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What the wired executive is wearing at the Consumer Electronics Show

by Guy Kewney | posted on 10 January 2002


Did you just drop this? It's your phone. I think it fell out of your pocket when you bent over to tie a shoelace. Oh, and this PDA? Yours?

Guy Kewney

For the mobile exec, it is no longer enough just to look smart. You have to carry the gear. And our clothes will have to adjust.

My guess is that the wireless headset we will want to own, won't look like the rather weird Ericsson "Borg" spike. Instead, it will look like a casual waist-coat, or "vest" as Americans call it. And I've seen one - at the Consumer Electronics Show in the US, which nearly suits me.

<1/> The eVest

<1/> e-contents

Here's what it looks like; and on the right, you can see what is inside it.

It's long been apparent that a single jacket pocket is out of date in a high-tech world. With phone, PDA, hands-free speakerphone, and digital camera all routinely carried even by smart, suited executives, this ScotteVest is exactly what we all need.

It was invented by lawyer Scott Jordan, who got tired of the cable tangle of all his devices. He calls it an eVest, and so his web site is http://www.scottevest.com. It will work with ordinary, wired-up electronic gadgets, but I think it will come into its own when we're all Bluetooth enabled.

Something like this would make a perfect Personal Mobile Gateway, too

Even with substantial batteries built into the seams, it would still feel like a medium-weight jacket.

Cost is $99; shipping is a socking great $55 on top of that! - so let's hope Scott finds a UK agent, and quickly.