accessories - page 5

The EX Hybrid Controller Is Like A MagSafe Gamepad & Keyboard For Your iPhone 5

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A lot of people want both an iPhone and a physical QWERTY keyboard, but they don’t want the extra bulk. Similarly, some people want a physical control pad, but they don’t want to ensconce their device in a massive case to get one.

That’s the genius of the EX Hybrid Controller for iPhone 5. It’s a Bluetooth controller that magnetically attaches to a special shell on the back of your device: flip it one way and it’s a keyboard, flip it another and it’s a gamepad. And when you’re not using it? Another magnetic backplate snaps on top of it to keep it protected and tidy.

The EX Hybrid Controller is on sale now for $49.90.

Source: iPhone 5 Mod

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day 16 – Monolith Wood iPhone Backs

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One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Day 16’s a day late, which just means you get to open two squares today instead of one. Behind the first? Monolith’s excellent wood backs for the iPhone.

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day 6 – PlugBug

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One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

So what’s up with door number 6? It’s a handy little charging solution called the PlugBug that puts a spare 10 watt USB charger in your MacBook power brick.

Cult Of Mac’s Awesome 2012 Advent Calendar: Day One – FitBit

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One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

We’re running a little behind, so playing catch up today by posting our first and second day picks along with our choice for December 3rd.

Our Day 1 choice? FitBit, an awesome iOS accessory that can help you get healthier and more fit in no time.

This Boomerang Looks A Lot Like The iPad Mounting System We All Want [Kickstarter]

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The Boomerang is a new Kickstarter iPad accessory from the one-device-to-rule-them all crowd — it’s a combination universal mounting system and frame. The hinged, X-shaped frame snaps onto the back of your iPad, while a powerful, centrally located magnet of its back allows it to attach to a wide variety of stands and mounts that Uros Cadez, the project’s creator, has already designed. Even without any accessory mounts, the frame’s hinge can ratchet to prop the iPad up at three different  angles. Another plus: The Boomerang’s corners were designed so it wouldn’t get in the way of a Smart Cover.

Neat USB Hub Almost As Handsome As Your MacBook

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In the age of tiny, efficient Thunderbolt and Lightning ports, stuffing a full-sized USB plug into a Mac now seems so very very old fashioned. Still, USB is still the oversized and awkward norm, and stuff them into our Macs we must.

Which is where Satechi’s “Premium 4-Port Aluminum USB 2.0 Hub” comes in.

iLuv Announces Many, Many iPad Mini Accessories

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The Epicarp may or may not be a medical gadget for diabetic river fish.

Step 1: Apple announces new product.

Step 2: Accessory makers photoshop their entire product lineup to fit that new product.

Step 3: The press is deluged with PR emails.

And so it goes. The first in my inbox was iLuv, and its product picture people really have been busy shrinking everything down for the iPad Mini. If you’re planning on buying Apple’s shrunken-iPad-2-with-a-better-camera, then you’re not going to want for cases, chargers or any other crap.

 

iPad Mini Case Maker Opens Up About Creating Accessories For Products They’ve Never Seen [Exclusive]

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It’s got to be tough making cases and other accessories for Apple products. While it may seem that everyone knows everything about the new iPad mini already, the truth is that the actual specifications of the product are unknown by anyone except Apple and its manufacturing partners in China.

An accessory maker who wants to create an iPad mini case, for example, is hard pressed to know what to make, what size and shape to make it, and what type of person is going to want it, especially at first. The stakes are high, considering that a well-designed case that makes it to market at the same time as the iPad mini will be the one that most people choose.

We spoke to Marware’s Director of Marketing, Ronnie Khadaran, who opened up about the process his company went through to design its new iPad mini cases and accessories.

Give Your iPhone 5 Or MacBook Danish Mid-Century Chic With RAW’s Beautiful Leather & Wood Skins

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One of the consequences of the iPhone 5’s streamlined, ultra-thin design is that you can no longer just pop off the backplate of the device and replace it. That means no more Don-Draper-esque teak backs or glowing Apple logos or anything else that you could do to deeply personalize your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S.

