Archos must be in a benevolent mood: it first posted a version of its Video Player app for competing Android devices, and now it’s selling the keyboard technology of its Gen10 XS tablets to those using an entirely different platform. Its Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad offers a familiar 0.2-inch thick, Smart Cover-like peripheral for full-size Apple tablets from the iPad 2 through to the latest generation. The design naturally switches over to iOS-native keyboard shortcuts, and there’s even an iPad-only advantage in the adjustable kickstand. Americans can buy the keyboard in March for $79; believing that Archos would downplay its core business will remain optional.
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Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad Unveiled by ARCHOS Design
Based on the popular ARCHOS Gen10 tablet coverboard, this is the thinnest iPad Keyboard available
Denver, CO – January 24, 2013 – ARCHOS, a pioneer in multimedia portable devices, is pleased to announce the ARCHOS Design Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad, a magnetic Bluetooth full QWERTY keyboard for 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations. The Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad was created by a new division in ARCHOS that will be dedicated to sharing ARCHOS innovations with other brands. With a very similar look and feel to the ARCHOS Gen10 XS coverboard, the Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad is ultra-thin at only 5 mm (0.2”) and features an adjustable kickstand along with an aluminum back casing. Combining the best of both worlds, iPad users can expect this to be available in March for $79 MSRP.
“The needs and wants of today’s consumer have changed drastically over the past few years. Consumers expect everything to be smaller, faster, thinner, lighter and aesthetically pleasing,” says Henri Crohas, Founder and CEO of ARCHOS. “In order to meet this demand we feel that we should share our innovation and design across a number of different platforms.”
Bluetooth Keyboard for iPad features include:
Ultra-thin Design – At only 5 mm (0.2”) this is the thinnest iPad Keyboard available; it’s almost as thin as a Smart Cover Adjustable kickstand – Allows one to adjust their iPad for the best viewing experience possible Magnetic bonding to the iPad – The keyboard is magnetically held to your iPad Automatic screen switch on/off Function – The iPad will turn on or off when the keyboard is removed or placed in the cover position Long battery life – Enjoy with your iPad for months thanks to a long battery life via a Bluetooth connection Aluminum Back casing – Stylish aluminum back casing to match your iPad Full QWERTY keyboard – Type easily with a full keyboard and work quickly with iOS shortcuts
This product is the first to be released from the new ARCHOS Design accessory line. For more information about ARCHOS Design or ARCHOS products visit www.ARCHOS.com.
Last night, Logitech reported their Q3 2012 earnings, and things didn’t look so good. The company reported an operating loss of $180 million with sales down 14% from last year. As a result, Logitech announced quite a few changes coming to its product lineup, including the dismantling of its console gaming peripherals. However, CEO Bracken Darrell clarified that the Harmony business is not shutting down, but will rather be put up for sale. The company also noted that they’re still focused on PC peripherals, such as the G-series line of gaming keyboards and mice.
In a thread posted on the Logitech forums, Darrell told Logitech fans that the company has “publicly announced a plan to hold the Harmony business for sale.” He also assured users that “Logitech is not shutting down the Harmony business and certainly not the service.” The sale will not impact Harmony users, and customer support and warranties will still be provided.
The company also announced via Twitter that “PC gaming continues to be a priority for the company.” While Logitech will be discontinuing its console gaming products and exiting that business, the company is still committed to providing PC accessories and peripherals to its customers, resulting in a huge sigh of relief for PC users everywhere.
Logitech’s Q3 sales came in at $615 million, which is quite a significant drop from last year’s $715 million. Overall, sales for the company dropped 8% in North America, 20% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 11% in Asia. The discontinuation of other non-strategic products, such as speaker docks and console gaming peripherals, will be completed by the end of 2013.
Ever want to sneak up on your cat and take a cute picture from close up before she runs away? Want to take pictures close to ground level, or have a way to smoothly roll your camera into position? We’ve found a very interesting camera mount that gives your camera a set of wheels. There are several ways that this stand is adjustable, so that users can get just the right angle and steer their camera-buggy whichever way they choose. At only 2,999 yen, we think this is an interesting and …
iPhoneLife contributor, Todd Bernhard, just reported on a very cool product that he saw at CES (Consumer Electronics Show). It’s an IndieGogo crowdsourced project, available now at $25 but will be retailing later for $100. Take a look at his write-up and let us know what you think of this product… It is not coming from Japan or somewhere else in Asia but we thought it is really cool.
These skull ice molds are awesome. How better can you say danger than skulls and alcohol? Add a gang of smoking, unsupervised tweens who text while riding motorcycles? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. More »
If you didn’t get your flu shot, you might fall victim to what has now actually turned into an epidemic. And that means you’ll temporarily trade your morning coffee in for a steady drip of tea. But fear not, this reversible cup suffers from multiple personality disorder, meaning it’s appropriate for whichever hot beverage you prefer. More »
In some ways, one could argue that CES 2013 was really all about the accessories. Sure, a lot of companies where there unveiling new hardware, whether that hardware was a massive TV, a new gaming tablet, or a phone that has an eInk display on the backside, but there were more accessories than we care to count being shown on the floor. Each of these accessories seemed to offer something unique; each was newsworthy in it’s own particular way. There were some that caught more attention than others, naturally, but nearly every accessory we saw is bound to get someone, somewhere excited.
