AirJack mini-bluetooth receiver

Several manufacturers have started to ditch the trusted old analog audio jack from their devices, saying wireless audio is the future, and AirJack is the answer to bridge that future to devices requiring the traditional jack.

Micro bluetooth to audio jack adapter

Want to hear music from your smartphone on your car stereo, but don't have one capable of receiving bluetooth audio streams? Then you'll like to know you can fix that for just $4.

Piece turns your iPhone into a dual-SIM phone

Dual SIM smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, but while you have no shortage of options for Android devices, for iOS things are much more limited. Piece wants to change that, and from what it can be seen on its Kickstarter campaign, there are a lot of people that think the same.

Bluetooth pacifier tracks your baby temperature wirelessly

Wearable technology has now entered into the "suckable" area, and most parents will appreciate this bluetooth enabled smart pacifier that allows them to monitor their babies' temperatures easily from afar.

noke Bluetooth padlock

Tired of fumbling around for keys whenever you want to open your padlock? With noke (read: "no key") you'll no longer have to, as you'll be able to open it with a single click, provided you have your smartphone with you.

goTenna is a 50 mile radio extender for your Bluetooth communications

When I was little, things like cell phones were still in the realm of science fiction, but the desire to be able to communicate with our friends was already present - which made Walkie-Talkies one of the most desirable items we could hope for on Christmas. That's precisely the feeling this goTenna brought back in me.

TrackR Bravo Bluetooth tags

There may be some crowdfunded projects that never see the light of day, but TrackR was one where things went reasonably well... and one year after their first successful project, they're back for more with slightly thinner bluetooth tags.

Rebel Speaker - water resistant bluetooth speaker allows you to answer your calls while in the shower

How many times have you taken your smartphone to the bathroom and have it play music at its maximum level while you shower (though you won't actually hear anything until you shut the water off)? And what to say about the time someone calls you just as you get soaked? With this small - and cute - Rebel Speaker that popped up in the Indiegogo crowdfunding site you won't have to worry about that anymore.

The Rebel Speaker is a small water resistant bluetooth speaker with integrated mic, that lets you listen to your favorite songs from your smartphone, and act as a hands-free device to receive calls - even while you're in the shower. It has an integrated suction cup, making it easy to place it anywhere.

Now... let me tell you about one "small" issue. I've backed this project and talked about it in my main Portuguese blog, and soon after, one of my trusted readers found out an identical looking device on eBay - and cheaper! Well... I thought it could either be a case of a "Chinese" clone ripping off their device (unfortunately quite common); or... worst still, that this project was simply buying a ready made product, charging a bit extra, and make it look like a new project.

As I assume the best in people, I politely asked their position on this issue in the project comment section (keep in mind I had already backed the project buying two Rebel Speakers - to save on the international shipping charges). To my surprise, the comment was deleted. Well... maybe it was a glitch, I tried again... and once again my comment was promptly removed. You can imagine how I felt... backing a project that was deleting the honest questions I was making about it.

By this time, having no other choice, I contacted Indiegogo to tell them about the situation, only to find out that Indiegogo support also couldn't care less about it... I guess as long as they get their cut, everything else is not their concern.

Fortunately, the Rebel Speakers team finally contacted me by email, saying that they were aware of the issue and that the items in Ebay are in fact Chinese ripoffs, and that they hadn't the resources to fight it in the courts. I told them I was quite annoyed they deleted my public comments/questions, and that they would certainly get a better public image if they acknowledged it publicly without any "shame". But they say they prefer to keep it quiet so people don't run away and buy the cheaper knock-offs to save a few bucks.

Well... maybe it's just me that believe that people will inherently do the "right thing" when given the facts straight.

I'm still annoyed by them having deleted my comments, but after our email exchange, I feel they're doing what they think its best for them and the project. In any case, I put the whole thing out in the open so you can decide for yourself, and not feel like the Rebel Speaker project at Indiegogo is a scam - like I did for a while!


Prices start at $18 and delivery is promised to start this month, which will also make for a very nice Christmas gift!

[Rebel Speaker at Indiegogo]

Button TrackR - Never Lose Anything Again

Tired os losing stuff all around? There's an Indiegogo project that aims to fix that once and for all, and considering that it has largely surpassed it's intended $15k objective - with over $200k given so far - it seems there are a lot of people that are constantly losing stuff. I present you Button TrackR, and I admit I'm one of those 2000+ people that backed this project.

These tiny TrackR buttons can be placed/sticked to objects (or pets, or any other thing you can imagine) and use bluetooth so you can track them down using a smartphone app.

You can then know if you're near/far from them (up to 100 feet range), you can make the buttons sound an alarm to be easier to fine (or act as an anti-theft/forgetting alarm should you move away from them), and even tag the last place you've lost contact - if you can use this last function placing a button in your car so that you'll never forget again where you've parked it.

