Archive for the 'Product reviews' Category

By all the enthusiasm for everything Wearable Electronic here on talk2myShirt we do not forget that not everything is perfect. Our post today is a reflection of reader feedback we got which we value very much.

We do not have any relations to the companies who’s products we introduce on our blog and we do not own all of the products we write about.

In the cases we do not have a product, we base our introduction on information found in printed media and online sources. We do appreciate feedback from our readers to give a complete picture and provide feedback to the companies on their products, feedback from ‘real’ consumer and not editors.

We did receive recently interesting and useful remarks from a reader concerning the Burton Audex iPod AMP Backpack.

As we have pointed out already by writing the description about the Audex iPod AMP pack, the concept of adding (not integrating like many others) an iPod control to a backpack is questionable or as we concluded at that time ‘confusing’.

Confusing because this small, separate wireless controller can easily be lost and make the complete system meaningless.

Our reader Andy found out another shortcoming on the Audex iPod AMP: ‘The transmitter constantly glitches causing your ipod to stop playing whatever playlist you are on, and revert to playing random songs on your ipod. Its also been causing my ipod to automatically turn on “repeat one” so you can only listen to whatever song you are on. The transmitter on the strap isnt gonna fall out but its so tiny and frustrating to use.‘

All together it doesn’t look like Burton has made much effort and thinking or even testing into this product.

That’s sad considering that Burton was the first company to come out with audio controls integrated into a backpack in 2003 for a Sony Mini Disk player.

Let’s hope Burton has recognized this issue and is doing a much better design job for the 2008/09 season. We will be one the watch-out.

Bookmark to:

After posting iWear my iPod in Style, I just couldn’t hold back my credit card and ordered the cool looking BLACK-eco for myself. iNeeded to experience Music and Sons T-Shirts myself, first hand.

A few days later, the BLACK-eco arrived and I could finally get my hands on it.

The BAMBOO fabric feels very good on the skin, soft and light. I appreciate the skills of Italian design and manufacturing, they make perfect fitting clothing like no other – I am always amazed by the sophisticated cut and the BLACK-eco is no exception. The printing is nicely done with the touch off being hand made, slight distortions that give character.

The earphone connector on the back is well hidden and hardly visible when no earphone is plugged in. Instead of using conductive yarn from the connector in the front pocket up to the earphone connector, a ‘normal’ very soft wire is used which is sewed into the seam on the side of the T-Shirt.

This might not be the most sophisticated integration of electronic components into fabrics but I can see the point in keeping it simple and I guess this enables Music & Sons to offer those T-Shirts for a reasonable low price.

Nevertheless, this simple integration does the job very well: getting the headphone wires out of my way. Up to now, I had to pull the headphone wire of my iPod underneath my T-Shirt, trying to find the best position for the cable to stay in place during my daily routine. The BLACK-eco solves this hassle perfectly.

The earphones that came with the BLACK-eco are much better than I expected. They look great, they fit well (or even better) than the earphones that came with the iPod.

Music & Sons earphones have a very good sound quality and they come with a short cable, just long enough to give free movement with the head and short enough not to interfere with my life and music enjoyment.

Cleaning the BLACK-eco is straight forward, a washing instruction comes with the T-Shirt: hand washing and during ironing stay clear of the connectors (they are made of plastic).

I do have a suggestion for improvement to the front pocket for the audio player:

The iPod Nano fits perfectly, the iPod G5 does ‘just’ fits. It would fit better if the plug in the pocket would have the same shape (angled) as the plug on the earphone.

The straight shape of the pocket connector makes the cable sticking out of the pocket a bit.

Having said this, the BLACK-eco is a fabulous looking T-Shirt, sophisticated simple and useful. I use it not only when outdoors; it’s also great in the office, having the freedom of moving around without worrying about the earphone cable getting in my way. It almost feels like having a wireless headphone – seriously.

If you are interested in buying one of Music & Sons T-Shirts, consider ordering more than one, once you get used to wearing your music you will demand that all your T-Shirts have this feature.

Bookmark to:

Summer is in it’s hottest phase and with it all the fun and vacations. We have compiled a list of Wearable Electronic products that allow you the get the most summer fun this year.

As starter, how about one of those cool looking T-Shirts from UrbanTool, the Groove Rider? Total control of your iPod and you hands free for that Pina Colada.

Or looking for a cool T-Shirt that gets the earphone wire out of the way while skating? Music & Sons has the right Music T-Shirt for you, the Bamboo version is just gorgeous looking and keeps you cool.

Like Levi jeans? They have their Redwire line for this summer in different styles and colors. What a great way to give your jeans an upgrade and yourself appreciative looks when controlling your iPod with your jeans.

No need to take off your hands from the camera while shooting your vacation photos for Flickr.

If your vacation plan includes the beach, Reware’s Solar Beach Tote is just the thing you need. Big enough to carry all your stuff for the beach and keeps on generating power for your cell phone and iPod while you get a nice tan.

Having a city vacation? You can recharge your gadgets while sight seeing or having a drink in one of the many garden restaurants with the Solar Bag from Sakku.

For the active folks who want to stay healthy or get in shape during vacation, my recommendation is the Numetrex or Adidas running apparel with heart rate = performance monitor.

You will look great and sophisticated while zipping past the rest of the running folks.

Whatever your favorite pastime activity is during your vacation, Wearable Electronic products adds a new dimension to your lifestyle.

By the way: you can use those items also on weekends if you are not fortunate enough like me to have vacation right now.

Bookmark to:

Earlier this month we have posted about G-Tech’s Fabric Keyboard.

We got a tip today from one of our reader, Chris, with the link to the YouTube video below about the G-Tech Keyboard. Thanks Chris for the heads up.

The video shows how to set up the link between a Blackberry and the Keyboard. An excellent video which we highly recommend to check out if you are interested in this keyboard or just want to see how it actually works.

But there is even more. The creator of this video, smartfabricguy - his YouTube name - has posted 19, in words NINETEEN, videos about the G-Tech Keyboard on YouTube. Follow the link to the smartfabricguy on YouTube and watch all of them.

Warning: After watching all videos - you just want to have this keypad.

Bookmark to: