iPhone accessories - page 20

SurfacePad for iPhone and iPad solves a problem I have with most folio-style cases.

These tend to cover up too much of the gorgeous Apple design without giving much in return. There’s always a trade-off between form and function. If you’re going to hide the gleaming Apple devices behind a case, at least make it look as classy and useful as Apple does.

The SurfacePad for folio cases from Twelve South are delightfully minimal, covering the front and rear of your iPad or iPhone in luxurious leather without sacrificing a refined look.

StylusFlex

Most people don’t use a stylus with their iPhones, and late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wouldn’t want them to. But the StylusFlex might change a few minds because it’s not simply a substitute for the five styli you have at the end of your arm.

You have plenty of reasons to just stick with your fingers when you’re using your iPhone or iPad, and this device seems to realize that. That’s why it does a few extra things that might help it earn its keep.

You love your iPhone, you love your iPad, but what if you could make them even more worthy of your (let’s be honest, slightly creepy) affection?

We’ve found four peripherals that’ll enhance, protect and expand the capabilities of your favorite iDevice. From glow-in-the-dark charging cables to slim charging cases and flexible mounts, there’s something here anybody can enjoy. Take a look!

Plenty of people complain about the limited space on their iPhone or iPad, but what can you really do about it? Well, getting an iSafe Drive Lite is a great start. It’s a palm-size drive that adds 32GB of secure storage to your iOS phone or tablet. It’s also the first-ever MFI-certified storage device built specifically for iOS, and right now you can get one for just $69.

In a few weeks, my partner and I are heading to London and Iceland for a two-week vacation. While London definitely isn’t a first for us, Iceland is. This trip also marks another important first for me: It’s the very first time I’m leaving my DSLR at home. I’ll be relying solely on my iPhone 6s Plus for all my photos.

The iKlips might be the easiest and fastest data storage and transfer option for iOS devices. At 32 gigs, it’s got a USB on one end and a Lightning on the other, making it easy to access your music, photos, documents, and more at a moment’s notice. Right now a 32 gig iKlips drive is just $65.

iPhones and iPads have become more than just media-consumption devices in so many ways. From using an iPad as a virtual cookbook to using it as a portable way to develop a website, the iPad and iPhone are extremely useful in everyday life. One of the biggest categories where these devices have made a huge difference is music.

If there’s a single iPhone and iPad accessory I consider myself to be the most picky about, it would be charging docks and stands. While there isn’t a shortage of options, let’s be honest, most of them aren’t that great. They either don’t dock securely or they’re obsolete when a new iPhone or iPad form factor comes out.

That’s why I’ve narrowed down my vote for best iPhone and iPad charging docks to only two candidates. Yep, just two. Here’s what they are and why I think they’re better than most:

A gig sure isn’t what it used to be. Give it a few months and that capacious new iPhone of yours is going to be busting at the seams from too many bytes. Thankfully you don’t have to get a new phone, go on a data diet or even look to the cloud for help, just add up to 128 gigs of extra storage with Xtra’s Lightning Flash Drive. Right now you can get one for just $71.99, including a 16GB micro SD card.

I travel frequently, both for work and for pleasure. Over the past few years I’ve found certain accessories I just can’t live without. Whether I’m walking out the door to a coffee shop or I am getting on a plane and need to pack more serious gear, these are the travel accessories I couldn’t live without when it comes to iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

There’s no great way to record phone conversations. Apps and recording services come with fees and limitations. There’s my clunky way – putting the phone on speaker with my digital recorder nearby – but I will often lose a good quote from some sudden outside noise.

A company in Israel wants to mass produce a simple solution with an iPhone case that has a built-in recorder to pick up both sides of the conversation with the press of a button.

Now more than ever, we are able to manage our anxiety over a dead iPhone battery. There are plenty external power banks and battery cases on the market, but even those need to be charged.

The AMPWare Case revives a dead battery much like your great grandfather started his horseless buggy – with a hand crank.

Apple’s Lightning to USB connector has ostensibly been about connecting your iPad to a camera to import images directly to your tablet.

Now, with iOS 9.2, it looks like the same adapter can be used on your iPhone to get photos onto your smaller-screened device.

There’s even some evidence that the Lightning to USB adapter works to connect other USB peripherals, like MIDI keyboards or USB-powered microphones. If you’re a musician on the road without access to your iPad, this might be your new best solution.

Best List: Double Layered Knit Touchscreen Gloves by Mujjo

It’s almost winter, and if you reside in an area with a climate like mine, you know you’ll be carrying gloves with you no matter where you go. When you live someplace like Anchorage, Alaska, even a quick trip outside to the trash bin requires that you cover up.

