IPEVO ST-4RT.1 Universal Handset

Cool Yule Rating: 5 stars

Price: $14.99

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Cool Yule Rating: 5 stars

Price: $14.99

Product Web site

Description: The built-in speaker and microphone in most notebook PCs are pretty bad, and neither is usually suitable for anything other than, well, not much. But you can quickly remedy the problem with this handy handset from IPEVO.

The handset is simplicity itself – a sort-of stylish bar with the usual speaker and microphone plugs. It's pure analog, plus a volume thumbwheel. No drivers. The truly amazing part? It sounds great.

You can use it with Skype or any audio application, and even dictate notes. You can also use it with text-to-speech and speech recognition applications, although the latter would work best in a quiet environment, because there's no noise-cancellation at work here. But hey, what do you expect for 15 bucks? This device is highly recommended for the technologically challenged (there's nothing better than a tech gift that just works), and everyone else.

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