Audio

mp3

Wave Goodbye To Pocket Billiards with Magnetic Knob MP3 Player

We all know the hassle of digging into a pocket to twiddle the controls on our MP3 players, but until smart clothing becomes mainstream we're stuck with it. Unless someone takes this magnetic control concept and manufactures it for real, that is. The Pocket Pal is simple: the control stays outside, but is magnetically fixed to the body, which sits inside your pants pocket. Twiddling the control is easy, and would let you adjust volume or skip songs. I'm not sure what'll happen if you lose the knob—would any magnet/iron object do?—but I like the lateral thinking here. [Inventables via Gizmowatch]

8:43 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,368 views, 16 comments

Latest by Brian B: "Dammit Jr., stop playing with your Pocket Pal. You'll go blind!" more »

music gadgets

Tenori-On Makers Interviewed, Neither Can Play Music

PingMag did an interview with the creators of the Tenori-on that was overlooked when published, but there are a few interesting tidbits from the interview, like the fact that neither of the creators are musicians.
More »

9:00 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By Adrian Covert
4,496 views, 15 comments

zune

Seriously, Where's the Zune Support for Mac?

While at the Zune Media Event in Redmond on Monday, the media had some downtime between presentations, and naturally the conversation moved to Microsoft vs. Apple. The mix of bloggers, reporters and Microsoft advertorial/internal bloggers provided an interesting, if predictable dialogue. Then the convo turned to iPod vs. Zune, and the question of Zune's lack of Mac support came up. The closest anyone came to giving a good reason was suggesting Mac users bought Apple products more for the logo than the actual product, meaning they'd never abandon the iPod for a Zune. A fair point, perhaps, but a silly reason for a company to justify their lack of support for another platform. Here are a few reasons Zune should support OS X: More »

3:25 PM on Wed May 7 2008
By Adrian Covert
8,960 views, 111 comments

Latest by Galavoxx: @vicsells: @NicleT: I agree. But from what I heard from developers over at xnjb project, they need the key in order to begin development. Microsoft has yet to give this key up. more »

home theater

Homes With Hidden Home-Theater Tech Dazzle Us With Luxury, Expense

The folks over at Electronic House have been running a Homes of the Year feature, and they've turned up a bunch of luxury homes with amazing entertainment systems that are cunningly disguised in the design. The array includes an entire old-style velvet and starry-ceiling home theater with an entrance door concealed behind a mirror; a luxury bathroom with his-and-hers vanities with concealed mirror LCD TVs and a temperature-controlled wine cellar with glass walls and adjustable color lighting system. Check out a selection of photos of these luxury installations in the gallery. More »

11:45 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Kit Eaton
12,387 views, 18 comments

Latest by wonkydonky: What is with the seemingly-Monstrous distance between the rows of seats? -Have they cloned Shaquille O'Neal 8 times??? And why do they devote these overshort rooms to such small screens? -Do people only site in the front? Every time I see one more »

cellphones

Benq C36 Cellphone Thinks it's a Webcam and Radio Recorder Too

Benq's new C36 cellphone is labelled a "Music Phone" but it also squeezes in a 1.3 megapixel webcam function and has a built-in FM radio with a recording function. This last even has a scheduling function, so you won't miss your shows. It plays MP3s, WAV, MIDI and AMR, has a 2-inch color LCD, built-in speakers, records voice notes, has microSD memory expansion and 180 hours standby and 2.4 hour talk time. The phone even has a "Health management" option, dealing with BMI and menstrual matters—we'd love to have been at the design meeting where they dreamed that up. The little 0.17-pound phone is available in blue, in Indonesia in May at first, with other countries to follow. No info on pricing. [Benq via TFTS]

9:50 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,019 views, 9 comments

Latest by bailey_ca: Shame there's no pictures of the UI. The phone itself is actually quite attractive in an understated way. more »

wireless

DigiFi Digital Opera Earphones Use Wireless Kleer Tech

DigiFi's new Digital Opera headphones use the high-efficiency, high-quality Kleer wireless tech to get your tunes from your iPod to your ears. We're also digging the neat over-ear design with curly cable, which looks like it'll be good non-tangler, and the fact that up to four people can listen to the same feed, as long as they have the earphones too. They have over 10 hours play time, and have "CD-quality" audio, or so says DigiFi. We're not sure about the "iPod adapter" part though, since it looks a lot like there's just a headphone jack there but no iPod socket, doesn't it? Hey ho. It'll be available worldwide, starting in Korea from now, for about $98. [Aving]

7:49 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,828 views, 21 comments

