The Wearable Electronic expert Eleksen did it again ….. surprising the world with a twist to their existing fabric keyboard range: the Double Sided USB Keyboard.

This concept, presented by Eleksen during the 3GSM in Barcelona last week has a different set of keys on each side. On the top side is a standard set of QWERTY keys for text entry and whatever work you can do on a ‘normal’ computer keyboard but if you flip the keyboard over, you get the basics of a numeric key-pad, optimized key layout for page navigation and quick access keys for music.

The Douple-sided Keyboard is USB powered what let us assume this keyboard can be used with any device (incl. computer) that support USB keyboards.

A gravity switch in the plastic control module determines which side is facing up and which key mapping to use. Very smart keyboard control software solution that will act differently depending on side of the keyboard is facing up.

Amazing the creativity of Eleksen! As far as we can tell, there is no other technology that can do that, having two different key layouts and react depending which side is facing to the user. And all this on a thin fabric sheet.

John Collins, VP business development and marketing at Eleksen says: “Mobile devices are getting smaller and smarter. Unfortunately, control interface design for these devices isn’t keeping up with the richness of these platforms.”
(source: eleksen.com/pressreleases)

With this Double-sided Keypoard, Eleksen is showing a very smart solution to overcome the usability problems from small, handheld devices. Roll it up when not needed but have a full size, multifunctional keyborad on hand anytime and anywhere.

This keyboard is a demonstrator but we hope it will be picked up soon by a company to commercialize it. It’s so amazing, it’s a must have.

[via: coolest-gadgets.com]

We compiled an overview of all the Jackets we have posted over the last few month. This list shows how many different styles are already available in the Wearable Electronic clothing market.

We give you also a price indication. You might find some of those Jackets for a lower price, we just selected randomly a online store or the producer itself for a first source of ordering. We do not have any connection to those online stores and we want to be as neutral as possible. There are many other stores, online and off-line that have those Jackets on offer.

H3 Series CommEnt jackets from O’Neill
Available: yes
Price: 750.-
Online shop: click here

iJacket Sport from Zenga
Available: yes
Price: from 390.- up to 650.-
Online shop: click here

Audex Jacket from Burton
Available: yes
Price: from 150.- up to 600.-
Online shop: click here

Power Jacket for iPod from Jansport
Available: yes
Price: from 140.-
Online shop: click here

Wired Puffer Jacket for iPod from Jansport
Available: yes
Price: from 180.-
Online shop: click here

iPod Jacket from Kenpo
Available: yes
Price: from 89.- up to 189.-
Online shop: click here

Lofoten Gore-Tex® XCR® iPod Jacket from Norrøna
Available: yes
Price: 730.-
Online shop: click here

Glacial Jacket with ‘Gesture Control’ from Spyder
Available: yes
Price: 550.-
Online shop: click here

iDope iPod Jacket from Dope+Drakkar
Available: yes
Price: 850.-
Online shop: click here

iPod Fashion Jackets from Westcomb
Available: yes
Price: 225.- (for women) 439.- (for men)
Online shop: click here

iPod and Radio Jackets from Sprayway
Available: late summer 2007
Price: 350.-
Online shop: N/A

Bluetooth Jackets from Plantronics and Quiksilver/Roxy
Available: Winter 2007/2008
Price: 340.- (for women) 370.- (for men)
Online shop: N/A

Interactive Biker Jacket from ShadowTS
Available: March 2007
Price: 850.-
Online shop: click here

Heated Vest from Hammacher Schlemmer
Available: yes
Price: 129.-
Online shop: click here

Strobe-Light Jacket from StrideLite
Available: yes
Price: 150.- up to 190.-
Online shop: click here

This list contains 15 different Jacket ranges. For many of them, Women and Men’s versions are available and in some ranges, many different colors and even style variations are available. Including the color and style variations, the total pool of Jackets adds up to around 40 versions.

The overview visualizes the growing diversity of products but also the growing amount of Apparel Companies that join and participate in the Wearable Electronic apparel market.

We included only Outdoor/Sports and Winter Jackets in this list. There are many more Wearable Electronic products available. We will bring another list of all Bags and Backpacks soon. Stay tuned and come back again for news from the Wearable Electronic market place.

But first, have a look around and select your style and buy. Only if consumer start to buy such products will those companies listed above and many others  be motivate to offer an even larger range of Wearable Electronic apparel.

It’s the destiny and the mission of talk2myShirt to bring Wearable Electronic closer to the consumer but also to give a headsup to the designers as well as to the clothing and electronic industry to achieve our mission.

