By Chris Scott Barr

Yesterday we showed you a gadget that could essentially turn your iPad into a netbook by giving it a sleek case with a built-in keyboard. It looked rather fancy, and gave the appearance that it actually was a netbook or laptop. Unfortunately, for the $150 price tag, one could actually buy a netbook.

ThinkGeek has just announced their own iPad Bluetooth Keyboard Case, for a fraction of the cost. It has a nice black silicone cover, which folds out to reveal a Bluetooth keyboard, and a stand for the iPad. It can also be flipped around so that the flap sits behind the device, letting you hold it just as you normally would. The rechargeable lithium ion battery lasts up to 90 hours, and is recharged via USB.

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By Andrew Liszewski

I’m not particularly worried about cellphone radiation given how many amazing superpowers have been attributed to being exposed, but based on how many studies about mobile phones and radiation get funded, I assume some users are. But even if I was worried, I would probably just suck it up if this was the only alternative. The details are lacking to say the least, but the Zip Earzee is essentially a Bluetooth earpiece you wear as a wristband.

Presumably it’s got a built-in mic you speak into, but in order to hear an incoming call you have to pull out a small tethered speaker and hold it up to your ear, kind of like those old-timey wall-mounted phones of yesteryear. Why this is a better alternative to just popping in a small Bluetooth earpiece as needed is beyond me, though I guess it does keep those evil Bluetooth rays away from your brain.

[ Zip Earzee ] VIA [ SlashGear ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A lot of people are predicting that tablets are the next battleground in the tech world, but it seems that another war is brewing over what consumers strap to their wrists. Now it’s easy to point at Sony Ericsson and shout “j’accuse!” that their new LiveView is nothing more than a copy of Apple’s latest gen Nano, but given how close the two were announced it’s obvious that Sony Ericsson has had this in development for a while.

And instead of serving as a standalone MP3 player, the LiveView is designed as a sort of Bluetooth micro remote for Android 2.x devices, allowing users to answer or make calls, view Facebook or Twitter updates, receiver calendar notifications, monitor RSS feeds and even control their music. It’s got a 1.3-inch OLED display but unlike the Nano’s it’s not touch-friendly. Instead it looks like the screen itself serves as a 4-way controller, requiring users to click the edges to navigate the UI, in conjunction with a set of buttons located on top. There’s no word on pricing at the moment, but the LiveView is supposed to be available sometime before the year is out.

[ Sony Ericsson LiveView ] VIA [ Ubergizmo ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Once again I can’t give secu4 the credit for being the first to come up with this idea, but I like the fact they’ve managed to get their BlueWatchDog security ‘dongle’ almost as thin as a credit card, making it less of an inconvenience to actually use. The idea is you stash one of these cards inside something you don’t want to go missing, and then connect it to your cellphone over Bluetooth.

Everything is hunky-dory until you and said article are separated by a preset distance, anywhere between 1 and 30 meters. At that point an alarm on your cellphone will sound letting you know the protected item has been forgotten or taken, and the BlueWatchDog itself will emit a 100db alarm serving as a reminder and/or a deterrent. The system is compatible with a wide variety of phones, though oddly enough not the iPhone which was supposed to be supported sometime this year. And while ~$95 (€69.99) isn’t chump change by any means, it could be cheaper than having to replace a laptop or other more expensive device.

[ BlueWatchDog Bluetooth Personal Alarm System ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

By Andrew Liszewski

They’re not quite as small as your standard earbud-style headphones just yet, but these wireless Bluetooth earbuds from Logitec are getting pretty darn close. As usual it’s those damn batteries that make up most of the bulk, but these manage to come in at just 0.24 inches thick and weigh only 9 grams while still getting around 4 hours of easy listening on a single charge. Not a whole day, but what you lose in battery life you gain in your ears not hurting after wearing these for a few hours. They’ll sync to your mobile phone for hands-free calling too, and it looks like there’ll be three distinct versions when available: the LBT-MPHP02 for mobile phones, the LBT-AVHP02 for BT capable audio devices and the LBT-PCHP02 for use with PCs. ~$52 (¥ 4,480)

