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Callpod’s new Drone USB Bluetooth adapter turns your mobile phone’s Bluetooth headset into a headset/mic for your PC or Mac allowing you to receive Skype or other VoIP calls using your high-end Bluetooth headset (Plantronics, Jawbone, etc.). Just connect the Drone into the USB port of your computer, and it will immediately connect with your Bluetooth headset or headphones to provide streaming music and voice over a 100 meter (328ft) range. When a Skype call comes in, Drone switches over to the call automatically. It supports the A2DP (Stereo) Bluetooth profile.

Of course, many PCs and laptops come with Bluetooth built-in, making this device unnecessary. It’s basically a $50 USB Bluetooth adapter/Bluetooth dongle, which is nothing new. Still, if you need to add Bluetooth functionality to your PC or Mac, this might be the way to go. Though, you can pick up a Bluetooth USB dongle for $20. However, they claim their software automatically switches the audio to the Bluetooth headset on an incoming Skype call. I don’t believe most Bluetooth dongles support that functionality. Not sure it’s worth the extra $30 for the auto-Skype answer, but you make the call.

Features:

• 100-meter (Class-1) range
• VoIP and music streaming to any Bluetooth headset or stereo headphones
• Automatically pairs with your headset or headphones
• Seamlessly switch between music and VoIP calls
• No software installation - Plug and Play
• Optional software install for advanced functions such as data transfer
• Upgradeable firmware

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Tags: ʌDP, Bluetooth, Callpod, dongle, Drone, headset, skype, USB, voip

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Desktops

HP’s bringing a little fiesta to the green game this morning, announcing the new Energy Star-qualified Pavilion Verde a6645f (pictured) and the Pavilion Phoenix Special Edition a6655f desktops along with the new �c 25.5-inch display. Both the $579 Circuit City-exclusive Verde and $659 Best Buy-exclusive Phoenix claim a 45-percent energy savings over traditional PCs and sport 5GB of RAM, a LightScribe dual-layer burner, and Vista Home Premium, but the Phoenix is the hotrod of the pair, packing an AMD Phenom X4 9150e quad-core processor over the Verdes’ Athlon X2 4850e dual-core unit. The � display seems nice and flexible, with HDMI inputs, a 15-in-1 card reader, 2.0 megapixel webcam and multiple USB ports, but we’ll wait for specs a little more detailed than “fast” response time and “high” brightness before we plunk down our $599. Both machines should hit their respective big-box stores on November 9th, and the display should be out now — check it out after the break.

Continue reading HP announces Pavilion Verde and Pavilion Phoenix eco-PCs, 25-inch display

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Laptops, Wireless

Well, it looks like the flood of products piggybacking on the launch of Sprint’s XOHM WiMAX network isn’t showing any signs of letting up just yet, with Toshiba only the latest to hop on board with its new WiMAX-ready Satellite U405-ST550W laptop. That welcome connectivity addition comes in the form of what Toshiba describes as the “first ever″ combined WiFi /WiMAX module, formerly codenamed “Echo Peak,” which is about the only stand-out feature among the laptop’s high-end but otherwise unremarkable specs, including 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, and a 13.3-inch screen with Toshiba’s trademark TruBrite technology. No word on a price just yet, but it’ll apparently be available “soon.”

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Original post by Donald Melanson

The “Nesbuckels” is a great accessory for the fashionably-daring. The belt buckle, which is patterned after the NES controller, probably does a great job of keeping your pants up—as well as attract to your crotch as people wonder what the heck you’re wearing. A close up for those who

On top of that, if someone figures out how to make the buckle play a sound when any button’s pressed, you’ve got yourself the perfect pants button protector! What do you think folks? Is the NES Buckle for guys only, or would they work with certified online hotties like the Gadgenista? (trendhunter.com)

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Original post by Rico

Filed under: Storage

Remember the days when 64GB sounded huge for a CompactFlash card? Well, now you can pick up the world′s largest CF: a 100GB Pretec 233x operating at a zippy 35MB/sec. And if that’s not big enough for you, through some kind of crazy voodoo magic (aka Pretec Q-SATA) four 64GB cards can be transformed into a 256GB SATA drive — assuming you have $1,596 burning a hole in your pocket. And if speed is your game, Pretec can outfit you with a 333x 32GB CF card running at a record-breaking 50MB/sec for merely $630 — chump change, right?

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Original post by Stephanie Patterson

SanDisk has introduced a 32-GB CompactFlash card, the company’s largest CF storage device for professional digital photographers and videographers.

The latest Extreme III CompactFlash is twice the size of SanDisk’s previous largest product. The new card has read and write speeds of 30 MBps.

The higher-capacity card is aimed at people who use Hi-Def camcorders, enabling users to store as much as 80 minutes of 100 MBps, 10-bit, 4:2:2 HD video, which is of sufficient quality for today’s professional video applications, according to SanDisk.

For photographers, the additional capacity is useful for storing pictures shot in RAW format. The format uses 10 times the storage space as regular JPG images, but provides higher-quality images.

The card can operate under temperatures ranging from minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit to 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pricing: 2 GB, $45; 4 GB, $70; 8 GB, $130; and 16 GB, $240; 32 GB, $300.

