US Robotics Enters iPad Accessory Market
US Robotics, an electronics company widely known for creating high-speed modems in the 1980s, has branched out into the tablet market with some new accessories.
While US Robotics is one of the only companies still specializing in traditional modems, an obviously diminishing market has led the company to try other avenues, prompting the introduction of three tablet stands and two Bluetooth computers.
The stands and keyboards are designed to work with tablets, iDevices, smartphones, netbooks, and eReaders. All three of the stands will work with the iPad, but the USR5512 has been designed as a charging stand especially for the iPad and the iPhone.
US Robotics USR5512 Charging Stand for iDevices is a small stand with a 30-pin connector. The stand can be connected to a computer with your iPad USB cable, allowing it to charge and sync while in the stand. For a more traditional stand without charging capabilities, US Robotics offers the USR5510 tablet stand and the USR5511 slim tablet stand.
Both the USR5500 wireless Bluetooth keyboard and the USR5502 mini Bluetooth keyboard are compatible with the iPad, as well as with other computers, tablets, and electronic devices. The USR5500 has built in keys for activating special features on the iPad, such as slideshows, and the mini USR5502 is perfect if you’re in need of a portable solution. Other than that, these are standard Bluetooth keyboards.
For a company once known for producing the highest quality modems money could buy, US Robotics’ entry in the tablet accessory market is underwhelming. It appears to us that US Robotics isn’t manufacturing these accessories, and is instead licensing them from other companies. The 5510 and 5511 iPad stands look like two stands that are already on the market (namely Twelve South’s Compass Stand) and the keyboards are equally unimpressive. Still, the accessories are reasonably priced and still carry the well-known and respected US Robotics name, so they may well be worth a look.
The USR5512 iPad Tablet Stand and the USR5510 and 5511 stands are available starting at $19.99, and the USR5500 and USR5502 Bluetooth keyboards start at $39.99. All of US Robotics new tablet accessories can be purchased from authorized retailers. For more information, check out the US Robotics website.
