by Over the past few weeks, we’ve been covering a few of the recent unofficial Lightning accessories that have been surfacing into the void left by Apple’s decision to wait until early November to begin bringing most of its official accessory partners up to speed on the new connector for the iPhone 5, iPad, and iPad mini.
iPhone5mod seems to be one of the fastest-moving companies releasing Lightning accessories without Apple’s authorization, having released several cables and working on docks and adapters using the new standard. The company today announced two new Lightning docks for the iPhone 5 that will begin shipping within the next few weeks.
The first is an upgraded Classic Dock that is similar to the one announced last week but which adds a second mounting slot to allow users to prop up their devices in either portrait or landscape mode without being mounted on the charging connector.
The second is a new iPhone 5 Dock PRO that will be available in both Lightning and micro-USB versions, allowing users to choose which type of cable they wish to run from their computer or power adapter to the dock. The dock also includes a removable slot cover to offer two different sizes of docking slots to accommodate both naked and cased iPhones.
iPhone5mod has also already announced improved versions of its standard and lighted Lightning to USB cables, increasing durability and compatibility.
The company also tells us that it is working on several other new docks, including a standalone one for the iPad mini and a universal one for the iPhone and iPad mini, as well as Lightning card readers for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini.
Certainly some users have concerns over purchasing unauthorized accessories, and iPhone5mod’s rapid iteration on the already-released cables to improve durability may be a bit disconcerting, but it seems clear that Apple’s decision to keep official accessory manufacturers in the dark until well after the launch of Lightning-based products has left a significant market opportunity for companies looking to meet demand from users.
