Archive for the ‘Music Gadgets’ Category
Friday, November 28th, 2008 |
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I know lots of people who are crazy about the karaoke nights that take place every once in a while in some clubs, here in my hometown. Maybe they are all passionate about singing and they think this is a great way for them to make an old dream come true, or maybe they enjoy a little bit too much the feeling of being up on a stage, with the lights on them, receiving the applause of an enthusiastic audience.
Whatever might be their reasons, these karaoke nights are indeed a tremendous success, there’s no doubt about it. Segatoys, a Japanese company, knows how to make people happy with the products they release, especially those who can easily be called karaoke-obsessed. Therefore, last year, Sega introduced a karaoke service designed for cell phones, which was known under the name of Hitokara (which means “karaoke for one”). This is a free cell phone service that was based, at the beginning, on almost 35,000 free downloadable songs, but that number has increased to 43,000, which is impressive, you have to agree.
But Sega has no intention of behaving itself, so it’s now trying to convert, or maybe just to complete somehow the service’s cell phone karaoke label, with a brand new accessory, called the Hitokara for Home.
The device is no more, no less than a karaoke box that comes equipped with a microphone, built-in speakers and a disco mirror ball which is provided with blinking LED lights. The ball spins and shines brightly while you sing along with it your greatest hits. The disadvantage is that the system only connects to special karaoke-enabled mobiles in Japan, so there’s a pretty good chance for you to never see such a thing. Once you’ve downloaded songs from the Hitokara online collection, lyrics will appear on your phone’s display, so that you can get the words right.
The Hitokara Home Karaoke system is expected to retail for approximately $75 in Japan, starting this December.
(Source: Dvice)
Posted in Funny Gadgets, Music Gadgets | No Comments »
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 |
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I’m sure you all know that MP3 players are nothing new, especially those which are non-video playing brands like the iPod nano and the Creative Zen Stone. But it seems like Nextar is trying to get things further by releasing its MA588, otherwise known as the Peanut. The device is called this way due to its resemblance to a peanut, of course, and it’s available in both 1GB and 2GB capacity.
Nextar is a designer and marketer of bold and new consumer electronic products and is lending a hand to Santa Claus this Christmas with its uniquely designed peanut-shape MP3 player. Being only 2-inches long and available in a variety of colors, “the Nextar MA588 MP3 player is sure to delight any music lover who receives it as a gift or finds it in their Christmas stocking”, said Eddy Zheng, Nextar founder. “With one fresh AAA battery, it will provide up to 12 hours of continuous playback, making for an enjoyable, it not-so-silent, night”.
The MA588 MP3 player is available in five colors, such as black, pink, red, blue and silver and supports MP3 and WMA audio formats. It features voice-record capability and a removable flash-memory drive. There is also a folder navigation function that makes managing and accessing files very easy to accomplish.
There are also seven equalizer modes, like normal, pop, rock, classical, jazz, bass and soft that are meant to enhance your audio experience. Assorted play modes – normal, repeat one, repeat all, shuffle, intro, repeat folder, folder and random – provide plenty of listening options. User support is offered in seven languages, including English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
SRS WOW sound-effect technology significantly improves playback quality by creating an encompassing sound field with restored digital clarity and deep bass. Other features include a high-speed USB 2.0 interface, auto power off, a power-off timer and easy-to-understand graphic menus. It is especially designed for upgrading to future formats and features.
The package consists of the following accessories: an earphone, USB cable, one AAA battery, a Win98 installation CD and an instruction manual.
Measuring 2.7 x 1.3 x 0.7 and weighing less than half a pound, the Nextar MA588 MP3 player is available at Staples, Kmart, Bon Ton, Canadian Tire and other leading retailers across the US and Canada. The suggested retail price is $19.99 for a 1GB capacity and $29.99 for a 2GB capacity.
(Source: coolest-gadgets.com)
Posted in Music Gadgets | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 |
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Musicians out there! I’ve got great news for you about a brand new device that has just hit the market! You’ve got to trust me! Blackbird Guitars is now selling a nylon-stringed version of their Rider, unibody, carbon-fiber guitar that is slightly larger than the steel-stringed original.
The nylon-string guitar has remained largely unchanged since the 19th century. As a result, creating a travel-worthy nylon string required a complete rethinking. The Blackbird Rider Nylon is a humidity-proof and nearly indestructible carbon fiber instrument that challenges the notion of the guitar form with every aspect of its design serving to maximize resonance in a highly compact form.
If you’re a guitarist, then the guitar is the most important thing you own. This is why I suppose you know how important is for you not to risk your fragile classical guitar while on the road. More than that, substituting it with an inferior travel instrument isn’t the solution you’d prefer. But you can say goodbye to all of these disadvantages, because the Blackbird’s patent-pending, one-piece, hollow body, neck and head construction mark major departure from traditional guitar design. In other words, it transforms the entire guitar into a sound box – enhancing loudness, frequency-range and sustain.
