Forget smartwatches, here's the connected hat
The Archos Music Beany is a woollen hat that plays music, and is joined by a smart Weather Station and musical lamp.
There's a lot of talk at the moment about wearable technology, smartwatches and the Internet of Things, but what I want to know is: where's my smart hat? Where's my connected cap? Finally, it's right here: the Archos Music Beany.
French manufacturer Archos has today revealed a number of connected smart devices that interact with the smartphone in your pocket. The Archos Weather Station and Archos Music Light respectively measure the weather and play your funky music while lighting up the room, and the Music Beany "combines the benefits of a headphone with the style and comfort of a traditional beany".
The Music Beany and Music Light both connect to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. The Beany is... well, it's a hat with headphones in. Could this be the first woolly wearable? And the Music Light is a 5W lightbulb that turns any light into a speaker, playing music streamed from your phone.
Both lamp and hat work with iOS, Android or Windows Phone devices. The Music Light costs £49, $49 or €50 (which converts to around AU$70, but Australian prices have yet to be confirmed) and the Beany £29, $39 or €30 (around AU$42).
And now, the weather
As well as enjoying the party atmosphere, budding meteorologists can monitor the make-up of the atmosphere with the Weather Station. Sensors measure the temperature, humidity, air quality, noise and atmospheric pressure indoors and outdoors, wirelessly recording data to iOS and Android devices. The Weather Station costs £99, $149 or €100 (around AU$140) and goes on sale in September.
The new connected devices join a handful of new smartphones and tablets unveiled by the French company. The 50b Platinum smartphone and 101 Oxygen tablet run Android, while the 40 Cesium is a Windows Phone smartphone and the 80 Cesium is a Windows tablet. All these new devices will make their public debut at IFA, the annual technology trade show in Berlin next week -- and we'll be on hand to bring you the first pictures, videos and hands-on first impressions of the coolest kit coming your way, so keep it CNET.