Latest by banmojo: @Shikestarr: thanks for the info, I was getting excited but I trust your impression. Too bad, we really need a really really awesome 'CD qual' wireless earbud system, pref ones that go into the canal, have no wires, last 24 more »

radio

Radio to MP3 Recorder Looks Old-Style, Has Docking MP3 Player

While yesterday's radio-to-MP3 recorder reminded us of a modern Chumby, this one's style cues are more last decade. It's basically a digital-tuner radio, with FM, AM and short wave reception, but with a built-in, un-dockable portable MP3 player that can record to its own 256MB memory. More »

4:23 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,266 views, 7 comments

review

Review: Lasonic i931 iPod Ghetto Blaster (Verdict: Awesome)

We've covered a handful of new and modded Lasonic gear here at Giz, but I finally got up close with their fabled i931 iPod Ghetto Blaster. If you're unfamiliar, Lasonic made some classic boomboxes during the 80s, and now they've updated their TRC-931 boombox with a built-in iPod dock, SD card reader and USB port. The picture and description pretty much sum up what makes this $170 retro wonder so amazing, but I have a laundry list of reasons why the i931 boombox is one of my favorite gadgets I've ever laid hands on.
More »

5:10 PM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Adrian Covert
20,653 views, 65 comments

Latest by SgtMac02: @youngjjohnson: WTF?? Are you really trying to turn a tech blog using a COMMONLY accepted nickname into a race issue? Get a life! If I misunderstood your intended implication, then I apologize. more »

camcorder

Sanyo Xacti DMX-CA8 Waterproof Camcorder has 8 Megapixels

Sanyo's new Xacti isn't much of a change over the previous version: mainly a new 8 megapixel CMOS sensor (versus the previous 6) and a "face chaser" mode. This maintains exposure and focus settings on people you're videoing or snapping. There's a new underwater shooting mode too, which corrects for blue-color light effects, and seems sensible for a cam that can be taken down to five feet underwater for an hour. The rest of the camera remains the same, including the case and 5x optical zoom. Next time give us a waterproof HD version, eh Sanyo? Available in Japan at first, mid-May, for around $490. [Akihabaranews and Impress]

5:10 AM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Kit Eaton
3,295 views, 10 comments

Latest by Valicious: I would like to see one of these mounted to a spear gun. more »

pmp

Sunvision PMPP, World's First Media Player With Pico-Projector

We've been talking about pico-projectors for a while, and here's what's apparently the world's first commercially available media player with one built right in: the Sunview PMPP. The LED-lit iView IPL630 unit inside it can project a VGA display up to an impressive-sounding 53 inches, but only a brightness of 9 lux at this size. The rest of the PMP sounds ok: a 3.5-inch LCD, speaker, remote, SD slot and size of around 5.2 x 3.1 x 1 inches. Interestingly it runs a Windows CE core, so it should be able to project documents and presentations. How does it look or sound? We don't know, as it's only available in limited quantities for now, and there's no word on prices. [Display Daily]

3:55 AM on Fri Apr 18 2008
By Kit Eaton
3,140 views, 10 comments

Latest by Bawjawz: Could make this projector thing into a cool adaptation of the "Star Trek" Communicator. ie. a popup screen to project onto, thus saving space by not requiring an LCD screen at all, and allowing for more space for other worthy more »

speakers

Parrot PARTY Black Edition Speakers Do Use Near Field Connection

Parrot has come up with a new Black Edition of their PARTY speaker which uses Near Field Communications to connect to audio sources, claiming it's the first commercial speaker system to do this. Basically you don't have to do any complicated Bluetooth paring, just tap your cellphone to the speaker and away you go. It uses a class-D amp, has a 6W power output, a "Stereo Widening" option to create virtual surround sound and its rechargeable batteries will last eight hours. Available in the summer in the UK for around $156. Update: Ok, we thought they did, then we thought they didn't: Parrot contacted us, very sweetly, to say "yes... they are NFC enabled." Hooray. Sorry for the confusion. [Pocket Lint]

9:10 AM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,027 views, 3 comments

Latest by Hvedhrungr: NFC vs Bluetooth sounds ominously similar to HDDVD vs. BluRay. more »

home entertainment

NEC Lui WiMax Media Streaming System Gets Release Date, Price

We alerted you to NEC's fancy media-streaming home server last year: it's an "on demand" system that'll send your media content to Lui devices around your home and beyond. NEC has just stumped up the release schedule and pricing in Japan, and "Life with Ubiquitous Integrated solutions" systems isn't cheap. The pocket sized player and laptop-like device are around $495 and $890, while the desktop PC will be $2,100. Topping it all off, the main home server costs a whopping $3,700. If you're in Japan and like the idea of accessing your audio and video remotely using dedicated devices, it's available from April 24th. We don't have timings on a US release. [AV Watch]

