Tech & Gadget Stream

Contour Design and Bluetrek have come together to sculpt this Metal Bluetooth Headset for the iPhone, and it is touted to be the thinnest wireless Bluetooth 2.0 headset to date, sharing roughly the same dimensions with a Sony Memory Stick complete with a rubber-tipped in-canal earphone. The silver aluminum body is accented by chrome, where a trio of small buttons located on one edge help you control the volume and presumably, the on/off button. A special power connector on the other end will need to be used in conjunction with the included plastic USB connector whenever you want to juice up the Metal Bluetooth Headset. Each $80 purchase comes with a belt clip, half a dozen rubber eartips, two optional clear plastic ear mounts, a car charging bulb and an USB extension cable for use at home or in the car.

Bluetribe is a new pair of Bluetooth 2.1 headphones from Sigma-Apo of Japan, and it will sell with a couple of earpads to fit most ears. Won't be of much help if you're Goofy or Mickey Mouse though. How many of you out there think the form factor is way too retro to meet the criteria of a well-designed pair of headphones? We're not too sure whether the hexagon earpad is appealing or not, but let's just allow the sales figures to do the talking instead. Chances are this will be a Japan-only product, so no word on pricing at this moment.

Wibrain has hooked up with Dynamism to launch the B1 UMPC. The tiny device has a touchscreen of just 4.8" in size but 1024 x 600 resolution, acheived through very high pixel density. It's a Windows XP-packing, lightweight HSDPA device that's compact, portable and relatively powerful for its size. Wibrain is claiming five hours of official battery time, but being remarkably honest in reducing that to three hours "real world use" in the press release. Other spec includes a 60GB hard drive and 1.2 GHz processor, integrated WiFi, Bluetooth and a pop-up camera / mic for easy VoIP-based communication. The split keyboard, touchpad, cursor keys and touchscreen claim to make navigation a doddle too. Dynamism's addition is unlimited toll-free support and the standard year's warranty. Prices start at $699 (£350).

If you’re a skateboarder, or do any other sport whose main object is to lift your body off the ground at decent speeds, then there’s a chance you’ve discovered the benefit of wearing a helmet. Sure, you get by for a while without it, but after you bust your head open grinding on a handrail, you see the light. If you like rocking out while skating, you’ll generally be hindered by your most vital piece of safety equipment. That is unless you get this Bluetooth Sports Helmet. This particular helmet features two built-in speakers that sit right next to your ear (yes, exactly like headphones) and a Bluetooth receiver. You also get a Bluetooth transmitter, which will hook up to just about any MP3 player on the market. You can then rock out and wipe out without getting tangled in the cord dangling from your ear buds. This helmet will set you back a decent amount of cash. $300 may be salty, but at least it doesn’t look half bad.

A few days ago at 3GSM in Barcelona, Iqua (in partnership with Suntrica) showed off their solar-powered bluetooth headsets. Modeled on their existing Vogue headset (pictured above), I assume it’ll have some solar panels on the outside, which can be used to charge the internal battery. The only hard numbers available say it’ll weigh 14 grams (no details about talk time, charge time, or battery life), and if it’s got the same specs as the Vogue, it’ll be a pretty typical headset otherwise. From the press release: Imagine sailing with friends – most of them have mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and laptops on the boat. When there is an opportunity to charge the batteries, everyone rushes to get their device plugged. With the new elegant Iqua headset, you can just relax, sunbathe and let its battery charge. With the BHS-603 SUN, you not only look stylish, but save energy at the same time. Yeah, my friends and I go sailing (?) with our laptops (??) all the time. What concerns me ...

Today Nokia unveiled a small bluetooth device which will give you GPS functionality on “a wide range of Nokia devices” (we haven’t received a list of supported devices yet). The price will be around $170 and it will be available in the near future - and I sure hope you can take away that plunger… The Nokia Bluetooth GPS Module LD-4W combines Nseries style in a slim and attractive core with navigation, so you can find your way around easily with your compatible mobile device. Continuing on our mission to bring location based services to even more people, this GPS module is compatible with a wide range of Nokia devices and Nokia Maps. Take your time getting to your destination - this lightweight (31 g) GPS module has up to 10 hours of operating time. The sleekly designed black and metallic module comes with a LED indicator to alert you to GPS activation, power and battery status, and Bluetooth connectivity status. The GPS module will be available globally.