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Mar 05

Gear4 spreads Lightning connector love with $129 alarm clock, $79 portable speaker dock

Looking to build up a collection of accessories for that newfangled Lightning connector on your iPhone 5? Well, Gear4 is hoping that you’ll start off with an alarm clock (and in the process, forget about iHome’s duo of bedside companions, which will soon hit the market). Vying for your attention is the AlarmDock Halo 3, which retails for $129.99 and is on sale as of today. The system includes a companion app called SmartLink that lets users choose from a variety of music sources — iTunes, Spotify and networked tunes all qualify — and the app also ensures that any alarms you set on the Halo 3 will be synced to the iPhone, and vice versa. The AlarmDock Halo 3 also offers FM radio, line-in audio, a dimming LCD display, customizable alarm sounds (for when your iPhone is lost in the couch cushions) and, thankfully, a snooze button.

Also shipping from Gear4 today is the StreetParty 5, a portable, Lightning-loving speaker dock that’s powered by four AA batteries. Sadly, there’s no line-in audio support here, but if you’re properly equipped, the $79.99 system will have you disturbing the peace in no time. Hop the break for a peek, won’tcha?

Filed under: Peripherals

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Nov 28

Gear4′s Lightning Dock for the iPhone 5 gets the job done – nothing more, nothing less

Posted in: Today's Chili

When the iPhone 5 was revealed, Apple confirmed that they would not be releasing an official dock accessory for the phone which left the door wide open to third-party manufacturers to fill that gap. Now if you’re in the market for a dock for your iPhone 5 with no fuss or muss, you might be pleased to learn that Gear4 has since released the rather aptly named Lightning Dock. Like we said earlier, this is a dock that’s pretty much, well, a dock! It doesn’t offer you anything more like speaker attachments, funky lights, sound enhancements or even home automation, which we guess will cater to those who just want a dock to charge their iPhone 5s.

The connector will pivot which supposedly will allow for attaching and removal, and thanks to the design of the dock, it leans ever so slightly backwards, so you will still be able to comfortably look at your iPhone’s screen while it is plugged in. It sports a hole in the back which connects to a microUSB cable which we assume many of you guys should have lying around. If Gear4’s Lightning Dock appeals to you, you will be able to pick one up for yourself via its website for around $56 (after conversion).

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Australian airline company Qantas adds Passbook support for iPhone check-ins, Report indicates that iOS has taken over Android in smartphone platform market share,

Jun 30

Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video)

Posted in: Today's Chili

Another day, another speaker dock. We initially dismissed Gear4‘s latest accessory at Google I/O 2012 until we noticed that the attached Nexus 7 was playing audio digitally via the USB port instead of simply through the headphone jack (or wirelessly over Bluetooth for that matter). It turns out that Jelly Bean supports USB audio, a software feature that’s bound to spearhead a whole new generation of accessories for Android devices. Gear4’s universal speaker dock with alarm clock radio is the first to handle USB audio. While the sound for any app can be routed to the USB port in Jelly Bean, the functionality is missing from older versions of Android. Thankfully, Gear4 includes an app with its accessory that can be used to set alarms, sync time, tune the radio and play media over the USB port on legacy versions of Android. Want to know more? You’ll find our gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Gallery: Gear4 speaker dock at Google I/O 2012