SAN FRANCISCO, MobileFocus, CTIA — The CTIA conference is one of North America’s biggest mobile phone shows and it was dominated by Apple — even though Apple wasn’t there.
Attendees were either talking about Apple, showing off Apple-challenging products, or selling Apple-compatible accessories and add-ons.
Just check out some of new iPhone and iPad accessories below that were shown off at the MobileFocus press-and-analyst-only sneak peek on Wednesday night.
Speck’s iPad Folio Case
At CTIA, the case manufacturer Speck was showing off a new faux-leather iPad folio case that will soon go on sale at Target: a sure sign that the iPad and its accessories are 100% mainstream. Costing $39.95, the case doubles as a typing pad and a movie-watching stand, depending on how you fold it (see the pictures below). Asked how the Apple-accessory business was going in these troubled economic times, Speck’s CEO Irene Baran said, “Great. This is a super fun business.”
Mophie Juice Pack Air
Mophie was demoing a slick new charging case for the iPhone 4. The $79.95 Juice Pack Air boasts the same black-and-metal styling as Apple’s latest iPhone. It also packs a very thin rechargeable battery that nonetheless doubles the iPhone’s battery life, Mophie claims.
The company was also showing off three new external battery chargers for rejuicing dead iPhones and iPods. Ranging in price from $50 to $100, the external batteries promise a quick recharge or allow you to roam for days without seeing an AC power outlet.
Parrot AR Drone and $1,600 Philippe Starck Speakers
At the higher end of the price scale, Parrot demonstrated its hot iPhone-controlled flying machine, the AR.Drone, which drew a crowd as it hovered around the booth.
“Most kids couldn’t fly an RC but they can control this,” said Parrot spokesman Tim Wieland.
The company also showed off its Zikmu flat speakers, a pair of iPod/iPhone speakers that cost $1,600 a pair.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
