Jim Gresham

Editor at iDownloadBlog.com since 2012, Jim Gresham curates the finest wallpapers and customizations for Apple devices, enhancing user experience through visual creativity. With a keen eye for design and a passion for personalization, Jim helps readers transform their screens into stunning displays. He spent his younger years tinkering with computers, reading about technology, and watching Star Wars, while being teased by his peers at school for nerdy tendencies. Since 2008, he has worked on improving his Apple arsenal and spends his free time researching the latest gadget trends, trying to find the next awesome iDevice accessory for review. A native of the Commonwealth of Virginia, he enjoys the stiff crease on a well-ironed dress shirt and dons a bow tie on a regular basis.

Wallpapers of the week: crisp and naturally inspired

We are rolling through some great wallpapers in the Wallpapers of the Week section on iDB. If you have not gone back through the archive, I highly suggest spending a few minutes rounding up submissions from the past twenty weeks. That is almost a full half-year's worth of wallpapers, kept alive by submissions from our readers.

Of course, some walls are more preferred by other readers, but some people like chicken more than steak. It is all a matter of preference. Even Sebastien and I have different tastes in wallpapers, but we know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and a variety of walls will best suit the readers. We have gone through a blurry phase and a short photography phase, but truth is, anything that looks awesome is fair game. Consequently, I encourage you to keep sending in those images, as they are all considered each week. If you have something negative to say about the offerings, then get yourself into Photoshop and get busy, because we are waiting for your creative images...

A quick look at the Moshi dual car charger and premium Lightning cables

I assume there was an eyebrow raise at "premium Lightning cables." Be ensured, the title is not intended to be click bait, rather a description of the actual product. After Apple switched from 30 pin, my arsenal of available cords depleted. Like many of our readers, I amassed a large number of 30 pin cables across the years.

Suddenly, I needed to reinvest in more cables. I grew accustomed to having a cable pretty much anywhere I sat for more than an hour. The folks at Moshi sent me a review unit of their Lightning cable, which is the same price as a standard Apple OEM cable, but offer a lot more in the way of rugged design and classy fixtures...

Some entry level Bluetooth speakers to consider

We love music. For years, well before iPods, we took music everywhere. From records to CD's, music is a part of every day life, especially with the invention of MP3 players and the subsequent iPod. However, these are personal devices with single use headphone jacks. Music is most fun when enjoyed with those around us, or at least without being tied down by a corded headset.

Setting music free, is the Bluetooth speaker. As a reviewer, it seems Bluetooth speakers continue to advance in popularity. Not only do I get asked to review them more frequently, but I seem to have more personal conversations about them too. Which one is best, more portable, louder, more clear, better battery and so forth. To throw a few out there for consideration, I rounded up four different models for your consideration...

Neurio vows to make all homes intelligent

Neurio is an electrical monitoring device developed by Energy Aware Technology. The small device sits in the home's breaker box and "monitors how much power homes are using, and figures out the cost of running individual appliances using smart algorithms that look for patterns and potential problems." Using a self-learning algorithm, the unit collects data about the electrical items in the home. Reports and information are provided to the user, who then determines which ways to better eliminate energy consumption.

Most importantly, the monitoring and cloud reporting does not require home owners to install sensors on any device. As the unit sits in the breaker box, connected to the central home electrical hub, it monitors information directly from the source. Using a companion app, cleverly titled "Wattson," a homeowners' smartphone becomes the simple monitoring tool needed to determine real time power consumption and usage...

Wallpapers of the week: Movember

'Tis the season," they say, but not yet the season for Christmas. The month prior to December is host to many wonderful things in life, most notably, Thanksgiving for Americans, Fall leaves, cold nights, and Starbucks never ending marketing blitz for the Pumpkin Spice Latte. As a man, or woman I suppose, November is also heralded as Movember, a month to grow a mustache to help support awareness for men's health issues.

Men the world 'round can participate by growing facial hair, particularly a mustache. If you haven't started growing your stache, only three days passed, get busy. To celebrate the manly month of Movember, today's post includes mustached wallpapers for the occasion...

Wallpapers of the week: iPhone 5c tributes

We are a little wallpaper crazy. Over the past couple weeks we posted standard Wallpapers of the Week, along with iPad event wallpapers and iPad Air wallpaper recreations. Based on the comment feedback, everyone seems to enjoy the wallpaper coverage on the site and we hope to keep everyone flush with fresh walls. Nothing is worse than a stale Lock screen.

As we continue to prep for the iPad Air launch this coming Friday, we take a moment to pay homage to the new iPhone 5c, before all attention is given to the iPads. In today's wallpaper post, we highlight graphic artist Svink who created two great walls with different variations...

