Stereo Bluetooth is a great innovation for the freedom it grants from cables.  I was quite pleased when Apple finally added stereo Bluetooth functionality to the iPhone.  Not that being connected to a headphone cable is a huge problem, but it’s nice to be able to set my iPhone on my desk while listening to music, and still be able to move around my office without needing to pick up the iPhone and carry it with me if I’m just moving a few steps to get something off a shelf.

Mobile Action understands the appeal of eliminating wires. Their new Voiis Stereo Wireless Music Gateway adds stereo Bluetooth capabilities to home stereo and computer systems.  It has both transmitting and receiving capabilities, so you can use it to stream music from your home stereo to a pair of Bluetooth headphones, or you can use it to receive music streamed from a Bluetooth-enabled device, such as an iPhone, and play it over your home system without needing a dock.

The folks at Mobile Action were kind enough to send us a review unit.  Keep reading for our evaluation.

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We have technology for just about everything.  Need to catch up with a friend on the other side of the globe?  No problem, fire up Skype.   Need to find the closest restaurants?  There are apps for this right at your fingertips.  Want to capture every image, note, or voice reminder and never lose them again?  No problem.  When it comes to ensuring quality restorative sleep, however, there’s not too much technology out there for the consumer.

Sure, there’s the Sleeptracker watch (which I do personally use, by the way) — which works as a wearable personal wake-up alarm — and does keep track of sleep patterns if you want to track that data on a computer.  Honestly, though, I’ve not done that once in the two years I’ve used the watch.  Now there is another tool aimed to really give you the gift of better sleep — without the use or dependency of pills or pharmaceuticals?  Where the Sleeptracker will wake you with either an audible or vibrating alarm when you are closest to a waking moment in a sleep cycle (using movement), the Zeo aims to actually coach you to permanently gain a better night’s sleep by revealing your habits and giving you tools to gradually change those habits  – and wake you using actual sleep phases (not movement like Sleeptracker) —  to give you more quality Zzzz’s.

By giving you the gift of sleep, Zeo also promotes the benefits  essential for their health, heart, stamina, memory, work performance, even longevity.   Interested in making these changes in your own life?  Let’s see how Zeo works.

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This is for all of you Christians out there, in love with your own Roxane but too flummoxed to speak eloquently without a little help. Now, instead of hiding Cyrano in a nearby bush – ever fearful of being caught – as you regurgitate his lovely lines, you can slip this Brickhouse Security Invisible Bluetooth Earpiece in place and enjoy two way communication without anyone being the wiser.

But you’d never do that…right?

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As much as some of us might like to avoid it winter is coming.  There’s no stopping it.  Do you want to be able to hit the slopes this season and bring some of your technology with you?  There are plenty of clothing items which enable you to do so.  Jackets with built in controls for your iPod, helmets with headphones built in, heated boots and more.

Here’s two items which recently caught our eye.

Hard Mountain Refugium Jacket with Ardica System

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Speck makes a number of products designed to protect your mobile valuables.  We here at Gear Diary have favorably reviewed several of their cases for iPods and smartphones, including one of my favorites, the CandyShell for iPhone.  Now, Speck introduces protection for your Western Digital Passport and other small portable hard drives.

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Do you do a lot of scanning?  Do you need to get it done quickly?  Maybe even while doing other tasks?

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Once again, I am feeling the lack of love for those of us who live in rural America. There are two new Ambient Devices freshly introduced, but unless you live in one of the 152 US locations that support it, there will be “no Ambient for you!!”

If you do live within 30 miles of a supported location, you’ll get to enjoy Ambient’s new Cirrus 7 Day Forecaster via Accuweather.com and the Centerfield Baseball ScoreCaster via the free InfoCast Wireless Network; neither device requires a PC or Internet connection.

Cirrus ($129.99) and Centerfield ($99.00) are available now at Best Buy, but you should check to make sure that your city is on the list before springing.

