12 useful peripherals for that shiny new iPhone 4S
No iPhone 5 this year, but the iPhone 4S is performing like a real champ, even outselling its predecessor. Virtually identical in shape to the iPhone 4, the real changes to Apple's new offering are beneath the skin. With a better camera, faster dual-core processor and spiffy iOS 5 operating system to play with, iPhone 4S peripherals are able to boost the phone's performance like never before.
We've rounded up 12 iPhone 4S peripherals that we think give it purpose beyond what even Steve Jobs envisioned.
Like this list? Check out our Holiday Gift Guide, which is an easy place to find all of our holiday gift lists as we head on into the end-of-the-year gift-buying blitz.
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6. Moshi Moshi Gold Pop Telephone These days, most people text, email or tweet more than they talk. But for the person (like me) who still uses a ton of minutes babbling like a parrot about who knows what, the Moshi Mooshi Gold Pop phone is an ear's best friend. It gives you the ergonomic comfort of an old-school telephone in a faux-gold trim that's kind of tacky, but will turn heads. It plugs into the iPhone 4S's 3.5mm jack and works with laptops too. Just don't expect surround sound and it should be alright. Price: $60
9. iCharge Spy Camera Dock While most iPhone docks are audio docks, the iCharge is actually a secret spy camera with a 4GB SD card for peeping on people touching your iPhone or for wannabe-perverts. We don't support the latter, but we can't seriously think of any good reason you'd blow $400 on a camera dock, unless you are of course a creeper. Price: $395
10. iPhone Lens Dialer Photography purists will always scoff at apps like Hipstamatic and Instagram for their lomo fakery, but here's a geeky looking contraption that should satisfy even them. The iPhone Lens Dial offers three "optical-quality coated glass lenses: wide angle, fisheye, and telephoto." Operation requires no prior photography skills — simply rotate the the disc and use your default (or favorite) camera app and shoot away. Price: $250
11. Wooden Amplifier Dock Sometimes the best solution is the simplest solution. Audiophiles will spend tons of cash on high-end stereo equipment, but the majority of us just want our music louder. Requiring no electricity, this wooden iPhone speaker is really just a block of wood with holes cut out to help amplify the iPhone's puny little speakers. You're welcome to cut the wood yourself if the price is higher than you were expecting. Price: $65
2. DSLR Lens Adapter As great as the iPhone 4S's 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording is, it's no match for a professional-grade DSLR with quality lenses. Photojojo's adapter case lets you use a DSLR lens to power up your iPhone photos. It's silly looking, but how else are you going to get a 300mm zoom with an iPhone? Price: $250
3. Tascam iM2 Recorder One of the iPhone's greatest features is its Voice Memos recording app. It's a fantastic tool that I use to record my interviews because it picks up sound even when I'm not dangling it directly in somebody's face. The only thing that stinks is the sound recorded is mono. The Tascam iM2 fixes all that, recording in stereo and at volume levels up to 125dB. Price: $80
5. Kingston Wi-Drive Your iPhone doesn't have expandable storage. No worries. Grab a Kingston Wi-Drive. The Wi-Drive lets you stash all your extra digital junk on an mini external device no larger than the iPhone 4S itself. With built-in Wi-Fi, transferring media between it and up to three iOS devices at once is easy enough for even mom to figure out. Price: $110 (16GB), $130 (32GB)
4. Pocket Projector Case Big screens are all the rage. Slip your iPhone 4S into this special case, load up your presentation and the LED DLP pico projector inside will shoot out a 50-inch projection (albeit at a lower 640x360 resolution). It's kind of a fat case, but in addition to the bright pico projector, the case also doubles as a backup battery that can recharge your iPhone/Price: $230
7. iPhone Belt Clip People misplace their iPhones all the time. You know where you wouldn't ever forget you put your iPhone? On your belt. This belt clip keeps your iPhone 4 safe and handy, while freeing up your pockets. Price: $300
8. Scosche RDTX Radiation Detector After Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, everybody's concerned about radiation. Keep tabs on radiation levels wherever you are with this wand attachment that plugs right into your iPhone's 30-pin port. It even lets you upload stats to Twitter, Facebook or Google Maps to help create radiation hot zones. Neato! Price: $330
12. Iomega SuperHero Backup and Charger Not into Apple's iCloud backup solution? The best alternative to that or syncing to iTunes is with this aluminum dock. Using a 4GB SD card for the storage (included), the Super Hero only backs up contacts and photos (so no iWorks documents or music libraries). Should a freak accident screw up your computer hard drive and your iPhone and you lose your iPhone's backup, this dock at least saves your most precious data. You can always download your apps again, but losing an important phone number is tougher to swallow. Price: $60
1. Lifeproof Waterproof Case If you dropped your iPhone in the toilet, the Lifeproof case would keep it safe. You could even get yourself some waterproof earbuds and go for a swim or dive up to 6.6-feet with your iPhone. With the Lifeproof case on, it's safe and functional. Price: $80