Crave

For just $9.99 you can stuff a stocking with the cool, practical HiJack Headphone Splitter Keychain.

(Credit: ThinkGeek)

What do you get for the iPhone user who has, well, an iPhone? After all, the device itself is the gift that keeps on giving. Am I right?

Anyway, I've rounded up five iPhone-friendly items for the holidays. Whether you're shopping for a Secret Santa gift for a co-worker, a stocking stuffer for your hubby (or missus), or something to round out the latter nights of Hanukkah, one of these should fit the bill.

1) A gift card...that later turns into an iPhone stand! Start with any gift card--Starbucks, iTunes (duh), or whatever--then tell the recipient to bring it back to you after it's used up. Following these simple Instructables instructions, do a little waving-your-magic-wand thing and turn that card into a cute, clever, portable, and virtually indestructible stand. Who knew a gift card could keep on giving?

2) The world's best (?) battery pack Blogger Josh Bancroft calls this Monoprice iPhone Backup Battery Pack the "best $15 you can spend," and I'm inclined to agree. For just $15.23 you get a 2200mAh battery, which is good for roughly two full iPhone charges. Just one problem: It's currently on back order. Well, you can always print a photo from the product page, write "coming soon," and stuff that in the stocking.

(Credit: Wall of Sound)

For a stereo, the Wall of Sound isn't massive. But for an iPod dock, it's gargantuan.

Pitched as "the world's most powerful iPod speaker," the Wall of Sound is a $4,500, handcrafted iPod dock with a stocky 3x4-foot frame that weighs in at 225 pounds.

As for the sound itself, the 125W system promises a frequency response of 40Hz to 20kHz that will provide "graceful mids and crystal clear highs," according to the product's Web site. It's also purportedly "for people who believe that music should be listened to loudly."

This story originally appeared on Gizmodo.

Believe it or not, iPod speakers were once rare objects--and Bose's SoundDock was one of the first to hit the market back in 2004. Since then, the company has followed up with the SoundDock II ($299) and the SoundDock Portable ($399), even as the iPod speaker category has become completely commoditized (nowadays, there are plenty of sub-$100 clock radios with built-in iPod docks). For the 2009-2010 buying season, Bose has gone back to the drawing board and produced the SoundDock 10.

Bose says it worked for several years on this new speaker system for the iPod and iPhone, with the lofty goal of building a product that can deliver "audio performance previously unattainable from a one-piece speaker system for iPod." The SoundDock 10 is bigger and more expensive (costing a whopping $599) than previous SoundDock models, but it's still relatively compact, measuring 17 inches wide by 9 inches high by 10 inches deep, and has a nice clean, understated design that gives the whole system a classy look.

The centerpiece of the unit is a hefty, custom woofer, bracketed by two Bose Twiddler transducers (no, that's not a new social-networking site; it's a combination of a high-frequency transducer and midrange driver). The woofer alone adds a lot of weight to the unit, and while the speaker can be moved around the house easily enough, the SoundDock 10 weighs a beefy 18.9 pounds (that's three times as much as the aforementioned SoundDock Series II and SoundDock Portable). Held in hand, this model feels quite substantial and well built.

So, does Bose deliver on its lofty sound goals?

Read the full review to find out (or just watch the embedded video).

The P-Flip folding power dock doubles as a desktop stand.

(Credit: Dexim)

The Dexim P-Flip is two, two, two products in one. It's a long-lasting external battery for your iPhone and a desktop stand that keeps it propped up nicely.

This folding, three-position dock bears more than a passing resemblance to a flip-phone, albeit one that's even thinner and more compact.

Consequently, it slips easily into a pocket. It's small, despite packing a 2,000mAh rechargeable battery that, according to Dexim, will provide eight extra hours of talk time, 15 hours of games or movies, or a whopping 80 hours of music--I have my doubts about that last one.

The P-Flip charges via an included USB cable, with blue LEDs that flash or turn solid depending on if it's charging or charged.

As a desktop dock, the P-Flip works like a charm. It's great if you want to use your iPhone as, say, a clock or digital photo frame.

However, although you can tip the dock on its side for watching movies, this keeps your screen almost perpendicular to the surface. It's not angled enough for comfortable viewing.

That's my only real disappointment with the P-Flip, which is otherwise excellent. At $54.95, it costs less than some other power packs that add more bulk and have smaller batteries.

The product is compatible with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, as well as all iPod Touch models. I'm liking it, but with a better landscape orientation, I'd be loving it.

Need to charge your Zune HD in the car and transmit to your FM radio? The Zune Car Pack has you covered.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The Zune HD represents a big step forward in Microsoft's war against the iPod, but when it comes to accessories, there's just no catching up to Apple. Step inside any local electronics store and you'll find yourself wading through a swamp of speaker docks, cases, cables, chargers, in-car FM transmitters, and alarm clocks, all made for the iPod. Try looking for the Zune section, though, and you'll be sorely disappointed.

Fortunately, the handful of accessories made for the Zune are all surprisingly high in quality. The iHome ZN9 alarm clock, for instance, is one of the better bedside speaker systems we've tested, regardless of what MP3 player you plug into it. Same goes for the Kicker ZK500--the thing is a first-rate, floor-shaking speaker dock that any Zune owner should count themselves lucky to have.

Some accessories are uniquely Zune, though. The HD AV dock, for example, has no equal in the iPod world. With it, you can output 720p video from your Zune HD to your TV, as well as show off your music collection, flip through photos, and tune in to HD Radio channels.