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I love my Livescribe Pulse Pen. I use it all the time to take notes and record random thoughts. I now have a Livescribe pad on my desk at home and one in my work study. That way I never actually need to CARRY the large notebooks. Instead I just write what I need with the Pulse Pen and then, when convenient, recreate the notes in my computer. I slao carry a small, light notepad in my briefcase for quick jots on the go. It has truly become invaluable to me and has allowed me to completely cut my ties to Windows XP Tablet.

Now Livescribe has upped their game with new and improves products. Continue Reading

I love innovative solutions that let you charge portable electronics at home and on the go without having to deal with a scrambled assortment of cords, adapters etc. The newest comes from Technocel.

Their new PowerPak replace an assortment of chargers and cords with a single universal solution that safely powers USB devices when at home, in the car, and anywhere else you might roam. Then, if you find your device running low on power the PowerPak’s built-in battery reserve can be used when outlets aren’t available. Now that’s what I call a useful combo.

The PowerPak will be available November 1, 2009 for an MSRP of $49.99 on Technocel.com.

Full Press Release Follows…

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We’ve mentioned WildCharge – the company that allows you to use inductive charging with nearly any mobile phone or other power hungry gadget – before on Gear Diary, but tonight I realized we hadn’t given any coverage to Powermat, another company with a similar premise (but a better looking design).

What premise would that be? Why the one that says plugging your devices in to charge them is so passé; the idea that all you should have to do is lay your gadget on a mat to charge it, even if the trade-off is having to keep your phone in a special case so that you don’t have to fumble with cables. Using this system is definitely a convenience thing, but if you’ve ever fumbled in the dark to stick a charger jack into the bottom of your device only to have to turn on a light in frustration, or if you are tired of traveling with multiple cables, then you might appreciate this way of doing things.

Let’s peek at the company’s offerings, shall we?

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I get asked an awful lot to name my favorite mobile device.  My answer is usually the same.  Well, I like this device for these things, or another device for those other things, but favorite device really depends upon what you want to do.  I never found a device which was perfect for all things.  Until now.

Today, I am ready to name my favorite mobile device, and it is probably not what you expect.  This one does not have a screen or a keyboard.  It does not make phone calls.  It does not access the Internet.  What it does is provide you with instant access to everything…from every device.  That is why the Mifi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot is my new favorite device.  Let’s take a closer look.

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Just this week I was catching up on some DVRed television.  One of the shows I was watching featured a flash-forward, where the characters lives were examined in the future.  One of the technological advances highlighted in the episode was cell phone chips that were implanted in to people’s inner ear.  I found it somewhat amusing, but I am now wondering if it might not be too far off.

At CITA last week, Kempler and Strauss featured a watch cell phone which almost looks functional.  I’ve seen a few watch phones and while they seem cool they just don’t seem all that functional.  The K&S version features a video and still camera, text messaging, an Mp3 player,  a phone and more.  It’s “sweat” proof not water proof, which means you can’t swim with it.  The device uses a external Bluetooth to make calling easier as well.

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When Windows 7 is released on October 22 quite a few people will need a way to transfer data off their old computers to their shiny new Windows 7 hardware. Belkin announces their Easy Transfer Cable for Windows 7 that’s a fast and easy way to get files off one computer and onto another. With a list price of $39 you’ll probably find it worth the money versus other labor intensive choices like backing up your files to a few dozen DVDs and then copying them to your new computer – especially when you consider that the software post-migration report provides a comprehensive view of what was transferred, including lists of all programs and applications installed on old PC and links to download latest versions of programs

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Mophie, the company known for it uber-popular external batteries the Juice Pack and the Juice Pack air, has released some new charging accessories which work with USB compatible devices.

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Last year Judie reviewed the Altec Lansing Orbit speaker.  It was a interesting speaker that can be used with any device sporting a normal 3.5 mm headphone jack.  The downside to using such a speaker with a laptop is that the internal sound card in most laptops can be a bit noisy.

Altec Lansing recently sent me a sample of their  Orbit USB iML237 speaker. It solves the sound card issue perfectly.   Continue Reading