CES 2010: iLuv and Mophie with App Integrated Accessories

[MacRumors]

CES, as a general technology event, doesn't offer a plethora of Apple-related news though plenty of Mac and iPhone/iPod-related accessories are in evidence on the show floor. While most accessories are not terribly exciting (many of the speakers, headphones, stands, cases, skins, bags, docks, etc. all start to look the same after a while), a couple of items stood out.

The first among these is an iPhone/iPod speaker dock by iLuv called the App Station. It works with the iPhone and iPod touch and requires a free app (not yet available) that turns the iPhone/iPod touch into an alarm clock in addition to displaying local weather information. The iPhone/iPod touch can also be rotated for video watching with sound output through the built-in speakers. We saw a demo of the app in action, though we were warned that the weather information feature was not working in the demo. The App Station will be available in February and will be priced at $129.

Meanwhile, Mophie debuted a new iPhone accessory that takes advantage of the dock connector and offers iPhone users a mobile payment system in the form of a magnetic strip reader at the bottom of a form-fitting hard case. The mophie marketplace requires mophie's free marketplace app (not yet available) and works with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. It will be available next month according to a company representative and pricing has not yet been finalized.

The mophie marketplace is one of the few devices that make use of changes announced to the iPhone SDK early last year that allowed developers to create apps that can interface with the device's hardware and connected 3rd-party accessories.


Article Link: CES 2010: iLuv and Mophie with App Integrated Accessories

 

[Somtaaw]

The mophie marketplace is one of the few devices that make use of changes announced to the iPhone SDK early last year that allowed developers to create apps that can interface with the device's hardware and connected 3rd-party accessories.


Article Link: CES 2010: iLuv and Mophie with App Integrated Accessories

I've actually been quite surprised that so few companies have attempted to sell 3rd Party dock connector devices. You would think that would offer a whole new level of functionality to the phone.

 

[Icaras]

Thanks, but I'll stick with my Night Stand app for $1.99. I still don't understand the need of to pay something like $129 for an "alarm clock" dock. Do you really need more bass to wake up?

 

[lazyrighteye]

I've actually been quite surprised that so few companies have attempted to sell 3rd Party dock connector devices. You would think that would offer a whole new level of functionality to the phone.

Been waiting for a decent set of stereo mics for field recording on an iPhone. Much like those found on the Sony PCM-D50. http://bit.ly/kyEHk

 

[DMann]

Thanks, but I'll stick with my Night Stand app for $1.99. I still don't understand the need of to pay something like $129 for an "alarm clock" dock. Do you really need more bass to wake up?

A simulated earthquake, perhaps?

 

[wackymacky]

Gee, a tad boring!

Didn't they go on at the 3.0 launch about how all these cool devices were being developed with opening up of there SDK?

 

[iphones4evry1]

Speaking of CES iPhone accessories, here is one that streams TV from your cable box to your iPhone:

"The Volcano can stream media from any TV or video source at 720p to cellphones, including the Android, WinMo, Blackberry and iPhone platforms. ..Now, plus it can off load shows from your settop box for later viewing/streaming." (from Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/5443319/monsoon-volcano-is-like-a-slingbox-and-slingcatcher-rolled-up-into-one

 

[4np]

Skimming Made Easy?

I'm sure Skimmers will love this new mophie card reading hardware accessory with their custom written app...

For example: someone working at a gasstation helps a customer whose card is not working and runs it through the card reader and runs it quickly unseen through his own 'mophie card reader accessory' attached to his iPhone to copy the RAW card details... You don't get the front of the card (however, there are numerous solutions for that, just place a camcorder in front of the reader or something), but that's not really as important as the raw data which you can copy on a blank card and use it.

Another example: jailbroken iPhones can -already- be scanned on open ssh and default ssh passwords. Find them, replace the mophie marketplace app if it exists with a hacked version that sends card details to the hacker, or even intercept or forge payment requests to book money to the hacker instead of mophie...

...
The mophie marketplace is one of the few devices that make use of changes announced to the iPhone SDK early last year that allowed developers to create apps that can interface with the device's hardware and connected 3rd-party accessories.

Probably makes it really easy to create such an app... Perhaps it does not allow complete access to the card's data, but I'm pretty sure a good hacker can access the accessory directly to access all raw data.

Regarding the speaker 'alarm clock' accessory, I think that's a bit overpriced as apparently the speaker does nothing more than create sound...

 

[koobcamuk]

The mophie marketplace is one of the few devices that make use of changes announced to the iPhone SDK early last year that allowed developers to create apps that can interface with the device's hardware and connected 3rd-party accessories.

I've been saying this for years now.

Someone can make a lot of money by integrating the Oyster card system onto the iPhone - people would go bonkers for it.

 

[entropys]

Thanks, but I'll stick with my Night Stand app for $1.99. I still don't understand the need of to pay something like $129 for an "alarm clock" dock. Do you really need more bass to wake up?

Well yes, yes i do In fact I am not sure that that little thing would be good enough either.