So what do you do if you want to customize your iPhone 5 without having to slap a bulky case on it? You skin it. And RAW out of Brooklyn is making some of the best custom skins for the iPhone 5 around out of quality leather and wood grain to give your handset a classier look.

Just Mobile’s Minimal New Stands Will Mount Your MacBook In Style

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The AluRack mounts your MacBook in style and out of sight.
The AluRack mounts your MacBook in style and out of sight.

Just Mobile is one of my favorite third-party accessory makers for Apple products. They make beautifully minimal stands, chargers, styluses, and other random accessories for iPhone, iPad and Mac. What makes Just Mobile’s stuff great is that most of their products look like they were designed by Apple itself, and that’s no exaggeration—just take a look at their catalog. It’s all great.

A couple of the newest products to be announced by Just Mobile include the AluBase and AluRack MacBook mounts.

Logitech’s New Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard Features One Touch Switching Between PC, Tablet, And Smartphone

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We’re always on the lookout for a good peripheral and if there’s one company that does peripherals, it’s Logitech. Their latest creation looks like something of interest for all us multi-device power users. Logitech’s new Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810 is as the name applies — an illuminated Bluetooth keyboard. What makes it so special? Its ability to quickly and easily switch between your Bluetooth devices.

It’s Ugly and Extremely Orange, But It’ll Keep Your iPad from Drowning

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LifeProof has definitely made an impact with the digital outdoors; seems I run into their sleek, modular, waterproof iPhone cases everywhere (we love them, btw). Now, the company is focusing on their new Nüüd iPad case, and the second available accessory for the case is the LifeJacket, a flotation device that fits around the waterproof Nüüd case and keeps the iPad from sinking into the murky depths after you’ve, say, calculated your dive profile.

Sony Updates Its Bass-Fanatic XB Headphones Line With Three New Models

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There isn’t anyone with a model catalog quite like Sony (how the hell do they keep track of these things?). The company has just refreshed their line of midpriced, bass-heavy MDR-XB headphones with three new models, replacing four previous ones.

The three new models, the XB800 ($150), XB600 ($100) and XB400 ($60), all follow Sony’s headphone design template: soup-bowl sized, perfectly circular cups attached to massive headbands (the headband on the XB800 is so formidable it looks like it could maybe double as a helicopter landing strut).

Your iPhone 5 Won’t Include A Free Lightning Adapter, Despite What Apple’s Website Said

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This is a lie.
This is a lie.

When you pre-ordered your iPhone 5 this morning, and you decided to pick up a Lightning to 30-pin adapter for all your old accessories, you may have noticed that Apple’s website promised you a free adapter with your purchase. As it turns out, Apple made a mistake, and it will not be sending you a free adapter after all.

NKMOS Ultima: World’s Finest Universal Car Mount – On Sale [Deal-Ending Soon!]

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I don’t know about where you live, but here in British Columbia holding your cell phone in your hand to talk or text while driving is a no-no. The “I was just answering my kids, officer.” doesn’t hold water either. Now hands free options are everywhere. I made sure my wife has a car mount in her car. So she can see who is calling or keep directions up on screen. We’ve gone through several options and you know they all break. Why? Because they can’t adapt to the fact that people keep their iPhones in cases.

I think we have a solution to that problem with the NKMOS Universal car mount.

Wooden Plank Is A Surprisingly Functional iPhone Accessory

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“Plank of wood” might be a lame sounding iPhone accessory, but tell that to a kid whose favorite toy is a “cardboard box” or an iPad owner whose favorite computer is a slab of glass with a metal back.

And the plank in question actually packs some pretty great features, ready to be accessed while it floats up there in front of your wall. That’s right. I said “floats.”

The Dry Bag Protects Your iPhone From Water, Dirt, And Sand While You Frolic At The Beach [Review]

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Safety first: Think Bioligic's Smartphone Dry Bag
Safety first: Think Bioligic's Smartphone Dry Bag

With a built-in waterproof headphone jack, BioLogic says their $20 Dry Bag will keep your iPhone safe, clean, and dry in dirty conditions and in water up to three feet deep — all while letting you use your iPhone like you normally would.

I was wary of the claim, so decided to put it to the test.