There's also a nice feature about TrackR, should any other TrackR user stroll around near on of your lost items, you'll receive a notification with its approximate location. Should this ever become widespread enough... it would have a very considerable "auto-finder" network for lost stuff.

This TrackR is in its final stretch with just a couple more days till it ends, and you can get a TackR button for $25, two for $40, and better yet: join up with a couple of interested friends and pony up for the 10 TrackR button pack for just $95. That's less than $10 per trackR button, and it certainly is a small price to pay for what it has to offer.

Hi-Call Bluetooth Gloves

Ready to face another cold winter? Thinking about how you'll be able to use your smartphone outdoor, while raining and snowing? Shivering about the tought of your fingers sliding over the freezing smartphone glass touchscreen?

Well, now you can "talk to the hand", for real! Thanks to these Hi-Call Bluetooth gloves you won't have a problem answering a call no matter how cold it is, while keeping your valuable smartphone safe in your pocket or bag!

The left glove has a speaker and a microphone sewed into the thumb and pinkie, allowing you to listen and speak while doing the common "phone gesture". You can even use your touchscreen smartphone with it, as it is compatible with capacitive touchscreen technology.

Battery life is up to 10 days in standby and 20h operating. For 49€... it doesn't sound like a bad deal.

I think it's appropriate to say... let your fingers do the talking! :)

Logitech Keyboard Case for iPad 2

If you can't keep away from a physical keyboard, even while typing on the iPad 2, here's something with might be helpful: the Keyboard Case from Logitech.

This high-quality aluminum protection case comes with an integrated bluetooth keyboard, transforming your iPad 2 in a powerful "tablet netbook" in which you can type for as long as you want.
You can even place your iPad in both landscape and portrait orientations according to your needs.

It can be yours for $99.99 which can't even be considered too expensive, considering it's just a bit more over Apple's own leather Smartcover, and not that much over any standard high-quality bluetooth keyboard.

Zeemote Portable Bluetooth Gaming Controller

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to get to know a strange small portable gaming device called Zeemote. It's a portable bluetooth gaming controller which makes playing on a touchscreen portable device a lot more appealing.

After all, a lot of gamers still can't grasp how one could ever play platform games on a touchscreen, and now  thanks to this zeemote - they won't have to.
The zeemote name similarity to the wiimote doesn't go as far as giving it motion sense capabilities. But, even so, you get a analog thumb controller and four buttons - enough to handle most gaming needs. (Though I could envision you using two of them for 3D FPS games! :)

Even more interesting, this Zeemote JS1 Bluetooth Mobile Gaming Controller is available for less than 7£ - which is less that 8€ - a real bargain!
So, if you want to maximize your gaming prowess on your Android tablet or smartphone, don't hesitate to get one of these zeemote bluetooth controllers.

Nokia N8 as a Portable "Desktop" Computer

Ever wished to use your smartphone as a desktop computer replacement? We're getting there; in fact, you can do it today, if you happen to have a Nokia N8.

Unlike other devices where the video output needs special apps or works only in a few select modes, the N8 outputs its screen via HDMI. Meaning, you can simply connect it to a HDMI monitor, pair a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and it's done!
(Sure, you'll have to settle with an upscaled 640×360 resolution, doubled to 1280x720 "HD").



Just like their "pre-Tablet craze" MIDs like the N770, I think Nokia is once again ahead of its time. You can bet this type of stuff will become increasingly normal in the upcoming years; but my guess is: it's still too soon.

Nevertheless, kudos to Nokia for enabling us to do this kind of stuff... today!

Mighty Mouse on your iPad

One of the great things about the iPad is its touch-friendly interface that allows easy interaction without requiring a keyboard or mouse. But there are still things better suited for a keyboard... Typing long texts is much more confortable when done with a physical keyboard - and while you're doing it, raising your hand to touch the screen becomes rather annoying. Why not fall back to using a regular mouse in that scenario?

That's exactly what someone thought of, using a bluetooth mouse with the iPad (a Magic Mouse in this case.)

Of course, you'll need to jailbreak your iPad in order to connect a bluetooth mouse to it... but at least you know you can do it.

Bluetooth Keyboard driver for iPhone

It is now possible to use a bluetooth keyboard to type on your iPhone (provided you have a jailbroken iPhone.)

The App is available on Cydia and, although not free, should come in handy for thousands of users hoping to type in their iPhones with a more confortable keyboard.
(Don't get me wrong - the iPhone virtual keyboard is excellent - but, imagine how you can type an entire essay on the go, just by taking a small portable bluetooth with you.)

Wireless Bluetooth Webcam

I'm surprised no on had thought of this before, but apparently this BT-1 webcam from Ecamm is the first to use bluetooth for wireless video transmission.

And just because it needs no wires, don't think it can't handle decent quality content, as it can stream 640x480 H.264 video with 48 kHz AAC stereo audio for 4 hours between charges.

As always, you can't expect this sort of stuff to come cheap: $150.
But, if you really can't stand wires running across your desktop, I'm sure you'll find a way to justify it. :)