justify forking over the dough for something you already have for free.

Jas Pro and L-Stand stylishly hold your MacBook Pro

Roman Loyola, 08 May 13 Cooler Master is known for its PC-cooling devices, but the company also makes laptop stands designed especially for the MacBook Pro. I've been using two of Cooler Master's stands, the $70 Jas Pro and the $60 L-Stand.

Futuremark looks beyond the PC with new 3DMark

Jim Norris, 07 May 13 Futuremark is busy these days shaking up their benchmarking business, and the new 3DMark is proof that nothing is off the table. PC, WinRT, Android and iOS support are all planned, although the Windows and Android versions are currently the only ones available.

i-FlashDrive HD a flash drive for iPads, iPhones, and laptops

Jeff Sandstoe, 07 May 13 Wouldn't it be nice if you could just plug a flash drive into your iPhone or iPad when you want to transfer a file or you're short on storage? PhotoFast actually has one: The i-FlashDrive HD is a flash drive for the iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Replace your iPhone's Contacts app with Buzz Contacts

Joel Mathis, 04 May 13 It's easy--and cheap--to stick with the native apps that Apple installs on its iOS devices. But sometimes third-party apps are heads-and-shoulders above what's already on offer. Buzz Contacts, a $1 offering from Savvy Apps, is in that category: Simply put, it blows Apple's native Contacts app away.

Mac Gems: Lost Photos 1.2 recovers forgotten images received via email

Jackie Dove, 04 May 13 We all receive photos--scads of photos--via email, many of which we ignore because they're not worth the bandwidth. But what if you want to show your kid that cute picture of a cat dressed up as a scuba diver--the one you got some past Halloween from who knows whom? As time passes, it's harder to sort out, much less find and archive, such images. That's where the appropriately titled Lost Photos (Mac App Store link) comes in.

Dell's Linux laptop has good hardware, decent toolkit

Katherine Noyes and Dietrich Schmitz, 03 May 13 Plenty of specialized companies out there sell PCs with Linux, but Dell is one of the very few mainstream contenders to have done so over the years. After some spotty initial offerings, it's taken a different approach with its latest Linux PC. Rather than try to sell Linux hardware to the masses, which the company has said typically requires support, it's focusing instead on developers, a savvy group that tends to need less help.

Hide your programs from prying eyes with WinLock

Mark O'Neill, 03 May 13 Anyone who works in an office will know that when it's time to run to the bathroom, the chances of someone snooping around the computer increases. Whether it's a nosy colleague looking for gossip or a boss checking up on your work, no one wants to be caught out checking Facebook on company time. That's where a small program called WinLock comes in to save you.