accessories

As the saying goes: "The best camera is the one you have with you." More often than not, for me, that camera is my iPhone. I always have it on me, it's ready to take a photo in a matter of seconds, it takes amazing photos, and I can edit and share those photos all from the same device.

With the iPhone's camera continuing to be used more and more, there are plenty of accessories available to aid iPhone photographers in getting the best shot possible.

Here are five tools you should have in your bag:… Read more

There's not a lot to say here, except that this lens, with its effective focal length of 150mm on the Micro Four Thirds system and a fast aperture of f1.8, sounds like a great addition to the pool of MFT lenses.

Olympus doesn't currently have any fast telephotos in its MFT lineup -- just some really clunky, slow zooms, and Panasonic's best equivalent only goes as low as f2.8 (for about the same $899.99 price). Olympus' 45mm f1.8 is one of my favorite MFT lenses, and this looks pretty similar. I can't wait to give it a shot, so to speak.… Read more

Come this June, you'll finally be able to use your languishing Leica lenses on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 -- or at least expand on Fujifilm's small collection of lenses.

The new M-Mount Adapter will cost $199.99 and seems to provide full compatibility, including support for the camera's viewfinder framing corrections. Via the camera's Mount Adapter Settings you'll be able to create profiles for up to six lenses with corrections for distortion, peripheral illumination, and color shading across the frame.

It sounds well-built -- aluminum mount on the body side, stainless steel on the lens side, connected by aluminum.… Read more

How do you make the phone of the moment even more enticing? Layer on accessories.

Samsung has just announced the Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, followed by mention of a slew of accessories that range from several protective covers to a desktop dock -- and even a wireless charging player and an MP3 player.… Read more

You see that battery meter dwindling down to zero. There's a knot in your stomach. You'd pay anything just to squeeze another 10 minutes from your phone.

Your panic is justified. Not only does a dead phone battery cut you off from communication with the outside world, but it strips you of your contact book as well. There was a time when I could remember close to a dozen phone numbers off the top of my head. But today, I can barely remember my wife's number without the aid of my phone.

Fortunately, there are a number … Read more

When it comes to Bluetooth speakers, small is hot. We have Jawbone and all the marketing it put behind its Jambox partially to thank for that. With its rechargeable battery and impressive sound for its size, the Jambox showed how you could take a tiny portable speaker and pair it with your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to create a mini wireless stereo system just about anywhere you were.

But some folks don't want to drop $150 to $175 on a portable speaker, which is why I've put together this list of less expensive alternatives. We'll be reviewing more inexpensive portable Bluetooth speakers as the year goes along and we'll continue to update this list as we listen to new products and earlier models we might have missed.… Read more

A lot of CNET readers like to complain that we cover too many Apple accessories and not enough Android ones. Well, the truth is there just aren't nearly as many accessories out there marketed toward Android users. … Read more

Updated April 18, 2013 with two new accessories.

Whether you have the larger iPad or the iPad Mini, Apple's tablets -- while versatile -- can't do everything. That's where peripherals come in. Connecting a camera, streaming audio or video to a TV or stereo, or writing with a real keyboard are just a few extremely useful things that accessories enable. Or, maybe you just want to keep it standing neatly on your desk.

Here are some of the most useful iPad accessories I've found. Some work for both the iPad Mini and the larger iPad; some work with just one. You probably won't need all of them, but you're almost guaranteed to get serious use out of more than one.

Any I left out? Share below.… Read more

Torn between Apple's iPad and the MacBook Pro? Here's an accessory that could solve your dilemma.

The NoteBookCase for iPad2 transforms the tablet into a smaller version of the MacBook Pro, complete with a similar MacBook-style keyboard. Aside from the Bluetooth-connected keyboard, the case comes with an integrated battery that charges the tablet, too. … Read more