accessories

Although summer is in full swing, the folks at T-Mobile are getting ready for back-to-school season and to make things easier on starving students, the carrier is adding accessories priced from $69 – $250 to its Equipment Installment Program (EIP). This new setup lets T-Mobile customers purchase items like smartwatches and audio gear with a 24 month payment plan for no money down.

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According to a leaked internal T-Mobile memo, accessories being sold to eligible customers will qualify for an EIP (equipment installment plan) starting on July 20th (via TmoNews). Much more expensive smartphone accessories such as smartwatches and high-end Beats headphones are surely becoming more and more attractive to customers, and the un-carrier seemingly wants to give customers an easier way to get their hands on them.
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If you recently picked up a shiny new Galaxy S5, there’s a good chance you’re looking for a great case or two. Luckily, there’s already a wide variety of accessories available to cover up your device without turning it into a brick.

We’ll take a look at the best five cases for the Galaxy S5 that will provide protection and/or style and not break the bank. The cases mentioned here are order by curent pricing/availability, but this will vary from day to day, so check out the associated links for more information.

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Along with announcing the new Touchwiz software today at their media event, Samsung has announced a handful of new accessories for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. This is a long list, so bear with us..The $50 Multimedia Dock props the Tab in landscape mode for charging and HDMI-out. The $80 Ultra Productivity Tool features a full-sized keyboard with Android shortcuts and charging capabilities. The $150 Premium Protective case turns the Tab into a notebook with a Bluetooth keyboard and a hinge.

The $40 HDTV adapter offers 1080p out. The $40 SD/USB adapter for accessory input. The $60 Premium Book Cover allows you to prop up the device for web browsing or viewing movies. And finally, the $20 pen tip is a stylus with a silicon tip. (More coverage at Engadget)

The Asus Padfone has inspired what appears to be a cottage industry of phone-docking tablets in the making. Take a new docking accessory from ECS. Code-named Trinity, it’s the result of joint efforts by ECS and its partner ICE Computer. Unlike the Padfone which is a real tablet, the ECS solution is an intelligent docking station that can house various smartphone brands. It takes your phone’s video and outputs it via HDMI to the built-in display which is of the same 9.7-inch variety and 4:3 format as the iPad’s.

You also get an SD card slot, two USB ports and a front-facing camera. It’s a cross-platform play of sorts due to its ability to work with and house multiple smartphone brands, from Apple’s iPhone to Windows Phone and Android smartphones. Best of all, the gizmo should work with future iOS devices – including iPhone 5 – using “simple upgrades”. Expect the Trinity to hit the market in the fourth quarter costing $200 or less. Go past the break for a video introduction. via ITProPortal

(Cross-posted on 9to5Mac.com)

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