Regardless of brand or model, one of the very first accessories many smartphone owners start rifling through the parts bin for is an extended battery of some sort. Unfortunately, Palm either doesn't know that or doesn't care, because a glance through its fresh round of accessories for the 800w and Pro doesn't reveal any. What we do see is a leather sleeve case for the 800w -- fancy! -- along with a "micro" charger that comes bundled with a spare battery. Depending on just how "micro" we're talking about, that could be a decent investment. It's not the most exciting group of SKUs, but for Treo fans, excitement is pretty hard to come by anyway.

Look out, Bluetooth -- Ozmo Devices has its eyes set squarely on you. Okay, so maybe this whole thing isn't as adversarial as advertised, but there's no denying that the aforesaid company's latest initiative will target the exact same devices that BT is embedded within now. Ozmo has announced a partnership with Intel at Computex that will extend the latter company's Cliffside WiFi Personal Area Network (PAN) technology to "low-power devices." Essentially, WiFi radios that suck less juice nowadays would take on dual roles -- accessing WLAN networks and doing the duties typically reserved for Bluetooth -- which would enable devices to have one less component stuffed within bulking things up. As of now, there's been no takers on the design, but word on the street has Belkin already testing the approach out for kicks and giggles (or maybe something way more serious).

[Via DailyWireless]

Read - Ozmo Devices' press release
Read - WiFI PAN explained

Probably not worth rushing out to a store for, but some AT&T retail locations are starting to receive stock of the upcoming Motorola Z9's incredible batch of accessories. So, you know, if for whatever reason you were still holding out an irrational belief that the Z9 doesn't exist, this is probably the straw that breaks the camel's back right here. Now, let's just hope that we get something to actually put in the holster any minute now. Follow the break for another shot of the goods.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It seems only fitting that Motorola would announce its latest in-car solution when the largest automotive accessory extravaganza -- SEMA -- is starting its 2007 show. Motorola's MOTOROKR T505 Bluetooth carkit combines handsfree calling, A2DP support, and an FM transmitter which allows music and phone calls to be streamed over Bluetooth and played through the car's speaker system. Don't rush out to the stores just yet as this won't be available to sometime in early 2008 (well, actually, you can rush out right now if you're so inclined, you'll just be waiting in the cold for a few months).

Ear candy aside, Nokia showed a bunch of other goodies today to adorn that special handset in your life, too. First up, the LD-4W GPS Module adds a little style -- "Nseries style," sez Nokia -- to the previously released LD-3W, offering 10 hours of operation on a single charge; it'll be available for about €125 ($170) and promises compatibility with a "wide range" of Nokia hardware. Next, the MD-7W stereo Bluetooth speakers let you share the tuneage with those around you, willingly or not; they're also designed with the Nseries in mind but should work with any device supporting A2DP when they hit for €130 (about $177). Last but certainly not least, the DC-1 Power Pack acknowledges that media-centric phones aren't always the easiest on the battery, offering juice to one or two phones with 2mm Nokia power ports simultaneously. Look for this one to run about €105 ($143). All of 'em should be available "globally" in the fourth quarter of the year.

We've all seen the standard teddy bear, Pikachu, and flashlight fobs, but they're all dead boring compared to this little life in vitro idea. Strapya-World, purveyors of all manner of straps and charms sell these small plants-in-a-jar in either pink or blue "bio-tech fertilizer" for just $9. The vial is sealed up tight so there is really nothing to do to take care of it, but hang it off your mobile and watch the natural magic happen. Of course, you know somebody will crack it open and plant something else in there, we'll be waiting to post that up in the coming weeks or months.

[Via GearFuse]

Engadget Mobile sees so many accessories glide past us to aged irrelevance in the slush pile that we decided it was high time to stop passing the little stuff up. Starting Monday, July 16th, we'll begin a weekly feature with all that is new and grand in the mobile accessory world wrapped up in a tight, easy-to-digest package. We're going to start with an iPhone focus (come on, tell us you don't want a hideous gray cable!), but this will blend over time to accommodate bits for all manner of handsets. And naturally, if anything piques your interest, be sure to fire a tip our way -- if it snaps on, clips on, plugs in, or covers up, we want to hear about it!

Just when it seemed like the only option for better iPhone earbuds was to make them yourself, along comes the V-MODA Vibe Duo. Sure, it'll cost you, but for exactly $101 you can trade up to the luxury and style of this sweet-ass trio. The earbud / microphone combo features V-MASQUE dynamic drivers, a noise-canceling technology called BLISS, and (according to the propaganda), "vibrant bass" coupled with "vivacious highs". Clearly a package aimed at those with a taste for the finer things in life (like spending almost 17% of the cost of your phone on earbuds), the Vibe Duo comes with a 24k gold plated connector, leather pouch, six pairs of clear silicon fittings (plus two sets of black), and the assurance that you'll look considerably more classy when speaking to your agent.

