CES

If you want to put your iPhone anywhere, and I do mean anywhere, check out the Cellphone Armor BodyDock System from BodyDocks. They use an extensive system of magnets (hence the name, ) that includes a rugged case, assorted magnets, security tethers, and more.

These components work together to allow you to stick your iPhone on your clothing, refrigerator, purse, lanyard, automobile dashboard and really just about anywhere you can think of.

It's hard to differentiate yourself if you are a case maker for iPads or iPhones, so it was nice to see the Powis iCase at MacWorld. They have found several ways to set themselves apart, and create a nice case in the process.

There are a lot of companies making waterproof cases for phones and even tablets, but not too many can say they supply the Navy SEALs! Watershed can, with their DryBags.com line of serious survival equipment.


Their Grid Tablet Bag is like a ziplock bag on steroids. The UV resistant polyurethane laminated nylon is combines with an airtight ZIPDRY seal with welded seams and mil-spec stitching.

The mobile accessory company Insanely Great may get their name from one of Steve Jobs' sayings, but in addition to designing their products in California, Insanely Great actually makes them there, too. It helps that their phone stands and holders have a few basic parts, specifically molded plastic, grippy backing, and suction cups. But the finished product is attractive, solid, colorful, and useful. Their product names are even whimsical!

I do a lot of typing on my iPad so I have a number of external Bluetooth keyboards. Some are built in to an iPad case and others are standalone units but they all have one thing in common... They use batteries. This was evident on the long flight home from CES when my keyboard ran out of power.


Enter the iKeyboard. In fact, I'm typing this article using one! The iKeyboard is an overlay for the iPad's built in virtual keyboard, in landscape mode. It stays in place using a sticky backing yet it can be applied and removed repeatedly with no residue.

There are a surprising number of vendors offering an iPhone case that includes a beer bottle opener, but the Opena model stands out for a few reasons. Rather than have the opening mechanism around the Apple logo on the back of the iPhone case, the Opena has a slide out opener made of stainless steel. This means, when opening a bottle, the pressure is not placed directly on the phone.

There are a lot of stylus' out there, but Nomad Brush has a couple that make a big difference. First, the Nomad Play is targeted at kids thanks to its smaller length, larger width, and wooden handle. But what really sets it apart is the paintbrush style tip, with conductive fibers so users can 'paint' directly on the screen. There is a rubber base where the fibers meet the stylus, so it reduces the chance of kids scraping the screen.

Since CES, I've had a chance to play with the Grablet which is a soft rubber shell for the iPad with special hooks for the included fabric latches.  The latches can be configured in a wide variety of ways to allow the user to grip, hold and display an iPad 2 as desired.  It's similar to the OtterBox Latch but less bulky and it's a custom fit for the iPad (with versions for the both the original and the iPad 2) unlike the OtterBox which is more of a general purpose holder for any 10" tablet.