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When I initially saw these on the ifrogz website, they looked so cool I had to own a pair. But when they arrived I was so disappointed - they look and feel cheap and the sound is only fair. For $19.99, maybe we were expecting too much, but they should re-think their pitch and aim them to kids, who might be thrilled.

We′re still a big fan of their cases though, and check out the awesome sale on iPod and iphone cases (25% off new 3G cases!).

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

At $39.99, the Orbit MP3 speaker system from Altec Lansing is a perfect gift for any music lover on your shopping list.
It easily connects to portable CD players, MP3 players, music-enabled phones, laptops and other audio devices, including iPod and iPhone. Plays for up to 24 hours on 3 AAA batteries.

The design does more than provide a cuteness factor since it provides a 360-degree sound field. Good sound in a small package. And did we mention that it’s only $39.99? (Amazon.)

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

The new BK-UNV01 module from startup BlueKey Wireless can turn most Bluetooth-enabled phones into home controllers.

Despite the prevalence of Bluetooth solutions on the market, the company believes this product is unique because of the company’s robust on-screen programming interface.

The module and companion software debuted at the Electronic House Expo Fall 2008 in Long Beach, Calif.

The BK-UNV01 receives Bluetooth commands from compatible phones and other devices — up to 300 feet away for Class 1 Bluetooth products — and can trigger virtually any low-voltage device via seven onboard programmable relays.

The unit also has a serial interface for controlling more advanced control systems (one-way). Out of the box, it supports the Powerlinc serial-to-powerline module for controlling Insteon and ≪ devices over the home’s existing AC wiring.

Up to 16 mobile devices can be tied into the system.

BlueKey’s Java-based application software loads onto a Bluetooth phone like any other application. It allows users to configure (with delays, if desired) each relay and label each command (up to 82) via an onscreen wizard.

Optional cellular and landline interfaces enable the BK-UNV01 to deliver status reports to the customer’s phone when out of range. Eventually, BluKey will provide Internet connectivity as well.

BlueKey sells the BK-UNV01 module and software for $499 (including a license for one mobile device), but the company is focused mainly on OEM business.

More at CEPro.

Tags: bk-un⸙, bluekey wireless, electronc house, insteon, powerlinc, x10

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Original post by nafiz

The ultra-stylish Samsung Cleo, launched in the Canadian market, is unlike any other flip phone in its shape - it is a solid square with a lovely floral pattern inscribed on the outside, and as Samsung describes it, is quite like powder compact (of the make-up kind). When flipped open, it measures a total length of just 5.5 inches in spite of containing a full-blown QWERTY keypad and a spacious color LCD screen that can display your SMS messages as threads of text conversation. Plus Samsung throws in a 1.3MP camera, an MP3 player with up to 8GB expandable memory, and Bluetooth (stereo). It will be available exclusively in partnership with Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile in three delicious options - pink, champagne and a special “Kisses from Cleo” edition - a “shimmering pink phone with a Cake Beauty mulberry sorbet lip butter.”

The handset is apparently priced at $300 and currently available only with Solo Mobile starting at $100 for a 3-year contract. Cool(eo) Canada.

Via unwiredview.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

I find more germy reasons to get panicky about my keyboard rather than my husband’s iPod Touch, but any product that can ensure spotlessness for our gizmos will, to his irritation, always find an eager listener in me.

These innovative Wireless Wipes have done exactly that – for they are the first-of-their-kind sanitized wipes designed for cleaning up daily-use gizmos like the iPhone, laptops, or any cellphone in general. The wipes have been designed based on a research that discovered that personal mobile devices are breeding ground to bacteria that can cause serious illness – pneumonia and meningitis, to name a couple.

No, that isn’t an exaggeration – your cellphone is probably filthier than the bottom of your shoe. Which is why these quick-drying, non-streaking and non-corrosive wipes seem like a great option – at $2 for a pack of 10.

Via Chip Chick.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

It’s a wired world, but not always as wired as we’d like it to be. There are lots of potential arid zones - the subway, deep in a building, or out there in the wireless countryside. That can be a problem for iPhone users. And it’s even more of a problem for fans of the iPod Touch. Without a wireless connection, Touch users are literally out of Touch.

Unless, that is, you partake of a growing number of iPhone and Touch apps that can be used offline. Sarah Perez at ReadWriteWeb has a useful list of seven apps that are the Apples of her i, including Evernote, the Stanza e-book reader, even RSS readers. And the Comments list several more.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

You’re a rabid BlackBerry user and have one - or more! - ideas for making your constant companion even better. Or maybe you’ve had a supersmart smartphone inspiration.

So where do you go from here? Hop over to the BlackBerry Partners Fund, which supplies venture capital for mobile applications. Its new Jump Start initiative will provide up to $250,000 “to bring new and innovative ideas into the development process faster allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building great smartphone applications instead of raising seed capital.”

