Like half the products at IDF, this the Media Phone has a touch interface, which at the moment looks an awful lot like the iPhone's. Using it is easy, and it's at a size and orientation that makes for comfortable casual use. The screen was responsive enough for sustained use without frustration, and navigating the interfaces was—and this is really the only thing that matters on these small devices—painless. The handset was attractive and felt solid, though it's currently not touch-enabled (I was assured that this would be rectified by launch).

In its current state it's difficult to see what exactly the Media Phone is meant to do. It's got no browser, but an RSS reader. It can connect with home automation software and control household electronics, but it's stuck to the wall with a power cord. In response to these concerns, the guys at the booth were keen to tell me about the API, which would allow developers to enable a vastly larger set of apps and features. Those customizations will be the deciding factor in whether or not this phone is at all successful. Well, that and its price. OpenPeak says that their first units could ship to customers as soon as January of next year, and they will all be sold with subsidies as part of VoIP service contracts. Negotiations are under way, but the OpenPeak guys say it's conceivable that the units could be free. [Giz at IDF]

However you feel about Juicy Couture — I have some choice words for this laptop bag, and you guys also had some about this one. One thing is certain: They're relentless! No amount of criticism that their stuff is too saccharine or, uh, pink will stop them from making stuff like this Sweet Couture Mouse and Mousepad ($45).I have a toothache just looking at this, but perhaps you have just redone your home office area into a pink heart and flower sanctuary.

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I have always had a preference for how the Skull Candy earbuds look, since they are one of the few that features a bit of color and are sold at a great deal of stores.  Well these new Sony earbuds seem to feature even more color and add a bit of sparkle to the mix as well.  Which means that these shiny little guys are likely going to be more fitting for the feminine type.  These colorful earbuds might actually be enough to get me to switch brands.  Well they would have been, if there was a US release date to speak of.  No, this pretty new product is headed straight for Japan and no word if it will venture elsewhere.

It will be released September 10th in Japan, so any shot those of us elsewhere have at it will likely happen after then.  Hopefully Sony will release these in other areas of the world so that the rest of us can have brightly colored sparkly earbuds.  They will be sold for $22, so they also are going for fairly cheap.  They will be released in the colors shown in the above picture, which are white, green, pink, tan and blue.  Although I’m sure they have prettier names for the colors, but you get the idea.

Source: Newlaunches
[ Sony’s Bubble earbuds show off a softer side to gadgets copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

PDP has announced that new guitar controllers compatible with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero will be available in mid-October for $69.99 each. The controllers were designed with cooperation from teen rock star’s Aly & AJ. The guitar designed by Aly features a heart and cross bone print in pink and brown.

AJ’s guitar is in the shape of the Aly & AJ heart logo in bright pink with purple zebra print. The controllers will work with the Nintendo Wii and PS2 consoles. I’m surprised they don’t specify PS3 compatibility as well. PDP is launching two guitar controllers with one size aimed at tweens ages 8 to 12 and other for teens and older.

PDP

PDP has announced that new guitar controllers compatible with both Rock Band and Guitar Hero will be available in mid-October for $69.99 each. The controllers were designed with cooperation from teen rock star’s Aly & AJ. The guitar designed by Aly features a heart and cross bone print in pink and brown.

AJ’s guitar is in the shape of the Aly & AJ heart logo in bright pink with purple zebra print. The controllers will work with the Nintendo Wii and PS2 consoles. I’m surprised they don’t specify PS3 compatibility as well. PDP is launching two guitar controllers with one size aimed at tweens ages 8 to 12 and other for teens and older.

PDP

From the DIY department comes this novel safety vest designed by Brady Clark and engineered by Mykle Hansen which shows the rider’s current speed in MPH on the back using electroluminescent wiring.

