Accessories

Nomad’s Wallet puts a full charge for your iPhone 6s in your wallet

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2015

Nomad today launched an interesting lifestyle accessory for your iPhone, dubbed the Wallet. It's literally a premium bifold leather wallet with an integrated 3.5-inch Lightning cable and a built-in 2,400mAh battery, enough to provide a full charge for your Lightning-based iPhone and then some more.

The wallet holds six credit or gift cards, cash, is made from Saffiano leather and is just 0.75 inch thick when closed. If you're a fan of real wallets, not those iPhone cases that double as wallets, you can pre-order Nomad's Wallet for $79.

Grain Audio PWS.01 is a portable speaker with depth and style

Lory Gil ∙ November 3, 2015

When it comes to portable speakers, a lot of times, convenience trumps sound quality and you end up with a device that you can take anywhere, but doesn't really provide the best listening experience.

Grain Audio has added MaxxAudio sound processing, created by GRAMMY award-winning Waves Audio, to a walnut speaker shell with two two-inch loudspeakers and a bass isolation system that does not compromise sound quality for portability.

T-Mobile’s new 4G LTE CellSpot launches Wednesday, free for Simple Choice customers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 6, 2017

Wireless carrier T-Mobile today introduced a new home device designed to provide a strong, reliable wireless 4G LTE signal for customers with or without an indoor cellular signal.

Dubbed the LTE CellSpot, the device requires availability of T-Mobile's wireless spectrum, but can also work in certain areas without cellular signal.

The CellSpot is launching Wednesday, November 4, and will be provided at no charge to T-Mobile's Simple Choice postpaid customers for as long as they’re with T-Mobile.

Belkin Charge Dock review: the best iPhone and Apple Watch dock available

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Shortly after Apple announced that it would allow manufacturers to include Apple Watch charging pads in their accessories, Belkin unveiled the Charge Dock. It's a charging dock with a built-in magnetic charger for the Watch and an adjustable Lightning connector for iPhone.

The Dock checks all of the necessary boxes: it looks sharp, is very well-made and it carries Made for iPhone and Apple Watch badges, meaning it's passed Apple's certification tests. And after using one for the past few weeks, I felt it was good enough to warrant an in-depth review.

Report: the iPad Pro Pencil will ship with an adapter for Lightning cable connections

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Good news: when you want to charge your iPad Pro Pencil, you won't necessarily have to look like a doofus when you do so.

Prior to today, it was assumed that the only way to charge the iPad Pro's Pencil stylus was to plug it into the bottom of the iPad Pro itself. The Pencil's cap features a Lightning plug hidden underneath, and Apple showcased its ability to charge it by plugging the device directly into the iPad Pro's Lightning port.

While this method of charging works, and is extremely handy when you need a quick bit of extra juice on the fly, it looks incredibly goofy to have a stylus protruding out of the top of the iPad Pro, especially because the iPad Pro is so big itself.

Today, 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple plans on shipping the Pencil with an adapter that will allow users to connect the device directly to a Lightning cable. The adapter will reportedly ship with all Pencil's, which come as a separate purchase from the iPad Pro itself.

This pico projector is smaller than your iPhone 6s

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

While nothing is a perfect substitute for a full projector, having a miniature, mobile version can really get you out of a spot. It is especially cool if it plays nice with iOS, no special cables needed.

FAVI's J6-LED-PICO projector is a good fit for size and price. Plus, it wirelessly connects to your iPhone 6s using AirPlay so you don't have to invest in additional cables.

Twelve South Forté review: a truly luxurious stand for Apple Watch

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Soon after the launch of Apple Watch, Twelve South released HiRise, its first charging stand for the digital timepiece. Our review of the $50 accessory detailed it as a solid product that did its job well, with its durable build and aluminum finish giving it a pleasantly subtle design.

Now, Twelve South is back with Forté, a bolder, more luxurious Apple Watch stand that is designed to be more versatile while remaining true to Twelve South’s Apple-like design paradigm. Supporting closed and open bands, portrait and landscape charging, and a docked Apple Watch and iPhone, Forté shines with the aura of a stand that could’ve easily been designed by Apple. And by selling it in their online and retail stores, Apple has, in a way, put their stamp of approval on Forté.

A look at 5 Apple Watch knockoff bands

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

One of the best features of Apple Watch is how customizable it is. There are millions of watch faces variations to play with, and of course, you can use a multitude of watch bands to make your device stand out or blend in, depending on your mood.

If customizing your watch faces doesn't cost anything, buying bands from Apple can turn out to be expensive, with each band selling for hefty prices, especially if you don't want to settle for the fluoroelastomer bands.

An alternative Apple Watch users might want to look into is the knockoff bands available online. They appear to be exact replicas of Apple's official bands, and sell for a fraction of the price. I was curious about the price/quality ratio of these bands so I decided to purchase seven of them (two of which are still on back order) and see for myself if they are worth the money.

In this post, I will give a brief overview of each band that I received, as well as personal thoughts regarding the quality and whether or not it's a smart buy.

New Apple TV accessories: which ones should you order?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Along with being able to order the new Apple TV, you can also order several new accessories to go along with your shiny new set top box. There aren't a ton of accessories immediately available for the new Apple TV, but some of the ones that are available may be worthy of your consideration.

There are a few key accessories that Apple is promoting on its online store during the new Apple TV checkout process: the Siri Remote, Remote Loop, and the SteelSeries Nimbus Wireless Controller. Should you consider buying any of these in addition to your new Apple TV?

Scosche reVOLT car charger packs a 12-watt punch

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Car chargers can be hit-or-miss when it comes to how fast you can get juiced up before your drive is over. Ideally, a high powered charger will get you up to speed, at least as fast as your stock iPhone 6s wall charger would.

Scosche's reVOLT is a dual port car charger that connects to your vehicle's power accessory outlet (otherwise known as the cigarette lighter). It packs 12 watts of power for 2.4 amps per port, so you can charge your most power hungry devices fast.

AmazonBasics Retractable USB cable saves space, avoids tangles

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

This past weekend, as I packed for a road trip, I crammed my overnight bag full of clothes, toiletries, gadgets, and cables for all of my various devices. My side pocket looked like a robot spider had spun a USB web. It was a mess.

AmazonBasics' Retractable USB Cable would have saved me a lot of hassle. It stretches to two feet in length, but when closed up, fits neatly into small compartments so you don't have a tangled mess to deal with when you unpack.

Charge up to 10 devices at once with Sabrent’s rapid charger

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 19, 2018

Take a moment right now to think about how many devices you have around the house that require charging via USB. Maybe you have a portable wireless speaker, a smartwatch, a couple of iPhones, some rechargeable toys, and an iPad. It starts to add up. You could probably come up with 10 devices in your household that charge via USB.

Sabrent makes a 10-port rapid charger that supplies enough juice to power up all 10 devices at the same time without getting overworked. Thanks to its smart charge technology, it can supply extra power to devices that need it, like the iPad Air 2, while restricting power to devices that don't need as much, like a first generation iPod touch.