A Feb. 16 article in the online edition of The Orange County Register, a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California, has taken up the topic of Wearable Electronic in a very comprehensive way.

The article starts with Anton Guerrero, 23, a rapper who’s performed at the famous Ruby Skye in San Francisco. Every day before heading out the door, he tucks his iPod nano and cell phone into his pant pockets.

Guerrero says “I feel naked” without these gadgets. Seven hours a day, he listens to his own music, reggae and rock. And he isn’t alone in his obsession. Millions of teens and 20-somethings feel the same way. And their mindset is revolutionizing the way clothing is designed.

The article goes on in stating that ‘no fewer than nine action sports brands in Orange County are selling or working on apparel and accessories embedded with electronics.’

“Our consumers want the latest technology in clothes,” says Marty Samuels, president of Quiksilver Americas. “They’re not just nerds.”

Yet compared to its long-term potential, electronic clothing still “is in its infancy,” says Bruce Moore, innovations manager at Hurley International. “It hasn’t quite found its home yet. But it will.”

Today, a few dozen companies marry fashion with technology, said Doherty, research director for Envisioneering, a personal tech trend tracker in New York. Burton, the snow brand, even created a job title called project manager for wearable electronics.

Expect more businesses to jump on the bandwagon. Hurley of Costa Mesa and its parent company Nike are exploring wired technology in surf, skate and snow clothing.

But there are also challenges mentioned in this article:

It’s expensive!

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Six hundred dollars is my rent,” says Guerrero, who pays $650 a month for a room in an Irvine house.

He’s flabbergasted by the $600 price tag for a Burton Bluetooth jacket. For that much moola, he gets to wirelessly chat and listen to music via a control panel on the sleeve. The exact jacket minus the technology sells for $260.

Even if he could scrounge up that much dough, he says he can only listen to music when he’s wearing that jacket. The problem with that is he doesn’t dress in the same outfit every day.

Guerrero suggests a solution. It’d be great if he could peel off the technology portion of the jacket he wore yesterday and slap it on the jeans he slides on today.

Designers – list up to this advice!

Because technology changes so quickly, keeping up poses a challenge, said Mark Frier, who holds the very apt job title, Project Manager for Wearable Electronics, for Burton.

Since Burton typically works on its clothing 18 months before they hit stores, it must make sure it designs products that are compatible with future consumer electronics. That’s why Burton teamed up with tech expert Motorola.

Manufacturers – team up! Cooperate and co-create!

The article has a list of some ‘player’ in the Wearable Electronic market and a overview with what they are ‘playing’.

A very interesting article that we highly recommend you to read in the complete article. Please follow the link below.

[via: ocregister.com]

Our article today is inspired from the recent massive coverage of Hussein Chalayan‘s transformer dresses in many established fashion Magazines like Vogue, Elle, Style, I-D, to name a few.

One of the features in their March 2007 editions is the coverage of the Spring 2007 trends: futuristic and an odyssey of metallic and science fiction fantasy.

Hussein Chalayan has fascinated and captivated the audience in his Fashion Show last October in Paris. A lot of coverage has been given at that time to Hussein Chalayan’s transformer dresses but we decided at that time not to cover his show because we want talk2myShirt to focus on ‘already available’ products and DIY tips to make your own creations. You may say, we are more on the ‘practical’ side.

The recent media attention made us coming back to Hussein Chalayan’s work because it shows again the strong coming of Wearable Electronic – our main focus in this blog.

It is very interesting to see that fusing technology with fashion is getting attention from all sides and facets of the Fashion World. From the more practical, performance clothing world, over the hip and street ware and now from the fashion defining top end with renowned designers like: Hussein Chalayan who is also referred to as the ‘designer of the designers’.

Hussein Chalayan’s collection consist of five dresses that automatically transformed in shape and style. Zippers closed, cloth gathered, and hemlines rose–all without human assistance. Beneath each model’s skirt was a computer system designed by the London-based engineering and concept-creation firm 2D3D.

For example, one dress morphes from a 1906 style to 1916 and then to 1926. Another dress was from 1926, and it evolved through 1936 to 1946, and so on.

The ‘Hour Glass dress‘ got the most media attention and one can find many blog posts about it on the Web. It is also Chalayan’s personal favorite dress that transforms from a 1950s Dior shape to a 1960s Paco Rabanne style metallic shift.