[Thanks, Taylor F]

What better way to cap off a recent $600 or so purchase than to spend even more money accessorizing it? The myriad of Belkin wares we spoke of a short time ago has hit the market just in time to grab your attention (and dough), and users itching to wrap their precious toy up in a clear acrylic case ($29.99), armband ($29.99), or slim-fit holster ($29.99) can now pick up any of the three. Additionally, a number of 3.5-millimeter stereo cables and headphone adapters are also available, but they aren't likely to perform any differently than the bargain variety already out there. Check 'em all out here in glorious high-resolution.

[Via I4U]

One of the inevitable first questions that gets asked when laying out hundreds of dollars for a device with a giant, glossy, gorgeous touchscreen is, "just how the heck am I going to protect this thing?" It turns out that the iPhone may not need any particular babying, but for the paranoid among us, Power Support is offering its "Crystal Film" through Apple stores. Ironically, Apple itself says that protective films aren't recommended since they can interfere with the iPhone's ability to register gestures, but sho' nuff, walk into any brick-and-mortar Apple Store and you're going to see these packs on the shelf. No matter how scratch-resistant it may seem, we figure there'll be plenty of people willing to lay out the $14.95 sticker price for the marginal additional peace of mind Crystal Film offers, so we wanted to take a look at just how user-friendly the stuff is.

If you thought Asus' Aura concept phone was otherworldly, you haven't seen anything yet. SolidAlliance is back yet again with another zany and completely unnecessary cellphone accessory that purportedly changes hues based on the planetary mojo that's currently going on around it. There's not much to the Aura Controller besides it varying colors in response to faux psychic waves and totally bulking up your pocket when it's getting carried around, but hey, that's the price you pay to stand out. As if we needed to tell you, this one can be one found in none other than Japan for about $27.

iPhone owners might be putting their treasured handsets into accessory detectin' mode right out of the gate thanks to a plethora of accessories outed in iLounge's iPod accessory guide, which at well over one hundred pages makes it pretty much the be-all, end-all bible of iPod add-ons. As we might expect this early in the game, the goodies are strictly standard fare -- cases, FM transmitters, and the like -- though Belkin's Acrylic Case (pictured) looks like a winner thanks to its ability to support the iPhone on it side for more relaxed widescreen video viewing. Another gem is Crystal Film, which'll cover the entire front of the device with a thin, transparent static cling layer; good idea from a protection standpoint, but we can't help but wonder how that's gonna affect the feel of the screen.

Just days after hearing that Steve Jobs was indeed looking into the possibility of letting third party applications play nice with his precious iPhone, along comes a suitable patent application that further proves his hesitance to let it happen. Jobs didn't shy away from suggesting that non-native apps aren't usually cellphone-friendly, and a new filing from Cupertino's lair details an "accessory detector" that would "detect whether an external accessory coupled to the connector may interfere with wireless communication with the handheld device." Of course, no direct mention of the iPhone is given, but it sounds like this here invention would alert the user via on-screen messages and flurries of frightening noises if the inserted / installed accessory did not match up with an internally stored "list" of okayed devices. Additionally, the handset would be able to adjust itself on the fly if the add-on did indeed "interfere" with operations, and while no verbiage mentioned any kinds of shut downs or undercover dial-ups to Apple HQ for unauthorized use, there's always the possibility that this type of scrutiny could lead to an easier implementation of a "Made for iPhone" type royalty program.

[Via UnwiredView]

With all the fanfare getting trumpeted by Sony Ericsson today, it seems there might not be much left in that bag of tricks for next week's 3GSM. Heck, they've even spilled the beans on their latest batch of headsets, two Bluetooth units and a wired stereo model (they still make those?). The HBH-PV702 (pictured above) and HBH-PV710, the Bluetooth pieces, both clock in at 14 grams with a 61 x 18mm outline, though the PV710 offers an additional hundred hours of standby time for a total of 300; it's also the more stylish of the two, hitting streets in brown and red. The old-skool HPM-75, meanwhile, keeps it real with a 3.5mm jack (if the included 'buds aren't quite up to snuff) and a selection of rubber inserts of various sizes. Expect all three to be available between the end of Q1 and mid Q2, but since we know some folks are chomping at the bit to get these goodies in their pockets, we've added shots of the PV710 and HPM-75 after the break to hold 'em over.

Cingular's latest accessory price sheet, which covers the period from January 21 to March 31, reassuringly makes copious mention of RIM's upcoming BlackBerry 8800 (in familiar "c" trim for Cingular, of course) -- and seeing how this is an accessory sheet, it's given us some insight into what sorts of goodies the store clerk will be able to pack in that goody bag of ours on launch day for a little extra coin. $30 ($29.99 to be exact, but you get the drift) will net you a leather pouch, sure to stave off the inevitable marring of your baby's casing for a few minutes, days, or -- who knows? -- weeks. The 8800's section also lists a wired stereo headset for $30 and Aliph's highly-praised Bluetooth Jawbone headset for a stiff $120. Throw in a $50 spare battery to boot and the phone's out-the-door list price is starting to look a little misleading, isn't it?