Hasta La Gadget!

With its sleek styling and double act as a portable USB charger, there’s plenty to like about Braven’s line of Bluetooth speakers. Indeed, we listed the 625 in our back to school guide earlier this year as an alternative to the pricier Jambox. But if you were hoping to snag something even cheaper, you might want to check out the Braven 570, which is set to debut this Sunday on QVC for $100. Similar in looks with its Six Series brethren, the tiny music machine has six watts of power and a slightly lower capacity 1,200mAh battery — the previous models were 1,700mAh and up — all wrapped in an “impact-resistant” material. QVC will be offering the Braven 570 in Lunar Black, Arctic White, Fiji Green, Rio Purple, Monaco Blue and Sahara Red. But if you’d rather subject yourself to mall crowds or prefer the Zen-like experience of online shopping, you can get the retail version in black or white this coming January for $130 each. If you decide to go the QVC route, just don’t get suckered in by overpriced celebrity steak knives, okay?

Continue reading Braven’s budget-friendly Bluetooth speaker to debut on QVC for $100

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Source: Braven

If there’s one thing we’ve liked about Marshall over the past year (not that there’s just one, of course), it’s that they’re able to present a whole new angle on the mobile music world by simply implementing the aesthetics they’ve already got in place for on-stage audio. What you’ve got here is the release of the Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition amplifier, made specifically for your smartphone and bearing the distinction of being the very first home audio product to be released with “Marshall’s legendary script logo.”

That’s just a fancy way of saying it’s the first Marshall speaker out that’s not an amp for a guitar, basically. If what we’ve seen and heard with the Marshall headphones we’ve reviewed already is any indication, we’re about to see some epic sound coming from this lovely beast too, not just fancy looks. Plug your device in the top with the included headphone jack-sized cord and pump it up!

This beast is what’s called a Compact Active Loudspeaker if you want to get technical about it, coming with two 6-inch Long Throw hifi woofers, two Ferrofluid Cooled hifi domes, and a PWM Amplifier at 100W (cool running). This machine offers over temperature protection and frequency response along 35HZ-20KHZ +/-5DB. Along the top you’ve got both bass and treble tone controls and your main output is a fantastic 110DB SPL@1M.

This Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition machine is approximately 435 X 193 X 297MM / 17.15 X 7.60 X 11.70-inches large and weighs in at a cool 23 pounds. The casing for this amalgamation of sound amplification is a wooden cabinet covered with black vinyl with fret cloth up front and gold piping throughout to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Marshall. Each of these Hanwell units is branded with a numbered anniversary edition commemorative badge as well.

You can find this machine on the market immediately if not soon for a cool $800 USD. Expect it in your Christmas stocking only if you’ve got one massive foot.

Marshall Hanwell Anniversary Edition amp gives your smartphone a tune-up is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re both a horticulturist and an audiophile, then have I got the perfect thing for you. Ok, it’s probably more for the gardener than the audio fanatic since it doesn’t actually function as a speaker, but this thing is still kind of a neat idea.

While it looks just like a bookshelf speaker, what you’re looking at is a 3D-printed planter. It measures about 4″(W) x 4″ (D) x 5.8″(H) and has a drainage hole to make sure your plants don’t get overwatered. Just don’t try connecting this thing to your amplifier unless you want to short it out.

You can buy the 3D-printed speaker planter for $30(USD) from PixilShop over on Etsy.

For those of you who have visited Sin City (Las Vegas), you would know that glitz, excess and entertainment is all part of the package. The thing is, with so many different hotels to choose from, you can be spoilt for choice. Most folks would know of the iconic Bellagio with its water fountain show, and here is your chance to bring home a little bit of Bellagio’s magic to your home – thanks to the $39.99 Light Show Fountain Speakers.

Compatible with all USB-friendly devices, this particular lights & water show has been specially timed to your tunes, ensuring that it will not miss a beat or put a foot wrongly. Plug it into your iPod, a MP3 player (who uses those these days), or a computer/notebook using the included USB cable and you are good to go. Of course, what is the whole point of a fountain when there are no lights for that added touch of glamor? This is where the quartet of multi-colored LEDs come in handy, bringing your tunes to a literally new level.

[ Light Show Fountain Speakers copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

It’s not directly related to the fabulous early hit by the Hottest Band in the World, but will certainly look good while you’re playing it: this is the Black Diamond III multi-sensory Bluetooth speaker. This machine is the first Bluetooth speaker “capable of mimicking music beats and rhythms through color and movement,” so says Sales and Marketing Manager of Acase Tom Hsieh. And for those of you wondering why there’s a “III” on the tail of this little ball of magic, you’ll want to head back to the Black Diamond archives more than once.

This device is alternately titled BlackDiamond3 depending on where you look for it, and though its predecessors worked with the iPhone as a dock, this unit opens up to the full smart device universe with Bluetooth integration. You’ll be working with your iOS devices, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone – and whatever else you can connect with Bluetooth, notebooks included. Each unit contains two high-quality “diamond clear” left/right 3W*2 speakers and work with a remote control as well.

Inside you’ll find a fixed or flow set of colors up to what the folks at Yantouc say are “16,000,000 colors.” To power this device up all you’ve got to do is plug in via its AC-to-USB adapter and roll out with only 5W, 100 to 240V AC. This machine also has a bass resonant tube inside for low frequency music and a built-in equalizer for improving audio response by 10dB – hot stuff!

Even the packaging has been pumped up to make this unit “good for a gift” as they say with an 8-edges diamond design, all for $120 USD MSRP. We’ll be taking a good hands-on look at this device later this week – stay tuned! Meanwhile have a peek at our most recent gift guide for audio equipment to say up to date on what’s been fabulous this year – 2012, the year of the Bluetooth boom!

Black Diamond III multi-sensory bluetooth speaker hits the lights is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.