Gizmodo
usb
Posts Tagged “
Speakers
”
usb
audiowrapz
iFrogz Audiowrapz for iPod Nano Coming to a WalMart Near You
Audiowrapz, those cool, silicon Nano cases with a passive speaker incorporated into the skin, are to go on sale at WalMart. Although you can already buy them in several colors for $25 online, the press release says they're going to be available in the stores in just black and pink for under $20. They'll be available on walmart.com early next month. [Press Release and iFrogz]
gadgets
Targus Speaker Book Brings Compact Tuneage: No Reading Involved
Finding a way to make portable speakers truly portable has proven difficult for manufacturers over the years. This new Speaker Book represents Targus' stab at a solution. The unique design features flat, foldable NXT speakers that can connect to just about anything using via a standard 3.5-millimeter cable. It can also be powered up via USB, or four AAA batteries. Unfortunately those of us in the States won't be able to test it out anytime soon—the Speaker Book is slated for a UK only release early this summer. [i4u via Crave]
usb photo frame
USB Photo Frame Speakers Are Classier Than The Original
We've seen photo frame speakers before, but this Brookstone version looks much, much classier. Gone is the birch-colored 1970s-style wood, and in is a dark, black finish. The principal is the same: two photo frames that hold a 6" x 4" photo each, that also plug into your computer's USB port and act like speakers. Audiophiles won't enjoy the sound quality at all, but it's a neat integration of two things that are already on your desk. [Brookstone via Everything USB]
home entertainment
Onkyo's best new entry level HTiB setup has a 7.1 surround is notable for having room correction tech. I'm pretty sure its rare to find a low end system that can adjust gain and delay on all channels to calibrate itself to a room's acoustics. The receiver included is the DTS/Dolby capable HT-R560, with 3 HDMI inputs, 130 watts per channel, and is Sirius satellite ready. The set up also comes with an iPod dock and a 290-watt sub. Not bad for $579 from a solid company like Onkyo. There are two lesser models:
More »
Onkyo HT-S5100 Home Theater in a Box: 7.1 Surround and Acoustic Room Calibration For $579
Onkyo's best new entry level HTiB setup has a 7.1 surround is notable for having room correction tech. I'm pretty sure its rare to find a low end system that can adjust gain and delay on all channels to calibrate itself to a room's acoustics. The receiver included is the DTS/Dolby capable HT-R560, with 3 HDMI inputs, 130 watts per channel, and is Sirius satellite ready. The set up also comes with an iPod dock and a 290-watt sub. Not bad for $579 from a solid company like Onkyo. There are two lesser models:More »
review
More »
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 »
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]
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]
home entertiainment
How to Hook Up Your Surround Sound With Flat Speaker Cable
Earlier this month we were horrified to learn that as many as 50% of home theater buyers are not hooking up their rear surround speakers. For the vast majority of these DIYers, the main culprits were aesthetic issues and/or a lack of knowledge about how to install the speakers properly. One of the easiest ways to get the job done involves using 4-strand flat speaker cable because it doesn't involve tearing holes in the wall, and one strip will drive both surround speakers. But where do you get it and how do you install it? More »
clips
Plasma Speakers Create Music By Being Badass
Plasma speakers have been around in science labs since the 1950s, but that doesn't make them any less amazing in the 2000s. Like a standard speaker, plasma speakers work by creating compression waves in the air. But unlike a standard speaker that uses magnets and paper/plastic/etc to drive these compressions, plasma speakers are using the non-gas, non-liquid, non-solid "fourth state of matter" plasma. More »
speakers
Bird-Electron EZISON 0 is Chunky Portable Speaker Bliss, Almost
The EZISON 0 speaker has Bird-Electron written all over it; it's pricey, utterly ridiculous and has a design that makes us swoon. Available in white, red, gold, blue or silver aluminum finishes, the EZISON 0 is quite the looker whatever color you should choose, but we just cannot get our heads around the 7350 Yen ($73) price tag. After all, a portable speaker that relies on your MP3 player for juice via the 3.5mm jack connection isn't going to pump out the tunes. In fact, standing in at only 73×76×32mm, the EZISON 0 probably sounds just as good as an electron sized bird. (See what I did there with the old semantics? Please, stay seated.) [NewLaunches]
home entertainment
iHome iH69 Computer Speakers With Integrated iPod Dock
iHome's iH69 speakers provide an all-in-one solution for music lovers that fight a never-ending battle with gadget clutter. Simply put, these 20-watt, 2.5-inch computer speakers feature a built-in dock that will sync, charge and play your iPod. Looks like a good example of convergence if you ask me. Let's just hope they don't sound like crap. No prices have been announced, but you can expect the iH69 to hit store shelves in June. [Blast Mag and iHome]
pinel & pinel
iPod Trunk from Pinel & Pinel Probably the Most Gorgeous Around
Parisian trunkmaker Pinel & Pinel's iPod case is the kind of iPod case I'd like to get my hands on—if I hadn't dropped my iPod before Christmas, that is. Made from leather-covered wood, its built-in speakers are Altec-Lansing, and it's got a couple of pockets so you don't lose your accessores (I know my USB connector is somewhere in the house, anyone with a psychic grandmother please contact her now and tell her that there's a lost cable that needs her help.) [Sybarites]
novelty
USB Mini Mouse Speaker Forgets its Input Obligations
Brando's USB Mini Mouse Speaker is a great little portable speaker, which connects via 3.5mm stereo jack to any sound output. The speaker charges via an included USB cable and it is sure to bring the house down with the thumping 2W output. If you are worried you won't look the image of cool with the USB Mini Mouse, put those ludicrous notions aside, it comes with a neck strap so you can pimp Flavor Flav styles effortlessly. Phew! More »
lip service
Lip-Shaped Speakers from Brando are Fantastic, Plastic
Brando has dipped into the barrel marked "plastic kitsch" and come out with a set of speakers that you can either sling round your neck and look like a Care In The Community case, or connect up to your PC or MP3 player via USB or audio jack. Such class will only cost you $14. [Brando]
peripherals
Rotating Speakers from Greenhouse Give Your iPod Ears
Charge up Greenhouse's rotating speakers via USB and they give you eight hours' of sounds when you clip them on to your fifth-gen iPod. With an output of 770mW x 2, the GH-SPA214CC costs $44 and will be out in Japan at the end of the month. A bigger version of Greenhouse's speaker-n-case combo earlier in the year, they're a pretty neat way to bug people on public transport. [Impress]
peripherals
The Dutch have some bizarre taste in desktop speakers. Case in point, this Bbudd Speaker System. Your "little dead desktop buddy" here is a passive or non-amplified speaker—which makes sense considering that you are blasting tunes out of the feet of his lifeless corpse. He will run you about €24,95 ($38 USD), so there should be some money left over to pick up one of these to complete your desktop theme. [Kado-Fix via Technabob]
Bbudd Speaker System: Looks Like a Bondage Fetish Gone Horribly Wrong
The Dutch have some bizarre taste in desktop speakers. Case in point, this Bbudd Speaker System. Your "little dead desktop buddy" here is a passive or non-amplified speaker—which makes sense considering that you are blasting tunes out of the feet of his lifeless corpse. He will run you about €24,95 ($38 USD), so there should be some money left over to pick up one of these to complete your desktop theme. [Kado-Fix via Technabob]
home entertainment
