This week Sirius XM introduced the SkyDoc for iPhone and iPod Touch. The Skydoc is anr accessory that plugs into your car’s cigartee lighter so you can enjoy Sirius XM radio from your iPhone via your cars sound system. Of course in order to use the Skydoc you must first have the Sirius XM app downloaded on your phone. The SkyDoc will give you access to pouplar channels such as Better yet, it gives users access to all XM and”The Best of SIRIUS” channels, even those the company infamously excludes from its online feed, like Howard Stern, MLB Play-by-Play and NFL Play-by-Play. Here’s what Serious XM has to say about the new accessory:
“XM SkyDock will allow millions of users to add live SIRIUS XM Radio capability to their iPod touch or iPhone while in their vehicle,” said Bob Law, Group Vice President and General Manager, After Market Division, SIRIUS XM Radio. “XM SkyDock makes their favorite programming from XM and ‘The Best of SIRIUS’ available to iPod touch and iPhone users anywhere they drive, coast to coast.”
In my opinion I guess this is good for users with cars that don’t have Sirius XM. Most new cars come with this feature so the accessory really isn’t necessary. It will be interesting to see if the SkyDoc takes off like Sirius XM thinks it will.
The camera on the iPhone is probably as standard a camera lenses as you’re going to find. Someone had the crazy idea to actually creates attachments for the iPhone camera to get different effects. Each lens has a different effect (wide angle, sparkle, kaleidoscope, heart or sunburst) and sell for $8 each. You can get your hands on these funky lenses at Urban Outfitters. The lenses work for any iPhone model.
This definitely goes under the category of WTF!!! The guys from CTA Digital have created a steering wheel for the iPhone. The wheel is meant to be used for the various racing games you can play on your iPhone. I guess tilting the phone back and forth wasn’t enough for some people. To use the wheel simply pop your iPhone (or Touch) into the opening and off you go. The wheel comes with a suction cup so you can use the wheel wherever you want. I’m not going to be a hater but this is definitely a little weird and extreme. The whole point of the accelerometer was to avoid things like this. Anyways, you’ll feel like a star when using this steering wheel and others will look at you and say, WTF! Here’s a little demo of the wheel in action:
If you were one of the purchasers of the Tag Heuer Merediist ($2,000) and you were looking for a Bluetooth headset to match your phone then you’re in luck. Tag Heuer has creating a matching Bluetooth headset. The headset serves two roles. Not only is it a Bluetooth headset, but it also double as a 4GB USB drive. Kind of a different concept, but I like it. The headset can be charged via USB which eliminates the need for those annoying docking stations. No word yet on when the headset will go on-sale or pricing. Of course the headset will work for any Bluetooth enabled phone. So if you couldn’t afford the $2,000 Merediist then you can still look cooling using it with your current phone.
With everyone going green these days Sprint wants to make sure they’re part of the party. Sprint recently released a “green” site specifically to talk about what they’re doing in the sustainability arena. Today Sprint announced the sale of a solar powered cell phone charger, the Mono Hybrid Charger. The charger can both be plugged into a wall outlet or powered via the sun. You no longer need to worry about your cell phone dieing when you are on the beach or in a remote desert! You can purchase the charger for $59.99 at www.sprint.com/accessories.
“Sprint customers will continue to see more eco-friendly options, whether through our products and services or our business practices,” said Ralph Reid, vice president of corporate social responsibility for Sprint. “Sprint’s eco-friendly products will help consumers conserve natural resources and reduce their carbon footprint. In addition, our new green-themed website offers more tips on how consumers can help the environment with easy steps, such as recycling old phones.”
Famous supermodel Heidi Klum and LG have teamed up to make a number of custom back plates for the LG Rumor 2. In the word of fashionable phones I wouldn’t put the Rumor 2 at the top, but with Heidi on board it definitely gives the phone a bit of a boost. Customizing your cell phone is all the rage these days and LG want to make sure they jump into the mix.
The Heidi Klum addition face plates sell for $9.95 each. If you don’t see any face plate designs that you like you can create your own in a few easy steps on the LG website. For more info make sure to check out Heidi Klum presents LG Rumor 2.
Since today is Earth Day I feel obligated about writing a post about how technology is going to “save the planet”. Therefore I’m going to write about wireless electricity. That’s right, the technology is here today and testing is well in advanced stages to bring wireless electricity to the masses. Although there are many implications for using this technology I’m going to speak about cell phones specifically.
How many times do you forget to plug your cell phone in at night and wake up the next morning with a dead phone? If you’re like me it happens a lot. If you’re a heavy cell phone user you probably have to charge your phone once during the day and again at night. Imagine not having to plug your phone in at all, simply placing it close enough to an outlet so it can charge wirelessly? In my opinion this would be heaven. In the near future you will be able to do this. The technology isn’t advanced enough where you can charge your phone no matter where it is in the house, but it can charge distances of up to a few inches away (perfect for an outlet near your nightstand). The front runner to offer wireless technology to the masses is Fulton Innovation. You can see the technology in action at eCoupled. There are no specifics of when the device will be ready for sale, but if you look at the eCoupled website it looks like Best Buy is already on board. The future also looks bright for wireless electricity. Within the next 12-18 months technology will be available that will allow you to charge your phone anywhere in your home. Can’t wait for that!
Initially this will not reduce the number of power chargers that are produced, but someday may eliminate the number of produced. As we all know every time we get a new cell phone the previous charger we have never seems to work with our new phones. Therefore, the only thing to do is recycle or more than likely throw out the old charger. Hopefully with this new technology cell phone chargers will be a thing of the past and will not continue to fill-up our landfills.
If you recall last week I wrote about features that aren’t yet available in cell phones, but should be 10 Technologies That Should Be Incorporated Into Cell Phones. I would have never thought up this one. Samsung apparently has patented a method which combine fragrance pads into a cell phone. A fragrance strip will be embedded into the sliding section of the phone. When a user slides the phone open the fragrance pad will work due to the friction of sliding open the phone. The patent also disuccses a similar pad for flip phones.
Can you believe it. Would you really want your phone giving off such a strong scent. I’m not so sure I would, especially since the phone will be right under your noise. Glad is probably jumping all over this as we speak. I can see the motto now, “Get Glad for your phone”! What will they think of next? It would be a match made in heaven. In this day in age just about anything (and everything) you imagine can become a reality.
There are a zillion covers for the iPhone, but none are as great as this one. This is a Nintendo Game Boy cover for the back of the phone. This is by far one of the coolest cell phone covers ever made.
Are you tired of the same ole clear trackball on your Blackberry? Have you ever wondered if there was a way to change the color? Now there is. CNN.cn is offering a variety of colors to choose from. For $7.99 you can change your trackball to blue, yellow, purple or red. Installing the trackball is as simple as popping the old trackball out and putting the new one in. Here’s a short video on how to install your trackball. You’ll surely be the envy of all your friends!
