I know nothing about Lux Trucks, except they seem to have materialized out of thin air from Epic Distribution. We’ve seen a lot of interesting, gimmicky packaging for bearings over the years, usually in the form of a toy, but this is the first time all that extra plastic might actually be useful. Luxe Bearings come with a free iPhone 5s case, which is pretty cool idea, even if the case itself is uninspired. It’s interesting what it says about the market share of (or public mind share) of smart phones: Suck it, Android and Windows Mobile!

This is a little old, and a little odd. There are already a few social apps and web sites out there for sharing skate spots and footage, and a couple for playing S.K.A.T.E., But the Nike SB App rolls them all into one and then some, giving new meaning to the term “tech skater.” Nyuk nyuk nyuk… The tagline is “Connect. Progress. Respect.” The app lets you play the game of S.K.A.T.E. worldwide, connect with other users, and accept challenges: Step up to new challenges issued by Nike SB and our pro team to help you keep progressing. Share your footage and have the chance to get noticed by Nike SB, our team, and many more! Then there’s something called a “trick tree” Lose yourself in skateboarding’s endless creative process with our extensive Trick Tree, further inspiring you to learn and expand your skills. Watch the pros demonstrate with new filming and viewing techniques, and help expand the Trick Tree with your own footage. The whole thing sounds marginally acceptable until you get to the point where you get to earn virtual badges, which is a little bit too much in the Dora the Explorer vein for me. The video…

You may remember the Element series of skateboard flavored iPhone cases. Well it turns out that Element (no relation) sort of lost interest in the project, so the original developers, including Billy Ruff, Stuf mag founder Skot Werner-Longo decided to go off and do it on their own. The result is the Ruff Case. The really nice but exorbitantly priced machined aluminum version has been replaced with a more moderately priced composite version. The back plate graphics are reversible these days, and way more reasonably priced than they were with Element. Also interesting, Jim Gray’s inkgenda is involved in printing some of these back plates, so this whole arrangement can’t get much skatier. Yes that is a word. Skatier. I am declaring it now. Jim must be really, really busy making those back plates, because he’s M.I.A. here on S&A. So what about Billy Ruff? There’s a short piece on him in Huck magazine that ends as it starts to get good. I don’t know what he’s been up to, but with a name like Ruff Case, it’s a safe bet he’s bankrolling a good chunk of this. Billy, where are you? Right now you’ll need an iPhone 5 to…

An iPhone case in the shape of a broken skateboard, complete with truck and wheels, making it impractical for carrying anywhere besides a purse. It’s times like this that I start to rethink my policy of “sometimes it’s good to execute an idea, no matter how impractical it is.” It comes in a bunch of different colors too. UPDATE: This post originally contained links to the web site ducksizedhorses.com. Almost 3 years later, the domain appears to have been hacked, or lapsed and was taken over by unscrupulous parties, and as of 5/4/16 is a suspected phishing site. The links have been removed. [Source: Duck Sized Horses (Site infected) ] – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.

Thin Dots are little stickers for your Home button on your iOS device. They have a skateboard series. Noticeably absent, SKATE AND ANNOY! Seriously, Mentality skateboards? Never heard of them. I’m sure they haven’t heard of us either.

Another MapleXO and Grove collaboration (see iPhone case), this time just the back piece. 100% post consumer waste provided by Paul Schmitt. Looks sharp, but not actually sharp.

Element Case (no relation) is releasing a handful of new iPhone cases with skate graphics on them. It’s basically one of three different cases with what are essentially removable hard plastic (lexan) stickers on the outside. Base prices range from $40 to $150 (!!!) depending on how high tech you want it. The more expensive ones actually look better (tip to tail, not truck to truck) but who has $100-$150 to blow on a case for a phone? Not me, dear readers. They do look nice though, and who would have guessed Pineapple Designs would have been one of the offerings? I’m still patiently waiting for the call from the lucky manufacturer who wants to license Skate and Annoy designs. How about a nice iPad case with a giant GVK face on the back? I wonder if Staab is sharing Tony hawk’s business manger. Seems like he’s got more product out now then he ever did in his heyday. Wait, maybe this is his heyday. Speaking of heyday… Holy Frank! It’s Billy Ruff in the product video? I haven’t heard anything about him in ages. (Wait.. I’m still watching.) An appearance by Brad Bowman and Steve Caballero too, plus manufacturing…

Official recycled skateboard jewelry sponsor of Skate and Annoy, Maple XO announced limited edition iphone 4 cases made from recycled skateboards. They are pre-release right now, you can sign up to be notified when they are available. Lindsay is doing a lot over there actually. She’s got another collaboration with going with a guy who makes really high end bicycle fenders made out of wood, and in this case, laminated skateboard laminates turned on their side. Check out Maple XO.

The new iPhone has a nicer camera than the old ones. I have a 3G, and it’s truly an art to get a usable skate photo with it, but the prize is all that much sweeter if you manage to get one. I had an idea a few years ago to make a print edition of a skate zine made entirely with cell phone pictures. It was several years ago actually, because I was still gainfully employed. MC bought a cheap stick on wide angle adapter for his phone. I think Mark said someone ought to make a camera with a phone, instead of making a phone with a camera. Still, there’s something to be said for the aesthetic. You make the most with what you have, flaws and all. Crappy plastic film cameras are all the rage. The image above is from an iPhone camera review of sorts on Boing Boing. The new iPhone camera has a bump in the megapixels and possibly even a faster shutter mechanism with reduced lag. Pretty soon people are going to start hording vintage iPhones for the camera effects like Holgas. Maybe there will be a Hipstamatic flim/lens combo in the future that…

I found this on the Chase Jarvis blog after getting distracted while researching DIY steadicams. I thought to myself, “That sure looks like the Kent, Washington skatepark,” and I was right. This was a commercial shoot, but for what? At first I thought Chase Jarvis was the annoying dude in the video, but I think it’s the name of a firm. These guys have their web marketing down pat. I believe I saw them highlighted on the Apple site in relation to iPhone photography. Watch Cameras at Risk after the jump.