The Powermat range of wireless charging products we first spied at CES 2009 are now available for purchase. The system consists of a plug in charging mat and a receiver embedded in a cover for your portable device that allows you to "drop and charge" without having to to fiddle with cords as well as simultaneously charge multiple devices.

There's two types of mat on offer - one for home and office plus a folding portable version for travel - both are priced at US$99.

The receiver cases are available for Nintendo DS (US$30) and Apple iPhone 3G and iPod Touch (US$40). There's also a receiver dock catering for standard iPod Classic and iPod nanos as well (US$40).

Rather than a case, Blackberry products (Bold, Pearl, Curve 8300 and 8900) get a battery door replacement which is priced at $US30.

The range is rounded-off by a "Powercube Universal Receiver" which connects to portable devices via interchangeable tips. It costs US$30.

Powermat says the system will charge as fast or faster than your plug in cord and an "RFID handshake" between mat and receiver ensures that the exact amount of power is delivered, with an auto-shut off function ensuring no wastage.

Okay, sure, ideally your entire roof would be comprised of solar tiles that would meet your entire house's energy demands and would also water your lawn and clean your gutters while they were up there. But, despite pledges of "affordability" something tells us it'll be awhile before your roof starts juicing your gadgets. This solution from MIT looks a little more practical -- and affordable. They're simply tiles that change color based on the temperature, Hypercolor style. In the cold they turn jet black, absorbing the sun's warmth and channeling that into the house. In heat they turn white, reflecting that same light and cutting down on cooling bills. Simple and smart. The MIT team calls the tech Thermeleon, and while early prototypes do change color as designed, it remains to be seen how durable the tech will be, and a leaky roof is no good regardless of how efficient. Asphalt shingles reign supreme for yet another year.

Most cell phones these days come with stereo Bluetooth because even the more basic handsets have some kind of built-in music player. We're happy to see this development, as it lets us listen to music cord-free. Still, stereo Bluetooth headsets generally suffer an image problem of being too dorky-looking. Enter the Jabra Halo, which is so elegant it looks like something you'd see in a high-end electronics store. It also promises to be the first stereo headset with dual-microphone noise canceling. While we appreciate its design, we can't help but be disappointed with it overall. It just does not fit properly over the ears, the touch volume controls are a nuisance, and the call quality is not very good. The Jabra Halo is $129 retail.

The Jabra Halo is an over-the-ears-style headset that is unlike most DJ-style headphones. Instead of something bulky, the Halo is slim all the way around, from both ear pads to the connecting headband. The headband and the ear pads are padded in black foam for comfort. There are hinges on either side of the headband so you can fold down the Halo to be more compact. To return it to working position, simply unfold the headphones and snap the headband into place. Folding the Halo shuts it down while snapping it back into its unfolded state turns it on.

Under the right side of the headset is an LED indicator that shows battery life as well as the Bluetooth connection status. On the right ear pad are the multifunction button and a touch-sensor volume control. You slide your finger up and down the side to adjust the volume, and you tap the plus or minus icons a couple of times to skip to the next or previous track. We found the touch-sensor controls to be rather annoying to use. We often would increase and decrease the volume by too much or too little. There should also be a way to shut off the touch mechanism; sometimes we would inadvertently change the volume as we were adjusting the headset. In the end, we would really prefer a physical volume rocker. Underneath the right earpiece is the Micro-USB charging jack.

The two ear pads can be extended on both the left and right side for a more customized fit. However, we felt that even this was not enough to fix the Halo's improper fit issue. The angle of the ear pads are a little off, so that it feels like the ear pads are simply touching our ears when we were expecting a more snug fit. This does depend on the shape and size of your head, so your mileage may vary. Also, the black foam does work to cushion our ears at first, but when worn for hours on end (we wore it for an entire day), we did get some ear fatigue. It's definitely not as comfortable as a big pair of headphones with ear cups, like the Bose QuietComfort 15, for example.

