Aussie accessories: STM, Cygnett and more
We take a look at some Australian brands worthy of your dollars when buying bags, cases and other accessories for your favourite gadgets.
We take a look at some Australian brands worthy of your dollars when buying bags, cases and other accessories for your favourite gadgets.
STM is a very popular brand right around the world now, so you might be pleasantly surprised to discover they call Australia home. They make great laptop bags as well as cases for tablets and smartphones, supporting products from Apple, Samsung, Sony, HTC and more. We like the studio and grip tablet cases, and the catch iPhone case that offers storage for cards in the back is a particular stand out.
Cygnett is a Melbourne company that has also achieved global distribution with a range of great products. Cygnett has developed a very wide range of accessories, moving beyond cases and covers into cables, chargers, speakers and more. Amongst its range of cases we're fans of the Icon art range, the Workmate and Urban Shield lines for rugged protection, and the FlipWallet.
Cygnett also makes one of the best simple USB chargers around. For AU$19.95 you get a PowerBase II dual USB charger that delivers 2.1A across the two ports so you can charge high-powered devices without major drama. Many third-party chargers skimp on the Amps which leads to slow charging performance, so this option is a go-to product in the CNET Australia office.
Dog & Bone is the new kid in town but its got some clever designs in its range. The latest is the Wetsuit for your iPhone 5S. It's a rugged waterproof case for your iPhone but it also still supports Touch ID. You will need to specifically program in fingerprint option for use in the case — it won't recognise prints setup without the case on — but it's a great solution to deliver both protection and the security convenience of the Touch ID biometric system.