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Zegna Sport integrating ElekTex controls in Bluetooth iJACKET

Darren Murph — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:15:00 EST

If you're fairly confident that you've seen an iJacket from Zegna before, you'd be right, but the case-sensitive iJACKET is upping the ante by including Bluetooth along with Eleksen's ElekTex smart fabric controls. Dubbed "communication clothing," the coat will reportedly enable users to "use their cellphone and simultaneously listen to music on their iPod," which is sure to result in quite a few incomprehensible conversations. Nevertheless, wearers will be able to mange both their handset and DAP through a "sleek control embedded in the jacket sleeve," and you can even expect the music volume to decrease when you receive an incoming call. Of course, all these luxuries won't come cheap (especially on a Zegna), but even we think "starting at $1,700" is a bit extreme.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables, Wireless

Zegna Sport integrating ElekTex controls in Bluetooth iJACKET originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eleksen intros FM Radio, iPod, and Bluetooth smart fabric modules

Darren Murph — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:42:00 EST

Eleksen's newest "Common Interface" technology doesn't do you much good without modules to interact with it, so the company has introduced a bevy of accessories that play nice with the next-generation embeddable ElekTex sensor. Up first is an FM radio add-on, which offers consumers access to FM broadcasts either from a commercial radio station or FM transmitter, and is fully controlled by an ElekTex fabric sensor integrated into any garment or knapsack. Next up, we've got "updated electronics modules for iPod and iPod+Bluetooth devices," and while details are certainly slimmer on this one, we do know that the sensor is "programmable and compatible with a range of electronics including iPods, smartphones and other personal digital devices." Now, let's see some end products with this stuff in it, capiche?

Read - Eleksen's FM Radio module
Read - Eleksen's iPod, Bluetooth modules

Filed under: Portable Audio, Wireless

Eleksen intros FM Radio, iPod, and Bluetooth smart fabric modules originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 18:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eleksen's double-sided fabric keyboard

Paul Miller — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:49:00 EST

We must've brushed right past this thing while we were drooling all over those new phones at 3GSM, but Eleksen recently introduced a new fabric keyboard, and this one has a bit of a twist to it. Along with being rather diminutive, the QWERTY keyboard can be flipped over on the fly to use specific function keys on the opposite side, such as media controls and a numeric keypad. That's pretty much the whole story here, no word yet on price or availability, but we're looking forward to taking this one for a spin (literally) whenever it does show up on the market.

[Via TRFJ]

Filed under: Peripherals

Eleksen's double-sided fabric keyboard originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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G-Tech kicks out Bluetooth-enabled iPod backpack

Darren Murph — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:15:00 EST

Similar to another company we're familiar with, G-Tech has hit it big by slapping iPod-compatibility onto an otherwise drab offering, and now the company has upped the ante by tossing in Bluetooth. Unveiled at CES, the self-proclaimed Next-Generation Messenger Bags with Bluetooth feature the same Eleksen ElekTex smart fabric controls right on the strap, but these controls now control the track / volume functions of your dock-connecting iPod as well as the volume / mute of your phone. The Bluetooth functionality simply allows users to easily mute their iPod to take an incoming call, and the built-in speaker can also pump out the jams (rather meekly, we assume) with any audio device that connects via a 3.5-millimeter cable. There's no word on price or availability, but if you're really dead set on owning an iPod-controlling pack, might we suggest one that doesn't look like an early '90s experiment gone awry?

[Via Textually]

Filed under: Cellphones, Peripherals, Portable Audio, Wearables

G-Tech kicks out Bluetooth-enabled iPod backpack originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eleksen slaps SideShow on a messenger bag

Paul Miller — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:20:00 EST

SideShow ain't just for laptops anymore, Eleksen just grabbed a few of its nifty "ElekTex" fabric controls, a 2.5-inch LCD, and some SideShow functionality and pasted it all onto a hip little messenger bag. The SideShow module can communicate with your laptop via Bluetooth or USB, and the unit supports MP3 playback, photo albums, videos and more, beamed straight off your laptop's on-board memory cache. We spotted a non-working prototype of this thing last night, so be sure to check out those pics after the break.

[Via Carrypad]

Continue reading Eleksen slaps SideShow on a messenger bag

Filed under: Laptops, Wearables

Eleksen slaps SideShow on a messenger bag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eleksen's fabric keyboard / UMPC case in the wild

Darren Murph — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 07:11:00 EST

The fabric keyboard gurus over at Eleksen are apparently moving forward with its colorful fabric keyboard / UMPC case hybrid, which would add another clever offering to its already sleek Bluetooth and bendable options. While we the knew the company was eying opportunities to bring the vivid peripheral to market one way or another, it appears that Glen Evans of PocketPC Solutions has had the pleasure of testing out a working prototype of the aforementioned accessory with his very own TabletKiosk eo. His seemingly positive remarks suggested that it produces "an audible click when a key is pressed, and that it's very usable on a daily basis," which admittedly might not be all that long given the meager battery life in most UMPCs. While we're still not sure if Eleksen is looking to pump these out under its own name or offload the task to a willing OEM, be sure to click on for another shot of the cloth-based keyboard in its electric green glory.

Continue reading Eleksen's fabric keyboard / UMPC case in the wild

Filed under: Handhelds, Peripherals, Tablet PCs

Eleksen's fabric keyboard / UMPC case in the wild originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Oct 2006 07:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPod suit, for slacking off at work

Evan Blass — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 05:44:00 EST

We've seen endless varieties of clothing designed to integrate with your iPod, and most of them do appear to offer either added functionality (see: all the jackets for gloved-hand control) or some modicum of security (see: Thomas Pink's shirt and tie). But a new set of duds from men's clothier Bagir -- appropriately named the iPod suit -- however, seems to be more of a solution that's looking for a problem. What make this suit so special are the soft, integrated buttons from Eleksen (creators of those fabric keyboards), which allow you to stealthily control your 'Pod from the inner lining -- because, you know, actually pulling out your DAP to change tracks during a board meeting is like totally gauche. Seriously, though, if you're really in a situation where you absolutely can't extract your iPod from its confines, it would seem that an in-line remote would work just as well -- and if you snatch up Apple's version, you even get an FM tuner to boot. Plus, if you're picking out your suits based on how high-tech they are and not how good they look, well, you've probably got more problems than the iPod suit can solve, anyway.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Wearables

The iPod suit, for slacking off at work originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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