Product Page [via Electronista]

Sirius Store [Via Bargainist]

Be warned: while all the other sheep are gushing about the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit, I have a gripe. I have the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit and the accompanying Nike Moire shoes, and I like those shoes better than the sensor, which can't seem to figure out how far or fast I'm walking. Maybe it's just for runners, but for walking the thing is wildly inaccurate, even to the point of being insulting. It's no fun to walk 5 miles and some worthless dumbass thingamajig says I only walked 2.6. Walkers: avoid. – Charlie White

Use the Nike + iPod Sports Kit with any shoes [Sci Fi Tech]

This is not a bad idea for the latest scratch-resistant iPods, freeing them from those dog-ugly cases and tidying up that cable mess until someone invents an ultra-tiny Bluetooth earbud system that actually works. – Charlie White

Product Page [neat.products]

Why all the commotion over the lowly, simple shuffle? Here are the top five reasons why you might choose it over the nano, or any other digital audio player, for that matter, especially if you're interested in active outdoor activities this winter:

1. It has a clip on it. This is better than a lanyard, because you can clip it wherever you want: on your shirt sleeve, on your lapel, on a pocket, on your earlobe, and even on the zipper flap of a jacket.

2. Its controls are not touch-sensitive like the nano. If you've been out on a walk in the cold weather, you'll know that the nano can't be controlled with a gloved hand. Not so with the shuffle, which can be easily manipulated with even the thickest gloves on. Great for cold weather outdoor activities.

3. It's tiny. It's hard to imagine just how small the shuffle is until you've held one in your hand. It's literally the size of a postage stamp. It's 1 5/8" wide and 1 1/16" tall and it's 3/8" thick including the clip. Sure, there's no screen, but if you have a playlist in a particular order, or a lineup of podcasts you want to hear on a long walk, who cares?

4. It's cheap. At $79, it lowers the barrier of entry to using the iPod complement of features, the best of which is the iTunes Music Store which has a tremendous selection of DRM music that's easily cracked, and the whole system works well with all of Apple's players.

5. It's not a Zune. If you're thinking of giving a digital audio player as a gift, few people ever get pissed off because they received an iPod. Its graceful unboxing experience alone is enough to warm the cockles of even the coldest Apple hater's heart. – Charlie White

Review: Apple iPod Shuffle (2nd Generation) [Consumer Electronics Net]

Our $4,249 came with 2GB of RAM, a 100GB hard drive, and an overclockable T7600 CPU, making it the most powerful HD notebook out there. Pound for pound, the M1710 is one giant that won't be taken down easily. The laptop is identical to previous XPS M1710s. It has Dell's LightFX technology (ambient lights that glow from the side and front of your notebook), a full-size keyboard, and Dell's MediaDirect software, which mixes work with play by letting you access media files and office files (like calendars and PowerPoint slides) without booting up the OS.

A few major nitpicks. There's no HDMI out for connecting the laptop to your HDTV and there's still no TV tuner (that's optional). The inclusion of both would have made the notebook irresistible. With a $3,699 starting price (that includes a Blu-ray drive), this XPS delivers far more features for the price than you can find in any other HD notebook. – Louis Ramirez

$3,699 (starting price w/ Blu-ray drive)
$3,974 (with T7600 CPU)
$4,249 (with overclockable T7600 CPU)

Dell [Product Page]

The VAFOR Tech CUF271 ranges in sizes from 128MB to 2GB and festively features Santa sliding down the chimney while tucking away the USB port. And an LED indicator flashes like Rudolph at a Christmas party while the drive transfers data. At last, a classy way to give Internet porn for Christmas. No word on pricing. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via ohgizmo]

My recommendation: avoid the portable players and stick with a car receiver. I personally use the Sirius Sportster 4 and it is amazing. – Travis Hudson

2006 Satellite Radio Gift Guide [Orbitcast]

Okay, so now that we have the hardware problem solved, what about PSP navigation software?

We heard about a company called Edia that was the first to create GPS software for the PSP, but that was just for Japan so far. There's also been talk of MAPLUS navi software (pictured below) shipping this month, but as you can plainly see, that's a Japanese product as well.


GPS navigation software is just the beginning of the fun for the PSP, though. Its GPS attachment will also be used for games such as Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (see screen shot below) giving you location-specific maps that blend on-screen gameplay with the real world. That means you'll be able go to specific locations to meet up with your enemies. Could be dangerous, or at least risky to that pasty-white complexion.

There's also an upcoming golf title called Everybody's Golf Course (see screen shots below), and GPS comes into play as you're on a real-life golf course, giving you location feedback.


