The Vamp is not a new band who takes after the likes of vampires, and neither is it a new TV miniseries that deal with the average life of a lovelorn vampire who is seeking meaning in this existentialist life. No sir, The Vamp is actually a Kickstarter project that when realized, will be able to help you transform an existing aged, and yet quality speaker into one that has Bluetooth connectivity in order to keep up with the times. Basically, The Vamp, despite its diminutive size, can be attached to most speakers, providing it with Bluetooth connectivity along the way. This would certainly extend the life of conventional speakers, making them far more useful with new advances achieved in technology.
The Vamp will receive sound from any Bluetooth-enabled device, including smartphones, tablets and notebooks, and can be positioned anywhere you like on a speaker. All you need to do is stick the metal disc that comes with The Vamp onto the speaker, and it will remain there magnetically. You can choose from red, white, or black shades with a pledge of £35 ($53).
One of the interesting Bluetooth products that surfaced back during CES in January was from a company called BlueAnt. The product itself is called the Q3 and is now available in stores for you to purchase. The device is a premium Bluetooth ear piece that is available online and in AT&T retail stores.
The Q3 sells for $99 and allows iPhone users to have Siri functionality using the Bluetooth headset. Using the Q3 and Siri, iPhone users will be able to compose text messages using their voice by double tapping the command button. The headset also supports Android users allowing access Google Voice Actions with a double tap of the command button.
The headset features Voice Isolation Technology to help reduce external noise and wind noise for higher-quality calls, even in noisy environments. The headset also features Wind Armor Technology allowing for clear communication with wind speeds of up to 22 mph. BlueAnt also fits the device with dual microphones and advanced DSP technology.
Other features include support for streaming audio allowing drivers to listen to music, podcasts, or spoken directions from GPS applications. The earpiece will also announced the name of incoming callers and has answer and ignore commands for handling calls from the headset. The headset also offers a battery meter on the screen of the iPhone so you know how much power is left inside the headset. The device also supports connectivity to two phones at one time.
This week at the 2013 New York International Auto Show we’ve had the opportunity to have a hands-on experience with the next-generation Buick Intellilink infotainment system. This system has been revealed as coming with the 2014 LaCrosse as well as the 2014 Regal, both vehicles working with nearly identical implementations of infotainment and media playback throughout. It all begins on an 8-inch touchscreen display that sits front and center of the vehicle, able to be accessed by the driver or the copilot with ease.
Buick’s next-generation IntelliLink infotainment system works with wireless connectivity for your mobile devices, customizable options galore, and an easy-to-use user interface from start to finish. And it’s all builds on a hearty connection of both safety and security with OnStar. If you’re an OnStar user, you’ll be able to access city-by-city weather reports and ultra-simple embedded navigation using their “traditional Blue button” – rather handy.
You’ll be working with connectivity to a selection of apps for music, starting with Pandora. With Pandora you’ll have a collection of custom-built radio stations with new music coming in by the day – you’ll also be working with a set of 60 “favorites”, starting with radio stations outside of Pandora. These stations can be AM, FM, or XM, and you’ll have plenty of space left over to store “favorites” in contacts, destinations, and music from media aside from radio.
You’ll be able to connect with your media and your apps for control of the many various things IntelliLink works with using your touchscreen or by controlling your system with your voice. IntelliLink employs natural language voice recognition allowing you to control most anything you’d be able to control with your finger. You can enter destinations, browse media, safely place calls, play music, and control a variety of other functions as well.
If you’re a fan of using your touchscreen interface, you’ll find the controls to be rather familiar. You can do what Buick calls a “fling” through your lists, swipe up and down, and drag all around – basic control cues you’ll have learned well by now due to your everyday use of your smartphone or tablet devices. You can also control your music, set destinations, and more with IntelliLink’s connection to your smartphone – this done with a USB cord or Bluetooth wirelessly.
Of course the audio experience you’re going to have with the output this IntelliLink system is controlling depends entirely on the vehicle you’re driving. With the 2014 Buick Regal you’ll be working with a new nine-speaker Bose sound system including “strategically placed” tweeters and a fabulous subwoofer – you’ve got an acoustically optimized interior as well. With the 2014 Buick LaCrosse you’ve got seven standard speakers including the, again, “strategically placed” tweeters as well as a subwoofer all coming together to complement a quiet, acoustically optimized interior – with optional 11-speaker Bose Centerpoint Surround Sound being available as well!
Have a peek at our Buick tag portal for more information on the IntelliLink system as it appears in more vehicles through the future, and don’t forget to check the rest of our Car Hub for auto action from here until forever!
The Jambox (or its many equivalents) is fine, but I much prefer the experience of visiting second-hand shops around the city in hopes of finding a tower speaker relic that smells musty but still has a richness of sound and vintage appeal. Now a new Kickstarter project wants to help make sure proper speakers (the kind with removable cloth covers built strictly for sound first and style second) can easily take advantage of Bluetooth.
The Vamp is a little cube that has old-school positive and negative speaker cable connectors, along with 3.5mm audio input in case your device doesn’t have Bluetooth, a micro USB port for power and an on-off switch. It offers an internal rechargeable battery good for over 10 hours of use, and can be plugged in for continuous power as well. One of its most impressive tricks is a built-in magnet that pairs with a supplied metallic disc to attach to any vertical surface for convenient placement.
The problems the Vamp addresses that other Bluetooth stereo receivers don’t include style, affordability and sound. It offers high-quality mono audio, which is intended to be used with speakers made for high-quality sound output. It’s expected to retail for £45 (and is available via Kickstarter pre-order for £35), and maybe best of all, it doesn’t require a constant external power source, unlike a lot of similar options. You could actually take it with you to a friend’s house and wire their existing setup for Bluetooth sound, without an electrical engineering degree or access to the back of their home audio receiver.
The Vamp is created by UK-based product designer Paul Cocksedge, who has worked on products for BMW, Swarovski, Sony and Hermes. Some of his past work is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in London. Cocksedge and his studio have worked on sound amplification projects in the past, include gadgets that naturally enhance sound from mobile devices like iPhones. The Vamp looks to be their first proper electronic device, but working prototypes have already found favor with early reviewers.
The Vamp claims to have sound quality that’s “richer and more textured” than the standard Bluetooth portable speaker available, and it looks to go quite a bit louder as well. Quality concerns aside, it’s a nice, relatively inexpensive way to upcycle speakers that in many cases have only gotten better with age, and are being rudely pushed out by younger models.
If you’re in the market for a new set of wireless headphones, Arctic has an interesting new product called the P402. This headset is a larger over the ear style headset with good looks and long battery life. The P402 connects to your device wirelessly via Bluetooth.
The headset is up for pre-order right now for $89.90. The battery that powers the headphones is a rechargeable 850 mAh lithium polymer battery good for 30 hours of audio playback. The wireless headset promises deep bass and the ability to highlight details in your music that you never knew existed.
The large battery needs under three hours to fully charge and connectivity is via Bluetooth version 2.1. The headset also has an integrated microphone allowing you to make and receive phone calls with your Bluetooth device. The headset will automatically pause the music when a phone call comes in and resume playback when you end the call.
Controls for audio playback and phone calls are located on one of the ear cups for easy access. The headset has 40 mm drivers and frequency response of 20 Hz-20 kHz. The large battery has a standby time of 300 hours and the headset weighs 142 g. The headset does ship with a carrying pouch and will connect to any Bluetooth enabled device including smartphones, tablets, and computer systems.
A little while back, we featured an unusual little interactive gadget called the iKazoo. This wireless device can be paired with iOS or Android gadgets, and can be used as a touch, voice or breath controller. At the time iKazoo was simply a concept, but now you can get in on the first pre-order, thanks to the iKazoo’s crowdfunding campaign.
This unique Bluetooth device can be used as a musical instrument, as well as a controller for games and other interactive applications. It’s got built into it touch, breath and optical sensors, all of which can be accessed via an open source SDK.
Early adopters of the iKazoo can get one of the controllers for $79(USD), but you’ll have to pledge $135 or more if you want the version with the optional motion control “Smart Writer Cap”, which also lets your iKazoo double as a stylus for your tablet. Find out more about the iKazoo fundraising campaign over on Indiegogo.
