Hasta La Gadget!

Attention musicians: Peavey Electronics has partnered with iPhone app developers Agile Partners to create AmpKit, a guitar amp and effects app, as well as AmpKit Link, an audio interface for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. When used together, they give musicians of all skill levels a simple way to jam anytime and anywhere.

AmpKit Link works with electric guitars, basses, or any line level source, and the output port can be used with a pair of headphones, powered speakers, or a PA. You can also use it with any recording, processing, or tuning application. The AmpKit app comes free with the Peavy ValveKing amp. You can add other amps as in-app purchases. AmpKit Link is available for pre-order from Peavey now for $39.99. The AmpKit app will be available soon for free in the iTunes Store.

Having a bad week? Take heart. You’re most likely not as dim as Jacob Walker and Joseph Velarde. The two Arizona-based geniuses put up a Craigslist ad that said they were willing to trade an iPod touch and a good amount of pot for an Apple iPad.

“i am willing to trade my 32 gb ipod touch 3rd generation and a quarter of DANK. blue dream straight outta cali,” according to a copy of the ad that was posted on Edible Apple. “the ipod is in PERFECT condition. not one scratch. it has been in the case the whole time and has never had screen cover removed!!!! let me know!!!!”

The ad included a photo of the iPod touch next to the pot, on a scale.

Flawless plan, right? Too bad it was police who responded rather than an iPad-owning marijuana enthusiast. Police in Gilbert, Ariz. saw the ad and set up a meeting with Walker. He and Velarde, both 20, were arrested after handing over the pot.

United Airlines and Microsoft announced in a joint press release today that Zune would be the exclusive provider of in-flight audio entertainment on all United Airlines flights, both international and domestic. If you’ve flown on United recently, you’ll note that the in-flight audio options are straightforward and standard across multiple airlines, including channels for classic rock, pop, and classical, and while those channels won’t go anywhere, the addition of music powered by Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace adds more variety and selection to your flight.

With the new Zune channels, United passengers will be able to enjoy music from movie soundtracks, a dedicated electronic dance channel, an opera channel, and a piano jazz channel that’s perfect for people anxious about flying. All of the playlists will be generated using music from the Zune Marketplace, and Microsoft is providing up to 21 different playlists of music with which to populate the new in-flight audio channels, and all of the playlists and channels will be listed in United’s on-board magazine, Hemispheres, for listeners to snag and take home with them if they hear something they absolutely have to download. 

For those of us who can’t stand shiny white electronics in our entertainment systems or on our countertops, Sonos has unviled a black version of the Sonos ZonePlayer S5 that was released late last year. When we reviewed the S5, we found it a great way to get some of Sonos’ best features, like streaming music from your iTunes library, Pandora, Last.fm, and SIRIUS Internet Radio into your living room with as few wires as possible, or wirelessly if you have other Sonos S5s in your home already.

The black S5 will set you back $399 US, the same as its white counterpart. The two devices offer the same features, including great sound quality in large spaces and the ability to control what’s playing on your Sonos device using the Sonos Controller app for your iPhone or iPod Touch, or by using the Sonos Controller desktop app for your Mac or PC.

You’ll still need at least one Sonos plugged in to your home network in order for the apps to work. Also, the device still doesn’t have an iPod dock or another place you can connect another digital music player directly to the device, but the S5 still delivers Sonos’ most popular features to a tabletop music system that’s more affordable than any other Sonos product. Now that it’s in black, you can be safe in the knowledge that your S5 won’t clash with the rest of your home audio equipment.

Check out the full review of the Sonos ZonePlayer S5 at PCMag.com!

The next time you’re in a Verizon Wireless store looking for accessories for your phone, you’ll also notice a more colorful collection of earbuds on the wall near the Bluetooth headsets. Wicked Audio has partnered with Verizon Wireless to include their two new lines of earbuds, the Metallics and the Jaw Breakers, onto store shelves for mobile phone owners looking for some earbuds to listen to music on their device.

Wicked Audio’s Metallics line come in five colors: white, pink, blue, black, and green , and are all made with a shiny, metallic coating on the back of the earbud, giving the earbuds their name. They’re noise isolating, light, portable, and affordable, coming in at $19.99 US per pair. The Jaw Breakers on the other hand feature gold-plated audio connectors and greater sound quality, are also noise-isolating , and come in four colors: white, pink, green, and black. They cost $29.99 per pair.

Both sets of earbuds come with several flexible earpieces that you can swap to fit your ears, and since they’re designed for use with mobile phones, they both have included in-line microphones that you can use to take calls in between listening to music. Both the Metallics and the Jaw Breakers are available now.