Accessories

Fund this: MirrorCase for iPad gives you a rear-facing camera

You can take notes on meetings or lectures on an iPad, or you can record videos of meetings or lectures -- but you can't have it both ways.

Kickstarter project MirrorCase aims to solve that dilemma. It's an iPad case that uses mirrors to point the camera lens forward, while at the same time raising the tablet to a comfortable typing angle.

For students and business users alike, that's potentially a big deal. It means you can sit in a conference room or lecture hall, typing or sketching on your iPad while at the same time recording … Read more

Best Samsung Galaxy S4 cases

iPhone owners have always had a variety of cases and covers to choose from, but the Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 are among the few ultrapopular Android smartphones that have spurred cottage industries of cases and covers.

In boiling down the best of what's currently out there, I tried to provide a good mix of well-designed, affordable cases with more-expensive models that offer some unique attributes.

One thing to watch for when buying cases these days is that you can come across pricier products from better-known brands that sell under unknown brand names for much less (yes, factories in … Read more

Hands-on with the BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure

We've all seen them: smartphones with shattered screens, the unfortunate victims of sudden outbursts of gravity. Your heart sinks a bit, watching your friends, loved ones, even total strangers slide their fingers over that sad, spidered glass, thinking, "There but for the grace of..."

Knowing full well the costs and hassles of replacing a busted screen, I pressed a BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure onto my daughter's hand-me-down iPhone 4. At 13, well, she's been known to drop stuff.

And just the other day, she did. I'd been planning to write about the ScreenGuardz Pure already, just hopefully without any drop-test data. So much for that.… Read more

Pebble's app menagerie: Rounding up the best fledgling smartwatch apps

From the moment I first looked at the Pebble Watch, it was clear that this was a device designed to be purely about apps. Unfortunately, none were really available until a week ago, when Pebble at last released an SDK, and along with it, updated firmware for the Pebble watch and a revised smartphone app.

Now, the number of user-made indie Pebble apps is steadily growing, and there are even places to go to browse them: Pebble's own watch face community message boards, and sites like My Pebble Faces.… Read more

Photojojo introduces iPad telephoto lens

Admit it: Whenever you see someone using their iPad as a camera, you giggle. Maybe even snicker. That two-handed grip and big ol' viewfinder screen, that's just comedy. Especially when something like this happens.

On the other hand, the iPad 3, iPad 4, and iPad Mini all have a respectable 5-megapixel sensor, an IR filter, face detection, and some other solid digital-photography features. All that's missing is a zoom lens. (The iPads do offer digital zoom, of course, but that's to be avoided at all costs. It ruins photos.)

Enter Photojojo, the outfit known for making smartphone … Read more

Best iPhone 5 cases

The iPhone has been out a while, but new cases for it keep arriving.

Update, April 11, 2013: Added Skech Lisso Book and Otterbox Armor Series cases.

What's the best one? Very hard to say. The problem is that everybody has different tastes in cases. And, of course, some folks choose not to bother with them at all.

In doing this roundup, I've tried to present a good selection of products, highlighting some of the better cases that have hit the market -- or are about to. But this is by no means a "best of" … Read more

Speck goes glam with new iPhone 5 cases

While Apple is rumored to be just a few months away from releasing a new iPhone -- or iPhones, depending on what you believe -- accessory makers are still busy releasing new cases for Apple's existing products.

Speck reps stopped by our offices in New York to show off some of their new products, which also included iPod Touch cases and early samples of Samsung Galaxy S4 cases.

The company is highlighting the SmartFlex Shine, a shimmering "fashion-forward" case that's more flexible than Speck's CandyShell cases and easier to get on and off your phone. … Read more

What's smart (and dumb) about the latest smartwatches

Why wear a smartwatch? You might have said the same thing about carrying a smartphone before those got smart enough to be truly useful. Smartwatches are a sort of mini tech trend of the moment, but here's the brutal truth: we wouldn't recommend that our friends buy any of these, unless they're early-adopter watch fetishists. The smartwatches of today have a muddy mix of good, bad, and flat-out ugly features. At best, they're quirky and stylish. At worst, they're hobbled with short battery life or don't work at all.

None of the smartwatches we'… Read more

Samsung takes smartphone battle to the storefront

DALLAS -- Samsung has opened a new front in its battle for smartphone supremacy: the storefront.

The Korean electronics giant plans to set up mini Samsung stores inside all U.S. Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile venues within the next couple of months -- just in time for the Galaxy S4 launch. The "Samsung Experience Shops," which start rolling out Monday, will be in 500 big-box Best Buy stores and all 410 Best Buy Mobile locations by early May. Best Buy's remaining 550 large-format Best Buy stores will feature the shops by early June.

A larger … Read more

Jawbone offers 2.0 software update for Big Jambox

In the past, Jawbone has provided firmware updates for its Jambox mini portable Bluetooth speaker to improve performance and add new features. Now its larger wireless speaker, the Big Jambox, gets its own 2.0 software update today.

The 2.0 update is a free download that's available on Jawbone's MyTalk platform (you have to register and install software on your computer to receive the update). According to Jawbone, here's an overview of the new features:

Better audio experience: New AAC support for iOS 6.1 delivers improved audio streaming with fewer dropouts and interruptions at greater … Read more