Hasta La Gadget!

Fans of the JRR Tolkien novel series Lord of the Rings will remember the mystical metal known as Mithril, rare and precious as the finest diamonds, as strong as the hills themselves. Here in the earbuds known as Mythro from the folks at Moshi, the excellence in the name is called upon to present a pair of sound blasters that are surrounded by a durable metal casing, bring on high-quality sound, and don’t cost a mint doing so. Have a peek at what the makers of fine accessories have conjured up!

With the Mythro you’ve got a collection of color choices at your hands including gunmetal gray, jet silver, tyrian purple, satin gold, rose pink, and burgundy red. You’ll be picking these little monsters up for a cool $29 USD, which should throw up a red flag for you quality seekers out there – but no worries! These buds are for you!

– DR8 Neodymium drivers (15Hz-20kHz / -10dB@1kHz) in an anodized aluminum casing.
– Integrated microphone with universal button control.
– Hybrid injection silicone earbuds in three sizes for superior noise isolation and comfort.
– A convenient Velcro HandyStrap cable manager.

The strap you get with the buds wrap around the cord real hand-like, keeping everything in order for transport. The color of the different sized buds you get in the package reflect the specific color of the buds you’ve purchased, and you’ve got a unique application available for your experience right out of the box as well. With the unique “Burn In Tool” app available for free from the iTunes App Store you’ll have a curated series of sounds played from your iPhone through your new set of earbuds that’ll break in or “burn in” the phones for a more satisfying experience from the start.

By playing back a curated list of tones/frequencies, the Moshi Audio Burn-In Tool allows the headphone diaphragms to relax and reach their optimal level of sonic performance. Simply install the burn-in tool on any iOS device and select the headphone and desired burn-in period. The burn-in tool is customized for all Moshi Audio headphones, but also includes support for any third-party audio headsets as well.

These little buds will be exactly what you need if you’ve got a twenty dollar bill, a ten dollar bill, and a love of fashionable audio accessories for your smartphone or tablet. Grab them right this minute – and have a peek at the timeline below for more Moshi excellence as well!

Moshi Mythro Earbuds offer high-end sound with Tolkien twist is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
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When Samsung said it was having a little soiree to celebrate the launch of the Galaxy S 4, we took the company on its word. At the end, when the execs present warned us of something new, we thought a Mini might be in the cards, but in fact it was the exact opposite. It turns out that Samsung brought another friend along to the party, the recently announced Galaxy Mega. The largest of the two, to be precise. So, while everyone wanted to play with the latest flagship, we thought we’d take some time to get the know the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega a little better. Head past the break for our impressions.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Rumors of an upcoming iPad sporting a similar design as the iPad mini go as far back as late January this year, when our reliable friends at 9to5Mac shared some clear photos of a leaked chassis (check them out at the “More Coverage” link below). This was followed by an alleged photo of the front panel sent around earlier this month. But as before, cases for this unreleased “iPad 5” have also been making the rounds in China, and we’ve managed to get our hands on one at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair earlier today. It’s the same old story according to a staff at the booth: the case is based on a leaked mold. Oops!

Compared to a similar case made for the two latest generations of the bigger iPad, this case again suggests a slimmer and narrower iPad is in the works, which would mean that this mysterious tablet is likely to have the same screen size but thinner left and right-side bezels — just like the iPad mini. Similarly, the straighter edges support 9to5Mac’s earlier leak of the iPad mini-like body. Let’s just hope that Apple will still have a few surprises up its sleeves then, eh?

Filed under: Tablets

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Got no touchscreen on your living room remote? That’s a shame, because Logitech and others have been flogging such universal controllers since way back when. After a long new product hiatus, the late 2012 release of the Harmony Touch remote hasn’t stopped Logitech from mulling a sale of the brand, but it’s not done with it just yet. Coming soon are two fresh bundles bearing the Harmony name: the Ultimate and Smart Control. At the heart of both is the Smart Hub, a palm-sized box somewhat similar to the Harmony Link. It receives commands from remotes via RF, or from smartphone apps via WiFi, and in turn, broadcasts its own orders to your A/V setup using IR and Bluetooth. It’s especially useful for those wanting to hide their kit away in cabinets, as it translates inputs into IR signals that’ll bounce around those secluded spaces. Optional extender nodes will also pipe IR into other nearby recesses.

To do that though, the Hub needs instructions, which is where remotes and apps come in. The new Ultimate remote (aka the Touch Plus) is last year’s Touch remote with a few refinements, including the addition of a trigger-like nub on the underside to improve grip. It uses IR, Bluetooth or RF (to the Hub) to control up to 15 devices, and is programmed using Logitech’s software for PCs that pulls settings from a database of 225,000 home entertainment products. The Ultimate’s 2.4-inch touchscreen serves as a number pad, a favorite channel list for easy hopping, and is the home of one-touch “activities,” which are basically macros for issuing multiple commands. Set up an activity for “Play Xbox,” for example, and in one touch it’ll turn on your console, switch your TV to the correct source, select the right channel on your amp, and so on. It’ll even tell Philips’ connected Hue lightbulbs to set a mood. Jump on past the break for more.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Software, HD

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Late last year, Kobo went small. The introduction of the 5-inch Mini was no doubt, at least in part, an attempt to offer up a bit of variety in a space whose parameters are largely defined by two Goliaths: Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The device offered a compelling alternative, but ultimately not one enticing enough to recommend it. Announced at roughly the same time, the company’s first take at front-lighting technology, the Glo, suffered a similar fate, coming on the heels of the Kindle Paperwhite and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight.

Less than half a year later, the company has announced a new reader that once again rethinks the standard 6-inch screen. With the Aura HD, Kobo is going big, extending things to 6.8 inches, putting it closer to tablet size. With that upgrade comes an impressive resolution: 1,440 x 1,080 (compared to the 1,024 x 768 on the Paperwhite and 1,024 by 758 on the Glo). It’s a product focused on hardcore readers. “We got 10,000 customers together across dozens of countries to ask them what we can do for them,” Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis explained. As such, it’s a limited edition offering, one not destined to replace the flagship Glo. “This is something that is designed for this most passionate, voracious reader,” he said, “and as much as I wish everyone was like that — it would make us a lot bigger business right away — that is not the case.” The reader’s priced at $169, and is available for pre-order now, with shipping expected to begin on the 25th. In the meantime, we’ve got more details and some hands-on photos after the break.

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