When Apple’s Lightning connector debuted, there was a dearth of available accessories. That’s clearly no longer the case.
The $90 Topeak RideCase Powerpack attaches to your bicycle and triples the battery life of your iPhone, making it perfect for long rides using the GPS feature. The Powerpack attaches to the stem of your bike and weighs just six ounces—so you won’t even notice it on uphill climbs.
This company has three new Lightning-capable docking systems for recent iOS devices: The $100 iDL45 Dual Charging Stereo FM Clock Radio (pictured), the smaller $80 iPL10Dual Charging Stereo FM Clock Radio, and the $150 iDL100 Triple Charging Stereo FM Clock Radio with Two Lightning Docks. The iDL100 isn’t available yet; the other two can be purchased online now.
The $25 Nomad Cable Lighting is a very portable Lightning-to-USB cable that fits right on your keyring, which means it’s always within reach—assuming your car hasn’t been stolen.
The $70 Pocket Plug looks, at first glance, like it might be another battery case for the iPhone 5. Not quite—there’s no battery inside, but there is a fold-out set of AC prongs that make it easy to plug your phone directly into a wall outlet for fresh power.
A pair of portable speakers are included in the latest offerings from this electronics company. First, the $250 ND5640 Speaker Dock, which includes both AirPlay and Bluetooth connectiviting for wireless audio; with its dual-dock capabilities, you can also charge two devices at once while using it. A second forthcoming product, the $180 NP3530 Portable Speaker isn’t on LG’s website yet, but it also promises Bluetooth (but not AirPlay) wireless capability.
The USB Tri-Pack Charging Kit with Lightning Connector includes three components: the USB Travel Charging Hub with collapsible prongs, for plugging in and recharging from a wall outlet; the USB Mobile Max Charging Hub for doing the same thing in your vehicle; and the six-foot USB Charging-Data Sync Cable, for use with either of the first two items.
This week brings two new products from this accessory provider: The $9 Shutter Release Grip with External Battery (pictured), which lets you grip your iPhone more like a handheld camera—buttons on the accessory let you snap photos—or mount your iPhone to a tripod. The $19 Cordless/Remote Shutter Release Button lets you remotely trigger iPhone snapshots.
The $130 Sound Step Lightning is a speaker dock compatible, as the name indicates, with Lightning-connector-equipped iOS devices. The speaker itself is small enough for your desktop or bookshelf and claims to offer high-fidelity sound.
If you enjoyed this week’s roundup of iOS accessories, check out last week’s edition, Hot Toddy.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.