We’ll start with the Pebble smart watch, a device that had visitors to CES clamoring for a look left and right. The Kickstarter darling was on display at CES 2013, with SlashGear managing to secure some hands-on time with the device despite the chaos that seemed to follow Pebble everywhere it went. We also got the chance to sit down with Pebble CEO Eric Migocovsky to talk about what makes the watch stand out from the competition and why it became such a hit with Kickstarter users. The company also talked about developers, apps, and how its future proofing the device, along with revealing when Pebble will begin shipping out to consumers (spoiler: its ship date is right around the corner).
Pebble netted a lot of attention during the show, but there were a couple other watches that managed to stick out despite Pebble’s presence. One of these watches was the the eInk CST-01, which has the distinction of being the world’s thinnest watch (it looks pretty sleek too, if we do say so ourselves). Next we come to the Martian Passport Watch, which boasts voice commands and Bluetooth to allow for simple connectivity to your Android or iOS device. If you’ve been in the market for a new watch, CES 2013 offered a bevy of potential choices.
The same could be said for smartphone cases at CES 2013. It isn’t much of a surprise that many of the cases we saw were for Apple’s relatively new (but nonetheless incredibly popular) iPhone 5. Otterbox was on-hand to show off its new Armor series and Defender series, using Apple’s latest iPhone to display them. Just the same, Pelican announced its first foray into the world of smartphone cases with its new ProGear Vault cases for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. olloclip made itself stand out from the rest of the case manufacturers by offering one iPhone 5 case that has lens system, while Lifeproof was showing off a number of accessories for its iPhone 5 case, including a bright orange “Life Jacket” meant to keep your phone afloat if it ever goes overboard.
One of the coolest things to happen during CES 2013 was when the TATS CRU customized our Cygnett ICON cases right there in person. It wasn’t all just about iPhone 5 cases, however, with Pelican showing off a pair of new cases for the Galaxy S III, and ONGUARD introducing us to a rather unique origami case for the Nexus 7 (though the origami case is also available for the iPhone 5 and iPad).
Just as well, there seemed to be an awful lot of speakers on display on the show floor. SoundMatters had its Dash 7 portable Bluetooth speaker primed and ready for the spotlight, while SuperTooth was showing off its Disco Twin stereo Bluetooth speakers. If you’re looking for something a little more out of the ordinary, iuiDesign’s Mirror Boombox might be worth a look, considering its based on the side mirrors of a Mini Cooper car.
We also went hands-on with the HMDX Jam Plus and Burst speakers, which are cylindrical and available in all sorts of different colors. TYLT, which was there primarily to show off its Energi backpack that can charge three devices at a time, also had its TUNZ Bluetooth speaker on-hand, though this one comes with the bonus of NFC functionality.
Corning Optical Cables kept the Apple train moving by introducing new Thunderbolt cables aimed at the budget crowd during the show, so we imagine that those will be a big hit given the cost of spare Thunderbolt cables. Fitbit Flex is looking to to tackle the fitness monitoring business that Jawbone has conquered, while MpowerD was offering a waterproof, solar-powered lantern that seems perfect for the more adventurous among us.
Wearables seemed to be a pretty big thing at CES 2013. We already told you about TYLT’s Energi backpack and its device-charging capabilities, but TYLT had some competition from the likes of Spigen with its new SGP backpack. The SGP has enough pockets and storage areas to satisfy even the most serious gadget hoarder, and it’s also lined with super soft fabric that will keep your devices free of scratches. Then there’s the prototype TEC Jacket 2.0, which among other things features a battery pack for on-the-go charging and an antenna to boost your mobile data speeds. It’s lightweight to boot, so don’t be surprised to see this bad boy take off once its eventually released.
Griffin used the show to introduce a trio of new products. First up is its Powerdock 5, which as you can imagine can charge up to five devices at a time. The company was also showing off its StudioConnect iPad dock, which comes complete with a Lightning connector, making it compatible with Apple’s newest slate offerings. While those two were impressive, Griffin also had the very cool Crayola Light Marker on hand. The best description we could come up with for this device was calling it a “laser pointer on steroids,” so you’ll just have to check out our hands-on for more.
While many companies were announcing a collection of new products at CES 2013, there was also a number of one-off devices that were just as cool. These include Tethercell, which lets you use an app on your smartphone to control devices powered by double-A batteries (seriously, it’s super awesome), and the Silverlit Mercedes-Benz RC Car that’s controlled using your iOS device – and also features speakers you can use to stream music! Ion Scratch 2 is looking to outfit your iPad with actual DJ controls, and the Belkin WeMo light switch wants to bring light switches into the Internet age, offering connectivity with your iOS or Android device.
Kingston had its 1TB flash drive on display during the show, and though it’s a bit bulkier than the flash drives we’re used to seeing, it’s still incredibly small considering it houses a full terabyte of storage. We all know that power is always a difficulty, with many of us experiencing dead cellphone batteries at the worst possible times more than once. MiPower has taken it upon itself to solve that problem with its new PowerCube 8000M, which packs in 8,000mAh to make sure that you’ve always got enough juice to share between your devices.
