At 2013 CES Unveiled Sunday evening, there was a distinct product category missing – products exclusively for the iPhone5 with its Lightning connector.
Seems the world is full of people that were pretty irritated with Apple when they switched to the Lightning 30 pin connector. That made an entire industry full of aftermarket products made for the iPhones, iTouch, iPads and iPods now obsolescent. Many said they didn’t upgrade to iPhone 5 just because they liked the accessory products they purchased for their iPhone 4 and 4S so much.
It’s easy to see why that could happen when you consider the number of products people buy to go with their iPhones:
· Custom cases from protective to luxury leathers to bling covered
· Desktop stands and picture frames with built-in rechargers
· Battery packs – both attached and emergency rechargers
· Docking stations with built-in alarms and speakers
· Car chargers including those that have FM convertors
· Even fitness machines like ellipticals and treadmills
So, it seems the industry was listening to all these complaints and they finally beat Apple at their own game. Manufacturer after manufacturer talked tonight at the CES Unveiled Show about their decision to make their devices Bluetooth powered instead of Apple specific.
Not only does that make their devices suitable for iPhone 3, 4, 4S and 5, it also makes their devices suitable for Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, Blackberry, LG, HTC, and every other Bluetooth enabled phone. In one blink of a Bluetooth, you’ll no longer need to buy an Apple product just to get that great accessory you wanted.
The other big advantage of Bluetooth is that your phone no longer needs to be attached to the device if you are just using it to stream music for example. Start looking for lots more Bluetooth enabled products in the first and second quarter of 2013.
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Doug Bardwell, based in Cleveland, OH, has been following the International CES since 2010. Feel free to drop him a line at dougbardwell@gmail.com with suggestions for future products to be reviewed. If you've ever used one of the products he's reviewed, please leave your thoughts in the comment box below. To get his stories delivered to your inbox, click the RSS feed or the "Subscribe" button above or follow him on Twitter @photodb.. To read Doug’s disclosure notice, click here.
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