CEA Line Shows: An Accessories Roundup

By John Laposky -- TWICE, 6/23/2010

New York - A number of accessories suppliers, including some new faces and a few armed only with prototypes, came to the Consumer Electronics Association's Line Shows to debut newly announced or newly shipping product lines.

Start-up Immerz demonstrated a prototype of its KOR-fx multimedia enhancing device that will debut later this year. Designed to make video gaming, movie watching or music listening more immersive, and driven by a new acousto-haptic technology, the vest-like KOR-fx is worn across a user's shoulders and chest and delivers subtle vibrations to selected areas of the chest cavity, acting as a wearable subwoofer of sorts. The vibrations are said to activate neural pathways that subconsciously monitor the vibrations of the chest cavity that naturally occur when speaking, laughing or crying. 

Tiffen's Smoothee was designed by professional movie camera maker Steadicam.

Trexta's Sketch Up iPhone cases: made of recycled paper and designed for doodling on

Maxell's Ergomotion mouse is designed to lessen the risk of repetitive stress injuries.

Maxell showed its Ergomotion mice and keyboards, designed to lessen the risk of repetitive stress injuries. The mouse has a pivoting motion base to ensure that the user's wrist is never in a fixed state, instead adapting a user's natural hand and wrist positioning and conforming to the user's movement. The line, developed in a partnership with Snapfish and originally announced at International CES but newly shipping, is endorsed by New York's Hospital for Special Surgery.

Scosche showed its MotorMouth II hands-free and streaming audio car kit, originally announced at CES and shipping now. The device plugs into a vehicle's MP3/aux input to allow hands-free phone conversations to play through a vehicle's speakers. It features auto-pairing and one-touch voice dialing with most Bluetooth cellphones and DSP echo cancellation. The kit includes a switching audio splitter, aux relocation cable, USB charging cable and car charger. It supports HFP and A2DP profiles.

Also displayed in Scosche's booth: the KickBack P1 hybrid case with kickstand for iPad. It's a polycarbonate and rubber hybrid case that features a hinged kickstand for landscape and portrait viewing as well as low-angle typing. Integrated traction nubs provide grip on flat surfaces and an open design allows for complete access to all connections and controls, the company said.

Also for the iPad, OtterBox displayed its new Defender-series case, which incorporates three layers of protection: a self-adhering protective film for the touchscreen, a two-piece polycarbonate shell, and a layer of shock-absorbing silicone. Every iPad feature remains fully accessible while completely enclosed, the company said. It includes a built-in stand and silicone grip pads on the bottom.

Targus was on hand with a broad line of fashion cases for iPads.

The Hughes leather Portfolio Slipcase for iPad comes with a black or brown oil-tanned premium leather exterior and scratch-protective twill lining with a magnetic closure. The Zee-case for iPad is a hard-shell skeleton with a leather exterior in orange, mustard and black. The Truss Case for iPad has a top-grain leather exterior that flaps open like a book and can act as a stand for hands-free viewing. It has a scratch-resistant soft interior and wraparound band closure. It's available in beige, black and brown.

Targus also showed the water-resistant Crave slipcase line, a neoprene sleeve and a line of leather wallet-style cases for the iPad. Suggested retail prices for the lines range from $24.99 to $59.99.

Tiffen announced the release of its Steadicam Smoothee, a new "easy to use right out of the box" image stabilizer for portable video. The Smoothee, developed by professional camera supplier Steadicam, allows iPhone 3G, Flip and Droid owners to capture video without the shaking normally associated with handheld video shot on the go, the company said.

Trexta, an OEM case supplier from Turkey, showed a branded consumer line that included Sketch Up iPhone cases made of recycled paper and designed for doodling on. The thick paper wraps come in five-packs complete with color markers.

And finally, VIOlight introduced what the company claims is "the first ever UV cellphone sanitizer." The battery-powered cleaning device will sanitize handheld devices and other small items like Bluetooth headsets and ear buds by removing up to 99.9 percent of germs and bacteria, according to the company. It will begin shipping in September.