Griffin debuts new iPod accessories

Griffin Technology, a maker of iPod accessories, unveiled several new products at MacWorld in San Francisco this week geared towards making the iPod lifestyle a little more enjoyable. These items are the TuneCenter home media center for the iPod, the SmartShare headphone splitter with volume control and the TuneFlex auto charger and flexible docking cradle for the iPod nano.

The TuneCenter ($99.99 and available in March) is a docking and charging station for iPods. It allows users to display information from their iPod, such as playlists, song information, videos and photos, on a television screen via several different audio-video outputs. The TuneCenter can play iPod audio over an existing home stereo system or, if connected to a home network, can access the Internet to stream audio from thousands of free Internet radio stations. A wireless remote is included to control the setup.

The SmartShare headphone splitter ($19.99) allows two people to share music off of an iPod or any other portable audio device which has a mini-jack headphone port. An integrated volume control slider exists on each of the SmartShare’s two headphone output jacks so that each user can enjoy the music at a volume level they are comfortable with.

Also on Griffin’s MacWorld launch pad is the TuneFlex. This $39.99 iPod nano accessory is a dock and charger geared towards automobile owners. It sports a flexible steel neck which adjusts to any angle and comes with a cradle which holds the nano and rotates it to an easily readable angle. The TuneFlex plugs into a car’s 12 volt outlet to power and charge the nano and a built-in 1/8” stereo line-out audio jack allows the player to hook to a cassette adapter for enjoyment on a car stereo system. A pass through dock connector also exists for hooking up to digital devices such as a FM transmitter.