PHONE ITEMS

Remember dictionaries? Never mind--they’re all inside your phone now, but in an homage to the dictionary stands of the past, we present this little black aluminum stand for your phone or tablet to sit on while you look stuff up, or do anything else. Measures 4" tall x 4-1/2" x 3" with a ledge with silicone pads and keyed holes to organize the cords through when the battery runs low. Bottom also has pads to keep it from sliding around. Will work with most phones and tablets up to a 9” screen.

Actually, it's a high-speed phone/device charger for the accessory plug in any car—we just said Dodge Charger for a joke, which people expect. This 2.1A rapid charger fits in a cigarette lighter plug, and has a built-in USB port. Comes with a retractable, 3-foot cord attachment with a USB plug at one and a micro-USB at the other. You pick the purple, green, orange or blue pair to match your car, hair or eyes.

Wouldn't you rather hear that than "Is that a cell phone in your pocket...?" Yes, you would, and you will if you strap on this olive green w/ woodland camo highlights phone holster. Made to strap (we like saying that) to your leg above your knee, like Wyatt Earp's Colt (or any number of the army surplus gas masks we sell), but you can also attach it to your arm or some other handy body part because the two straps extend from 15" to 27" and 10" to 13". The weather resistant holster is 7" x 6" with a 5" zipper, and the phone is operable in situ, as it were, through the transparent protective covering. Manufacturer calls it a "Hunter's Phone Holster," but don't let that stop you from wearing it around the neighborhood. Also adaptable, we think, to small dogs.

It's the Hollywood Selfie Pole Monopod, and the name alone is making us go all soft in the middle. Starts out 8-1/2” long and extends to a very sturdy 39” with a camera thread at the end to hold the cell-phone holder. And like many people in Hollywoodland, it probably won't work as intended. The handle was meant to recharge with the included USB cord and connect to your phone with Bluetooth, however we've found that the non-replaceable batteries are mostly non-working or only hold a charge for a few minutes, like a faded actor's career. Sold for the robust stick itself because your arms aren't long enough. And you can always repurpose it for long distant tasks.

Ear buds, period. These are your standard, everyday versions—except the cords on these are green, which works well on March 17, even if bars aren’t back to full capacity. They fit standard headphone jacks, and have a mic and a clip to hold it. Cables are approx 40”. No case, but at this price we recommend getting a pair for every desk, end table, glove compartment, purse and pocket you have. And a pair each for all your St. Paddy’s Day-reveling friends, too. Green wires and black buds.

And more. This accessory kit for smart phones (works with iPhone, Samsung, HTC, iPad, tablets and many others) has a 2” long clip-on bracket with screw-in macro, wide-angle and fish-eye lenses. Paul loves his kit and he’s our optics expert. Use the macro for insects, coins and diamonds. Fish-eye and wide-angle for great visual effects. Includes a little pouch to carry it all in, and tiny lens caps.

Note: Two lenses come threaded together to conserve space. 

We suggest you take this one. Made as a promotional device, it never got its promo logo and the light only shines for about 30 seconds, we think to highlight the absent logo. But it kept its ability to make your tablet stand up and be seen. The stand measures approx 5" long, and the light measures about 1.5" x 1". Comes with a 3.5" stylus nestled inside to give your finger a break, and a gray velvet pouch to store it in. Runs on (3) AG-13 button cell batteries, included, and you're welcome.

This 6” long micro-USB to USB charge and data cable is fabric-covered and has rubber flanges and collars at both ends to protect it from fraying or breaking. Sound like a cable you already have? Probably not. But even if it does, you can never have too many: in the car, office and sock drawer, and on the bike, boat, kayak and scooter. You need charger cables. We all do.

Ditch the wires and start picking up good vibrations with this excellent wireless Qi charger from Philips. This 3-1/2" round disc with an anti-slip bottom is like a coaster for your phone with the ability to quickly recharge your phone. Works with most smartphones with an inductive charging feature and has protection against overheating and overcharging. The LED charging indicator turns off for your sleeping convenience. Comes with a 6-foot micro-USB cord, but you supply the power supply—most 9v or 5v rated for 2A outputs should do it. Yes, your phone must have an inductive charging feature.

Made to work with any wireless charging-enabled device, this inductive charging pad measures 7-1/2" x 4” in flexible non-slip silicone for gripping any surface, including dashboards. Designed with a tray-like depression, so phones won’t take a hike, it’s also a phone stand so you can see the directions on the GPS maps. Though wireless, it also includes a USB charging cable, which we think is a nice touch.

This 7-foot length of standard 4-wire gray telephone cord has a modular plug on each end and an in-line 1-1/2" x 1" dia interference blocking RF filter at one end. 'Nuff said.

Stick this pair of white molded rubber angel wings on the back of your phone and it will sit up like a nice angle (call it the angel angle) when you’re surfing for heavenly apps. Measures 2-1/4” x 1-7/8” with a 1” suction cup. Also good for sticking wings on anything else you want to make a little more seraphic. You’ll get (2) of them. Yes, that’s (4) wings total.

By jiminy. A little jumper cord with a modular plug on one end and flat "T" connectors on the other side at the end of dual leads. Wires are insulated, with 3-1/2" of the 7" length covered by a telephone-wire-style gray jacket.

This padded earpiece has a 46" cord, nice little padded ear gripper to keep it from falling out, an extra ear pad, an inline answer switch and a pivoting microphone like all the football coaches wear. Made for Nokia, it has a non-standard 3mm TRRS Nokia plug, but could be rewired with another size plug by anyone with minimal motivation and soldering skills.

Phone Slip-Sliding Away? Tell it to Paul Simon, then get this clear gel sticky pad, aka cling, at 5-1/2" x 3-1/4" x 1/16" thick. It’s super-tacky, heat-resistant, water-resistant, residue-free and will keep your phone on the dash or window where it belongs.

Our 4-1/2" long x 2" wide x 1" deep cell phones fit nicely in this black-leather carrying case. The front is a 2-1/2" x 1-5/8" window of clear plastic through which you can press the buttons. The case is open on the bottom so you can access the ports, and comes with a 6" wrist strap and a plastic belt/pocket clip. A small strap snaps over the phone antenna to keep it from slipping out. Unfortunately, if your phone doesn't have an external antenna, there is nothing to keep it in except a snug fit, an extraordinarily rigid posture, and a determination to never bend over.

Take care of your screens and they'll take care of you. (A drill sergeant told us this about our socks once, but this time it's true.) This kit includes (3) wet and (3) dry anti-static wipes, a 7" x 4-1/2" microfiber cleaning cloth, and (6) self-adhesive clear vinyl screen protectors at 3-1/2" x 2-3/4" with a grid on the back to help cut them to size, and a little plastic thingy to squoogee the air bubbles out.

Ten-packs of 2-pin breakouts (or terminal blocks) from telephone junction boxes, in black or gray with red and green leads that terminate in a modular plug. The breakouts measure 11/16" wide x 5/8" high x 3/4" deep. The screw terminals are 1-1/4" long and the modular plug jumper reaches about 2-3/8" when snapped into its clip.