The snowboarding, gadget-loving crowd have something to celebrate: the European division of sports gear retailer O'Neill will sell a snowboarding jacket with an MP3 player and a Bluetooth module, for those all important mountaintop mobile phone calls, integrated into the jacket.
The snowboarding jacket, called The Hub, features a chip module containing a full-featured MP3 player and a Bluetooth module for controlling a mobile phone, built by Infineon Technologies, using electrically conductive tracks woven into the fabric to connect the chip module to a fabric keyboard and built-in speakers in the helmet.
The jacket will be sold throughout Europe for about €500 (approx £310) by the end of August or the beginning of September, for O’Neill’s 2004/05 winter collection. Initially, the jacket will only be for men, though a version for women will probably become available the following season.
Tested to withstand snow, rain and freezing temperatures, the jacket's stereo system also works as the headset for making phone calls, with a microphone integrated in the jacket's collar.
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