We found a video on YouTube that shows the part of the fashion show with the futuristic designs of Chalayan’s collection.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTFl0rNNQrY&eurl=[/video]

We like to conclude this post with an excerpt from the article in Elle’s magazine:
” … in a season where futurism is hotly debated across the board, where does the innovator [Hussein Chalayan] see fashion heading next? ‘It will renew itself through technology,’ he says sagely. ‘Like new fibers, new ways of making clothes. Without risk, nothing changes the world.’”

We from talk2myShirt fully support this statement and we give our best to get the message out as loud and far as possible.

Read more about Hussein Chalayan on: style.com

Whatever electrical function we want to integrate in our clothing, it has to have at least one switch, to switch this function on and off.

To make an electrical textile switch is easier than you might think, especially by following the instructions worked out by Leah Buechley.

Based on the idea and DIY instruction from Leah, we show how to create a single switch that uses only textile materials. With this instruction, you can create your own versions with multi switch keyboards or give them different shapes.

Please visit Leah’s Website for detail information where to get the materials. She has links for each item needed that helps you to find out where to buy them.

What you need to make a textile switch:

• Fabric glue
• Patch conductive fabric
• Patch of felt, wool or a similar thick, springy material
• Patch of fabric for the outside of the switch
• Scissor

Start by cutting out a square of felt. This will be the soft and springy center of your switch. Cut a hole out of the center of this felt square you just created. Now cut out two squares of fabric. These will be the outsides of your switch. Next, cut two strips of conductive fabric for the contacts in your switch. Each strip should be slightly longer than the felt square you cut and just wide enough to cover the hole in the felt.

You have now all of the pieces needed for your switch. The basic idea is that the two pieces of conductive fabric strips will be on either side of the felt square. When you press the center of your switch, the conductive strips will contact one another through the hole.

The strips will extend outside of the rest of the switch construction so that you can stitch them down with conductive thread to integrate to the rest of your textile electronic garment. The other pieces of fabric (the purple squares) will be the outside of the switch. Any color and shape you wish can be made, it’s up to you imagination and taste.
Now, glue the conductive strips to the exterior fabric.

Glue the conductive stripes to either side of the outside felt squares. Align the conductive strips so that they will contact one another through the hole in the felt when the switch is pressed, but will not contact each other otherwise.

You are done now, your first fully textile based switch is ready for use. Of course, this switch can be washed just like any other textile product.

The great thing about textile electronic is that you can easily create different shapes without much effort, just cut instead of a square a circular shape or a silhouette of a flower or . . . the sky is the limit.

We like to refer you to the creator of this concept and the DIY instruction shown here, Leah Buechley to get more in-depth information.

Although the winter season will end soon, we want to introduce you another iPod Fashion product for the cold days.

The company that came to our attention is: DOPE&DRAKKAR which was established in Tokyo, Japan by Eichiro Sakata in 1994. “Dope” is a drug and “Drakkar” is an addict. Eichiro wanted to make clothes that were addictive as drugs.

This company’s philosophy made it a ‘must’ to look for innovative additions to their clothing line and to ‘proof’ the point, they launched last January the iDope iPod collection.

The iDope works with all iPod models except with Gen 1+2 and all iPod Shuffle.

It has the ‘standard’ build-in iPod control from Eleksen but the iDope is different: rather than be woven into the material as play and pause buttons iDope has a set of simple colored buttons in the front center line of the Jacket.

In this, way the technology is completely ‘hidden’ and there is no ‘fear’ of looking geeky.

The ‘smart fabric’ from ElekTex works by knowing where it is being touched and is responding to the pressure. The sensor is of course machine washable and able to be dry-cleaned.

Very smart, very clever and a very good design from DOPE&DRAKKAR.

The iDope range consists of Jackets in Champagne, Wine, Olive and Black and goes for US$ 730.-

There is also a Vest style available in Champagne, Black, Red and Turquoise which goes for US$ 570.-

Basically, the iDope is mainly sold in Japan but we found an online store that is selling the iDope range to other countries as well (and is in English). Check out this link for ordering your iDope.

The Lofoten Gore-Tex® XCR® from Norrøna has been developed for the most demanding skiers and snowboarders. With the Lofoten Gore-Tex® XCR® iPod-jacket, Norrøna has merged one of the most ground breaking technology successes of recent years with a state of the art freeride jacket.

The jacket sleeve is equipped with a control panel that allows you to find the right tune and sound level of the iPod that can be carried in a specially fitted pocket. The technology is yet again from: Eleksen. No need for us to elaborate further on this.

