The Winter Olympic are in full swing (although physically I am far away from Vancouver) I revisited the iPod enabled jacket market to check out what is available right now for people watching the winter games on the spot.

The first pleasant surprise is the prices of interactive, iPod ready jackets came down again this winter season which make them as affordable as any other jacket in the same category.

The next surprise, there are many different styles of interactive jackets from a wide range of brands, too many to beam up all of them. The following tip is based on my personal style judgement but a quick scan on the internet will give you a much wider choice of iPod ready jackets.

Tog24 has been having interactive jackets in their online store since the early days of wearable electronic and this seasons offerings look great, the women styles as well as mens styles.

The jackets are powered by the CONNECTEDwear modules from Fibretronic making it easy to pick up additional modules for other than iPod devices like Bluetooth cell-phones.

The women jackets can be found here and here, retailing for £99.95 ($158.-) each, mens styles can be found here and here with a price tag of £129.00 ($203.-) each.

Operating a touch screen during the cold, icy season either requires to have some control over them via the outer clothing or alternatively, you can get you hands on/into one of the touch screen enabled gloves. The third option is to get icy fingers each time you change a song or pick up a phone call. The choice is yours.

Despite the cold weather outside, the technology enhanced apparel market is really heating up this winter season. The North Face added to this growing market great looking Audio jackets for women and men.

Beautiful not only the style of the jackets but also the soft touch control on the sleeve in the shape of a diamond. The controls are CONNECTEDwear compatible which opens a wide range of functionality modules to connect to the iPod family or other MP3 player and Bluetooth devices.

Designed for athletes who need to stay connected, no matter where, these waterproof, breathable, fully seam sealed jackets keep skiers and boarders dry and warm – and in tune with todays digital lifestyle.

The women’s Femphonic Audio Jacket comes in the colors Black or Flamenco Blue (photo) and retails at $348.95 the same retail price as the men’s Hustle Audio Jacket available in the colors Black and Cedar Tan.

The Northface represents another top brand in the outdoor apparel market by offering the option to select jackets which literally weave our digital dependability into our clothing, making our clothing compatible with devices which have not existed a few short years ago.

Technology enhanced clothing is not something geeks design for geeks, technology enhanced clothing is designed to accommodate the needs of the digital age.

LimbGear® joined the interactive apparel market with the introduction of their InterActive™ Hoodio, a screen-printed hoodie which allows you to control an iPod from the sleeve.

Using hidden channels within the garment, the earbuds cable runs from the player which is placed in a pocket inside the hoodie and connected to the PANiQ eTextile control pad.

Functions like play, skip, pause, and more can be simply activated with a touch on the sleeve.

Currently two fan styles of the Hoodio are available, one for LimbGear fans and another one for Virginia Tech fans.

Each Hoodio retails for $84.99 at Campus Emporium and include the iPod control module from PANiQ. Just hook up your iPod to rock away. Want to hook up other personal devices like Bluetooth phones? check out the available modules from PANiQ, any of them will work with the Hoodio’s.

Your college doesn’t have an interactive hoodie yet? Check out LimbGears College range. If yours college is on the list, you will get a PANiQ enabled college hoodio soon. Just check back with us, we will keep you updated.

This must be the most gorgeous looking technology enabled jacket on the planet: the Aerotype Hi-Tech Jacket from POLO Ralph Lauren.

What a cool looking snow boarding / winter action sport jacket. The Aerotype Hi-Tech Jacket is made from innovative water-resistant, double-layer Microfiber shell, incorporating interactive PaniQ™ technology that allows safe remote use of Bluetooth™ or MP3 players, Recco® Avalanche Rescue System and Scholler®-PCM™ technology, which actively balances temperature extremes.

Plug your communication / entertainment gear into the interior pocket using the included connector and adjust controls at sleeve to play, change volume/tracks and phone controls. Your device is save while you enjoy the wild side of life.

POLO Ralph Lauren seems to connect to the technology enabled, interactive apparel trend which is growing this year at the fastest seep since this type of clothing was launched a few years back.

Power brands like POLO Ralph Lauren will push the interactive fashion market forward in the seasons and years to come.

The PANiQ modular system makes it easier for brands to incorporate technology into their apparel collection as well as to provide many choices for the consumer to select and buy functionality as needed.

The retail price of the Aerotype Hi-Tech Jacket is $1295.- not a small change but the coolest Hi-tech jacket you will find on the planet. And it is a POLO Ralph Lauren after all.

The upgradable clothing market is growing with the addition of Polaris winter 09/10 collection of outerwear jackets for man and women.

Polaris Industries has designed their jackets to allow Fibretronic‘s joystick controller to be added to the sleeve using a Velcro attachment point. Fibretronic has produced a custom designed joystick for Polaris with a Velcro backing enabling it to be simply added to a mating Velcro patch on the sleeve of the jacket.

In case you are not sure when you buy our winter outfit but select an upgradable garment you are always on the safe side and add personal device control later on when you decide to give more protection to your player and to your fingers which can be kept snugly warm inside your gloves while still manipulating your music.

The Pure Polaris branded ‘Ripper‘ for man and ‘Diva‘ for women jackets come with a price tag of $199.99 each and the joystick control system sells for $39.99 including an iPod control module.

Other modules are available from CONNECTEDwear your device such as iPhone, Bluetooth smartphone or other MP3 players.

I have been waiting for a long time to see ‘ready for technology’ clothing. It looks like the time of upgrading ones jackets has finally arrived.

