Phone New Update: July 2008

Gear4 BluFM Offers Bluetooth For Your Phone Calls and FM Transmission For Your iPhone

MP3 FM transmitters and Bluetooth speakerphones are nothing new. The combination of two, though, is something that seems to have alluded most manufactures. Gear4s newest offering, the Gear4 BluFM offers just that.

Simply plug in your MP3 player and jam out to tunes via the FM transmitter. Pair it with your phone and when there�s an incoming call, it should cut the music and transmit the caller�s voice over the car�s speakers via the FM transmitter.

One question remains: will this thing work with an iPhone much like the iSonTalk? The jack probably isn�t compatible with the iPhone�s recessed input so you�ll have to address that with an aftermarket adapter.

Available here for $98.

Plantronics Intros 925 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics introduced their newest Bluetooth headset this week, the 925. The device is available in a variety of colors including Onxy Black, Alchemy Gold and Cerise Pink (what the hell is wrong with pink and gold).

It sports a unique VFrame design, which is intended to contour to the user�s face for better voice quality for the caller. The device utilizes a proprietary noise reduction technology for enhanced call quality and should get a 5 hour talk time on top of an additional 5 hours with the �on the go� charging case.

Available from major retailers for $150 starting April 2008 (black only). Other colors due in May.

Sony Unveils World's Smallest HD Camcorder HDR-TG1

Don�t be deceived by Sony�s newest camcorder�s small size; this little fella packs a punch. Standing just 4.7? tall and measuring 2.5? deep, Sony�s HDR-TG1 shoots full blown HD video (1920�1080).

Unfortunately, Sony in their blundering proprietary ways has only included a Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo or PRO Duo Mark2 memory card input - included is a 4GB PRO Duo Mark2 (available in sizes up to 16GB) card for out of the box shooting. Other features include face detection (as we�ve seen in Digital Cameras), a fold out 2.7? touch screen LCD and 5.1 Dolby Digital audio encoding.

Expect the Sony HDR-TG1 HD camcorder to ship May 2008 for a reasonable $900.

Epic Sports Cam Is The Affordable Stunt Video Camera

Ever take a crazy dinger and wish you had footage to relive it? I know I have. Like when I crashed my Go Cart in 5th grade and broke my leg. At the very least, I�d then know how it happened. The Epic Sports Cam is $160 device that records AVI video at 30 frames per second to an SD card.

It measures just 3-inches long, weighs 2.5oz, and sports a max rez of 640�480 for video and 5-megapixels for still images. Although the site is a little sparse on details, there appears to be two packages depending on your type of activity: Action Sports and Real Tree Combo kit. Each kit comes with waterproof casing and a strap mount and costs $160 and $170 respectively.

Watch Your Electrical Usage

Penny pinchers rejoice! The Wattson displays your total power usage. Installation is simple and no professional needed. Just install the �sensor� at the home�s electricity supply and then carry the handheld wireless display wherever you go.

Turn on the good old hair dryer and watch the numbers spike. The display has two modes: Wattage usage or money per year you�d spend for the appliances turned on. Lastly, the Wattson can be plugged into a computer and its information uploaded to the Internet where you can share consumption, tips and tricks.Available at DIYKOTO and will cost you $687.

Themaltake Desktop Box With Integrated iPod Dock

I don�t know about you guys, but I�ve been waiting for a car stereo head unit with a ????? like iPod dock. No more wires, just slip it in and bam, music. Unfortunately, that has yet to come to fruition, but Thermaltake is on the right track.

They�ve introduced the World�s first desktop computer chassis with an integrated iPod dock, the Mozart iPod.

The front of the unit pops open like a tape deck and snugly fits an iPod (not compatible with the Nano or Shuffle, though). Also includes a remote.

The Wiimote

Aside from a few broken windows and faces, the Wiimote destroys batteries, battery juice that is. Looks like they got smart, though, and have packed with Sanyo to integrate their �no one knows about� Enloop battery technology. The battery pack fits on current Wiimotes and charges via the Wiimote stand.

