Headplay is probably every couch potato's dream. Imagine a TV. Now imagine being able to take it anywhere and everywhere you go (except perhaps in the shower), and being able to watch movies or play games on it anytime you want. That's the concept for the new "Personal Cinema System" device, Headplay.

Headplay is a head-mounted device; basically, a TV you wear on your head. You can connect it to your gaming consoles, your DVD Player, your iPod, your PC, and maybe your Betamax player if it hasn't choked on dust yet. If it has a video out function, Headplay can most probably display it. You can also plug in a memory stick and Headplay can run the media files - movies, videos, and images - with its own built-in player.

Once you're behind the lenses of Headplay it's pretty easy to just relax and go dead to the world around you. It's nothing but you and the screen, with the stereo sounds blocking off everything else. It's like your own movie screen inside your living room.

To read the complete review of Headplay - what it is, what it does, how it plays on Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, and Nintendo' Wii on it - click on the link for the full article.

The Apple iPhone doesn't support A2DP, which allows users to transmit stereo audio to Bluetooth headphones. However, Earle Davies, a reader from tuaw.com has found a way to make it work... to a certain degree.

We say to a certain degree because while you can get the music and sound to stream to the headset, the iPhone still plays audio though its built-in speakers at the same time.

If you still want to try it, switch on the headset and wait for your iPhone to recognize it. Once it does, go into the Visual Voicemail screen and tap the Audio button in the upper right.

You'll receive an audio selection dialog that lets you choose where to send the iPhone's audio. Select the Headset option, switch over to the iPod, play some music or a video and there you have it. Your iPhone is now streaming music to the headset.

Hopefully, Apple will develop its own A2DP bluetooth headset that will allow users to listen to their music on a headset. Until then, we'll probably be stuck with workarounds like this unless some enterprising coder can work out a way for us to do this much more easily.

If you're one of the people who bought an iPhone, you probably know that you have one year of hardware repair coverage and up to two years of technical support. If you think that's not enough, then you can purchase an AppleCare Protection Plan which extends your repair coverage to two years.

You can avail of this anytime within the one-year limited warranty period and your eligibility for coverage under the AppleCare Protection Plan begins on the day you purchased the iPhone.

Before signing up, note that Apple is not authorized to sell the iPhone AppleCare Protection Plan to residents of Alabama, Connecticut, Nevada, or Wyoming. If you don't reside in any of these locations, then you may want to go over this short list of what you get from the plan:

Key Features:

• Extends hardware coverage to two years from the date of iPhone purchase.
• Covers iPhone, iPhone Bluetooth Headset, and all included accessories.
• Guarantees genuine Apple replacement parts.
• Permits transfer of the plan between owners.

Getting this additional protection will cost you US$ 69.99. However, that sounds like a good deal to protect your five or 600 dollar investment. If you're interested, click on our Read link to head to the Apple Store for more details.

nomad7674 over at flickr is reporting that the Apple store in Marlton, NJ, has now begun stocking up on the iPhone's Bluetooth Headset accessory. Needless to say, nomad7674 bought one unit (priced at US$ 129) and happily presented several pictures of the accessory's unboxing.

Going into details of the headset's features, nomad7674 states that the unit is small, but fits comfortably well in the user's ear. The box's kit includes a duo dock charger for simultaneously charging the iPhone and headset. The iPhone even displays both its own and the headset's battery gauge when both are plugged in.

There's also the advertised Travel cable. On a more interesting note, the headset also comes with a Magsafe connector, which magnetically attaches it to the charger dock and prevents it from falling off.

Lastly, the headset appears to be strictly for the phone functions. Activating iPod mode prompts the music to be heard through the phone's speakers. Check with your local Apple Store dealers if they already have stocks, or feel free to drop by nomad7674's flickr account for the headset's pictures. Link is provided at the Read link below.

 

To make buying an iPhone easier for the market, the Apple Store online has been updated with a product page of their latest world-dominating baby, the iPhone. It was released in retail just a few hours ago over at the east coast, and at that time, the online store went down for a bit to make way for the iPhone's online debut.

It's US$ 499 for the 4GB model, while the 8GB is clocked at 600 greenbacks. All relevant information relating to the mobile phone's features and AT&T rate plans are found behind the Read link below. You might also want to check out the Accessories tag of their product page - that's a snazzy looking Bluetooth headset. The Gallery section contains not just pictures, but even video walkthroughs that tour you through the iPhone's interface.

Shipping is free, but the downside is you'd have to wait around two to four weeks for it to arrive. Oh and don't forget to read the fine print: "iPhone orders limited to two per customer." Makes sense to echo the rule they've set up in their actual brick-and-mortar stores. Besides, stocks are limited.

