Maybe it's just because we had a rough weekend, but we've yet to piece together what the purpose of this device is. Officially, it's a novelty cigarette pack-shaped earphone headset for Nokia / Samsung / Sony Ericsson mobiles. That's to say it enables you to just talk into the pack rather than into your phone. At just $6.79, we'd love to say this would at least make a good gag gift, but honestly, we can't figure out what's to "get." Hmmph.

[Via Gearfuse]

We saw a couple versions of the iControlPad iPhone gamepad surface back in May, but it looks like the clever add-on is getting close to reality -- check out these case prototypes that just popped up. Yeah, it's not, uh, small -- good thing the target price is under $30. Touch Arcade also has some other pictures of another iPhone gaming accessory that looks like it slides open, check it out at the read link.

Contrary to what Zeemote is implying with its latest release, this isn't the first time we've seen a handset maker embrace (as in, literally hug) its JS1 Bluetooth controller. Nevertheless, the Zeekey application will enable S60 device owners to play N-Gage games and control S60 apps with the aforementioned JS1. We're told that the program will come pre-loaded on "featured handsets as special gaming bundles," though it'll also be available by its lonesome on Nokia's website. If only you could work up the will to actually buy that JS1, you'd be in business.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Here's a little Espoo humor for you: offer a crazy-expensive limited edition of the N96, make buyers think they'll be getting it early, and when they don't, ship them stereo Bluetooth headphones as a consolation prize which -- wait for it -- you need a phone (like that unshipped N96, for example) to use. Whatever, we suppose it's better than getting a cold shoulder, but the silver BH-503s getting shipped to at least some of the Face The Task buyers sure aren't a substitute for the real deal.

The follow-on to Motorola's sporty and moderately popular (for a stereo bluetooth headset, anyway) S9 may not have launched yet -- a disappointment, considering the original plan for a Q2 release when it was announced at CES -- but perhaps a little last-minute paint job was the reason for the delay. We've now spotted the S9-HD in a bright white getup with blue accents, a far cry from the black of the model shown at CES (and presumably still slated for launch) or the red of the original, but let's not kid ourselves: this one has a way better chance of finding its way into an ear canal or two. Hopefully we'll see it within a few weeks -- just in time for a successor to be launched at CES 2009, no doubt.

It's not that Sprint's AIRAVE is minty fresh -- as a matter of fact, individuals in Indianapolis and Denver were able to pick one up last September -- but the device is brand new to the rest of the nation. The long-awaited CDMA femtocell (once dubbed the Samsung Ubicell) essentially acts as a super in-house signal booster, or, if you'd prefer, a mini Sprint tower sitting right beside your router. If the concept is ringing a bell, it's because you've certainly seen a similar setup with T-Mobile's @Home service. So, the real question here is can the AIRAVE really help your reception? And more importantly, is it worth the extra coin? Read on to find out.

Sprint's AIRAVE signal booster isn't officially on sale nationwide just yet (August 17th, for those curious), but for those anxious to pull the trigger (or merely mulling the decision), we've got a few hands-on shots to whet your appetite. The Samsung-made CDMA femtocell arrived at our doorstep today, and the packaging is about what you'd expect from Sprint: yellow, a hint of white, and more yellow. The device itself isn't too unwieldy, and it's certainly on the light side. There's definitely a port for hooking up a GPS antenna to keep users from taking this abroad and dialing up internationally (understandable, but what a bummer!), and everything else is pretty much par for the course. We'll be taking this thing for a spin here in a Sprint dead zone to see if it really lives up to the hype, but until then, feel free to peruse the gallery below.

Apple's experimented with allowing iTunes to stream over the internet as well as your LAN in the past and quickly removed the feature (probably due to RIAA pressure), so we're not placing too much stock in this, but AppleInsider's unearthed a patent that seems to describe a way to stream music over the 'net to your iPhone / iPod touch. The goal is to prevent you from having to selectively sync content to your device -- instead, you'd sync just the metadata and stream whatever you wanted direct from your machine as though it was all stored locally. There are some obvious problems here -- it wouldn't work if you didn't have service (or over EDGE, really), most home upstream connections aren't that fast, etc., etc., -- but it's certainly interesting, and a welcome addition to local storage if it ever makes the scene. In the meantime, how about working in some of those new UI elements from the Remote app into the iPod app?

[Via Macrumors, thanks Mark]

Sure, we just saw the Celio REDFLY unboxed last month, but come on -- you know you really wanted one of the Foleo-like WinMo "companions" all to yourself, and now you can have one -- for $499. Yep, 5 bills to use WinMo 5 or 6 on an 8-inch screen -- and you can't use it at all if you don't have your phone. Or, you could spend your money on something 1000x more useful and get one of the million netbooks that have been released since this thing was first announced, but hey -- don't let a silly thing like common sense stand between you and your phone's desire to be loved. One more short unboxing vid after the break.

Talking while driving just got a little more expensive on the west coast. Legislation went into effect last month in California and Washington requiring the use a headset of some sort. California's law was passed way back in 2006, yet most would-be good citizens waited until the absolute last minute to comply, with sales of Bluetooth headsets surging to four-times the national average in the months prior according to the NPD Group. Still, 7,182 citations were handed to naughty Californians in July. Up north only 100 were nabbed, as Washingtonian drivers can't be pulled over unless they commit some other violation as well, making headset use there a little more ... optional, so long as you lay off the throttle, Speed Racer.

For many, dropping $199 / $299 on an iPhone 3G (provided you actually locate one not hidden behind a 4+ hour line) is enough. For those who fell head over heels with the original iPhone dock, it's not. Here's your chance to send 29 more US bucks Cupertino's way, as the official iPhone 3G Dock is now on sale at Apple's website. Oh, and if you're really a sucker, you'll lay down 9 whole US dollars for a 3-pack of iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapters to slip your new mobile into a Universal Dock.

Update: So apparently these have been in Apple stores since day 1. Considering just how long it'll take to get in one, though, this whole "online route" is still probably your best bet.

[Via Wired]

Read - Apple iPhone 3G Dock
Read - iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack

See what it's come to Bluetooth SIG? Headset-to-cellphone pairing is so utterly baffling to average consumers that they are now handing over a Hamilton at Best Buys in California (in support of the new hands-free calling law) just to avoid the procedure. Eight years after the launch of the world's first Bluetooth headset from Ericsson, this is where we're at. Still, at $10, consider it a bargain -- that's half of what Best Buy will charge you for the already free-to-download (and free to ship on CD) Ubuntu OS.

[Thanks, Tarek]