Monster ClarityHD Katana Wireless Speaker

Monster clarityHD katana 00 640x359 Monster ClarityHD Katana Wireless Speaker[CES 2013] Wireless compact speakers streaming music from smartphones and delivering big sound are trendy, and we like popular products such as the Jambox on the tiny side and the B&O BeoPlay 8 on the expensive side. So, we were pleased to discover another high quality and elegant device in that category, namely the ClarityHD Katana Wireless Digital Music System designed by Monster. The Katana, as nicknamed by the Monster team, features a stylish design with a form factor reminiscent of the samurai’s weapon of choice, which offers a sleek and slightly curved chassis. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sennheiser MOMENTUM Black Headphones Launched, Panasonic RP-BTGS10 Uses Your Skull To Listen To Music Via Bluetooth-enabled Devices,

Moxie Shower Head with Bluetooth Speaker: Songs on the Water

Some people love to sing while taking a shower. Not to brag, but I’m one of the world’s greatest listeners, so I prefer my bathtime music to come from another source. If you have the same preference, first of all high five! Second, here’s a shower head who prefer to leave our music to the professionals.

kohler moxie shower head with bluetooth speaker

Made by Kohler, the Moxie shower head comes with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker. It can be paired and stream audio from any Bluetooth-capable device from up to 32ft. away. You can also detach it from the shower head and use it as a normal Bluetooth speaker or for when you need to recharge its Li-ion battery via USB.

It’s also great for covering up your number 2 hits. The Moxie shower head is available from Amazon for $199 (USD).

[via Kohler & Gadget Review]


XW-SMA4-K, Pioneer new DLNA and Airplay Speaker

Pioneer launched early August in Japan the XW-SMA3-K and XW-SMA1-K DLNA and Airplay Speakers and today, barely a few month later, the company announced yet another iteration of its Wireless speaker with the XW-SMA4-K.
Technically both the XW-SMA3-K and XW-SMA4-K offers the same functions with Wireless Audio, DLNA 1.5, Airplay… But Pioneer decided to rework the XW-SMA4-K output audio quality and announced, according to their press release, a hug improvement in Audio quality.
Anyway, it will be …

Take a Chill (Beats) Pill

I must say, legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre have certainly made good for himself in terms of his business acumen, and starting the Beats brand with Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine has proved to be one of his masterstrokes. Well, the company continues to march onward by announcing their spanking new Beats Pill. No sir, the Beats Pill is not something you pop to drown out the tunes of commercially appealing pop from manufactured boy bands, but rather, it comes across as a portable wireless speaker that boasts of built-in patented Beats Audio. Needless to say, expectations tend to run a little bit higher than normal when there is the Dr. Dre name associated with a particular device, no?

Beats By Dr. Dre President & COO, Luke Wood, said, “The introduction of the Beats Pill and the Executive is the perfect beginning to a truly autonomous Beats as we transform into a freestanding consumer electronics company this year. These products demonstrate our total commitment to design, technological innovation and premium sound experience.”

The Beats Pill Wireless Speaker ensures that the company’s mantra of “sound is king” remains on a pedestal at all times. Audio engineers have made sure that the Beats Pill will live up to such a mandate, starting from careful placement of the drivers to the materials of the grill, where it was specially designed to optimize sound quality and maximize volume. Not only that, the Beats Pill is the first product of its kind to be fully integrated with the company’s patented Beats Audio algorithm, while boasting exclusive speaker modules that are able to provide the highest quality portable listening experience.

Another first registered by the Beats Pill would be the fact that it is the first wireless speaker to come with tap-to-pair NFC and apt-X technology for easy and instant Bluetooth audio, now how about that for technological advancements? With a rechargeable lithium ion battery that offers up to 7 hours of non-stop playback on a full charge, the $199 Beats Pill does seem to sound (pardon the pun) to be the ideal companion for the mobile music lover.

