No sooner than I’ve checked out the pre-order for the HTC Touch 2 on eXpansys, and they are telling me about an accessory from Parrot. No great shakes you might think, but trust me, any accessory that weighs in at £300 without much change, peaks my attention immediately!

Parrot have launched today a brand new Bluetooth Car Stereo and Hands-free Kit, the Parrot RKi8400. It’s ready to ship today: £299.99. The high-spec Parrot RKi8400 Bluetooth Car Stereo and Hands-free Kit is a fantastic new type of car stereo. You can make hands-free calls easily using voice recognition, charge and store your iPod/iPhone and enjoy incredible sound quality through your existing car speakers.

Exceptional sound quality in your car

Totally integrated into the vehicle’s audio system, conversations and music are transmitted via the speakers for maximum listening quality.

Hands-free phone book access and conversations

The very first time you connect the Parrot RKi8400 to your mobile-phone, it automatically copies the contacts in your mobile’s phonebook. To make a call, use the voice-recognition function (by pressing the green button) and say the name of the person you want to call.

Elegant design and wide colour screen

The RKi8400 has a removable front panel, combining matt black with chrome features. The main functions are all accessible via an elegant rotary button, making browsing through the menus more intuitive.

Instant access to all your digital music

The Parrot RKi8400 also provides instant access to your music. Thanks to its special cables, it can support any musical source you want: iPod, iPhone, USB flash drive, and even SD cards, Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) peripherals or any other analogue player.

A storage compartment for your devices

Located behind the RKi8400’s removable front panel, ideal for hiding your phone, MP3 player or USB flash drive. A special cover provides your devices with excellent protection, whatever the circumstances.

Want one? I have to say, I kinda do! I heard Parrot’s wireless speakers some time back, and they DO sound good – the thought of a full-integrated head unit for the car is one that fills me with some excitement. If only my current car supported the swapping out of a head unit – doh doh doh!

Check out more on the Parrot RKi8400 here.

[Via: eXpansys]

OK then, just putting it out there …. What with all the news on both the LG and Samsung Watchphones (you should be able to get the Orange one this week for about £500), I was just wondering, does anyone actually want one?

The device is a puzzler for me, because although I can see the somewhat sentimental idea of emulating TV Series such as Knight Rider (Michael could call KITT on his watch), in actuality I don’t think the device will be hugely practical.

For instance, are LG and Samsung hoping that people will defect from their normal mobile device? No chance. So is it a second device (with less functionality than the primary device)? Erm, no.

In which case is then just a gimmick for rich geeks to flash to people? Maybe. But that’s hardly an addressable market segment is it! I can also understand the idea of a PoC (proof of concept) for future crossover devices, but other than that, I think the watchphone is somewhat of an oddity.

Personally, I gave up wearing up a watch when I started using a mobile device, because of the on-board clock – now that many mobile devices use network time sync to keep their time accurate, they are in fact better than many watches that are out there – so for me the whole concept is a retrograde step.

But hey ho, I’m sure it will do some sort of ‘niche volumes’ in the outlets where it is carried. But if I wanted a relatively uncommon device that had a nice hardware ID, I’d be looking to spend the same money on eBay (or similar), looking for one of the Nokia 8xxx series devices.

You can read about the LG device here, and the Samsung device here.

Image via: DSL Developments

Having written a piece that mentioned getting car mounts fitted today (here), I thought I’d just reflect back to the time when we had one fitted to our other car, and the kerfuffle we had in getting the right bits.

Specifically, I wanted an active mount for the iPhone that would allow it to be charged when the car was running – simple you might think, but the reality was that the iPhone has specific connector nuances compared to it’s iPod family. Add that to the fact that most mounts aren’t a good fit, or aren’t designed specifically for any device, and you gotta problem!

In the end my issue was solved by DSL Developments, a UK company specialising in Brodit car kits – they feature a universal mount, and then you get the right adaptor for your device – very logical and great quality!

Anyway, if you want to read my piece from not so long ago click here, and and if you want go straight to DSL Developments site, go here:

DSL Developments – Brodit UK

eXpansys have just let me know that some of the most popular deals they had on devices and accessories have come back in stock. There’s a nice selection between peripherals and also devices themselves, but the pick of the bunch IMHO is the HTC Magic – it’s a great device, and weighing in now at just £329.99 means that it’s now officially a bargain

Here is what’s on offer:

• GlobalSat WaterProof GPS Receiver
• GEAR4 Bluetooth Speaker System
• TomTom One Sat Nav
• Intel 80GB Solid State Drive
• Glofiish M810 WinMo Smartphone
• HTC Magic Smartphone

Of course, you could also try and win one in our current comp – to do that, click here!

[Via: eXpansys]

3G.co.uk are reporting that UK Supermarket Tesco is due to start stocking ‘Smartphones’. Presumably this is an attempt to drive up Subs on their MVNO network, but the fact that they are aiming to get eight handsets in-store by year-end, definitely means they are serious.

There is apparently some clarity on which the first two of these handsets will be – namely the Alcatel Tribe OT-800, and LG GW-300. These are budget devices, and depending on the definition you subscribe to, these don’t look to be strictly in the smartphones category, but rather devices that focus on messaging – both are rocking the QWERTY keyboard for example.

