Accessories

You can now stop fighting over charger real estate thanks to Griffin's new PowerDock 5. The new charging station helps you keep your countertops or desk clutter free by providing up to five charging ports for any iOS devices . Each charging bay is roomy enough to accommodate the bulkiest of iPad cases, but the PowerDock 5 only consumes as much room as a single iPad. The PowerDock will also help you keep all your devices and cables neatly organized and in one place.

The PowerDock 5 is great for tablet crowded offices, or for moms who are tired of siblings stealing each other's chargers. The iOS charging station will available from Griffin Technology's official online store in the spring for $100.

Though it came as a surprise to absolutely no one, along with the Apple iPhone has come an absolute barrage of accessories and other products to pair with your iPhone, leaving all of us with a sea of merchandise to sort through and evaluate. Slowly but surely, feedback will be available on all of these products. Some things, however, are important to be informed about right from the get-go. Depending on the person you're asking, virtually any mobile phone accessory can be considered essential.

JBL is now accepting pre-orders for two new iPhone 5 speaker docks with built in Lightning connectors. The OnBeat Micro is a portable speaker dock with up to five hours of battery life. It also features a USB port for compatibility with other devices, and it weights just 0.8 pounds for easy travel. It's compatible with all current iPhone and iPod models.

The OnBeat Venue Lightning is a wireless speaker with Lightning connector for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The Venue can wirelessly stream music from any Bluetooth device, and features HARMAN TrueStream audio technology.

The OnBeat Micro is priced at $99.95 and the OnBeat Venue Lighning will set you back $199.95.

Apple is now offering Lightning to Micro USB adapters to help customers cut down on their growing piles of cables. The adapter allows users to connect the Lightning connector to a micro USB cable to sync and charge the iPhone, iPad, or iPod. The new adapter is available for $19 via Apple's online store, and should be available at brick-and-mortar locations soon. Apple also offers Lightning to 30-pin adapters for $29, and Lightning to VGA adapters for connecting to VGA-equipped TVs, monitors, or external projectors for video mirroring. The VGA Adapter is $49.

Striiv has launched a new wearable Play Smart Pedometer which works with the free Striiv iPhone fitness app. The Striiv Play Pedometer uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your iDevice to help you easily keep track of your fitness activities wirelessly. Its built-in rechargeable Lithium ION battery allows for up to one week of usage on a single charge, and its nickel-plated clip fastens to any workout gear or clothes.

The Striiv Play plus app allows users to measure their activities like walking and running, play games and share their achievements with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

If you have you ever wished your iPhone was more like Batman's utility belt then you should check out the ReadyCase Indiegogo campaign. The surprisingly thin case (less than 3mm thick) not only protects your iPhone, but it also crams in a multi-tool, a USB memory stick, a kickstand, a headphone clip and three lenses for the iPhone camera.

The case ships with a knife / screwdriver / bottle opener multi-tool, your choice of 8GB or 16GB memory stick (which doubles as a kickstand) and an integrated lens ring for attaching a variety of lenses (a macro lens, a fish eye lens and a wide angle lens) specifically designed to work with the iPhone. The case keeps is slim pocket-friendly design by allowing you to snugly attach the multi-tool and memory stick to the back of the case, and the headphone clip eliminates knotted cord headaches by keeping your EarPods tangle free.

The iPhone 5 gives Apple fans the perfect excuse to splurge on a new iPhone case, and as usual there is no shortage in options. iPhoneFAQ has been recommending the invisibleSHEILD from Zagg since 2010, and there is already an iPhone 5 version of the popular screen protector available. The invisibleSHEILD isn't really an "iPhone case," but it's a great way to protect your device from scratches and damage. Just like the previous iPhone screen protectors, the iPhone 5 version comes with a lifetime guarantee, and the same high-tech scratch proof capabilities. You can head over to zagg.com to learn more about, or buy the invisibleSHEILD.

If you're looking for a more traditional iPhone case OtterBox has released an iPhone 5 series. OtterBox is known for their high-quality smartphone cases. The iPhone 5 series offers the standard port protection with complete access to all functions, a polycarbonate skeleton, built-in screen protector, and a face-in belt clip holster for added protection. The OtterBox Defender Series for iPhone 5 is available for $50 from Amazon.com and BestBuy.com

Instagram fans will want to check out Instacube, a digital picture frame from designer D2M (Design to Matter). The Instacube allows Instagram users to easily display their photo feeds via Wi-Fi on a 6.5-inch, 600×600 capacitive touch screen. The 7.5-inch frame is powered by Google Android and an ARM processor. It features 4GB of internal memory and has 256MB of RAM.

Instacube is easy to use. All it requires is a Wi-Fi connection and an Instagram account. There are only three buttons: one for toggling feeds, one for power and one for liking photos. Instacube is fed from the cloud so you can easily tell it to display custom content, or just let it feed photos from your stream.

FreedomPop is now accepting pre-orders for its iPod Freedom Sleeve. The case converts your iPod into a 4G iPhone with 500MB of guaranteed free broadband every month. Each additional gigabyte will cost you $10. The Freedom Sleeve allows you to make calls, use Skype or FaceTime and stream music or videos anywhere. You can even turn your iPod into a hotspot for up to eight devices.

Just like the FreedomPop iPhone case, the iPod sleeve is a a WiMax mobile hotspot that incases your device. The WiMAX network is available in 82 markets with plans to connect to Sprint’s new LTE network in the future. It may not be as fast as other 4G networks, but the free data may be worth the tradeoff to some iPod owners.

Keeping more than one mobile device charged while on the go is a challenge for anyone who owns a tablet, phone, GPS and whatever else. Innergie aims to solve that problem with its PocketCell battery pack. The rechargeable battery bank provides portable power and charging capability for iOS and Android devices, MP3 Players, and over 10, 000 other portable devices.

The lightweight (2.8 ounces) charger has a 3,000 mAh capacity and includes the Magic Cable Trio with integrated smart-tip Apple, Micro, and Mini USB connector. It can supply your iPad with up to 4.5 hours of extra use, and gives the iPhone 25+ hours of additional talk time.