Availability: October.

Get more at Information Week.

Tags: compact flash, extreme III, sandisk

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Storage

SanDisk’s 30MB/s Extreme III line of flash cards keeps growing — the company just announced the 32MB Extreme III CompactFlash card for $299. Pretty steep, but if you′re shooting high-speed RAW images or filming a masterpiece with a RED ONE, we bet your ears just perked up. Out in October, we’re told.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Wilmington, NC had the pleasure of being the nation’s first DTV transition test market, and now it has officially become the first market in the nation to flip the kill switch on analog. As of noon ET today, the Wilmington area entered the digital frontier, and initial reports suggest that things are going fairly swimmingly. Granted, “a few” viewers were still “struggling″ to see the signal (read: not at all prepared for the change), but at least the world didn’t completely implode or anything. Not like we can really avoid that scenario come Wednesday, but hey, an extra 24 or so hours to live it up ain’t half bad.

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Original post by Darren Murph

When we first saw the Zeppelin iPod speaker system from Bowers & Wilkins at CES, we weren’t sure if it was a piece of art or functional technology. We were happy to report it sounds as good as it looks, as you’d expect from the British company which started out by making studio-quality speakers. (Abbey Road still features their 800 series speakers.)

There′s a sound reason (pun intended) for the shape - one of the reasons the tweeters are so small is that they disperse the tiny high-frequency waves over a wider area than larger drivers, so the size of the enclosure housing the tweeter also affects this dispersion, and that’s why Zeppelin’s body narrows as the drivers get smaller.

While still out of most people′s price range ($599), you can now buy the Zep at Apple stores worldwide.

Original post by Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As we learned from Wall-E, people with half a mind for themselves probably won’t be kosher with living with 1.1 million or so other inhabitants within a pyramid. That being said, there’s always the brainwash approach to getting ‘em in there, and if hordes of people were ever filed into the conceptual Ziggurat, Mother Earth would surely appreciate it. The 2.3-square kilometer building would be able to house over 1 million people and be “almost totally self-sufficient energy-wise.” By tapping into the planet’s renewable resources, designers assert that it could practically be carbon-neutral, and given that transport within the machine would be connected by an “integrated 360-degree network,” fuel-burning cars would be pointless. As with most things in Dubai, this one seems larger than life, but if the Burj Al Arab is any indication, there’s at least a minuscule chance this thing comes to fruition.

[Via Inhabitat]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Portable Audio

Ah, concepts. They make us laugh, they make us weep. And in this instance, they make us proud of the human imagination. Designer Yoonsang Kim has provided an oh-so-subtle tweak to the common earbud, leaving each earpiece in the shape of a question mark. Besides looking fairly attractive in-ear, they can also loop together to make carrying them much simpler. For the clean freaks, the design also keeps bacterial growth to a minimum by removing those dark, damp corners so prevalent in traditional ‘buds. Seriously, how can these not see mass commercialization?

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

Just as wallets leave impressions in rear pockets, cellphones can do the same for pockets in the front. One Aram Bartholl has decided to start a collection of battle-tested jeans that “show traces of mobile tech development in society.” We’ve no idea if he’s planning to tackle the whole thing on his own, but we’d suggest buying up old pants from around the globe in order to amass a sizable collection before death sooner. The image you see above shows what happens if you walk around for three solid years pocketing an original Nokia 6600. Anyone got any impressions (SFW, please) they’d like to share in comments below?

[Via textually]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Household

For those out there who’ve already doused their grille in platinum, Fabio Dabori’s sponge-loaded toothbrush could double as the ultimate wax machine. For everyone else still rockin’ the pearly off-whites, surely this thing is more comfortable than those stiff bristles found on the vast majority of brushes today. The Giro Sponge concept is an electric teeth cleaner that features a soft, round head that’s particularly kind to babies and grown-ups with sensitive gums. Word has it that Mr. Dabori has patents on the idea and is hoping to get it on store shelves soon, and we can already see that those cutesy replaceable heads will be a huge hit with the kiddos.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Laptops

Perhaps it’s just that nostalgia for the ThinkPad 701 but there’s something about this dual-display reference design that’s causing optical interrupts all over Engadget editorial. It’s certainly not as elegant as some other dual-display laptops we′ve seen, but what it gives up in looks, the Electronic Keyboards, Inc. design makes up for in practicality. They’re currently pitching it to OEMs and will gladly sell you the related US patents if interested. Though given our choice, we′d be more interested in patents related to an elongated trackpad which doubles as a secondary glass display or e-Ink informational widget. Hey, a boy can dream can’t he?

[Via The Raw Feed]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones

Mmm, touchscreens. Expansive, gorgeous touchscreens. That pretty much sums up our initial impressions after taking one hard look at James Piatt’s Plica concept. As you can tell, this foldable cellie opens up to reveal a pair of touchscreens just begging to be used for web browsing, texting and photo viewing. There’s also a mini-USB port and a headphone jack, though we’d certainly be interested to see how he plans on slipping a battery in there that lasts more than a hour or two. Can we get a major handset manufacturer to look in this direction — pretty please?

[Via gadgetell]

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Original post by Darren Murph