For those note familiar with Enloop batteries: They�re like NiCd or NiMh rechargeables only they last longer, don�t have the same memory issues, and work right out of the box. I think they charge faster than standard rechargeables as well. Available here for $74, but not officially in the US

iriver Lplayer

The Lplayer from iriver will seem familiar to some people. At first glance, it looks like a smaller iriver Clix. The two players use the same D*click technology the company's term for its innovative, practically button free design. You navigate the good looking interface by pressing down on the sides and corners of the tiny player's screen.

The Lplayer comes in 4GB ($109.99 list) and 8GB ($159.99) capacities with lower price tags than both the iPod nano and the Clix.

One thing missing from the Lplayer is the Clix's excellent support for Rhapsody, but for the price, the player offers solid file support wrapped in a good looking package.

The 2.36 by 1.69 by 0.51 inch (HWD), 1.45 ounce Lplayer is truly diminutive. The nano is thinner, but the two devices' screens are identical in size and resolution (2 inches, 320 by 240 pixels), and both are easily pocketable. If you want a small device for occasional on the go video watching, it'll do just fine.

The only trick is figuring out how to hold the Lplayer so you don't block the screen, which occupies almost the entire front surface. Also, using the lock switch on the rear panel is essential, so that you don't accidentally click the screen and pause or fast forward, for example.

The player's only true buttons, for volume and power, reside on the side panel. There's a mic for voice recording, a lanyard hole, and a mini USB port for syncing with your PC's music and video library. File support for the Lplayer is laudable. There's no AAC support, but you get MP3, WMA, and for the music snobs and lossless junkies, OGG and FLAC.

Video support is limited to WMV9 SP, Xvid SP, and MPEG-4 SP. You'll need the video converter (software that's on the included CD, along with the manual) to load other types of files onto the Lplayer. My results with the video conversion software were mixed. A WMV HD video loaded without a problem, but its aspect ratio was off.

A full length film in Xvid format, on the other hand, converted perfectly and looked just fine on the tiny but bright screen. Photo support is better than you get on most players: JPEG, BMP, PNG, and GIF.

Finis SwiMP3v2

Finis designs all sorts of aquatic sporting gear, so the $139 SwiMP3 digital music player isn't coming from the same minds that have engineered, say, the iPod or the Zune. That makes this waterproof MP3 player all the more impressive.

It works well and is a snap to use. Sound quality out of the water isn't great and you have to wear the goggles for the device to work but in the water, where the player is all you can hear, it sounds much fuller, though it's light on bass.

Here's how it works
Two lightweight plastic earpieces sit flat on your ears, but they're attached to goggles that keep them firmly in place while you swim. The device features an integrated USB connector for quick and easy file loading (just be sure you keep the cap on while swimming).

The cable goes behind your head, and the earpieces fasten into the goggles. One earpiece houses the minimal controls: Power, Stop, and two buttons that, depending on how long you hold them down, double as Volume Up/Down and Track Forward/Backward controls. Once you get a feel for them, it's easy to use the controls in the water, but blind navigation does take practice.

Samsung YP-S2

At 1.7 by 1.6 by 0.7 inches (HWD) and a pebble esque 0.5 ounces, the device has smooth contours that call to mind the ZEN Stone. A color coded light on top of the S2 tells you what the player is up to Blue stands for repeat all mode, green to blue to magenta means random, and magenta signifies that the S2 is running through a playlist.

The controls are on the bottom panel, with each button serving different functions depending on how long you press it and what mode you're in.

Power and play/pause occupy the same button, volume up and down buttons double as add song to playlist controls, and there are skip forward and backward buttons as well.

The S2's earbuds stay in place well enough to qualify as gym friendly, and the cable has an integrated neck strap, as well as a loop for a lanyard.

Not everyone will love the around the neck design of the ear buds (they look a bit like a necklace), but you shouldn't have any trouble keeping them in place, whether you're working out or just commuting.

Less convenient is the fact that instead of using a cable, the computer connection is achieved with a small adapter that connects the player's 3.5mm headphone jack to your PC's USB port. Folks with crowded USB areas may not like having it there, since the player may block other ports on your computer while it charges or loads content.

The S2 offers support for WMA, MP3, and OGG files. Though this isn't an overwhelming collection of formats, I am glad to see that the Pebble plays nice with OGG tracks. Of course, the lack of a screen means no photo or video playback�the Pebble is simply a music player.

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