First official third-party Lightning accessories announced by Belkin
Belkin on Monday announced two new accessories designed for Apple's Lightning connector ? the first two official third-party accessories designed for the new iDevice port.
Belkin's Car Charger for Lightning and Charge + Sync Dock will both be available this year, and will be the first Lightning accessories to hit the market.
"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."
Lightning accessories from Belkin are available for preorder now on the company's website. They will go on sale in mid-November.
The Belkin Car Charger for Lightning will cost $29.99, and is an updated version of Belkin's best-selling, slim-profile car charger. It features a hardwired 4-foot Lightning cable, and over-voltage to protection.
The Belkin Charge + Sync Dock is case-compatible with a foldaway auxiliary jack, removable magnetic base, and cable channel for easy cable feeding. The dock does not include a Lightning cable, but is intended to be used with Apple's official Lightning connector cable.
The dock also includes an audio out port for headphones or speakers. It is particularly noteworthy because Apple does not offer an official iPhone 5 dock.
The announcement of Belkin's new authorized accessories suggests that Apple's Made for iPhone conference may have taken place. The company was expected to hold an event this month to discuss the terms of the Lightning connector with third-party accessory manufacturers.
Though Lightning cables include an authentication chip, the technology has been reverse engineered by some companies in China that have begun making unauthorized Lightning cables. One cable detailed by AppleInsider last week was found to be compatible with Lightning devices, though it achieved a low price with poor shielding and cheap parts.
Belkin's Car Charger for Lightning and Charge + Sync Dock will both be available this year, and will be the first Lightning accessories to hit the market.
"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."
Lightning accessories from Belkin are available for preorder now on the company's website. They will go on sale in mid-November.
The Belkin Car Charger for Lightning will cost $29.99, and is an updated version of Belkin's best-selling, slim-profile car charger. It features a hardwired 4-foot Lightning cable, and over-voltage to protection.
The Belkin Charge + Sync Dock is case-compatible with a foldaway auxiliary jack, removable magnetic base, and cable channel for easy cable feeding. The dock does not include a Lightning cable, but is intended to be used with Apple's official Lightning connector cable.
The dock also includes an audio out port for headphones or speakers. It is particularly noteworthy because Apple does not offer an official iPhone 5 dock.
The announcement of Belkin's new authorized accessories suggests that Apple's Made for iPhone conference may have taken place. The company was expected to hold an event this month to discuss the terms of the Lightning connector with third-party accessory manufacturers.
Though Lightning cables include an authentication chip, the technology has been reverse engineered by some companies in China that have begun making unauthorized Lightning cables. One cable detailed by AppleInsider last week was found to be compatible with Lightning devices, though it achieved a low price with poor shielding and cheap parts.
Comments
That dock is pretty bulky. Maybe someone will make an authorized one that has the same size and look of Apple's docks for pre-lightning iOS devices.
Originally Posted by ghostface147
That dock is pretty bulky. Maybe someone will make an authorized one that has the same size and look of Apple's docks for pre-lightning iOS devices.
Or maybe Apple will get it through their heads that making their own dock is a good idea.
When are companies going to realise that no one cares about their brand enough to want to display it like that? Why does every case maker ruin their product by scrawling their ugly logo across the front as if anyone cares?
The 3.5mm jack sticks out of the dock? That's not pleasant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
No line out on the dock?
...simply dock your device with the AUX jack in the upright position and plug your EarPods into the Aux Port at the back of the dock.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowley
The 3.5mm jack sticks out of the dock? That's not pleasant.
Or folds out of the way if you like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone
...simply dock your device with the AUX jack in the upright position and plug your EarPods into the Aux Port at the back of the dock.
Line out is not headphone out. I think the poster was asking why it doesn't get line out through the lightning connector. The answer is because the dock has no smarts - the headphone out is just passthrough.
Originally Posted by Crowley
The 3.5mm jack sticks out of the dock? That's not pleasant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joshb
I'm confused...you steal an image from Belkin's website, but don't even include a link to Belkin's website within the article or a source? *ouch*
Clicking either product name will take you ..***OUCH***..there.
Why can't the dock output the audio from the lightning connector to a line out socket? Is it because it's all digital now? If so, that sucks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gustav
Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone
...simply dock your device with the AUX jack in the upright position and plug your EarPods into the Aux Port at the back of the dock.
Line out is not headphone out. I think the poster was asking why it doesn't get line out through the lightning connector. The answer is because the dock has no smarts - the headphone out is just passthrough.
I see. Apparently the dock has no power either. It just passes that through as well. I doesn't even come with the lightning connector. It says you have to use your own cable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I'd buy this in a heartbeat if it didn't have "belkin" scrawled across the front in giant letters.
When are companies going to realise that no one cares about their brand enough to want to display it like that? Why does every case maker ruin their product by scrawling their ugly logo across the front as if anyone cares?
I hope you realize that will never, and should never happen. That's how you grow brand recognition. Why even have a logo if you're not even going to put it on your products?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
The shuffle doesn't have a dock or lightning connector though, it syncs through the headphone jack, right?
Hardly the same thing then. Though that's not a particularly pleasant solution either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Or maybe Apple will get it through their heads that making their own dock is a good idea.
I know it's a small thing really, but the fact that Apple doesn't make docks anymore is very very irritating to me.
They made the only good ones that had some class, now we are at the mercy of the "design" skills of places like belkin. Ugh.
I hate having to lie my phone and iPad on a table like some kind of peasant and for Apple to stop making their own docks at the exact same time that they are messing with the licensing system and causing delays with the switch to the new lightning connector, was very poor planning indeed.
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
I hate having to lie my phone and iPad on a table like some kind of peasant…
Oh gosh, I'm using this from now on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crowley
Why can't the dock output the audio from the lightning connector to a line out socket? Is it because it's all digital now? If so, that sucks.
Does your audio equipment have digital line inputs? If not, then there's nothing to be gained from using the audio output via the Lightning connector vs the headphone jack.
The point of digital audio via the Lightning port is to get audio to/from your iDevice without any loss of signal quality. You need to be transferring audio to/from a device which can handle digital audio to take advantage of that.
For charging, it makes no sense. But it might make sense for peripherals such as audio/music/photography accessories and audio/video in/out devices to work with both iPads and MacBook Airs. Apple would get more sales. We'd get double value for what we buy.
The biggest issue I have with the Belkin dock using an existing cable is that the current Lightning connectors are all friction-fit with that little snap/click when they're seated.
As such, it would seem to me that you're going to have to hold the thing down fairly hard when trying to remove the phone from the dock. Given the addition of the phono port, it would also seem that it's pretty dependent on the current phone's dimensions and placement of the jack.