It’s All About Accessorizing

Thanks to Apple’s customer base of more than 50 million people (and counting) the world’s love affair with the iPhone has been growing by leaps and bounds ‘ and accessory manufacturers have been qu

Apple reached a milestone this past April by selling its one billionth application from the iTunes App Store. By September 28, 2009 – just a little over five months later – Apple had doubled that number to 2 billion and had revealed their new strategy to position the iPhone and iPodTouch as portable gaming devices in direct competition with Nintendo’s DSi and Sony’s upcoming, downloadable-content-only PSP Go. Thanks to Apple’s customer base of more than 50 million people (and counting)  the world’s love affair with the iPhone has been growing by leaps and bounds – and accessory manufacturers have been quick to cater to this growing market with an array of both cool and useless accoutrements. Of course, consumers have long had a love affair with their cell phones, personalizing them with unique ring tones and colorful cases in order to better express their individuality. The iPhone is basically a portable computer, and as such it tends to go everywhere with its users as an around-the-clock companion. But despite it’s groundbreaking level of utility, the iPhone remains partly a fashion statement – which means we still care about how good it makes us look. And if it’s not going to help reveal our inner fashionistas, then it’s not fulfilling it’s secondary mission. But take heart, because we’ve found some great sites that will help you trick out your iPhone so it brings you more of the attention you deserve.
    More offers some very sleek cases that look classy while protecting your precious phone from scratches, nicks, and all-around general wear. This metallic series offers an engraved edition that’s available in two styles: Stitch and Catena. They come in silver on titanium, a great combo that’s aesthetically pleasing as well as practical. The elegant design of this case will mark you as a person of style and distinction.
    For a more playful look, check out the Damon Silicone Series Case at Ideal Case. It’s a very hot item now and it comes in white, green, light blue, orange, purple, white, navy, yellow, red, or black. The Damon interface is characterized by devil horns and fangs that embrace the iPhone, giving it a wicked new look in your favorite color.
    Before we go on about how fabulous the iPhone is, let’s talk about battery life. [A collective groan of frustration is heard around the world.] One of the drawbacks of owning the iPhone (besides the lack of any kind of external memory card support) is that you don’t get a lot of juice time for the texting, talking, downloading, surfing, and rocking out that is now a part of your daily life. Certain activities, such as running apps that utilize 3D graphics, can gobble up your battery power very quickly. Fortunately, there is a solution! Juice Pack Air by Mophie is the world’s thinnest rechargeable battery pack for the iPhone 3G and 3GS. It nearly doubles your battery life and it’s Apple approved. The Juice Pack Air is ultra-thin, lightweight, and comes in black, purple, and white. No longer will you be at the mercy of the dreaded 20% and 10% red battery indicator on your iPhone. With 250 additional hours of stand-by time, 24 hours of talk time, and eight hours of video playback time, you won’t need to haul around your charger everywhere you go anymore.
    One of the coolest features of the iPhone is the integrated Video iPod functionality. No longer do you need to carry around a separate device to store all your music and TV shows. And thanks to the explosion of both low-end and hi-end audio systems that cater to the iPod and iPhone, sharing your tunes at a party is as easy as dropping your iPhone into a stereo’s iPhone dock or into a dedicated iPhone/iPod sound system. The JBL On Stage 200ID Loudspeaker Dock, available at the Apple Store, produces clean and powerful sound that lets you take full control of your music. If you’re not in the mood to share, you’ll find a wide assortment of excellent headphones designed specifically for Apple’s portable devices. If you long for better sound reproduction than that provided by Apple’s standard earbud headphones, try the luxury of the Beats By Dr. Dre Headphones from Monster. These offer outstanding amplification along with active noise-canceling technology that will help you to tune in to your music and to tune out the rest of the world.
    Christmas is just around the corner, so now’s the time to do your research and line up those special little gifts for your loved ones and yourself. Dozens more accessories are scheduled for release over the next two months – and whereas most products would be drowning in such an array of options, the iPhone seems right at home with the crazy parade of add-ons. What that means for consumers is that every iPhone can be truly unique. You may not own one yet, but as the number of users exceeds 50 million and the price goes even lower, it will become harder to resist. But even if you don’t drink the iPhone Kool-Aid yourself, you’re bound to have some friends who will – so be sure to enable them with some cool new accessories.