Top 7 iPhone Accessories
Here are my latest picks for the top iPhone accessories. There are several options in each category depending on your primary usage. My primary considerations in accessories are:
- Portability
- Productivity
- Experience enhancement
Screen Protector
- InvisibleShield - full body protection
- Crystal Film - touch screen shield
- Deco Skin - protective and attractive, design your own!
Charger
Solar Charger
- The chargers that came with the iPhone 3G were recalled. See the article here for info on what to do about that.
- Car Charger - under $10
- Solar Charger - You can also opt for this Solar Charger case.
- My top pick for a non-solar charger: Incase 2-in-1 wall and car charger. Cut the number of cords cluttering up your laptop bag and grab this one. The 5 ft cable is nice.
Case
Incase Battery
- Case with close up lens - for the productivity junkie. Clarifi excites the productive side of my personality. I see me happily scanning barcodes, business cards, and other evernotes.
- Telescope - for the photog. Telescopic 6X zoom looks good. ThinkGeek has a version of this for the non-3G iPhone.
- Case with Battery - lets face it, this is for everyone. Most especially the truly mobile workforce. Mophie probably had the best battery case on the market but check out the newest contender from Incase.
Headset
MyVu Video Shades
- Conference Call Commando - Jawbone is the way to go. Warning - there have been reports of pairing issues with 3G. My top pick at the moment but the next option has a huge cool factor.
- Frequent Flyer - Holy video glasses batman! Or just a batman video. Widescreen movies in a narrow seat = awesome flight, or at least more tolerable!
- Music Lover - Bose kicks some ear and you know it! A few other good options for audiophiles but I'll leave that argument for another time.
Docking Station
Griffin PowerDock
Do you just need power or are you sans stereo?
- Stereo / Alarm Dock - I liked the look of this one from TunePro until I saw it had no speaker shielding for GSM interference.
- Better Stereo / Alarm Dock options to be found here, including another Bose reference (I should get a commission from them).
- Multiple Docking - great if you have a family of iGear. Top pick for now because it keeps counter top clutter to a minimum.
Car Mounting
Audio Visual Cable
- Apple Component Cable
- HDMI to DVI This is for your MAC but you have your videos on both devices, right?
Google Voice Search iPhone App – A Review
No buttons required
Downloaded the Google Mobile App last night so I could test out the new voice search capabilities. The app is not 100% hands free but it's a great step.
To get started:
- Open the Google App (requires a screen tap)
- Choose Search from the icons along the bottom (if you had it open before it's still on that selection)
- Now you hit the microphone icon in the top right and speak
- OR (here's the no tap part) simply bring the phone up to your ear.
Either way, you'll hear a tone when the app is ready to receive your search criteria.
Talk Now!!
If you've hit the button you'll get an even bigger hint.
After a moment or two of the working screen you get your results. I've had decent luck with my test queries. It seems the best results come from common searches. That is, the more popular the search term, the more likely voice search is to get it right.
Snack Results Yum...
For example, while I got odd results looking for Jon Reid (hey, you would have searched for you, admit it) Tim O'Reilly quickly turned up the Web 2.0 man himself. In fact I had better results slowly spelling out J O N R E I D than I did when saying it.
Here are my results for a quick snack in the GTA:
The snapshot isn't wonderful but if you can make it out, you see that I get addresses, phone numbers, and links to maps. Not bad! Search can also be tied to you GPS location so you can search for nearby goodies.
My ultimate vision of voice search has me asking Google questions as I drive. Letting me get directions safely without having to pull over first to type.
I know that day is coming!
Alas, we aren't there quite yet.
Smartphone Typing – The Great Debate
I was recently in the market for a new phone. Like a lot of us I was smitten with the iPhone and it's easy extensibility. A couple of my good friends and work colleagues were adamant that texting and responding to email is bound to be easier on their jazzy Blackberry keyboards. Sure, they said, the iPhone is sexy but I can type on my phone without even looking.
So, being the good friend that I am, I ignored their sage advice and gave into my newfound Apple craving. A couple of months in, I have to admit, it was a bit easier to type on my old Motorola Q. I'm steadily improving but I still mistype now and then. Especially annoying when I'm posting a direct response on Twitterific.
Now however, recent developments have me posing a question to all you iPhone text bashers:
Can you type faster than you can talk?
Haha, perhaps those innovation masters at Google are on the verge of removing this question from the list of topics on the smart phone forums.
Google - Voice Search iPhone App
It's in the early stages but I have high hopes for other applications using speech recognition. It's been a dream of mine to be able to safely GTD while driving, jogging, or any way other than sitting in front of my computer.
Downloading now, review to come asap.
About Jon Reid
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