Yes, iPod Peripherals at CES, Part One

Before the Apple announcements from Macworld start to temporarily steal the thunder from CES, I want to tell you about some cool new iPod gadgets on display here, many of them tackling the video abilities of the player (in fact, that's the hot new add-on for home-theater-in-a-box systems and A/V receivers). Yes, the majority of iPod-related peripherals will be shown in San Francisco, but there's plenty here in Las Vegas. Let's just hope that Apple doesn't announce some radical new iPod that doesn't work with any of these. (Also, see my earlier post on the just-announced ViewSonic iPod projector.)

DLO TransDock: This little dock plays video to the kids in the backseat via an iPod connector cable and music to the front of the car—all from the same iPod. Alas, the music is blasted to you via the built-in FM transmitter (which will pick up interference in urban areas), but the ensemble should work well on long drives across the country or other rural areas. Also cool: the TransDock has a USB input, so you can use your car to charge up, say, a camera as well as your iPod.

DLO HomeDock Deluxe: Not just any other video dock for your iPod, the HomeDock Deluxe lets you scroll through your player's contents using a responsive remote and an attractive, TiVo-like interface that displays songs, videos, and the like—even album art. Here's something non-essential, but nifty: You can customize the interface with any of 12 color themes. And it's easy to use. The video, quality-wise, is perfectly watchable.

iTurbo: The $30 iTurbo charger gives up to nine hours of additional battery life to any iPod. And it does this with just one AA battery! It's no bigger than a AA battery, either. I used the manufacturer Voxred's TurboCharge for cell phones throughout 2006. It works.

Griffin Evolve: The company that brought you TuneFlex and the AirDock is debuting its new iPod speaker line here at CES. The top-end piece is the Evolve speaker system, a charging dock that features two box-shaped wireless speakers. What's cool about these speakers, besides the decent sound, is that they work up to 300 feet away from the base and can be used in stereo or mono configurations. The Evolve package comes out in June for $349.99. Griffin is also showing the Amplifi, a 2.1, one-piece iPod speaker dock a la iDock (out in February, $149.99) and the journey portable boombox/dock that folds up like a book ($129.99, June).

Ion iProjector: Joining the ViewSonic PJ258D that also launched here at CES, the Ion iProjector will display your iPod video on any screen or wall and has inputs (composite, S-Video, component, VGA) for other video sources.

iLuv i1153: The iLuv i1153, pictured, is a combination portable iPod video and DVD player with an 8.4-inch screen. Out in May, the player has video outs to plug into TV, and it's a built-in charger. iLuv is also showing the i277/iss277, an iPod video dock/alarm clock that can plug into any TV, as well as transmit music via Bluetooth to wireless headsets or speakers (not to mention receive and play music from Bluetooth-enabled portables).

There's more to come, of course, but this is what I've seen and liked so far.

Related links:

New iPod Peripherals: ViewSonic Dock Projector