Hasta La Gadget!

Let’s think about this, shall we? How did Sony’s ATRAC format do? How did all those DRM-laced formats fare? Call us zany, but we’ve got a feeling an all new format developed by the astoundingly brilliant (ahem) minds at the world’s largest record labels is apt to follow the aforementioned formats right on down to Irrelevant Boulevard. According to Times Online, Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are currently looking to go head-to-head with Apple’s own “Cocktail” by introducing a CMX format (codenamed) that will “give music fans a computerized version of the sleeve notes that come as standard with a CD, including lyrics and artwork, and videos.” Reportedly, the format is expected to launch in November in an effort to boost whole album downloads (as opposed to singles), and while the labels approached Apple in order to gain its support, the Cupertino-based company purportedly decided to concoct its own mixture. Oh, and you can pretty much consider this extra DOA should iTunes not support it; fair or not, that’s just the way it is.

[Via Guardian]

Filed under: Portable Audio

Major labels show eagerness to fail with new CMX digital audio format originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Think those noise-canceling earbuds are hot stuff? Imagine if said technology was applied to an advanced type of implantable hearing aid, and you’ll have an idea of exactly what Earthlings with severe hearing loss now have to look forward to. For years now, we’ve watched as cochlear implants became more effective in lab tests, and up until recently, we’ve had strict medical testing procedures to thank for the inability to actually get one. Now, one Colin Hughes will soon be amongst the first Australians to enjoy a “new bone-anchored hearing aid designed to adjust to noisy environments, quiet conversations and the varying rhythms and pitch of music.” Due to a birth defect that left him with atypically narrow eustachian tubes, Colin was never able to take advantage of traditional hearing aids for any length of time, but now these $12,000 (per pair) devices are promising a new life for the 70-year old bloke. Our favorite feature? MP3 players can be directly (and discretely) attached, enabling old geezers to tune out old hags without them ever noticing.

[Thanks, Mike]

Filed under: Wearables

Bone-anchored hearing aids filter out noise, finally ready for human implantation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You knew somebody would do it, and now you’re just downtrodden that said somebody isn’t you. Yes friends, the gadget you see above really is a pair of working headphones with coconut halves for earcups. We already got word that Dave Chappelle’s crack-infused twin fully approves, but we’re still waiting for Dr. Dre to give us the all-clear before we deem them “street credible.”

[Via MAKE]

Filed under: Portable Audio

Coconut headphone mod makes us long for Kokomo originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s here Sonos fans, finally. The new touch-screen CR200 controller is announced and ready for purchase. After making an appearance at the FCC on its way to being leaked in full, the new CR200 controller for Sonos’ multi-room wireless music system is everything we heard including a 3.5-inch, 640 x 480 pixel (VGA) capacitive touchscreen with on-screen keyboard, beefier processor, and relatively tiny 2.9 x 4.5 x 0.7-inch / 6 ounce footprint with scaled-down charger to match. Those changes make the new CR200 pocketable, faster, and far more useful than the CR100 ever was. Not that the CR100 was a bad device, it wasn’t, but the $399 controller (plus $40 for the charging cradle) was definitely beginning to show its age as the only dedicated handheld controller available since Sonos launched back in January 2005. What really made the CR100 archaic though, was the 2008 release of the free iTunes App Store controller for the iPod touch and iPhone. It was faster, more graphically rich, and offered an on-screen keyboard unlike the CR100.

Fortunately, the price of the CR200 has dropped a bit to $349 / €349 list, a price that now includes the charging cradle. Still, we know what you’re wondering: is it worth it when an iPod touch can be purchased new for $229, or closer to $170 refurbished? Having used the CR200 for a week now, we found that the answer’s not as obvious as you’d think. Click through to find out why.

Continue reading Sonos CR200 review

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Wireless

Sonos CR200 review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We haven’t heard from Olive in a white hot minute, but hey, given the price of its wares, maybe it just decided to take the whole recession off. At any rate, the boutique outfit is sashaying back onto the scene with the Opus No. 4, the newest member of its long-standing Opus Hi-Fi Digital Stereo family. As with the models that have come before, this ultra high-end music server packs loads of internal storage (2TB if you’re counting), giving you enough room for around 6,000 CDs stored in the lossless FLAC format. There’s also a handy, full-color display on the front that probably won’t get much use, and ’round back, you’ll find a WiFi adapter (for wireless music streaming, you dig?), optical / coaxial digital audio outputs, a left / right analog output, a USB socket and an Ethernet port (for more of that streaming stuff). Look good? You bet. Does it look $1,799 good? That’s debatable.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Olive blesses Opus No. 4 music server with 2TB of space, charges $1,799 for it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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