The dedicated do-it-yourselfers out there will probably have already slapped together an iPhone tripod using some spare toothpicks and a fork, or two. The rest of us haven’t even considered making a DIY iPhone tripod. For those of you in that second category, iPhone-modder Scott Patrick has posted a DIY video that explains how to make an iPhone tripod using a Contour Case and a few hardware knick-knacks.
Contour Case used for this DIY is the most expensive component you’ll need. It’s $30 and you can grab one here.
Zeemote has recently announced that their JS1 Bluetooth Gaming Controller can now sing along even broader range of mobile devices from Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Samsung and LG. Basically, they announced a Symbian S60 driver, allowing their device to be used not just for games, but also for other applications such as music player, web browser and so on — virtually any application will work.
It’s a great move by Zeemote, as now millions of Symbian S60 3rd and 5th edition smartphone owners can use their handy accessory, not just for gaming, but for getting around the apps, too. At the same time, with this move Zeemote added dozens of new phones to the list of supported device. Nice!
For those of you dealing with lackluster AT&T (NYSE: T) reception in your home or office, there’s some good news coming out of AT&T this week. AT&T is on track to fully launch their signal-boosting femtocell, called the 3G Microcell (despite being a femtocell), by the end of 2009! The arrival of an AT&T femtocell should finally allow signal-seeking AT&T customers to rest easy in their homes with a veritable mini cell-tower in their living room.
For the uninitiated, the AT&T 3G MicroCell, despite its name, is a femtocell solution that blankets your home or office with 5,000 sq. ft. of wireless 3G coverage. The femtocell ferries all communications from your phone and to the carrier’s network through a high-speed internet connection. Think of a femtocell as a mini cell-tower packed into a device no bigger than a cable modem. The AT&T 3G Microcell will also allow up to 10 AT&T devices can use 3G voice and data simultaneously.
The 3G Microcells are in customer trials at the moment, and wider market trials are expected to go live within weeks. And, according to AT&T’s executive director for radio access network delivery, Gordon Mansfield, “[AT&T is] on track for a full national launch by the end of 2009.”
Figure AT&T will have the 3G Microcell available nationwide by the holiday shopping season. Because, you know, nothing says “happy holidays” like a femtocell!
You might remember Wildcharge, a company that make special pads that allow for wireless charging. Of course, the downside was that you had to have a special pack attached to the back of your phone, so there goes any skins or holsters you might have been using. Luckily, their latest product for the iPhone is being described as a skin with a conductive gel included. This sounds like a much more elegant set-up than the four-pin thing they started with, and already exists for the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve and Pearl. Throwing in some protection makes it a helluva lot more practical, although that little nub at the bottom might get a bit irritating for the aesthetic purists. Now all we need is the ability to sync wirelessly too… You can pick up the skin/pad combo for $79.99 or the skin alone for $34.99.
Motorola has launched the HX1 Endeavor Bluetooth headset, their first to make use of bone conducting technology. No, that doesn’t involve some magical, musically-inclined skeleton, but rather sensing the sound vibrations in your jaw as you speak to help cancel outside noise. This feature is activated by what they call “stealth mode” - just hit the button and bone conduction is a-go-go.
It’s not only headsets, like the Jawbone, that use this kind of technology - Pantech put out a bone-conducting phone awhile back, and others even tried stereo headphones for inbound audio. Motorola (NYSE: MOT)’s offer should do a lot to bring the idea of bone duction to the public eye, but there’s still a long ways to go before it starts becoming widespread. The initial launch for Motorola’s Endeavor HX1 will be in Asia this July. For a closer look, hit up Motorola’s minisite.
We don’t usually cover accessories that get FCC’s seal of approval. However, this time around we’re talking about a Bluetooth headset that has the famous “V” branding of Nokia (NYSE: NOK)’s luxury arm. The first Vertu headset (at least the first I’m aware of) has passed through FCC’s testing labs and we think it will soon hit luxury retails stores as well as Nokia’s own Flagship Stores around the world. We don’t have an image of this baby, but it’s safe to bet an array of luxury/high-end materials is used in making of this luxury device. Hence it’s not just “yet another Bluetooth headset” but a piece of jewelry, as well. Price is unknown, but as soon as we hear something new, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned in the meantime…
Belkin has unveiled a new member of its TuneCast family of products. It’s the TuneCast Auto Live FM transmitter, which comes in pair with ClearScan Live software application, allowing iPhone users to easily operate their FM transmitter and locate the best radio frequency to play music in the car.
The iPhone 3.0-ready application displays the FM frequency and the controls on iPhone’s screen, while GPS is used to determine the clearest FM frequency at the user’s location. In that sense, using ClearScan Live, you can:
Identify the clearest FM frequencies, based on geographical data as well as results from other TuneCast Auto users in the same geographical area;
Contribute to the quality of ClearScan’s recommendations by rating how well specific stations work at your current location;
Manually change frequencies and set favorite channels as presets.
As for the availability, Belkin said that the TuneCast Auto Live will be available in early fall in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, when interested users will be able to grab it for $79.99.
OtterBox announcing their uber-protective cases for the BlackBerry 8900 Curve, was my kick in the ass to finally crack open the Storm case they had sent me eons ago. Right off the bat, I could tell that there was a lot of differences in this model, namely the latching mechanism for the hard case is a much more convenient slide action rather than the brutish “crunch until it snaps” technique. If you haven’t heard of OtterBox, they make the toughest cases for phones out there. I’ve been looking at their Defender series, which uses three layers of protections (clear screen, hard plastic, and rubber skin), since it first came out, and with every new device they make some pretty interesting adjustments.
Jabra is out with yet another Bluetooth headset called BT2080, part of their “Easy” series. The stylish and easy to use device is, according to the Bluetooth accessories maker, designed for the day-to-day headset use. The trick is in the all new StatusDisplay, which allows users to easily check connectivity and battery life with just one glance. Moreover, there are multi-color lights that are used to convey the status of the headset and a single touch of any button results in two clearly labeled lights on the rear “telling you everything you need to know.”
Specs wise, the Jabra 2080 is a Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and eSCO enabled headset, which support voice dialing and comes with a battery that can sustain up to 6 hours in talk and up to 8 days in standby mode. As for the size, it measures 53×16x9 mm, and has a weight of just 8 grams.
The Jabra BT2080 has an approximate retail price of $39, and is available in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, India, Australia and Korea.
Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) has recently unveiled a new accessory - Portable Handsfree MH700. We haven’t caught the press release, but when it comes to Sony Ericsson matters, we look at the SEMC blog, which does a great job in covering the Swedish-Japanese company. From there we found out the MH700 comes with two 3.5mm audio jacks along with a fast-port connector. According to SEMC, the stylish handsfree will best sing along some high-end device such as the Xperia X1 or W995 Walkman.
As of the time of this writing, we’ve no information when will the Sony Ericsson Portable Handsfree MH700 start selling, nor how much it will cost. As soon as we hear something new, we’ll let you know. Stay tuned in the meantime…
For those of you dealing with lackluster AT&T (
You might remember 
