Portable Entertainment Accessories

It wasn’t long ago when the idea of running or cycling with a stack of favorite albums seemed ludicrous. Then compressed digital music players came along and suddenly athletes and weekend-workout artists alike were touting how their particular play list helped them set a personal best.

Given their proclivity to tangle and our tendency to trip over them, wires can be a nuisance in any household. Even if you attach the wire neatly between source player and speaker, it can still put you on a short leash.

Why hide favorite photos in a computer subfolder when you can proudly display them on a digital picture frame? Unlike a conventional print-under-glass holder, today’s electronic frames run slideshows, show videos, play songs and double as clocks and calendars.

The new Tascam iM2 is a compact and convenient accessory that dramatically improves the quality of the microphones for recording into an Apple iPad, iPhone, or a 4th generation iPod touch. The iM2 plugs into your Apple iOS device of choice and outfits it with a pair of stereo condenser microphones that can be swiveled over 180 degrees.

This roundup of very personal iPod accessories covers touch-screen gloves, watch bands, arm bands, GPS and remote control add-ons, speaker docks, portable speakers, wireless (Bluetooth) receivers and headphones and more.

The new Mobile In interface isn’t the first device that enables you to connect a guitar to an iPhone or an iPad, but it’s the first one that lets you tap into Line 6’s ever-popular “POD” series of guitar effects and modeling. Mobile In attaches to the 30-pin digital connector on your Apple device.

Anyone new to tablets knows the uneasy feeling of typing on glass. The Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Wireless Mobile Keyboard, in black or white, could be just the thing an iPad or iPad 2 user needs.

Stocking stuffers don’t have to be expensive, especially if you’re catering to someone who is iPad-smitten. Though this product roundup ranges from the practical to the entertaining, every accessory here expands the ways you can use an iPad or iPad 2. Some of these accessories are unusual, too.

Print on paper may not be entirely passé, but thin-screen devices that store hundreds of books—images, music and sometimes video, too—are clearly gaining cachet. While B&H doesn’t sell every brand of e-reader, it does offer a select group of capable models. 

There’s a sea of iPhone accessories available, but how many of them end up in the hands of people who love photography, video and pro audio? The right iPhone accessory could prove to be the ultimate holiday gift. 

Relying on the tiny speaker embedded in your smartphone or handheld player is an underwhelming experience at best; an effort in futility at worst. Don’t even try using it to share the musical delight when it’s noisy inside or out, or expect much satisfaction even for yourself when setting the device down to provide a sound track as you attempt to labor, unfettered by earphones.

I haven’t had a working cassette player in my home for nearly a decade, but I still have a couple shoeboxes filled with old tapes in the back of my closet. I could never bring myself to get rid of them. I’ve developed a deep psychological bond with the little things...  What does the future hold for the cassettes trapped inside the shoeboxes in my closet?

Whether you attach a battery-embedded case that wraps around the backside of an iPhone, or a booster that you plug in as needed, Mophie has a Juice Pack that will increase your phone’s standby and talk time. 

One of the more vital challengers to Apple’s iPad is the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and now the tablet is available from B&H, along with a cluster of Tab-specific accessories.

Dr. Dre, one of the world’s most influential hip-hop artists and producers, teamed up with the good folks over at Monster to create high quality, stylish headphones specifically designed to take advantage of the painstaking detail that goes into the music of today's digital artists.

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