Press Release
[ Take a Chill (Beats) Pill copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


Zooka wireless speaker arrives at Target Stores

Do you think that it is truly possible to live out a wireless and paperless lifestyle? I think that a paperless environment is not really that possible, as there is always a paper trail that is far better to keep records, but for wireless connectivity? It really does make sense though. After all, I am quite sure that a whole lot of us have already encountered tangled cables and wires with the myriad of our devices and gadgets, that the wireless charging feature found in the new Nokia Lumia 920 is definitely a plus point. Not only that, no longer do you need to run LAN cables throughout your home just to take advantage of the Internet connection from your router, right? Well, I guess the same can also be said of wireless speakers, and Zooka has just announced their wireless speaker’s availability over at Target Stores around the US.

Carbon Audio is the company behind the Zooka wireless speaker, where their fashion forward Bluetooth audio accessory will be able to hook up to your favorite tablet, notebook, ultrabook or smartphone – as long as those devices themselves come with integrated Bluetooth connectivity, of course. After all, since Christmas is creeping up on us slowly but surely, it makes perfect sense to have a wireless speaker like the Zooka make your list.

Carbon Audio mentioned, “That’s one reason we are so excited for the Zooka to be available in Target stores. Target’s unique ability to introduce high design to mass markets is perfectly aligned with our design principles and philosophies.”

The brilliantly designed Zooka is no shy piece of device, even though it might look like it. Packing quite a powerful, high quality audio experience, it has been specially integrated into form factor that is sleek and sexy. Connecting to other Bluetooth-enabled devices are a snap, and it will definitely be able to turn and transform your Apple or Android devices into a big sound audio system, letting you enjoy games, listen to music, and watch movies up to five times louder. All you need to do is slide the Zooka onto the edge of your device, or you can just pair it in order to enjoy big audio, full, rich sound which is touted to light up a room from as far as 30 feet away.

Apart from that, $99 Zooka also comes with a built in microphone, allowing you to pair it with your phone for hands-free conversations.

Press Release
[ Zooka wireless speaker arrives at Target Stores copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]


Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999

Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999

Parrot has taken some time trotting out the Zikmu Solo speaker since we first saw it at CES, but those enamored with very vertical audio can rest easy now that the unit has a North American release schedule. Both Canada and the US can buy the Philippe Starck-crafted speaker in November, when it will cost $999 for Americans in its black and white guises (sorry, no red for now). While that’s a lot to pay for a 100W speaker, Parrot is counting on the unique acoustic design, a conventional iOS dock and a mix of Bluetooth, NFC and WiFi to tempt people away from the land of horizontal sound. It’s undoubtedly one of the easiest ways to make a speaker dock the focus of a room — and that’s part of the point, isn’t it?

Continue reading Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999

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Parrot Zikmu Solo reaches US in November, makes a tower of wireless sound yours for $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARIS 100-watt wireless speaker shipping for $499 with DLNA and Windows 8 certification

ARIS 100-watt wireless speaker shipping with DLNA and Windows 8 certification

If you’re on the look-out for a decently boombastic wireless speaker but can’t quite stump up three grand for the latest B&O, then perhaps the ARIS from Aperion Audio is worth a gander. Having finally emerged from pre-order status, it’s available from Amazon and other retailers priced at $499, which gets you a 100-watt (RMS) output from six internal speakers housed in a 15-inch wide single-piece aluminum enclosure held up on a red wire frame. The ARIS handles regular DLNA and is also certified to with work with Windows 7 and 8 sources over your home WiFi network — just in case you should happen to have any cash left after that pricey Surface Pro.