Booqpad combines an iPad mini case and notepad into one

I like being professional. Sure, being a blogger doesn't mean my job screams business suit, white dress shirt, and dark blue tie. After all, I'm not rolling down the hallways of an IBM clone factory like my father did before me. But, I love him anyway. Being professional does not require the suit, but it can easily be defined by accessories. No, not a pocket square. I mean your gadget accessories.

For my iPhone 5s, when I am trying to look the part, I opt for the Kouros leather sleeve, because it is simple, streamlined, black, and refined. When it comes to my iPad mini, I also prefer those same characteristics. But, often, the mini is more of my work horse, which should get even better with an A7 processor. I may grab my phone in a meeting to check the calendar or a quick notification about the Virginia Tech Hokies, but iPad is the true go-to for more complex tasks. Keeping things at my fingers, the Booqpad mini by Booq even has a spot for handwritten notes...

Moshi iPhone 5s cases round up

As soon as I ordered my iPhone 5s, I began hunting around the internet for new cases. Yes, iPhone 5 cases are completely compatible with iPhone 5s, but I started looking anyway. New iPhone, new case, is my standard. Something fresh was needed. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for at the time, but something that related to the new 5s in some way.

Moshi came to mind, as they always utilize clean and simple designs. A clip on case is always the most simplistic and I opted for that version. Browsing through the selection, I came across the iGlaze Armour and it is marketed as a slim fit case. The two tone design caught my eye, as it matches the 5s backing. In particular, the gold/silver version caught my attention, because "gold is best."...

Wallpapers of the week: the water lily

A majority of our previous Wallpapers of the Week centered around iPhone and we hope to show some love in the iPad direction, especially as the iPad event goes live this Tuesday, October 22, at 10:00AM PST. If you have not taken a look at our recap for the event, there is an excellent summary post, which includes all of the rumors and expectations for the upcoming iPad 5 and iPad mini 2. Barring a last minute leak, which tend to be false anyway, I would wager a guess: there will be no surprises on Tuesday.

As excitement surrounding the Apple media invitation took to the internet last week, I featured several artists' invitation renditions, formatted for iPhone and iPad. If you missed out, check out the invitation inspired wallpapers from last week before heading into the current selection by Mario Britten... 

iPad event wallpapers: we still have a lot to cover

All Apple fans are now keenly aware, the October 22 event was announced earlier today. With the rumor mill in full spin, it is assumed the event will announce iPad 5 with an updated iPad mini-like form factor. In addition, there is a possibility of a retina iPad mini and both iPad versions are assumedly coming in silver, space grey, and lustful gold.

Other new items may include Mac Pro release information, OS X Mavericks, and even an upgrade to Apple TV is a possibility. Further possibilities are Touch ID for iPad, which would tag along with the A7 processor. Titled "we still have a lot to cover," there may be a couple new "covers," such as updated and streamlined cases or Smart Covers to match the new slick iPad 5 form factor.

No matter what the event brings next Tuesday, we are all excited by the possibilities. To help celebrate the upcoming event, there is a compilation of event inspired wallpapers just past the fold...

Wallpapers of the week: natural beach beauty

Last week, I called into question the continual wallpaper free fall that is currently popular on the internet. Image after image of swirling and blurry walls of color can be seen populating many iOS devices. Whether rainbow or simply one color with a gradient fade into another, the current wallpaper community is locked into a downward spiral of homogenous boredom.

That is not to say I do not like the long list of available blurry wallpapers with pretty pastel colors. In fact, I selected, almost singularly, all blurry wallpapers for the past couple months and they can be found throughout the Wallpapers of the Week section. It is simply time to move on, at least for a few weeks. With the iPhone 5s and 5c launch behind us and the ensuing iPad event coming on October 22, let's all take one step forward...

Wallpapers of the week: iPad iOS 7 extravaganza

This week during the US government shut down, we are still diligently covering the latest Apple news and happenings. The iDB team is always quick to bring you the newest information and we pride ourselves in doing so. Like our hardworking staff behind, the readers are busy creating wallpapers for submission. Over the past weeks, loads of readers submitted many wallpapers.

Each week, the Wallpapers of the Week section features creative renditions by our readership. Over previous weeks, many of you complained there was a lack of iPad wallpapers for iOS 7. As always, I submit the best versions of the images I receive and iPad versions are scattered. However, to fulfill the request of our readership, this week I post access to 49 iPad retina wallpapers. Okay, most of them are variations of each other, but there is certainly something for everyone...