The MLB today announced a deal with Blast Motion that will see it allow teams to use the accessory maker’s Blast Baseball iPhone-connected swing analyzer sensor.
Some spy shots of upcoming Apple Watch bands by designer brand Coach leaked last month, but now the accessories are about to get official as Coach lists the products on its website.
The source of the original leak shared a URL to a not yet public listing on Coach’s site today, and we discovered product pages for several other models being prepared. The pages aren’t yet searchable on the site, and most don’t have images, but it looks like Coach is preparing for an upcoming launch ahead of Apple’s WWDC event later this month.
Nokia announced today plans to purchase Withings, maker of many popular healthcare related accessories and companion apps for iPhones and other mobile devices.
The company said the 170 million Euro purchase would see Withings become part of its Nokia Technologies business and help jump-start its new efforts at Digital Health products.
Following the unveiling of its BreakSafe USB-C accessory earlier today, Griffin has now taken the wraps off of a new Apple Watch accessory. Dubbed the Travel Power Bank, the accessory is one the of the first battery packs we’ve seen for Apple Watch and it comes in a bitesize package.
Accessory maker Brydge has today announced a pair of new keyboard accessories for the iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro. The BrydgeMini and BrydgePro are on display at CES this week in Las Vegas and feature a variety of unique capabilities that the company hopes will make them standout from the growing number of keyboard accessories on the market.
It’s been quite a while since Apple Watch came out (7 months!) and finally Apple has released an official dock accessory that might be worth a look. Maintaining typical Apple style, this watch dock is very simple…
Misfit, the company co-founded by John Scully, this evening has officially taken the wraps off its Shine 2 wearable. The device offers a fully designed look with a handful of new functionalities, as well. The original Misfit Shine was revealed over two years ago, so today’s refresh is definitely welcomed as a lot has changed in the wearable industry since 2013.
A new product from Bucardo turns the Apple Watch into a necklace pendant or a pocket watch with the company’s upcoming Pendulum Collection of jewelry accessories.
The collection includes a vintage-style pocket watch accessory for the 42mm Apple Watch in two styles, and a line of pendant necklaces for the 38mm Apple Watch, all available in either 14k or 18k gold plating or sterling silver and various designs. The accessories are designed with a hinge so they can be worn with the Apple Watch’s display covered and protected, or optionally exposed as the centrepiece of the necklace pendants:
Featuring silver and gold plating and crystals by Swarovski®, the Pendulum Collection includes offerings for both men and women. For men, Bucardo presents a thoughtfully designed pocket watch with a refined pinstripe or hammered cover that flips open to reveal the Apple Watch face. For women, Bucardo offers two takes on the vintage-inspired pendant. The locket pendant conceals the face of the Apple Watch behind an eye-catching cover that features a constellation or starburst engraving. Worn around the neck uncovered, the charm pendant allows wearers to personalize their look with a selection of elegant charms. Each accessory is accompanied by a detachable chain.
The collection ranges from $150 (or $100 for early Kickstarter backers) all the way to $5,000 for the line’s Starburst Locket Pendant Necklace in 14k gold with a 3mm white or black diamond.
The company will also include a “a custom-fit cedar wood insert designed to be used as a freestanding docking station for the Apple Watch” with the collection.
You can check out the full collection and order through the crowd-funding campaign launching this week. Shipping for Kickstarter backers is scheduled to start early December in time for the holidays.
Update: Square has provided us with the following statement on the matter, stating that its products have special security measures and that the described problems are more of an industry-wide issue:
This story is about issues with magnetic-stripe credit cards, not Square. In 2015, it should not surprise us that a system using essentially the same technology as cassette tapes is vulnerable. That is why major credit card companies, lenders, and businesses are now embracing new, more secure, authenticated payment technologies. Square is helping to lead the way with our own card readers for chip cards and contactless payments.Any card reader on the market can be deconstructed. The chip could be crushed and then reassembled by using the undamaged shell of the reader. At Square, we have processes in place to prevent malicious behavior on damaged readers. Our Square Register software contains a number of security precautions that protect cards that are swiped on unencrypted readers. If our encrypted readers are damaged, they will not work with Square.
A new report out of Motherboard details how three recently graduated Boston University students have been able to easily hack the increasingly popular Square Reader. For those unfamiliar, Square Reader is an iOS accessory that allows retailers to easily accept credit and debit cards without having to spend the money on traditional point of sale terminals. Hackers have now discovered, however, a very easy way for merchants to steal card information from customers.