Let’s give a big hand for O’Neill who is sponsoring a NavJacket for the winner of the Smart Textiles Salon Student award 2009.

The Smart Textiles Salon, jointly organized by the European projects SysTex and Proetex will present the student award for the best wearable electronic design project in this years event.

O’Neill, leading brand and innovator of wearable electronic outdoor apparel is sponsoring the student award with one of the most advanced, technology enabled jackets ever made, the Nav(igation)Jacket.

The NavJacket is designed not only to look good but also to guide you through the mountains using guiding arrows on the sleeves display.

It will obtain its routes and point-of-interest (a ski bar for example or a gorgeous view point) via a Bluetooth enabled cellphone.

You can create the routes yourself or download routes from other NavJAcket Community members and follow their great skiing or snowboarding experiences. Once the jacket has loaded routes and point of interests in it’s memory no cellphone link is needed anymore.

Before racing down the mountains, select your route and the NavJacket will guide you down and show POIs (point-of-interest) other community members recommended.

O’Neills’ NavJacket will be for quite some time be the yardstick to follow and surpass. I like the complete solution, the integration of not only technology into clothing but also weaving the lifestyle experience into the social network via the NavJacket Community for sharing experiences with like minded.

If you have someone very special and for a very special Christmas gift, the NavJacket sells for €1,200.- ($1,635.-)

Action-sport apparel brand Sessions teamed up again with Skullcandy to continue it’s presents in the interactive garment segment with the launch of the Winter ’09 iPod ready jacket collection.

The Foxtrot Herringbone Skullcandy Jacket for men features a military construction with urban styling – gorgeous looking jacket for action pure and available via this online store for $249.95

The second style in the new collection is the SSC CO-OP Jacket, a waterproof shell with fully taped seams to prevent moisture from getting in.

Coming in the color schemes of White Camo and Black Camo, the SSC CO-OP Jacket for men will be the most eye catching, interactive gear on and off the snowy mountains. Available now for $173.97 via this online store.

Sessions has also for the Ladies a iPod enabled/controlling jacket in store for the coming winter season, the Lush Avery Plaid Skullcandy with fixed hood trimmed with faux fur, leather tabs and brass four hole buttons. Available at this online store for $169.-

The interactive jacket collection from Sessions comes with Skullcandy’s soft keypad and audio system for iPod control. Your soundtracks on the iPod, which is safely stored and protected inside the jacket, can be easily controlled via the integrated soft keypad on the sleeve.

Even though many people spend these days on a beach there are folks who enjoy skiing right now. For all those cool people we found a great looking, iPod compatible jacket from the Norwegian company Kjus Skiwear.

Popular among fashionable, high end skiers, this company makes one of the coolest looking yet functional ski clothing for people who want to race down the mountains in style.

The Commwear Jacket not only features a textile keypad in the left sleeve, it has also a Bluetooth system to manage your cellphone calls without the need to rummage around your pockets.

The jacket’s fibers retain and release heat as needed using hight tech fabric interwoven with tiny beads of wax that melt to store warmth, later releasing it when temperatures fall and the balls stiffen.

Another innovative feature is the use of d30 material, a specialized polymer composed of molecules that move fluidly when at rest, but lock together during a sudden impact, hardening the clothes to protect you against bruises.

No wonder that this high tech jacket has a price tag of around $1,900.-

Pearl Izumi, covered on talk2myShirt earlier with the Vertex MP3 Short keeps innovating and exploring possibilities how embedded technologies into apparel can add value (and safety) to sports gear.

The Shine Hat represents a great innovation for commuters and those who prefer to ride or run in twilight/darkness.

The lighting system provides enhanced visibility with either a blinking or constant on light symbol which acts as a reflective element when switched off.

The integrated light system runs off a CR2032 watch battery located in the top of the hat which provides power for 100 hours of constant light on and double of that in blinking mode. A soft on/off switch for the light is integrated into the hat as well. The battery and light module is removable for washing.

The Microsensor Thermal fabric is warm, soft and breathable and will quickly wick moisture away from your head keeping you warm and dry. The 18% spandex content gives the Shine Hat excellent stretch to fit any size head.

For $14.99, the Shine Hat is an affordable visibility enhancing gear for runners or cyclists helping to avoid close encounters with cars during nightly runs.

A simple but bright idea in every sense.

For those who are planning to spend some more time in the mountains UK street wear brand Location has launched two interactive, cool looking jackets.

The Hero 3 ICU iPod jacket and the Hero 3 ICU Speaker jacket. Both jackets have a dedicated iPod pocket with Fibertronic‘s CONNECTED-wear controls integrated into the sleeve for use of the iPod without the need to expose it to the elements.

The Hero jackets are sold bundled with Fibretronic’s IP30 iPod module but is compatible with the full range of CONNECTED-wear modules for audio and mobile phone controls.

In addition to the iPod control, the Hero 3 ICU Speaker jacket comes with an amplifier and 2x 2.5W speaker modules that can be attached onto the hood. Via a 3.5mm line-in connector any MP3 player or audio player can connect to the Hero speaker jacket.

In addition to the audio part, the Hero range comes with an integrated RECCO Avalanche Rescue System.

Other unique features include a double-hood system with built-in reflective goggles, Azaleum Outdoor Protect two layer fabric for maximum water repellency and breathability.

Both jackets retail for £140.00 (around $200.00). Check out more details about the interactive HERO jackets by Location.