We’re all so use to having our smartphones close at hand that we can occasionally tune out and miss a call or notification that’s right in front of our faces. So what’s the solution? Obviously an iPhone 5 case with a blinding 8×16 LED grid on the back that mirrors and emphasizes on-screen notifications. More »
This week the folks at Griffin are sure to bring on more than just a couple of their own accessories for devices of all kinds, but right at the start they’ve made it bright and colorful for the kids. Starting with an item as small as a pencil – the Capper Stylus, shaped like a rocket here in the first images we’ve got, transforms a standard pencil into a tablet-friendly stylus – how about that? Then there’s a set of Kazoo iOS cases (which you see in monkey form here for the iPhone) and frog-themed headphones – needless to say, we’ll be getting really cute with Griffin this year.
The Kazoo Heaphones you’re seeing here come in several friendly animal-shaped looks including the aforementioned frog and at least one kind of penguin, then there’s a set of iPod touch cases with every animal from an elephant to a zebra – imagine that! They’ve also worked with that fancy little lanyard connector on the iPod touch bringing you a set of charms – once again very zoo-friendly. They’ve got a set of Kazoo AUX cables coming out, each of them made to connect in just about as kid-friendly a way as possible for your kid’s audio equipment, too, with more animals on the fritz of course.
The most interesting of the releases here is the Griffin Capper Stylus, this being tablet, smartphone, or any capacitive touchscreen interface, really, friendly, made to attach to your regular standard pencil or pen. This means that your child will be learning to use a standard-sized writing utensil while they’ve still got the tablet in front of them – how handy! These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors as well. The fun continues with Nickelodeon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed accessories, with both Griffin and Nickelodeon making a statements specifically for these new doors opening for 2013:
“Nickelodeon properties have passionate fans who are eager for products associated with their favorite shows. Partnering with Nickelodeon opens the door to tons of fun accessories modeled after the most popular characters among kids of all ages. We look forward to a long-lasting partnership, kicking off at the 2013 CES.” – Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology
“Nickelodeon properties have passionate fans who are eager for products associated with their favorite shows. We are excited to partner with Griffin to produce unique and trendy products to help us further expand our consumer electronics offerings.” – Manuel Torres, Senior Vice President, Global Toys and Consumer Electronics, Nickelodeon Consumer Products
This lineup begins with so much Spongebob your eyes are going to fall out. There’s an 8-bit styled iPad cases, “Faces” cases for the iPhone 5 and iPod touch (with interchangeable faces!) and a lovable SpongeBob Woogie – that’s a big stuffed animal with a special app to make it “alive”, so to speak, when you’ve got your iPhone, iPod touch – or even Android device inside! Dora the Explorer is popping up too with cases for iOS devices galore, starting with the Dora the Explorer Skin for iPod touch.
Then comes the most awesome set of comic book characters in the history of the world, those four green-skinned heroes in a half shell that hold a special place in this humble narrator’s heart, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This brand is working with Nickelodeon at this point in history and will be rolling out with Griffin with at least one TMNT Shell for iPhone 5 and iPod touch as well as a Folio for iPad.
Stick with us all week for more action from Griffin as well as the rest of the gadget-loving universe as we traverse CES 2013. Check out our big amazing CES portal for all things hands-on as well as early release and otherwise soon-to-exist in the consumer market machines. Check the timeline below as well for examples of some of the products above with slightly different designs, Griffin quality manufacturing in-tact.
Griffin kid-friendly accessories explode upon CES 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
iPad users no longer have to lament the crappy speakers, and lightweight form factor, of their tablet when enjoying videos or music sans headphones. Belkin is promising to turn the iPad into a portable home theater with an add-on set of boosted speakers, or at least that’s what one assumes from a product called the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater. More »
If you’re worried about friends, family, or co-workers breaking or even scuffing up your new iPad Mini, this heavy-duty acrylic security base is reminiscent of what Apple uses to protect its hardware in its stores. Made from clear acrylic that’s over an inch thick at one end, the case can even be secured to a surface with an adhesive backing or tamper-proof screws. So there’s little risk of theft too. More »
Anyone who’s ever writhed in pain after crushing a Lego block underfoot will appreciate Australian-based Luxford St.’s take on the classic Ottoman. Crafted from recycled pool table felt and stuffed with sturdy polyurethane foam, the footrest is a perfect 20:1 scale version of a size four Lego block and is perfect for putting your feet up. Or building life-sized forts. More »
There’s a lot of mobile gamepads out there for the iPhone. A lot of them connect via Bluetooth, while others connect directly to the 30-pin or Lightning connector. However, a new iPhone gamepad that’s looking to raise funds doesn’t use either Bluetooth or the connector. It’s called the WynCASE, and it uses the touchscreen itself by utilizing what the company calls BridgeTOUCH technology.
The gamepad conducts an electrical field into the touchscreen whenever you press one of the buttons, and the touchscreen recognizes this input as a regular finger tap. In order to make this happen, the case overlaps slightly with the edges of the touchscreen, but it looks like it barely interferes at all.
The WynCASE is the first iPhone gaming case that actually looks like a true iPhone gaming case. It doesn’t need batteries, and it doesn’t need to annoyingly connect to your device via Bluetooth or the connector. Plus, it’s so thin that you can easily slip it into your pocket without it getting in the way, and it’s not as bulky as other gaming controller cases. The WynCASE will be made for the iPhone 4/4S, iPhone 5, and the iPod Touch 4th and 5th generations.
