Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

We saw the follow up to the Jawbone hit the FCC a few weeks back and it looks like Aliph has just made it official. The new Jawbone is being touted as “the best just got better” and assuming the same, or better sound quality that could be a very accurate statement. It looks like the new Jawbone has been put on a diet, as the new version is 50% smaller than the original and weighs in at just 10 grams. In addition the headset has “military-grade NoiseAssassin technology” which should only improve on the overall voice quality as compared to the original. The headset offers 4 hours of talk time, 8 days on standby and will achieve an 80% charge in 35 minutes with a full charge in just about an hour. 

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Following the release of the Touch Diamond, the official accessory lineup from HTC is beginning to show up as pre-orders. While the handset is still a little ways away from release, as previously announced it is expected to drop in Europe beginning in June, with Asia and the Middle East to follow later in this quarter and both Latin and North America to follow during the second half of 2008, it should be a little while before the accessories will actually be shipping.

The first to show its face is the desktop cradle, which is available at Clove Technology and is retailing for £25 (around $48 US). However, as expected, also included is a note that the “official price and availability to be confirmed.” The cradle will, of course dock and charge the phone but also offers a 3.5mm line-out connection. It also offers a “sleek and stylish” look that according to HTC will be the “perfect accessory” to the Touch Diamond. Basically it will not only look good sitting on your desk, but also keep the phone from getting bumped around and knocked down to the floor.

Product [Clove Technology]

Twitter has already taken microblogging to the next level, and now it has just gone a little further with the launch of TwitterFone, a new speech-to-text service enabling Twitter users to update their accounts through mobile phone.

TwitterFone basically eliminates the need to access your mobile Web and type your so-called “tweets”. Just call it in, dictate your message and it will automatically transcribe and post your message to your Twitter account within 5 to 10 minutes.

Though I’m personally not a big fan of Twitter, it is indeed a popular and powerful tool among Internet marketing practitioners and social networking addicts who are always on the go. Integrating this technology enhances its relevance and ease of use for the members of its community.

But it can be useful even if you’re not an active Twitter user. If you think about it, TwitterFone can be a reliable reminder tool for busy people. Just dictate your errands or things to do while on the go and check it online when you get home. It could work well for someone like me who tends to forget so many things. Think about it.

Although free, this service is currently in beta by invitation only, and as of now its working only in US, UK, and Ireland.

Product [TwitterFone] Via [Pat Phelan]

The mother of all 3G iPhone rumors has been smashed, ladies and gentlemen, by none other than an Apple fanboy who happened to pass by a mobile phone accessories store in Hong Kong.

While the rest of us here have been speculating (some even giggling) about the possibilities of a glossy black 3G iPhone coming in June, those in Hong Kong may already be aware that the photo of the alleged 3G iPhone on the Internet right now is absolutely and positively not a photo of the real thing. Because what the thing in the photo really was, according to the source of the image above, is none other than a glossy black custom iPhone back case, which you can purchase for yourself right now if you were in Hong Kong.

Oh well, the rumors were fun while it lasted. This means that an image of the 3G iPhone has not been leaked after all, although nothing would stop Apple from churning out something that closely resembles this thing anyway. I say good job to the makers of this plastic case, though.

Read [Winandmac] Via [Gizmodo]

Don’t think USB charger connectors are overrated? Maker of Bluetooth headsets JayBird does. That’s why it has implemented a new kind of charger for its new JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth headphones. The patent pending JayBird charging design consists of a “small flat metal charging material on the inside surface of the right ear piece, which when sliding the headset into the custom slot on the charging dock connects the headset to the power supply” for charging. And other than this novel new feature, this funky looking pair of Bluetooth headphones will do you good for 5.5 hours with music and 6.5 hours during calls. The standalone headphone set will set you back $130 a piece, although there are other choices for sales packages including one with a complementary Bluetooth adapter that’s compatible with 3.5mm headphone jack toting devices. It’s small enough to carry around everywhere you go, and yet it manages to pack some nice noise cancellation technology in its body. With headphones like these, who needs rock music?

