The Braven 600 portable speaker is on point

By Jim Gresham on Apr 11, 2013

Having reviewed different ranges of audio accessories for iOS devices, until now, I had yet to review a portable wireless speaker set. There are plenty around, but none of them ever piqued my interest. Unless my wife started asking about them, I would not have considered owning a wireless speaker considering I have a pretty serious home system and a pair of nice headphones.

After spotting the Braven 600, I figured why not give it a shot. It seemed like a well-built option, considering the price. Braven is a company with which I was not immediately familiar, but when I opened the box, I was quite surprised at the well-packaged speaker. It’s a perky little thing, for the size, and it is a nice addition to my current line up. Follow me past the fold for the full details… Read More

 

The ChargeCard: a credit card-sized iPhone USB cable

By Cody Lee on Apr 1, 2013

Late last year we covered an interesting little iPhone accessory called the ChargeCard. It was just a Kickstarter project at the time, but we were really intrigued by the credit card-sized USB cable that’s capable of feeding power to your iPhone.

Apparently others were too, because it blew past its funding goal to become a real product. And now that it’s shipping, the ChargeCard team was nice enough to send me one to check out. Oh, and they sent me something for iDB readers too… Read More

 

iTap: Keep your iPhone power on tap

By Oliver Haslam on Feb 26, 2013

There’s nothing more boring than an iPhone wall charger. It’s a plug, and it charges things when a USB cable is attached to it. That’s about as glamorous as it gets. Until now.

Meet iTap, the latest and greatest thing in the world of charging. It quite literally keeps electricity on tap. Well, not a real tap. That would just be silly! The photo above should be able to sell the idea of the iTap much more successfully than any text we can put together, it is a tap plugged into a wall after all… Read More

 

The onE Puck coaster let’s you charge your iPhone with a cup of coffee

By Cody Lee on Feb 16, 2013

I’ve covered a lot of Kickstarter projects in my day, but I have to say that this is one of the most interesting I’ve ever come across. The Epiphany onE Puck, by Epiphany Labs, is a drink coaster that can actually charge up your iPhone (or other device) using ‘heat disparities’ from a hot or cold beverage.

That’s right, there’s no outlet or batteries involved. Just set your drink down on the coaster, plug in your smartphone, and watch the magic happen. The coaster uses a shrunken down stirling engine to harness the aforementioned disparities into charging power. And the creators say this is just the beginning… Read More

 

Scosche Lightning chargers arrive

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 14, 2013

Announced back in November 2012, Scosche’s chargers based on Apple’s Lightning I/O are now available for sale at the company’s web store. The California-based accessory maker now sells a range of Lightning chargers for use with your car and home sockets. Wall chargers are priced up to $34.99 and car chargers start at $24.99. In addition, Scosche also sells the $24.99 three-foot retractable Lightning-to-USB cable. More on this hear right after the break… Read More

 

TwelveSouth’s PlugBug goes on a world tour

By Christian Zibreg on Jan 23, 2013

TwelveSouth makes wonderful accessories for Apple devices and their charging add-on called PlugBug is the perfect epitome of their design approach: not only is the accessory useful, it’s damn cute, too. For the uninitiated, the PlugBug will charge your MacBook and iPhone (or iPad or iPod touch) at the same time. The charming little red thingie piggy-backs onto your MacBook’s power adapter and has a 10W USB port to connect and charge your iDevice as the MacBook adapter simultaneously juices up your notebook.

How cool is that? Today, a year and half following its debut, TwelveSouth has announced the PlugBug World, an international version with five swappable prong adapters supporting power sockets in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Hong Kong, China and a bunch of other markets… Read More

 

Goal Zero’s solar charger kit is perfect for zombie apocalypse

By Jim Gresham on Nov 30, 2012

A city-slicker that fancies himself an outdoorsman, I had been on a quest to find an iOS device solar charger for a couple months. After stumbling into an REI, the GOAL ZERO product line piqued my interest. When hiking, camping, hunting, traveling, or when the world ends, finding a power source may be difficult. If we are all Denzel Washingtons, rocking out to our iPods while we hunt for the Book of Eli, then a consistent source of USB power is as important as our favorite post-apocalyptic weapon… Read More

 

Everpurse: a handbag with a built-in iPhone charger

By Cody Lee on Sep 15, 2012

There’s tons of accessories on the market today that will bail you out in the event your iPhone dies while you’re on the go. There’s battery powered cases, chargers and more.

But we’re willing to bet that you’ve never seen an accessory like the Everpurse. The handbag attempts to combine tech with fashion, with a built-in iPhone 5 charger… Read More

 

The Foundation Dock: an extremely versatile dock for your iPhone

By Cody Lee on Sep 8, 2012

If there was ever a project that embodied the Kickstarter spirt of turning a good idea into a real product, this is it. Meet the Foundation Dock, one of the coolest iPhone docks we’ve ever seen.

