7 Awesome iPhone Accessories Just Added to the iPhone Shop

Here is a brief rundown of 7 neat iPhone accessories just added to the AppleiPhoneReview.com iPhone shop.

Be sure to visit the shop to check out these and other top-notch iPhone accessories.

1. Cassette iPhone Case

Cassette iPhone Case

A retro silicone iPhone case that is both stylish and affordable. Flash back to the ’80s and ’90s with this classic cassette iPhone case.

Cassette iPhone case»
 

2. Retractable iPhone Car Charger

Best iPhone Car Charger

This retractable iPhone car charger prevents a mess of cables while you’re charging your iPhone in the car. Due to the tidiness factor and its low price, I’ve named this the best iPhone car charger in the shop.

Retractable iPhone car charger»

3. iPhone Horn Stand

Bone Collection Horn Stand

This iPhone horn stand amplifies your iPhone’s built-in speaker by 13 decibels without the need for a battery or power source. Cool!

iPhone horn speaker»
 

4. Gameboy iPhone Case

Gameboy iPhone Case

This Gameboy iPhone case is great for Nintendo-loving iPhone owners. Protect your iPhone in style with this retro and affordable silicone case.

Gameboy iPhone case»

5. NUU Minikey iPhone Keyboard

NUU Minikey iPhone Keyboard

The NUU Minikey iPhone keyboard is for those iPhone users who can’t quite get used to the iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard. The NUU Minikey for iPhone is a case that doubles as a portable physical keyboard.

Nuu Minikey iPhone keyboard»

6. Six-Foot Long iPhone Cable

Long iPhone Cable

At 6 feet in length, this basic white iPhone USB cable lets you charge your iPhone from those hard to reach spots.

Six-Foot iPhone Cable»
 

7. Looxcie Wearable Camcorder for iPhone

Looxcie iPhone

The Looxcie camcorder for iPhone is a Bluetooth headset that lets you record video of your most cherished moments without the need to take your hands or eyes off the action. This sleek wearable camcorder also takes phone calls just like your typical Bluetooth headset.

Looxcie iPhone camcorder»

Ya dig?

Arkon Car Mounts for iPhone 4 [Review]

Arkon iPhone 4 mount

Arkon is a manufacturer of car mounts for the iPhone. The company recently sent me a couple of mounting solutions for the iPhone 4, and I have been testing them out for the past month.

The package Arkon sent me contained the following items:

  1. SM012 – Mini Weighted Friction Dashboard Mount
  2. GN014-SBH – Travelmount Mini Swivel Windshield Suction Pedestal
  3. AP013 Circular Adhesive Dashboard Disk
  4. GN015-HPB-2 Mini Windshield Suction Pedestal
  5. SM050-2 Slim-Grip Holder

First Impressions

Arkon iPhone 4 mount contents

I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed when I first received the package due to the sheer number of parts. First there is the weighted dashboard mount — which if I may be honest is far from “mini” as the product name states. Then there is an adhesive hook to prevent the weighted mount from sliding off the dashboard. Then there is the pedestal that attaches to the mount. The pedestal is comprised of several parts which you have to assemble, including the plastic pedestal itself, the Slim-Grip holder, and four support legs that you have to slide into the holder before you can mount your iPhone.

Phew! That’s a lot of parts. As Apple customers, we want products that “just work,” as the old Mac slogan goes. I don’t want to have to read an instruction manual to figure out how to use this thing. I just want to take it out of the box and use it.

Arkon iPhone 4 Mounts Reviewed

After assembling both mounts (the friction dashboard mount and the adhesive dashboard disk), I found the friction dashboard mount to be cumbersome, far from “mini,” and not well fitted to my dashboard. On the other hand, I found the adhesive disk to be a much smarter solution.

Arkon Friction Dashboard Mount

The friction mount was in fact too large to fit anywhere but right in the center of my dashboard, and even there it was difficult to hook it to the safety hook due to lack of space. Arkon advertises this mount as more portable, since you can use it in several vehicles, however my package only contained one adhesive safety hook, which is not portable yet is vital to preventing the mount from sliding off your dashboard.

