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Latest Gear Live Videos
Sony iPhone/iPod ZS-S4iP Boombox
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Handhelds, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Sony has a new iPhone/iPod Boombox. The ZS-S4iP has a tray to insert the music maker while charging and includes a remote. When you want to retrieve it, you simply push “eject.” It also has 2 2.0 W speakers, an AM/FM tuner with up to 30 presets, ID3 tag support, and a headphone port. Available in both black and white, the price estimate on the device is ~$140.00 with an expected October arrival.
Read More 
| Sony Insider
Gallery: Sony iPhone/iPod ZS-S4iP Boombox
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Baby Bidou apparently believes in getting kids used to electronics when they have barely left the crib. Displayed at the recent Kind + Jugend 2008 in Cologne, Germany, their MP3 Teddy Bear meets toy safety standards for ages 36 months to 5 years. The player is cordless (batteries not included) and has a built-in loudspeaker. Available in blue, pink, or non-gender specific beige/caramel, you can purchase one online for 69.99€ (~$100.00.) The site also offers music and story downloads recommended for that age group, although it will play any MP3 tunes.
Read More | Baby Bidou
Gallery: Baby Bidou MP3 Player
PURE i-10 iPod Dock
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
PURE has unveiled its i-10 for iPods and iPhones. Available with 9 different adapters, it can be used with all of the company’s speaker systems with its auxiliary input or others with 3.5mm stereo input. Needless to say, it doubles as a dock. The i-10 comes with remote for easy control and navigation and comes with a black and silver finish. Available at PURE’s online store in October, pre-order for a £29.99 (~$53.00) price tag.
Read More | Pure
Gallery: PURE i-10 iPod Dock
XM Radio’s portable XMp3 device appears in Popular Science
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Music, Portable Audio / Video,
It’s rare that things like this get covered in print before they do online, but XM‘s upcoming XMp3 device is one of the exceptions. Appearing in the latest issue of Popular Science, the XMp3 has yet to receive an official release date or price. What we do know is that it can decode, and record, up to five XM stations at one time. That’s kind of cool, we guess, although radio recording isn’t really our thing (although, some of that O&A stuff can get pretty hilarious.) Once we know more, you’ll know more. For now, just know it’s on its way.
Read More | OrbitCast
Gallery: XM Radio’s portable XMp3 device appears in Popular Science
LG HT33S Home Theater System
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video, USB,
LG has revealed its home theater system, the 2.1 channel HT33S. The glossy black exterior houses iPod docking, an optical port for sound, and the ability to convert standard def DVDs to HD1080p through HDMI upscaling. DivX, DVD, CD, MP3, WMA and JPEG are all compatible via USB. Finally, CD files can be converted to MP3 and saved as well. Presented at the IFA 2008 and tuned by audio expert Mark Levinson, look for an October release of the system.
Read More | Aving
Gallery: LG HT33S Home Theater System
Hi-Can System Canopy Bed
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Home Entertainment, Smart Home, Movies, Music, Video Games,
Bedrooms can’t get any better than this. The Hi-Can (High Fidelity Canopy) system starts with a high tech canopy bed. Italian designer Edoardo Carlino added a hi-fi sound system that supports MP3 audio and an integrated video projection that can be used as a computer monitor or TV for watching or video game play. Although it is still at the prototype stage, Deta will be releasing the system. See the Hi-can site for more “gimme” images.
Read More | Neu Black
Gallery: Hi-Can System Canopy Bed
iPod nano updated, elongated, and nano-chromatic
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Design, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
The worst-kept secret of today’s Apple Let’s Rock iPod event was the newly updated iPod nano. Apple officially let the cat out of the bag today, sharing all the details. The new iPod nano is taller, and also turns out to be the thinnest iPod ever made. It’s available in a record nine colors, and you get two models to choose from - an 8GB version for $149, and a 16GB version for $199. The battery will hook you up with 24 hours of music or 4 hours of video. The nano now has an included accelerometer, which allows it to sense if you are holding it in portrait or landscape mode, so it can then change the screen orientation accordingly. That same accelerometer also gives rise to a new “Shake to Shuffle” feature. It’s exactly what it sounds like. If you don’t like what you are listening to, shake the nano, and you get a new random track. You can order the new iPod nano now at the online Apple Store, or pick one up at a physical location as they arrive over the next few days.
Read More | iPod nano
Gallery: iPod nano updated, elongated, and nano-chromatic
iPhone firmware 2.1 detailed
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
During this morning’s Apple event, Steve Jobs let us in on a few of the details of the upcoming iPhone 2.1 software update. In giving the details, Steve also admitted to the faults that have been pointed out consistently since the iPhone 2.0 software launched. What can we look forward to when 2.1 is released this Friday for the iPhone? How does fewer dropped calls, major improvements in battery life, faster backups, and no crashing apps sound? Yeah, we thought so. Now to wait for Friday to see if the promises prove to be true. Fingers crossed!
EDIT: iPhone 2.1 has been released!
Gallery: iPhone firmware 2.1 detailed
iTunes 8 now available, HD TV shows, NBC is back, Genius recommendations
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Movies, Music, PC / Laptop, Software,
iTunes 8 was announced this morning as part of the whole Let’s Rock Apple announcement festivities, and there were a few nice pieces of news. First, NBC is back on iTunes with shows like The Office, 30 Rock, and Ballestar Galactics. What’s more, though, is that iTunes will now be selling TV shows in high definition. Aside from the feeling that I know my wallet is about to be drained, this is a very welcome addition. My only hope is that they allow those of us who have purchased shows in SD to “upgrade” to the HD versions at a discount. It’s only fair, right?
In other news, Apple has added “Genius” to iTunes - that being a recommendation engine that looks at the track you are listening to, and recommends other tracks in the iTunes store that it believes you would like. In addition, Genius can also create truly customized playlists on the fly, again, just by sampling what you are listening to. It will pull other songs from your iTunes library that it believes would complement your selection, without any work to be done on your part. We must admit, it looks slick. Speaking of which, they’ve also included a new visualizer, which is just off the hook. You’ve gotta see it to believe it.
iTunes 8 is available now.
Read More | iTunes
Gallery: iTunes 8 now available, HD TV shows, NBC is back, Genius recommendations
iPod touch gets updated, Genius playlists, Nike+ built-in
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Movies, Music, Portable Audio / Video,
Apple is improving the iPod touch with a thinner stainless steel case, hardware volume controls, a built-in speaker, and a Nike+ receiver (you’ll need to puchase a Nike+ kit to take advantage of that one.) Battery life is now at 36 hours for music, which translates to around six hours for video. The new Genius feature will be included, alongside the App Store. They’ve also redone the casing, which is now a thinner stainless steel, and we’ve even got actual hardware volume control buttons. The new iPod touch is available now - 8GB for $229, 16GB for $299, and 32GB for $399. You can pick on up from the Apple Store Online now.
Read More | iPod touch
