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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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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.
"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_lightning_car_charger.jpg
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.

belkin_lightning_dock.jpg
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
 

Dorje Sylas

macrumors 6502a
Jun 8, 2011
524
370
Now if only I trusted Belkin products not to break within a month perhaps this would be worth something....
 

DB2k

macrumors regular
Feb 15, 2007
165
56
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.
 

grassfeeder

macrumors regular
Jun 9, 2009
121
50
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

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2009
717
309
The dock connects to the headphone jack, so it must have an audio out in the back of the dock....
 

Patriot24

macrumors 68030
Dec 29, 2010
2,813
805
California
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
 

bossxii

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2008
1,754
0
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.
 

ccsicecoke

macrumors 6502
Aug 19, 2010
479
823
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

Cancelled
Mar 21, 2011
15,915
2,151
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

macrumors 603
Jul 3, 2002
5,539
399
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.
 

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,315
6,909
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.
 

avanpelt

macrumors 68030
Jun 2, 2010
2,956
3,877
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.
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,153
4,356
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

macrumors regular
Sep 26, 2012
219
814
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! :)
 

croooow

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2004
1,044
206
Great to see a 3rd party Lightning cord but I will just stick with my USB car charger adapter.
Belkin+Car+Charger+Usb+Devices.jpg

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