Finally, there were a number of companies showing off new headsets. Turtle Beach had a collection of gaming-centric headsets at the show, introducing us to its new PX51, XP510, and SEVEN series headsets. Monster also targeted gamers out there with its MVP headset, which signifies a partnership with Electronic Arts, one of the biggest games publishers around. Last but not least, we got to spend some time with the Sennheiser MOMENTUM Black headphones, and boy do they looks sharp.
So there you have it folks – we weren’t kidding when we said that CES 2013 was in many ways all about the accessories. There were plenty of impressive devices and accessories on display, and we’re excited to get the chance to spend more time with these as the year goes on. As always, you can find any news from the show you may have missed at our CES portal!
Tons of big-name companies make an appearance at CES every year, and while Microsoft backed out of this year’s show, there were still a bevy of companies that filled the void. LG, Sony, Qualcomm, Verizon, Samsung, Intel, and more, all stepped up to the plate to take Microsoft’s place, but one other big-name company that made an appearance at the show was Apple. They didn’t necessarily have a booth, or had any of their execs on the show floor, but their products were everywhere, and I’m not even exaggerating when I say such a thing.
A ton of the new products announced at CES were built for the iPhone or iPad — mostly accessories, mind you, but there were a ton of accessories lining the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, and while we covered a crap-ton of new accessories here at CES, there were still a truckload that we never got to. Company after company had new iPhone and iPad cases, like OtterBox, who unveiled new additions to their Armor and Defender series of cases, and Pelican, who introduced the ProGear Vault series. Olloclip showed off a new lens for the iPhone 5, Lifeproof had new cases and mounts, Cygnett had some custom cases for the iPhone 5, Belkin had a nifty speaker case for the iPad, and ONGUARD had fancy origami stands for Apple devices.
Other than all the companies showing off new products for Apple devices, and using iOS devices to demo various products, we also noticed the abundance of MacBooks being used in the press rooms at CES. Our team alone consisted of all MacBooks except for one team member, and we had an iMac back at our temporary headquarters that took care of any heavy video work.
Is all this Apple swag a bad thing? Of course it’s not — I think it goes to show just how much of an impact Apple products have had on a lot of people, and will continue to have. And while Apple isn’t directly participating in all of the CES festivities here in Sin City, their logo is plastered everywhere, and they’re not paying a dime for it. Companies want to spend money on things that are worthwhile and that have the biggest audience — the Samsung Galaxy S III was up there, but it was ultimately the iPhones and iPads that stood out in the end.
DJing apps on the iPad are cool and all, but the touchscreen controls leave something to be desired. However, Ion Audio has launched a set of physical controls, such as knobs, turntables, and sliders, specifically for DJ apps on the touchscreen tablet, and it makes the experience way more tactile and realistic.
The company has come up with a small set of suction cup-equipped accessories that turn the iPad itself into a pair of decks and a mixer on the cheap. The unit that we took a look at consists of a slider control, two round discs for scratching, and two banks of three knobs each for all the fine tuning.
The suction cups feel pretty solid. Underneath, the spinners have what looks to be like the tip of a touchscreen stylus. It’s certainly nothing fancy, but it works. I ended up playing around with the knobs and controls, essentially proving to myself why I would be a terrible DJ, but they were fun to use, and were way more handy than just using the flat touchscreen.
Serious turntablists will probably want to steer clear, since it would be best to get an actual deck and mixer, but for those just wanting to have fun and need a little more tactile control, you may want to check these out. They work with a variety of DJ apps, such as Djay, Deej, and iDJ2GO. Ion Audio will sell the kit for only $40 starting in May.
Pelican is mostly known for its line of rugged bags and large cases meant for photography equipment and other expensive belongings that you need to protect. However, the company has released a new line of smartphone cases here at CES 2013, and we ended up getting our hands specifically on the ProGear Vault cases for the iPhone 5 and the iPad mini.
The iPhone 5 variant offers protection from “wind-driven” rain, dust, and scratching. All the ports are protected with durable flaps that let the sound out (for the speakers), but don’t let dust in. The case also has insulating shock and impact protection, thanks to rubber shock absorbers inside the case.
The case is made out from a magnesium and high-grade polymer, and it’s held together using military-grade hex screws at the four corners. Acoustic membranes also prevent water access through the microphone speaker ports, without hindering the audio. The buttons on the side, as well as the silent switch, was a little difficult to press, but like most cases, added that extra layer will hinder some of the button performance. What’s odd about the iPhone 5 case, is that the silent switch on the case is actually a knob that you twist slightly to change it. It’s an interesting concept, and one that we don’t see very often.
The iPad mini version offers the same protection and technology as the iPhone 5 case, and it features a flap door cover that can be opened up and used as a kickstand. The iPad mini case is actually still a very early prototype, and the cover actually didn’t even close all the way when we tested it. Nonetheless, both the iPhone 5 case and the iPad mini case are planned for an April or may release. Both cases will be priced between $75 and $85 when they eventually launch.
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