And yet, we live in a touchscreen world. I have my iPhone with me all the time, and I use it to stay connected to my kids and family members as I move around the winter wonderland. Pulling off a glove every time I want to play a song or answer a text is time-consuming and sometimes dangerous.

If that’s something you worry about, Mujjo’s got you covered, quite literally, with these new double-layered touchscreen gloves.

We are wireless, but not quite wire-free. One company wants to help iPhone users cut a couple of cords with a magnetic charging solution called the STACK PACK.

It’s all capital letters for a product that sounds more like workout vitamins. The STACK PACK promises to pack just as much power as that soon-to-be obsolete charging cord — except with shorter charging times and a satisfying feeling as your iPhone magnetically clicks onto a battery or charger.

The iPhone can do a lot of things, but work as a functional piece of furniture? Yes, as one design studio proved when it created a tiny lampshade that clips to the iPhone.

Activate the flashlight app and behold, a nightstand reading light.

Computers, tablets, even iPhones have grown into powerful tools for music making, but for many who play guitar the bridge from analog instrument to digital devices can be an intimidating one. The Jamstik Wireless Smart Guitar is a great way to cross the digital divide, a MIDI controlling guitar with frets and strings that feel familiar to any guitarist’s fingers. It’s also cheaper than most keyboard controllers (and certainly guitars), available right now for just $149.99.

You good to drive? Unfortunately the answer to that question isn’t always the right one, and if a cop has to answer it for you it’s a good bet they’ll be getting the truth. One of the reasons is that they can actually see how much you’ve had to drink by measuring it in your breath. Of course nobody should hop in a car after drinking any amount, but with the BACtrack Vio Smartphone Breathalyzer, you can take the role of cop before one rolls up on you or your friends if there’s any question. It’s a disaster averting tool that you can get for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Those iPhone cases that hold cash and credit cards are fine as long as you want to look like you’re carrying your mother’s wallet.

Luxury accessories design company Gresso has a solution to return your overriding need to be practical back to cool. It has designed a stylish aircraft aluminum iPhone 6 case that has a hidden slide-out drawer for your cards. Jony Ive might approve.

Whether for presentations or driving your cat up the wall, laser pointers are as fun as they are useful. Given everything else an iPhone can do, it only makes sense that it also be able to shine a focused beam of light when and where you need one. The iPin Laser Pointer fits neatly inside your iPhone’s headphone jack, turning it into a red laser pointer. Batteries aren’t an issue, since the iPin sips power straight from the phone, and a built-in switch that means you can leave it in the jack when not in use. iPin also comes with a slideshow-controlling app, which together with the laser make this a great option for anyone who gives regular presentations.

The iPin Laser Pointer is a great upgrade for anyone, and right now you can get one for $42.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

The more your iPhone does, the more it draws from the battery – and that means more time spent hunting for an outlet to recharge.

Batteries will get better one day soon, but until then PowerGo-Go has a line of wireless solutions for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 6s models to charge, as the name suggests, on the go-go.

It’s usually a question of when, not if, your charging cable is going to start wearing around the point where the cord meets the connector. And maybe you’ll try to make it work for a little while, but sooner or later your denial will wear off and you’re going to have to drop the cash on a new one. And then the whole sad process starts over.

One company is hoping to break the cycle with a leather cable that is not only tough but also aims to be the best-working cord you’ve ever bought.

Here’s a unique-looking case for your iPhone that promises to do more than just protect your handset from nicks and scratches.

The Hibiki case for iPhone 6 says that it will also make your audio sound better.

Humankind is not depending on me to cure some terrible epidemic. That takes the pressure off and lets me have a little fun as I try a device that turns my iPhone into a fairly powerful microscope.

With a clip-on aspheric lens and transmitted light base that weighs only a few ounces, the makers of uHandy Microscope boast of it having a resolution comparable to a traditional microscope that weighs down a lab table in a classroom.

Samples can be magnified and viewed in the field using your smartphone’s camera app to record the image and, of course, an instant ability to share the image with colleagues in other places.

LAS VEGAS — Your iPhone captures great imagery, but sometimes the built-in zoom just isn’t enough. An ingenious gadget that quickly connects smartphones to almost any optical device gives your everyday camera superpowers.

The Carson Universal is an incredibly simple idea, but it delivers some pretty astonishing results. You can use it to connect your smartphone to telescopes, binoculars, microscopes, spotting scopes or almost any other optical device with a rounded eyepiece. Instead of buying a specialized, device-specific adapter, it’s a one-size-fits-all optical attachment.

“It kind of opens up the possibilities,” said Michelle Hyers, the engineer who designed the Carson Universal.