Your iPhone 4 getting a bit dusty while you wait for Apple to fix the signalling problems? Well if there's one thing at least it can handle for the moment, it'll be getting dressed up all snazzy like with these new "Chic" cases from Proporta.

Available in three different styles (nautical stripes, floral or zebra print), the patent leather cases have a mirror on the inside to fix your make-up, or take out that juicy spot that's just being dying for a poke since it invaded your personal face-space.

Interested? Head over to the Proporta website to check them out.

Avid photographer, but feeling a little bit let down by the zoom function on your iPhone? Then take a look at this slightly-mad-but-also-ingenious little add-on that gives your smartphone a telephoto lens.

Clipping onto the back of your iPhone with the lens sitting over the handset's own camera, it adds 8x zoom magnification on top of your mobile's own zoom features. The lens has a field of view that stretches over 24 metres, and comes complete with a tripod to rid Mr Shaky Cam from your shots forever.

Ok, so it's not gonna be a match for a paparazzi person with a stonking DSLR, but it might help you get a nice clear snap of an elusive hawk or something the next time you go bird-spotting.

Pick one up here for £29.99 from IWOOT.

Klipsch have updated their Image range of top-end earphones with the Image X10i.

Featuring the same patented oval ear tips of the X10 range, the Image X10i partner solid bass response and noise isolation with a 3 button remote system compatible with the iPhone 3GS, third generation iPod shuffle, second generation iPod touch, fourth and fifth generation iPod nano models and the iPod classic 120GB.

The Image X10i earphones also come bundled with 5 pairs of different-sized ear tips, an ear tip cleaning tool, an airplane adaptor, a 1/4-inch jack adaptor, a protective carrying pouch and a clothing clip.

"These in-ear products are free of compromise at every level," he said. "We've seen great success with our X10 headphones, so it made perfect sense to evolve the product and start catering to on-the-go users who are constantly listening to music and taking phone calls." 

The Image X10i earphones are available for £229.95 from Amazon, Apple or direct from Klipsch themselves.

If you're the sort of person who keeps a track on your carbon footprint with every carefully weighted step, you may want to have a look at Proporta's latest Smart range of eco-freindly smartphone cases.

With a strong focus on sustainability, these green screen protectors and pouches feature no wasted packaging whatsoever. In a spark of genius, the bamboo packaging which lets the pouch hang on retail store hooks is removed and put inside a pocket of the hessian or recycled leather pouches to give your handset maximum protection.

Guy Monson, co-founder of Proporta said: "In early 2008, we decided that we wanted to do more than simply pay money to offset carbon emissions and rename products 'green'. 

"Ever since then we've been conducting extensive research on how we can run our business in a more sustainable manner - looking at every aspect, from the drawing board to the manufacturing and supply chain.  Proporta Smart is the culmination of this and we hope we shall be able to adapt some of the best features from the range into the rest of our products".

Pouches and screen protectors are available for the iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, Blackberry Bold 2, and HTC Desire. There is also a cover for Apple's iPad available in the range, which also doubles up as a free-standing tablet holder.

Prices start at £19.95. Click here to check out the Proporta Smart range in full.

Cycling around may be a refreshing (and healthier) change from driving into work each day, but you cant help but miss the rich tones of your in-car stereo when on your bike. If you're wary that your iPod headphone lead will get caught in your spokes, take a look at the Cy-Fi Wireless Sports Speaker.

Weighing just 4 ounces and measuring in at 12.2 x 10. 2.9 cm, the Cy-Fi sits on your handlebars attached by a robust clip. Compatible with all iPhone, iPod and iPod Touch models (excluding the Mini and Shuffle), it'll wirelessly blast out your tunes at CD-quality as you hurtle down the high-street.

Giving 6 hours of playback from 2 hours of USB charging, the Cy-Fi has a transmission range of 30 feet, and has front-mounted playback buttons meaning that you don't have to fumble with your MP3 player to navigate your tunes.

