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Cashing Out: Gear For When You Hit It Big

• Nathan Hurst via WIRED.com
 

Don't get us wrong; GoPros have a lot to offer. But at $400 or less, they hardly make you stand out. Instead, consider Gyro-Stabilized Systems' C520 camera mount. No, it won't fit on the end of your surfboard, much less your bike helmet. But you have a helicopter to mount it on, right? If not, for the price of this camera system you could buy a Raven II and flying lessons and still have money left over.

Plus, you've got a little time to save up. Gyro-Stabilized Systems partnered with Teton Gravity Research -- makers of high-def extreme sports videos -- for an exclusive release, and are speaking on a case-by-case basis with other interested buyers. The system they rigged up for Teton Gravity Research ran about $750,000.

The platform is designed to give five-axis stabilization to RED's latest camera, the Epic, a cinema-caliber rig that accounts for some $25,000 of the system's price tag and films at about four times the resolution of a GoPro. It's connected to a remote control system and comes with a 2-year warranty, though if you crash while using it, the camera's integrity will probably be the least of your problems.
 
 
 
  This Sapphire-Laden Luxury Headset Wants to Make Bluetooth Cool Again

We can’t promise anyone will notice it, or that if they do, they’ll do anything but laugh. But if you’ve got cash (a lot of cash) to spend and are interested in one last-ditch effort to make Bluetooth headsets cool again (good luck), there are still companies out there making high-end versions of the blocky, blinking earpieces.

In fact, luxury phone maker Mobiado just released a new one: their $360 m|Headset, made of aluminum, mother of pearl, and sapphire, came out in February. Yes, February 2013.

Sapphire crystal is actually a good material for electronics — it’s clear, and harder than even the strongest glass. It’s expensive, but has already started showing up in the screens of high-end phones, and could start trickling down to the screens of more ordinarily priced devices. Bluetooth headsets, however, have no screen. You wear a Bluetooth headset in a (likely misguided) attempt to express how important you are, which these days nearly guarantees you’ll be recognized as one who missed the progression of electronics in the last five years.

Chances are, if you’re spending $360 on a headset, that expression of pure wealth and lack of touch with reality might be just what you’re going for. Or maybe you think a few hundred isn’t that much for a Bluetooth headset. If that’s the case, there’s always the diamond-encrusted versions of Motorola’s $8,000 Motopure H12 and Plantronics’ $50,000 Discovery 925. And if you want to stand out at a more reasonable price, there’s always rhinestones.
 


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