We'll keep rummaging around, looking for software release dates for this now-available PSP GPS hardware device. – Charlie White

GPS Receiver [Play Asia]

These little portable speakers, available December 11 for $26, remind us of the Boomtube speakers that have proven themselves invaluable in our adventurous outdoor jaunts in warmer climates, but then those lightweight yet cradle-rocking 40-watt babies cost $155. They're not nearly as pretty as these, but who cares; it's the sound that counts, and you get what you pay for. Usually. – Charlie White

Brightonnet Tube Speaker for iPod [FarEastGizmos]

The HomeDock Pro from DLO does what the TuneCommand from Belkin doesn't by allowing music to also be controlled via the television. No word on pricing, but it is likely to push the $100 range, easily. – Travis Hudson

DLO Offers HomeDock Pro [iLounge]

But hold on a minute here. The dock for the shuffle is so tiny, it's not a whole lot bigger than this USB attachment. But then, there are those messy wires to deal with, so I guess it actually might be worth the $6.

By the way, I've been clipping a shuffle onto my coat for the past week on my daily constitutionals, and there's something indescribably wonderful about it, especially for listening to a daily group of podcasts. Maybe I don't hate the iPod so much after all. – Charlie White

Product Page [Incipio, via CrunchGear]

The only downside is the price, which runs at $179. Not cheap, but since when has being lazy ever been cheap? – Jason Chen

Product Page [Keyspan via Chip Chick via Uber Gizmo]

Product Page [ShopNBC]

For no reason in particular, Creative decides to release an upgraded 1.60.01 firmware to reinstate FM recording. At first we thought the RIAA was pressuring Creative to remove the feature, but would the RIAA de-pressure them? When's the last time they relented?

In any case, if you were unlucky enough to upgrade to the gimped firmware, go and grab 1.60.01 and re-activate your FM recording. – Jason Chen

Download Site [Creative via i4u]

We have the Acrylic Case, the Folio Kickstand Case, and the Holster Case. Our review results, in scrambled order, are so-so, great, and decent. Find out which goes to which after the jump.

First, the Acrylic Case. It's basically just a plastic outer shell for your Zune. Seeing as the Zune's already somewhat chunky, the the plastic case makes it even more unweidly. Not for those with tight pants. Seeing as the Zune is somewhat scratch-resistant, with its plastic rubberized finish, another plastic case seems unnecessary unless you're really intent on roughing up your player.

But if you do get this case, you'll notice that it's a bit of a tight squeeze to get your Zune in. In fact you'd be worried that just putting your Zune into the case may scratch up the finish. We wouldn't recommend the Acrylic case at $29.99, unless you really want some extra protection.

The second is the Holster case, which has a belt holster and a clear plastic screen. This one's pretty decent for nerds who commute to work via public transit. Although the case isn't soft like the Folio case, it is leather-ish and feels sturdy. We'd rate this one a decent buy at $29.99.

Lastly, there's the kickstand Folio case (shown above), which comes with microfibers on the inside and soft leather on the outside. This one is the largest of the three, but the most comfortable. It may be too large for your pocket—once again, if you're Barry Gibb—but it's not too bad. There's also a kickstand to open up so you can prop up your Zune for video watching on your desk.

The Zune slides in easily, and there's enough cushioning and padding to keep it safe from drops from the hip. And at $29.99, the same price as the others, this seems to be the best buy. – Jason Chen

Gallery [Gizmodo]

Holster Case Product Page [Belkin]

Kickstand Case Product Page [Belkin]

Acrylic Case Product Page [Belkin]

Since I've got an iPod, I'm sticking with the iPod. I don't want to have to buy all my music again, give up smart playlists, and basically learn to use both a new player and the corresponding software. Then there are all the accessories I don't want to purchase again. Plus, since there's no OS X support, Mac users have their choice made up for them. And I'm a Mac user when I can be.

Say you're not using the iPod, or are ready to try something different. Now, you've got a lot more options...

You really like the music/picture sharing: Zune. It's a feature not found on the iPod, but will have limited use unless your friends all buy Zunes. Chicken & Egg problem, where you don't want to buy one until other people have it, which means it'll take a while to get up to speed.

You want a bigger screen: Zune.

You need an all-you-can-eat subscription service: Zune.

You want a store with a larger music library: iPod.

You want a movie and TV store: iPod.

You want contacts, calendar, notes, stopwatch, and iPod Games: iPod.

You want to be different/want something new: Zune.

Xbox 360 owners who purchase music and want streaming: Zune.

Xbox 360 owners who purchase music and don't want streaming: iPod.

You want a scratch resistant player: Zune.