We paired the Jabra Halo with the Apple iPhone 3G and the Samsung Rogue. The pairing process was smooth for both phones. Some phones require a PIN for pairing while others don't; in our case, the iPhone 3G required us to enter a PIN, and the Samsung Rogue did not. The Halo automatically goes into pairing mode the first time it's turned on; to pair it with another device later on, you'll have to press the multifunction button down for a while until the Bluetooth indicator stays a solid blue.

Sound quality for audio playback was OK. Part of this is because of the design of the ear pads--if they were made to mold to our ears a little better, we might have got a bit more richness from the audio. In fact, when we pushed the ear pads to our ears, we did hear better bass. Left as is, though, audio quality was decent but nothing to write home about.

Call quality just did not hold up to Jabra's promises. When we were in a quiet room, it was OK. We heard our callers clearly without a lot of static. Voice quality did seem a bit tinny, but wasn't too horrible. On their end, callers reported quite a bit of echo, and they said our voice sounded quite harsh and machine-like. Still, they could hear us and we could carry on a conversation.

It was a different ballgame when we stepped outside, however. For all the Halo's claims of noise-cancellation, we experienced almost inaudible conversations when we were out on a busy city sidewalk. We heard our callers fine for the most part, but on their end, they could hardly hear us. They reported quite a bit of background noise and said our voice sounded muffled and a little crackly. During one call, they couldn't make out what we were saying at all.

The Jabra Halo's features include the normal answering, ending, and rejecting calls. It also has last-number redial. If your phone or device supports the AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile) Bluetooth profile, you can also use the headset to control music playback and to advance tracks.

The Halo comes with a USB charger, an AC adapter, a carrying pouch, and a 3.5-millimeter patch cord that connects to the Halo's charger jack in case your phone or music player doesn't have stereo Bluetooth. It has a rated battery life of 8 hours talk time or 8 hours music playback, and 13 days of standby.

We’ve just posted the RCA S2001 Jet 1GB Sport Media Player with FM Tuner. As a comparison and another choice for a sport MP3 Player, here is the Sandisk Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player with its price, features and specs. The Sandisk Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player with FM Radio is a cute MP3 player that is very convenient to carry around for its clip. Whether just your jogging, walking or simply sitting, you don’t have to worry of your music player from falling off your pocket because the Sandisk Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player can be clipped to your clothing.

SanDisk Sansa Clip 1 GB MP3 Player Beside a Coin and a Golf Ball

Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player with FM Radio Features and Specs:

• Up to 15 hours continuous playback using internal rechargeable battery
• Supports MP3, WAV, secure WMA, and Audible digital audio file formats
• Includes digital FM tuner with 20 preset stations voice recorder with built-in microphone
• Hi-speed USB 2.0 port for fast and easy transfer of files
• Additional Features: Equalizer Controls, FM Stereo Tuner, Voice Recorder
• Display Features: Battery Level, Elapsed Time, ID3 Tag Info, Play Mode
• Digital Storage Media: 1 GB (Built-in Memory)
• PC Interface Supported: USB 2.0
• Battery Run Time: Up to 15 hrs.
• Battery Type: Internal Battery
• Dimensions (W X D X H): 1.35″ x 0.65″ x 2.17″
• Weight: 0.92 ounces
• MPN: SDMX11R-1024K-A70

On Amazon, we may purchase the SanDisk Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player with FM Radio (new) for less than $30 with free shipping. That’s a good offer compared to its regular price of $40 – $54 for brand new ones. If the SanDisk Sansa Clip 1GB MP3 Player memory capacity isn’t enough for your music needs, then you might want the Sandisk Sansa Clip 2GB MP3 Player.

The fifth generation of Apple’s iPod Nano debuted to the world yesterday and it brings a whole new way to use the erstwhile media player.

Positioning itself as a potential competitor in the fast-growing mini camcorder market, it fits in a functional video camera and mic, along with the usual media playback capabilities.

If you needed one more reason to get an iPod, the new talent should offer a compelling argument. Add to it the fact that it’s a sexy device (rounder corners and polished anodized aluminum finish), is extremely compact (3.6 x 1.5 x 0.24) and retains all of the features from its previous iteration. Even better, all the new trimmings come with no increase in price.

the iPod Nano 5G can record 640 x 480 videos with sound, using the camera and mic combo situated along the bottom left of the handheld’s rear panel.

