While not entirely scientific, the pattern supposedly grabs a baby’s attention and holds it long enough to get a decent photo. ShutterBuddy’s PR team managed to cook up this gem: “The ShutterBuddy is a revolutionary new product that uses the science of infant vision development and pattern recognition to capture and hold a baby’s attention so that you can get a great picture.” Making your kid smile on command is another story, but I’ve heard things that squeak or jingle sometimes do the trick.

At $US20, the ShutterBuddy is cheapish. Could be worth a look if you’ve got a bunch of holiday greeting cards to send out this year. Oh, and a baby. [Shutter Buddy via CrunchGear]

That’s a fucking absurd number. You could almost wire your house with Ethernet cable for that amount. In fact, I’ll probably do that rather than pay $150.

Don’t get me wrong – I love my Xbox… It still hasn’t red ringed, and there are some great games out now and on the way. But $150 for wireless – that should be included with the hardware – is just absurd… Although it always has been – the current G adaptor costs the same amount…

[Microsoft]

[Haglöfs via Stilsucht via OhGizmo!]

[Dexim comp]
[T&Cs]

If I’m going to be honest, I kind of expected more from this contest: There aren’t many truly impressive drawings submitted as of now, and the current leader in votes is a virulent anti-Obama nutball creation that looks more like the bumper of an Alabama ute than an iPhone case. A drawing of Obama as Heath Ledger’s Joker? What does that even mean? You can’t be an anarchist and a socialist at the same time, they’re completely conflicting ideologies. Take a political theory class, Cardboard iPhone Case Drawing Man!

Anyway, I think there are enough badass illustrators among the Giz readership that could really bust out some impressive entries. I’d love to see what you guys can do — this contest is ripe for a Giz onslaught. Go forth, readers! [Case-Mate via CNET]

Yes, the study, published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, suggests that electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones “may have a harmful effect on bone density”. And you’ve already suffered with the shame that comes from wearing a belt holster for your phone. When will the bad news end? [HealthDay News via Textually]

About a month ago, Jabra sent a little bag out to its regular reviewers. Inside was a stone—a literal, polished stone—and that was it. It was a cheesy PR stunt, the kind we see all the time, but when I got the headset itself, it made sense. The Jabra Stone, when docked, is a near-seamless pebble, broken only underneath, at the headset’s hollowed-out ejection point. It’s a stunning headset, actually, which sounds weird coming out of my mouth. (Or fingers! Who’s counting.)

The Stone’s specs are appropriate to its pricepoint: it’ll pair in regular and A2DP modes for voice or music listening, respectively, has a minimalist status display, a noise-cancelling mic, volume controls—though here they’re managed with a touch-sensitive shell rather than buttons—and a charging dock. The claimed talk time is two hours per charge, and the dock is good for three extra charges. Standby time is a respectable, though not spectacular, 12 hours.

And to be honest, aside from eking out a little extra battery life over competitors’ products, there’s not a whole lot a company can do to make a Bluetooth headset technologically interesting. What they can do, and what Jabra has done with the Stone, is focus on style and feel. Bluetooth headsets look dumb, and they’re awkward to wear. The Stone is a headset designed with these thoughts in mind—it looks as not-dumb as a headset can; it feels as not-awkward as a piece of plastic in your ear conceivably could. It’s self-conscious, almost embarrassed for what it is.

Long-term testing might bear out some initial concerns about battery life and the practical convenience of carrying around a slippery little battery rock, but my first impressions were uniformly positive. The Stone paired almost instantly with an iPhone, a Pre and a Hero right out of the box, sound quality was clear, and three ears of varying shapes and sizes found the angled earpiece plenty comfortable.

The Stone will be available at AT&T stores from November 8th, priced at $US130 right alongside the Platronics Voyager. From the looks of it the Voyager edges out a win on battery life, but the fact that Jabra’s put even the tiniest bit of sex into their newest piece goes a long, long way. [Jabra]

You went potty all by yourself! Feel the same sense of achievement you did as a child with the Ecohime mobile phone strap while simultaneously concealing any unpleasant noises.

Actually, the sound emitted by Ecohime is supposed to be running water, but as our leader Jason Chen pointed out “it sounds like a standing ovation”. Hopefully, version 2.0 will embrace this theme with raucous applause and words of encouragement and praise. “I knew you had it in you!”, “Way to be #2!” and so on. [Strapya via Technabob]