MWC 2009: Solio Communicator – a solar-powered hands-free kit

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Tucked away amongst the smaller stands at MWC 2009, slightly crowded out by the Samsungs and Nokias of this world, is a little company called “Better Energy Systems”. They have a subsidiary called Solio, who make solar-powered kit for mobile phones.

You might have heard of them – a quick browse of Solio’s site suggests that Saol – a Masai Junior Elder from IIkinye Village in Kenya – is a power user, as is Ian Davis, from the Polar Challenge expedition. Best of all is the picture of President Barack Obama looking decidedly overwhlemed when being presented with his Solio Classic.

But this post is about the Solio Communicator, which by all accounts is a rather novel product. It’s a hands-free kit, but charges with solar power, so you just stick it to your car window and never think about the battery ever again.

If you live in some Arctic climes where you don’t get sun very much for half the year, then it’s also chargable off the cigarette lighter port, a USB port or a wall adaptor. It’s compatible with all Bluetooth-enabled phones, and will retail for €80 (£70ish). Available mid 2009.

Hands-free kit that clips over your rear-view mirror

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RXS:Redshift sounds like a racing game, but in actual fact it’s a company who make hands-free car kits, and they’ve made the rather genius “Bluetooth Rear-View Mirror Hands-Free Car Kit” pictured above, that does exactly what it says on the tin. It clips onto your rear-view mirror, and there’s absolutely no wiring required.

It has some quite nifty features, too. The mic and speaker are integrated into the plastic, and the caller ID gets displayed on the mirror so that you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to see who’s calling. It also comes with a bluetooth headset that you can use if you’re still on the phone when you leave the car.

Brookstone's voice-activated Handsfree Universal Remote Control

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Continuing today’s impromptu theme of dull things made sexy, we bring you this – a remote control. Made sexy.

The pyramid-shaped remote control has been designed to stand on its end. This ruins the fun game that is trying to stand a remote control on its end on the carpet, but maker Brookstone has additional fun-streams lined up for you – this remote is voice-activated…

Etymotic launches hf2 earphones with handsfree calling

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Etymotic has announced the availability of its hf2 handsfree headset, offering the same sound quality of their ER-4P earphones and coupled with a microphone and end/send switch for pairing up with the iPhone or any other mobile phone with a 3.5mm jack.

The unit features noise cancellation technology, ensuring both music and calls can be heard more clearly even in noisy surroundings…