If you’re all signed up to receive emails from MagnumMac, you will have just received their iPad accessories brochure. There are some pretty smart looking stands, cases and sleeves in there, so hit your inbox now or check out our direct link after the ‘read now’.

– iPad accessories @ MagnumMac (PDF)

What’s first on your shopping list? Share in the comments!

MagnumMac has kindly provided me with a Case-Mate Fuel Lite iPhone case to review. In the past we’ve looked at the Mophie Juice Pack and the Ecosol Powerstick and it’s great to get our hands on another player in this market – anything that helps the iPhone’s battery life is a blessing!

Does the Fuel Lite stack up? Read on for my review of this new contender.

My first impressions of the case were that it was quite large, but after the first day I started getting used to it.

First off, some specs. The Fuel is supposed to extend the talk-time, standby-time and internet usage by 1.5 times the normal amount.

The actual times are (as stated on the box):

2 hours more talk time
2 hours more internet time
2.5 hours more video playback time
5 hours more audio playback time
and a crazy 100 hours more standby time (but I mean really, with an iPhone who worries about standby time – we just want to be using it all the time!)

There isn’t much in the box, the case itself, a cable (not 30 pin) and some instructions.

When you plug the…

Portable speakers. Let’s face it: they’re usually a bit rubbish. Cheap and nasty with tinny sound and awful build quality, most portable speakers hobble the quality of the sound that your iPhone, iPod or iPad has stored in its vast music library. So when we heard about the the Wowee One and its ability to output incredible bass, we had to try it for ourselves. Check-out our review of the diminutive and deceptive little musical block that pumps the bass louder than you’d ever imagine.

The Wowee One is a compact speaker, about the same size as the iPhone in width and length, but considerably deeper. There are two sockets: a mini USB socket for charging the battery, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for inputting sound. The sides are constructed of matte black plastic, with a glossy black top where the speaker itself is located. The base is rubbery and ever-so-slightly squidgy – more about that later.

Connect your iPhone to the Wowee One and a blue LED will indicate that it is ready to rock. If you start playing music with the Wowee in your hand, it will sound tinny but you will feel bass…

So after taking a look at the Apple Component Cables, when we were given the chance to take a look at the Apple VGA Cable we thought it would be a great opportunity to do a comparison of the two.

Hit the ‘read more’ to find out what we think and see a video of it in action.

First the Good:

The dock connector to VGA cable is a neat little cable (on it’s own). It brilliantly outputs certain apps to a Monitor or projector / presentation system.
If you have Keynote installed then it handles this output brilliantly, as soon as you switch keynote to presentation mode it outputs to the display and gives you handy on screen instructions. It also allows you to use the screen as a virtual red laser pointer, by holding your finger down on the screen.

Next, the not so good:

I realise that it is just a cable that outputs your iPad display to a Monitor or TV, but it was my understanding (and many others) that it would output…

We all know that the battery-life of the iPhone is… well, a bit rubbish. Sure, there are things you can do to boost the time you get between charge cycles and yes, you do get used to charging the thing every night. But what happens if you get stuck somewhere where you can’t charge your phone or if you’re travelling and simply don’t have access to a USB port? We’ve looked before at the Mophie Juicepack which is one solution – but that thing is $160 and boy is it uuuuu-gly! Well, now we’re going to take a look at the Ecosol Powerstick which charges not just your iPhone but almost any other device you may need to inject some juice into. Let’s take a look.

The Powerstick is a Canadian product made by Ecosol, and it’s marketed as the ‘green’ solution to charging your device. The basic concept is that you stick this baby into a USB socket, it pulls enough juice to fill up its internal battery, then it stores that power until a time when you need to charge a device with it. It comes with nine (yes, nine) different connectors that…

With the new driving law now in full effect and with Christmas just around the corner, bluetooth headsets can make a great gift. Over the weekend we were told about a great deal on at MagnumMac for the  Plantronics .Audio 920 bluetooth headset. Normally retailing at $260.00 MagnumMac have a Christmas special and have dropped the price down to $149.00 (whilst promotional stocks last). So with a massive $111 discount we thought we’d get one and check it out…

To start with the headset itself looks great. The packaging on the other hand really lets it down, this may cause you to think twice about looking at this, but remember beauty is on what’s on the inside.

