Griffin has finally admitted to itself that no matter how good an iPad or MacBook case it makes, you are – eventually – going to toss it away. So the Paper Nomad is designed to decompose gracefully, kind of like the opposite of every aging Hollywood star, ever.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Griffin’s Survivor+Catalyst might have a goofy name, but it’s the first ruggedized waterproof case I’ve seen which isn’t hugely oversized or just plain fugly. In fact, it might be slim and stylish enough for everyday use.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Wooden speakers apparently make the sound that issues from them seem warmer and more appealing. Maybe so, but in the $99 headphone range there are probably other cost-based design factors that make more difference. Still, these WoodTones headphones from Griffin certainly look warm and appealing.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 –
No, it’s not really a toast rack, but it would totally work as one if you wanted to stack a few slices without letting steam making them go soft.
The PowerDock 5 is in fact Griffin’s new five-way charging station for, well, for anything. It works great with your iDevices, but also your Kindle, Android device, or anything that hooks up to USB.
You might laugh, but here at CES we’re constantly overloading the nearest power outlets whilst keeping our iDevices juiced. Well, all apart from Leander, who seems to forget that his iPad 3 needs to be plugged in for more than five minutes before he leaves the hotel room.
The only thing I don’t like is the non-portability – it’s not exactly carry-on friendly. Then again, I guess you could just use any old powered USB hub for most devices anyway.
Available very soon, for $100.
Source: Griffin Technology
Griffin has a new lineup of charging accessories at CES in Las Vegas, one of which is ideal for those who have collected an entire family of iOS devices. It’s called the PowerDock 5 and it charges up to five devices at any one time, storing them away neatly to save space on your desk.
Believe it or not, Christmas is almost here, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.
Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.
Today, we’re looking at last-minute stocking stuffers. To be honest, if you still haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you should really be out hitting the malls today. But seeing as you’re here reading this instead, here are a few ideas.
Griffin is officially the first legit accessory maker to sell third-party Lightning-to-USB cables. Several Lightning-compatible accessories have already come out, but no alternative sync cables. Griffin will start selling Apple-authorized Lightning cables during the first week of December in four different lengths.
Lightning isn’t cheap, so you’ll be paying a minimum of $17 for the shortest cable Griffin offers.
The 4 measurements: 2 feet for $17, 3 feet for $19, 4 feet for $25, and a healthy 3 meters for $30. All come in black and the 2 footer is coiled. For comparison, Apple sells its 3.5-foot Lightning-to-USB cable for $20 and in white only.
These cables should be available on Griffin’s website towards the beginning of next week.
Source: Griffin
Happy Thanksgiving! This year to observe the holiday we asked each of our writers to tell us a bit about the things they are most thankful for in 2012: specifically, the Apple product, app, service, third-party accessory and person they most relied upon and were grateful for this year. All through the rest of the day, we’ll be posting these thanksgiving observances. Here’s Cult of Mac News Writer Alex Heath’s list of the things he’s most thankful for this year. You can find the rest of our Thanksgiving Smorgasbord entries here.
After months of silence, big accessory makers are finally starting to rollout products for Apple’s Lightning dock connector just in time for the holidays. One such example is Griffin’s new PowerJolt SE car charger. The cord plugs into your car’s 12 volt power outlet and channels 10 watts of juice to your Lightning-equipped iOS device.
My iPhone would die if I couldn’t charge it in the car. I’ve been using a 30-pin Belkin charger with Apple’s Lightning adapter since I got my iPhone 5, but Griffin sent me the new PowerJolt SE last week.
Clearly the “military” part in Griffin’s Military Grade Survivor case for the iPhone doesn’t refer to the color. While olive drab is an option, the majority of the rugged cases come in candy colors more suited to a pre-schooler’s toy box than the killing fields of, well, whichever countries the U.S is currently at war with.
Just the thought of letting a stranger use my iPad for anything other than a quick browse of Wikipedia creeps me out, so I’m certainly not the target customer for Griffin’s Kiosk. But I understand that some businesses use iPad’s for display material, and for them the protective, immovable stand looks ideal.
The earbuds that came with your $600 iPhone are junk, and if you bought an iPad, Apple didn’t even include a pair in the box. It’s time to upgrade.
Trouble is, there are all kinds of cans out there. How do you know what set is right for you? Some people (like me) seem to have a pair for every situation. For everyone else, here’s our guide to the best.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – One of the challenges facing audiophiles these days is keeping their cherished old speakers while still taking advantage of your iPhone, iPad or Mac’s advanced AirStream capability. The Griffin Twenty is a sleek new accessory that lets you keep your old warm, room-filling speakers and make them AirPlay-compatible. And it looks damn nice to boot.
The Griffin AirStrap ($30) is another iPad 2 case that’s designed to help you maintain a secure grip on your precious tablet while you’re using it. It features a molded frame with contoured grips on each side, which are structured to protect the edges of your device.
On the back, there’s a neoprene safety strap under which you slip your hand to ensure you have a good grip on your iPad while you’re using. As you’d expect, the AirStrap also provides access to your device’s dock connector, speaker, headphone jack, volume rocker and mute switch, microphone, and the sleep/wake button.
Review by Kelly Keltner
Griffin’s Sport Armband for iPhone ($30) — a product name that fills my head with visions of iPhones running around the track (“Go, go, little 3GS! You can do it! You’re not too old!”) — allows you to get up and go without worrying about your iPhone. It’s a decent attempt at making workout clothing for the iPhone, but just as with those just-a-bit-too-tight yoga pants, there are a few bulges that might cause a few sideways looks in the gym.
The Griffin MultiDock aims to fix a problem that most of us never have to deal with: charging and syncing 10 iPads at once.
This $700 piece of technology calls itself, “the complex, flexible way to charge and store multiple iPads.” You can daisy chain three of these bad boys together to create a hub that can charge/sync 30 glorious iPads.
Of all the Apple stuff I’ve ever owned, only an iPod Mini and my beloved 3rd-Gen iPod and maybe a few stickers have ever been stolen; I consider myself lucky. If MacBook Pros come with slots to keep them locked down, why not the iPad? Griffin says “why not, indeed” with their new TechSafe Case ($80).
I’ve been yearning for someone to get this right ever since I wrapped my hands around an iPad 2: the perfect marriage of Smart Cover and back protection for the iPad. Damned if Griffin hasn’t just nailed it with their new IntelliCase ($60).
Smart Cover? IntelliCase? Yeah, there’s no product-naming rivalry going on there. And just like its name, Griffin’s IntelliCase, is a cooler version of Apple’s ubiquitous iPad 2 Smart Cover, because it adds something sorely missing from Apple’s version: a back.
Ever since we drooled over Griffin’s StompBox at CES, the more musically intrigued members of our gang have been eagerly waiting for the jazzed-up, four-switch pedal box to actually arrive (I’m pretty sure our Lonnie Lazar has been sitting there, forlorn and imploring, like some lost, guitar-wielding puppy). Wait’s over, Lonnie — it’s here.
The Griffin Survivor case for iPhone 4, which retails for $49.99 and works on all iPhone 4 models, is the latest rugged case leaping out of the gate running neck and neck for top dog with the likes of the Ballistic HC and many others. I was surprised to see another new case this late after the release of the iPhone 4 with the iPhone 5 just around the corner. However, it may be that the vendors know something we don’t. Perhaps the iPhone 5 will share the same dimensions as the iPhone 4 just like the iPhone 3G and 3GS.
Griffin labels the Survivor as “Armored Ready for Anything. ” I don’t think so and I’d like to explain why I say that.