In this fast life era it is very necessary to be with the time rather before time. The use of wrist watch is very common everywhere from urban countries to developing small villages. The concept of having a watch USB flash drive has made possible to access to your stored data anytime. This is really cool and comfy USB drive to have its excellent experience in your daily routine life.

The Skullcandy and Tokidoki are offering the new chunky-punky headphone and earbud collection, the Tokidoki TI headphones and Tokidoki Smokin’s Bud. The headphones are really cool with stylish appearance and best sound effects. The pattern of the headphones, the funky colours with danger and skull designs takes everyone’s attention.

Check out the latest launch of Vodafone, the handy and small WiFi Hotspot device called “MiFi 2352” having great multi-functionality. The device can connect up to 5 users simultaneously with very high speed access to the internet browsing. The available USB port makes the use of it as a modem for your laptop. The mini “MiFi 2352” is having very similar look like a credit card, allows the browsing within the 10 meters of the area.

The new launch of the XW series of Pioneer speakers, XW-NAS5 and XW-NAS3 has been hitting the market. Both speakers are compactly made up with very awesome sound quality. These speakers are the best iPhone accessories for your iPhone. The 2.1 sound channel gives the lovely acoustic experience with your favourite tunes of your iPhone or iPod touch. The speakers come as a single unit with a digital 60W output.

Everyone has loads of great images that remain buried and unseen forever on their mobile phone, laptop or digital camera, but now there is a cheap, fast and easy way to free your photos! The Polaroid PoGo Printer is a portable Bluetooth printer that can print your photos in seconds at home or on the move and unlike most other photo printers, the Polaroid PoGo doesn’t need ink!

The PoGo has been made specifically for printing photos on the move. Full-colour digital photos are created without ink cartridges or ribbons using ZINK Photo Paper™, keeping the printer to about the size of a deck of cards. The paper is a durable material that contains colourless cyan, yellow and magenta dye crystals that are activated by heat to bring your photos to life. The PoGo printer comes with a 10 pack of paper and we are including an extra pack of 10 sheets worth £4.95 to get you off to a real flyer.

Printing From A Mobile Phone

Polaroid PoGo™ is the easiest way to print photos from a mobile phone. Wirelessly transfer images from a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone to the mobile printer and print in less than 60 seconds! Using the built-in OBEX (Object Exchange Profile) Bluetooth in the phone and printer, connecting and printing becomes instant. PoGo is not compatible with the any version of the Apple iPhone or the LG Viewty.

Printing From A Digital Camera

Instantly printing images from a digital camera is as easy as connecting your USB cable from the camera to printer. You just need a PictBridge compatbile digital camera and a USB cable. Once connected, follow the PictBridge screen on the camera display. Simply select what image to send to the printer and within 60 seconds, the print is ready to be shared.

Cheap to Run

Most other photo printers need special photo paper and dedicated ink cartridges, but thanks to it’s ZINK technology, you only ever need to buy paper. Replacement paper is readily available in packs of 10, 30 or 70 sheets.

I’ve touched on the subject briefly in the past, but I thought it was time that iPhone battery life got it’s own post.

As much as I love my iPhone, the battery is pretty poor. Apple advertise up to 30 hours of music playback, 10 hours of video playback or 9 hours of Wi-Fi web surfing. In reality I can’t get anywhere near this – I’m lucky if my phone lasts 8 hours for music and if I forget to put it on charge at night time, the next morning you can guarantee it’ll be dead.

One solution of course is to get yourself an iPhone Dock or an iPhone Desk Stand that will charge your phone while it’s sat on your desk – these work great if you’re office based, but what if you’re out and about or away from your desk?