First announced back in November of last year, accessory maker Nico Gerard is now accepting preorders for its Pinnacle Collection dual-watch bands for Apple Watch. The accessory, which is similar to a product from watchmakers Original Grain that we reviewed earlier this year, offers a traditional style watch on one side with the ability to attach an Apple Watch face to the strap on the opposite side of your wrist. The idea is to get the best of both worlds: The look and feel of a traditional watch, but without sacrificing all of the functionality of your Apple Watch in the process.
Unlike the $269 product from Original Grain we reviewed earlier this year, Nico Gerard’s swiss-made take on the dual-watchband is clearly aiming at a more luxury watch market. Prices range from around $9,300.00 for the stainless steel Nico Gerard Pinnacle and Skyview Pinnacle models (pictured above, left and top right), to $112,000.00 for the Sunrise Pinnacle model in 18 Karat gold (pictured above, lower right). Those prices, however, will include a 38mm stainless steel or gold Apple Watch already attached. All three watches come with a Swiss-certified NG2824A movement rated for 100-meter depths for pressure.
I had quite a positive experience with a similar product from Original Grain when I reviewed it a couple months back, although I haven’t made it my daily driver. In fact, I’ve stopped wearing the Apple Watch entirely for the most part and most of the time opt for favorite traditional watches on any given day. And on that note, I’m not as confident that there will be as much of an audience for this type of accessory on the luxury end of the watch market.
Yesterday we revealed that Apple was revamping the third-party accessory selection in its retail locations with new boxes designed by Apple itself. Apple has recently launched a new webpage that showcases the testing that all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch cases are required to go through before they are sold in an Apple Store.
Precision. That’s the word that immediately came to mind the minute I picked up my Apple Watch for the first time. Something about this device felt different, on an almost subconscious level, from any other Apple product I’ve used before. Perhaps I was just caught up in the moment. After all, the Watch is the first totally new product to come out of Apple since the introduction of the iPad, which feels like so many years ago. On the other hand, I knew from the onset that I planned on buying the Apple Watch mostly for its design. I wasn’t so much interested in all of the software features it could offer me, I just couldn’t imagine not having this shiny little box on my wrist. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Apple Watch strictly as a design piece.
Apple’s new video about its contributions to environmental protection appears to show a previously unseen and unannounced accessory for the Apple Watch. In a portion of the video detailing chargers for Apple devices ranging from the iPhone to the new MacBook, Apple shows a stainless steel Apple Watch being dropped on a stationary charging dock. This charging dock is noticeably different than the charger that’s included with the Apple Watch, and could be an official Apple alternative to the third-party Apple Watch stands and docks that are about to hit stores…
Robogaia Industries is using Kickstarter to seek funding for a product called Kalt, an infrared sensor that plugs into an iPhone’s headphone jack and turns the smartphone into a precise, non-contact thermometer. The Cleveland-based company is looking to raise $10,000 over the next three weeks to cover development and manufacturing costs.
The palm-sized Kalt sensor reads the infrared energy that an object omits and converts it into readable temperatures in Fahrenheit, Celsius or Kelvin. Simply point Kalt towards the object and it will automatically show the temperature on the companion app for iOS and Android. The sensor is powered by the device it is plugged into and requires no batteries.
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Technology is constantly improving the health management while providing ease and reliability. It’s no surprise that there are a lot of major players in this space, but Qardio has assembled a very unique lineup of connected devices that are sure to make an impact on technology-driven health sensors. Qardio was awesome enough to sponsor our CES 2015 coverage, which means we got the behind the scenes, insider look at the award-winning smartphone-connected accessory QardioArm and a couple of new products that will be launching this spring…
While the Apple Watch is still a few months away from release, a handful of accessory makers at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas have introduced new accessories for the upcoming smartwatch. Standzout is one of the frontrunners in the space with its new Bandstand charging dock for the Apple Watch. Read ahead for my first impressions of the prototype shown off at CES 2015 this week.
