Every year, two technology trade shows—the Macworld Expo (all things
Apple) and the Consumer Electronics Show (everyone else)—try to
outshine each other by announcing flashy new gadgets. This year, it was
a knockout in the first round: Apple’s new iPhone trumped every new
offering from the nearly 3,000 companies at CES. Ironically, that
phone, which won’t go on the market for at least another few months,
diverted attention from the inventive iPod add-ons, available right
now, from third-party makers. Here are the best of the best. PRODUCTION STUDIO
It’s a lot cheaper than renting studio time, but the Belkin TuneStudio can turn you into a budding Phil Spector (minus the weapons charges). The device can mix and digitally record live performances of up to four instruments or vocals in 16-bit, 44-kilohertz quality onto the latest-generation iPod. Recordings can then be played back for instant review or sent to a computer for editing. $180; belkin.com
PORTABLE ENTERTAINER
Leave the bulky case of DVDs at home and bring the Philips DCP750—a
portable DVD player that can also dock and play videos from an iPod.
(The 80-gig iPod holds 100 hours of video.) Built-in speakers pump out
Dolby Digital–quality sound, and a memory-card reader lets you view
snapshots taken with a digital camera. $149; philips.com
WIRELESS STREAMER
When you dock your iPod on the Griffin Evolve (which doubles as a
charger), the music is sent to two cube-shaped wireless speakers. When
it’s time to move to a different room, simply take the speakers with
you—each one has a rechargeable battery that lasts 10 hours and a
wireless range of more than 150 feet. $350; griffintechnology.com
LOUDSPEAKER
The Ion iPA03 is made for backyard revelry. The two-way speaker
blasts tunes from a docked iPod, has an output range of more than
150 feet, and runs on a rechargeable six-hour battery. Bring it out at
the next family reunion and connect guitars and additional mikes to put
on a concert for the kids. $300; ion-audio.com
BIG PICTURE
The ViewSonic PJ258D ViewDock projects iPod video content onto a wall
or screen for larger-than-life, razor-sharp viewing (in 720p/1080i
resolution, thanks to a DLP chip). The projector is compatible with all
of your other video inputs (DVD player, cable box, game console), and
the 200-watt lamp lasts about 200 hours before it needs replacing. $999; viewsonic.com
