Waiting for a call?
You don’t have to put life on hold
Put on Plantronics’ new wireless headset and plug its Bluetooth audio adapter into a music device and you can listen to music while you wait. When your phone rings, the headset will stop playing the music and switch to phone mode, so you can take the call via the headset. The Pulsar 590A Bluetooth Stereo Headset has a wireless range of about 33 feet and comes with a universal adapter that can be plugged into cellphones, portable music players, televisions, computers and other devices.
Cost: $250
www.plantronics.com
Device analyzes fitness regimen
Walkers can keep tabs on their progress with WalkStyles’ new DashTrak. Designed to be worn on your waistband, the device tracks how many steps you take, the distance walked, the calories burned, your heart rate and your speed. It can store eight weeks of data, can display information on its LCD screen and can be connected to a computer with a USB port. It costs $129. A $40 transmitter strap is needed for the heart-rate monitor. Need more input? You can also subscribe to the DashTrak Wellness site for $9.95 a month. The site analyzes data downloaded from the device and provides fitness tips and interaction with other walkers.
www.walkstyles.com
Disc-Go-Pod Plus repairs discs
Do you have damaged DVDs, CDs or video games? If the answer is yes, the cleverly named Disc-Go-Pod Plus could very well be worth its $495 price tag. The sturdy machine is powerful enough for commercial use but simple enough for home users who are willing to pay a premium to salvage heavily damaged discs in all formats containing favorite tunes, photos, games and movies.
www.discgotech.com
Turn electrical outlet into another home Ethernet connection
Need to expand your home network to make room for an extra PC, a video-game console or digital video recorder? Netgear’s Wall-Plugged Ethernet Switch can simplify the task. The setup is easy: Connect one switch to your network’s router and plug it into a wall outlet. Plug another switch into an electrical outlet and connect it to one to four Ethernet-ready devices. The four-port switches can transfer data at speeds up to 85 megabits per second over your home’s existing electrical network. Each switch (model XE104) costs $100.
www.netgear.com
