Archive for the ‘Music Gadgets’ Category
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)
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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)
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 |
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Those who are irremediably in love with their iPods or MP3 players, please raise their hands! Ok, there are many hands in the air, maybe more than I would have expected, but let me break a bad news to all of you out there: if you want to take your tunes swimming, scuba-diving, water-skiing or any other aqua sport, you won’t be able to take your device with you, because your precious iPod might instantly drown. So you’d better find something that is submersible so that you can swim with music in your ears. Literally.
Fortunately, the Soundwave from Freestyle Audio has you covered, as it is an MP3 player that can go underwater for about 10 feet. It is also shock-resistant, yet is lightweight enough to float in water. Freestyle Audio’s rugged and durable MP3 player redefines portable music. The world’s only waterproof and shockproof MP3 player is designed to fuel an active lifestyle, no matter the activity, intensity or destination. Wherever life may take you, the device allows you to bring your favorite music along for the ride.
This underwater MP3 player may not look as trendy or sophisticated as an iPod, but it’s durable and hearty. Its blue hard plastic shell with black rubbery buttons and grip is perfect for any outdoorsy adventurer. More than that, it can be used with supplied sizeable waterproof earbuds, because what’s the use of such a device if you don’t have the right headphones?
The Soundwave supports MP3, WMA and protected WMA (DRM) files and holds and plays up to 320 songs; the MP3 files can easily be downloaded using the USB interface. In addition, the device is compatible with Subscription Music Services, features an OLED screen to display track details, a FM radio tuner with channel presets, equalizer presets, a built-in rechargeable battery. The battery makes the Soundwave capable of up to 18 hours of playtime per charge.
Compatible with both PCs and MACs and requiring Windows ME/2000/XP/98 or Mac OS 9.6 and above, Soundwave has 2GB of flash memory and it’s also functional as a storage device for files other than music.
The package includes the MP3 player, waterproof earbuds with adjustable ear-wraps and three separated sized ear-pieces, a USB cable for charging battery and loading music and the user guide. So, if you’re the “water music” type of guy, you might enjoy this underwater MP3 player which can be purchased from Freestyle Audio’s official website for $89.95.
(Source coolest-gadgets.com)
Posted in Music Gadgets, Sound Gadgets | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 |
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There were plenty of rumors about the iRiver Spinn PMP since the day it appeared at CES 2008 (the Consumer Electronics Show, a trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada), but now it’s finally available for purchase in US markets. Even if it’s a little bit late, the iPod should be afraid, because there’s a new challenger in the game!
So, iRiver, the international digital device leader known around the world for its innovative designs, launched the Spinn MP4 Player, the distinctive metallic MP4 player with a brilliant 3.3-inches AMOLED touchscreen and unique spindle interface. After it aroused a confused murmur since its preview at CES 2008 with its striking design and impressive roster of capabilities, including video, music, FM radio, picture viewer, voice recording, wireless headset support over Bluetooth 2.0 and more, the Spinn MP4 player can now be yours.
Sean Oh, Head of US Operations for iRiver, said that “we wanted to create an one-of-a-kind, high-end digital device that is truly unique. The Spinn maintains iRiver’s signature simplistic design with a metallic silver, expensive look, but incorporates the new Spinn System Technology. The user has multiple options in navigating the device and can control the player using either the unique spindle interface, or the large 3.3-inches touchscreen”.
The Spin surely has the looks, but it’s way too expensive, especially when compared with the market-leading Apple player, which fetches only $10 more for double the capacity (the 16GB second-generation iPod touch is $299). On the other hand, the player also feels a bit cluttered: despite the touchscreen display, iRiver still included several buttons.
The sleek, silvery device measures 2 x 3.9 x 0.4 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.5 ounces; it’s much thicker than the iPod touch, yet its 3.3-inch, 460 x 272 pixel display is significantly smaller. You can do almost anything you need to do on the Spinn without using the touch screen, thanks partly to dedicated Power, Volume, Backward and Lock buttons, but more because of its innovative spinning cylinder control on the right-hand side of the player. The touchscreen is rarely required: you need it to select which mode you wish for connecting to your computer, for example.
The bottom panel of the player features the standard 3.5 mm earphone jack and the mini USB port, which is covered by a cap that swivels open and snaps shut. You also have the possibility to get the software from iRiver, which you can install and see if you prefer it over Windows Media Player. The bundled earbuds look a lot like those of Apple, with their white figure and the subpar-sounding. In addition, there is the stereo Bluetooth feature, so you can listen wirelessly through compatible A2DP headphones.
The Spinn recognizes MP3, WMA, ASF and APE formats, for audio, along with FLAC and OGG. As far as the video files supported are concerned, they include MPEG4 SP, WMV9 SP and XVID SP, while photo support extends beyond JPEG files, to BMP, PNG and GIF as well.
Photos – particularly those taken in 16:9 aspect ratio – look wonderful on the Spinn’s screen and the same goes for video; colors are bright and sharp. The FM and voice recorders are another two important features that require the use of the touch screen. You just have to tap on the record icon in order to begin and end and the resulting files are stored under an icon in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. The quality of the recordings can be adjusted and this is a very handy option, both recorders working intuitively. The radio has 20 programmable presets and is easy to tune using the cylinder.
The Spinn’s battery life is rated at 25 hours for audio and 5 hours for video and it’s available at iriverinc.com, and Amazon.com for $250, the 4GB player, and $290, the 8GB player.
(Source gizmodo.com)
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Monday, October 13th, 2008 |
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Since you’ve met him, you feel like having millions of butterflies in your stomach and you miss him like hell whenever you are apart, even if the last time you’ve seen his face was a few hours ago. You’ve never been so in love before and everything around reminds you of him. You start each and every day by listening to your favorite songs which relieve a bit your heart.
But wouldn’t be just spectacular if you got the chance to listen every morning to the same songs as he does? Well, in order to do this, the Twinned MP3 player is exactly what you and your significant other need. Designer Liberty Fearns has come up with the Twinned MP3 player: two devices that act as one, just like you and your better half, capable of holding only one playlist each, the same playlist as a matter of fact. When combined in that adorable spooning position, you can plug them into the computer to load your songs, but when you decide to break them apart, they will still function as standalone MP3 players and the playlist in each of them will be identical to each other, forever. This means they will only play back the tunes you and your partner have chosen together.
According to Liberty Fearns, the device is actually a treat for playlist lovers: “Have you ever heard a song on the radio that took you back to a specific time or event, which conjured real emotions connected to that time?”.
As far as the way this device works, the designer says that “Twinned MP3 players will play exactly the same music at any time. The unit must first be snapped in half in order to become functional, creating a formal ritual shared between two people. Music is uploaded to a shared online play list, which will only download new music when both MP3 players are in their docks, so that audio content always remains the same. Users build a soundtrack to their relationship, like a growing mixtape”.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather listen to the music I like and change it as soon as I get bored with it than synchronizing my playlist with my half. Call me crazy, but it would give me a slightly sense of freedom which I so very much be grateful for. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the comparison between the two MP3 players and the process of cell division or “mitosis”, whereby a cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei, is more than inspired.
Anyways, the concept is interesting and it’s better than having a tattoo with his name written inside a red arrowed heart, placed on my arm. The Two MP3 players are just a concept for now and there is no mention of basics like how to control the thing, price or availability. Moreover, the odds aren’t in the favor of this device go into mass production. So you’d better find something else in order to join your hearts when you are apart.
(Source Yanko)
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