GadgetReview

Once again, Apple has blown us all away with its relentless flood of gadgetry, as a new patent has emerged.

It’s about what you’d get if you managed to combine an iPod Shuffle with a Bluetooth headset, and what it’s being called right now is a headset MP3 player.

You can see one of the patent design figures at left, but where this is amazing is that it can function on its own.  Yes, it functions as a wireless headset to a device it’s linked to, like a Bluetooth, but it also has the capability of storing its own MP3s within the headset itself.  And, as if that weren’t enough, your headset could also become a recording device at the touch of a button, allowing you to make your own MP3s of conversations you’re having.

These are all still somewhat speculative points, being as it’s still in the patent stages, but it’ll likely be another market-buster when it comes out.

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While I’ll reserve my judement on sound quality until I get my hands on one of what Vestalife calls their ‘iconic’ speakers system, their latest line of bug inspired speaker systems do posses an attractive facade that will get most performing a head turn.

The Ladybug II is an upgrade version of their first Ladybug and adds better electronics, stronger bass and a ported subwoofer. …Continue reading: Vetsalife Bug Speaker Systems Aren’t Creepy In The Slightest

Still trying to figure out how to make your iPhone a tad greener and all the while not cluttering up your desktop?  The Regen’s Renu solar panel is a modular system that charges on its own and when the time comes, can be placed in one of their two docks to charge up the iPhone.  That means you don’t have to expose your iPhone to direct sunlight, potentially harming the phone’s fragile components.

Renu currently offers an iPod dock, which just does the usual or you can opt for the more expensive but heavier featured Sound Dock, which includes a set of speakers and a slot for Regen’s Renu solar panel, providing up to 8 hours of sound or power to your iProduct of choice. The Renu solar panel takes about 3.7 hours to charge in direct sunlight outside and 7.3 hours of ‘direct sunlight indoors’. …Continue reading: Regen’s Renu iPod Dock Is My Favorite Solar Panel Gadget To Date

I’m stunned to be able to even discuss this, but apparently, Toshiba’s Dynario actually represents the first ever fuel-cell gadget charger.

If you take a fuel cell filled with methanol and ambient oxygen, and inject it into a charger package about the size of your palm, the combination of methanol and oxygen interacts with a lithium-ion battery inside the charger to power the battery and discharge sufficient juice to power TWO cell phones.  This means that most of your typical portable gadgets can now, thanks to Toshiba’s Dynario, be powered by a mix of air and chemicals.

Toshiba claims it takes the battery fully twenty seconds to charge after injecting the gas mix into the charger, and the costs on this beauty aren’t too steep for what you get.  The charger itself runs roughly $325, while the fuel cells themselves go for about $35 for a pack of five.  Oh, sure, it’s not exactly Rayovac Renewal battery affordable, but for a fast and easy charge that runs on thin air?  It’s not a terrible price.

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I love my iPhone.  It seems like it can do it all.  Plug in your computer to your home’s stereo or a set of powered speakers and you can even control your music right from the ‘remote’ app.  But what is one to do if your iPhone is the source of music.  Enter the iJet, an RF infused remote that works through walls at up to 150 feet. …Continue reading: iJet iPhone/iPod RF Remote Control Review

Yamaha hasn’t exactly been knocking down doors when it comes to cool and noteworthy gadgets, but that is all about to change thanks to the TSX-W80.  At first glance it appears to be your standard bedside alarm clock, but stare a little closer and you’ll notice the built-in iPod dock.  But what’s even cooler is the included wireless dock that lets you stream your tunes sans wires to the system’s speaker system.  And of course you’ll also find an FM/AM radio with presets as well as digital clock and alarm.  There’s no word on a price but expect it sometime this December, that is if it ever comes out in the States.

[via Dvice]

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If you’re a big work traveler, you know it can often be tough to keep all those mobile devices in juice.  In fact, just trying to find your chargers can be a task in itself, at least until the Charge4All Charge Folio came around.

It zips closed like a CD folder, but when you unzip it, you reveal five different kinds of device charger–iPhone / iPod, mini USB, micro USB, Samsung SCH and LG Chocolate.

Basically, it’s like an ultraportable power strip for mobile devices.  You plug the folio into the wall, and plug your various devices into the folio.

It’s definitely a great idea for all those traveling folks, whether it’s work or pleasure that gets you on the open road.  And at just under $50, you’ll have plenty of cash left for your travel expenses.

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So 3M, those great innovators, have come up with a way to get you to watch 3-D on your mobile device of choice, but without the glasses entirely.  Check THIS out:  they’ve developed this optical film (that you can apply to any gadget’s backlight system) that uses two alternating rows of LED to project left and right images one after the other to the viewers’ eyes.  This in turn allows for a stereoscopic 3-D image but without the need for glasses.

The film works on any device with a viewing size of nine inches or smaller, and to watch video in 3-D via this method requires the video be displayed at 120hZ.

I find myself a bit skeptical to the value of this, but admit from a conceptual level this is blisteringly cool–after all, turning any mobile gadget into a 3-D player with only a strip of plastic?  That’s MacGyver-grade gadgetry right there.

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Being fond of several Griffin products I couldn’t help but notice how cool this one looks.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen screens on Airplane seat backs but I know they still exist.  If you are an iPhone/iPod owner seeking a bigger screen during air travel then the Griffin exPort In-Flight Video Cable will help you get there.

Using the Panasonic developed exPort cable standard to connect to the airplane’s entertainment system, it allows you to view all your media/content from your iPhone/iPod on the aforementioned separate screen.

This cable connector type is now being licensed to Airlines to hopefully we’ll soon start seeing these in action across all Airlines.  Right now the only Airlines that have this connector type installed is in 1st class through United Airlines and on the Continental Airlines’ new Boeing 777s.  No word on price or release.

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve got an old cell phone or two laying around the house and you’re about dying to get rid of it.  But you’ve got no idea where or how to dump it.  We all know there are loads of hazardous material laws to grapple with, and those collection drives expect you to pay to dump your hardware.

Enter the EcoATM, a device the size of an actual ATM that’ll let you dump your hardware quick, easy, and sometimes, profitably.  Simply drop your old phone or other device into the EcoATM’s slot, and the machine will determine if it has any value.  The machine will then make you an offer for the device, which it will pay off from a separate slot, usually in the form of a gift card.

What if your device is worthless, you say?  Not a problem–there’s no such thing as a worthless device to the EcoATM.  Even if it has no residual value, you’ll still be able to leave the device with the EcoATM, but you’ll also get a “freebie item”, plus EcoATM will arrange for a tree to be planted in your honor somewhere, which still beats having to pay off the collection people all hollow.

EcoATM is actually doing pretty well so far–its first day in operation netted 23 phones and passed out a full hundred bucks in gift cards.  Word is it got a BlackBerry Curve in prime condition.  So chances are, this prototype will likely be coming to an electronics store near you.

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