Available from IWOOT now, click here to grab it, priced £99.99

Bank Holidays may be a great time to get away, but if you've got kids it usually means you have to put up with them in the back saying 'I'm bored' and the infernal 'Are We there Yet?

Thankfully Griffin has introduced a new range of products to keep the little ankle biters quiet on long journeys. Retailing for around £29.99, The MyPhones are designed for children aged 3-12 and feature a built in volume limiter to help protect their ears.

The headphones include a 3.5mm jack so can be used with games consoles and DVD players, and come with customisable inserts, allowing children to personalise them to their hearts content.

Also new is the iTrip Auto With App (£44.99). The newly redesigned gadget allows users to listen to tunes on their iPod Touch or iPhone over an open FM frequency through their car's stereo. The new iPhone and iPod Touch App makes adjusting frequencies, SmartSound EQ and mono/stereo broadcast modes simple and easy.

For more information visit www.griffintechnology.com
MyPhone Kids

Tired of watching videos on a titchy iPod screen? Then take a look at this video review of the Vuzix Video iWear 920 glasses, modelled by Shiny Shiny's Anna.

The glasses claim to replicate a 67 inch screen infront of your eyes, but was that enough to convince Anna to splash her cash? Click above to find out.

Available from March, you'll be able to pick the glasses up from www.iwoot.com for £249.

Newton Peripherals are readying the European launch of their MoGo Talk Bluetooth headset ahead of next week's MWC 2010 conference.

Ultra thin at only 5mm thick, the headset docks with a low-profile iPhone 3GS case, slotting away so that you need never misplace your hands-free kit. Providing you know where your phone is, of course.

There's enough juice in its battery for four hours talk time from a single charge, while standby mode will see the headset survive a week away from a power source.

"MoGo Talk was a top selling iPhone accessory in the U.S. over the 2009 holiday season and soon all of Europe can experience MoGo Talk through The Apple Store," said Stuart Nixdorff, CEO of Newton Peripherals. "We are confident that iPhone users across Europe will appreciate how the MoGo Talk extends Apple's clean, life-simplifying design philosophy to a companion Bluetooth headset."

Already proving a hit Stateside then, expect this to be pretty popular when it hits the European Apple Store later this month, priced £99.

Though carrying an iPhone around is like having everything but the kitchen sink in your pocket thanks to all its maps and apps, its Achilles heel is its relatively low battery life. You'll get a little over a day's worth of juice out of a single charge at best, which isn't too great if you're going to be away from a power supply for very long.

Griffin's PowerBlock looks to relieve you of your charging woes. At first glance it may appear to be a regular USB AC wall charger. However, it features a detachable battery pack which can be used as a reserve power supply for your iPod or iPhone, while also charging other USB devices.

"The addition of a removable battery to the PowerBlock charger means you can take the power with you when you go," said Paul Griffin, founder and CEO of Griffin Technology, "It is a simple and reliable backup to ensure iPod and iPhone users never run out of power on the move."

The PowerBlock Reserve EU and UK model will be available at Apple stores from February priced £29.99.

Ever checked out the Threadless website? If you haven't, you really should; it's a great online, community driven t-shirt store. Users submit their designs to Threadless, the community votes on them, and the best are made into limited-run t-shirts and hoodies. It's a great concept that delivers unique, user-generated fashion at pretty attractive prices.

Showing they've got their finger on the pulse, Grifin Technology have teamed up with Threadless to produce a new range of Threadless-themed iPhone 3G cases.

The three cases hitting UK shores are 'I'm Like A Bird', featuring a carefree image of a giraffe among birds, 'Living in Harmony', with an electric and acoustic guitar pictured, and 'Hi', emblazoned across a black background in pink and white.

"The collaboration with Griffin is fantastic because it places a spotlight on the amazing talent within the Threadless community," said Jake Nickell, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of skinnyCorp, LLC, parent company of Threadless. "Griffin has gone to great lengths to make sure the artists get exposure for their work. It'll be an amazing feeling for each artist to see their designs being used across the UK."

