Four iPhone accessories I’d buy tomorrow…if they existed
The iPhone is an all-in-wonder device, capable of replacing an increasingly large number of other gadgets. But there’s some things that it can’t do—things that are so specialized that they’re best made possible by aftermarket peripherals.
Now that the 3.0 firmware makes the addition of peripherals possible (at least through the dock connector, if not Bluetooth), here are a few accessories I’d like to see:
⌦ Tripod mount – It would be dead simple for a third-party to make a case with a couple of the standard issue screw holes: one in the bottom for portrait; another on the side for landscape. This makes even more sense now that the iPhone 3GS can shoot video.
⌦ Underwater housing – I know—how would you use a touchscreen underwater? I’m just a whiny gadget blogger. It’s my job to complain about this stuff—it’s up to manufacturers to figure out how to make a touchscreen that works even through a waterproof membrane.
Bonus points if it’s actually able to be taken to recreational scuba depths (~100ft).
And because I’m going for ideas here and not bullet points, you could combine something of the first two points and get another good one: an Action case that could be clipped to vehicles or athletes that is rugged enough to withstand a few hard knocks.
⌦ Multitool – You can already get an iPhone case that doubles as a wallet. So why not one that turns the metaphorical Swiss army knife into a literal one? I’m sure someone like Gerber, Leatherman, or Victorinox could make a slim case that held at least a knife, scissors, and a bottle opener. (And hopefully designed it in such a way that you wouldn’t be torquing it against the iPhone screen. Krueesush!)
⌦ Keyboard – There have been wireless Bluetooth hacks that need jailbroken phones and ones that work by tricking the phone (which can be purchased), but as of today there’s still not a good way to use an external keyboard with the iPhone.
The onscreen keyboard works just fine for daily use, but as someone who writes several thousand words a day, I would love to be able to use a portable full-size keyboard. My little dream is that it could be the Apple Wireless Keyboard paired over Bluetooth, but at this point I’d be happy with something that connected through the dock.
With the speed of the 3GS, coupled with push updates that enable a primitive multitasking, I think I could happily live without a laptop—or even a netbook—for days at a time. But I’ve got to have that keyboard if I were going to do any real work.
Photo: Mike Rohde
