Firms Launch A New Raft of Gadget Accessories

WSJ.com - The iPod Industry: By DONNA FUSCALDO: "If you are just carrying around an iPod digital-music player for strolls in the park, you are missing out.

The iPod craze has spawned a mini-industry of accessories for the device. From cases that let you take your tunes under water to a gadget that can turn humble iPod users into disc jockeys, these companies are busy making what they think will be the must-have add-ons for Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod this holiday season.

It isn't happening by accident. With the launch of third-generation iPods in 2003, Apple adopted a standardized connection outlet so just about any company could make add-ons that would link with the digital-music players. Today, Apple boasts more than 1,000 different accessories have been made for the 28 million iPods sold since the device hit the market in 2001.

"Because so many people are carrying an iPod with them, the opportunity to do additional products for the home, for the car, and even on the go is big," says Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of world-wide iPod product marketing.

Since mid-March, H20 Audio, of San Diego, has been selling a $149 waterproof case and headphones for the iPod in specialty stores. Targeted at boaters, water-sports enthusiasts and swimmers, it has a silicon seal and can play music at depths 10 feet underwater.

For those who like the outdoors but want to stay dry while listening to their favorite tunes, Better Energy Systems Ltd. may have an answer. Eight weeks ago, the United Kingdom-based maker of environmentally conscious products started selling its solar battery charger, called Solio, in the U.S.

The charger, which sells for $99 and is available in Apple stores, works by storing solar energy in a lithium-ion battery. It also can be plugged into an electrical outlet. The charger can power most mobile phones, PDAs and other portable electronic devices.

Christopher Hornor, chief executive of Better Energy Systems, says reaction from its U.K. customers, where it has been on the market for a year, has been good. "The concept here is a product that powers everything everyone takes anywhere," says Mr. Hornor.

It was only a matter of time before disc jockeys in bars and clubs started using the iPod as an alternative to lugging heavy crates of records. Numark Industries LLC, a Cumberland, R.I., maker of DJ products, has taken that notion to the next level with its iDJ Mixing Console.

For $299 to $399, depending on the retailer, novice DJs can integrate music from two iPods, switching from one device at the end of a song to the other device at the start of another song without pausing. The iDJ mixing console comes with a three-band equalizer, microphone input and an additional input to add other devices like CD players or turntables.

Later generations of the iDJ will include the ability to do scratching and sound effects. The iDJ hit store shelves this month. Jack O'Donnell, chief executive of Numark, said in addition to targeting DJs, the company is going after mainstream users who may want to use the iDJ for parties.

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters, a Charleston, S.C., iPod-accessory maker, recently unveiled a home-docking station. The device can send iPod music (and now video with the launch this month of the video iPod), to TVs or stereo systems. The docking station sells for $99.99, and is about the size of a VHS tape.

Digital Lifestyle, which was formed about four years ago, started out making cases and clips for the iPod. In December it started selling the iBoom Box, which is a portable radio that houses a dock for the iPod.

And now Lea Industries, the Greensboro, N.C., youth-furniture unit of La-Z-Boy Inc., is starting to sell what it is calling iRoom bedroom furniture. The pieces, which will sell for $399 for beds and $599 for dressers, are contemporary in style and combine clear maple woods and stains with the same metallic pinks, blues and jet- black colors that were popular with the iPod mini.

"We're trying to find ways to tap into kids' lifestyles, and music is a big part of their lifestyles," says Earl Wang, a vice president at Lea Industries."