Accessories

Pre-orders begin for the incredibly sexy BatteryBox Slim

BatteryBox is launching a new pre-order special for its updated line of external batteries for Mac laptops and mobile devices that use a USB charger, such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and various other types of devices.

Dubbed BatteryBox Slim, the new battery not only looks better with its color-matched aluminum external finish, but it comes with a slew of new features that are going to make this one of the best options on the market to date.

Bose’s new wireless headphones come with its premium noise-cancelling tech

Audio equipment company Bose today launched a few new wireless headphones that use its premium noise-cancelling technology. The new Bose products are arriving ahead of the iPhone 7, which is said to lose the century-old 3.5mm audio jack in favor of wireless headsets and Lightning-enabled ones.

The new QuietComfort 35 model is a successor to Bose's popular QuietComfort 25 headphones. The QuietComfort 35 uses both Bluetooth and NFC pairing and includes Bose's noise-cancelling tech.

Mars is a levitating Bluetooth speaker that’s jam-packed with features

Picking the right Bluetooth speaker for your needs can be hard, especially with all the options out there.

On the more premium shelf of options out there is Mars by Crazybaby, which is a levitating Bluetooth speaker with a long list of features that we think makes it well worth the price.

In this review, we'll talk about what the Mars is capable of and show off its features.

This multi-functional power bank charges your Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad

The Computex 2016 exhibition show is underway in Taipei May 31-June 1 and hundreds of technology companies are showcasing their upcoming products and accessories.

One of them is a Chinese company, called Tama Electric, which showed off an interesting 6,000 mAh multi-functional portable power bank.

Designed to charge an iPhone or iPad via its built-in Lightning port, the accessory comes with a twist in the form of an embedded Apple Watch charging disc and an MFi-rated, 1.2-meter Lightning cable, allowing you to charge your wearable device on the go.

Cool-looking concept converts legendary Macintosh LC into a retro iPad Pro dock

German magazine Curved.de recently published an interesting mockup which envisions an iPad Pro dock with vintage Macintosh look complete with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Released in the early 1990s, the Macintosh LC (“LC” stood for “low-cost color”) was the company's low-end, inexpensive Mac which due to its Apple II compatibility was adopted primarily in the education and home markets.

“For such a concept to prove beneficial, Apple would have to implement a modified version of its desktop operating system OS X on its Pro iPads,” writes the magazine.

First Lightning-to-headphone adapter surfaces, offering a sign of things to come

Apple is widely believe to remove the more than century-old 3.5mm analog audio jack from the iPhone 7 in favor of Lightning-enabled headphones and wireless Bluetooth headsets. Chinese vendor Tama Electric is advertising at Computex 2016 in Taipei the first Lightning-to-headphone that would let folks connect their existing analog headphones based on the 3.5mm audio jack to the iPhone 7.

The listing was first discovered by the oft-reliable Japanese blog Mac Otakara.

New jailbreak tweak enables sending text messages via Pebble

Those who are using a Pebble smartwatch rather than Apple's own Apple Watch as an accessory for their iPhone are limited in features, but with a new jailbreak tweak dubbed TextSender for Pebble, there is at least some hope for extended functionality.

TextSender for Pebble will, as the name implies, allow those with a Pebble smartwatch to send text messages from their watch via their iPhone.

Jawbone stops making UP fitness trackers, planning a clinical-grade health device

Jawbone, which made a name for itself a decade ago with a lineup of high-quality Bluetooth headsets, has stopped making and selling the UP fitness trackers, according to a report yesterday from Tech Insider.

Sources familiar with the matter have reportedly told the publication that the company has sold its remaining inventory to a third-party reseller, while The Verge adds that Jawbone is now exploring a “clinical-grade health device”.

Adonit unveils the Pixel, its best iOS stylus yet which detects 2,048 levels of pressure

Accessory maker Adonit announced a new addition to its styli lineup today, dubbed the Pixel. Calling it “the best stylus we've ever made,” Adonit claims it wants the Pixel to be the natural evolution of writing and drawing. The device is available for just $79.99, or twenty bucks less than the Apple Pencil.

While it lacks some of the advanced features found in Apple's stylus, the Pixel doesn't require a special circuitry inside the display itself in order to function.

How to use your iPhone as a keyboard for your Mac or PC

iPhone and MacBook kept on a table

Mobile Mouse Remote is a great app that turns your iOS device into a powerful utilitarian accessory for your Mac or PC. So far, we've shown you how the app can be used as a mouse or trackpad for your computer and how you can use the app as a remote control for your computer, but it also has a lot of keyboard functionality built into it to make your device into a software-based keyboard for your computer.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how you can use Mobile Mouse Remote to type or perform keyboard commands on your Mac or PC directly from your iPhone or iPad.

Nomad opens outlet store with huge discounts on some of their products

Nomad recently opened an outlet store where you can get up to 50% off some of their most popular products. Even better, with exclusive promo code idb2016, you can get an extra 15% off your order.

When I asked Nomad if there was anything wrong with these products, I was told they are all brand new, in box, and unopened, so you're definitely not getting some sort of refurbished product here. Just the same product you would get if you ordered from their main storefront, except you get a much better deal.