Hasta La Gadget!

BlackBerry’s accessories are almost as interesting as its first BB10 shipping hardware, and in addition to an external battery charger, they’ve also got a Bluetooth Mini Stereo Speaker/speakerphone that’s extremely portable, delivers decent sound and won’t cost you an arm and a leg at $79.99. Plus, the unique design means it clips onto your sun visor in the car for hands-free communication.

The sound quality from the speaker is decent, much better than a lot of more expensive devices (though I’d still prefer a Jambox for audio fidelity), and it can actually go quite loud. Not room-filling or anything, but plenty loud for private listening. But the main advantages are the fact that it acts as a very good Bluetooth speakerphone, charges via micro USB (and can be charged with your external Z10 charger), can go weeks without a charge and has a 3.5mm headset jack, which essentially makes it a Bluetooth receiver for use with a stereo or headphones.

The hardware accessory market is a place where it’s hard to compete with platforms like iOS and Android, and that’s likely why BlackBerry is taking an early interest in doing things itself. And they’re off to a good start in that regard, if my experience with this speaker is any indication.

I know that the above title does seem to have its fair share of typos, but that is because the official names of the company as well as the device itself does not sport any upper case letters. Yes sir, bēm wireless did announce that they will start to ship the speaker trio, having unveiled the bēm wireless speaker trio at the recently concluded CES 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The name of the speaker trio itself gives the game away, where it will comprise of three different speakers which share a common wireless connection to its base. Basically, you can say that the speaker trio is an audio product which was specially designed to enhance the user’s lifestyle, where it delivers pounding, pulsing beats to different rooms with the help of the control of a solitary Bluetooth device.

Bryan Katzel, Director of Marketing and Product Development for bēm, said, “Elevating our consumer’s lives to their highest potential is our top priority at bēm. From conception to execution, we crafted the speaker trio to help eliminate wires with a simple interface that allows users to forget about complicated audio gear and just enjoy their music.”

You will be able to place all three speakers in multiple rooms, where it will enable you to simultaneously ramp up the tunes the next time you host a party at your pad. The wireless connection that each speaker shares with the base will enable the user to control music from a single device, be it the same iPhone, iPad or other Bluetooth-enabled device. Of course, it will be limited in terms of range due to Bluetooth’s specifications, leaving it to approximately 120 feet of wireless connectivity. Once the party is done and over with, all you need to do is return the speakers to the base and they will be able to enjoy an easy, wire-free recharge experience. The speaker trio can be yours for $299.99 a pop.

Company Page
[ bēm wireless speaker trio starts to ship copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

I am quite sure that all of you readers who grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s would have had fond memories of boomboxes as you hung out with the rest of your mates, generally subjecting yourself to corny music (in retrospect, as always) and even more outrageous fashion. That happens all the time to me, no worries, but in this day and age, if you were to dust off the best boombox of yesteryear and have an ample supply of D batteries, it will still not be able to get the party started with this iPod and MP3 generation. Taking more than a year of research and development, SOUL Electronics is pleased to announce the portable, wireless entertainment system known as “Party in a Box P910”.

Touted to offer superior performance that is second to none, the $999.99 Party in a Box P910 is said to be the first of its kind that boasts of a variety of functions that have been rolled into one sleek package, and will comprise of an all-inclusive indoor/outdoor portable sound system with Bluetooth, Aux input, Apple dock and HDMI connectivity, now how about that to keep up with the times?

Lan Kennedy-Davis, CEO of SOUL Electronics, USA, said, “We [SOUL] want to take partying to another level so we invented a sophisticated system jam-packed with features that you cannot find in one single audio system anywhere, and you can take it with you in your car, to the beach, poolside, basketball court, fraternity house or the next party. The Party in a Box P910 is the first of its kind, and we are confident it will blow away all your party guests. It is also a surround sound home theatre audio system. The sound is so crisp that you will likely hear words in a movie that you have never heard before if the movie is played through the Party in a Box.”

You know what? It sounds too much like a dream, and the only real way of finding out whether it works as depicted would be to purchase one and give it a go.

Press Release
[ SOUL Electronics offers Party in a Box copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

As we’ve heard before, Google’s Glass project features are “still in flux” — could one be a bone-conduction speaker? It very well may, at least according to a US patent application published today. The gadget, described as a “wearable computing device with indirect bone-conduction speaker,” appears to be similar in structure to Glass. It includes “at least once vibration transducer,” so it’s possible that this HMD implementation wouldn’t offer stereo sound. This audio solution does seem within reach — Panasonic had functional bone-conduction headphones at CES, and while they weren’t quite loud enough to provide an earbud-like experience, they did indeed work. As with any patent application, the document confirms only that Google was considering such a technology, not that it’ll actually ship a similar device. So, if you’ve decided that your portable audio future will be headphone-free, you might want to keep an eye on Panasonic’s solution, instead.

Filed under: Displays, Portable Audio/Video, Wearables, Mobile, Google

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Source: USPTO

There have been plenty of different passive amplifiers for smartphones, but I have to say that this one definitely stands out from the crowd. The Bomie’s Boom System is quite large, and could be something interesting to have in your living room if you don’t believe in powered speakers.

The Bomie’s Boom System is a passive acoustic amplifier for smartphones that was handmade by Malawian woodcarvers and wood-turning specialists. It amplifies the sound of the paltry integrated smartphone speaker thanks to the large, parabolic horn shape. The carved tube is made out of solid wood, and the slot at the base allows users to easily slide their phones in and out.

It was developed by the Dutch designer Jeroen Bomers and hopefully, you’ll be able to pick one up sometime soon.

[via designboom]