4:38 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,215 views, 5 comments

Latest by kevman90: @giyad: @Heartwork: My bad. more »

jukeboxes

Cellphone-controlled Jukeboxes Bring New Meaning to Drunk Dialing

Touch Tunes and LocaModa are linking up 30,000 Jukeboxes that can be controlled via cellphone, meaning you don't have to drunkenly stumble through hoards of people at a bar just to get some decent tunes. The juke boxes are all linked to media servers, that have the ability to export data into social networks such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. More »

7:40 PM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Adrian Covert
900 views, 5 comments

audio

Biggest iPod Dock in the Known Universe Can Be Camping Home, Zeppelin

The iBig Box is... THE BIGGEST IPOD DOCK IN THE ENTIRE KNOWN UNIVERSE! It's red, it's gigantastic, it goes to eleven, it makes soccermoms laugh and kids dance like the Bangles, and because its inflatable, it can be filled with hydrogen and take you floating around the world or burn down like the Hindenburg. Either way, it will give you endless fun for $59.99 and third-degree burns. [Liquidation Connect via New Launches]

6:46 AM on Tue Apr 8 2008
By Jesus Diaz
2,285 views, 11 comments

bags

Fi-Hi Speaker Bags: Boombox Backpack Made Real

Remember we laughed at the concept Reppo2 boombox backpack, and its ability to aurally assault those you walk past with your choice of tunes? Well, yes: something similar is now real, courtesy of these Fi-Hi novelty bags with built-in speakers and amp. What's there to say? Well, we don't know how powerful the audio system is, we don't know if they're weatherproof (though we'd hope so.) But we do know you can connect up your MP3 player, that they're in a wide range of different sizes and styles, some looking very much like the Reppo2, and that they're fascinatingly nasty. No word on pricing or availability, but expect to hear one soon. [Aving]

5:45 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,688 views, 17 comments

Latest by Dr.Remulak: See Beamz,similar douchability, will interconnect for portable male bonding high five sessions! more »

speakers

MartinLogan Spire Speakers— $8,500 of Electrostatic Sound

These new electrostatic speakers from MartinLogan have some fancy-sounding tech built in, and are hand built too. There's the ultra-rigid "AirFrame™" Curvilinear Line Source XStat audio transducer, and a selectable 35Hz equalization option— to better suit your room acoustics. The cabinets come in a variety of woods including maple, wenge, and rotary-cut bubinga. It's a shame I'll never get to hear what the sound quality is like, though: they are $8,500 a pair. For that you do get 200W of sound with apparently "flawless precision." And a pair of very good looking floor-standing speakers. Available soon. [MartinLogan via Ecoustics]

5:57 AM on Fri Apr 4 2008
By Kit Eaton
4,109 views, 34 comments

Latest by zenpoet: @kaneshadow: Well, I respectfully disagree my good man. They are amazing speakers, and came after many years of having amazing cone based speakers for reference. As for the dog, its my wife's, I don't like it, and will give you some more »

bluetooth

Jabra BT4010 Bluetooth Headset Has LCD Info Screen

Jabra's new BT4010 Bluetooth headset has one feature that sets it apart from all the others: a teeny, tiny LCD screen. With that one addition, decoding what your headset is up to is no longer a game of flashing lights or R2D2-like beeps: it'll show you when it's connected, when there's a call, and how full its battery is. So simple. That battery also lasts for six hours of talking, and the whole thing weighs 10 grams. No word on price or launch date. [Phonearena via Gadget lab]

4:26 AM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Kit Eaton
1,965 views, 14 comments

Latest by zenmoused: I'm starting to lose faith in Giz, between posts like these and really REALLY flakey half-rumors about new iphones. Yuck. more »

rolly

Sony Rolly Soon Rolling Out in Black Shell, Colored Arms

Seems like Sony's Rolly really is due out soon, and it'll be available in a black body version with a matching black cradle, as hinted at by the FCC filing. If black's too boring for you, then you'll also be able to trick your Rolly out with blue, red or silver replacement "arms". Maybe they're "wings"? Whichever: the little rolling, MP3-playing guy will be out in black from April 19th in Japan for around $400, while a colored arm set will cost around $15. Presumably Rolly will be rolling up on US shores sometimes soon after. [AV Watch]

3:33 AM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Kit Eaton
2,622 views, 22 comments

Latest by AlphaUltima: this is probably flash mem because no way in hell a hard drive can last with all that rolling. which means you only get about 1 gig considering you're paying a hundred for the sony label, another hundred for the more »

Gizmodo

Here's What The Guitar Hero IV Drums Look Like

Gizmodo Team

Gawker Media Network