At the time of this writing, the Kickstarter campaign has 29 days to go, and has raised over $8,700 so far, but their goal is $80,000. The WynCASE starts at $30, which is surprisingly less than most iPhone gamepads we’ve seen. However, there’s only a limited number of slots left for that price. Once that’s gone, the price will jump to $35. The case will come in either black or white, but the company has other colors available for slightly more cash. The WynCASE is expected to ship in April 2013.
WynCASE gamepad for iPhone hits Kickstarter, priced at just $30 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
There’s nothing quite like spending several hundred dollars on some of the most advanced smartphone technology in the world with the iPhone 5, then covering it with wood. That’s exactly what you’re going to be doing with the 10terra wood iPhone 5 case, and in this case, you’ll be working with the Tree design. The folks at 10terra currently have a relatively limited set of wooden cases, made for the two most recent iPhone sizes, the iPad back to the 2, and the Nexus 7, and they’re all made from high-quality bamboo – real bamboo, accept no imitations.
You’ll be working with slightly different sets of tones depending on which unit you get and will, of course, be getting a unique case no matter what as each case is made of real wood. This bamboo is carbonized with the same hardwood floor technique that many modern homes work with, and everything feels no less than top quality from start to finish. Right at the start when you pull the case out of the box you’ll get in the mail, you’ll notice something strange – it comes in two pieces and doesn’t clip on to your device the way essentially all other cases do.
Instead you’ve got some padding int he back and a fit around your device that’s so precise that the case holds it together like magic. There’s also a sort of tongue of wood from one side that goes under the other so there’s an extra bit of hold-together for the whole final product. You can rest easy, also, knowing that your case’s top and bottom pieces will have the grain matching up perfectly, each case being cut from the same single piece at the start.
The 10terra wood iPhone 5 case allows you to access all of your buttons and ports with ease with the single exception being the headphone port at the bottom if you’ve got non-standard headphones plugging in. As you can see at the bottom there’s a longer tunnel you’ll have to get through than you would with many other cases, but if you’ve got a standard set of iPhone EarPods, you’ll have no trouble at all.
This case is going to cost you a cool $36.95 right this minute if you order from 10terra and, again, they’ve got several other models for other devices as well. Every case is hand-finished and has a lovely laser-etched tree design on the back and the brand 10terra on the side of the volume button side of the case – real distinct, real classy.
10terra wood iPhone 5 case Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Smartphones cases are becoming pretty dry nowadays — it’s mostly just the same old thing for every case. However, one case in particular, called the popSLATE, slaps on a 4-inch e-ink display on the back, effectively giving your iPhone 5 two screens. It’s currently trying to get $150,000 in funding on Indiegogo.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this, though. During IFA 2012 back in August, we checked out a similar concept that involved a smartphone with two screens — one LCD, and the other e-ink. However, the popSLATE case simply adds an e-ink display to your existing iPhone 5, which seems a bit more practical at this point in time.
The 4-inch e-ink screen is always on, but the company claims it’s very energy efficient. The screen can be used for all sorts of things, including notifications, sports scores, maps, and lists and notes. Plus, since it’s always on, you don’t have to worry about the screen going into sleep mode with the rest of the phone when you’re reading something. The company is building an API for the screen, which means that we should be seeing a lot of third-party apps add support for the second screen.
The company is still in the early stages of development and the case itself is only in its prototype stages, but the company has already gathered a team of designers, engineers and developers to make the case. They also have a partnership with E Ink in order to use the latest e-ink technology. Two colors will be available at launch (black and white), and it will start at a price of $79 for the first 500 supporters, then $99 and up from there.
popSLATE iPhone 5 case comes with separate e-ink display is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
While an iPad is robotically handcrafted by a Foxconn slave, these Feit iPad cases are lovingly made in a family-owned atelier in Florence. At least from the photos, the details show. Because these leather sleeves are lovely. More »
If Ballistic cases are the gauge for how the industry is swinging, it’s good news for Nokia and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8, because their newest and most hardcore unit is headed to all the heroes – including the Lumia 920. Included with the standard fare – that being the iPhone 5 first, then a Samsung device (the Galaxy S III here near the end of 2012), it’s the Nokia Lumia 920 that’s up for protection next. And this “Every1″ case is a doozy, too.
What you’re going to see with this case – and case series – is slim protection that’s made to be both rugged and usable by anyone and everyone. This case has built-in Active Latches Suspension Springs to keep the device suspended with a 1mm air gap all around. Built-in port covers keep your device dirt resistant from start to finish, too.
You’ve got a built-in screen protector and there’s a second model also coming with kickstand and easy on-the-go viewing. You’ve got four layers of protection to keep this beast of a case swaddling your smartphone with nothing less than the best protection Ballistic has ever delivered. Adam Stubin, VP of Business Development, Ballistic, has made it clear that they’re pretty pumped up about the whole situation:
“We looked at the best features of our previous series’ and thought ‘why not combine them all? The Every1 Case is exactly that…a protective case that satisfies everyone’s needs.” – Stubin
You’re going to be able to pick this case up for $50 in not just a variety of shapes based on the smartphone you’ve got on-hand, but a variety of colors as well. The Nokia Lumia device owners out there amongst you will know instantly what it means to need color options, that’s for certain – stay bright!
This case will be out for the iPhone 4/5, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Express, and Nokia Lumia 820/920 immediately if not soon at your favorite online (and offline) retailers – color power!
Ballistic Every1 case goes top-class for Galaxy S III, iPhone 5, and Lumia 920 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