The cases are available at Apple stores nationwide, priced £24.99.

Though it may seem a long way away yet, the Spring sunshine will soon be creeping around the corner. What better way to ring in the warmer seasons then than with this solar-powered Bluetooth speakerphone?

The Scosche-built solCHAT features an integrated solar panel that will soak up the rays into a Lithium-ion battery, storing the energy ready to use for up to a year. A discrete suction cup means that you can pop the hands-free kit on your dashboard, leaving it to bask in the sunshine through your windscreen and allowing you to legally chat and drive.

Kas Alves, Executive Vice President, Scosche Industries comments: "Motorists who use hand-held mobile phones while driving can face a fixed penalty fine of £60 and three points added to their license. The solCHAT solves this problem and helps users lower their impact on the environment at the same time."

The kit also features voice commands, compatible with many handsets including the iPhone, meaning you can access and call all you contacts hands-free.

The solCHAT costs £59.99, available from www.eoutlet.co.uk .

The Consumer Electronics show, the behemoth of tech, the Valhalla of gadgetry, has come and gone for yet another year. But this time, rather than arriving with a bang, it slinked into sight with something more like a whimper.

CES 2010 had really had the wind knocked out of it before it had even got into the ring this year. All eyes were already on Apple and their rumoured Tablet in the run up to the event, despite the fact that Apple are traditionally a no-show at CES, instead planning their own top-secret unveiling at the end of January. Likewise, Google delivered a sucker-punch in the shape of the Nexus One, their flagship handset revealed at their own event on the eve of CES 2010's opening.

To make matter's worse, Microsoft's opening keynote speech (delivered by walking personality drain Steve Ballmer) was pretty darn dull. First a power cut, then a load of waffle on the 2 month old Windows 7, Ballmer hardly seemed to be trying to keep our attention. Though the Christmas release date for Project Natal was welcome news, it revealed nothing new about the device, whilst the partnership with Hewlett Packard for the new Slate device seemed merely like a case of keeping-up with the Joneses. Or should that be the Jobs-es?

But the Las Vegas event wasn't without its highlights. Far from it in fact. Maybe it's the recession, or the generally pocket-pinching mood in the air these days, but for once the most sought after tech wasn't in the realms of dreamy aspiration, but was actually fairly affordable.

Take for instance the brand new 3D TVs on show, of which the Sony BRAVIA XBR-52HX900 (video above, courtesy of Ashley) was the pick of the litter. Finally shaping up to the standards set by its cinema siblings, company reps promised that the average 3D TV will cost little more than a top-end Full HD set. Skype and video calling in many TV sets too will help turn your living room into somewhere the Jetsons could only dream of.

E-readers are also looking to be both big and affordable in 2010. As a comic book fanatic I'd have liked to have seen more attempts at a colour screened e-reader (I'm not including the MSI offering, which is really just a dual-touch screened PC, super-cool as it is). Plastic Logic's Que Pro e-reader looked great though, with a massive, durable screen, and was far lighter than the hundreds of books you'd be able to store on the tabloid-sized device.

There were, of course, tablets aplenty. The dual-booting Viliv P3 may be an underdog in the category, but seemed way more exciting than Microsoft's offering. The offer of both Windows and Android on the same device showed a respect for user choice not often seen in the back-slapping world of consumer tech.

There was still time for fun too. The Parrot AR Drone Quadricopter was fun and fresh, combining real-world toys with augmented reality controls. A little less high-tech but full of retro-chic was the Lasonic i931 iPhone dock/ghetto blaster mash-up. Odd's on its at the top of Flava Flav's Christmas list. And there was still some time for the weird and the plain old dumb, too.

Though less prevalent than other years, there were some great examples of brand new tech on show that were genuinely exciting. A real head-turner and my favourite item of the show was the Light Blue Optic Light Touch. Using a pico projection engine and a touch sensitive sensor, it'll turn any flat surface into a touchscreen. It works ridiculously well despite still being in the development stages, and has almost unlimited potential.

