Macworld 2008: Add to your iPhone; handsfree talk

Besides printers, scanners, and networked storage solutions, which you always expect to find at Macworld, the focus this year seemed to have shifted towards new 3rd-party peripherals revolving around iPhone. Dozens of new headset, headphones, and docking options have recently become available to support Apple's new flagship product.

Macally, a long time provider of Mac peripherals, offered Tune Pro and FlexTune. Designed for the iPod, TunePro is an audio minisystem with a flat-panel appearance and includes an alarm clock—perfect for the nightstand; FlexTune is a small but very versatile charger and speaker set for both iPod and iPhone. What was interesting about the latter was the way the speakers could slide laterally so the iPhone could be rotated to landscape mode for video viewing, to minimize the device's footprint on an office desk.

Skullcandy offers creative designs that appeal most to a younger crowd. They recently introduced the iPhone FMJ headset. They also offer full-featured wireless headphones. Most of their prices are under $100, except for the high-end phones, which retail for $169.95.

Ultimate Ears offered four models of high-quality headsets for iPods and iPhones: the Custom, the Triple.fi, the Super.fi, and the Metro.fi for the style conscious.

I briefly stopped by Xtreme Mac as well, and saw a wide variety of good-sounding, aesthetically-pleasing docking stations, speakers, and clock radios, most notably the Luna X2 and the Tango X2. They also offered nearly a dozen varieties of cases, pouches and protective covers for iPods and iPhones.

One of the more interesting presentations I attended was from Altec Lansing, who said their new T612 iPhone dock and speaker system (Click on the image at left for a closer look.) is the first to be "Apple certified", meaning Apple agrees to sell them in Apple stores. Apparently such certification is difficult to attain, as Apple has very tight engineering standards regarding specific emissions and GSM shielding. Capable of both desk and wall mount, the sound is very rich and clean. It is also backward compatible with dockable iPods.

The other side of the wireless story, of course, is the legal push in a growing number of states for "hands-free" cell phone use while driving. This, of course, encourages innovation, and there were many new products available at Macworld to meet consumer needs.

Macally offered a creative solution, in the form of the BTCup. It's an iPhone charger/docking station, with a small Bluetooth microphone. The clever part is that this device is designed to fit in your car's cup holder.

Plantronics, of course is a 45-year mainstay of headset technology, having made the original headsets for the Apollo program. Their new Plantronics Discovery 665 wireless 'phones, "Apple certified" for iPhone offer dynamic volume control between the mike and the earphone—the phones can sense background noise and raise or lower mike and earphone volume independently for user comfort. The Voyager 520 siblings offer a longer boom. (You take a closer look at the Discovery 665 by clicking on the image on the right and the Voyager 520 on the left.)

As awareness of driver safety increases, expect a lot more hands-free cellular solutions to reach the market. Competition is picking up.

—Thomas A. Olson