By Chris Scott Barr

Cell phone have, for better or worse, become an important part of our daily lives. Which is why it really sucks when you get somewhere, only to realize your phone is sitting at home, miles away. I’ve found my own way around that, as I use mine to play all of the music in my car, so I notice right away if I’ve left it in the house. However, if you prefer to listen to the radio, that’s not a viable solution. Instead, you might consider this rather simple device.

Bringrr is a small Bluetooth accessory that detects when your phone is nearby. If you start your car and the phone isn’t present, it will emit a sound to let you know. It’s small, rather cheap ($35) and helps to ensure that you never leave home (or anywhere else, for that matter) without your phone.

[ Bringrr ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Chris Scott Barr

You know what I don’t see enough of these days? Bandoliers. It’s already been proven that they are stylish, I mean just look at Chewbacca, Rambo and Worf (at least I’m pretty sure that thing was considered an ornamental bandolier). What’s that, you’d like to wear one, but just don’t have a good enough reason?  Well have I got a surprise for you. The Dew Quiver iPod Shoulder Strap is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Alright, in all seriousness, this thing is the fanny pack for the 21st century. No, that’s not some sort of compliment to the designers. Sure, it’s got a place to run the cord for your earbuds and build-in volume control. But this thing boils down to being the equivalent of a fanny pack. It’s not stylish, it’s just a big ugly pocket. Make that a big ugly expensive pocket, as it will set you back $85.

[ SmallDog ] VIA [ Coolest-Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Remember last month when we told you about South Korea’s brilliant use of the sausage stylus? Sure, it seems pretty bizarre, but it’s also apparently rather handy. The sausages used aren’t widely sold here in the US, but one enterprising company imported a whole bundle of them to sell as styluses.

That’s right, if you head over to CaseCrown, you can pick up your very own iPhone Sausage Screen Stylus. It’ll only set you back $.99, which is about as cheap as you’ll find a stylus. The site lists them as “not for consumption,” so I wouldn’t expect to snack on one of these when you’re hungry. I would, however, expect a number of people to as “is that an iPhone stylus in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

[ CaseCrown ] VIA [ TUAW ]

By Chris Scott Barr

One thing that Apple has touted from the beginning with the iPhone is that it is great for gaming. I agree with that on some level, but the lack of a d-pad and physical buttons will always hold it back. One company has been hard at work on a solution that will give your favorite phone the features it needs to really let you enjoy games on it.

The iControlPad has been in the works for a little while now, but the developers have announced that they are finally going into mass production. The unit will give you four buttons, two analog sticks and a d-pad for all of your gaming needs. One model will even give you an internal battery for juicing up your iPhone. The only bad thing (for some people) is that it looks like you’ll need a jailbroken iPhone for it to work.  There’s no current word on pricing.

[ iControlPad ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Some days it really does seem like the iPhone has an app for everything. Heck, if the phone lacks a piece of hardware that you’d need to accomplish something, there’s an accessory for it. At CES we saw the L5 IR Remote Dongle, which (as the name implies) turns your phone into an IR remote. While I thought the idea was good, a dongle like that is just asking to get lost or broken. A better solution is this iPhone case from Power A which adds the same functionality, only in a case.

The Power A iPhone Universal Remote Case is a rather ordinary-looking case, except for the larger bottom portion. This is where the IR remote is stored, which is connected through the standard iPod connector. As for software, you’ll be able to download a free app that will allow you to control virtually any device that uses an IR receiver. The case will be on sale sale soon for $60.

[ Power A ] VIA [ Geeky-Gadgets ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Making a clone of a hard drive isn’t something that most people do on a regular basis, but it can be a pain when you do find yourself in that position. It’s been a while since I’ve had to do it, but the process always involved special software and the undivided attention of one of my computers for a while. If you go through this very often, you might be interested in this Double Rack USB/ eSATA dock.

This contraption allows you to plug in two hard drives, and clone from one to the other. The best part is that this operation does not require the use of your PC in any way. When you aren’t cloning drives, you can use it as a regular hard drive dock. The website doesn’t specifically state if it supports IDE, SATA or both. It does mention that it can clone PS3 hard drives, so it at least works with SATA (that also means 2.5-inch drives are supported). $90 might be a bit much for a boring hard drive dock, but I’d say it’s well worth the money if you ever need to clone your hard drive.

[ GeekStuff4U ] VIA [ TechFresh ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Remember that interesting BlackBerry watch that I told you about last week? Details were a bit sparse, but Allerta, the gadget’s creator, has finally released some of the more important details. The watch features a 1.3-inch full color OLED display, Bluetooth 2.0, glass lens, vibrating motor (for alerts) and a microUSB port for recharging. Firmware updates will actually be done over-the-air. Battery life is expected to be around four days.

As for which phones will work, it seems that any running BlackBerryOS 4.3 or higher will be able to install the necessary application. The device will ship in February 2010 and can be pre-ordered now for $149.

[ Allerta ] VIA [ GearLog ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Ever since Dick Tracy, people have been wanting phones on their wrist. We’ve seen various, albeit poor implementations of this very thing, but nothing that feels right. One of the biggest hurdles in crafting the perfect wrist-mounted phone is that it’s tough to cram everything you need in a tiny watch. So what if you had your regular phone, and the watch merely complemented it, and gave you easy access to core functions? That seems to be the idea behind this inPulse.

The inPulse is said to be a Bluetooth accessory for your BlackBerry. It doesn’t appear to give you control of your BlackBerry per se, but it does do something rather useful. When a new message (or perhaps phone call?) comes in, it will appear on the screen of your watch. This lets you check the message with just a quick glance to your wrist. If it’s nothing important, you can go about your business. Otherwise, you’ll pull out your phone and take the necessary actions. Honestly, if this thing could let you make phone calls, I’d say it’s the perfect accessory.

VIA [ Crackberry ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Joby has made some of the coolest little tripods for your cameras over the past few years, and now they’re bringing it to the iPhone. Their latest offering comes in the form of a soft-touch case for your iPhone 3G/3GS. The case features a locking clip which can be used to attach a set of Joby’s famous flexible, bendable legs.

As an added bonus, the Gorillamobile for 3G/3GS also has a universal camera adapter (1/4” tripod screw). This means that your new tripod isn’t just limited to your iPhone. If you have a regular camera, it can be attached as well. If you take a lot of pics with your iPhone, then this $40 tripod might be worth the investment.

[ Joby ]