Continue reading ARIS 100-watt wireless speaker shipping for $499 with DLNA and Windows 8 certification

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ARIS 100-watt wireless speaker shipping for $499 with DLNA and Windows 8 certification originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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B&O Play’s BeoPlay A9 wireless speaker gets your classy party jumping for a cool $2,699 (eyes-on)

B&O Play's A9 speaker gets your classy party jumping for a cool $2,699

B&O Play is at it again for the younger crowd with money to burn. With a TV, a hybrid iPad dock, an iPad friendly speaker system and a portable speaker already under its belt, Bang & Olufsen’s spin-off brand is ready to really get the festivities going with its new BeoPlay A9. Starting at cool $2,799, this satellite dish circular eye-catcher also doubles as a full-on 2.1 speaker system. Simply put, we’d describe its looks as a super-sized half of the BeoPlay A8 speaker dock. We’d guess the A9 stands at roughly three feet tall (legs mounted) and three feet wide based on our quick in-person look. Behind its fabric grill you’ll find a duo of three-quarter-inch tweeters and a pair of three-inch mid-range drivers, all of which get their power from independent 80-watt digital amps. Of course, the A9 brings the rumble as well, featuring an 8-inch “bass unit” that gets double the wattage of its drivers. Notably, AirPlay & DLNA are baked right in, ensuring you’ll have access to WiFi streaming across whichever platforms you prefer.

You won’t find any physical controls, but on the top-edge of its backside you’ll notice a status light and a power button, both separated by a long touch-sensitive strip that lets you adjusts the volume, or mute it completely. Below that, a pop-off cap hides a USB port for docking and charging devices and a 3.5mm jack if wireless isn’t an option, but it’s also where an admittedly unsightly power cord plugs in as well. As you can see in the photo, the A9 can be supported by a trio of wooden legs, however, it can also be wall-mounted or hung from a ceiling like the BeoPlay V1 TV — thankfully, it features three DSP presets to cope with however you’d decide to place it. As you might imagine, it’s also incredibly loud — just a duo of A9s were being used as the sound system at the large Penthouse party we were in. As such, it wasn’t an ideal environment to comment much further on its audio performance.

If it’s up your alley, expect the system to hit B&O and select Apple stores near the end of November, with your choice of a black, red, silver, green or white grill, and wooden legs in beech, oak or teak — all of which can be purchased separately. For now, you can get your own eyes-on with it in the gallery below.

Continue reading B&O Play’s BeoPlay A9 wireless speaker gets your classy party jumping for a cool $2,699 (eyes-on)

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B&O Play’s BeoPlay A9 wireless speaker gets your classy party jumping for a cool $2,699 (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TDK preps its first weatherproof speaker, we go hands-on

Back at IFA we spent most of our time handling new tablets and Win 8 devices, but, given that the show has grown into something of a mini-CES, there was news in almost every product category, portable audio included. TDK announced a trio of speakers that week, and though we didn’t get hands-on in Berlin, we got a second chance tonight at a New York City press event. In particular, the company is showing off its first ruggedized product, the Wireless Weatherproof Speaker. As you can see in those photos down there, it has all the stylings of a run-of-the-mill portable speaker, except it also happens to be IP64-certified against the elements. When TDK talks about its durability, it talks about liters of dousage, so a splash on your next beach vacation shouldn’t be an issue.

As for audio, it has two speakers up front, a subwoofer and two passive radiators ’round back. TDK declined to clarify the wattage, but we’ll say this: the little guy is powerful enough that we could hear it over the din at Pepcom, a local press event. And, TDK had a larger, more powerful speaker playing nearby, and we still had no problem hearing the song coming from the weatherproof model. Granted, then, this was hardly the best scenario to evaluate audio quality, but we did sense that the treble was a bit trapped compared to the bass, which came through loud and clear. Lastly, there’s a rechargeable battery inside, which TDK rates for up to six hours of runtime. It’ll go on sale in late October for $250, but in the meantime help yourself to some first-hand shots below.

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.

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TDK preps its first weatherproof speaker, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Onkyo announces the ABX-N300, its first AirPlay speaker for Apple devices

Schedule for a September 28th launch at 49,800 Yen, the rather expensive ABX-N300 is Onkyo first dedicated Wireless Speaker (AirPlay) for Apple devices, ranging from your iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac! The ABX-N300 comes with Ethernet, WiFi GB, a nice 10Wx2ch output and a dedicated remote!