You want a built-in FM tuner: Zune.

You want a touch-sensitive scroll wheel: iPod.

For most people, we're going to recommend you get an iPod. It's got more support, plus it's backed by iTunes, which works well and gives you a lot more choice in music, TV, and movie purchases.

Of course if you want a subscription service, or a bigger screen, or a built-in FM tuner, then there's the Zune. But if you're borderline between the Zune and the iPod, we'd play it safe and get the iPod, then wait for the 2nd generation Zune and see what's going on. – Jason Chen

Zune Product Page [Amazon]

iPod Product Page [Amazon]

We like the orange version quite a bit, as well as the gorgeous $98 pricetag. I hereby name this watch the perfect stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season. And you'll need to buy a few of them, because I celebrate Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/The Chinese New Year/MarkDay. I'm very spiritual. Hit the jump for the complete gallery. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via fareastgizmos]

The outside is made out of a rubberized plastic, which goes through an interesting process where they paint the inside a different color than the case—this gives the Zune a two-toned look which both looks and feels great. The corners (meticulously selected down from hundreds of minutely different corners) look like they glow, which is called the "doubleshot effect". This comes from the inside radius being different from the outside radius.

So the big news: The Zune will be upgradeable. How? Let us explain...

Microsoft's put in WiFi on the Zune, which even though it doesn't seem to be a big draw to consumers now. The hardware paves the road for them to do various other "scenarios" with the Zune. In the future, via software update, the Zune should be able to possibly do stuff like share songs over the internet, wirelessly sync with the computer, stream music/video to other devices, and much more. The hardware is there, but it just needs to be activated by software. Microsoft's decided to focus (wisely) on making the Zune simple to use and intuitive for people to pick up. Something that we think they've achieved.

The UI is snappy and has lots of zooming, sliding and various cool effects when you're navigating. Luckily, the eye candy doesn't get in the way of usability. The click-pad isn't too bad to use, but it's not touch sensitive like the iPod wheels. The community menu options like sending files and pictures are all over the place. If you hit the middle button to get the context menu, you'll most likely notice an entry called "send", where you can send what you're currently listening to to nearby Zunes. Overall the UI is pretty well designed, and iPod users shouldn't be lost if they decide to migrate.

The Zune's screen was bright even outside, and had pretty much zero glare. Movies and pictures played back smoothly, and the display transitioned automatically to landscape mode when you start a slideshow/movie. Pictures are auto-cropped to display large on the screen, and will be auto-resized down from the original whenever you send them to your friends over WiFi. The Zune was easy to hold in both landscape and regular modes—no problems at all.

There are also two new concepts: inbox and flagging. The Inbox is an area separate from your library where pictures and songs come in from other Zunes. You play your received songs from here, and once you sync, the songs will be uploaded to the Inbox on your PC. Flagging is similar—whenever you flag a song, the song will show up flagged on your PC after syncing for later reference. What was the 5th song I heard in that big random shuffle I listened to on the train? Oh right, I flagged it. It's useful because you can't go on your Zune Marketplace after you sync your songs and see your "recently played" list like you can on iTunes.

We also spent a good amount of time going over the Zune Marketplace, which is what you're going to be using to buy and sync up music. The Zune is designed only to work with the Marketplace—which confirms that it will not work with Napster, Rhapsody, and other third-party subscription music services. But, ZM itself is really clean, with only enough icons and links to do what you need and no more. You can get the sense that iTunes was the benchmark they compared themselves to.

Another not-published or seldom-talked-about feature is guesting. A friend can take his Zune over to your computer, set up a "guest" relationship with your Zune Marketplace software (as opposed to a regular owner relationship), and you're free to drag songs and pictures from your library onto her device. These songs do not have the 3 play 3 day limit on them. Depending on whether you purchased or you're leasing these songs, you can do this with either 5 or 2 Zunes, respectively. So in essence, if your wife wants to grab a few songs off your library for listening to, she can—there's no "wife" relationship yet, but engineers are probably working on that. As soon as they get wives.

Pricing is going to be the same as Microsoft's Xbox 360 Marketplace points. I saw songs go for 79 points ($1), and it will be $15 for monthly subscriptions where you lease content. Microsoft's not going to be advertising the subscription plan very much. You're still going to have to convert real money into points, something they decided on because "points were so well received" on the 360. My response was: "really? They were well received? Because we heard quite a few complaints about having to switch money before you buy stuff." To which they responded "well, 4 million people bought it, so to each his own." I was thinking, "yeah, because what are they gonna do, NOT buy stuff? They have no choice," but didn't want to be an ass.

