Hasta La Gadget!

Attention audiophiles, Bose has introduced two home theater systems that combine proprietary 5.1 surround sound with the new Bose Unify intelligent integration system. Intelligent integration is the company’s technology for cutting through the complexity in setting up home theater systems. It makes connecting speakers and adding remotes easier.

The new Lifestyle V-Class and T-Class systems were designed to evolve with the owners needs, and can accommodate up to six HD sources. The Lifestyle remote can operate with nearly any entertainment device. Setting up the systems should be especially easy, and all parts and instructions are in plain English.

“Many of today’s home entertainment systems are feature-rich, but if an owner can’t access those features, they don’t offer any real value,” said Doug Lankford, director of home theater product marketing for Bose. “The new Lifestyle systems deliver what’s been missing in the market — a truly simplified, high-quality home theater system.”

The V35 lists for $3,299.95 and the T20 for $1,999.95.

Whoa there, vaquero — don’t get too excited just yet. As with just about every other gratis backup service on the web, there’s a catch you should know about with mSpot‘s latest endeavor. The free limit is right around 2GB (exact size is TBD), so if you’ve got more than a second generation iPod’s worth of audio, this here service will only serve as a tease. For those who fall under that threshold, there’s plenty to love, and if you’re down for ponying up, you’ll be able to secure 10GB for $2.99 per month or 20GB for $4.99 per month. Launched today at Google I/O, this “freemium” music cloud service essentially syncs your entire music library (either in iTunes or a user-designated arrangement of folders) with mSpot’s servers — provided your library is less than 20GB, of course — and then makes it available anywhere. Phones and other computers should have no issue tapping in (though only Android will be supported out of the gate), and the app itself runs quietly in the background in order to check for new additions / subtractions and mirror said changes in your online library. For now, the service is available by invitation only through mspot.com, with public availability slated for next month. Size limits aside, the service worked well for us in our limited testing, though that first 20GB upload is a real pain over Time Warner Cable’s obviously capped Road Runner internet. Oh, and if you’re bummed about not being guaranteed an invite today, you shouldn’t be. Hit that source link and enter “engadget” as the password — the first 500 get immediate access, but once they’re gone, they’re gone.

*20GB tops, buster!
**Only on Android, Macs and PCs at first, chief!

Continue reading mSpot stores your music* in the cloud, makes it available anywhere**

mSpot stores your music* in the cloud, makes it available anywhere** originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to port standardization, Apple marches to the beat of its own drum… but in a rare show of leniency, the company’s newly refreshed MacBook will throw home theatre aficionados a bone. Though Cupertino hasn’t moved to actually include an HDMI-out (sacre bleu!), a new support document shows its Mini DisplayPort now provides an audio signal alongside the video feed. Should you move to purchase a VESA-compliant Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter like the one Apple’s apparently not selling, you’ll finally be able to enjoy digital sound without dropping $70 for the privilege. Fancy that! Now we just need USB 3.0 ports — placed on opposite sides of the machine — a SATA 6G socket and a FireWire 400 port. What can we say? We’re the sentimental sort.

MacBook refresh includes Mini DisplayPort that pumps out HDMI audio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 22:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roger Linn. Ever heard of him? He’s only the man behind the modern day drum machine and the original MPC-60, and he’s also the man behind the concept you’re inevitably peering at above. For now, Roger’s calling this beaut the LinnStrument, and there’s quite a back story to go along with it. The design began way back in 2006, with the goal being to create a full-on multitouch instrument with the ability to let one’s finger dictate volume, timbre, pitch and pressure. No doubt, many have tried to concoct something similar, but Roger’s discovery of TouchCo enabled him to create one sans the limitations of imitators. Unfortunately, Amazon quietly scooped up the startup in January of this year (to have this sort of technology available for the Kindle product line), and in turn, shut down TouchCo’s involvement with the outside world. Now, Roger’s being forced to reveal his unfinished work in hopes of attracting investors or unearthing another company that could mimic this sort of awesomeness en masse. Jump on past the break and mash play to get a better idea of what the world’s missing out on, and be sure to tell Jeff Bezos “thanks” the next time you bump into him.

[Thanks, Peter]

Continue reading LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors

LinnStrument multitouch music maker gets demoed on video, grasps for investors originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You have a brand new iPad and you’re enjoying some streaming Netflix or a movie you’ve loaded up on the device yourself, but the iPad’s built-in speaker just doesn’t cut it for you. Perhaps you’re traveling, on a plane or a train, and you want a way to watch video and hear the audio from it without fiddling with headphone cables or bothering everyone around you. Enter the new iSkin Cerulean line of Bluetooth audio gear for the iPad. The Cerulean TX transmitter, RX receiver, and F1 headphones are designed to give you portable Bluetooth audio that looks good without cables or batteries.

The only drawback to the Cerulean line is that it all relies on Bluetooth for audio, which may be great for portability but it’s pretty harsh on audio quality. Most Bluetooth audio peripherals compress the audio stream enough that it’s noticeable even to non-audiophiles, and true audiophiles won’t go near it. However, if portability and flexibility are your goal, the iSkin’s Cerulean transmitters and receivers not only give you a way to get wireless audio from your iPad to your ears, they also work with other speaker docks and peripherals that can make the most of the compressed audio.