Belkin Announces First Official Third-Party Lightning Accessories

MacRumors · Nov 5, 2012, 10:22 AM

While a number of vendors have been launching unofficial Lightning accessories while Apple works to bring official partners up to speed on the new standard, Belkin today became the first official vendor to introduce accessories using the Lightning connector.

Quote:

"Belkin was the first third-party manufacturer to develop accessories for the 30-pin connector back in 2003, and we are thrilled to be first to market again with solutions for the new Lightning connector," said Martin Avila, general manager of Belkin's core division. "People are eager for Lightning accessories and Belkin's give them a reliable way to keep their new iPhone 5, iPad 4th generation, iPad mini or iPod touch charged, protected, and ready to go."

Belkin's first two products include a car charger and a Charge + Sync Dock, each priced at $29.99. Belkin is currently accepting pre-orders for the new accessories, which will begin shipping by November 15.

The car charger is the only one of the two products to actually include a Lightning connector from Belkin, as the dock simply accommodates the standard Lightning to USB cable offered by Apple.

Article Link: Belkin Announces First Official Third-Party Lightning Accessories

GeekLawyer · Nov 5, 2012, 10:25 AM

About time! But a very welcome development!

robertosh · Nov 5, 2012, 10:26 AM

Love the dock!

Dorje Sylas · Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM

Now if only I trusted Belkin products not to break within a month perhaps this would be worth something....

DB2k · Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM

how is the dock a "lightening accessory" its a lump of metal with a hole. You have to provide your own Lightening to USB cable to make it work.

that is a gip.

iGrip · Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM

$30 for a car charger?

That is insane.

grassfeeder · Nov 5, 2012, 10:29 AM

quite possibly the ugliest dock I could imagine. phone looks like it's a foot tall on that thing.

I'd rather spend $29 on the adapter from apple to use on my existing cig charger - at least that way I can detatch it and use it elsewhere

DudeDad · Nov 5, 2012, 10:29 AM

The dock connects to the headphone jack, so it must have an audio out in the back of the dock....

Hakone · Nov 5, 2012, 10:30 AM

I've had good luck w/ Belkin products. I have a few accessories that are 3-5yrs and still going strong.

Sleek base, I must say.

Patriot24 · Nov 5, 2012, 10:31 AM

I really want a good all-in-one solution for car navigation:

Some type of dock to put the phone in
Flexible/positionable arm that stays in place nicely
End of the arm should plug straight into the car power port
Lightning connector
Headset jack
USB/Headset cable to plug into AUX input

WildCowboy · Nov 5, 2012, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeDad

The dock connects to the headphone jack, so it must have an audio out in the back of the dock....

Yes.

jadot · Nov 5, 2012, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DudeDad

The dock connects to the headphone jack, so it must have an audio out in the back of the dock....

Yes, it does. It says so on the website.

bossxii · Nov 5, 2012, 10:32 AM

Good to see some 3rd parties enter the game... but Belkin is by no means my goto vendor. Hopefully some higher quality vendors step up soon. While I hate buying new cords I have to admit I love the new connector over the 30 pin and pretty much any micro USB or mini USB. Not having to worry about which way or what angle it goes in the port is really nice, especially if your hooking it up at night or (yes I know I should be but it happens) while driving. I bit the bullet and bought 4 of the USB Lightening cables and just made a clean sweep of it. Assuming Apple doesn't change the connectors in the next 5 years I will be set and having original Apple cables has proven time and time again to be much more reliable than 3rd party ones.

ccsicecoke · Nov 5, 2012, 10:33 AM

Why doesn't Belkin make it coiled? Personally I would prefer all cables coiled in car for safety purposes. Would rather wait Griffin to come up with a coiled charger

Tech198 · Nov 5, 2012, 10:34 AM

I was gonna say, "that looks very much like a car charger"

I can't find anywhere in my Mac to stick this one in.

nuckinfutz · Nov 5, 2012, 10:36 AM

Would prefer not to have an integrated lightning cable in the car charger. I won't buy another that isn't plain ole USB.

The Dock is half-baked. Nice but if you got to run your own cable you may as well make your own dock.

KdParker · Nov 5, 2012, 10:41 AM

could use a car charger...

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by iGrip

$30 for a car charger?

That is insane.

Does seem abit high. Will go down as more choices become available.

Porco · Nov 5, 2012, 10:41 AM

It's a shame so many companies ruin their designs (IMHO) by feeling the need to plaster their names all over the product, especially one like that dock, which as arguably one of its main functions is that of presentation (alongside being a place to charge/connect) might give them pause to think if it would increase or decrease potential sales to tarnish the otherwise sparse design with pointless branding.

KdParker · Nov 5, 2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iGrip

$30 for a car charger?

That is insane.

Does seem abit high. Will go down as more choices become available.

avanpelt · Nov 5, 2012, 10:42 AM

I hope this isn't Thunderbolt all over again. I can't believe it's taking this long to get third-party Lightning accessories on the shelves. The phone has been out almost two months.

Rychiar · Nov 5, 2012, 10:42 AM

can't the audio come out through the lightning port? i don't understand the headphone jack on the dock

jclardy · Nov 5, 2012, 10:43 AM

Car charger would be a decent deal if the lightning cable was not connected directly, but it is. I think you would be better off buying a $19 Apple lightning cable and a $3 car USB charger.

And the dock would be cool if I could use it for both iPad Mini and iPhone 5...but the audio port ends up preventing that.

izyreal · Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM

I am a little disappointed with the design that Belkin has chosen for their car charger. A much more useful design would be to make the auxiliary plug a usb port and make the cord removable. My ideal solution would be an auxiliary plug with two USB ports and a single USB-to-Lighting cable.

Oh well... I am sure that a plethora of solutions will be available soon!

croooow · Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM

Great to see a 3rd party Lightning cord but I will just stick with my USB car charger adapter.

I purchased an extra USB/Lightning cord from Apple but I would also like to be able to charge other devices.

elec999 · Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM

Nice and expensive

Nov 5, 2012, 10:26 AM	#3
robertosh macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Spain	Love the dock! __________________ 2008 iMac 24" c2d 3.06Ghz 6Gb 1Tb OSX 10.8.3 2010 iPod Touch 4G 32Gb iOS 6.1 2012 iPad Mini 16Gb Cell iOS 6.1 2013 iBook G4 12" 1.20Ghz 1.25Gb 64Gb SSD
	3

Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM	#5
DB2k macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2007	gip how is the dock a "lightening accessory" its a lump of metal with a hole. You have to provide your own Lightening to USB cable to make it work. that is a gip.
	17

Nov 5, 2012, 10:31 AM	#10
Patriot24 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Phoenix, AZ	I really want a good all-in-one solution for car navigation: Some type of dock to put the phone in Flexible/positionable arm that stays in place nicely End of the arm should plug straight into the car power port Lightning connector Headset jack USB/Headset cable to plug into AUX input __________________ iphone + air + ipad + time capsule + classic + shuffle + tv
	1

Nov 5, 2012, 10:32 AM	#13
bossxii macrumors 68000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Kansas City	Good to see some 3rd parties enter the game... but Belkin is by no means my goto vendor. Hopefully some higher quality vendors step up soon. While I hate buying new cords I have to admit I love the new connector over the 30 pin and pretty much any micro USB or mini USB. Not having to worry about which way or what angle it goes in the port is really nice, especially if your hooking it up at night or (yes I know I should be but it happens) while driving. I bit the bullet and bought 4 of the USB Lightening cables and just made a clean sweep of it. Assuming Apple doesn't change the connectors in the next 5 years I will be set and having original Apple cables has proven time and time again to be much more reliable than 3rd party ones. __________________ 2012 15" rMBP, iPhone 5, iPad 4
	0

Nov 5, 2012, 10:34 AM	#15
Tech198 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Australia, Perth	I was gonna say, "that looks very much like a car charger" I can't find anywhere in my Mac to stick this one in. __________________ 15" i7 Macbook Pro, 750Gig HD, Apple TV 2, iPhone 4S, iPad 3 16Gig
	0

Nov 5, 2012, 10:25 AM	#2
GeekLawyer macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: The post is coming from inside the house!	About time! But a very welcome development!
	2

Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM	#4
Dorje Sylas macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2011	Now if only I trusted Belkin products not to break within a month perhaps this would be worth something....
	4

Nov 5, 2012, 10:28 AM	#6
iGrip macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: The State of Yves. Yes, I love him THAT much.	$30 for a car charger? That is insane.
	12

Nov 5, 2012, 10:29 AM	#7
grassfeeder macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2009	quite possibly the ugliest dock I could imagine. phone looks like it's a foot tall on that thing. I'd rather spend $29 on the adapter from apple to use on my existing cig charger - at least that way I can detatch it and use it elsewhere
	2

Nov 5, 2012, 10:29 AM	#8
DudeDad macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2009	The dock connects to the headphone jack, so it must have an audio out in the back of the dock....
	0

Nov 5, 2012, 10:30 AM	#9
Hakone macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Southern California	I've had good luck w/ Belkin products. I have a few accessories that are 3-5yrs and still going strong. Sleek base, I must say.
	1

Nov 5, 2012, 10:33 AM	#14
ccsicecoke macrumors regular Join Date: Aug 2010	Why doesn't Belkin make it coiled? Personally I would prefer all cables coiled in car for safety purposes. Would rather wait Griffin to come up with a coiled charger
	2

Nov 5, 2012, 10:36 AM	#16
nuckinfutz macrumors 603 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Middle Earth	Would prefer not to have an integrated lightning cable in the car charger. I won't buy another that isn't plain ole USB. The Dock is half-baked. Nice but if you got to run your own cable you may as well make your own dock.
	6

Nov 5, 2012, 10:41 AM	#18
Porco macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2005	It's a shame so many companies ruin their designs (IMHO) by feeling the need to plaster their names all over the product, especially one like that dock, which as arguably one of its main functions is that of presentation (alongside being a place to charge/connect) might give them pause to think if it would increase or decrease potential sales to tarnish the otherwise sparse design with pointless branding. __________________ I really wish Apple would use the option key a little more, and the command key a little less. --- Sent from my magical iPowerMacBookG5PadPhonePod 50inch AppleTV Extreme Pro ---
	5

Nov 5, 2012, 10:42 AM	#20
avanpelt macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010	I hope this isn't Thunderbolt all over again. I can't believe it's taking this long to get third-party Lightning accessories on the shelves. The phone has been out almost two months.
	2

Nov 5, 2012, 10:42 AM	#21
Rychiar macrumors regular Join Date: May 2006 Location: Waterbury, CT	can't the audio come out through the lightning port? i don't understand the headphone jack on the dock
	1

Nov 5, 2012, 10:43 AM	#22
jclardy macrumors 68000 Join Date: Oct 2008	Car charger would be a decent deal if the lightning cable was not connected directly, but it is. I think you would be better off buying a $19 Apple lightning cable and a $3 car USB charger. And the dock would be cool if I could use it for both iPad Mini and iPhone 5...but the audio port ends up preventing that. __________________ Swift Fox Software \| Rocket Chimp (iTunes - Free + Universal!) \| TargetTap Lite (iTunes) \| TargetTap (iTunes)
	1

Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM	#23
izyreal macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: USA	I am a little disappointed with the design that Belkin has chosen for their car charger. A much more useful design would be to make the auxiliary plug a usb port and make the cord removable. My ideal solution would be an auxiliary plug with two USB ports and a single USB-to-Lighting cable. Oh well... I am sure that a plethora of solutions will be available soon!
	0

Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM	#24
croooow macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2004	Great to see a 3rd party Lightning cord but I will just stick with my USB car charger adapter. I purchased an extra USB/Lightning cord from Apple but I would also like to be able to charge other devices. __________________ iPhone 4 15" MacBook Pro iPad mini
	11

Nov 5, 2012, 10:44 AM	#25
elec999 macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2007	Nice and expensive __________________ \|\|Mac Mini\|\|iPad 16GB 3G+Wifi\|\|iPhone 4S 16GB\|\|
	0

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode