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Take a look at the montage of images taken at last night's DigitalLife Press preview above. Do you notice a pattern? I know, it's not brain surgery, and defining a trend from the event wasn't either: iPods, iPods, iPods. It seemed as though every other booth was pushing a product to enhance or protect the iPod. Many of the exhibiting companies offered similar products — iPod cases — with a unique twist.
There were so many iPod accoutrements on display that I won't go into each one and the benefits over the other. Instead, I'll give you the best and worst. The best iPod accessory at the show was from Mophie, who had a display of rubber iPod sleeves (pictured in the lower left hand corner of the montage above) which then slid into iPod docking stations which would serve different purposes: plugging multiple headphones into the iPod for sharing music, recharging the iPod, transmitting the signal over FM waves, making the iPod work by wireless remote, standing the iPod up for video viewing and a docking station with audio/video outputs to hook into home entertainment systems. This product both protected and enhanced the iPod experience. One caveat, the docks aren't available yet, though the representative last night told me they would be by the October DigitalLife conference.
The worst product, by far, was the FUNKit, "Official Licensed Apple iPod Docking Station," (pictured in the top left corner of the montage above). It's a robot that dances along to the song being played by the iPod and "scratches records" to add to the experience. Honestly, I found it hard to stifle a laugh at the FUNKit booth, especially when I learned the price would be $99 for what amounts to little more than a singing Frosty the Snowman.
The "man, do I feel out of place here" award goes to SKB who displayed the "DryPod." The DryPod is a solidly-constructed waterproof case for the iPod. It retails for $34.99-$39.99 and the encased iPod retains functionality. The reason they get the award is that SKB, "The Transit Authority," is new to the consumer electronics sector. The company started out making water-proof heavy-duty guitar cases, then signed government contracts to provide cases for Stinger Missile Launchers, medical equipment and lasers. It plans to expand its presence in the consumer electronics market in the near future with cases for the Motorola Razr cell phone and the Q, now in development. Lest there be any confusion, the DryPod isn't designed for scuba divers, but it will protect your iPod should you drop it in the drink. More from the conference later on. — Brian Ward
Technorati tags: digitallife, ipod, gadgets.
