accessories

This morning I saw a man with an iPhone run the San Francisco Marathon. I was using my trusty iPod Nano with the Nike+ feature instead. There was something about the iPhone that wouldn't allow me to even bring the iPhone to the race. I wouldn't check it in with my sweats, much less wear it on my arm as I run 13+ miles. I would fear losing it or breaking it. So, I went without phone - which caused me to miss one of my friends at the finish line.

This leads me to think that this … Read more

Sony's taken the wraps off two more iPod-compatible home audio products: the ICF-C1iP clock radio, and the ZS-S2iP boom box. The ICF-C1iP clock radio is available in black or white and offers an adjustable backstop for accommodating various sizes of 'Pods in the built-in dock. Otherwise, it's a pretty standard feature set for the clock radio category--adjustable brightness control; AM/FM radio; wake to iPod, radio, or alarm; and wireless remote. Personally, i think the clock's digital display--along the bottom of the iPod dock--seems like it would be too easily obscured, but maybe I just have too many books on my nightstand. … Read more

Picture this. It's Monday morning. You're a little bleary from your weekend indulging, and it's time for your virtuous 6 a.m. trip to the gym to sweat out those toxins. But your old clock radio only gets two choices, troubling reports from war zones or the local pop radio station. Not wishing to subject yourself to treacly theme songs or fearsome news reports first thing in the morning, preferring to ease yourself into the day with a little Megadeth, perhaps, what will you do?

You can't just plug one of those clunky plastic dial timers … Read more

Far be it from Shure to stand idly by while others profit from the iPhone's recessed headphone jack. Early last week, the successful earphone manufacturer announced a new product called the Music Phone Adapter (MPA). As the name suggests, this headphone add-on is designed to work with music-playing cell phones. It offers a built-in microphone (and shirt clip) for calls while allowing a connection with stereo earphones for tunes. Of course, the MPA's slender headphone plug casing belies its true companion--the iPhone.

I got my hands on a prototype of the MPA and can attest that it fits … Read more

Tech's latest bundle of joy, the Apple iPhone, has been brought into the gadget world with plenty of clip-on cases and headphone adapters that eager users can show off as soon as they rip the iPhone out of its sleek, black cardboard box.

However, there's still much to anticipate in the way of compatible third-party peripherals like those that have been bestowed upon the iPod, iPhone's suddenly-neglected cousin. Take the iPod shoulder bag and famous iCarta iPod toilet paper holder, for example. Yet it's only a matter of time until our favorite phone accessory manufacturers cook up products for the newest celebrity gadget. Here are some possibilities:

1. Branded iPhone cleaning kit When spit and a t-shirt corner aren't enough.

2. Battery-operated stylus Generates enough heat to activate the touch screen, improving typing efficiency for the square-fingered and long-nailed iPhoner users among us. Also relieves repetitive stress for marathon typers.… Read more

To all the makers of insane Wii accessories, we say thank you. Why? Because we were on the verge of actually thinking that the "Bass Fishing Wii" sounded like it actually made sense, but then the latest entries to the market jolted us back into reality.

The cooking utensils featured on Gizmodo--complete with "frying pan, knife, fork and spatula"--are disturbing indications that people have gotten a wee too close to the Wii. These, by the way, come hot on the heels of the screw-on pool cue.

If people must spend all their waking hours with … Read more

The iPhone hasn't even launched yet and there are already dozens--if not hundreds--of iPhone accessories ready to be purchased. Sure, most of them are universal dock iPod accessories that happen to be iPhone-compatible, but there are also quite a few that were made with the iPhone in mind. From Apple's own Bluetooth headset and iPhone dock to a plethora of cases and headphone adapters, it looks like new iPhone owners will be spoiled for choice when it comes to the right accessory for their brand-new cell phone. Here are just a few that have caught our eyes recently. … Read more

The future hath arrived. Tech enthusiasts have long theorized that video players in the form of glasses were imminent, and it was only a year ago that some of the first models started to hit the market. Now, the category is in full swing, with plenty of versions of the device made specifically for the video iPod. One of them is the MyVu Personal Media Viewer (PMV), a rather ridiculous-looking $299 accessory. Naturally, due to these glasses' ability to make the wearer look uncannily like Geordi La Forge, I had to get them and put them on for all to … Read more

Not content to rest easy after its announcement of a slew of new cell phones and a Bluetooth watch, Sony Ericsson has also announced several new accessories as well. They are all music-related in some way or another, starting off with the MDS-65 Music Desk Stand, which acts as a portable speaker of sorts for your Sony Walkman phone, and the MMR-70 FM transmitter for playing music on a nearby FM radio.

And what's a cell phone accessory announcement without a few headsets? The HBH-DS200 is the only stereo Bluetooth headset in the group, and it has a few … Read more