The Buzz

Like me, you've probably got plenty of nice photos lying around—or backed up somewhere on a hard drive gathering metaphorical dust. Put your collection to work at Kimbra Studios, a unique retail site offering custom sterling jewelry made from your photos. Choose your product, from necklaces and charm bracelets (pictured above) to belt buckles, upload your image, and your personalized piece is ready in 2–3 weeks. www.kimbrastudios.com. For guys, these geeky cuff links (at left) are at Cuffs 'n' Collars. $14.75. www.cuffsncollars.co.uk.

Answering iPhone users' complaints about battery life is the iV, an extended battery pack and porta-charger, with extras. Released by FastMac, the iV claims to triple battery life, offering up to 24 hours of talk time, 31 days of standby, 20+ hours of video, and 72 hours of audio playback. There's also a handy flash, for lighting photos or your way in the dark, and a USB end for charging another device, like a Bluetooth headset, digital camera, game system, or second phone. $79.95. www.fastmac.com.

Consumers have a new option for recycling old gear. Samsung Electronics has launched Recycling Direct, a reclamation program that accepts consumer electronics at drop-off locations in all 50 states. Samsung-branded consumer electronics will be accepted free of charge, and non-Samsung-branded goods will be accepted for a nominal fee paid directly to Samsung's contracted recycling partners. www.samsung.com/recyclingdirect.

Untouched by the recession? Then do we have a dongle for you. Flash storage outfit Super Talent Technology has come out with an 18-karat solid-gold USB drive. The 8GB drive is a limited edition of Super Talent's Pico-C line, which was named a Top 10 Record-Breaking Consumer Gadget by Gizmodo. The gold Pico-C comes with a certificate of authenticity, an 18-karat gold keychain, and laser engraving of your text or logo at no extra charge. $599. www.supertalent.com.

A sweet little new device lets you share files between iPods. To use, simply attach two iPods to MiShare, slide the switch to music, video, or photo, and press the button. Ten seconds is what it takes to load a typical song; to load multiple tracks, compile an On-The-Go playlist on the source iPod. MiShare is compatible with all Mini, Nano, third and fourth generation, Video and Classic (sixth gen) iPods. Locked DRM files, including iTunes tracks, are copied to the iPod's disk area, where they can be authorized to play on another computer using a valid password. $99.95. www.mishare.com.

Can things get any worse at the airport? Traveling is hell and we'd plunk down good money for anything that might ease the way as we slog from here to there by the formerly friendly skies. Belkin has released the latest airport-friendly laptop case, which means you don't need to extract your notebook to go through security. The Belkin Fly Thru secures your laptop (up to 15.4 inch models) on one side, while a clear window lets TSA agents identify it. Simply unzip the case and lay it flat and you're good to proceed. $59.99. catalog.belkin.com.

Did you take a photo on Election Day? Your Buzz mistress did. Always one to shoot first—and check the law later—I took a camera into the voting booth last month (that's me, left). I wasn't the only one, I'm sure; YouTube and PBS encouraged users to submit visual evidence of their votes. Laws governing polling place activity vary by state, according to The Citizen Media Law Project, which posted guidelines at www.citmedialaw.org. Yours truly is in the clear.

Target is offering a gift card option that might make it a bit easier to face the recipient (who's just learned that you either couldn't decide on an actual present or waited to the last minute, so you wimped out with the redeemable card). It's also a digital camera and is available in $50 to $1,000 versions. The 1.2 megapixel shooter has 8MB of memory, that's about 50 pictures, and takes two AAA batteries. www.target.com.

The Amazon Kindle claims many fans, yet some grumble over no backlight, making the device difficult to read under low-light conditions. Third-party outfit Periscope has a unique solution. The Periscope Lighted Folio for Kindle features a retractable twin LED reading light, deluxe cover, and notebook/pen holder in one black faux-leather unit. The light takes three AA batteries that last about 40 hours. A mini-travel 110-220V AC adapter is also available for separate purchase. $59.95. www.periscopelight.com.

Everyone loves the Flip camcorder. Now, the compact version of the Flip, the Mino, lets users customize their own device. Through a partnership with CafePress, Pure Digital offers users full customization at no extra charge. Choose from thousands of existing designs or upload your own image to create a one-of-a-kind camcorder. There's even an exclusive design engine called a Pattern Generator. CafePress users have the option of selling their Flip Mino designs on www.cafepress.com or www.theflip.com.