This week’s roundup of iOS accessories brings an avalanche of Bluetooth-enabled audio gear, along with keyboards, docks, mounts, and more.
The $80 Phoenix 2 is a Bluetooth speaker system that offers 360-degree-sound projections, 10-hour battery life, a microphone for use as a speakerphone, along with two speakers and a subwoofer. Beacon says this system is “your boom box’s worst nightmare.”
This company’s Bluetooth Amplifier powers traditional speakers with its Class-D amplifier, and it offers both analog and aptX-enhanced Bluetooth audio connections, letting you stream music or plug in. (It can pair with up to eight different devices.) The amplifier also includes a USB port for powering your iOS device while streaming the tunes. It’s available in two models: a 24-Watt version for $130, and a 100-Watt version for $170.
The $99 Grove Dock is made of bamboo and steel, and accordingly weighs in at a hefty three pounds, letting you remove your iPhone from the dock with one hand. It features a Lightning-connector plug, and it’s available in black, white, or silver.
This company has announced a number of new charging and syncing products, including the $25 AluCable, the $20 AluCable Mini (pictured), the $30 Highway Max, the $40 Highway Duo, and the $25 AluCable Twist.
Combining an old-school-amp company’s name with new-school technology, Marshall offers the $400 Stanmore, a Bluetooth speaker decked out in vintage-looking fret, gold details, iconic gold piping, and script logo. This is the kind of Bluetooth speaker that could’ve ended up in Elvis Presley’s collection.
This company offers the new Stealth Pro Keyboard wireless tablet keyboard in two sizes: The $100 version fits the standard iPad, and the $80 version is for your iPad mini. Both are “super slim,” according to M-Edge, use a magnetic closure stand, and can display the iPad in either portrait or landscape orientation.
We could tell you all about the specs of the the $200 Disco Jam in order to convince you of the product’s superiority, but honestly, there’s only one thing you need to know about this portable wireless speaker system: It comes with its own disco ball lights so you can produce just the right ambience to be a dancin’, dancin’, dancin’ machine.
The $17 CD Slot Mount makes use of that dusty old CD player in your car by converting it into a mount for your iPhone. The device includes an adjustable arm, so you can tilt your phone into prime viewing position while you’re on the road.
The $70 Sound Spot wireless speaker offers up to seven hours of audio streaming on a single charge. It sports a clean design to beautify your bookshelf, and it can be daisy-chained with other Sound Spots to create a richer audio experience.
The $48 Panorama Fisheye Lens fits both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 lines, offering you the opportunity to create “full view” panoramas—not just everything around you horizontally, like most panoramic pictures offer, but also vertically. Mind-blowing!
If you liked this roundup of iOS accessories, check out last week’s edition, Paper Mate.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.