Hasta La Gadget!

Not all headphones are created equal, and you can tell by referring to Accidentally Extraordinary, the headphone startup that is the main driving force behind the highly-rated 51st Studios over-ear walnut headphones. Well, they have decided to turn to Kickstarter in order to raise funds for the manufacturing and roll out of their first ever production wood headphones that will boast of Bluetooth connectivity, calling it the AE 51st Studios Unplugged.

I would like to think that the AE 51st Studios Unplugged intends to continue from where its highly successful predecessor, the AE 51st Studios, left off. Relying on the popular design, Accidentally Extraordinary (AE) hopes to raise $60,000 in the next 22 days on Kickstarter so that they can begin to produce the AE 51st Studios Unplugged.

Founder and CEO of AE Kunal Dalal shared, “This launch is important for us. We were thrilled with the love our first headphones received, and now we are trying to build on that success in market as seemingly crowded as this. Because, actually, when it comes to headphones like ours at this price-point, I don’t think there’s that much in the way of competition.”

The AE 51st Studios Unplugged model will support wireless connectivity obviously as it handles Bluetooth connectivity with ease, sporting a multi-function button that can handle power/playback/call functions, with an embedded microphone that caters for wireless calls. There is a sleek looking slider on the left ear cup for next/previous track, while the Volume Slider on the headphone will work too, regardless of whether it is in wired or wireless mode. Walnut wood is used for a distinguished look and a richer listening experience, while the clever implementation of anodized stainless steel for its headband delivers a clean, crisp, ultra-modern finish. Just in case the rest of your devices have not caught up with the Bluetooth program just yet, there will be a detachable 3.5mm cable that caters for wired listening.

Product Page via Press Release
[ Accidentally Extraordinary looks to Kickstarter to roll out the AE 51st Studios Unplugged headphones copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Modern smartphones only have a few buttons, which by default are stuck performing one or two actions. The pull down shortcut menu in Android devices is a great way to access some of the most toggled settings, but you might have other apps or actions that you want to activate quickly. That’s where Pressy comes in.

Pressy is a small button that plugs into the headphone jack of an Android device, providing you with an extra input method. It will have a companion app where you’ll set your shortcuts. The video below indicates that you can set 1, 2 or 3 clicks, and each click can be long or short. If that’s true, that means you can save up to 14 shortcuts at once. For instance, you can set a single short press of Pressy to activate your camera or three long presses to close all running apps.

Also, in the video you’ll see that users will be able to activate the shortcuts using headsets that have playback buttons, so in theory Android users will be able to enjoy Pressy’s features without spending a cent.

As of now Pressy will only work with devices running Android 2.3 and up. The company behind Pressy, Nimrod Back, said that Pressy may come to iOS but via Cydia, i.e. it will only run on a jailbroken iOS device. Pledge at least $17 (USD) on Kickstarter to earn a Pressy as a reward.

It seems like a great accessory, but as of this writing, backers have at least one crucial unanswered question about Pressy: Will a device recognize Pressy as a headphone? Because that might break some basic features. For instance, it could block the audio from an incoming phone call, because the phone is sending the audio to a headphone or headset that’s not actually there. Hopefully Nimrod Back responds to that soon.

[via The Next Web]

To most people, Antec’s probably better known for its desktop-related products, but at Computex, the company made quite a big effort to pimp its A.M.P. (Antec Mobile Products) range of Bluetooth audio devices. You may have already come across the SP1 Bluetooth speaker (pictured above in several colors), but we’ve been told that an identical-looking SP1+ is coming this October. What’s new? Well, the refresh will come with NFC-enabled Bluetooth pairing, as well as CSR’s TrueWireless Stereo technology that will let you use one SP1+ as the left channel, and another SP1+ as the right channel (but both drivers in each SP1+ are still active in this case). Do read on to see what else Antec has up its sleeve later this year.

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Wearables, Wireless

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Get some street cred with Pioneer’s new headphone “SE-MJ732″ from their “BASS HEAD” headphone series, to be released in mid-May.

According to the company: “BASS HEAD places importance on quality deep bass sounds and it has a design that shows up in street fashion and features a wide head band that is suitable for street dance…”

A large 40mm speaker unit is built in.

Price: 6,200 yen
Color: red, blue, and black
Weight: 220g

If you’re an audiophile, then you’re probably not too thrilled with the audio output from most smartphones. This gadget kicks things it up a notch by transforming your phone into a mobile hi-fi system.

The V-MODA Vamp Verza case takes its cues from the original Vamp for iPhone 4/4S and includes a 150mW × 2 headphone amplifier, paired with high quality Burr Brown and AKM digital-to-analog-converters and a 2200 mAh battery pack. The Vamp Verza can be used as a hi-fi USB audio amp, and its additional battery will power your phone for another 7 hours. You can even attach your phone to the face of the Vamp, using the optional Metallo case.

The Vamp Verza comes in matte black, red/black, and white/orange colorways for $598 (USD). The Metallo case is currently available for the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III and sells for about $100.

[via V-Moda]