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Following over a month and a half of submissions and judging, iLounge.com has announced its 2008 Best of Show Awards issued to leading products developed for iPod, iPhone, and iTunes users. As in past years, the 2008 Awards highlight top upcoming hardware,accessories, and software, focusing on innovative and breakthrough offerings at reasonable prices.

In alphabetical order, this year’s winners are:

Atlantic iceBar2 ($70), an affordable waterproof iPod nano case with built-in speakers that can be used in a pool or shower.

Belkin Podcast Studio ($100), a portable recording station for iPod, iPod classic, and iPod nano owners, with two microphones, a speaker, and fully adjustable input jacks for high-quality stereo recording on the go.

Casio Exilim EX-Z80 ($200) and EX-S10 ($250) Digital Cameras, both of which create high-resolution iPod- and iPhone-ready digital videos in H.264format without the need for any conversion.

Contour Design Bluetooth Compact ($100), a convenient hands free car accessory that combines a visor-mounted NXT flat panel speaker with a wand-like microphone and Bluetooth technology, letting you hear iPhone or other Bluetooth mobile phone calls through its own speaker.

Elgato Systems EyeTV3 ($80), a Mac-based TiVo television-to-iPod recording alternative with a great on-screen interface, a Smart Guide recording scheduling feature, and the ability to stream recorded videos directly from your computer to an iPhone, iPod touch, or another computer.

Etymotic Research hf2 ($180), a high-quality iPhone-ready mic and earphone set that blends the company’s awesome ER-4P earphones with as lightly better-than-Apple-quality microphone and a similar remote control button.

FastMac iV ($100), the Swiss Army knife of iPhone accessories, which packs a battery that adds twice the full runtime to the iPhone’s existing power cell, a bright white LED light to illuminate dark faces or rooms for photography, and a dual purpose belt clip and video stand.

Griffin Technology Evolve Extender Kit ($200), which adds two more wireless speakers and two additional recharging plates to last year’s superb wireless Evolve speaker kit.

Griffin Technology PowerDock 4 ($70) and PowerDock 2 ($50), multiple iPod and iPhone charging stations that allow users to charge phones or media players in a single shared location.

ifrogz Audio Wrapz ($25), rubber cases with three integrated speakers that enable you to protect your third-generation iPod nano and hear its music without earphones.

Kensington Liquid AUX Auxiliary Car Kit with Remote Control ($80), a steering wheel-mounted wireless remote control and an iPod- or iPhone charging/audio-out cable for your car.

Vestalife Ladybug ($110-125), the rare iPod speaker that actually stands out from the pack, as it’s shaped like its namesake and packs three drivers into a kid-friendly package.

and XtremeMac Luna X2 ($120), a more affordable, streamlined versionof the best prior iPod clock radio, with new 7/5/2 alarm settings and abeautiful black and chrome casing.

Videos and photos of all thirteen winning products are available on the iLounge.com web site, along with details on a number of additional Best of Show finalists. As always, both finalists and winners have been selected strictly on merit, and without financial or other consideration.

“This year’s selections are as notable for what they include as for what they exclude,” explained Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief of iLounge.”The past twelve months have seen thousands of me-too products released for the iPod and iPhone, often to the chagrin of our editors. Our winners this year consisted of familiar but especially well-executed and affordable products — ones which stood out from the pack. An additional ten finalists, by contrast, included products that added iPhone compatibility,higher-resolution video, and other new technologies to earlier offerings,often at prices that were a little too high. Surprisingly, no Apple-developed products merited awards this time.”

iLounge’s Best of Show 2008 Awards can be found at http://tinyurl.com/2g24xr

Source: iLounge press release

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