Doesn't that Read link just tease you? Must... Resist... Urge..

The Apple iPhone finally launches on June 29, and while a lot of things have been said about the features that it will have, let's take this moment to look at the things that it won't have. Here's a list of newly-confirmed features that the iPhone will not have packed into its sleek and stylish case from gadget news site Gizmodo.

• Songs as Ringtones
• Games
• Any flash support
• Instant Messaging
• Picture messages (MMS)
• Video recording
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)

This list raises quite a few questions. Earlier this year, video game companies such as Namco and Electronic Arts have confirmed that they are in talks with Apple about putting their games on the iPhone. While it is possible that these deals fell through, it is also quite possible that game support - as well as other features - will be added to the phone via later updates.

Aliph has announced that its Jawbone Bluetooth headset will be sold along with the Apple iPhone at all 157 Apple Stores and at the Apple.com website once the iPhone goes into retail on June 29.

In case you haven't come across this gadget before, the Jawbone is a Bluetooth headset that uses a military-grade noise-cancelling system dubbed Noise Shield. Using the Noise Shield system, the headset can eliminate background noise and seamlessly adjust speaker volume throughout a call for uninterrupted and clearer conversations.

The Jawbone has already been out for a while, garnering quite a few accolades along the way, but riding the iPhone wave should help bring it into the hands of more consumers than any other marketing campaign could. It will be available in three colors - silver, red and black - and will go for US$119.99 a pop at Apple Stores.

iSkin is offering a new line of wireless devices for Apple's iPod. The newest addition to iSkin's line of iPod accessories, the "Cerulean" line, includes a transmitter, receiver and a headset.

The transmitter's called Cerulean TX. It's a plug and play stereo Bluetooth transmitter that connects to the iPod's dock connector. The TX works with the Cerulean RX receiver to send wireless audio to a speaker system. Users can also connect other devices that have headphone output through an auxiliary jack. The Cerulean TX and RX combo goes for US$ 149.99.

The Cerulean F1 headset, meanwhile, combines a Bluetooth stereo earphone with a mono mobile headset. It has a price tag of US$ 129.99 and is designed to work with both the Cerulean TX and a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone. Users can even have it connected simultaneously to the TX and a mobile phone. The F1 will automatically switch to headset mode when a call comes in.

iPod accessories have emerged like mushrooms in a rainy day nowadays. It seems that every day, a new thingamajig will come that promises to amp your iPod or to promise the user added convenience as if life isn't convenient enough. And now, to add to that long list of iPod accesories is the Tekkeon myTalker EY7000.

This has happened to you I bet, while listening to some tunes on your iPod with your earphones, your cellular phone rings. So what you do is take off the iPod earphones, put on a Bluetooth headset or just answer the phone. Pretty common occurrence right? The Tekkeon contraption promises to simplify that oh-so tedious and back-breaking process of clicking the pause button of the iPod, taking off the earphones, then answering the phone.

myTalker is a Bluetooth gateway that turns your iPod or MP3 player into a Bluetooth headset. It plugs into the earphone jack of your iPod, and then your earbuds or headphones plug into the myTalker. This one could redial, voice dial, reject a call, transfer call back to the phone, mute a call, put a caller on hold, answer call waiting, and initiate 3-way calling - the typical thing that a Bluetooth headset does. This will cost you $75 bucks, which is pretty hefty for a bluetooth headset.

If you're like me, you already have a bunch of wires cluttering up your desk. I've switched over to a wireless keyboard, wireless mouse, wireless headset, I've got wireless phones, wireless Xbox 360 controller, wireless PS2 controller, Wi-Fi router, two computers connected by wi-fi, wireless Xbox controller, my PSP is wireless and my DS is wireless, not to mention my Palm, and I still have a bunch of wires splattered all Natural Born Killers style on the floor, dead.

Well, even though the interference from all those devices is about to drive me damn wild, and I think I picked up a signal from beyond the dead last night while I was chomping down on turkey, I still like not having wires connected to all my stuff. Wireless is the wave of the future, man. And I'd like my iPod to be, too.

The fine folks over at ZDNet feel the same way. With two MP3 devices being unveiled at the CES in Las Vegas, they wonder if Apple might be close to announcing wireless compatibility for its next generation of iPods. Though the article said it would be convenient to be able to purchase music on the fly, I would actually be more interested in being able to transfer songs by wi-fi.

"I like the idea. The fact of a mobile device requiring a user to be stationary - such as being at home to sync- is counterintuitive. I mean, consuming music through a portable player is something usually done when you are in motion, right?"

Here's hoping that Apple has more than one trick rolled up its sleeve come Macworld next week.

[Via, ZDNet]