Accessories

Twelve South’s Cyber Monday: 25 percent off BookBook cases for iPhones, iPads and Macs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Twelve South, a premium accessory maker that designs and builds cases, stands, chargers and other Apple-exclusive accessories, is having a Cyber Monday sale today.

Calling it the biggest BookBook sale ever, they're taking 25% off all BookBook cases for iPhones, iPads and Macs and more, except for the Rutledge Edition finish.

Specifically, Twelve South's iconic genuine leather BookBook cases for iPads, MacBooks and iPhones and the BookBook Travel Journal are all included in the promotion. The sale lasts today only and quantities are limited, so it's good to move quickly on this.

Good deal: 41% off this remote control mini drone

Cody Lee ∙ November 26, 2014

Folks looking to pick up something different this holiday season for that special someone, or even themselves, may want to check out the SKEYE Nano Drone. The remote control quadcopter is small enough that it can be flown almost anywhere, and right now deal site StackSocial is offering it at a steep discount.

UPDATE: You can get this mini drone for even cheaper from Amazon.

Drones have become increasingly popular in recent years, and are guaranteed to be a hot-ticket item this holiday season. The SKEYE differs itself from the rest of the pack with its size and agility. It measures just 1.57×1.57 inches and utilizes a 6-axis flight control System, making it perfect for performing stunts.

OneCue adds motion gestures to your Apple TV and lets you control other smart home devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

EyeSight Technologies, a startup which specializes in machine vision, user awareness and gesture based interfaces, launched a very interesting home accessory yesterday, one that highlights a world of possibilities for a next-generation Apple TV.

They're calling it the OneCue and it aims to connect and control your Apple TV, or other media streamers and smart home devices for that matter, using hand gestures akin to Microsoft's Kinect with the Xbox One.

Supporting a plethora of TV sets, cable and satellite boxes, media streamers and AV receiver, the OneCue can turn on multiple smart home devices (i.e. TV, cable box and stere receiver) at the same time with the swipe of a hand or point of a finger.

Good deal: 25% off NES-style Bluetooth controller

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 6, 2016

If you're an iOS gamer, or have one on your holiday shopping list, you might want to check out this deal on this NES-style Bluetooth controller. It's called the NES30, and for a limited time, Stack Social is offering it at 25% off of its regular retail price.

The controller features two additional action buttons, and two shoulder buttons, but other than that it's nearly identical to Nintendo's classic gamepad. It works via both Bluetooth and USB, supports multiplayer, and has a 20+ hour rechargeable battery.

$99 iPhone 6 case with VR headset announced

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2016

Toronto-based Cordon Development Labs is making rounds Monday with the Pinć, a $99 iPhone case which doubles as a Minority Report style virtual headset with spatial interaction, multi-touch hand gestures via a pair of finger tacks and more, effectively expanding your device into an immersive computing experience.

Data from the wireless rings on each hand is combined with camera input from your iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to track hand motion. Cordon Development Labs is working on a software development kit built on the Unity engine so third-party developers will be able to customize and create various types of experiences for the Pinć.

What's it like to interact with the Pinć? Check out promo vids included after the break.

The iDownloadBlog + Sphero bonanza giveaway

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Christmas might still be a month away but we want to beat Santa Claus to the punch and offer you a chance to get something fun without you having to wait until December 25th. That is why we teamed up with the folks at Orbotix, the company behind the famous Sphero, to offer you a chance to win one of the three connected gadgets we're putting up for grabs.

Zagg offers 40% off their Sparq portable battery pack

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

For the next 48 hours, Zagg is having a sale on its line of portable battery packs, offering 40% off the Sparq, an iPhone backup battery that I've actually reviewed a while ago. The Sparq comes in two different flavor. The ZAGGsparq 1220 will give you one extra charge and comes will only one USB port, while the ZAGGsparq 3100 will give you no less than two extra charges for your iPhone and comes with two USB ports allowing you to charge two devices at the same time.

Both variations have been heavily discounted by 40%, significantly reducing the price to only $23.99 for the Spar 1220 and $41.99 for the Sparq 3100.

New ‘Sync Solver’ app sends Fitbit data to Apple’s Health app

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2014

In October, Fitbit announced that it had no plans of integrating its activity trackers or software with Apple's Health app. This means that if you have a Fitbit Flex or other device, the data it gathers will not be shared with Health, crippling its attempt to be your fitness data dashboard.

But a new app launched this week in the App Store that aims to change this. It's called Sync Solver, and it allows Fitbit wearers to track all of the important data collected by their wearables within the Health app, without ever having to use the standalone, dedicated Fitbit application.

Twelve South launches Deluxe edition of HiRise stand for latest iPhones and iPads with gold finish

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2014

Premium accessory vendor Twelve South today took the wraps off a Deluxe edition of its famed iPhone and iPad dock for charging and hands-free use.

The high-end HiRise Deluxe versatile stand ships with color-matched 'Made for iPhone' Lightning and micro-USB cables to charge iPads and iPhones.

The stand can dock your devices in battery cases, such as the Mophie Juice Pack, thanks to its height-adjustable clips, with one-handed adjustment for cases. The HiRise Deluxe is available in three color options, including an all-new gold finish to complement your gold iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3.

Apple to let vendors outfit ‘Made for iPhone’ gear with Lightning port starting early 2015

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2014

Apple during its MFi Summit that took place last week over the course of three days in Shenzhen, China told its 'Made for iPhone' (MFi) accessory vendors that it will be relaxing rules of the game.

Specifically, makers will be permitted to outfit their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad accessories with Apple's proprietary Lightning port beginning early next year, Jordan Kahn reported Tuesday morning over at 9to5Mac.

Accessories such as iPhone docks and battery cases with a built-in Lightning port would benefit from using Apple's proprietary I/O technology to provide power to both an accessory and the iOS device. The current implementation requires such accessories to provide an additional USB cable for charging.

SanDisk unveils Lightning-enabled flash drive for iOS devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

SanDisk, an American maker of flash memory storage solutions, on Thursday announced an external flash drive that connects to iPhones and iPads via Apple's proprietary Lightning port. The iXpand Flash Drive along with an accompanying iOS app makes it easy to transfer media and documents between an iOS device and a computer through a USB port.

Available in 16 and 64-gigabyte varieties for $59.99 and $119.99, respectively, the accessory is now available through the SanDisk webstore. The $79.99 32-gigabyte edition will be offered exclusively at Best Buy starting Sunday, November 16.

Beats launches $300 Solo2 Wireless Headphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 12, 2014

A re-engineered version of Beats by Dr. Dre Solo2 headphones, revealed last week in FCC documents, officially went on sale Wednesday morning. Like its predecessor, the new Solo2 Wireless offers much the same features while ditching the cord in favor of Bluetooth-enabled connection which lets you listen to your music wirelessly from up to 30 feet away from the device that you're streaming from, The Verge reported.

Compared to its wired counterpart, the Solo2 Wireless has the same on-ear design and is available in the same red, black, white and blue variants, with the exception of the red version that remains a Verizon Wireless exclusive through the end of 2014.