Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone launched at GDGT party

See anything new in that picture Sonos fans? If you look closely, you’ll spot some new Sonos Wireless Docks on the table. The scene is last night’s GDGT party in Boston. The device is the WD100 that streams the music collection stored on your docked iPod / iPhone throughout your Sonos multi-room music system. Look for it launch at the end of October for $119. With any luck, we’ll be hands-on with it later today. Official press shot after the break.

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Sonos Wireless Dock for iPod and iPhone launched at GDGT party originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Logitech S715i and Z515 portable speakers hands-on (video)

You’re sick of audio docks, we know. So are we. But as much as we wanted to skip merrily along beyond Logitech’s S715i set, we couldn’t help but note that it’s something of a rarity. Whereas most other iDevice speakers tend to keep themselves safely tethered to the nearest wall plug, this unit claims it can get an ambitious eight hours of music playback from its battery, while boasting a whopping eight drivers (two rear-firing ones on the back) in total, including a pair of “laser-tuned” neodymium 3-inchers for midrange delivery. We could hardly gauge audio quality in our noisy environment, but we’ll say this much: Logitech isn’t fooling around with the volume the S715i can put out. Even our video after the break doesn’t do justice to the surprising roar you can generate from this otherwise compact package.

A standard 3.5mm audio input will let you stray outside of the Apple product family if you wish, and there’s a bundled remote too. Yet, in spite of all these goodies, we still can’t recommend this as a sage purchase at Logitech’s lofty $150 price. Don’t get us wrong, the S715i looks neat, just not that neat. We also managed to grab a few images of its family mate, the Z515 Bluetooth speaker, which similarly rolls on its own power (for up to 10 hours, it’s claimed) and captures tunes from your nearest Bluetooth-equipped device. It’s another well built and easily portable little thing, priced at $60 $100 by Logitech.

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Logitech S715i and Z515 portable speakers hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 07:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone

It’s not every day our interest is piqued by an iPhone / iPod speaker dock, but when the folks at Audyssey told us they were entering the space with their new South of Market Edition, our ears perked up. You’re probably familiar with Audyssey if you’re into home theater at all — the company’s automatic EQ system is in all sorts of receivers — and the SOM dock promises the same sort of tuned audio performance you’d expect from the company. It also offers a little twist: you can pair your phone or computer via Bluetooth for both streaming music and making speakerphone calls with the built-in mic. Neat — although at $399 it’s definitely pricey.

We spent a few minutes playing with a review sample, and it certainly does what’s promised, although we were told our voices sounded quite muddled when we made a speakerphone call. Music-wise, the SOM gets quite loud and the two large bass drivers certainly offered plenty of punch; audio quality over Bluetooth was definitely passable, and we managed a pretty respectable 30-foot line-of-sight range when streaming music, although plugging directly in definitely improved the sound. Of course, spending $399 on a Bluetooth speaker dock for your iPhone right now when AirPlay-compatible devices are right around the corner definitely seems like a bad idea, but if you’re just looking for an attractive and great-sounding speaker dock to charge your iPhone in the office and you can swing the price, the SOM is well worth a look. More images in the gallery and PR after the break.

Continue reading Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone

Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPods Stream Music to the Tango TRX Speakers

IPU-TRXD_hero_alternate-540x251.jpg
When you think about it, iPod docks don’t make sense. Why do you have
to dock Apple’s mp3 player into a speaker dock when recent models come
with Bluetooth support? With XtremeMac’s Tango TRX, you can use
Bluetooth 2.1 and beam your music from your mp3 player to the speakers
wirelessly.

If your iPod doesn’t support Bluetooth, or you keep it disabled, you
can still dock your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPod into the front of Tango
TRX. The Tango TRX supports other portable music players, by means of a
line-in jack.

The speakers consist of two midrange drivers, two dome tweeters and a downward firing subwoofer.

The Tango TRX D, an Apple exclusive model, adds a separate charging dock for your iPod/iPhone/iPad.

There is also a remote control app which allows you to tweak the audio
as well as adjust the various EQ settings. The app is available for
free on the App Store.

The basic model is priced at $179.99 and is available now. 

XTremeMac Unveils Two New iPhone Docks

XtremeMac - 3 in 1 MicrodockiPhone and iPod docks are plentiful these days, but XTremeMac‘s new Luna SST dock and the new 3-in-1 Microdock stand out from the pack, mostly because they look sharp and offer features not found in other devices. For example, the Luna SST alarm clock and dock features a detachable speaker for full surround sound, and has two separate alarms that you can program independently so multiple users can wake at different times, or you can have one alarm for weekday mornings and another for the weekend.  The Luna SST is available now for $129.99 list.

