By Productdose Staff

Why we haven’t seen more wireless headphone integration with MP3 players is frustrating and confusing, but there are a few options out there if you’re willing to track them down. The FunTwist D-Chord 800 presents a digital audio player with Bluetooth-enabled headphones. Forthcoming in editions of 256MB, 512MB and 1GB, the player is equipped to handle MP3, WMA, and WAV files, as well as FM radio reception and recording.

Buy it here, in its 512MB version, for AUS$249. It doesn’t appear to have surfaced outside of Australia yet, but it?s only a matter of time.

By David Ponce

We’ve written about Jacon Jensen before. The dude has an eye for design, that’s for sure, and he applies his talent to all sorts of products, like doorbells and wireless phones. This time, it’s a Jabra Bluetooth headset, the JX10.

Yeah, yeah, it’s been out for a bit, but we missed it, and we thought you should see it. It takes a name like Jacob Jensen to take what other manufacturers are selling for $70, and charge $180 for it. That said, the features are solid, and if you’ve got that kind of cash, why not buy the best looking Bluetooth headset around?

Come inside for more pictures and a feature list.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Bruce Eaton

We are well known in the watch/gadget department around here at OhGizmo. We’re watch-o-philes, if you will. Citizen has taken an idea put forth by Seiko in a prototype and come out with their own, more robust version. The i?VIRT TM is a Bluetooth watch that can hook into your cellphone and act as a caller id screen. Not only that, but it can actually control the phone and do many other functions, such as light up or vibrate when a call is coming in, or even forward or put a call on hold.

While Seiko has shown the tech, Citizen will actually be releasing it soon to the masses. No word on price but for what it can do, expect it not to be cheap. Here, if you can find it, is the Citizen page [in Japanese] where more details might be had.

VIA [Citizen Bluetooth Watch]

By Andrew Liszewski

In the past we’ve reported on plenty of gadgets that can be used to spy on the housekeeper, the babysitter or even the baby but now there’s a way for them to turn the tables. (Well maybe not the baby.) The Wireless Camera Hunter is a handheld unit that can scan all the commonly used video frequencies in a 500 foot range and will lock on to the nearest signal in less than 5 seconds.

The unit has a built-in 2.5 inch color TFT screen which will display the video feed coming from the nearest camera and a smaller LCD that indicates its frequency which can be adjusted by the user to ‘tune’ in other cameras. Of course paranoia doesn’t come cheap. You can get your own Wireless Camera Hunter from BrickHouse Security for $499.95. (While on sale.)

[Wireless Camera Hunter] VIA [The Gadget Blog]

By David Ponce

The iDea Wireless Home Dock for the iPod and PSP actually sounds like a product I’d like to own. It allows you to dock, simultaneously, any iPod, and your PSP, and an MP3 player and a Sony Walkman phone. Not only will you be able to charge your devices all at once, but you can also broadcast your multimedia throughout your home easily.

See, along with the dock, you can purchase optional wireless receivers. So, if you wanna watch what’s on the video iPod on the TV, you can. You want to listen to your music on your home stereo? No prob. Bought some UMD and you’d like to see it on a bigger screen? Ditto.

Hell, you get the idea. There’s so many features, I don’t have room to list them all, so make sure to give that site a look.

Problem is, can’t find a way to buy it, let alone how much it is. Anyone?

[Product Page] VIA [Gizmologia]

By David Ponce

Recently announced at the Telematics Detroit conference, a British company called RDM will begin offering the Auto-TXT service, a theft prevention system that uses your cellphone and Bluetooth.

Here’s how it works. Start with a car equipped with a Bluetooth module from London company Ezurio. Then, teach the system to recognise your Bluetooth-enabled cellphone. Once programmed, it becomes a secondary key for your vehicle. When the car starts, the system will look for your cell. If it doesn’t find it, the vehicle will be considered potentially stolen, even if it was started with the proper keys. You can then track it using conventional methods, or even better: remotely disable it.

Expect to see Auto-TXT in Jaguars and Land Rovers all over Europe, starting this year. If you want one for yourself, expect to pay between ?500 and ?600, depending on whether or not your want the Remote Disable feature.

[Auto-TXT] VIA [TechnoRide]

By David Ponce

As far as features are concerned, cellphones have it good. Land phones are getting left behind, and are comparable to, well, musty old grandmas really. For some reason though, British company BT is trying to spice things up for them, and if you ask me, are doing a great job of it.

The new BT Glide is a cordless land phone with the heart of a cellphone. It’s a slider, and it’s got Bluetooth. That means it can synchronise with your cellphone or PC, to update your contact list. You can also use a Bluetooth wireless headset with it, though at this point, you’re getting a little cordless/wireless action, and it’s all a bit confusing.

Other features include a 2″ 65k colour display with 15 wallpapers, 3 games and the ability to send SMS.

It’s ?180.

[The BT Glide] VIA [SciFi Tech]

By David Ponce

The Home Heartbeat System brings a little calm to your rampant neuroticism. It’s a system that allows you to remotely monitor a number of “variables” that would otherwise leave you wondering. For instance, “Did you leave the curling iron on?”, or “Is the garage door closed?” or even “Is the washer overflowing?”

It consists of a number of sensors (i.e. a water sensor, a power sensor, etc.) along with a Home key, a keychain fob that displays the status of your sensors. The setup is modular, meaning that everything can be bought separately (though they sell packages) to suit your needs. Should be available sometime soon at an as-yet undisclosed price.

[Home Heartbeat System] VIA [UberGizmo]

By David Ponce

While most of us concern ourselves with the latest XM/RIAA lawsuit, other people busy themselves re-inventing the old classic in completely different ways. The BookRadio is a project by Vinay Venkatraman & Pei Yu from the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Milan. It seeks to “revisit the way we perceive technology today” by making a book that doubles as a radio.

But see, it’s not that banal. The book itself then becomes the interface between the user and the radio. To change stations, you turn the pages. To adjust the volume, you slide the bookmark in or out. The entire device is wireless and can be used just like a regular radio. You can bookmark radio stations and also annotate favorite programs by actually writing on to the relevant pages.

It works by detecting the density of paper, and then wirelessly communicating the resulting frequency to the base unit, which then broadcasts the signal via speakers or headphones.

There is no price anywhere, but there is mention that it “now has been developed as a produceable product.” To me, it sounds like they’re waiting for someone to pick it up, and manufacture it. And let me tell you, if the price is right, I’m first in line.

[The BookRadio] Thanks, Priya.