It’s times like this that you’ll find an extra battery pack essential, and thankfully there are plenty to choose from. Some are external batteries that plug into your phone and others are batteries built in to cases and covers for your iPhone. I’ve been through all the different options available and here are the top 5 extended battery packs for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

Mophie Juice Pack

The Mophie Juice Pack is the most popular external battery for the iPhone. It’s a relatively slimline battery that looks similar to some protective cases for the iPhone. The battery is a 1200 mAh lithium polymer battery that will double the standard battery life of your phone. If your iPhone is already fully charged, you won’t want to charge it straight away, so Mophie have built in an on/off switch so you can choose when to charge your phone from the case. An LED display on the back shows you the battery status. Charging is done using a Mini USB cable rather than the standard Apple Dock Connector, and you can charge your phone and case at the same time – You can also sync with iTunes without removing the case.

It will add a bit more bulk to your phone, but it has to be better to carry around a larger phone that you can use than a smaller phone that you can’t. The Mophie Juice Pack Air is available in Purple, Black and White.

Case Mate Fuel

The Case Mate Fuel is very similar to the Mophie Juice Pack, the main difference being the battery is a 2300 mAh lithium polymer battery and it has a fixed belt clip on the back. Having said that, the extra battery life you get from this is the same as the Mophie, as is the price, so deciding between the two will probably just come down to whether or not you want a belt clip. Again, it uses a Mini USB cable to charge the battery and it will charge and sync your iPhone at the same time.

Because of the Belt Clip, the Case Mate is slightly larger than the Mophie, but it does mean you can clip it on and forget about it, where as the Mophie will fill your pockets.

Charging Case

This is the smallest of the three and a smaller case means a smaller battery – having said that, this compact leather case will still give you an extra 30+ hours of music playback or 4 hours more talk time. It has a 1400mAh lithium polymer battery and charges using a standard Mini USB cable. You can charge both your phone and case at the same time as you sync with iTunes. As with the other two cases, there is an on/off switch so you can choose when to charge your phone. The case has cut outs for your camera and headphones, so you can still use all the features of your phone.

Power Station

The Mobile Power Station is an external battery that plugs into the dock connector on your iPhone or iPod to charge it. It’s designed to be used as and when needed rather than connected permanently. Because of it’s size it isn’t as powerful as some of the cases, but the 1000mAh Lithium-Ion battery is still more than enough to give you a few more hours use from your phone. The Mobile Power Station can be charged in less than 2 hours using your standard Apple iPhone USB Cable or Mains Charger.

Dual Dock

This Dual Charging dock is a great option if you find that you’re often away from your desk but still want to be able to charge your phone. The desk stand has two ports – one with an Apple connector and the other with a Mini USB charging connector. You can use the Apple port to charge your phone while the Mini USB one charges the external battery pack. When you need to leave the office, just grab your phone and external battery and you can carry on charging your phone where ever you go. The battery doesn’t fit as snugly as the Mophie or Case Mate, but it’s not designed to be a permanent fixture on your phone. The external battery pack gas a 1200 mAh battery that will provide more than one full charge to your phone or almost double the amount of time you can use the phone.

You can also use this stand to charge 2 iPhones at the same time. The Desktop Dual Charging Dock + Battery Charger is available in Black or White.

It’s been ‘coming soon’ for months, but this morning we’ve received stock of the first Wireless Charger for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.

The WildCharge Charger for iPhone is made up of two parts, a charging pad and a tough protective case for your iPhone that contains the wireless charging technology. To charge your iPhone you just place your handset on the the pad and it starts charging instantly.

The protective case will not only charge your phone, but also help protect it against knocks and drops. It has cut outs for your camera, volume keys, power button, silent switch, headphones and speakers. The Dock connector is covered as the case connects to it in order to charge your phone, so you’ll need to remove the case in order to sync with iTunes – but given the fact that most people sync their phones far less often than they charge them I can’t see this being a problem – hopefully Apple will add wireless syncing to the iPhone in a future software update. The WildCharge Skin doesn’t include a screen protector so if you want to look after your screen you’ll need to buy one separately.

The WildCharge Pad includes UK and European adapters and charging times are the same as they would be if you were charging from the Mains adapter or USB cable that came with your phone.

The WildCharge Pad will work with other phones too, all you need to do is buy a charging skin or adapter. WildCharge adapters are currently available for Mini USB devices, Nokia 2mm phones and Sony Ericsson handsets.