Some detractors say that, recession or not, CES looks to be on its last legs. It's sad, but not unlikely, when you consider the audiences that companies like Apple and Google can command for just a single product launch. However, for emerging companies like Light Blue Optics CES is still vital to gain some exposure, not to mention the fact that such a prominent date in the calendar forces the tech giants to have made some significant, competitive advances in their gear, year-on-year.

So here's hoping the old dog's got a bit of life left in it yet. Hopefully next year will kick off the recessionary cobwebs and kick the show back into high-tech gear. It wouldn't take much to tempt us back to the City of Sin once more.

Click here for full CES 2010 pre-show, day one, day two and day three round-ups.

There are loads of iPhone solar chargers at CES but this is probably the best. It fits snugly on to your phone and can deliver thirty minutes of power for two hours of charging. It doesn't have to be connected to the iPhone to charge and if the sun isn't playing you can charge it up via USB. It goes on sale soon in Europe including the Uk, for 80 (not 8 as it says in the video) Euros. It comes with a free app that works out how much you need to use the sun to charge the battery depending on where in the world you are

Gotta love this! It is a hat that houses your iPhone.touch so you watch videos on the quiet. It includes a magnifying glass to increase the size of the screen. Great for the beach, but not too hot on the pavement. Yours for just $19.95 on sale now from here.

Thumbnail pic from Gizmodo who reviewed it here

The AR Drone Quadricopter (that's a four propeller helicopter to you and me) is a very cool device that is sure to be one of the year's hottest gadgets. It is controlled by either an iPhone or an iPod touch and boasts two cameras - one for controlling the device and another which streams images back to the iPhone/touch. Basically if you tilt the phone then the Quadricopter tilts, raise the iPhone and the copter rises etc.

It is going to be available in the second half of 2010 in both the US and the UK and works as either standalone remote control toy or as part of game.

More here

Another day, another Tech Digest CES 2010 round-up. Fancy Tweeting hands-free in your car or controlling your PC by breathing? Check today's top stories below and find out how.

Twitter coming to Ford cars
The digital equivalent of drink-driving?

Motorola announce Backflip Android Phone
Hinged smartphone is Motorola's big CES 2010 offering

Ion launch the iType full QWERTY keyboard add-on for the iPhone
Making the portable unwieldy

Vuzix demo Wrap 920AR Augmented Reality visor
Turning your trip to the shops into a scene out of Robocop

Zyxio's new breathing-based PC controller, the Sensawaft
Affordable accessibility gadget, perfect for disabled PC users

3D gaming headed to the Palm family
Apple isn't the only mobile now capable of some hardcore gaming action

Is the Viliv P3 the underdog tablet to look out?
Dual-booting tablet is looking very tasty indeed

Razer and Sixense bring motion gaming to the PC
But will it catch on within the incredibly competitive PC gaming peripheral market?

UK getting the Dell Mini 3i
Android phone hitting UK shores in the not-so-distant-future

Video- Armour Home Q2 Tilt Internet radio
Innovative and simple radio from Brit-based Armour

Video - "World's smallest Windows PC" the UMID M Book 1
It makes a gnat's bum look big. Well...not quite. But you get the idea

Video- Casio's Digital Art Frame
Making all those dodgy Facebook snaps look good

Video - The coolest retro iPhone hi-fi ever, Lasonic's i931
Bring 80's boom box street-chic bang up to date

Video - Toshiba's Cell TV that is controlled by hand gestures
Innovative tech, but it makes you look a bit of an idiot; not sure I want a work out in front of the telly

Video - Sony's BRAVIA XBR-52HX900 3D TV
Their flagship 3D set is a stunner

Video - Panasonic's 3D camera
Bet the adult-entertainment industry cant wait to get its mitts on this one

Click here for more CES 2010 coverage from Tech Digest

Tech Digest at CES is sponsored by Best Buy. For more CES stories and videos go here

What is it with peripheral manufacturers turning perfectly portable devices into hulking behemoths with their (often unneeded) accessories?