Tesco will of course be rolling out the usual incentives, such as free Internet access (for 3 months), and dropping the cost on the device itself – expect the Alcatel to weight in at about £50, with colour variants of pink and black.

I’m intrigued to see what the other handsets are – budget is good, but one of the keys to handset purchase is the desirability factor – and that’s something you mostly get with the from the usual handset vendor suspects…!

[Via: 3G.co.uk]

MobileFun have just sent me details through of an innovative charger for mobile devices – utilising the power of the wrist (oops, better be careful here), it also packs a torch inside too!

Environmentally friendly and money saving, it’s both compact and tough. A solid ergonomic design and powerful internal dynamo make this is an essential gadget for anyone travelling, camping, heading to festivals, going on holidays or just generally on the move with no power supply handy.

Order one today for only £9.95 and you’ll be in charge for life!

Limited stock available so don’t miss out!

Features:

• Small, portable design.
• Built-in torch.
• Includes connectors for Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE), BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) / MiniUSB, Motorola (NYSE: MOT), LG and iPod.

What’s included?

• Wind up charger
• Connectors
• Instructions

I like crossover gadgets – those that are able to bridge one or two uses, and make a good fist of it at the same time – that’s why I was really interested to see the Elan System Mobidapter, being retailed by eXpansys.

The device works like a vampire USB stick, sucking the files off your device – now if you were wondering where it plugs in, that would be on the SD-based memory port that your device needs to have. It’s pictured here working with MicroSD, but I’m assured with adaptors it can cover the other SD variants too.

Fascinatingly, the onboard intelligence allows you to transfer files to and from your device, with the device thinking the Mobidapter is a SD card, whilst in fact it’s just bridging to a USB pen drive – frighteningly simple, desvastatingly clever.

Of course there are some limitations about the positioning of your SD card variant port, and also the fact you’ve actually even got one of those ports on your device – but an increasing number are coming with them now, as it’s getting to be kinda standard.

Overall, nice job I think – some of the best ideas are the simple ones!

Buy it here.

If you watch the BBC1 TV programme Dragons’ Den in the UK (or I guess one of the other franchises round the world), you’ll know that inventors/entrepreneurs roll up and try and get the Dragons’ (read: rich people) to invest in their businesses. Last night, there was a business that was promoting shock protection for laptops, mobile devices, etc.

One of those products was the Tech21 iBand (pictured above):

iBand: impact protection for your iPhone 3G or 3G S

The Tech21 iBand is constructed from d3oT, an intelligent protective material that transforms from a soft, flexible gel, to a shock-absorbent casing on impact.

Used by extreme sports brands and professional athletes from around the world, d3oT offers unique impact protection for your iPhone 3G or 3G S.

The clever bit.?At rest, the molecules inside d3oT move freely, making it soft and flexible, while at the point of impact or shock, the molecules lock together to spread and absorb the force, safeguarding your iPhone 3G or 3G S in a protective layer.

Full functional access?With full access to all ports and controls, the iBand offers a slimline and stylish way to safeguard your iPhone 3G or 3G S, while you enjoy full functionality. Benefit from the ultimate, revolutionary protective shield for your iPhone 3G or 3G S, without compromising its sleek design.

Did you know??The protective d3oT material transforms from a soft, flexible gel to a shock-absorbent casing on impact.

Buy now for £19.99

I have to say I am way more than intrigued – this clever d3oT stuff sounds like just the stuff needed to protect my ickle iPhone!

My fave online mobile retailer eXPansys has just sent through a shedload of deals:

Data Robotics DroboPro 8-BAY 2TB Including 2x Western Digital 1TB Hard Drive

Normally £1074.99 Now £1049.99 Save £25

Buffalo LinkStation Quad 2TB MultiMedia Network Storage with £30 cash back

Normally £379.99 Now £369.99 Save £10

Data Robotics Drobo 4 BayFREE Drobo Share Bundle

Normally £379.99 Now £359.99 Save £20

Nokia 6300 Silver/Black

Normally £102.99 Now £94.99 Save £8

Samsung B2100 Xplore Dust And Water Resistant

Normally £94.99 Now £89.99 Save £5

Copilot Live 7 Single Country Map, Windows Mobile

Normally £64.99 Now £54.99 Save £10

These deals are available on Friday the 21st of August 2009 between 11am and 4pm by following the links above only. Normal pricing will apply outside of these hours. Voucher codes do not apply with these deals. Limited to 2 units per customer, available while stocks last.

Wooooo! It’s the weekend! Quite apart from recommending you go out and buy the hi-energy disco belter “Ready for the Weekend” by Calvin Harris, I am also going to recommend you check out the deals that eXpansys have on this Saturday and Sunday. It used to be Fridays were the day for deals, but I’m all open to more deals on more days!

So what are the deals – where there are a whole batch as you can see above, but what really floats my boat is the Bluetooth speaker system – and the Samsung is also an incredible deal too! Here are the links:

GEAR4 BlackBox

Samsung C6625

HTC Magic

Acer Extensa

Toshiba Portege G910

Nokia N810

Now go buy, and enjoy new gadget love over the weekend