Accessories

Powermat Inductive Charging for iPhone -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jan 15, 2010 a 7:49 am

Inductive charging is the future, and one of the companies trying to bring it to the iPhone is Powermat. I say trying only because, unlike our friends over at CrackBerry.com, we won't be able to just swap in an inductive battery and go about our business. To truly bring inductive to the iPhone, Apple will have to build it in the way Palm does with the Pre and Pixi.

But Apple is Apple, so companies like Powermat are working around them with cases. The iMore Store has the 2009 Powermat models in stock, but coming later in 2010, they're getting sleeker and adding a second, slightly longer case that includes an extended battery.

Powermat, and others, believe one day inductive charging will just be built into our counters, desks, cars, etc. Hopefully Apple includes it in the 4th generation iPhone. I know I want it.

CES 2010 sneak peak video after the break!

ZAGGbox, ZAGGsparq, App Space -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 a 4:22 pm

ZAGG, the makers of Invisible Shield, have diversified in a big way with their ZAGGbox video recorder, ZAGGsparq battery charger, and AppSpace service.

ZAGGbox pulls in all your analog video (including HD via component), gives you fast switching via a unified remote, and renders iPhone-compatible video you can send right to your device.

ZAGGsparq is a massive battery charger that re-charge an iPhone 4 times before it runs out of juice, and since it has 2 USB ports, it can charge your Bluetooth or any other compatible gadget at the same time.

AppSpace is an application discovery engine where you can go online to try and sort through the App Store's massive catalog and find more of the stuff you like. It also supports Android, with BlackBerry, Palm, and Symbian coming soon.

Video of all three, after the break!

Motorola Portable Bluetooth Car Speakerphone T305 for Hands-free iPhone 3G/3GS Talking

By Jeremy, Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 a 12:23 pm

Here in the great state of Illinois we kicked off the new year with a law that prohibits anyone talking on their cell phones (or iPhones!) while driving a vehicle -- unless they use a Bluetooth device. Now I am not not sure about your state laws but if you are in the same boat as I am, why not take a look at the Motorola Bluetooth Car Speakerphone T305? [$44.95 - iMore Store Link</a]

For the full review follow me after the break!

iType Physical Keyboard for iPhone Gets the Ultimate Test -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jan 13, 2010 a 11:59 am

Ion's iType is a full sized -- full. sized. -- keyboard for the iPhone or iPod touch that comes bundled with an App Store app for easy text input. Output is another story -- given the iPhone's app sandboxing, you have to email or copy and paste the text into other apps. Ion is open to letting other apps use their hardware, however, so if Apple doesn't get it together and offer standardized keyboard dock and BT protocols, and something like a Finger App to share document content, we're hoping third parties can get at least part of it done themselves.

They also make a piano/synthesizer style iDiscover keyboard as well.

But enough philosophy, let's get physical with the keyboard. And who better to try perform the ultimate typing test than our best frenemy CrackBerry Kevin. He puts it through its paces in the video below. Check it out after the break, and let us know what you think.

Motorola Endeavor HX1 Bone-conduction Bluetooth Headset Hands-on -- TiPb @ CES 2010 [Updated, Sponsored-ish]

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Jan 11, 2010 a 10:53 am

The Motorola Endeavor HX1 is the latest salvo in the Bluetooth noise-reduction arms race, and it takes it to another level -- reading the bone vibrations in your inner ear and digitally converting those vibrations into recognizable speech. That's right, when regular microphones fail, when even noise-reduction won't work, Motorola is actually turning off the microphone entirely and reproducing what you say based on sound waves in your skull. It won't sound as good as a mic, however, but in a crowded place like the floor of CES 2010, rather than a dull, indistinguishable crowd roar, you can actually be heard.

Video after the break!

[UPDATE: And the iMore Store folks told me they just got the Motorola Endeavor HX1 in stock, and it's on sale 31% off, if the video entices...]

Blue Microphone Mikey for iPhone Hands-on -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jan 8, 2010 a 3:16 pm

As iPhone Live! regulars know, I use a Blue Microphone Snowball for our podcast, so when they announced their 2nd generation, iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS compatible Mikey, I was gravitationally pulled towards their booth for a quick look.

It's small, it plugs into the iPhone dock, and they also offer a free Blue Fire field-recorder app in the iTunes App Store [Free - iTunes link]

The 2nd gen Mikey should ship this spring. Check out the video after the break, and note: this was recorded using a pre-production unit of that very mic!

Case-Mate iMakeMyCase iPhone Case Customizations -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jan 8, 2010 a 10:59 am

With iMakeMyCase, Case-Mate is taking their popular case model and not only offering you hot, artist-based designs, but breaking apart those designs to their core elements and letting you customize and collage them to create your own unique variation.

There are lots of on-line tools provided, included spays, mirror effects, and if you're not feeling particularly creative, reference designs by each artist.

Check out our walkthrough after the break!

Digital Experiences iPhone Gallery -- TiPb @ CES 2010

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 a 10:48 am

Digital Experiences is an event held the eve before CES 2010 officially kicks off, and as we've come to expect -- there was a lot of iPhone in the room. From EA showing off their latest games to Sonos showing how completely they've gone in on iPhone, from Speck to Griffin to XtremeMac giving us sneak peaks at their upcoming gear from Powermat's inductive charging solutions, all the way to Google's massive Nexus One booth (okay, everything except that maybe!) the iPhone was in full force.

Check it out, after the jump!

Mophie's Enters iPhone Credit Card Transaction Arena

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Jan 2, 2010 a 8:46 am

Looks like Mophie, makers of the Juice Pack Air, are going to be offering their own take on the iPhone credit card reader accessory, and software app. We should hear more at CES, but with rumors of Apple offering their EasyPay system beyond the Apple Retail Stores, and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's Square coming to market, next year could be big for mobile money-taking.

Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for the iPhone 3G

By Georgia, Wednesday, Dec 30, 2009 a 11:00 am

Say hello to the Case-Mate Barely There Chrome Case for the iPhone [$19.95 iMore Store Link]. It's a streamlined case with a chrome outer shell and a mirrored screen protector. And it's the hottest iPhone case to come around in a while.

If you haven’t already bought a gift for that special man/woman in your life, then just pick this one up. The perfectly mirrored surface is beautifully complimented by the gleaming chrome case. Yes, if Hercules had had this case he would have been able to defeat Medusa and make sure his hair still looked good. The back of the case also has a “beauty spot” for your apple icon (a hole in the case so you can see the apple logo). This case is such a stunner that it got a gasp of approval from one of my more difficult to please male friends.