logitech

ADL X1: This gizmo will pump up the sound of your iPhone

Over the past year or so we've seen a new product category emerge: the portable digital converter/headphone amplifier. Of course, no one "needs" such a device -- phones and iPods already have converters and amps built-in -- and sound perfectly fine with average headphones. The sound is good enough, but your phone's converter and amp share space and battery power with the phone's electronics. A separate converter and amp, about the size of a phone, has only one mission: improved sound quality. So if you upgraded to a high-end in-ear headphone, like the $399 … Read more

Logitech backpedals on plan to sell Harmony remotes division

Logitech is hitting the back button on its plans to sell its Harmony remotes division, buoyed by renewed consumer interest in the line of universal remote controls.

In January, the electronics company announced its intention to unload the division, after recording a "disappointing" third quarter for 2012. Logitech said at the time that the product category didn't fit in with the company's new strategic focus on mobile computing, specifically tablets and smartphones.

But the Newark, Calif.-based company announced late Wednesday that it had decided that retaining ownership of the division was in the best interests … Read more

iOS 7-ready game controller hardware spotted

Apple quietly announced upcoming support for game controller accessories at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference last week, though missing was any sort of hardware from Apple or third parties.

Shortly thereafter, Logitech and PowerA confirmed to CNET that they would, in fact, be releasing iOS game controllers, though neither tipped its hand as to what those controllers would look like.

Game site Kotaku now posts a blurry shot of what it says is Logitech's effort -- a gamepad with four action buttons, a D-pad, and a slot with a Lightning port for an iPhone 5 or fifth-generation iPod Touch. … Read more

Game change: iOS 7 welcoming game controllers is a big deal

With one small feature, iOS 7 might introduce the biggest change in iOS gaming since the App Store.

There's something I've wished for on both the iPhone and iPad for years: a true, universal, dedicated game controller. iOS 7 has granted my wish: indeed, one of the small but very significant additions to the next mobile OS announced at WWDC allows for third-party controllers. It's funny this happened to be announced during E3, because it just might be the trigger to change the mobile gaming industry.

Why it's big Third-party accessory-makers have tried making game controllers … Read more

Logitech buys Kickstarter-funded TT Design Labs

Logitech, a company focused on selling tech accessories, has acquired a company that got its start on Kickstarter.

TT Design Labs was founded a little under two years ago by Derek Tarnow and Zahra Tashakorinia. The company's first product was an iPhone accessory, known as TidyTilt, that doubled as both a stand for easier viewing of the iPhone, as well as a case protector. The TidyTilt could also handle the wrapping of earbud cords to keep everything, well, tidy.

To get off the ground, TT Design Labs brought the concept to Kickstarter, where it raised more than 2,000 … Read more

Google talks back in new voice search

CNET Update wants answers:

In this episode of Update:

- Get chatty with Google's new voice search on the Chrome browser. But Google's still working out the kinks, so don't expect it to be flawless at first search.

- Give your home the right touch with a Kwikset Kevo door lock that opens with a finger tap.

- Hear what a Walmart executive has to say about the future of shopping with apps.

- Plan to give your future GM car some apps to call its own.

- Share your e-mail to advertisers with the click of a tweet. … Read more

Logitech intros classroom-friendly Wired Keyboard for iPad

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

Logitech thanks science for new 'G' PC gaming accessories

Logitech has rebranded its gaming group division with six mice and keyboards, along with two new headsets that make up the company's latest "Logitech G" lineup. Using infrared technology and a bit of science to determine optimal hand position, the new G100s and G400s optical mice are both clues to the company's commitment to innovation, with a new sensor technology called Delta Zero that promises to improve accuracy at any speed.

The G100s, G400s, G500s, and G700s gaming mice are all equipped with a "hydrophobic" coating that repels palm perspiration to keep your hand … Read more

The killer iOS 7 feature the iPad needs: Touch-pad support

It took using the Microsoft Surface Pro to make me remember an article I wrote a year ago, about productivity on an iPad.

I love using the iPad. I also love some of its keyboard accessories. As a product, it's superior to a Surface Pro. But that doesn't mean it's the perfect laptop replacement. And that's still, in my opinion, largely because of one little touch pad. Or, a lack of it.

The iPad never claimed it was a laptop replacement. It stands in its own, hard-to-define "post-PC" territory. Yet, accessories have sprung up … Read more

Logitech looks to lay off 140 employees as trouble persists

Logitech is looking to make some major changes, and part of that plan is a reduction to its workforce.

The company announced today that it will lay off 5 percent of its worldwide workforce, or about 140 employees, and take a charge related to that of $12 million to $14 million.

Logitech has been going through an exceedingly tough time. The company posted an operating loss of $180 million during its fiscal third quarter (calendar fourth quarter) on sales of $615 million. The company's sales were down 14 percent compared with the same period last year.

That trouble prompted … Read more