To see our full list of Zune HD accessories, check out this CNET photo gallery.

Accessories for the Microsoft Zune HD

Seagate's DockStar can support up to four USB drives

(Credit: Seagate)

Do you want to turn a USB hard drive into a cheap, easy network-attached storage device? Seagate's DockStar is designed to let you do just that. Like the preceding Dock+ model, the DockStar can host a FreeAgent Go drive in its cradle, plus up to three other USB drives. However, instead of linking to your PC via USB, the DockStar uses its Ethernet port to live on your home network.

Network access is enabled via technology Seagate has licensed from Pogoplug--in other words, it's just a Seagate-skinned version of Pogoplug's interface. That's a good thing, since Pogoplug's standalone product is exceptionally simple to set up and easy to use.

The system offers a Web interface for accessing the drive's files from any computer (on your home network, or worldwide via the Internet). The Web interface works on any Web browser, it requires no software installation, and lets you set specific folders for others to access, as well as publish RSS feeds of your files to various social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace). Alternately, you can download Pogoplug's software plug-ins for mapping the DockStar to a drive letter on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. Even better, Pogoplug offers a free iPhone app that lets you access files via iPhones and iPod Touch handhelds.

On the downside, Seagate is charging $30 per year for the capability to access the drive from outside your home network (after one year of free access). That contrasts with Pogoplug's standalone product, which requires no fees. With DockStar and Pogoplug both costing $99, we'd be inclined to go with Pogoplug's instead. That said, Seagate is planning to add SMB drive support to the DockStar via a future firmware update. That feature--not currently available on Pogoplug's standalone product--should allow the DockStar drives to be accessible via non-PC DLNA-compatible network devices, including Seagate's own FreeAgent Theater+.

The Seagate DockStar is available as of Wednesday. (The Pogoplug has been available since early 2009.)

Small size, big sound: Bose's $599 SoundDock 10.

(Credit: Bose)

Bose has been busy the last few weeks. First, it announced its new QuietComfort 15 noise-canceling headphones. And now it's introduced another high-profile product with a double-digit model number, the SoundDock 10.

Bose says it's been working for several years on this new speaker system for the iPod and iPhone (yes, it has GSM shielding), and its goal was to build a product that delivered "audio performance previously attainable from a one-piece speaker system for iPod."

The SoundDock is bigger and more expensive ($599) than previous SoundDock models, but it's still relatively compact, measuring 17 inches wide, 9 inches high, and 10 inches deep. The centerpiece of the unit is a hefty, custom subwoofer, and two Bose Twiddler transducers (no, that's not a new social-networking site, it's a combination of a high-frequency transducer and midrange driver).

The subwoofer alone adds a lot of weight to the unit, and while the speaker can be moved around the house easily enough, Bose reps told me the SoundDock 10 weighs three times as much as the SoundDock Series II ($299) and SoundDock Portable ($399). In case you're wondering, those models will stay in the line.

The inMotion Classic works as a portable speaker for the iPhone and iPod.

(Credit: Altec Lansing)

We're a tough crew to impress when it comes to iPod speaker docks. Fortunately, Altec Lansing's latest offering, the inMotion Classic ($149), has more than a few things going for it.

For starters, this thing is iPhone-certified, so there's no worrying about annoying compatibility messages each time you dock your iPhone. It's also portable, with a design that folds up and uses an internal rechargeable battery for up to five hours of unplugged music. Throw in a built-in FM radio with station presets, a remote control, aux input, and a stylish design, and now you've got us excited.

Of course, the true test of any speaker system is how it sounds. Stay tuned for some hands-on photos and first impressions later Tuesday. Those already looking to buy this angular boombox beauty will need to wait until late September to pick one up.

(Credit: Sirius XM)

Like satellite radio, but don't want to deal with the kludge-y "dock and play" satellite radios that clutter up your car's dashboard? The XM SkyDock could be for you. It looks little different than your average iPod car charger, but the SkyDock has a satellite tuner built in. Pop in any iPhone or iPod Touch, run the free SkyDock control app, and the Apple handheld is transformed into a touch-screen control for the satellite radio service.

The app automatically adjusts to landscape (shown) or portrait mode, and the audio stream can be sent either via line-out or the company's "PowerConnect" system, which transmits the audio to most standard car radios via the car's electrical system. Because the SkyDock is plugged into the car's 12-volt power adapter, it also charges the iPhone/iPod Touch while it's in use. We got a brief hands-on demo of the SkyDock earlier today at a Sirius XM event, and it looked to be working smoothly, even with beta software.

Why invest in the SkyDock rather than just firing up the Sirius XM app on your iPhone? The app, as has been widely observed, omits much of "the good stuff." Rights issues preclude many of the service's keystone channels, including MLB Play-by-Play, NFL Play-by-Play, Nascar Radio, and Howard Stern. By contrast, because it's a full-fledged over-the-air satellite radio, the SkyDock offers the entire Sirius XM catalog, including those stations.

The SkyDock app also enables iTunes tagging: hear a song you like on one of the music stations, and a touch of the screen will tag it for later download on iTunes. Naturally, the SkyDock will also play music stored on your iPhone/iPod. (Whether that includes audio from other iPhone apps--such as Pandora, Last.fm, and the like--wasn't specified.) (Note: Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes CNET News.)

The XM SkyDock will be available this fall for $120. In addition to a compatible iPod Touch or iPhone (any model that runs iPhone OS 3.0 will work), you'll need a valid Sirius XM subscription.