Hasta La Gadget!

Never be without power again, owners of older iPhones. Concord Keystone has introduced the Keystone Eco holster, which serves as both a rechargeable backup battery and a case. Available in black or white, this hard case delivers both front and back protection for the iPhone. It uses a mechanical spring sliding action to open and remove the iPhone. The auxiliary battery stays with the case, lessening the weight when the iPhone is in use.

The case clips to a belt, waistband, or handbag. Slide the phone into the case and it automatically begins charging. You’ll get a full charge in just three hours. Both the iPhone and the case can be charged by connecting the pair to a USB cable or outlet. Grab one now from Best Buy for $69.99.

One of the biggest complaints people have about the iPhone is the lack of a physical keyboard. It was one of the reasons people said the iPhone would never sell, and still one of the reasons why some people refuse to buy one.  Lot of people have complained about it, but ThinkGeek decided to do something with the launch of the TK-421 iPhone Case and Flip-Out Keyboard, invented and designed at ThinkGeek.

The TK-421 comes in two flavors, one for the iPhone 4 and one for the 3GS, and both of them keep your iPhone sides and back covered when you use the touch-screen or take calls, but when you want to type on the screen or send an e-mail, simply swivel your iPhone up and over the built-in keyboard hidden in the back of the case. The hinge on the side of the case has a magnetic clasp to keep it in place when open or shut, and pairs with your iPhone using Bluetooth so it can be used with any application.

The case features a rechargeable battery that can recharge via USB, and will start shipping in mid-November for $49.99. ThinkGeek isn’t taking pre-orders, but is taking sign-ups if you want to be notified when the TK-421 goes on sale.

Take look at the above chart. See that thin little red sliver? That’s Apple. It represents the number of iPhones that Apple sold between the months of January and June of this year. Seventeen million. Now that’s nothing to sneeze at, certainly, but it’s easily dwarfed by the blue slice–that’s Nokia, Samsung, and LG. The three handset manufacturers moved a total of 400 million phones in that time period.

Now, granted, Apple’s slice is only one company with, essentially, one product in that category–the iPhone. The blue slice, on the other hand, is three, all of which have a plethora of phone models. Still, the difference is staggering.

It really starts to get interesting, however, when you look at the second chart:

This one is the profits made by handset manufacturers over that same time period. The red slice is still Apple in this one. The company managed to snag 39 percent of industry profits–that’s seven percent more than Noka, Samsung, and LG combined. It’s a full ten percent more than the rest of the industry (outside of those for companies) combined.

Who said pie charts can’t be fun? Certainly not Steven P. Jobs.

Is China ready for an Apple invasion? From the looks of the recent arrival of the iPad in that country, the answer seems to be a big ole yes. Cupertino is looking to make an even bigger impact in that country, with the upcoming launch of the iPhone 4 and the opening of two new Apple Retail Stores.

The iPhone 4 is set to hit Apple stores in China this Saturday, September 25th at 8:00 A.M. And again, if the iPad launch is any sign, the event is set to be quite the early morning spectacle–especially if Han Ziwen and his custom Apple shirts [Pictured Above] are anywhere to be seen.

That day will also mark the opening of Apple stores in the country–Bejing’s Apple Store Xidan Joy City and Apple Store Hong Kong Plaza in Shanghai.

The iPhone 4 will be on China Unicom in that country. It will also be available in the wireless carrier’s storefronts.

Inspiration comes from all manner of places. Cars often taken their names from animals (Impala, Mustang, Bronco). Cell Phones are often verbs (Captivate, Restore, Vu, Remarq) or just seemingly random word association (Gravity, Pursuit, Fathom). The name of speakers, on the other hand, often reflects the shape of the product (Zeppelin, Soundsticks) or is simply a random pairing of numbers and letters.

Audyssey’s latest iPhone dock has taken inspiration from a different place entirely–San Francisco’s SoMA district. Says the company,

Nestled between downtown San Francisco and the Mission District, South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood of artist lofts and night clubs, restaurants and start-ups. This blend of old warehouses, culture and technology make SoMa a unique and diverse urban landscape. Its eclectic blend of energy and history serves as the inspiration for the innovative audio technology and iconic design of the Audyssey Audio Dock, South of Market Edition.

For those of you on the East Coast, think of these as the Williamsburg, Brooklyn of iPhone speakers, only much, much cleaner.

Speaking of clean–our audio analyst Tim Gideon tried the dock out and remarked how crisp the Audio Dock: South of Market Edition’s sound is, particularly in the case of speak phone calls–a place where similar docks often drop the ball. The dock features Bluetooth connectivity, letting users make calls via the iPhone or any other Bluetooth-enabled device.

There are microphones mounted on the front and rear of the device, and the included remote lets users answer the phone from afar, without touching the iPhone.

The SoMa also connects to Macs and PCs wirelessly, letting users stream music, sync to iTunes, and make calls via VoIP. A built-in BassXT subwoofer offers deep low-end sound by “monitor[ing] the low frequency signals and constantly pushes the speaker to its
maximum safe capability.”

With a five inch width and nine inch depth, the thing is pretty small–it’s not particularly cheap, however, at $399.