The system consists of a wheel speed sensor, a wearable numeric display and a small computer that does the thinking. The computer is an Arduino: an open-source embedded computing platform powered by an Amtel microcontroller. It runs for 6 hours on a 9 volt battery…

The numeric display is made from electro-luminescent wire, supplied to us by CooLight.com. El-wire glows brightly when supplied with a very small amount of high voltage, high-frequency current. It’s cheap, flexible and fairly durable. One AA battery can power the SpeedVest display for up to 6 hours.

While I can understand the obvious safety benefits of wearing a reflective vest while riding a bike, I’m not so sure that displaying your current MPH on the back with cool light-up wiring is as good an idea. As I understand it the biggest threat to bikers on the road is cars, and it seems this vest provides yet another dangerous distraction for drivers. (”Hey! Did you see that? I think that guy’s vest lights up! Let me slow down to take a closer look.” etc.)

[ Speed Vest ] VIA [ ladyada's ranting ]

Whether you love or hate your iPhone, you'll get tired of holding that big sticky piece of glass next to your face eventually. Want have a talk while you work or exercise? Need hands-free calling behind the wheel? Do you just have lazy, withered arms? Chances are you need a headset. Though the famed white earbuds are good enough for some, why settle for them just because they just happen to come free, and with an embedded mic? Other companies want a piece of that iPhone action, and have headsets that fit and sound a lot better. "Oh, but fair and wise Gizmodo, which headsets hath you divined for my unworthy purchase?" you might ask. Look no further. Well, no further than after the jump. (And by the way, this review is actually useful for any phone with a 3.5mm mic-and-stereo jack.)

A few notes on testing and results: As with the earphone Battlemodo, my testing methods were not scientific but practical: The audio test was a sonically diverse playlist of reasonable bitrate mp3s, the isolation test was a ride on a San Francisco city bus followed by white noise on a home stereo, and the mic testing was done by, well, making a few calls.

Each headset gets its own conclusion, including a summary of the circumstances for which the set is best suited. One with fantastic sound might cut off the noises of traffic, making it useless for biking. Another might be great for running, but not pick up nuanced tones of your obsessively ripped lossless audio collection. Apple's own headset serves as a baseline—it doesn't have its own section, but it is referred to where appropriate. At the $70 mark and above, it tends to be outclassed. Because of the varying needs of headset users, there's no one Battlemodo champion, but some are definitely better than others. Here are the results:

Altec Lansing Earclip-S - $40
One of two earclip-style headsets we tested, these earphones don't offer much over the standard headset besides a secure fite. Music playback is as clear as on Apple's buds, but without any of the bass. They're not very attractive and feel cheap and flimsy. The sticky rubber sheathing can sort of grab your hair, if you're bushy around the ears, though it does help the clips stay put. There are two controllers, one on the mic and one down the wire for with volume and mic shutoff. The volume controller is sensitive and gets inadvertently adjusted pretty often, and the call/play button can be hard to find in a hurry. The mic added an annoying static sound to voices.
Conclusion: Recommend for exercise duty, where they would at least stay in place and sound OK. They're water resistant too, but at this price you may not be too paranoid about sweat murdering your headset anyway. They look, feel and sound as cheap as they are.

Shure Music Phone Adapter - $50
Shure's solution to the headset problem is to sell you the earphones and microphone separately. Pairing with the fantastic SE110s will make for a fantastic combo, but the combo will set you back almost $150 total. Good thing you can use this adapter with any earphones. Voice quality is high, even in situations with ambient noise, but extras are not; there is just one button and gator clip.
Conclusion: If you like your current earphones, keep them and buy the Shure. Ideally, your earphones will have a short cable, otherwise you'll have to clip the mic to your shirt and let the excess cable dangle.

Maximo iMetal iP-HS1 - $70
Music is richer and clearer than with Apple's headset, but not by much. These fit like traditional earbuds, and are on the large side in both look and diameter. They're solid, but could be perceived as a little garish on account of the chrome finish. The single, large low-hanging button works well and is the easiest of the lot to quickly press. The very capable mic is positioned and designed intelligently, and is the best we tested.
Conclusion: A solid replacement for lost or broken Apple headsets for people who have big, weird ear holes and don't care about isolation.

