Just Mobile's early-2013 range: AluCup, black HeadStand, AluFrame, AluPocket and Gum Max Duo
What we love about CES is that we get to see so many familiar faces in one week, and Just Mobile was one of them this year. Since our visit to its Taiwan office a few months ago, the award-winning accessory maker had been preparing several new products for CES: (from left to right in the above picture) AluCup, black HeadStand, AluFrame, AluPocket and Gum Max Duo. Starting in chronological order we have the black edition of the minimalistic aluminum HeadStand headphone stand, which will join its silver-colored sibling for the same $49.95 price tag at the end of this month. As before, the HeadStand's base comes in two layers for cable management, as well as a spun-metal finish. Check out the rest of the product range after the break.
Next up is the Gum Max Duo, the follow-up to the current Gum Max portable battery. As the name says for itself, this new offering comes with two USB ports: one with 2.4A output (an improvement over the old 2.1A on the Gum Max) to take care of power-hungry tablets like the iPad, and the other with 1A output. In addition to the extra socket and output current, the Gum Max Duo also comes with a higher capacity of 11,200mAh (using cells from Sanyo and Samsung) as well as two silicone cases to protect the aluminum shell: either a red-and-black pair or a yellow-and-blue pair. Expect this to hit the market in early February for $109.95 -- an attractive drop from the Gum Max's $129.95 tag.
Also launching in early February is the $29.95 AluCup, which is yet another collaboration with the famed Tools Design from Denmark. The accessory is a diagonally-cut aluminum cylinder that relies on rubber friction to let a tablet or phone rest on it, but you can also use its hollow space to put an iPhone or random bits and pieces. Those four vertical slot are obviously for keeping cables tidy. For the sake of recycling, the rubber sleeve can be easily removed from the aluminum body, and it's likely that you'll also be able to purchase optional sleeves should you wish to try a different color -- there are four Bauhaus color options: red, black, yellow and blue.
Moving on to late February, Just Mobile will launch the AluFrame for the iPhone 5. As you can tell by the name, 'tis an aluminum frame that wraps around the iPhone in a similar manner as Element Case's range, except for the installation method: the AluFrame has a small latch near the bottom-left corner for a quick snap and release, so no screws are required. There's also rubber inner lining to protect the iPhone's very own aluminum bezel, the style of which is also replicated on the AluFrame (especially the diamond cut). This will be available for $69.95 -- well below Element Case's range -- in either black, silver or red.
Last but not least, here's our favorite product from Just Mobile at this show. Dubbed the AluPocket, this simple design by Tools can be stuck onto the wall using the two pieces of pre-applied 3M double-sided tape (the kind that can be easily pulled off with their tabs, leaving virtually no mess), and then you can slip your iPhone or any phone with a similar width and thickness into the aluminum pocket. There are a couple of plastic springs inside to keep the phone steady as well. Much like the aforementioned AluCup, there's a slot on the aluminum shell so that the phone can remain plugged in when it's being mounted or removed. The best of all is that this AluPocket will only cost $29.95 when it launches in March, and here's hoping that Just Mobile will also consider a larger version for the sake of Android and Windows Phone users.