The 3-in-1 Microdock is a slim, portable iPhone and iPod dock that’s travel-friendly, weighs just under five ounces, and is small enough to fit on virtually any nightstand or desk. The Microdock also charges your iPhone or iPod, and has a self-contained speaker for listening and charging on the go. It’s available now for $59.99 retail. Both new docks can be paired with XtremeMac’s free Alarm Clock app for iOS devices, which turns your iPhone or iPod Touch’s screen into a digital clock that matches the color scheme for the two new docks. 

Philips Fidelo Speaker Docks with Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod

Philips Fidelo Docking SpeakerThe trouble with many speaker docks available today is that they support either your iPhone or your iPod, or your iPod Touch, or your iPad. With the Philips Fidelo Docking Speaker, you can attach any device with Apple’s 30-pin Dock Connector at the bottom and use the speaker system as the audio output for the device. This means if you want to play some games on your iPad or get some work done and you’d appreciate the extra sound, you can use the speaker as an iPad stand and a set of external speakers. You can just as easily remove the iPad and put your iPhone on it to charge and wake you up in the morning when it’s time to get up.

The Fidelo can function on 4 AA batteries that will power the speaker set for up to 8 hours or you can attach it to AC power for indefinite use. The device also has an aux-in jack in the back so you can dock your iPhone or iPod in the front, and then connect another media player or mobile phone using the auxiliary jack. The Fidelo will charge just about every iPod and iPhone on the market, but unfortunately it won’t charge your iPad even though it docks with it. The Philips Fidelo Docking Speaker is available now for $99.99 retail.

iHome teases first AirPlay-compatible portable speaker dock

No surprise that iHome is first out of the gate with a speaker dock that’s compatible with Apple’s newly-open AirPlay music streaming system, but unfortunately the teaser page is maddeningly light on details — all we know is that it’ll have a rechargeable battery and be available for the holidays. We’re actually pretty stoked for AirPlay gear — the idea of setting up a quick mix-and-match whole-home audio system that can stream lossless audio straight from iTunes seems awfully hard to resist — so we’re eager to hear more about this thing, as well as the other third-party AirPlay devices like receivers and stereos that have been promised. We’ll keep digging for more, so stay tuned.

[Thanks, Fred]

iHome teases first AirPlay-compatible portable speaker dock originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony Speakers In a Cup

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Sorry, that’s not your cup of joe. While it looks very much like a travel mug, the Sony SRS-V500IP is actually an iPod player dock with a speaker.

The “mug” is a 360-degree Circle Sound Stage 16W stereo speaker. Designed so that everyone around you can enjoy the music, the speaker distributes sound evenly without sticking anyone “behind” the speaker.

When driving, pop the mug into the car’s cupholder, and use the in-car power adapter to keep treating your passengers.

The dock comes with a an iPod/iPhone cradle and a 3.5mm stereo audio input for non-Apple devices, whether it’s a computer or another MP3 player.  A remote control can switch between two input sources and adjust volume. Adapters for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are also included.

Priced $239.99, the Sony SRS-V500IP is available in black, orange, or pink, from AudioCubes.

Take a Trip with the iLuv i1166 Portable Media Player

iLuv - i1166Almost a year after it was originally scheduled, and over a year after it won the Best of Innovation award at CES 2009, the iLuv i1166 portable media player is on store shelves and ready for users who are looking for a way to take multiple forms of media with them when they travel. Instead of ripping DVDs or converting video to play on a certain type of device, the iLuv i1166 is a multimedia device that looks like a tablet, but under the 8.9-inch LCD display is an iPhone/iPod dock connector (that charges your device when the i1166 is plugged in to AC power), and a DVD player.

The i1166 has USB and SD card slots on the side of the device so you can connect flash drives with media on them, or an SD card with photos on it. The device even has two stereo headphone jacks on it so you can share your movies or music with a friend while you’re traveling. There’s a kick-stand on the back so you can rest it on a flat surface, and it comes with a remote so you don’t have to enter the device menus while you’re watching a movie. All of these features in a portable device will come at a price though; it’s available now for $299.99 at iLuv’s online store. 

Engadget’s back to school guide: docks and alarms

Welcome to Engadget’s Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we’re here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we’ve got docks and alarms in our sights — and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides.

Whether you’re simply looking for something to put on your bedside table or considering an iPod dock to replace a bulky stereo, you now have more devices than ever to choose from, which can be a tad overwhelming if you’re trying to stay on budget and still get something decent. As usual, however, we’re here to help, and have rounded up a range of docks and alarms that should more than satisfy at any price point.

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Engadget’s back to school guide: docks and alarms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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