Via [Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

SimulScribe offers a great service, one that is a benefit to anyone who dislikes checking and responding to voicemail. They convert your voicemail message to text and then deliver it to you as either an email or text message, to which you can then respond to the “voicemail” by return message. This is a wonderful option to have, especially when you need to check and respond to messages but are in a setting where using and speaking on a phone would be considered rude. It also helps to save time, because you can simply read the important parts of the message and get the details you need without having to listen to whoever is leaving the message ramble on and on.

While all this sounds great, and there service works wonderful their name has been holding them back. The name SimulScribe was born from “Simultaneous Voicemail Transcription,” and while its a catchy name, it turns out that a name with missing letters is not always a good way to get customers to be able to find you easily. 

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Only days after the announcement of the NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 Classic, there is already an NFC-compatible accessory that goes with it. The Parrot PARTY Black Edition, according to its makers, is the first in the world to commercialize Near Field Communications Technology or NFC. What this means is that not only is it small and portable, but it will be very easy to pair up with compatible devices and pump up the volume. It’s not just easy, it’s ridiculously easy. Think knocking the two devices against each other and you get the picture. Other than being NFC-enabled, this baby also comes with a built-in Class-D amplifier, two drivers that collectively pump out 6 watts of power, Stereo Widening, and a so-called Virtual SuperBass technology. It’s portable and will have a rechargeable battery, so you can take it anywhere you go with your NFC-enabled device. The cost? A mere UK£ 79.00 or about $160 US. Pirate crew not included.

Via [Pocket Lint]

Bluetrek has just announced their latest Bluetooth offering, and while a decent looking headset its not quite as unique as the BIZZ, which featured a microSD slot for storage. Their latest, the X3 Bluetooth headset is a follow up to the X2 and offers an estimated 8 hours of talk time with 10 days on standby. The headset itself is weatherproof and should be comfortable to wear thanks to the variety of ear hooks that it comes with. The X3 is also lightweight coming in at around 0.46-ounces. Otherwise the headset was designed to take its fair share of abuse thanks to the rugged construction. Look for the X3 to be available this June, initially in the UK only and retailing for £29.99 (around $60 US).

Via [ubergizmo]

Nokia developed and licensed a technology called Wibree a few years ago, and intended it to be an alternative for the current generation of Bluetooth technology. Wibree requires only a tenth of the energy consumed by its counterparts, and was developed for short distance communication between two devices, like say a Bluetooth headset and a mobile phone. And recently, a company called CSR demoed a new device powered by Wibree at a medical conference in Luxembourg.

What exactly did CSR demonstrate? Well, for one, they demoed an “ultra-low-power” version of the Bluetooth system required in pairing a BT headset and a mobile phone, claiming that their device can run up to 10 years on one button cell battery. Now while this is certainly not the first time that we’ve heard of something that last for years without charging, it’s hard to say something developed by Nokia would be bogus or unreliable.

Still, it would be interesting to see this technology developed in its full potential, since the current generation of BT headset’s batteries could really use a boost. Maybe we may even see the day of disposable BT headsets. That’s worth a try.

Via [Crave]

Noise-canceling headphones be gone! Who needs inferior products such as those when you can comfortably sit back with two calls simultaneously with the Jabra M5390 dual Bluetooth headset? Talk about trying to tell everyone around you that you are busy, and can’t be disturbed no matter what. This mind-boggling device, in my honest opinion, is so dumb that it’s brilliant!

With the Jabra M5390 dual Bluetooth headset, you can take calls from two different devices, like say a GSM handset and a Skype phone, at the very same time. It offers DSP noise canceling technology itself, although I’m not sure how well that would really work when you’re trying to listen to two different sounds at a time.

Other features include USB 2.0 connectivity via a Bluetooth dongle, and a range of 70 meters. That way, even if you accidentally cut off your ear and dropped it down the elevator, you’d still be able to hear your calls. Or not. And it stays on standby for nearly 60 hours, with talk time billed at 6 hours, give or take. But don’t rush out with your credit card yet, cause there still ain’t no pricing details on this baby. What? Of course it’s for sale, cheapskate.

Via [Crave]