The PowerFuze keeps your USB devices juiced in the car and at home.
(Credit: Scosche)You should see the mess of cables, chargers, and charging cables that clutter my backpack every day. Moving from car to car and home to work while testing a variety of devices means that iPod sync cables, USB cables, Mini- and Micro-USB cables for mobile phones and GPS devices, 12-volt car chargers, and 110-volt wall chargers eat up a good deal of my bag space. For me, this is why Scosche's PowerFuze charger system looks interesting. This charging solution should let you replace a number of cables and chargers for an all-in-one approach. It's a car charger and a wall charger. Ideally, it's the best of both worlds.
The PowerFuze system crams a few different charging configurations into one package. When you're at home, it is a two-port "Made for iPod" and "Works with iPhone" certified USB AC charger that plugs into a 110-volt wall outlet. When you're on the road, a 12-volt USB charger pulls out to take advantage of your vehicle's DC power port. If you have 12-volt DC car accessories that you want to use indoors, the vacant 12-volt port will work as a power inverter to accommodate them. With 1 amp of current split between the two channels, you shouldn't expect to power a 12-volt air compressor on the PowerFuze, but there's more than enough overhead for most portable devices.
Then again, most users only have one car, so they won't really see the point of carrying around the 12-volt charger. That little bugger will probably find itself perma-lodged into your car's DC power port after the first week--when you get sick of bringing it into the house every day. That being said, I still think it's nice to be able to pick up both chargers for one reasonable price and have the flexibility to use them together if you should decide to do so.
The PowerFuze and the PowerFuze Pro (with an included iPod sync cable) sell for $34.99 and $44.99 respectively. If you only need a car charger, look for the PowerPlug and PowerPlug Pro with sync cable for $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. Check out Scosche.com for more details on this cool little stocking stuffer.
The IDR350m comes with interchangeable color caps.
(Credit: Scosche)If you don't want to shell out $80 for the Apple In-Ear Headphones, but still want the convenience of an inline remote, Scosche has a solution for you. The accessories maker just introduced the IDR350m Increased Dynamic Range earphones with tapLINE control technology, which is all just a fancy way of saying "in-ear earbuds with remote." The headphones, which sell for a more reasonable $49.99, include a module that lets you control play, pause, adjust volume, skip tracks, navigate playlists and activate the Voice Over feature to hear the name of the song and artist. There's also an integrated mic for recording voice notes to the iPods that have the functionality. The design is a pretty standard iPod-white, but Scosche does offer a bit of flair by including six interchangeable color caps in white, red, pink, green, blue and chrome. The IDR350M is currently available on the Scosche Web site, and the company will be releasing the darker-hued IDR350MD in August.
On Sale Now: $70.46 - $83.25
View the latest prices for Apple In-Ear headphones
An MP3 player with buttons? How novel.
(Credit: Scosche Industries)The third-generation Apple iPod Shuffle has a ridiculously small and elegant design, but its lack of buttons can sometimes be a real buzz kill. The Scosche TapStick is a $29 case for the iPod Shuffle that bestows three buttons on the front of the device, mimicking the three controls used on Apple's headphone remote. A 3-foot auxiliary cable is also included with the case.
Frankly, $30 seems like a lot of dough to throw at an iPod that only costs $80. But if you received the Shuffle as a gift and just need a way to adapt the thing for your car stereo's aux input, the TapStick's relatively large buttons and snap-on design should do the trick.
Update: The retail price of the Scosche TapStick is $29, and not $39, as stated in the company's original press release.
On Sale Now: $74.36 - $79.00
View the latest prices for Apple iPod Shuffle (third generation, 4GB, black)
On Sale Now: $29.99
View the latest prices for Scosche tapSTICK
The SolChat retails for $100.
(Credit: Scosche)Hot on the heels of announcing that it would be making accessories for the third-generation Shuffle, Scosche has "gone green" with a $100 solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone for cars.
SolChat's backside.
(Credit: Scosche)If you haven't seen one before, these types of speakerphones represent one of the better applications of solar-charging in a consumer device. The device adheres to your windshield and collects sunlight to charge the internal lithium ion rechargeable battery. A USB charging cable and car adapter ships with the device so you can charge at night and on days with insufficient sunlight. A windshield suction-cup mount and sun visor clip are also included.
What's nice about the Bluetooth is that once you set up a pairing between your cell phone and SolChat, they will automatically connect once you enter your car and turn on the speakerphone (the SolChat automatically turns off once the pairing is broken). The speakerphone also has voice-announce technology that enables it to announce calls as they come in "so users can keep their eyes on the road while driving."
Scosche's upcoming VoiceOver compatible earbud line.
(Credit: Scosche )Apple said it would have third parties developing accessories for the new third-generation iPod Shuffle, and sure enough, they are. First out of the gate: Klipsch and Scosche. And by the end of the week--if not the end of today--we should be hearing about more.