The accessory is made up of two parts: the Dock itself, which is basically a heavy aluminum base, and a flexible USB cable, which will allow you to use your iPhone in virtually any position… Read More

 

Purported accessories for next-gen iPhone leaked

By Cody Lee on Aug 29, 2012

We’re just weeks away from Apple’s next-gen iPhone event, and the leaked parts just keep on coming. This time it’s a wall charger, USB cable and a case — all of which appear to be made for the handset and its rumored smaller dock connector.

For the first time since its inception, Apple is widely expected to change the dock connector on its iPhone this fall. Instead of the usual 30-pin setup, it’s said to be utilizing a smaller, 8-pin connector that we’ll also see in future iOS products… Read More

 

Claimed photo of next-gen iPhone sync cable surfaces

By Cody Lee on Aug 22, 2012

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen an increase in iPhone 5 part leaks — specifically the dock connector/headphone jack assembly. The components have echoed previous reports that the next-gen iPhone would have a smaller dock connector.

Adding to the evidence is a new photo of a USB charging/sync cable, which popped up online this afternoon. With its 8-9 pin end matching up with the previous parts we’ve seen, it’s believed the cable belongs to Apple’s new smartphone…. Read More

 

The Cellink I is the emergency battery boost your iPhone might need

By Jim Gresham on Aug 16, 2012

There are those days when your on-board iPhone battery cannot handle the stress of a working day. Typically, I get around 4.5 hours of usage between charges, which on a busy news day, leaves me bumming a power cord around the office. Mobile battery backups and chargers are a great way to extend battery life if your cubical neighbor forgot to bring in the cable you always borrow. Cellink I by Cell Drive is a pocket sized – let’s call it a snack portion – of battery boost to keep you reading, tweeting, posting, or blogging until you get home… Read More

 

Purported photos of Apple’s smaller dock connector [updated]

By Cody Lee on Aug 10, 2012

With Apple’s all-but-confirmed iPhone event just a few weeks away, purported part leaks are starting to ramp up. Last night, we saw pictures of the handset’s alleged battery, and this morning another component has surfaced.

What you are looking at in the image above is what some folks believe to be the rumored smaller dock connector that Apple will implement in all of its future iOS devices, including the new iPhone and the iPad mini… Read More

 

Claimed photo of next-gen iPhone battery surfaces

By Cody Lee on Aug 10, 2012

The new iPhone, which is expected to be unveiled next month, is rumored to include a long list of enhancements. A larger screen, LTE-compatibility, and a faster processor are all on the menu for possible features.

But amidst all of these new components, the question of battery life arises. The iPhone 4S is frequently criticized for its poor battery, so wouldn’t adding all of these things make it worse? Not necessarily… Read More

 

Apple to roll out smaller dock connector to all iOS products this fall

By Cody Lee on Aug 6, 2012

We’ve been hearing that Apple was going to be changing the iPhone’s dock connector since February of this year. Not only has the change been confirmed by a number of news outlets, but we’ve seen several leaked next-gen iPhone parts with the smaller charging port.

Along with its new smartphone, Apple is also expected to be using the new port in its iPad mini, which is rumored to debut this fall. But apparently it’s not stopping there. iMore has learned that Apple is rolling out the smaller dock connector across its entire iOS line… Read More

 

Apple to provide 30-pin dock adapter for new iPhone

By Cody Lee on Jul 23, 2012

With a number of recent rumors pointing to the next-generation iPhone utilizing a smaller, 19-pin dock connector, some folks have started wondering what they’ll do with their collection of 30-pin accessories.

Well don’t throw them away just yet. A new report is out today claiming that Apple plans to provide an adapter for the new iPhone’s dock connector that will make it compatible with many current add-ons… Read More

 

Reuters: new iPhone to feature smaller, 19-pin dock connector

By Cody Lee on Jul 23, 2012

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest in next-generation iPhone rumors, you know that the handset is expected to feature a new, smaller dock connector.

The speculation started with a report back in February of this year, and the revamped port has since been seen in a number of leaked next-gen iPhone parts… Read More

 

The ChargeCard: an iPhone charger that fits in your wallet

By Cody Lee on Jul 19, 2012

This is pretty cool: inventors Noah Dentzel and Adam Miller have finally come up with a solution to the problem of having to lug around a spare iPhone cable.

The ChargeCard works just like your average 30-pin USB cable — it will charge your device and transfer data — but it’s compact enough to fit in your wallet… Read More

 

iPhone 4S hacked to charge wirelessly

By Cody Lee on Jul 6, 2012

Rumors that Apple is working on a wireless charging solution for its iOS devices have been bouncing around for years. We’ve even seen evidence of this in the company’s patent filings.

But if you can’t wait for Apple to implement the feature, you could always do it yourself. Tanveer Islam did it with his iPhone 4S, using a Powermat and a little know-how… Read More

 

Apple granted patent for inductive charging dock for iOS devices

By Christian Zibreg on Jun 26, 2012

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) this morning issued an interesting patent grant that proves Apple’s been actively thinking about a new kind of dock that would let you charge your iPhone or iPod touch wirelessly, by placing your iOS device in an upright position but also along its other sides… Read More

 
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