Make Your Smartphone Smarter

by Natasha Wolff | March 4, 2014 9:26 am

To make the most of your iPhone experience and then some—like sharper photos, extended battery life and a physical keyboard—consider these new and innovative add-ons.

 

Lights, Camera, iPhone

(Pictured right, clockwise from the top): Olloclip offers a variety of iPhone photography add-ons. Use the Macro 3-in-1 Photo Lens with your iPhone 5/5s for razor-sharp close-ups. The Two-Sided Telephoto and Circular Polarizing Lens affords 2x optical zoom (with telephoto) for reducing glare and enriching color (with CPL). And the 4-in-1 Lens includes a wide-angle, two macro lenses and a fish-eye lens to capture a distorted yet funky 180-degree field of view. Macro 3-in-1, $70; Telephoto and Circular Polarizing Lens, $100; 4-in-1, $70, olloclip.com[1]

The palm-size Pico Genie P50 projects an image from your smartphone using a HDMI or USB connection. Genie P50 Projector, approximately $326, personal-projector.co.uk[2]

Sony’s Cyber-Shot QX10 lens-style camera snaps directly onto your phone, delivering 18.9 megapixels and 10x optical zoom. Cyber-Shot QX10, $250, store.sony.com[3]

The iPhone-mounted Dot, from New York start-up Kogeto, is the world’s smallest panoramic lens for shooting video. Dot video lens, $49, kogeto.com[4]

 

Extra Credit: Everyday Add-Ons

Double the battery life of your iPhone 5 with Jackery Leaf’s new snap-on charging case, available in black, white and orange. Snap-on rechargeable battery case, $60, Jackery Leaf, JackeryLeaf.com[5]

 

The sleek Era earpiece by Jawbone will force you to abandon your judgmental thoughts about people who wear Bluetooth headsets. Era Bluetooth headset, $130, Jawbone, Jawbone.com[6]

 

A hand-crafted iPhone amplifier made of gorgeous American Black walnut that projects sound using the phone’s own speakers—no plug-in necessary. Walnut Original Amplifier, $95, Koostik, Koostik.com[7]


If you struggled to give up your Blackberry because of its signature easy-to-use keyboard, you’re in luck—the Typo Keyboard case brings that same typing ability to the iPhone. Keyboard Case, $99, Typo, TypoKeyboards.com[8] (available for pre-order)

 

Four Apps to Try

Facetune[9]: Instantly airbrushes skin, whitens teeth and removes wrinkles, bringing users one step closer to the perfect selfie.

 

Afterlight[10]: A robust image-editing app that comes equipped with 56 filters, 66 film textures and 75 frames.

 

 

Flipagram[11]: Create short, flipbook-style videos using photos from Instagram, Facebook and your phone’s library.

 

Instasize[12]: The app enables users to post full-size images on Instagram, eliminating the chance of awkward, unwanted photo crops.

 

 

 

High-Tech Hardware

A nifty little gadget, dubbed the Impossible Instant Lab, is resurrecting the Polaroid. The portable printer turns digital iPhone photos into physical prints. Just download the companion app and select a photo, and the device spits out a Polaroid-style picture that feels like a modern relic. the-impossible-project.com[13]

 

MORE:

Luxury Accessories for a Fancier iPhone[14]
Testing the $6,000 Smartphone[15]
5 Luxe iPhone Cases for Men[16]

Endnotes:
  1. olloclip.com: http://www.olloclip.com
  2. personal-projector.co.uk: http://www.personal-projector.co.uk
  3. store.sony.com: http://store.sony.com/smartphone-attachable-lens-style-camera-zid27-DSCQX10//cat-27-catid-Collections-Best-Low-Light-Cameras
  4. kogeto.com: http://kogeto.com/
  5. JackeryLeaf.com: http://www.jackeryusa.com/#!jackery-leaf/c2wj
  6. Jawbone.com: https://jawbone.com/headsets/era
  7. Koostik.com: http://www.koostik.com
  8. TypoKeyboards.com: http://typokeyboards.myshopify.com
  9. Facetune: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facetune/id606310581?mt=8
  10. Afterlight: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/afterlight/id573116090?mt=8
  11. Flipagram: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flipagram/id512727332?mt=8
  12. Instasize: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instasize-post-entire-photos/id576649830?mt=8
  13. the-impossible-project.com: https://www.the-impossible-project.com/
  14. Luxury Accessories for a Fancier iPhone: http://dujour.com/article/lily-kwong-pony-hair-iphone-ipad-cases
  15. Testing the $6,000 Smartphone: http://dujour.com/article/constellation-vertu-smartphone-review
  16. 5 Luxe iPhone Cases for Men: http://dujour.com/article/case-by-case

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