Enter the iType, Ion's full size QWERTY iPhone add-on.

Still there's a use for this one I suppose. Laying your iPhone inside landscape wise, the iType doubles up as a charger and will be useful for those who Tweet or SMS a lot from the handset, or even use their iPhone to blog on.

You're looking at around £60 for this when it launches in the first half of the year.

Via: Reg Hardware

Click here for more CES 2010 coverage from Tech Digest

Tech Digest at CES is sponsored by Best Buy. For more CES stories and videos go here

Quite possibly the most OTT iPhone hi-fi I have ever seen the i931 is a fantastic 80s style ghetto blaster given a modern touch by the addition of the iPhone dock, SD card slot, USB etc. It also has and FM/AM radio on board too. It will go on sale in the middle of 2010 for around $149, and the makers say it will probably reach Europe too.

The release of ThinkFlood's RedEye universal remote convertor for the iPhone is a great little bit of kit, allowing you to control any gadget that receives an IR signal via your iPhone. But it's not the only way to use your iPhone as a remote. Here is Tech Digest's five favourite ways to control your home with the smartphone.

Indigo Touch

If you have Indigo Home Control automation software on your MAC, the iPhone or iPod touch can be used to control a whole load of things in your home. Lights, heating, sprinklers; all can be controlled from your smartphone, any where in the world. It's pretty complex, but it's one step closer to living like the Jetsons. Sadly, they still haven't come up with a solution for the shock-horror moment when you realise you've left the iron on though.

iRa Pro security camera system

It sure isn't cheap, but the iRa Pro is a comprehensive, professional level home surveillance controller in the palm of your hand. It has support for multiple simultaneous video sources on your iPhone, with intuitive touchscreen controls to better catch crooks in the middle of their nefarious deeds. That said, a £499.99 is price tag is daylight robbery.

onOne remote camera control

If you have a compatible Nikon or Canon DSLR, you can download the onOne app to control it. It's a great feature for taking remote images from hard to get to places, though it's let down by the need for a USB connection. It also lets you review images on your iPhone and set up customisable capture timers.

iTunes remote

A pretty obvious but often overlooked iPhone function is its ability to be used as a remote for your PC or Mac's iTunes collection. The free app lets you use your iPhone to search your library, select and control tracks and change volume settings from anywhere in the house.

Mocha VNC remote desktop

Actually, scrap that last one; why control just iTunes when you can use your iPhone to control your whole PC or Mac? Using virtual network computing, Mocha VNC will let you control any PC or Mac connected to the internet. A super-fast Wi-Fi connection is needed to get the most out of the app, but it's an impressive way to access your PC from anywhere in the world.

You can always rely upon Harman Kardon to think outside of the box when it comes to speaker design. Remember their Soundsticks II? They were displayed for a time in New York's Museum of Modern Art, which is some feat for a set of PC speakers. Harman Kardon have again upped the ante, this time with their GLA-55 luxury speaker set.

Made of reinforced plexi-glass, the speakers look more like a mythical Indiana Jones idol than a set of PC speakers. Completely clear, you'll wonder what's powering the things as so few electronics are visible.

It's not all style over substance however. The GLA-55 features aluminium tweeters for accurate high-frequency response and an Atlas AL driver in each of the 56 watt satellites. Optimised Compression technology minimises distortion at even high volume levels and a 3.5mm jack means the GLA-55 can be used with many audio devices.

Though there is no dedicated sub within the package, there is output for a stand-alone subwoofer to be hooked up.

If money is no object and you are looking for a sleekly designed piece of kit to wow your mates with, the GLA-55 speakers are certainly an eye-catching proposition. £749.99 is a hell of a price tag, but you can sit smug knowing that there are only 3,000 units currently in the world, and that you'll be one of the exclusive few who can afford them.

Harman Kardon GLA-55 speaker sets are available now instore at the Apple Store.