A European company prepares the launch of Bluetooth enabled gloves, which might prove to be quite useful for the most talkative of us in the colder months.
Hi-Fun, as the Italian developer of this product is called, concluded that handling Bluetooth headsets with the gloves on in the winter is a very tedious task. At the same time, removing the gloves to answer a call on the headset would undoubtedly cause some discomfort. The solution imagined by Hi-Fun is a pair of gloves out of which one features a speaker in the thumb and a microphone in the pinky. How is it used? Well, if you know the hand gesture people make when saying “Give me a call!”, using Hi-Call, the Bluetooth enabled gloves, is a no-brainer.
Would you call Hi-Fun’s idea a theft if I told you that the same concept has been put in practice by a San-Francisco-based Instructables member, way back in March 2011? Of course, Hi-Fun perfected the product and will soon mass-produce it, but the spark that generated everything comes from someone else.
As said, the gloves include a speaker in the thumb and a microphone in the pinky, with all the necessary wiring in-between. Near the wrist, on the exterior of the hand, there are 2 buttons and an indicator. Obviously, the buttons are used for accepting or rejecting calls. A mini-USB to USB cable is provided for charging the device. According to the manufacturer, it should operate within a 12m range. The battery is stated to last for up to 24 hours in stand-by and up to 20 hours of conversation.
In the pictures it might not be evident, but when you put these gloves on, the tips of the thumb and pinky will seem a bit enlarged. That might make you look a bit like E.T. Now, if you want to phone home, you know what to do!
The Italian developer presented its product at the end of August at the IFA tradeshow in Berlin and promises to ship the Hi-Call gloves in the beginning of October. The gloves will be available in black or grey, for both genders, and will cost €49.99, which is a tad steep, even for some useful gloves, like these. Below you can watch Brian Heater from Engadget testing the gloves at IFA.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGXC9bbukkY&w=600&h=338]
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