Dec 12

Apple reportedly stepping up its connectivity game, wants to be the center of your wireless universe

Posted in: accessories, airplay, Apple, bluetooth, ios, ipad, iPhone, ipod, streaming, Today's Chili, wifi

Apple is purportedly readying a new certification chip for accessory makers that will allow wireless access and connectivity to that pile of iOS devices you’re hoarding. Announced during an accessory manufacturer’s conference in China, the new chip could possibly allow connections across AirPlay, Bluetooth and WiFi. The Cupertino crew hope that this will encourage even more iOS-friendly add-ons and docks to market. According to Macotakara, Apple apparently added that it’s working on support for AirPlay over Bluetooth, presumably bringing with it some improved battery longevity, and tying into the new low-powered Bluetooth 4.0 found on the iPhone 4S. Well, you know us, we always love seeing new iPad accessories.

Update: An anonymous attendee has got in touch to tell us that the authentication chip is low-cost and faster update that doesn’t bring any new features not already seen on current chips. Our mole added that Apple didn’t directly announce any plans to extend AirPlay functionality to Bluetooth.

Apple reportedly stepping up its connectivity game, wants to be the center of your wireless universe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 01

PlugBug adds an iPad / iPod / iPhone USB charging port to your MacBook power adapter

Posted in: accessories, Apple, charger, charging, peripheral, Today's Chili, video

Twelve South, the same South Carolina-based outfit that’s been keeping the Bass(Jump) coming, has just outed the best MacBook power adapter accessory… ever. Almost. The PlugBug is an iPad / iPhone / iPod / USB-based-whatever charger that snaps right on top of your existing MacBook or MacBook Pro AC adapter, allowing you to charge your Mac laptop as well as a single USB-based device at the same time. It’s a ten-watt adapter, so your iPad and those other high-powered gizmos should take take to it just fine, and it’s actually capable of acting on its own should you ever need to dismount it. Unfortunately, those in need of a non-US adapter will be out of luck, but on the upside, this converts international adapters for US use should you head over this way. It’s on sale now for $34.99 at the source link below, and if it only had more than one USB port, we’d recommend it without hesitation. Ah well — there’s always version 2.0, right? Promo vid’s after the break.

Gallery: Twelve South intros PlugBug charging accessory

Continue reading PlugBug adds an iPad / iPod / iPhone USB charging port to your MacBook power adapter

PlugBug adds an iPad / iPod / iPhone USB charging port to your MacBook power adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 18

Hori Tactical Assault Commander 3 PS3 keyboard and mouse: for fans of butch peripherals

Posted in: accessories, keyboard, mouse, ps3, Today's Chili
Peripheral makers often give their devices preposterous names — remember when you asked your grandparents for that Thrustmaster? Hori has outdone itself with the Tactical Assault Commander 3, which won’t allow you to command any sort of tactical assault outside of your PS3. Admittedly, when you settle down in front of the TV, you’ll see it’s got some pretty useful features. There’s adjustable mouse sensitivity and a re-mappable keyboard that remembers your settings after the PS3 powers down. You also get a dedicated walk button to slow your movement, like the gentle tilt of an analog stick. It’s available starting October 24th in black or the Best Buy exclusive digital camouflage edition you see above — but it’ll cost you the same $100 whatever style you go for.

Hori Tactical Assault Commander 3 PS3 keyboard and mouse: for fans of butch peripherals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 18

Hands-on with the Motorola Droid RAZR’s (many) accessories (video)

Posted in: accessories, laptop, mobilepostcross, motorola, Today's Chili, video
It wouldn’t be a Motorola event without a glut of accessories, and boy howdy did the company deliver on that front. Sure, the Droid RAZR may not actually be out yet, but when it does hit, the handset will have plenty of things to hold it, dock it, charge it and stream stuff from it. In fact, Motorola devoted a full room to the things at today’s event. First and foremost are two additions to the Lapdock family. The docking station comes in new flavors: the Lapdock 500 ($300) and the Lapdock 100 ($200), measuring 14 and 10.1 inches, respectively. The 500 ($300) features a front-facing camera (a first on a Lapdock), as well as Ethernet and VGA sockets. As with its successors, the handset rests in the rear of the Lapdock, utilizing Webtop to turn your smartphone into a laptop. Also on display was the Droid RAZR car dock ($40), from which you can access your music from the company’s new cloud-based Motocast service and play it through your car stereo. Lots ‘o photos below, along with a brief walk-through video after the break.

Gallery: Motorola Droid RAZR Accessories

Dana Wollman and Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Continue reading Hands-on with the Motorola Droid RAZR’s (many) accessories (video)

Hands-on with the Motorola Droid RAZR’s (many) accessories (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 18

Logitech release MW3 gaming mouse and keyboard, for people who can’t get enough Soap

Posted in: accessories, gaming, logitech, mouse, Today's Chili
If the thought of spending $160 on Modern Warfare 3-branded peripherals appeals then twitch your trigger fingers at Logitech’s new Gaming Keyboard G105 and Laser Mouse G9X. Both are slathered in MW3 logos (so you don’t forget what you’ve consigned yourself to for the next year) and come with some essential FPS features. The keyboard has “night-vision green” LED backlit keys, six programmable “G” keys to record macros and a game/desktop mode switch for those rare moments when you’re really not meant to be MacTavish. Meanwhile, the mouse has on-the-fly adjustable DPI, up to five different player profiles, a color display and 28g (one ounce) of extra weight to adjust the mouse balance against your hand. They’re both available from the Logitech website and will set you back $80 each.

