Accessories

If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em.

OtterBox, which struggled for months to bring a waterproof iPhone case to market, has acquired rival LifeProof, which makes one of the best -- and best-selling -- tough iPhone cases.

Colorado-based OtterBox has been a leading case manufacturer for a variety of smartphones and tablets and has quickly grown to employ 650 people worldwide. LifeProof, based in San Diego and founded in 2009 by Australian Gary Rayner, employees 250 people.

OtterBox says those 250 employees are now "members of the OtterBox family and will remain in their San Diego location for … Read more

How many times have you stood outside your front door, fumbling with your key until you found the right one, or with arms so full of groceries you wish your door would magically open itself? For those people (admit it, that's you,) key-and-lock-maker Kwikset is introducing Kevo, a not-quite-keyless one-touch entry lock for your front door.

With the smart device within about 4 feet of the door, you simply lock or unlock it by tapping your finger (or elbow or nose) on the lock face. An LED ring lights up green when the door unlocks, yellow when it locks, … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Making waves for the first time in the U.S., the Pearl and Oyster wireless speakers from Damson Audio have washed up on the beaches of CTIA 2013. Both Bluetooth products are designed by the British manufacturer, but it's the first time we've seen them on this side of the pond.

Small in stature, you'd be ill-advised to think the Damson Pearl can't belt out serious sound. To the contrary, the gadget uses a special rubbery foot plus down-firing woofers on its bottom edge to significantly boost its audio impact. Indeed, after being … Read more

We review a lot of wireless Bluetooth keyboards and keyboard cases for iPads and other tablets, but we've yet to review a wired keyboard for the iPad. It comes as little surprise then that Logitech, which makes plenty of Bluetooth keyboards, has unveiled the Wired Keyboard for iPad, which it dubs "the first iPad keyboard made specially for the classroom environment."

The keyboard will come in a Lightning connector or 30-pin connector versions and have an MSRP of $59.99. The Lightning version is due to ship in August; the 30-pin version will ship in October. … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Cobra Electronics announced on Tuesday that it has launched AirWave, a wireless music receiver that uses Bluetooth technology and costs $39.95.

Though it's not entirely wireless (it still requires either an auxiliary cord or a 3.5mm-to-RCA cable), the device lets you effortlessly connect any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to car stereos, stereo docks, or home audio receivers.

Design Weighing in at a little over an ounce, the device is extremely lightweight and portable. Its square black body runs just 2.2 by 2.2 inches, and it would have no trouble finding space in your car.… Read more

LAS VEGAS -- A press event the first night of CTIA gave me the opportunity to see a new screen protector from Tech21. If you haven't heard of the UK-based company, it makes some pretty durable cases for popular smartphones like the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4/4S.

The Impact Shield strips device protection down to the bare minimum with just a thin clear film to lay over your handset's display. It's composed of three materials, including a polymer that's also used in bulletproof glass. Also, since it uses a silica material to affix to … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Just when you thought you'd seen all the smartwatch contenders, enter the Sonostar Smartwatch. I spotted this wrist-strapped number tucked away in a far-flung hall here at CTIA 2013.

Like many of its ilk within the emerging smart-timepiece category, such as the Pebble, MetaWatch, and Martian Passport, the Sonostar device promises to link to phones and give access to handy info. I have to put a heavy emphasis on the word promise since the gadgets I placed my hands on were all nonfunctioning prototypes.

Still, the Sonostar reps I chatted with swear that the gizmo links … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- The 2013 CTIA kicked off today. The last event of the wireless show season, CTIA tends to be a bit quieter than Mobile World Congress and CES. Yet, there are plenty of new handsets, hotpots, and accessories on display at the Sands Expo. Keep on clicking in this gallery to join CNET's team of reporters as they search the show floor and capture the best of CTIA on video. And as we shoot more videos we'll be expanding this list.

Starting Friday, Samsung will sell the second version of its NFC stickers, called TecTiles 2.

The main difference between these tags and the first iteration, which launched almost a year ago? Unlike the originals, the second TecTiles generation works with the Samsung Galaxy S4 as well as Samsung's other NFC-ready phones.

TecTile stickers use a small NFC receiver that trigger your smartphone into completing certain tasks when you tap them.

You can program TecTiles to turn on Wi-Fi and turn off Bluetooth, for instance, set an alarm, or send a text to someone that you've arrived home or … Read more