There are only a few days left in the gift-giving season, so in honor of the procrastinators in our midst (a group in which I proudly — or sadly — take part), I am spotlighting a few items that I think are great last-minute holiday gifts. Some will be universal products, others will be iPhone-centric — I am the iPhone editor, after all (but even if you don’t have an Apple handset, chances are good you have someone on your list who does). Either way, these are some of my favorite accessories on the market right now.
MoGo Talk for iPhone (3G/3GS)
SUMMARY: A surprisingly robust BT headset considering its crazy-thin, hinged body. Seems flimsy at first, but holds up well and delivers good audio for calls. And its home, embedded inside a cell phone case, ensures this earpiece is always at hand and accessible whenever needed. The only downside is that it’s not offered for more cell phones (but a couple of BlackBerry-compatible models are on the way.)
PRICE: $129
AVAILABILITY: MoGoStore
If you know the LG Decoy, then you’ll be familiar with the concept of a BT earpiece being housed in the body of a cell phone. Well, MoGo Talk took this concept and ran with it, offering headsets that are housed in the case for an iPhone 3GS/3G. (Models for both the BlackBerry Curve and Javelin are pending.)
The MoGo Talk for iPhone pops into and out of the case easily, and offers a shockingly good microphone and call audio, given its slim size. I was skeptical of the earpiece at first. I mean, it’s only 5 mm thin. And it's also hinged, so I was worried it could break at any moment. But I’ve been carrying this for two months now, and it’s still going strong.
Also, the earpiece doesn’t charge with the phone, so it doesn’t steal any extra battery life from the handset on the go. (It has a separate little port in the case that flips up, so users attach a separate mini-USB cable to charge the earbud.) It also pairs with up to five devices, which means I can use this with my laptop and any cell phone I happen to be carrying around that day. (Though the carry case itself only fits the iPhone.)
Back at CTIA, the ladies of MoGo Talk gave me a sample to try out. And in all honesty, of all the BT earpieces I tested, this is the one I use the most. Why? Because it’s the one I always have with me. And since it rides right on the back of the phone, it's the most accessible. (On a separate note, I kind of liked the "ooohs" and "aaahs" I got using this too. It's definitely an earpiece that got attention whenever I popped it out.)
Talk Time: 4 hours
Standby: 7+ days
Last, but not least: Part 5 covers the blinged-out rhinestone-studded PinkTooth by chicBuds. (Or click to go back to the Novero's TheFirstOne, the Jabra Stone and Halo, or Plantronics' Discovery 975 or Voyager Pro.)