Hasta La Gadget!

XtremeMac has unveiled a couple new products aimed at Apple users to allow wireless streaming of music to non-Bluetooth home or portable audio systems. The two new products include the BT Connect, and the BT Home Connect. Both devices allow wireless streaming using Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) sound.

The BT Connect receiver lets users of the iPhone, iPod, or iPad stream music wirelessly from their device to audio systems that lack integrated Bluetooth connectivity. The device has 10 hours of playback per set of AAA batteries and is designed to be small and compact for clean and simple installation.

This device remembers Bluetooth connections after pairing for easy connectivity and will sell for $59.95. The BT Home Connect is a Bluetooth audio receiver designed to be used with your favorite home speakers allowing the streaming of AAC quality audio with no wires. This device ships with a 3.5 mm to RCA converter for use with a variety of speaker systems and audio receivers.

Once paired with your device the BT Home Connect remembers your connection for easy access in the future. This device also sells for $59.95. The main difference between the two devices is that the Home Connect doesn’t offer a battery power option. Additional details on both devices, including availability will be announced later.

XtremeMac unveils new BT Connect and BT Home Connect devices is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Back at IFA we spent most of our time handling new tablets and Win 8 devices, but, given that the show has grown into something of a mini-CES, there was news in almost every product category, portable audio included. TDK announced a trio of speakers that week, and though we didn’t get hands-on in Berlin, we got a second chance tonight at a New York City press event. In particular, the company is showing off its first ruggedized product, the Wireless Weatherproof Speaker. As you can see in those photos down there, it has all the stylings of a run-of-the-mill portable speaker, except it also happens to be IP64-certified against the elements. When TDK talks about its durability, it talks about liters of dousage, so a splash on your next beach vacation shouldn’t be an issue.

As for audio, it has two speakers up front, a subwoofer and two passive radiators ’round back. TDK declined to clarify the wattage, but we’ll say this: the little guy is powerful enough that we could hear it over the din at Pepcom, a local press event. And, TDK had a larger, more powerful speaker playing nearby, and we still had no problem hearing the song coming from the weatherproof model. Granted, then, this was hardly the best scenario to evaluate audio quality, but we did sense that the treble was a bit trapped compared to the bass, which came through loud and clear. Lastly, there’s a rechargeable battery inside, which TDK rates for up to six hours of runtime. It’ll go on sale in late October for $250, but in the meantime help yourself to some first-hand shots below.

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

TDK preps its first weatherproof speaker, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like playing Sonic CD on your Android device but sick of those pesky virtual buttons? How will you ever keep ahold of all those rings?! PowerA has one potential solution for you in its MOGA (mobile gaming system) Bluetooth controller, which arrives at “key retailers and carriers” on October 21 for $49.99. The MOGA comes with two analog sticks, four diamond-style face buttons, two shoulder buttons, and a Bluetooth transmitter for connection with any Android-powered device (Gingerbread or newer OS required). A companion app, available free on the Google Play store, enables the MOGA to work with select titles — not all Android games support the controller, but PowerA promises more are being added all the time; deals with the likes of Gameloft, Atari, Namco, Sega, and Remedy Entertainment are already in place. Should you decide to pick one up this October, the MOGA comes with free copies of Sonic CD (!) and Pac-Man.

Continue reading PowerA’s MOGA Bluetooth Android controller launching on October 21 for $50

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Peripherals, Tablets, Mobile

PowerA’s MOGA Bluetooth Android controller launching on October 21 for $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In addition to unveiling all those laptops, HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping. (Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by chance, you don’t have NFC on your laptop — and you probably don’t — the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device. Look for it in November for $39. Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front, HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there’s also the Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for $29 and $39, respectively.

Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the $29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite v2. For audio lovers, there’s the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts) will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port, allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out the list is the Webcam HD 4310, an $89 shooter capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.

Continue reading HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories

Filed under: Peripherals

HP unveils first NFC-enabled mouse, various other PC accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Beats by Dr. Dre badge has usually been attached to headphones and the occasional laptop or smartphone. We’ve never really seen it attached to dedicated speakers, however, and that’s where both an FCC filing and a sighting at UK retailer HMV’s online store raise a few eyebrows. The House that Dre Built appears on the edge of launching the Beats Pill, a Bluetooth wireless speaker with four drivers and a shape that more than explains the medicinal name. While we don’t know just how much of that signature Beats thump we’ll get, we do know from the FCC that the Pill can serve as a speakerphone, carries an aux-in jack and will last for a typical 8.5 hours on its USB-rechargeable lithium-ion battery. There’s also signs of a red version of Beats’ Mixr headphones coming at the same time. HMV has publicly scoured its pages of any trace of a ship date or price for the Pill, but cached copies point to a £170 ($276) price and a release around September 28th — not necessarily trustworthy figures, but they may be in the ballpark. Our only question is whether or not we’ll get a dose of the Pill in the US.

[Thanks, Germaine]

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio/Video

Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker spotted at FCC and HMV: take one and call Dr. Dre in the morning originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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