Magneat wrangles your cables back to tidiness

Gadgets & Gizmos — By Matthew Bolton on March 7, 2010 9:00 AM

We like gadgets, here at Latest Gadgets. They’re sort of our raison d’être. I have our slogan – Life needs gadgets – tattooed on an unusual part of my body. Try to guess which bit; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

This obsession means we also like to look out for things that make gadgets better. A useful peripheral for our computer, maybe. A fancy tripod for our camera, perhaps. Definitely not iPod skins though – this most pointless of money spinner is the technological equivalent of buying an expensive, designer t-shirt and then taking it down to a cheap printer and replacing the pattern with an image of your distorted, manically-grinning face.

Today’s add-on is Magneat. Explained simply, this is a little magnetic button that keeps dangly things like headphones cables from iPods, MP3 players, mobile phones and the like under control. The little nub fixes to your clothes magnetically, meaning no holes in your precious Armani/face shirt, and has space for you to wrap the cord around it, before locking it in the slot on top.

In the words of the creators, the aim here is to “banish cable chaos”, which seems like an awfully strong phrase to use for a loose headphones cable, but we take their point that catching the wire on things (including your own oafish sausage fingers) is pretty annoying.

The single most obvious drawback with Magneat is that, despite its minimalist design, it’ll make you look like a bit of a tool. We’re hoping to get one to try out, but I don’t think I’d just wear it on a jumper or something (although it doesn’t look too bad on someone who’s running, but you can get away with all sorts when exercising, as you make everyone around feel guilty for their laziness). Having said that, I could definitely see myself popping one of these on the inside pocket of my coat or jacket and enjoying the smug satisfaction I would get from my newfound personal organisation.

“Magneat is the brainchild of Preggioni, an Icelandic design team with their ear to the ground …,” according to the press release. This probably explains why they keep getting their headphones caught on things. At least they’re doing something about it.

A Magneat will set you back £7.99 for standard versions, or more for special editions. You can find them here at Firebox.

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