Accessories

A Hong Kong distributor called 4UStuff is taking wholesale orders for silicone iPhone cases. It’s clear! It’s flexible! It probably fits the iPhone! Don’t believe me? Check out the video demonstration on You Tube.

As you can see it is indeed clear and flexible. As for the “fits the iPhone” part, there are simply no guarantees. So preorder your 5000 silicone iPhone cases today! You’ll probably be glad you took the chance.

Here we go again. Here comes another drop-dead gorgeous device by Apple that will be reduced to “functional” status because of accessory makers.

I’m talking about the images of upcoming iPhone accessories, that in an attempt to protect the upcoming $500 handheld succeeds in 2 things: protecting the iPhone screen, and making it super ugly.

It is the same thing that happened to the iPod and to the millions of iPod users out there. What starts as a shiny white or black masterpiece of industrial design, spinning around, elegantly lit on a MacWorld showroom, ends up covered in a black rubber or foam clunky sleeve.

It’s no surprise that this happened. It was sure to happen once PC consumers, used to functionally-designed PC computers started buying iPods and popping in those earbuds. Gone are the Mac-Only purists who, in an attempt to showcase the real beauty of the product design, left it unprotected and accepted the fact that scratches happen.

Any marketshare over 7% meant that some consumers running Windows were running around with iPods. They spent a ton of money on their iPod, and they would be damned if they didn’t protect it… more...

Every day we get a better idea of what the iPhone will be about come June. Out of today’s news: the iphone is slippery. So says a source who has spent significant time with their furry paws on it. According to this entry on Business 2.0,
“Overall,” he added, “our source found the iPhone awesome but he mentioned, as a sole negative point, that the material used on the device’s case makes it feel even more slippery than the iPod and will probably require the purchase of a protective skin or case so as to avoid unintentionally dropping it.”

The tipster also commented that the battery life is better than advertised, saying his experience with it far exceeded Apple’s specs.

Personally, I am not too worried about dropping my iPhone, nor am I worried about it falling out of my pocket. For one, I have a pretty good track record with holding things of value tightly (I still have a 2nd Gen iPod that looks brand new with not a scratch on it). And I don’t plan on hanging upside down for it to fall out of my pockets.

AppleiPhoneReview.com, (the iPhone website that I vote as most likely to get a cease and desist letter about their domain name) has launched a store dedicated to iPhone accessories. According to this press release:

Although the iPhone has not yet been released to the public, several accessory products have already hit the market, including iPhone cases, wireless headsets, car adapters and mounts, and even pre-release orders of an iPhone for Dummies book, due out in September.
The new iPhone shop launched in conjunction with AppleiPhoneReview.com will offer iPhone enthusiasts these accessories and more, so as to “begin dressing up their iPhones even before they can buy them”

For those who aren’t familiar with this website, it is run by “Chris Cano, a PC-user who promises readers unbiased news and reviews on the Apple iPhone rather than “the biased ramblings of a ‘gahgah for Apple’ fanboy.” In case anyone is concerned, being a “gahgah for Apple Fanboy” I can assure you, we will give you unbiased news and reviews too.

[Via PRWeb]

Pictures from a tradeshow in China shows some Chinese companies jumping the gun on iPhone accessories. As reported by I4U.com via a Japanese website, Pocketgames, there are a bunch of wannabe accessory makers in China trying to cash in early on the iPhone craze. The faux iPhones look pretty good though!

With just over 2 months until the official launch of the iPhone at WWDC 2007, and yet another company is releasing some iPhone accessories in the form of protective cases.

I reported to you a few months ago about a company called Gomadic who have released a series of accessories from in-car chargers to backup battery packs to stylish cases.

But there’s yet another company looking to cash in on the iPhone in some way called Incipio, who are releasing a couple of protective cases for the iPhone. The first case allows credit cards, pens and pads of paper to be attached to it, making it more of an organiser than a protective case. The other cases available (images below), are a little more stylish and act some-what like a purse. The cases cost $15 but a leather version of the purse will cost $18 from Incipio’s website. Interesting to note that Incipio also make iPod and Zune cases as well.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

The iPhone is still three months away from release yet that hasn’t stopped Ebay from being the hub of $18,000 of iPhone ‘goods’ sold in the past month alone. According to Jen Cano, of HammerTap, “People are so excited about new and innovative product releases like the iPhone that sellers find any way they can to make a profit off that excitement”.

You’d probably find it hard to believe but buyers are so excited by the buzz of the device that anything related to the iPhone will sell for around $35, with items such as e-mail addresses, t-shirts and pictures being listed on the popular auction site. Some sellers even posting up domain names, such as iphoneforcheap.com.

This is just the beginning folks!

[Via Techwhack]

When the iPhone was announced Steve Jobs spoke briefly of the Bluetooth headset that will be an accessory of the iPhone at launch and Apple has now re-confirmed that the Bluetooth headset will be available to complement other accessories.

The confirmation is on the iPhone’s Wireless page which talks of the Bluetooth 2.0 EDR that links to Apple’s new “remarkably compact Bluetooth headset”.

At this moment in time it’s not known whether the headset will be supplied with the iPhone at purchase, part of a bundle pack or sold separately, although this is most likely going to be down to the phone network’s involved. Until this announcement, I dare say there will be any mention of price (if sold separately) or what it looks like, although we did see a small (demo) image of it at the Macworld Conference last month.

[Via Macworld]