Maximo iMetal iP-HS2 Isolators - $70
These are the in-ear version of the iMetal. Sound is slighly bottom-heavy but the rest of the range is well-represented. The tips are comfortable, and provide surprisingly good isolation. Walking doesn't cause any annoying thumping from the cables, which is often a problem for similar in-ears. The single call/play button is identical to that on the other Maximo, as is the superb mic.
Conclusion: The best value and a recommended purchase, provided you want something that shuts you off from the outside world.

V-Moda Vibe Duo - $100
These in-ears are about as bassy as they are stylish. This results in a slightly muddy sound but they're good for casual listening. Isolation is fair, but you hear significant cable rustling when you walk with them. The tip choices are smart and comfortable for a wide range of ear holes. The single control button is on the mic, easy to find. The mic delivers clear, intelligible sound at a moderate volume.
Conclusion: Too expensive for what you get, but look great and are as tough as nails.

Sennheiser MM50-ip - $100
Sound is comparable to iMetal isolators in terms of balance and quality, but they handle high volumes and bassier songs a bit better. Senn gives us plenty of tip choices, most of which are cushy and easy on the ear holes, but with a low to fair amount of isolation. There is some degree of cable noise when walking, but it's not too intrusive. The mic has a flush call button that can be hard to feel, but luckily sits directly opposite an easy-to-fumble-for indention at the mic's grille. Mic quality is above average, but not very loud. Unequal cable length after the split drives some people nuts, but works fine.
Conclusion: If they were a few dollars cheaper they would be much, much more appealing. Without a significant performance advantage, they lose out to the cheaper Maximo iMetals.

AirDrives Interactive Headset - $100
Taking a totally different approach than just about anyone else, the AirDrives are earclips with drivers that sort of float above your ears. The logic is that they won't interfere with ambient noises and permit all-day listening without fear of ear damage. Achieving a proper fit (or hover, I guess) was difficult on my freakish baby ears, but once you bend them correctly they don't budge. The listening sensation is akin to being in a room with the stereo on, so it's easy to hear what is going on around you. Voices sound fine, but music is robbed of any low to lower-mid frequencies, which I expect would be a dealbreaker for many.
Conclusion: Good for work or exercise where awareness of your surroundings is key, but that's it. Sound is just too poor to recommend for music lovers.

Etymotics hf2 - $180
Excellent, balanced sound, featuring the same audio hardware as the hf5's that won their category in our earphone Battlemodo. These won't win over beat junkies, but are truly in a different class than anything else reviewed here in terms of sound quality—and price. Putting these guys in usually means getting a deep, full seal against your ear canals, which can be offputting to some people, but rewarding to others. Isolation is very strong, and cable rustling is minimal. The mic setup is a one-button affair, but that button is easy to find.
Conclusion: Only buy these if you're an audiophile who, for some reason, doesn't already have a pair of decent earphones. Otherwise, just grab the Shures.

We tried to cover the bases here, but this list of headsets is by no means comprehensive—if you want to add anything from your personal experience, please share it in the comments. Special thanks goes to Clay Hane for testing assistance.

At this point it's little more than wishful saber rattling, of course, but if there's one way to prove your mettle as a nation, it's to blast something big into space. But it would take a fool to think that space program could somehow help develop long-range ICBM systems, I mean, come on guys. Our space race with the Soviets was totally about the science. Right? [Reuters, Image: Giz's Iran Photoshop Contest Winner]

In California, we're all very aware of the newish Hands Free Law prohibiting driving while talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device, but did you know that texting isn't specifically forbidden by the law? That's surprising to me, especially in light of the report of an American teen that died in a car accident this week while she was driving and texting at the same time.

For the same primary reason that cell phone calls in cars aren't allowed - holding the phone inhibits your ability to use both hands - it seems that texting fits the same danger zone. Actually, since you have your eyes and hands on your phone to text, I think it's way worse to text while driving. And of course, they're both intellectual distractions, because your brain isn't fully focused on the road.

What do you guys think?

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