[ Logitec Bluetooth Earbuds ] VIA [ Akihabara News ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Shortly after CES I reviewed ID8 Mobile’s MoGo Talk Bluetooth headset and case for the iPhone 3G/3GS, and while it was definitely a convenient way to carry a Bluetooth headset, there were a few drawbacks. The most glaring being the fact that you needed a separate microUSB cable to charge the headset while it was docked to the back of the case. At CES I was told they were looking into ways to charge with a single cable the way their Blackberry MoGo Talk case does, but looking closely at the new iPhone 4 version it seems no solution was found.

It’s still a very clever way to carry a Bluetooth headset if you don’t like wearing one 24/7, I’ll give it credit there. But you can still see a separate microUSB port on the bottom of this case which means you’ll still need to use 2 cables if you want to charge the iPhone and the headset at the same time, which kind of sucks. It has seen a drop in price though, from $129 to just $99.99 when it becomes available in September, so maybe that’s like a consolation prize.

[ MoGo Talk XD for iPhone 4 ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Those of you who’ve made the upgrade to a touch screen smartphone but pine for a physical keyboard can now enjoy the best of both worlds without your pockets bursting at the seams. Somewhere someone is diligently working to make Bluetooth keyboards as small as they can possibly be, and the latest fruits of their labors is this credit card sized model from EFO.

Now it looks like someone has actually just pryed the keypad off of a Blackberry, but it’s a fully working QWERTY keyboard complete with F1-F12 function keys, CTRL, ALT, DEL, multimedia playback buttons and it’s been tested with both the iPad and iPhone. I’m not sure what kind of battery it’s sporting or how long it works before needing a refresh, but for a limited time you can order one for just $32 before it goes back to its regular non-introductory price of $40 in September.

[ EFO Mini Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard ] VIA [ The Gadgeteer ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s not like traditional paper sheet music was ever able to turn itself, and in my mind, hitting the arrow key on a laptop or swiping your finger across the iPad seems a lot easier than re-shuffling a stack of pages while playing an instrument. But since I’m no musician, who am I to question if this Bluetooth foot pedal from AirTurn actually makes things easier or not?

The device itself is basically a BT transmitter which connects to a handful of foot switches from the likes of Boss or Roland, and it seems to work with pretty much any application you’d need it to including Acrobat, Word, PowerPoint, Keynote etc. The transmitter is powered by a couple of AAs which should keep it running for a few weeks, and it has a range of up to 100 feet which seems a bit overkill. For $39.95 you can get the AirTurn transmitter and receiver by itself, but the company also sells bundles with Boss forward and back foot switches and their Music Reader software which pushes the price tag to close to $200.

[ AirTurn BT-105 Bluetooth Foot Pedal Page Turner ] VIA [ eCoustics ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Even if Bluetooth headsets shrink to the point of being completely invisible in your ear, you’ll still look kind of foolish seemingly carrying on a phone conversation with yourself. That’s simply never going to change. So while it’s not exactly a hands-free alternative, the Moshi Moshi 03 Bluetooth handset from Native Union provides similar functionality to a BT headset, while making it look like you’re actually talking on the phone, sometime in the 1950′s. It’s definitely got a certain retro/modern aesthetic to it, and it comes with a matching charging base (available in a black or white glossy finish) so it’s not just floating around your desk while not in use.

Unfortunately though it looks like iLounge had a chance to put it through its paces and found it hard to recommend. Not only was the sound and voice quality all over the place, and at best just acceptable, but it also wouldn’t pair with the iPad or BT-capable versions of the iPod Touch, making it unusable for apps like Skype. So sadly it seems like the Moshi Moshi 03 is a case of function following form, which makes it hard to justify the $129.99 price tag.

[ Native Union Moshi Moshi 03 Bluetooth Handset ] VIA [ GadgetReview ]