Sony DRC-BT30P Bluetooth headphone conduit

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Wireless / WiFi

For those who want a little wireless action for their own pair of headphones, then you might want to get in on Sony‘s new DRC-BT30P.  It has volume controls, a playback feature, as well as a button that allows you to take your calls. The device will connect to your audio player over Bluetooth, and you can then plug in any pair of headphones you like, for a partial wireless effect.  As you can see, it is available in black, white, pink, and blue.  No price has been announced as yet. 

Read More | Akihabara News

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Samsung’s YP-R1 Yepp ships next month

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video

Samsung‘s YP-R1 has been on our gadget radar for some time now, and finally the latest Yepp DAP is ready for release in Europe next month.  You have to like the features.  A 2.6-inch touchscreeen, DivX compatibility, 8.9 millimeters thin, and something they like to refer to as the TouchWiz interface, which includes a Beat DJ feature which allows the user to “add in their own crackly voice and space-themed sound effects to songs.”  It should be available for a price of $180 when it hits Europe, with Russia, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan coming soon after.

Read More | Newswire Daily

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Pocket-sized Audio 2 DJ

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Music, Peripherals, Portable Audio / Video

I had no idea that there was a market for audio interfaces for DJs, but there is a whole world of DJing that I am completely oblivious to. 

Native Instruments has come out with the Audio 2 DJ, a pocket-sized audio interface for DJs that “boasts the ultra-loud, professional sound quality needed to rock the world’s biggest clubs”.  It should be available in September for a price of about $119. 

Can’t wait?  Watch the YouTube video of this guy free-running to get into the groove.

Read More | Native Instruments via CNET

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Black Zune HD spotted

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Portable Audio / Video

The Zune is available in multiple colors already, so it should be no surprise that the Zune HD will follow suit. In our post yesterday where we shared the Zune HD announcement, you got a look at what appears to be a platinum Zune HD. Here in this post? The black Zune HD. Here’s hoping they keep the blue and red versions around as well…but in all honesty, we just want this thing to launch already.

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Zune HD: First touch screen Zune?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: HDTV, Microsoft, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Rumors

If what you see above is truly the Zune HD, the next iteration of Microsoft’s flagship PMP, then color us both curious and impressed. Impressed by the seemingly high definition screen, curious at the lack of the Zune hardware’s calling card, the Zune pad. Could we be looking at the first touch screen Zune, sporting an HD display? If so, we’d like one immediately. Time to make some phone calls.

Read More | Engadget

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Zune 3.1 update: More games, better Social, more

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Microsoft, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Video Games

Just two months after the Zune 3.0 release, Microsoft is now deploying the next incremental update to their Zune platform with Zune 3.1. Available for download today, the Zune 3.1 update brings quite a few welcome feature changes and updates:

• New Games: Checkers, Sudoku, and Space Battle
• New multiplayer mode, and single-player difficulty levels, for Texas Hold’em
• Visual changes to the Zune Social, making it prettier and easier to navigate
• Like-Minder Listeners feature added to social, allowing you to compare your music tastes to others
• Improved play count reporting, content synchronization, and other bug fixes in both the hardware and software

You can grab the update now by launching your Zune software, going into Settings, and hitting Check for Updates.

Read More | Zune Insider

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iPod touch 2G unboxing gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Galleries, Portable Audio, Portable Video

You that 2G iPod touch that Apple was all excited about, being that it’s the thinnest iPod touch ever (despite being only the second one ever made)? We figured you guys might be interested in having us take a bunch of unboxing images of the one that just got delivered here to Gear Live HQ. Yeah, this thing is thin, and if you don’t already have a first-gen iPod touch, you should seriously look into this model if you’ve been waiting one. It’s a nice improvement over the original. Check out the rest of the images over at our iPod touch 2G unboxing gallery.

Read More | iPod touch 2G unboxing

Gallery: iPod touch 2G unboxing gallery

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Zune 120, 80, 16, and 8 comparison gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Microsoft, Music, Portable Audio / Video

Okay, so the new Zune 3.0 software is live, and we have new Zune hardware to go along with it. We figured we’d bring you a look at the Zune 120 and Zune 16 that just came out, as compared to last years Zune 80 and Zune 8. The changes in the hardware are all cosmetic, which to us meant that the best way to show it to you guys was in a gallery. As you will see, this years Zune are focused on gloss and sheen, as opposed to last years matte two-tone look. Hit the Zune comparison gallery for all the shots.

Read More | Zune 120 and 16 vs Zune 80 and 8

Gallery: Zune 120, 80, 16, and 8 comparison gallery

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Zune 120 unboxing gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Microsoft, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Alongside the news that the Zune 3.0 software has launched, Microsoft has also released a couple of new Zunes. Here, we are focusing specifically on the new Zune 120. Changes from last year’s Zune 80 are minimal, with everything being completely cosmetic in nature. As you will see, the Zune 120 features a glossy black front, as opposed to last year’s matte black, and the back of the Zune 120 is black, while the Zune 80 had a metallic aluminum finish. If you wanna get technical, then I should also point out that the Wi-Fi antenna is also now black, and the writing and etching on the back of the Zune 120 is white. Of course, we’ve got a full Zune 120 unboxing gallery for you to enjoy, so go check it out.

Read More | Zune 120 unboxing gallery

Gallery: Zune 120 unboxing gallery

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Zune 3.0 software is live

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Music, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Software

For all you Zune fans out there, you will be pleased to know that the Zune 3.0 software went live this morning, and is ready for your consumption. The update brings a slew of new features to the table, with a lot of them being firsts in the industry (we’re looking at you, iTunes). What you’ve got is the desktop software update, alongside a firmware update for the actual Zune devices as well. And just like last year, the updates work on all previous generation Zunes as well - at no cost to you (we’re looking at you iPod touch!).

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