To further increase the air volume of the sound box, the guitar’s right shoulder extends up to the tenth fret, dubbed the Soundscoop. The Soundscoop also serves as the ideal location for the sound hole, while creating more surface area on the ultra-thin carbon-fiber sound board which further increases tonal response.
A secondary sound port projects sound that travels from the soundbox through the hollow neck to the head. These innovations work in harmony to create seemingly physics-defying voice. “We have a holistic approach to achieve maximum resonance from curve-less shape to the 1/32 thick sound board. It’s a big sound, small body guitar without compromise: full scale, studio quality voice, nearly indestructible and fits in the overhead bin”, explains founder Joe Luttwak.
When the guitar was designed, very important aspects that were taken in consideration were the comfort and playability. The hollow neck contributes to greater physical balance while the sculpted back makes for a very comfortable seated playing position. For all the non-traditional design features, the 2-inch wide neck, super-premium Gilbert side-address tuners and wide string spacing translates to a familiar playing experience for the nylon string guitar player.
High-tech costs though, so this beautifully handmade Blackbird Rider Nylon string starts at $1899, while the smaller Rider steel-string starts at $1599.
(Source: Gizmodo)
Posted in Music Gadgets | No Comments »
Friday, November 14th, 2008 |
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Although I have always enjoyed music and there is no day to pass by without having all sorts of sounds invading my ears, I’m not what you could call a genuine dancer. It’s maybe because I’m a little bit shy and that makes me worry about what people might say. So I behave myself and I dance in front of the mirror if I ever have the mood to rhythmically move my body.
But I know quite a few people that will never miss a chance to just dance. Nothing left for me to do but dance. All these bad times I’m going through. Just dance! And just because it’s easy for them, they think that it must be easy for anyone. Well, let me break the news to you, it’s not easy and it surely isn’t an amusing way to spend your free time. Of course, if you’re the one who’s on the dance floor, making a fool of yourself.
The iBoogie is one of those devices that you may not need, but you will probably want, as it is designed to attach to your MP3 player using the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. There’s an LED stick figure that will do the dancing for you, getting its groove on to the music. In addition, the iBoogie doubles as a speaker, which would probably be the main reason that would make you but it, in the first place.
If dancing stick figures don’t impress you, that iBoogie might not be the thing for you. The stick figure is “sound responsive”, so I suppose it is in tune with music, and apparently has over 50 choreographed dance moves. Moreover, if you don’t have an MP3 player at your disposal, the iBoogie also includes the song Canned Heat built-in.
The iBoogie is powered by 3 AA batteries and it comes with some audio cable. It is compatible with most MP3 players including the iPod and all you have to do is to just plug it into the headphone jack.
To sum up, the iBoogie Speaker and Dance Machine for MP3 players includes: the iBoogie unit, 3 AA batteries, an audio cable, decal and instruction manual. You can order one from the HSN website for a surprisingly low price of $19.95.
(Source: gadgets.boingboing.net)
Posted in Music Gadgets | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 |
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Philips is back in the groove where MP3 players are concerned with the GoGear Luxe from its GoGear portable audio player range. Pay a little bit of attention to this device, because you might be fooled, at a first glance, into thinking that this is a miniature Nokia Prism handset from afar. Upon closer inspection, you’ll eventually realize that you can only use it to playback your favorite MP3 tunes only.
The sparkly, diamond-esque Philips Luxe MP3 player is a tale of contradictions, being something like a double agent. On the one hand, it’s an MP3 player with a mere 2GB of memory, 10 hours of battery life and a one-line LCD screen. On the other hand, it’s a feature-packed Bluetooth 2.1 handset, providing 100 hours of standby time, an FM radio, an excellent sound quality and built-in dual microphone to answer any incoming calls with active noise cancelling.
The music will automatically stop when a call comes in, so be careful about shouting out loud your System of a Down favorite song when your grandfather wants to hear your voice after a long time, because you didn’t bother to give him a call. Lucky you, the one-line LCD allows you to view the caller’s number at a glimpse, so you’ll have the time to stop your performance before answering the phone. In addition, the Luxe packs Philips’s proprietary FullSound for CD-quality of digitally compressed tracks; in other words, the technology cleans up audio compression artifacts.
The jewel-like outside of the player comes in red, silver and a likely future chromed shell, all of which help keep the player discreet when not in immediate use. Singapore will be the first country in Asia Pacific to get the Luxe next month, followed by Thailanda, Malaysia, India, China and Southeast Asia. Prices are set at the equivalent of about $94. No mention has been made of a North American release.
(Source gizmodo.com)
Posted in Music Gadgets | No Comments »