Hasta La Gadget!

Ok, I definitively have to get one of these! Here you are Pioneer Japanese latest and coolest Speaker yet, with the XW-SMA3-K and XW-SMA1-K.
Designed to be every Geek’s best friends these two portable speakers comes fully compatible with Apple AirPlay and DLNA, but also features. WiFi G/B, Ethernet, USB, Optical In and Audio In. Both models are technically identical with the exception of the XW-SMA3-K and its splashproof IPX2 casing and its internal battery capable to offer up to 4h of …

Sound quality is important, and AudioQuest’s DragonFly is a simple device that anyone can use to bypass the not-so-great quality of a computer’s built-in sound card, turning it into a high-performance sound source to enjoy at home or on the go. DragonFly comes in the form of a flash drive that connects to any Mac or PC USB jack and uses an ESS Sabre DAC—a quality chip found in most high-end Blu-ray and CD players.

DragonFly can work with MP3 formatted audio files and CD-standard 16-bit/44KHz to 24-bit/96KHz files. Over 100 components are mounted inside the device on a 0.6×1.7-inch four-layer board that includes regulators and custom capacitors. You can use it with your desktop speakers or directly with headphones.

Whichever audio file format your computer can recognize, DragonFly can make it sound better. Rather than relying on a digital volume control that can actually lower signal resolution and the quality of sound, the volume control operates in the analog domain to ensure only the best sound. This little desktop DAC has been designed with the audiophile in mind and comes at a price of about $249.

AudioQuest’s DragonFly is a USB-powered digital-to-analog converter is written by Elise Moreau & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Another day, another speaker dock. We initially dismissed Gear4‘s latest accessory at Google I/O 2012 until we noticed that the attached Nexus 7 was playing audio digitally via the USB port instead of simply through the headphone jack (or wirelessly over Bluetooth for that matter). It turns out that Jelly Bean supports USB audio, a software feature that’s bound to spearhead a whole new generation of accessories for Android devices. Gear4’s universal speaker dock with alarm clock radio is the first to handle USB audio. While the sound for any app can be routed to the USB port in Jelly Bean, the functionality is missing from older versions of Android. Thankfully, Gear4 includes an app with its accessory that can be used to set alarms, sync time, tune the radio and play media over the USB port on legacy versions of Android. Want to know more? You’ll find our gallery below and our hands-on video after the break.

Continue reading Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video)

Gear4 speaker dock supports USB audio for Jelly Bean at Google I/O 2012 (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jun 2012 09:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mimoco has been offering Star Wars themed flash drives for a long time now. In fact, the latest batch of five themed flash drives is the eighth series to come from the company. I happen to think this series has what might be the coolest of all the Star Wars Mimobot flash drives the company has ever offered.

Any male geek out there who is a fan of Star Wars probably remembers one specific scene from Return of the Jedi and that would be the scene where Princess Leia is clad in a gold bikini and chained to Jabba the Hutt.

Mimoco is offering that Slave Leia flash drive complete with a chain around her neck and a bikini top. Granted the curved nature of the flash drive makes slave Leia a bit more portly than she was back in the 80s.

The series also includes a Jabba the Hutt flash drive, Admiral Ackbar flash drive (It’s a trap!), and Luke Skywalker Jedi drive. While that Princess Leia flash drive is most appealing to me, anyone intent on collecting these Mimobots want to keep an eye out at San Diego Comic-Con for a very limited edition Biker Scout drive. Only 1000 of those will be made and they will only be available at Comic-Con. The drives are available in 8 GB to 64 GB capacities here.

[via EverythingUSB]

G-Technology today announced a new line of portable and desktop USB 3.0 storage solutions for a broad range of users from consumers to audio/video professionals. Given the brand’s strength in the content creation and Apple Mac community, G-Technology is well positioned to move the Mac industry forward in leveraging high-capacity, high-performance USB 3.0 drives across a variety of customer segments, all while delivering one of the industry’s most respected external storage platforms with …