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Mobile Phones<br />
0 3 8 WIRED TEST<br />
Cell-Phone Accessories<br />
Add-ons for your mobile—like these whiz-bang headsets, speakerphones,<br />
and chargers—can be both functional and fun. —R.B.<br />
Aliph Jawbone<br />
Bluetooth Headset<br />
$120 • jawbone.com<br />
Finally, a Bluetooth headset that<br />
doesn’t look like a Borg implant.<br />
The Jawbone combines Prada<br />
styling with killer noise canceling.<br />
You can call your boss from the<br />
bowling alley and he’ll never guess.<br />
Getting a comfy fit can be tricky,<br />
though, and the invisible, barely<br />
tactile controls take time to master.<br />
Motorola Mini H9<br />
Bluetooth Headset<br />
$150 • motorola.com<br />
The H9 calls to mind those impossible<br />
über-gadgets Jack Bauer<br />
wears in 24. The tiny 0.3-ounce<br />
headset nestles right inside your ear<br />
canal. Noise reduction was decent,<br />
though callers complained about<br />
excessive ambient sound from our<br />
end. A charging station takes some<br />
of the sting out of the steep price.<br />
BQ Wireless BlueQ<br />
$40 • bqwireless.com<br />
How many booty calls have you<br />
missed because you couldn’t<br />
hear your phone ring or feel it<br />
vibrate? This rubbery band straps<br />
on your wrist and shimmies when<br />
a call comes in. Not the hippest<br />
look, but you can print a custom<br />
skin and fly your geek flag high.<br />
Only problem: It’s too <strong>sm</strong>all for<br />
burly retrosexual wrists.<br />
PhonePhlash<br />
$30 • phonephlash.com<br />
Weekend stalkerazzi will love<br />
this LED that attaches to your cell<br />
phone’s back or hangs from a<br />
strap and compensates for its<br />
anemic (or nonexistent) flash. Just<br />
press the button to light up the<br />
club and improve close-quarters<br />
photos. (It’s great for finding keys,<br />
too.) Be careful not to blind your<br />
subjects—it’s that bright.<br />
Callpod Chargepod<br />
$60 • callpod.com<br />
One ring to charge them all. That’s<br />
the idea behind the Chargepod,<br />
which can juice up to six phones,<br />
headsets, and other gadgets from<br />
a single outlet. One adapter (your<br />
choice) is included; additional ones<br />
cost $10 a pop. But they aren’t<br />
labeled—an annoying oversight—<br />
and the pod doesn’t indicate when<br />
devices are done charging.<br />
Spark SwizzleStik<br />
$50 • swizzlestik.com<br />
Stick the SwizzleStik in your phone<br />
and it quickly backs up contacts,<br />
photos, and music. Plug it into<br />
your PC to sync with Outlook or<br />
offload snapshots. Pop it back in<br />
your cell to upload new ringtones.<br />
And so on. Basically, it’s a flash<br />
drive for your phone, and a handy<br />
one at that. Additional tips for<br />
different phones are $10 apiece.<br />
EDITORS’<br />
PICK<br />
Jabra BT8010<br />
$149 • jabra.com<br />
Plug in a second earpiece to make<br />
this headset stereo (provided<br />
your phone supports stereo A2DP<br />
Bluetooth). Both earpieces fit<br />
comfortably and sound spectacular.<br />
A jog wheel and bright OLED make<br />
it easy to surf music and contacts,<br />
though they’re obviously useless<br />
when the Jabra’s strapped to the<br />
side of your head.<br />
Tekkeon ezSpeak<br />
$80 • tekkeon.com<br />
Tired of jamming a headset in your<br />
ear? Try the other hands-free alternative:<br />
a Bluetooth speakerphone.<br />
The ezSpeak has a backlit LCD,<br />
voice-dialing capability, and ninenumber<br />
recall. Sadly, though, the<br />
included charger works only in<br />
the car, and the speaker lacks noisecanceling<br />
wizardry. Even so, conversations<br />
sounded loud and clear.
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