accessories

Along with my review copy of Forza Motorsport 4, I was sent an example of Microsoft's Wireless Speed Wheel to test with the game. As a car guy and a bit of a racing sim snob, I initially viewed this wireless, motion sensitive plastic bauble down the bridge of my upturned nose. By the end of the weekend, the Speed Wheel had won me over.

Normally, I do my racing simulation from behind a proper racing wheel with 900 degrees of rotation; belt-driven force feedback; the choice between paddle, H-pattern, or sequential shifters; a trio of pedals; and an aluminum adjustable stand to hold it all together. The whole kit weighs about 30 pounds and takes me about 10 minutes to drag from its place in the bottom of my closet and set up, but once it is, the driving experience is spectacular. Surely the wireless wheel can't do better?… Read more

There you go; there's no iPhone 5, at least not yet. For most of us, this is a typical case of much ado about nothing, a huge hype followed by a letdown. For Tim Hickman, the CEO of Hard Candy Cases, it's also a business gamble that didn't work out. The company sent out an embargoed press release to the press a couple of days ago about its new cases for the iPhone 5, information that was leaked earlier today by the Cult of Mac.

It turned out Hard Candy wasn't sure that there would be an iPhone 5, nor did it know the actual design of the product. Just a few minutes ago, like the rest of us, Hickman was watching the live event from his home, but with much greater trepidation...… Read more

You can hang your iPad on your fridge, strap it to the back of a seat, and even mount it under a kitchen cabinet. But what about simply putting a frame around it?

That's the idea behind Striped Sail's MiFrame, which docks, charges, and accentuates the iPad--and functions as a plain old picture frame when your tablet isn't around.

As you probably know, your iPad already has a pretty awesome Picture Frame mode. But a docked iPad can also display stock updates, weather reports, your latest tweets, animated landscapes, and a lot more. (See our list of five killer apps for your docked iPad.)

The MiFrame provides a photo-frame-style home for your iPad, standing it upright and charging it via a standard dock connector. A 5-foot USB cable supplies AC power via your iPad wall wart. You can position it in either portrait or landscape orientation, though switching between them does require a bit more than just rotating the frame--you have to perform a bit of reassembly.… Read more

In my kitchen we have a great Altec Lansing speaker dock that plays host to my iPhone and the kids' iPods. But my wife's Android phone sits quietly on the sidelines, unable to interface with the dock's nonstandard, Apple-only 30-pin connector.

Same goes for the car: there's an iPod/iPhone connector in the glove box, but no interface for anything Android-powered.

Enter the CableJive DockBoss+, a specialized adapter cable that runs from your Android device's Micro-USB port and headphone jack to any 30-pin docking port or cable. It's a potentially killer solution for mating with speaker docks and car connectors alike.… Read more

If last week's mystery-laden posting and pull-down of iPhone 5 cases from accessory maker Case-Mate (which some are now claiming was a publicity stunt) wasn't enough to whet your appetite for details about what Apple's next iPhone will look like, this week brings more.

Razorianfly points to a peculiar product listing on DealExtreme for a $3.70 case for the "iPhone 5G," a product that does not currently exist. This isn't the first time a case for an unannounced, unreleased Apple product iteration has reared its head. But in this case the product description says the accessory maker has been given the inside scoop on the device to be able to make a case for it. … Read more

In a peculiar move, accessory maker Case-Mate briefly posted renderings of a new line of cases for Apple's next iPhone, which has not yet been announced by the company.

Included in the renderings were depictions of Apple's next device, which was shown as having a similar design to the iPad 2 and latest-generation iPod Touch, with a rounded aluminum backing. By comparison, the iPhone 4's backing is made out of glass.

The accessory gallery was pulled down shortly after its discovery, BGR reports. In its place, the old gallery page redirects to a page where users can … Read more

Sony detailed a salvo of first-party accessories for its PlayStation Vita yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show.

Thirteen products for the new handheld, including several memory cards, an AC adapter, USB cable, cradle, earbuds, protective screen film, memory card case, and several other pouches will be available in Japan on December 17. No word yet on when or how many of the non-essential accessories will be available elsewhere. … Read more

When we left the Verizon offices a couple days ago with our Droid Bionic in tow, Motorola handed us a veritable mountain of accessories to go along with the phone. That's because the Droid Bionic has a Webtop application similar to the one on the Atrix 4G and the Photon 4G, and like those two, it requires a special Webtop accessory to load it. The Droid Bionic is a fantastic handset even without Webtop, but the technology is compelling enough for us to take a closer look at these accessories.

Unique-to-phone accessoriesThe Atrix made headlines at CES earlier this … Read more

As the proliferation of devices like the iPhone and iPad continue, so does the proliferation of accessories to enhance their functionality. Makayama Media is one accessory maker that aims to take on Hollywood, providing a mount for the iPad 2 that adds professional studio equipment capabilities to any portable filmmaker.

The Movie Mount allows pro-grade features to be added to your iPad 2, turning it into a complete studio; it includes wide-angle lenses, microphones, lights, a tripod, and more.

Makayama also provides a free app that provides a variety of tools for moviemakers (though the app is not required in … Read more