I hope the App Station doesn't use the weather app that comes with the iphone and that you can't delete. In Australia, any relationship between the weather app and the actual weather is purely coincidental. Now, I am sure it must be right every now and again, and as they say a stopped clock is right twice a day. However, I don't think the weather app can beat that.

What would be cool would be if there was the ability to get an alternative weather app to work with the app station. Then the writers of pocket weather for example could make the weather feature useful. But why restrict it to weather? how about the ipod video function?

 

[NogbadTheBad]

Speaking of CES iPhone accessories, here is one that streams TV from your cable box to your iPhone:

"The Volcano can stream media from any TV or video source at 720p to cellphones, including the Android, WinMo, Blackberry and iPhone platforms. ..Now, plus it can off load shows from your settop box for later viewing/streaming." (from Gizmodo)

http://gizmodo.com/5443319/monsoon-volcano-is-like-a-slingbox-and-slingcatcher-rolled-up-into-one

Slingmedia also do this type of thing, but to be honest the Volcano stuff looks much better, lets hope we get all the features they say they will be offering.

 

[VenusianSky]

The alarm clock looks decent. I take it that it blocks radio interference? I got an iPod docking alarm clock last year as a gift and I can't use my iPhone with it because the speaker picks up the radio waves and makes that god awful sound in the middle of the night. I think it is an iHome brand. I just use my iPod with it. Another thing I do not like about it is that the display is not high contrast. I still have my old clock radio connected because I can see the time on it from bed without having to put my glasses on. I cannot see the time on the iHome. The iHome does have decent sound quality though.

 

[mwp98223]

The dock (no speakers) that you can get with the Moto Droid does the same thing for Droid automatically and there was no app needed. Just put the Droid in the dock and it displays a big clock, weather and buttons for music, etc.

 

[Michael73]

After 25 years of owning a Proton clock radio I finally replaced it last week with a Chestnut Hill Sound George which was a Best of Show winner back at Macworld 2007 when it debuted and I love it.

Yeah it seems ridiculous to pay $129 for something to wake you up in the morning but when you compare it to the cost of kids who also wake you up, even a $1,000 alarm clock is downright cheap!

 

[mcrain]

I use my iPhone for the time, weather and news on a regular basis. I have an alarm clock by my bed that I occassionally listen to (crappy sound, and only radio), but that I use because it projects the time and it used to project the outside temperature on the ceiling.

Does anyone know of an iPhone compatible alarm that projects at least the time on the ceiling. I would love and would buy in a heartbeat a clock that projected information gathered from the phone (weather, time, news, etc...) onto the ceiling.

(edit) It seems like it would be easy to create from a hardware standpoint, and from a software standpoint, I've seen more complicated apps.

 

[lilskaterpunk]

I don't see the need for me to spend $129 on a device to make it a night stand clock. Maybe if I had money to blow...

 

[Revival Cr8tive]

Square Up beats Morphie Market Place Hands down...

Umm, this Morphie thing...

Its going to need to be extremely competitive with the market. Considering that Square Up has already announced its going to give away 'squares' for free and the App will be a few $'s in the app store...

www.squareup.com

As for the hacking, there will always be a minority who will try to spoil it for the majority. Square Up has already hinted about a chip and pin version... Alot more inaccessible..

I wait to see who's going to be the winner, however I guessing its going to be SquareUp

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Umm, this Morphie thing...

Its going to need to be extremely competitive with the market. Considering that Square Up has already announced its going to give away 'squares' for free and the App will be a few $'s in the app store...

www.squareup.com

As for the hacking, there will always be a minority who will try to spoil it for the majority. Square Up has already hinted about a chip and pin version... Alot more inaccessible..

I wait to see who's going to be the winner, however I guessing its going to be SquareUp

Chip and pin isn't used in the US...... which doesn't mean that for areas that it IS used, they won't be the better solution if they implement it. But there was surprise in a past "recent" thread that the US wasn't using Chip and pin (which i'd never heard of and had to go read up on!).

The solution that ends up "winning" is the one that is the easiest to use.... except that will vary between people. AND, the merchant processor must support it too, which might draw lines as to who you use if you have existing merchant accounts.

But it will prevail because it's cheaper on retailers when they swipe cards over hand keying the info in. Heck, i would have bought one 10 years ago!

 

[mkrishnan]

I don't see the need for me to spend $129 on a device to make it a night stand clock. Maybe if I had money to blow...

I think the thing is that it's not vastly different in price from other low-end dock/speaker systems, and it does something extra, that they do not. I have a much older iLuv that has a hard-drive iPod in it, on my nightstand. I actually don't use it to wake up. I've alternately kept it in my office, where it provides some nice music at work when I want it, with all my music collection on it.

I'm actually looking for an iPhone-compatible one, and probably going to send this old one back to my office and put the iPhone one on my nightstand. I don't know that I'd pick this particular one, but I do like the idea of it integrating with an alarm clock app -- I thought that was one of the more clever things the Droid does.

 

[eecarver]

iLuv Onsale Now

On amazon.com for $89.99, but reviewer says there is no iLuv app available yet. What is up with that?!?