A cool feature that iTunes doesn't have is pre-rated, or community rankings. When you buy songs from the store, you'll notice that they already come pre-ranked on a scale of 5 blue stars. When you rank a song, it'll rank it in orange stars. What's the deal? Well, these blue stars are decided based on an algorithm combining other people's rankings, the song's popularity, and editorial rankings. If your library is bigger than the total space on the Zune, the Zune suite will auto-sync your library to your player based on these auto-rankings. Pretty great, because as much fun as it is to rank songs (one of my favorite things to do on iTunes for using them in smart playlists), most people don't have the time to go and rate 3,000 songs. Pre-ratings are great for this. Which is good, because there's no concept of "smart playlists" just yet. Bummer.

Speaking of editorials, Microsoft's partnered with and hired a bunch of knowledgeable music folks who are going to be providing original text content for the marketplace. Whether it's album reviews, song rankings (see above), artist descriptions, and editorials, you'll see some cool text there.

Searching is also pretty snappy, and they've provided a consistent interface on both your own library and on the store, which they called the community. If you're searching your library for an artist you don't have, it'll come back with a link to the marketplace for the correct artist/song. Another neat feature is the way albums/folders are displayed. There's this nice spiral/stack of CDs under each item so you can quickly gauge how many items are under it visually without having a number or something else.

Miscellaneous stuff: no movie store (for now), can't talk about how many major labels they have on, Zune Marketplace will never fully integrate into Windows Media Player for an all-in-one package like iTunes. You can easily stream stuff to the Xbox 360 from the Zune software (there's even a setting in one of the options menus), or hook up your Zune to the 360 via USB. A phone may be one of the things upcoming, but as usual, they can't confirm upcoming projects whether they exist or not.

Overall, this seems pretty promising. I can't find any mis-steps or anything where I have to ask "wait, this is dumb, why did you do this?" in both the player and the software. The Zune itself is very sexy, and feels nice to the touch—not too heavy. We can't wait to do another hands on as the launch date approaches. Oh, and I still can't decide which color is my favorite. – Jason Chen

2007 iPod Buyers' Guide [iLounge]

Need more room for porn movies and homebrew games on your PSP but don't feel like shelling out bucks for Sony Memory Sticks when you have a 2GB CF at home already? Don't fret, the Chinese are here to help you with cheap plastic attachments for the PSP! The Neo 2in1 and 4in1 are memory card reader add-ons for the PSP that will read up to 4GB CF, SD, and MMC cards. The Neo 5in1 adds a battery pack with AA battery support and USB ports for connectivity. They're all available now and range in price from $80 to $100. An excellent storage solution for the PSP, especially if you've got extra cards lying around in different formats.

First generation PSP card readers on the way [MobileMag]

Fluffpod iPod Cases [Shinyshiny]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Available in 1GB and 256 MB versions, the Jaton iRok is a NAND flash-based MP3 player with a 2-color OLED screen, FM tuner and voice recorder. With a nice price of $70 for the 256MB option (the 1GB price hasn't been decided on yet), it's a hearty, inexpensive player that will also let you transfer files thanks to its USB 2.0 interface. It'll also let you listen to about 20 hours of music with a built-in 3.7 volt battery. Supports MP3, WMA (DRM) and WAV music files, multiple languages (such as English, Chinese Traditional and Chinese Simplified) and has five music equalizer effects: Normal, Jazz, Classical, Rock, and Pop. Includes a pair of stereo earphones, USB cable, CD-ROM containing Windows 98 drivers, Quick Start Guide, and neck strap.

Jaton iRok 6-in-1 MP3 Player [Bios Magazine]

Whoa there. Looks like Apple is doing pretty well this holiday season with the 1GB iPod shuffle completely sold out on their online store. The next date they'll be available? Mid-January. Which is also the time Apple is scheduled to release the Intel iBook and possibly a smaller version of the shuffle. So the timing seems to work out quite nicely, if you ask me. If you were just dying for a 1GB iPod shuffle this holiday season, try shopping around at a retailer such as Target, Best Buy, etc. and you may find one. The 512MB is still available for now, so grab one if you're worried.

Apple "sold out" of 1GB iPod shuffle till January [Apple Insider]

iPod Shuffle Product Page

Big in Japan: Audio-Technica Brings "Import Series" Headphones to US [Create Digital Music]

If you're looking for a cute and tough iPod case, these new iPod cases from Speck might suit you well. These FunSkins are designed to cover your iPod thoroughly, as well as keep them protected from any dangers they may face. The two new designs are dubbed "Cloud" and "Grass". The Cloud case looks like a puffy white cloud while the Grass case looks like...well...grass, I suppose, but it's more like a rubber porcupine dog toy. Either way, these will protect your 5G iPod from falls, scratches or worse, so that you and your iPod will be safe. They even come with a belt clip for being extra dorky if you so desire. They're going for $35 a pop and are available now.