The headset itself has a glossy black and silver ‘metallic look’ finish. On the fascia there is one button that doubles as an Answer/End button and as the volume control. It’s not the smallest headset on the block but weighing in at just 16 grams and only 2.6 inches long, it won’t weigh down your ear, and the soft rubber in-ear piece and swiveling silicon ear loop are comfortable as well.

So it looks good but how…

Just in time for Christmas, Apple are holding a sale event at the NZ online store this Friday for one day only. According to the info on the site, you can expect to find discounts on iPhone, iPod and Mac gear. Nice!

What’s on your wishlist? Planning a purchase? Share in the comments!

[Apple Store]

Last week, we looked at iPhone accessories that come in at $55 or under. This week, we’re going slightly up the budget ladder to gifts between $55 and $200. Got your wallets ready? Let’s go shopping!

Kensington Windscreen Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle. $59.95.
Here we have a windscreen mount built specifically for iPhone that also boosts the volume of its sound output. It can accommodate iPhones in cases and can swivel between portrait and landscape aspects. Cheaper than the TomTom car kit by a long way, but of course does not contain a built-in GPS chip.

Kensington LiquidAUX Deluxe. $159.95.
If you’ve got an auxiliary input on your car stereo and you’re looking for the best way to channel iPhone sound through it, this could be just what you’re after. As well as the usual components to connect your iPhone to your stereo and charge it, this kit includes a nicely-designed wireless controller that clips on to your steering wheel, putting tactile and easy-to-reach music controls right in front of you. Perfect for the safety of those audiophiles who are on the road.

Belkin TuneBase FM with Handsfree. $189.95
If you’ve got no…

Sorry folks, but this story is a little different to usual. Steve received an Ikonic Edge pouch to review but when it arrived I jumped upon it and claimed it as my own! However that hasty ownership decision came with a big catch, in that I now had to write my thoughts and feelings on the product! Hit the ‘read more’ link to find out how it fits in with the mystery (to men, at least) that is a woman’s handbag.

I have been madly searching for the ultimate case for my iPhone for a while now. I personally do not want to have my iPhone in a clear case all the time, after all why ruin a thing of beauty? I just want to protect it while it’s not in use or in my handbag. As most women would know, the allocated slots in handbags are usually for ‘regular’ cell phones and they are unfortunately not quite the right size to house an iPhone properly, so it’s been a mission trying to protect it up until now.

First impressions are that this case is a thing of beauty. The quality is top notch and its slim lines are…

The iPhone accessory market is huge, with cases being the most developed segment by a country mile. With a miriad of choices from silicone skins to polycarbonate transparent shells, iPhone users are very well catered for in the protection of their new devices. So when a local kiwi company contacted iPhonewzealand to ask if we wanted to review “the world’s best” case, I was naturally intrigued and had to see it for myself.

Nutshell are an Auckland-based company that has been hand-crafting leather cases and selling them online since 1997, making them one of the longest serving online retailers in the country. All their cases are made of genuine New Zealand leather and are fully customisable, hand-made to order items. The case that Nutshell sent me is this one, a black leather pouch with belt clip and mag tab.

Firstly, for the record, I am not typically a fan of belt-clip cases. I think that too many years of too many naff-looking, ill-fitting, faux-leather / elastic / plastic cases housing Motorola brick phones on the belts of too many nerds has jaded my view of belt clips and it would take a lot to talk me…

So you’ve seen our Sygic Review and have bought the app, but now you need a car holder for your iPhone to make viewing the directions easy. Well here it is, the DLO Vent Mount.

DLO (owned by Philips) have been making these since the first generation iPhone and they now do this holder for the 3G/3GS and the iPod Touch. The DLO Ventmount is simply a mount for your iPhone that clips onto the blades of any air vent inside your vehicle. The vent clips on with two rigid ‘hair clip’ style pins that slot onto a blade near the top of your vent and one adjustable angled wedge that keeps the mount stable in your chosen position.

The mount can swivel 360 degrees so that you can have your iPhone mounted in portrait or landscape aspect, which makes looking at Maps/Music etc on your iPhone really easy. It also has access at the bottom and top for you to plug your headphones/dock connector in.

When I first got the Vent Mount I couldn’t wait to get it open and installed in the car (sad I know), but I had been looking for…