Hasta La Gadget!

iPod and iPhone users aren’t exactly bereft of choice for places to dock their audio transporters, but what if you prefer to keep your music collection on your iPad? Okay, actually there are a couple of options for you out there as well, but few will be quite as bodacious (or as expensive, we’re sure) as Bang & Olufsen’s latest. The BeoSound 8 straps a pair of cones to a connecting bar, adds some feet, a wall bracket, and a remote control, and sends you home to enjoy some “outstanding sound performance.” USB and auxiliary line-in connectors are available if you’re not dancing to Steve Jobs’ tune, while the body can be had in white or black and the speaker covers come in a variety of colors to express your individuality with. Look for the BeoSound 8 at your nearest B&O outlet later this month.

[Thanks, Jesper]

Continue reading Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8 welcomes iPads, iPhones and iPods into its emporium of awesome

Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8 welcomes iPads, iPhones and iPods into its emporium of awesome originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The WOWKeys keyboard from Omnio, an Apple-certified iPhone dock, manages to beat out Apple’s own offerings in almost every way. The keyboard features a bay on the right-side, where a number-pad would usually sit, into which your iPhone slides. From there, you can proceed in two ways.

First, and most obvious, is that you now have a hardware keyboard for your iPhone, giving you an iOS version of Asus’ Eee keyboard, only for $100 instead of $600 (not including the iPhone, of course). There are a slew of special keys dedicated to the iPhone, including volume, display-off,brightness, media keys, keyboard toggle and a home-screen button. Even Apple’s own Bluetooth keyboard can manage all those.

The second option is to hook this up to a Mac or PC (via USB-cable) and let the iPhone take on some extra duties. Coupled with any of a number of third-party apps, you can turn the iPhone into a trackpad, number-pad or full-on remote for your computer. You could of course do this without the WOWKeys, but locking the trackpad to the keyboard makes sense, and it’ll also charge the iPhone as you use it. Flipping between these two modes is done by toggling a switch.

The WOWKeys should be available in Korea soon for the equivalent of $105. Start harassing your friendly, neighborhood gray-importer now.

IPhone PC keyboards and fusion [AVING via the Engadget]

See Also:

• IPhone Case Adds Vestigial QWERTY-Slider Keyboard
• Fat QWERTY Keyboard Turns iPhone 4 into Giant Plastic Slab …
• Ultimate Keyboard Smackdown: iPhone Vs. Stylus Vs. Chiclets …
• No Thanks, You're Not My iType: iPhone Keyboard Accessory …
• Hacker Attaches Physical Keyboard to iPhone

Convertible tablets are a hardly a rarity, but while their non-convertible cousins may be getting all the press lately how many of those can morph into a mighty desktop? Okay, the T1125 isn’t exactly mighty with its Core i5 or i3 ULV processors, but its sideways dock does let it turn into a respectable desktop, still leaving that 11.6-inch touchscreen available for use. USB 3.0 ports are on-offer for your high-speed peripherals, Optimus tech to boost battery life, and THX-certified dual-channel speakers will let you properly shatter Grandpa’s teeth on the go. The T1125 is set to ship sometime later this month for $1,299, fingerprints not included. For now, however, check out a thorough hands-on from our pals at Netbook News — it’s just past the break.

Continue reading Gigabyte’s Booktop T1125 convertible tablet also converts into a desktop, ships soon

Gigabyte’s Booktop T1125 convertible tablet also converts into a desktop, ships soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 08:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you frequent small house parties like us, chances are you would’ve witnessed the many occasions where guests take turns to hook up their iDevices to the speakers; if not, just picture yourself fighting your flatmates over your communal HiFi system — Altec Lansing claims that on average there are 2.2 portable audio devices per household, and they’re most likely iPods. Naturally, a dual-docking speaker — which is nothing new — would somewhat ease domestic tension and reduce interruption to the tunes, but think smarter: what if you could let music alternate between the devices, as well as having the ability to instantly change the amount of play time on both persons’ music libraries? Better yet, what if the speaker doubles up as an alarm clock? These are pretty much what Altec’s offering with its $99.95 Octiv Duo (or Octiv 202 outside the US), with a little help from its two free iOS apps: Music Mix and Alarm Rock. You know the drill — read on to find out whether this new box would end your little social crisis once and for all.

Continue reading Altec Lansing Octiv Duo (202) speaker dock review

Altec Lansing Octiv Duo (202) speaker dock review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wood. Since the dawn of time, mankind has never had a use for it. Now, thanks to one upstate New York Etsian, wood has finally found a purpose–to charge our Apple products. 

Why use a chord like some cyborg, completely divorced from nature?  Now you can dock the whole Apple family of portable i-products (except the Shuffle) into an actual cedar log. The USB-linked hunk o’ wood can be synced up to a computer or plugged directly into a wall to be recharged.

This great juxtaposition of nature and portable media is available for $138.

It’s what Lincoln would have used to charge his iPhone.