Accessories

While computer geeks are busy salivating over the newness revealed at Macworld (no removable battery for the MacBok Pro) and CES (Consumer Electronic Show) car types are excited by the Detroit Auto Show. Even if you don’t follow cars you’re familiar with the show. Auto manufacturers show off the latest concept cars, you think “That is AWESOME” and then a few years later the car that started out as the coolest street legal Batmobile ever produced is released to the public looking really, really ugly and undesirable. Heck, even the Pontiac Aztek probably looked pretty cool when it was a concept at the Detroit Auto Show.

This year the Detroit Auto Show features a really awesome iPhone accessory. Named the Chrysler 200C EV the car not only looks slick but obeys the commands of your iPhone:

...is a rolling test bed for Chrysler’s future uconnect in-car computer and communication device. It also connects directly to an iPhone, allowing you to pre-program the temperature, lock the doors, view an in-car camera remotely and track the car’s location live via GPS – all straight from the iPhone.

No word on how much this iPhone add on would cost but the idea is… more...

MacWorld sometimes produces an unexpected encounter. Today I managed to crash a demo be given by Killion of Etymotic. The demo involved various reproductions of what would happen when music was ripped from a CD and into a file and so forth. It seemed like pretty standard stuff to me (I can’t tell swell from hell, I’ve got terrible ears) but after the audio portion of the demo was done Dr. Killion started talking and it was clear that he was really into this stuff. In fact it became really obvious that he had spent years studying the topic. And indeed he has. He talked about response curve of the ear, a really awesome dummy they have, showed some more graphs. After a few minutes I could tell we weren’t really hearing about the earphones, we we learning about auditory stuff in general. It was like showing up at MacWorld and getting a free college lecture.

iPhone Matters will be reviewing some Etymotic stuff (not me, horrible ears and all) so keep your ears open for that.

Pulling out your iPhone at a party is always a crowd-pleaser, but have you tired pulling out your iPhone and a detachable breathalyzer? No? Well now you can.

Usually, getting behind the wheel after drinking is a very bad idea and now you can now find out if it’s illegal with the latest accessory for your iPhone.

The iBreath is a breathalyzer that plugs in to the bottom of your iPhone that can not only test your blood alcohol content, but can also transmit music to your car radio. I’m not quite sure why they through in a transmitter, but at least you can transmit your music and check to see if you are drunk simultaneously! hmmm

You can reserve yours now for $79.00.

Thanksgiving is coming up rather quickly. Then there is one of the biggest days of the year - Black Friday. Thankfully there are going to be all sorts of great deals, but how about a great deal on Thanksgiving day from Proporta?

Proporta carries some wonderful iPhone accessories and they are offering a great 15% off of all Proporta branded hardware! Like many, I plan on doing most my shopping online, so I will definitely take advantage of this offer.

If you want to save %15 off of all Proporta branded hardware, just enter the promotional code TURKEY at the cart page to receive your discount.

Happy Turkey Day!

*Note: This promotion applies to orders placed to US and Canada only and is valid on Proporta branded hardware products ordered on 11/27/2008

If you have an iPhone chances are you have case. The reason for the case? There are a lot of reasons to have a case but one of the best ones is to protect the iPhone in case you drop it. The iPhone is expensive and buying a replacement iPhone is really expensive so a case makes sense for the fumbled fingered among us. Once you’ve got the iPhone in a case it is natural to start wondering just how far you could drop the thing without damage. I have an incase case and it I’m betting my iPhone owuld withstand a three foot drop with only minor damage. I say this with certainty because I dropped my iPhone about three feat and it sustained minor damage. But there was a part of me, a small prt easily overwhelmed by the part of me that likes to have money, that wondered just how far I could go. Ten feet? Fifty feet? 51 frickin’ stories? Well, that is just crazy talk.

Or is it? That is exactly what supposedly happened to a member of the MacRumors forum. According to siz he (or she) decided to test an otterbox case (with an… more...

As the days get colder, I find myself wearing gloves more often. However, isn’t it a pain if you are wearing gloves and someone calls you and you ‘slide to answer’ hoping the iPhone will recognize the action? Meet Etry Touchy Gloves.

I am going to make another band reference. This one time at band camp…. If you have ever been in the marching band, then you know the woodwind instruments can’t be played with gloves and if the players wore gloves, they would have to have the tips cut out. That is exactly what Etry Touchy Gloves are. Except these gloves have two tips cut out.

They’re a pair of soft nit gloves that lack an index finger and thumb so you can access your iPhone’s touchscreen without taking your gloves off. They remind me of hobo gloves, but they’re still pretty stylish if you’re in to grey and turquoise.

You can get them at the maker’s website, EtreTouchy.com for around $22.50

Richard|Solo has released the Richard|Solo 1800, an updated version of their Smart Backup Battery for iPhone.

This nifty batter pack is packed with features: It offers 50% more battery capacity than the previous version, and includes an LED light and laser pointer, dual-port USB car charger, AC wall charger with retractable cord, and an optional plastic support for added stability while charging.

For $69.95 you can get yourself one today by visiting here: RichardSolo.com

Some people thought I was crazy when I told them my 3G iPhone camera was much better than my first generation iPhone. I still think it is, however, it is not as good as Griffin claims their new add-on will make it.

Unfortunately, as you all know, the iPhone lacks the ability to focus in on objects so taking pictures of things close up can be an interesting experience. To help out a little, Griffin Technology has stepped in to save the day with the iClarifi Case.

This cool case comes with a built-in macro lens that can slide into place over the camera’s lens. That way, when you want to take a picture of something close-up, you can just slide the lens to the left and you can take much clearer pictures.

You can order it now for $34.99 from Griffin Technology.

I thought I’d never see the day, however, those of you who play a lot of iPhone games might be interested in the new product Marware announced last week built for playing games on the iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G.

It’s called the Game Grip for iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G, and it sports two silicone-covered handles to provide a more ergonomic gaming experience.

The Game Grip holder fits both iPod touch and iPhone devices, and comes with a silicone skin for either device. It also has a unique cord management system that lets you both use your headphones and charge the device while still in the holder.

Can’t wait to get your hands on it? The Game Grip for the Apple iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G will be in black with blue silicone handle grips. It’s available for pre-order for $49.99 at their website, Mareware.com.

What’s something people don’t like about the iPhone? The battery life. Sure it has gotten better with firmware updates and S. Jobs warned us that 3G was power hungry way back in 2006 but an iPhone with a dead battery is almost worthless. You can still look cool rocking the thing at the Starbucks but that is about it.

But what if you had a case that could charge the iPhone via the power of the sun. That’s right, a phone charger that could tap solar radioactivity and transfer this energy to your iPhone. You’d be green and good to go. Unless you live in Alaska or somewhere else where night lasts six months or something.

IF that’s what you’re looking for Brando.com.hk has you covered. For $48 you get a case with a solar panel and an internal rechargable battery. The case charges the battery, the battery charges your iPhone in under three hours. If you drain the built in battery your iPhone will still charge from the solar panel but you’ll be waiting 12 hours according to the web page.

Via: more...