Arkon Windshield Mount

The Arkon Pedestals

The one subtle difference between the GN014-SBH and the GN015-HPB-2 is that the latter allows you to adjust the angle of the holder higher or lower, in addition to the swivel ball that both pedestals feature. I like the swivel ball because it allows for easy manipulation of the iPhone’s position.

The suction cup can be attached to either the mount or to the windshield. In my experience, the suction cup was reliable and never became detached from either the mount or the windshield.

The Slim-Grip Holder

Arkon

The only holder that Arkon offers for the iPhone 4 is the Slim-Grip Holder, and I must say this part makes the Arkon mount a deal breaker for me. The Slim-Grip Holder requires you to slide four support legs into grooves in the holder, but I found this to be troublesome. The reason is apparently that this is a universal mount, and so the support legs can be adjusted to suit any phone. The problem for me was that these legs were difficult to adjust without using considerable force.

Arkon

Furthermore, to mount the iPhone, you need to pull the spring-loaded grip mechanism down and then it will spring back up and secure the phone to the holder. This sounds practical in theory but it is not ideal because a) it’s a pain in the butt to pull the grip mechanism down with one hand while mounting your iPhone with the other, and b) the spring puts considerable pressure on the iPhone 4, which makes me slightly uncomfortable.

I would much prefer a holder that was fitted perfectly for the iPhone 4 so that I could be spared the trouble of adjusting the legs and the inconvenience of mounting the phone with the spring mechanism.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, I like the swivel pedestal and the adhesive dashboard disk, but I was not a fan of the friction mount or the Slim-Grip holder. Show me a fitted holder that I don’t have to fiddle with too much, one that “just works,” and then I might change my mind.

Thanks sincerely to Arkon for providing these mounts for review. I hope the company will consider implementing some of this feedback into their product line. For pricing and other details, visit the Arkon page for iPhone 4.


Arkon Car Mount for iPhone 4

Buy on Amazon: Arkon IPM515 with Slim-Grip Holder
Shop: Arkon iPhone Mount
Manufacturer: Arkon

Xtand Go Windshield and Dashboard Car Mount for iPhone [Review]

Xtand Go for iPhone

Just Mobile’s Xtand Go, mounted on my windshield

Just Mobile’s Xtand Go is a windshield and dashboard car mount for iPhone 3G and 3GS. I will say right off the bat that I am really pleased with this iPhone car mount (and I don’t say that about everything I review).

Here are my complete thoughts on the Xtand Go Windshield and Dashboard Car Mount for iPhone, including detailed instructions on how to use it.

Xtand Go Review

Disclosure: This Xtand Go was donated to me in exchange for an honest review. Sometimes I review donated products that interest me. Despite receiving the items for free, I do my best to be fair and objective. The FTC requires that I disclose my relationship with companies, and I agree that it is important to mention.

Instruction Manual

The Xtand Go’s main weakness, in my opinion, is its instruction manual. It seems they chose to use images to convey the directions in order to accommodate people with different languages, which is admirable, but it makes understanding the directions a challenge.

Xtand Go Instructions

I was somewhat confused by the imagery and had to figure out how to use the Xtand Go with little help from the manual. Just Mobile, please make the instructions for the Xtand Go more clear by adding text to the images. Looking at the instructions was the first thing I did, and it was not a good experience.

The Good

Despite the weak instructions, this mount is excellent, mostly because of its ability to adapt to many situations. The Xtand Go is versatile enough to be placed on virtually any area in your car, including glass surfaces and your dashboard.

What makes the Xtand Go so flexible is that you can adjust it to suit whatever area you are mounting your iPhone to. To mount to a windshield or window, attach the suction cup mount to the folding arm. To mount to the dashboard or console, use one of three available sticky buttons, which Just Mobile calls “Go Buttons.”

Xtand Go Contents & Directions

Xtand Go parts:

Xtand Go Contents

Xtand Go contents, from left to right: 2 of 3 sticky mounts/Go Buttons, suction cup mount, iPhone holster, and folding arm.

The folding arm: The folding arm is the flexible part of this iPhone car mount. The arm can be mounted to the suction cup or to Go Buttons that you stick to your dashboard. The folding arm is composed of two rotating disks on a circular base.