Speck's Cloud, Grass FunSkins Now Shipping [iLounge]

Purchase options for Speck iPod Funskin [Amazon]

Creative Zen Vision: M (30GB) [CNET Asia]

Creative ZEN Vision:M [Generation Mp3]

Xmultiple Announces FlashPoint MP3 SharePlayer [i4u]

When your iPod gets tired of playing Bon Jovi over and over again, it's going to want a rest. Why not let it rest in style in an iPod Lounge Chair? This colorful accessory comes in colors like pink, blue, and black, and has cute little bendy arms to hold your iPod in place. But that's not all, folks! This chair also doubles as a speaker set. The legs contain speakers (one in each leg) for some tunes while sunbathing. Who said the iPod doesn't deserve a tan? Available now, but why?

iPod Speaker Chair [I4U]

Want to buck the trend this holiday season and carry around a Creative Vision:M PMP instead of a video iPod? Here's your chance. Amazon.com is offering the 30GB portable multimedia player at $330 for pre-order, bundled with an AC adapter. Not sure why Creative would reach for a higher price point than the video iPod, but maybe they're hoping that when you see that the Apple product has sold out you'll spend the extra $30 just to get something similar. We'll see. The Creative Vision:M comes in 5 colors. Now all they have to do is start hyping this thing.

Creative Vision:M Available for Pre-Order [i4u]

Pre-Order Creative Vision:M from Amazon [Amazon]

Mio Technology A201 Sat-Nav PDA [Bios Magazine]

Specs and pricing for Mio GPS devices [Amazon]

iPod speaker systems go to the darkside [ShinyShiny]

Review: M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 Pocket Digital Recorder [O'Reilly Digital Media]

Pricing: M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 [Amazon]

From a company called Sanho Electronics (umm hmmm...) comes a product called HyperDrive Mini. Being touted as the world's fastest, smallest and lightest memory card backup device, it's powered by a high capacity li-ion battery and offers up 30GB of space. It accepts eight kinds of memory card formats and, get this, also includes a built-in MP3/WMA player.

2006 International CES Exhibitor Directory [CESweb]

We've seen Dell's foray into MP3/Satellite radio territory, now Samsung is getting into the groove by announcing its neXus XM Satellite Radio/MP3 Player using XM's Connect & Play technology. Look for a 512MB and a 1GB product—each includes a XM Satellite Radio home docking kit which lets you get XM Satellite Radio in your living room. Like the Dell, content can only be stored on the product when it's connected to a docking station, but that content can be listened to anywhere. I mean, can't we do something about this? What about live, portable satellite radio, goddamnit? How long do we have to wait for that from a portable, combination MP3 player? You people are starting to piss me off.

Ok, sorry, back to the neXus—it also lets you store and play MP3 and WMA files, and if you hear something you like on XM, you can "tag" it for purchase using the XM + Napster online service—that's always worked in the past, hasn't it? The neXus is about 3.4 H x 1.9 W x 0.7 D and if you want a vehicle kit, that's sold separately. No pricing yet.

Samsung neXus XM Satellite Radio/MP3 Players Unveiled! [Orbitcast]

Specs and pricing for more Samsung MP3 players [Amazon]

Don't know why it's called OtterBox, really. Maybe because it has a hard outer skin? Like an... Otter? Erm. It allows you to shell mollusks on your stomach? Eh, whatever they were thinking, the OtterBox 1910 is a protective PDA case specifically made for the HP 6500. The water-tight seal should help if you're heading in for a swim and it does look fairly tough in case you've got big otter plans. Comes in yellow and black. Retails for $129.95.

OtterBox 1910 [OtterBox]

Pricing for Otterbox electronics cases [Amazon]

We try and try to keep ignoring MiniDisc. We really do. But it just keeps coming back to life right when we think it might be dead. This time around it's going to be a bit harder with these JVC XM-C37 players because the battery life is absolutely insane. With a full charge, you'll be able to get 305 hours out of the battery. That's 12.7 days of uninterrupted MiniDisc action. Don't have that much time and still want your tunes? A 20-minute charge nets you 15 hours of battery life. Looks like the only way MiniDisc can compete in an MP3-dominated market is to showcase its absolutely nutty battery life.

MD Player with 305 hours of battery life [Akihabara]

Specs and pricing for MiniDisc players [Amazon]