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It might seem a bit crazy to pair fine wood with aluminum for an iPhone 6 accessory, but that’s definitely not true in this case. Vessel’s Wood Series for iPhone 6 is a very interesting approach to a bumper, or case if you’d like to call it that. I’m usually a case-less kind of guy, but there’s something about the Wood Series that seems to be a happy medium…
With every new model of the iPhone, Speck has hit the market with a new version of the famed CandyShell case. These three models of the CandyShell—including the CandyShell, CandyShell Inked, and CandyShell Card—follow that tradition, and they do a great job of providing some standard protection for your new iOS device.
Sales of accessories for mobile phones in the US reached record numbers following Apple’s launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, according to the latest data published today by NPD. Accessory sales topped $249 million in the two weeks following the launch, which NPD notes is “43 percent higher than the two weeks prior.” The report breaks down numbers by accessory category and highlights that screen protector and case manufacturers experienced the biggest increase:
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Sony is about to announce a new product in its QX camera accessory lineup that will make your smartphone compatible with any of its E-Mount lenses usually reserved for its line of NEX camcorders and mirrorless shooters. The report comes from the often reliable SonyAlphaRumors blog, which also shared the image above and below:
These are the first pictures of the ILCE-QX1 E-mount camera. The third QX camera after the QX10 and QX100 (here one Bay). But unlike the other two this hasn’t a fixed lens but is an E-mount module. It has an APS-C sensor (not sure yet but should have the same great A6000 24MP sensor with fast af), built-in flash
When Sony introduced its QX accessory for smartphones last year, there were mixed reviews on whether or not the lens-style camera attachment would catch on with consumers, but many praised the product despite not loving its original $300-$500 price point (which has since come down). More than just a lens attachment for your Android device or iPhone, the lens built in NFC, WiFi, battery, memory and a back-illuminated 18MP 1/2.3” Exmor R® CMOS sensor. This time around Sony is going ditch the fixed lens and let the accessory play nice with any of its E-Mount lenses, which could be a big draw for users that are already invested in the ecosystem.
Sony is expected to unveil the device during its IFA event in Berlin tomorrow on September 3. The new QX accessory will reportedly sell for 300 Euro for the body only and 450 Euro with a 16-50mm lens. The two current models are now selling for around $135 and $335 for the higher end model on Amazon. Update: Current model is now on sale for $84 shipped.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been testing a new MacBook stand called the Kickflip. I’ve used some of the more high-end stands for my laptop in the past as it improves the ergonomics involved with keyboard typing and because it improves the cooling of the computer. This new Kickflip is not stationary like some other stands on the market, but it is an accessory that sticks to the bottom of your laptop. The stand can be closed for when you want to keep the laptop in a bag or carry it around, and you flip out the kickstand when you want to raise up your laptop. The experience is nice, the stand is sturdy, and I very much have enjoyed using the Kickflip…
Twelve South, makers of fine accessories for Apple products, debuted a new version of its popular SurfacePad case for the iPad mini today. The new case is very similiar to the existing iPhone version. It’s made of leather that covers both the front and back of the iPad. A built-in stand allows you to watch videos in landscape at a comfortable angle.
Like Apple’s own Smart Cover, the SurfacePad uses a set of magnets to automatically put the iPad to sleep and wake it up when the cover is opened and closed.
The SurfacePad for iPad mini is available for $69.99 on the Twelve South website. It comes in three colors: black, white, and red. The company says it is currently working on a version of the case for the full-size iPad Air which will be available this Spring.
With its wide-range of applications, touchscreen capabilities, portability, and fast processing, the iPad Air has been regarded by many users as a tablet capable of content creation. Coming from a dedicated laptop, however, the Multi-Touch keyboard is a weakness. Not because it is incapable, but because it is sometimes slower to type with, less accurate, and less comfortable.
This is why several iPad accessory makers have created solutions: keyboard attachments in the form of cases. For the past few weeks, I have been testing the latest keyboard case offerings for the iPad Air from Logitech, Belkin, and ZAGG. Below, I have put together a review and comparison of the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio, Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio, Belkin Slim Style Keyboard Case, Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case, and the ZAGG Folio Keyboard:
MOGA have been making gamepad accessories for Android devices for a while. Today, they have announced on their website an adapted version compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. The company is the first to officially announce availability of an accessory that works with iOS 7’s GameController API (but not the last this week ;).
Logitech, ClamCase and others have hinted that they have competing accessories nearing release, but MOGA is the first company to openly announce available. The accessory will be available tomorrow — priced at $99 — from the Apple retail stores and the Apple Online Store in addition to MOGA’s site.
