Fashion

It's not unusual for companies to recycle their marketing pitches for Valentine's Day, desperate to clear inventory that didn't sell over the holiday season. But some are stretching the concept of romantic gifts to ridiculous extremes.

We thought an e-book reader was an odd choice, not to mention the ill-advised "Sonic Bomb" Valentine. But then we heard of Lexar's idea to engrave its $73 "JumpDrive Lightning" with some romantic message.

"Pre-load it with a few of your significant other's favorite love songs. Throw on some photos of the two of … Read more

We can hardly blame the people at Plantronics if they've gotten tired of making and remaking headsets. But the last thing we would have guessed they'd get into is clothing. Not just T-shirts, mind you, but apparel with built-in technologies that can be used with media players and mobile phones.

Its new line is being marketed through a partnership with Quiksilver and Roxy--and, judging by the names of the first three products, Plantronics has deferred to the judgment of the apparel industry's marketing reps as well: the "Pulse Helmet" and "Double Daffy Snow Jacket&… Read more

Another high school reunion is just around the corner. After the last one, you vowed to do whatever it takes to rid your body of the scourge of modern physiology: cellulite. Desperate times call for desperate measures--so enter the "CelluBike."

We honestly have no idea what to make of this monstrosity. It looks like some kind of futuristic flight simulator or MRI chamber. As we understand it, you peddle the bicycle while a "certified technician" points a bunch of infrared lights at your "problem areas." Then, according to its Web site, thermal energy "… Read more

The Swiss company Pat Says Now deserves attention just for its name, which always reminds us of Right Said Fred. (Who knew they were still around? We were sure they were a one-hit wonder.)

Anyway, Pat Says Now has drawn even more attention to itself with the "Diamond Flower," which it describes as "the world's most expensive computer mouse" at more than $24,000. We'd be afraid to make that claim, given all the insane bling on the personal technology market, but it does have 59 diamonds accenting an 18k white gold casing with … Read more

Somewhere, ghosts of IBM's past are spinning in their graves. ColorWare is bringing 28 hues--including pink, purple, yellow and bright orange--to laptops from Lenovo that were once produced under the nameplate of Big Blue, that most buttoned-down of corporate establishments.

Laptoping says ColorWare applies its "X2 scratch-resistant liquid plastic coating" to Lenovo's "ThinkPad T60" laptops, whose features include an Intel Core 2 Duo processors, 1GB of memory and a DVD burner. But it's the complex coloring process that draws the most attention: "The X2 coating is applied to the laptops and … Read more

We've developed an intense dislike for the overuse of Bluetooth headsets, as they seem to encourage obnoxiously loud talking in public places. But if people insist on grafting them to their skulls, the least they can do is wear ones that look good. Bluetake meets that challenge with its latest offering. Gadgeteer wasn't thrilled with the performance of the BT400GL, which the company describes as "one of the smallest and lightest headsets on the market," but did note an important style point for fashionistas: It comes in "girly flashy pink and manly silver."

If you're not a huge fan of Bill Gates or Michael Dell, then whose signature should adorn your personal technology? Why, your own, of course--and you don't have to break the bank doing it. As Chip Chick points out, you can get a custom-engraved USB drive for $15 to $70 (512MB to 4GB) from Pexagon. You can further personalize your key from an assortment of colors, including black, gray, blue and, of course, pink. After all, as Time pointed out last year, the most important person is you.

A lot of companies want to sew their technology into the fabric of luggage or clothing, trying to make it as unobstrusive as possible. Not Lifepod. Its "Beat Generation" line of bags, backpacks and cases does just the opposite, as you can see Tech Digest and its Web site: Lifepod's line trumpets--blasts, actually--its technology in the form of its sound system, both visually and aurally, with big speakers and other equipment mounted unapologetically on the sides of retro-style products done in psychedelic, disco and bowling themes (our personal favorite). If they can figure out how to play … Read more

LG blew it. Weeks ago, we showed you some leaked photos of its Prada touch-screen phone, which appeared to have some groundbreaking features, but the company remained mum. Now, as the obsession with the iPhone continues to dwarf any other product in the entire communications industry, LG has decided to make it official with a relative whimper.

The Prada phone will also debut in Europe and Asia long before it hits U.S. shores--like so many of the fashion house's clothing lines. (At least it's being consistent.) Engadget says it has a 3-inch display and a 2-megapixel camera … Read more