Sounds intriguing in these credit-starved times. Details and application form here. Thanks to Eric Franklin at Crave.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

My main reason for upgrading to the iPhone 3G not long after I’d purchased my original iPhone was the promise of location applications that would work with much better accuracy with the real GPS on the 3G than with the fake GPS on the original. My pages are loaded with location apps for restaurants and apps that tell me where I last left my car or tell other people where I am when I’m lost (which, sadly, is often).

Store locator apps are great when you’re out of town, or even when you’re in town (who knows every store in their own neighborhood?). But combine this with the ability to find specific products and you’re really taking advantage of capabilities of the iPhone. The iPhone version of TheFind.com, a popular second generation online shopping search engine, does just this, and, much more importantly, it does it very well.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Circle Dock, une application gratuite pour gérer vos raccourcis de façon graphique!

Pour télécharger et tester Circle Dock, c’est par ici!

Original post by blog.nospam@nospam.benjamingauthey.com (bgauth)

Panasonic has just released it’s premium DVD Home Theater System 1250W system, and here’s why you want it:

- Kelton Subwoofer delivers powerful base
- Wireless rear speakers
-”Whisper Mode” means great sound even at soft volume
- Integrated Universal Dock for iPod
- 2 tower speakers
- VIERA Link (Assuming one has the Panasonic new line of flat panel and plasma TV’s , it displays a menu on the TV screen, making it easier to operate your connected home theater system. )

At $499 it’s a great value for the money. At Panasonic and also available at Amazon.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Never mind if you cannot afford a full-fledged piano, or if the thought of owning one seems too daunting. The Piano Hand Gloves offer a simple and inexpensive alternative – all you gotta do is wear the gloves and start tapping on any flat surface to create those awesome compositions that you have always flipped around in your head.

The Iwoot piano hand gloves have sensors at the fingertips that translate your tapping into musical notes. So wait it out music aficionados, the gloves are priced at $49.99 and will soon be available on IWantOneOfThose.com.

Via GizmoWatch.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Avez-vous téléchargé et essayé Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta disponible depuis quelques jours. Cette nouvelle monture propose plusieurs nouvelles fonctionnalités comme le tagging par personnes, éditions améliorées…. En plus de cela, il est désormais possible à des tiers (Startups, développeurs…) d’étendre les fonctionnalités par la création d’add-ins. Le premier testé permet d’exporter directement vos photos de Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta vers SmugMug comme vous pouviez le faire auparavant avec Windows Live Spaces et également FlickR tout en conservant les tags et metadatas saisis au préalable.

Donc si vous possédez un compte SmugMug, téléchargez la beta de Windows Live Photo Gallery puis installez l’add-in créé par Omar Shahine. Une fois cette étape passée, lancez Windows Live Photo Gallery, sélectionnez vos images puis faîtes “publier” et “Publier vers SmugMug”.

Définir le nom, catégorie… de votre gallerie photos.

Publiez.. et la magie opère!

Une fois l’envoi de vos photos terminé, admirez vos photos directement sur SmugMug, définissez vos tarifs, styles…

Pour nos amis développeurs, si vous êtes intéressés pour développer un add-in et accroitre ainsi vos capacités avec Windows Live Photo Gallery, c’est par ici.

Original post by blog.nospam@nospam.benjamingauthey.com (bgauth)

If there’s one thing that makes my heart sink, it’s the letters Fw: (or worse, Fw:Fw:) in an email’s subject line: you just know it’s going to be a viral video from 2004, or a really long and drawn out tale of hope and triumph that some spammer made up to sucker a load of people out of their address books.

My family and friends are pretty good about not sending me that kind of crap these days, but if yours are still serial offenders, you might be interested in a site called StopForwardingUs, which anonymously alerts your loved ones that someone’s had just about enough of their japes.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

There are now quite a few web-based reminder services on offer, ranging from the useful (those that remind you it’s your boss′ birthday, for example) to the questionable (those sites that remind your loved ones that your period is imminent, for example).

PMS Buddy is a free online PMS reminder service whose tagline is “saving relationships - one month at a time!” Did you know the only thing that threatened relationships was your monthly visitor? Well, now you do.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Call me crazy but if I want to go out to dinner I usually go with someone I already know, or at least someone I’ve been introduced to before. Or someone who isn’t just in it for a free meal.

But new dating site Take Me To Dinner aims to cut out all of that tricky “meeting someone before you decide if you want to date them” business. Instead, you set how much you want someone to spend on your meal out (or how much you would be willing to pay — if you’re a woman it’s usually the former) and then you get matched up with someone who’s willing to go out with you.

You′ll be no doubt devastated to discover that it’s only open to UK daters so far, but if you want to replicate the site for yourself, why not stand on a street corner wearing a sign saying “will date for food”?

Via Shiny Shiny.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women