You see, better keep your eyes peeled at CES. You never know what you’ll find.

Via: Engadget

As many of us have experienced over the years, getting that extra $5-$10 of an accessory doesn’t always lead to “value”. You know how it is — you get what you pay for. In Apple’s case, their accessories tend to be higher priced. But part of that is because Apple requires a 20-25% royalty on any products that are “officially licensed” with Apple’s seal of approval. Naturally, that cost gets passed along to consumers.

Regardless of how many companies are found guilty in this initial lawsuit, Apple’s gadgets are a hot ticket item world wide, with knock-off companies and accessory companies alike churning out new products faster than you can blink an eye.

It just goes to show that Apple’s own motto — “Our way or the high way” — is practiced in everything they do. Though in this case, they at least have some consumer interests at heart. No one wants a shoddy case…

PhoneArena > AppleInsider > Bloomberg

Hong Kong retailer, ‘JOYCE, has released a new line of designer-created iPhone cases, now, I am only posting about the rock case, but the rest of em aren’t that pretty, but they make a hell of a lot more sense than a Rock Hide-a-key! Come on people, with all that China bans and keeps from the people, you think they wouldn’t allow crap like this to be produced, lol. My only advice, well, other than not to buy this garbage, is that if you happen to own this thing, PLEASE! remember to switch out cases before you go rock climbing, iPhones are too expensive to have lost in plain site.

Okay, now the other case we have today, albeit the complete opposite side of the spectrum, is the ‘Decepticon’ iPhone case. This beast was created by a man named Ryan Glasgow from Portland, OR, and has started selling this thing for $95. I have never been a fan of these ‘clamshell’ type cases, as I think you look like a complete dbag with the flap open while making a telly call, but this is ridiculous. I’m kinda curious as to how long it will take before it decapitates one of is unsuspecting owners.

So there ya have it, if spending hundreds of dollars on a phone wasn’t crazy enough, why not make it look like crap.

Engadget (Steel Case) <-> Gizmodo (Rock)

**Video walkthrough of case inside…

Technabob > Xbox-Scene > Max Console

Ya, the fact that this is even funny is sad. When your typical smartphone case is getting contention from Mr. Sandwhich’s humble abode you know 3rd party manufacturers need to step it up.

Droid Forums

PC builders take pride in their art/work because it gives them a freedom that no big electronics retailer can match in regards to specs, price, or appearance.  One aspect of a computer builders life, especially a gamer, is how to cool your system when running a high end CPU and multiple graphics cards.  All of that silicon and plastic heats up pretty quickly and without proper air flow will turn your dream machine into a smoldering pile of uselessness.  Sure you can go buy some fancy air or liquid cooling systems, but why not tackle this little dilema head on and just do away with the main reason the heat builds up – the case.  “Nonsense, a computer has to have a case.” you say.  Well the “case” above does the job of holding all of your PC innards-no-outards in place while giving them all of the fresh air that they could every possibly need.  (Save for the very few who are trying to clock their aging P4 up to 5GHz+…for you special few, Nitrogen is more up your alley).  The Acrylic Cowboy shown above will set you back $76 which seems pretty pricey for a board of acrylic.  Look on the bright side, it’s less than many other PC cases so it’s not all bad.  So are you going to eschew normality and turn your next PC inside out?  I think you should.

Source: Crunch Gear, Geek Stuff 4 U, BBG

Finally!  A battery-in-case that isn’t so big you can’t fit it in your pocket, it almost doubles battery life, AND looks awesome!  Following Mophies fairly successful “Mophie Juice Pack”, the company realized that even that model was too big, bulky, and unsightly and that something else needed to be done.  Today, Mophie introduced the new slimmer sexier “Juice Pack Air“.  A  new battery-in-case that is lighter, smaller, and a whole lot better looking than the bigger model.  The JPA contains a 1200mAh battery that as Mophie puts it, “nearly doubles battery life”.  I am a pretty heavy user and manage to get just about 13 hours out of a charge so double is plenty for me.  Eager buyers can snap up a pre-order of said case in exciting colors such as black, white, and…purple…(odd choice for some pizzaz but whatever).  I’ll take two please.  Hop on through if you must read the press release.

Press Release:

Mophie Unveils Juice Pack Air – The World’s Thinnest ‘Works with iPhone’ External Battery/Protective Case

Ultra-thin, light-weight juice pack air virtually doubles iPhone 3G battery life and offers the full protection of a hard-shell case in a low-profile design

Los Angeles, CA – February 11th, 2009 – mStation | mophie announces juice pack air, the world’s thinnest apple-certified external battery for iPhone 3G. The rechargeable 1200 mAH lithium polymer battery housed in an ultra-thin case virtually doubles the amount of time you have to rock, talk, surf, and send. Juice pack air will be available to consumers world-wide this spring at Apple stores and mophie.com for $79.95 in Black, White, and Purple. http://www.mophie.com/products/juice-pack-air

Juice pack air features an innovative “standby mode” that allows users to control when they want to take advantage of additional battery support versus simply using it as a protective case. The integrated 4 LED charge status indicates how much juice is remaining in the external battery. Unique pass-through design allows users to simultaneously charge their juice pack air and sync their iPhone 3G with iTunes with the included USB cable.

“The juice pack air is a simple yet elegant battery boosting solution for iPhone 3G power users” says Ross Howe, Sales and Product Development Director for mStation | mophie. “Advanced features like standby mode and ultra-thin design make juice pack air the ideal option for both extended battery support and protection.”

 

Additional Battery Time Provided by juice pack air

Standby Time:	Up to 270 hours
Talk Time:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 9 hours (2G)
Internet Use:	Up to 4.5 hours (3G) Up to 5.4 Hours (Wi-Fi)
Audio Playback:	Up to 20 hours
Video Playback:	Up to 6 hours

The mophie juice pack air will be available at Apple stores and mophie.com this spring with an MSRP of $79.95. For more information, please visit www.mophie.com

About mStation | mophie
mStation is consistently praised for its ability to create quality products with cool Industrial Design. mStation recently acquired mophie, an iPod accessory company with a wide array of award-winning cases. Their products can be found in Apple Stores and major retailers worldwide.
 

Source: Engadget, Mophie