We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from Christopher, who wants to brave the world of Bluetooth cans for his daily rounds. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.
“Yeah, okay. ‘Audiophile’ and ‘Bluetooth’ don’t go together, but I’d really like a good pair of Bluetooth cans to use with my iPhone. Naturally, we’re talking about headphones / cans rather than earbuds, ideally with track control buttons, a microphone and noise canceling — but what I’m after is clean, beautifully reproduced audio above anything else. What can you suggest for less than £300 ($455)?”
Engadget’s resident audiophile is a Klipsch evangelist, so it’s probably best to start by talking about its Image One Bluetooth headset. It’s £199 / $249 and comes with A2DP and aptX for high-quality audio, and we’re fairly sure the company wouldn’t put its name to a headset unless it was sure it was half-decent. Still, if you’re sure you want to max out that headphone budget, then for £259 / $399, you can get Parrot’s Phillippe Stark-designed Zik cans, which come with noise cancellation, jawbone microphone and touch-sensitive controls. Then again, we can only offer you so many suggestions before we open this question up to the folks in the peanut gallery — so what do you peeps down there think?
Launched last year around October in Japan the AK100 is Iriver most “poweful” DAP yet and designed for music aficionados : “Beside a rather luxurious and elegant design the Astell & Kern AK100 is in fact oriented to music lovers and people looking for the the best audio quality possible, indeed the Astell & Kern AK100 is fully compatible with 24bit/192kHZ FLAC & WAV audio tracks alongside the usual APE/MP3/WMA/OGG support. To achieve such quality the Astell & …
Yamaha has announced that it is now offering a new Bluetooth portable speaker designed for music fans that want to listen to their favorite tunes on the go. The Bluetooth speaker is called the PDX-B 11 and it is available for purchase right now. The speaker carries an MSRP of $179.95.
The Bluetooth speaker is designed to connect with any Bluetooth enabled smartphone, tablet, or computer. Yamaha promises powerful and dynamic sound and the speaker has a rugged design with a built-in carrying handle. It looks sort of like something you would find on stage at a concert more than your typical Bluetooth speaker.
The speaker is designed to automatically reconnect to the last device it was synced with automatically. That allows you to walk into the room with the speaker, push play on your favorite playlist, and the audio automatically streams if Bluetooth is turned on for your smartphone. The wireless range for the device is about 33 feet.
In addition to Bluetooth, the portable speaker also has a 3.5 mm stereo input for devices that don’t support Bluetooth. The speaker can be plugged into the wall for power and can be powered by six AA batteries on the go. The speaker promises about eight hours of use per battery set. The speaker has a four-inch cone woofer and a 1 3/8-inch tweeter. The speaker measures 8.25 x 9 3/8 x 9.5-inches and weighs 3.3 pounds. It’s offered in black and gray or solid black colors.
Heading to the doctor to have a blood test performed can be a pain in the neck, well, arm, really. Not only do you have to take time out of your day to get stabbed, but often times, doctors ask that you come in without eating anything, which can leave you a tad woozy if the medical facility takes its time drawing your blood. A new sensor may be just the thing we’ve been waiting for that will allow doctors know what’s up with your blood whenever they need it to be checked.
The blood-testing subdermal sensor was developed by a team of scientists in Switzerland that is able to instantly send a number of health metrics to smart devices via Bluetooth. The half-inch prototype can monitor your cholesterol, blood sugar levels and the impact of medical treatments like chemotherapy. Even more incredible, the device can predict heart attacks several hours before they may take place as it can sense the slightest change in the patient’s bloodstream.
The prototype has been tested on animals with researchers hoping to be able to test it on patients who would require regular monitoring of their blood.
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The Vamp is not a new band who takes after the likes of vampires, and neither is it a new TV miniseries that deal with the average life of a lovelorn vampire who is seeking meaning in this existentialist life. No sir, The Vamp is actually a Kickstarter project that when realized, will be able to help you transform an existing aged, and yet quality speaker into one that has Bluetooth connectivity in order to keep up with the times. Basically, The Vamp, despite its diminutive size, can be attached to most speakers, providing it with Bluetooth connectivity along the way. This would certainly extend the life of conventional speakers, making them far more useful with new advances achieved in technology.
