Accessories

Bored? AnoStyle exquisitely paints and protects your iPhone 5 or iPad mini

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 26, 2017

Looking to pimp your iPhone 5 or iPad mini beyond the stock black & slate and white & silver finish? Talk to AnoStyle, a company that offers quite a remarkable anodization service which paints your device in a bunch of great looking colors. Just send them your brand spanking new iPhone 5 or iPad mini and pick your color of choice.

These include red, pink, yellow, gold, orange, blue, teal, violet, copper, green, blue steel or bronze shades for a brand new look. The conversions is gonna set you back $249 per iPhone 5, or $299 for an iPad mini mod. You can also add an optional $40 Ghost Armor that has been "precisely pre-cut to invisibly protect your device from scratches and dings" with a material that the military helicopter blades, fighter jets' wingtips and the space shuttle's wingtips are made of...

Lightning-enabled iPhone 5 dock for under $20

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

USB Fever joins the Lightning fever, so to speak, with an iPhone 5 focused dock that has a pass-through music jack and costs less than twenty bucks. In addition to a Lightning port, the dock is shaped for the iPhone 5 and is a nice option for those condemning Apple for not providing its own dock for the device. A pricier variant is also available with a pass-through audio jack which lets you feed audio out directly from your iPhone 5 via the dock to other music players using a standard 3.5mm jack while charging the device at the same time. As a bonus, the accessory has an additional 30-pin dock connector on the back...

Glif+ iPhone 5 tripod mount review

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Yesterday, I finally received my Glif tripod mount for the iPhone 5. For anyone who's ever tried to take respectable photos or videos using the iPhone, then you know how indispensable a good tripod mount can be.

For someone like myself who's constantly shooting video, a tripod mount is an absolute necessity if I ever desire to switch from a DSLR and shoot video with my iOS device. Perhaps you noticed a few videos in the past where I've incorporated video from my iPhone 5? Needless to say, it wasn't a very pretty sight.

Although other tripod mounting solutions exist, the Glif from Studio Neat was among the first to solve the problem. It's also one of the easiest to use. Take a look inside as I examine it on video...

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

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

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...

Combiform wants to change the way you view console gaming

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

Traditional console gaming never truly engages those participating in the game. Those playing the game on any given console, even a Wii, never actively work together or play a game in a given space away from the couch. Combiform looks to shatter conventional gaming with its new handheld-console system that even interacts with iPhone. The system, which is a unique patented technology, encourages multimodal interaction because it is not only a toy, but also a video game accessory with exciting possibilities...

Griffin to launch official Lightning cables next week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Lightning-flavored accessories were fairly scarce in the first few months following Apple's September iPhone 5 launch. But over the past few weeks, we've started seeing more of them surface.

The latest batch of supplements comes from Griffin. The third-party manufacturer announced yesterday that it would be launching a handful of new Lightning-to-USB cables next week...

MyLED brings external notifications to your iOS device

Cody Lee ∙ November 29, 2012

Despite the many improvements Apple has made to the iPhone over the past five years, there are still some things missing from the handset. One of the biggest omissions, for a lot of folks anyway, is the lack of external notifications.

And Apple must agree, to some extent, because it added the LED Flash for Alerts feature in iOS 5. But the makeshift solution doesn't quite cut it for everyone, and that's where the myLED external notification light comes in...

This 3-inch Lightning cable fits on your key ring

Cody Lee ∙ November 28, 2012

Have you ever found yourself out and about with a dying iPhone and no charger? With the introduction of Apple's new Lightning port, that scenario isn't nearly as unlikely as it used to be.

That's why Kickstarters Kegan & Roberto developed the Nomad, a 3-inch USB-to-Lightning cable that fits on your key ring. That way, you'll never find yourself without an iPhone charger again...

i.am+ launches December 6 to turbocharge iPhone photography with a 14MP sensor

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

Fans of iPhone photography have a field day with today's news of the brand new 500px for iPhone app and a significantly reimagined Vimeo iOS build. So, remember hip-hop artist and the Black Eyed Peas leader Will.i.am announcing a 14-megapixel iPhone camera attachment last week?

Today, we learn that the accessory bearing his name and dubbed the i.am+ is set to launch December 6. It's gonna be available in contemporary and vintage version for the iPhone 4/4S, with the flagship iPhone 5 unit arriving at some point next year and sporting a dedicated 14-megapixel camera sensor and flash...

Olloclip updates 3-in-1 camera lens for iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Good news iPhoneographers, the Kickstarter project-turned-Apple-Store-favorite olloclip has just released an updated version of its multipurpose lens for the iPhone 5. Just like its predecessor, the new 3-in-1 accessory features a fisheye lens, a wide-angle lens and a macro lens to enhance your handset's picture-taking abilities...

Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite touts 500GB of mobile wireless storage [review and giveaway]

Jim Gresham ∙ November 27, 2012

Moving toward a more connected world, we need our digital stuff more frequently and certainly when we are on the go. Whether you are a jet setter that hops around the world or a family man that needs to share the family pictures with dear old mom, size and portability matter greatly. Combine that digital need with the post-PC era, where the jet setter sized down to an iPad for space, convenience, and weight, and dear old mom just cannot figure out how to use a computer. Shake that up and you get a USB-less conundrum and, oh yeah, optical drives are out now too - check out Christian's article to approve it.

That leaves us with a need to move large quantities of data with us, including documents, movies, photos, music, and other digital necessaries in a small device that connects wirelessly. After reviewing a competing Wi-Fi enabled external hard drive, you, the readers, called out for a larger, yet similarly mobile storage option. Today, I am happy to review the Seagate GoFlex Satellite Mobile Wireless Storage 500GB external hard drive. And, because I aim to please, I teamed up with Seagate to give one away...

Podi-m is a beautiful dock for your Lightning device

Cody Lee ∙ November 27, 2012

Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now behind us, meaning that Christmas is less than a month away. And for those of you looking for last-minute gifts for that special gadget-lover in your life, iOS accessories are always a nice choice.

Unfortunately, there aren't a ton of options available for Apple's newer devices like the iPhone 5 or the iPad mini due to their new Lightning connectors. But if you're determined to find something, you might want to check out the Podi-m...