I have an iPhone and really enjoy it. Here are my essential accessories:
1. Spare dock: I keep the original dock hooked up to my computer, but I picked up a spare dock for my bedside hooked into the A/C adapter. I use my iPhone as my morning alarm - wall power plus battery backup!
2. Screen protector: A screen protector is a must. After reading many, many reviews, I finally settled on the Crystal Screen Protector from Power Support. It comes in a 2-pack for about $16. It goes on super-easy and you can't even tell it's there. I've had multiple people ask me why I don't have a screen protector on my iPhone, then I point out the slight lip around the home button and laugh. It has zero effect on the usability of the screen and as an added benefit you can use your shirt to clean it instead of the special microfiber cloth the iPhone comes with.
3. Bluetooth headset: After going through several Bluetooth headsets, I finally settled on the BlueAnt Z9 headset. It's lightyears better than the crappy iPhone Bluetooth Headset and even better than the famous Jawbone. Read my mini-review here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1142405&tstart=0
4. Headphone adapter: Thanks to the wonderfully stupid design of the headset jack, you can't fit 99.9% of existing headphones into the iPhone. So you have to get a retarded little adapter to use with your fancy new super hi-tech $600 smartphone. Bleh. Anyway, I found a great one from Seido for $9 and it comes in black or white. Unlike the Belkin version, it's very flexible. I have a front input jack in my car, headphones, and a stereo adapter that I use it with. Well worth the money to overcome Apple's design flaw. Here's a link:
http://store.myitablet.com/content/accessories/73-75--2927.htm
5. Car charger: I have two chargers: a regular charger for my car (which has an aux jack for iPhone input) and a charger/FM Transmitter for my wife's car. This way I can charge my iPhone while driving around and also listen to tunes without draining the battery. I use a Griffin car charger and a Kensington FM Transmitter/charger. Just depends on what kind of car stereo you have. If you want to upgrade your car stereo, Crutchfield.com has a ton of great options. I got an Aiwa CD Player receiver with Front Input for $99 or so from them for my car.
You may also want a case, but I've had good luck with the iPhone stock in my front pocket. It's surprisingly durable. I also have an iPod stereo, the Griffin Amplifi, which runs nearly 1/3 the cost of the iPod Hi-fi stereos system at $109:
http://www.erwincomputers.com/1200itspkr.html
So...what are YOUR iPhone essentials?
1. Spare dock: I keep the original dock hooked up to my computer, but I picked up a spare dock for my bedside hooked into the A/C adapter. I use my iPhone as my morning alarm - wall power plus battery backup!
2. Screen protector: A screen protector is a must. After reading many, many reviews, I finally settled on the Crystal Screen Protector from Power Support. It comes in a 2-pack for about $16. It goes on super-easy and you can't even tell it's there. I've had multiple people ask me why I don't have a screen protector on my iPhone, then I point out the slight lip around the home button and laugh. It has zero effect on the usability of the screen and as an added benefit you can use your shirt to clean it instead of the special microfiber cloth the iPhone comes with.
3. Bluetooth headset: After going through several Bluetooth headsets, I finally settled on the BlueAnt Z9 headset. It's lightyears better than the crappy iPhone Bluetooth Headset and even better than the famous Jawbone. Read my mini-review here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1142405&tstart=0
4. Headphone adapter: Thanks to the wonderfully stupid design of the headset jack, you can't fit 99.9% of existing headphones into the iPhone. So you have to get a retarded little adapter to use with your fancy new super hi-tech $600 smartphone. Bleh. Anyway, I found a great one from Seido for $9 and it comes in black or white. Unlike the Belkin version, it's very flexible. I have a front input jack in my car, headphones, and a stereo adapter that I use it with. Well worth the money to overcome Apple's design flaw. Here's a link:
http://store.myitablet.com/content/accessories/73-75--2927.htm
5. Car charger: I have two chargers: a regular charger for my car (which has an aux jack for iPhone input) and a charger/FM Transmitter for my wife's car. This way I can charge my iPhone while driving around and also listen to tunes without draining the battery. I use a Griffin car charger and a Kensington FM Transmitter/charger. Just depends on what kind of car stereo you have. If you want to upgrade your car stereo, Crutchfield.com has a ton of great options. I got an Aiwa CD Player receiver with Front Input for $99 or so from them for my car.
You may also want a case, but I've had good luck with the iPhone stock in my front pocket. It's surprisingly durable. I also have an iPod stereo, the Griffin Amplifi, which runs nearly 1/3 the cost of the iPod Hi-fi stereos system at $109:
http://www.erwincomputers.com/1200itspkr.html
So...what are YOUR iPhone essentials?