The Lofoten Gore-Tex®XCR® is a 3 layers jacket, adapted to provide maximum breath ability and minimum weight yet maintaining all the critical technical details. It weight’s only 630 gram. This jacket is made for the toughest conditions a skier or snowboarder can meet.

The Lofoten Gore-Tex®XCR® is the coolest and best looking Jacket we have seen so far in the iPod Fashion segment. It was launched for this season – 06/07, sorry for our late update.

The Lofoten Gore-Tex®XCR® iPod Jacket is available in Gold fusion, like in the image, or in black.

The price is 850.- US$ and can be ordered on Norrøna’s online store.

We have an update on the Professional Messenger Bag we have posted back in October last year: the Professional Messenger Bag from G-Tech is now available and ready to ship.

Short summary of the Professional Messenger Bag: A iPod remote control keypad based on Eleksen‘s ElekTex ‘smart fabric’ is integrated into the shoulder strap to conveniently control the iPod that is stored and protected inside the Bag.

Also built into bag is a thin, flexible loudspeaker from NXT that leaves your ears free to hear traffic and let you share your music with your friends and the world around you.

Fortunately to the people around you, you can turn off the NXT speaker and listen trough ‘normal’ headphones as well.

The ‘speaker in the bag’ function comes handy if you want to make your presentations more livelier with sound; just place your bag on the table. Or have action sound for your games when you are on the road.

Via the built-in connector, you can use the speakers with any music player, PSP, laptop and whatever has a 3.5mm headphone socket.

The Speaker function requires 3 x AA batteries and should last for around 5 hours, depending on the volume setting.

The Professional Messenger Bag is available in brown and black and goes for US$ 129.- either direct via G-Tech online store or on buysmartdepot.com online store. Buysmartdepot.com ships the Professional Messenger Bag worldwide.

Wearable Electronic keeps growing this year, as we predicted earlier. This time, a so called ‘household name’ is joining the trend: Marks & Spencer (M&S), the renowned UK high street retailer.

NXT, a provider of unique sound solutions and best known for its flat panel loudspeaker technology, announced M&S has introduced the Enterprise Workbag with In-Built Audio based on NXT‘s flat speaker technology.

The ‘Enterprise Workbag with In-Built Audio’ is designed to accommodate a laptop computer and features an ‘invisible’ NXT flat panel speaker embedded within the front panel of the bag, allowing users to enjoy high quality stereo sound wherever they go.

With its professional styling and protective removable laptop sleeve, the M&S bag is both smart and practical. Compatible with MP3 players, iPods, laptops computers and other audio devices, the NXT-enabled Workbag is the perfect alternative to portable speaker systems as the loudspeaker is part of the bag itself.

Business people can easily connect the bag to the Notebook and spice up their presentations with sound. A great feature!

Here are the key features of the Enterprise Workbag with In-Built Audio:

• High performance ballistic nylon
• High quality sound from NXT flat-panel speaker system
• Operates on 3 x AA batteries for up to 7 hours.
• Standard 3.5m audio connector compatible with MP3 players/iPods, laptop PCs, CD players and portable gaming devices
• H44 x W33 x D11cm
• 19.6 liter capacity

Available now for US$129.- direct by M&S online shop.

 G-Tech announced last January during CES a new water repellent carrying case for iPods. The Sound Shell is a semi-hard case that protects your iPod from environmental hazards.

The Sound Shell is made of waterproof fabric, and completely encloses the iPod and makes sure it’s completely safe.

But if your iPod is totally enveloped in this case, how can you use it? How can you skip songs or change the volume?  That’s where the Sound Shell’s magic comes in. Integrated into the fabric shell are the pressure-sensitive ElekTex smart fabric controls.

And if this is not enough for you to run out and buy one, G-Tech added sound to the Shell, hence: Sound Shell. The sound magic is provided by using the NXT flat panel speaker technology. Listen to your music privately with headphones or share your tunes with the world through the ultra-thin NXT speaker built right into the shell!

“The G-Tech Sound Shell is a handy and fun way to extend the life of your iPod and have easy access to enjoying your music,” said Mark Treger, vice president of sales and marketing of G-Tech.

That’s right, there is no better way to keep your ‘Pod in shape.

We got word that the G-Tech Sound Shell is now ready for pre-order for US$ 77.- and will ship soon. It comes in silver or black.

Visit G-Tech’s online store to reserve your Sound Shell now.