You know that feeling you get when you tap your chest above your heart and intone, imitating Sir Patrick Stewart’s voice as closely as you can, “Report, Number One”?
No? Just me?
Oh….
In any event, the FameTek gadget geniuses are making one of Star Trek: The Next Generation fans’ fondest dreams a reality with this multifunctional, Bluetooth-powered replica of the Starfleet combadge!
A Combadge For The (Future) Ages
When the original ST:TNG creative design team wanted a communicator for the 24th century, they ditched the classic (and prescient) “flip phone” device Kirk and Spock had used in favor of a smaller, touch-activated unit that doubled as uniform insignia. (Initially, they considered bringing back Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s wrist communicators, missing their chance to presage smart watches by three decades.)
As Larry Nemecek points out in The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, the new combadge also incorporated a “personal monitor tied in to the ship’s computer, not unlike the perscan biomonitor buckles of the first film”—so its loss or removal led to plenty of drama regarding various characters’ whereabouts or well-being over the series’ seven seasons.
And since it was shaped like the “Starfleet delta,” the combadge carried plenty of symbolic weight. Worf alone took it off more than once to signify his (temporary) rejection of Starfleet authority and values.
The combadge was used in all of the “Next Gen” cast’s feature films, as well as throughout the runs of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-99) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001). It gives the classic Star Trek communicator a run for its quatloos as the franchise’s most recognizable piece of talk tech.
Making the Combadge So
While FameTek’s Bluetooth Communications Badge won’t patch you in to the bridge of a Galaxy-class starship, it will give you hands- and ear-free, voice-activated operation of your smart phone, tablet or computer via Bluetooth® 4.2.
Make and receive calls, listen to emails and text messages, play and pause your Trek-themed playlist (or more earthbound music, if you insist) – even talk to Siri, Google Now, or Cortana and pretend you’re querying the U.S.S. Enterprise’s computer – with ultimate ease.
Your combadge is compatible with third-party apps, so you can use maps to chart your course and translation (not yet “universal,” but who knows?) to make contact with any strange new life you encounter along the way.
And, of course, you can wear it on your chest around the office (its USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides two hours’ constant usage) or at the next con (it runs 48 hours in cosplay mode), producing that signature electronic “chirp” whenever you feel the need to signal for an emergency beam-out!
Order your combadge today! Don’t let the The Next Generation’s 30th anniversary year pass you by without adding FameTek’s Bluetooth Communications Badge to your Star Trek accessories.
(And don’t stop talking like Captain Picard. We’ll never tell!)