Xtand Go Folding Arm

The concept is smart. By letting you turn two discs on different planes, the Xtand Go lets you orient your iPhone practically any way you want. The only caveat: because each disk can only rotate along one plane at a time, it can sometimes be tricky to orient the iPhone the way you want it.

To be honest, at first it felt like I was playing with a Rubiks Cube, but once I got the positioning of the discs right by folding the discs in the proper positions, then it was easy to orient the iPhone vertically and horizontally.

The suction cup: The Xtand Go’s suction cup mount is one of my favorite features of this accessory. Think about it, to mount an iPhone to your windshield you need some pretty strong suction cups. Just Mobile’s implementation on the Xtand Go is smart and effective.

Xtand Go Suction Cup

To suction the mount to your windshield:

  1. Attach the suction cup to the folding arm by sliding it on and clicking it into place.
  2. Then, press the suction cup to the surface you want to mount to, and turn the base of the suction cup in a clockwise motion. The mount will now be securely fastened to the glass.

The Go Buttons: These little sticky mounts can be placed on different locations on your dashboard so that you can attach the folding arm to those locations. The sticker is strong and has remained attached in the two weeks I have been using the Xtand Go. It seems I could easily remove it if I wanted to, though.

Xtand Go Button

The Xtand Go comes with three of these “Go Buttons,” which let you mount (and unmount) your iPhone to several places on your dashboard

The coolest thing about the Go Buttons is that you can even stick one to your iPhone case and then mount your iPhone, case and all.

The holster:

Xtand Go

The detachable holster lets you clip your iPhone into place in a very non-intrusive way, as you can still access all of the iPhone’s controls and inputs when it is mounted, unlike Pro-Fit’s miCradle and UltiMount, which I reviewed in the past. If you have a case, it won’t fit in the Xtand Go’s holster, but instead you can stick a Go Button to the case to mount it to the folding arm, as I noted above.

Purchase the Xtand Go

Product Page: European shoppers can purchase the Xtand Go directly from Just Mobile.

Amazon.com Listing: Just Mobile does not seem to ship directly to the United States, but US shoppers can find the Xtand Go on Amazon.com (affiliate link).

What do you think?

What are your thoughts on Just Mobile’s Xtand Go? I would love to know if you agree with my opinion of this iPhone car mount.


XTAND GO iPHONE 3G/3GS CAR MOUNT

Buy on Amazon: Just Mobile Xtand Go iPhone Car Mount
Manufacturer: Just Mobile

Ford to Feature Automotive App Store

Ford App Store

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford is working on an iPhone-like app store for its vehicles. By allowing software developers to tap into existing tech provided by the Sync communication and entertainment system, the American auto company hopes to spur all sorts of vehicular innovations.

Such applications, or “apps,” might do such things as give directions to every espresso shop along a highway open after 9 p.m., or allow friends to follow one another to a location through a GPS process called “breadcrumbing.

American auto companies have struggled to stay viable in recent years. Could an “Automotive App Store” be what is needed to pull Ford out of the economic trenches?

iPhone Car Mount Review: Pro-Fit miCradle & UltiMount V2

Pro-Fit miCradle

Pro-Fit recently sent me a miCradle iPhone holder along with an UltiMount V2 iPhone car mount for my Mazda 6.

I’ve had the Pro-Fit car mount installed for a week now, during which time I’ve considered the accessory’s usefulness and how good it is at doing what it should do.

Keep reading for my full review of the Pro-Fit miCradle and UltiMount V2 iPhone car mount solution.

Read more

Will BMW Feature iPhone Integration?

BMW iPhone

Autospies reported Tuesday that BMW may be the first auto manufacturer to make its cars iPhone-friendly. “A reliable source” told Autospies that iPhone compatibility – beyond “just Bluetooth” – might be built into the next BMW 7-series (out in 2009).

There’s not much evidence to back this rumor up, but it’s worth mentioning that BMW was the first auto manufacturer to team with Apple on integrating the iPod into its cars via a glove compartment iPod hookup controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.