As Engadget notes, Klipsch's press release was pretty weak--the company only said that it would have VoiceOver-compatible Shuffle 'buds by summer and that they would cost $99.99.
Scosche was a lot more specific. It plans to have three earphone models--the IDR350M, IDR450M, and IDR650M--that feature an integrated control surface and range in price from $49.99 to $99.99. Interestingly, the release also notes that a miniature microphone built into the back of the control surface will allow users to record voice memos on the latest iPod Touch, iPod Nano, and iPod Classic 120GB.
Scosche has a VoiceOver-compatible headphone adapter in the works as well.
(Credit: Scosche)Scosche is also developing an inline control adapter kit that will allow you to use "any standard set of headphones and enjoy all of the advanced features of the third-generation iPod shuffle." The inline control will also allow you to plug your third-generation Shuffle into any vehicles' auxiliary input and maintain full control of the iPod. No word on how much the dongle will cost but we have a call into Scosche's public-relations agency, and we'll let you know if Scosche gets back to us with a price (apparently, the dongle was literally designed in the last couple of days).
As I said, we expect to see a lot more companies announcing just these types of headphones and accessories--so stay tuned.
Anybody else think this is kind of ridiculous? Why couldn't Apple just equip the new Shuffle with a VoiceOver headphone adapter of its own? Oh, yeah, it probably collects a licensing fee from these guys. Genius.
Via Engadget.
The showTIME cable works fine, but your videos deserve better.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)If you're looking for the cheapest way to get video off your iPhone or iPod and onto your TV, the Scosche showTIME cable could be just the thing.
It's a nice-looking cable with a heavy-gauge feel, high-end tapered connectors, and a generous 6-foot length. The cable uses a composite-video connection, however, so keep your video quality expectations low. Also, don't get any funny ideas about running iPhone games and Apps to your TV, because this is only going to output videos (cue sad trombone).
To learn more, read the full review of the Scoshe showTIME over at CNET Reviews.
On Sale Now: $28.31 - $97.99
View the latest prices for Scosche showTIME
Scosche's IDR600 earbuds
(Credit: Scosche)Scosche, makers of the Kickback iPhone case--that I had to get my grubby mits on before I understood just how useful it actually was--are not slowing down in its support of the iPod and iPhone platforms. The company recently announced its 2009 accessories lineup for the Apples platforms.
First up in their "Listen" line are the IDR400M and IDR600 earbuds and the HZ5 ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Enter our MP3 Insider contest to win a new 120GB Zune (Gears of War 2 Edition), courtesy of Microsoft.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)Donald and Jasmine discuss Zune price drops and a Zune Pass deal that may put some pressure on other subscription services.
Also on the agenda is the latest iPod Touch firmware, some products that failed to impress, iTunes alternatives, and a reader question about stripping audio from DVDs.
Plus, we're giving away a 120GB Zune MP3 player from Microsoft (see contest details below). Not just any Zune, in fact, but the thoroughly badass Gears of War 2 Edition, which features an etched logo and comes loaded with Gears of War videos, photos and music.
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The Scosche TuneStream adds A2DP stereo Bluetooth to most recent iPods, but it has some quirks.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)When Apple was set to unveil its second-generation iPod Touch back in September, stereo Bluetooth was among the features rumored to be included. Hopefully, no one was holding their breath.
Apple may have dropped the ball on including stereo Bluetooth in its latest crop of iPods, but there are a few ways you can add Bluetooth streaming with accessories. One such accessory is the TuneStream from Scosche. It's one of the smallest Bluetooth adapters we've seen for the iPod.
The tuneStream doesn't work with every iPod, however, and when it does work it throws you a few annoying quirks. To find out if the TuneStream is right for you, read our full take over at CNET Reviews.
A reenactment of the first time I dropped my iPhone 3G, only this time I got the Kickback involved. Good thing I still had my earbuds in...
(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)A couple of weeks back, I wrote a blog on Scosche's Kickback clear case for the iPhone 3G. In that post, I said I'm not into fragile-looking cases, which is how the Kickback looked to me in pics.
Since then, I've been able to try the Kickback firsthand, and while I still maintain that it looks fragile, it doesn't feel as brittle as I originally thought it would, and in some areas actually feels bendy.
Now, I haven't conducted any hardcore drop tests, but I did do a wimpy 2-feet-high drop-on-carpet test (twice!) and so far so good.
Where in pics, the plastic looked fragile and rigid, I found it to be somewhat bendable in my hands. Still, plastic is plastic, and obviously, if dropped from high enough it would shatter. Compared with the leather case I have for my iPhone 3G, the Kickback does provide more protection.
I can conceive of dropping each off a building with an iPhone in them. My leather case would mostly like not have the toughness to prevent the iPhone's untimely death.
However, I suspect the Kickback would have enough durability to absorb most of the impact and possibly give its life so that the iPhone could limp away.
Who knows, though? I don't have the stones (or the money) to try this experiment, but I'll see if I can convince one of my incredibly gullible nice co-workers to part with their phone in the name of science.