Logitech release MW3 gaming mouse and keyboard, for people who can’t get enough Soap originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Blog.Logitech  |  sourceLogitech (keyboard), Logitech (mouse)  | Email this | Comments

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Oct 13

Jawbone’s Up wristband warms up at AT&T store, wants you faster, stronger

Posted in: accessories, apps, att, ios, IphoneApp, mobilepostcross, teaser, Today's Chili

Jawbone’s fitness-obsessed wristband appears to be closing in on the retail finish line. The Up pairs with what appears to be an iOS app, (no news on whether an Android version is in the pipeline), and will pile on the guilt about your disgustingly sedentary lifestyle. You can have the luxury of feeling like a weight loss reality show contestant by scheduling “get up and move” reminders when you’ve succumbed to watching back-to-back mediocre sitcoms with a Doritos family bag chaser. There’s also a sleep tracker and a challenge tab to plot your amazing weight loss journey (or descent to an early demise) against friends and family. It’ll monitor what you eat, and even tell you which foods “help you feel your best.” (We think it’s cake.) No word on price or arrival date just yet, so you’ll just have to put up with Autom until we hear more.

[Thanks, Luke]

Jawbone’s Up wristband warms up at AT&T store, wants you faster, stronger originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 04

NTT DoCoMo bad breath, body fat and food analyzers hands-on (video)

Posted in: accessories, ceatec, Japan, mobilepostcross, prototype, Today's Chili

It’s been a busy year for NTT DoCoMo’s research and development division, with the company presenting a goldmine of future accessories at its CEATEC booth. We’re not seeing anything terribly exciting in the smartphone department, beyond a wider adoption of Android, but from the battery with a 10-minute charge time that we saw yesterday to the bad breath, hunger, body fat and food analyzers that you’ll find below, there are certainly quite a few gadgets worth checking out. We’re bundling a few of them here, so jump past the break for our hands-ons with three different health accessories (including a bad breath analyzer!) and a clever food analyzing app.

Gallery: NTT Docomo Breath, Body Fat, Food Analyzers hands-on

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo bad breath, body fat and food analyzers hands-on (video)

NTT DoCoMo bad breath, body fat and food analyzers hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 30

Sinch Lightning Review: A Smart, Easy Way to Keep Earbuds Tangle-Free

Posted in: accessories, audio, earbuds, headphones, Music, review, Today's Chili, top

A brainchild of the legendary Frog Design firm, the Sinch is a small, unobtrusive earbud accessory with a single purpose: keep your headphones tangle-free and attached to your phone/media player using magnets. For the most part, it works pretty well. More »

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Sep 22

NTT DoCoMo’s mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video)

Posted in: accessories, apps, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, ceatec, Japan, mobilepostcross, Photos, smartphone, Smartphones, Today's Chili, video

Sick of your friends saying you look fat in those jeans? Apparently, NTT DoCoMo feels your pain and aims to swap out the peer criticism with smartphone objectivity. Shown off in advance of CEATEC Japan 2011 (an annual electronics trade show), the operator took the wraps off several mobile-based accessories, ranging from gamma ray and UV light monitoring phone cases to a breathalyzer-like add-on for measuring body fat (you paying attention, HTC Rhyme?). There were also a couple of applications on hand for checking photos of food against a calorie database à la Google Goggles, and an AR implementation for weather services on tablets. It’s not clear whether the Japanese carrier actually intends to release these innovations to the mass-consuming public, but as with all things tech in that corner of the world, they’re sure to get it before we ever do. Jump past the break for a video peek at Nippon’s creep towards a Hitchhiker Guide-style wireless world.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo’s mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video)

NTT DoCoMo’s mobile accessories smell your breath, tell you to put the burger down (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 17

Mix Master Gloves keep your hands warm, control your iPod. Q-bert mitts still MIA (video)

Posted in: accessories, iPhone, ipod, remote, remote control, RemoteControl, Today's Chili, video
Burton Mix Master Gloves

There’s plenty of options for keeping your digits toasty while you peruse the music on your iPhone or iPod, but most of those still require you to fish the device out of your pocket to skip that Audioslave track that sneaked on there. Burton’s Mix Master gloves skip all that physical interaction nonsense by sticking a wireless remote in the back of one of the mitts. You just plug a small dongle into your iDevice and it pairs up with the music-controlling hand-wear. Of course, if you’re not the exceedingly lazy type, you could just sew a few cents worth of conductive thread into any standard pair of gloves and avoid coughing up $160 for the Mix Masters. If you’re still curious there’s a video after the break.

Continue reading Mix Master Gloves keep your hands warm, control your iPod. Q-bert mitts still MIA (video)

Mix Master Gloves keep your hands warm, control your iPod. Q-bert mitts still MIA (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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