Hasta La Gadget!

Shure’s SE115  recently joined the realm of iPod and iPhone-friendly earphones. The SE115m+ incorporates Apple iPod and iPhone remote controls and a microphone into its cable. Fully compatible with the iPhone 3GS and the latest generations of iPods, the SE115m+ features three buttons for adjusting volume, audio and video playback, and menu navigation. The mic can be used for phone calls and recording voice memos, as well. Available later this month, the SE115m+ goes for $119.99–$20 more than the non-Apple version of the SE115.

Bose’s Wave Music System, which has a built-in CD player and AM/FM radio, can now stream music from your computer, as well. The upgraded design is called Wave Music System – Soundlink and will be available for $599.90 from the Bose’s Web site starting tomorrow. The streaming system utilizes the familiar USB dongle solution, which bypasses the need for WiFi by transmitting an RF-based signal from the dongle to the speaker system. In other words, there’s no set-up or software necessary, and it can stream anything your computer plays–it is simply streaming the PC’s output.

Bose never confirms behind-the-scenes tech specs, but Creative and Altec Lansing have utilized similar RF-based wireless transmission in the past. Current owners of Wave Music Systems will be able to purchase the Soundlink upgrade kit for $149.95.

Give Mercedes-Benz credit for putting a PC Card slot in the dash of many models. That lets you copy MP3 or WMA music from your PC to a cheap SD or Compact Flash (CF) card, plug it into a cheap PC Card adapter, then plug it into the dash of your not-so-cheap Benz. The adapter (also called a PCMCIA adatper) and a 2GB SD card each cost about $10, although you can pay more. But check out the prices if you order one of each from an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer: $102 for the PCMCIA multi-card reader, $48 for a 2GB Mercedes-Benz logo’d SD Card.

They’re arty, cleverly designed, and eco-friendly–oh, and they’re really cheap, too. These OrigAudio Fold ‘N Plays ($16 direct) arrive as two flattened boxes of cardboard with embedded speakers and an attached cable. You fold each into a 3-inch cube and plug the cable into any music player with a headphone jack. Voila, your new audio system is complete.

The Associated Press is reporting that in what amounts to the world’s sneakiest price increase, Sirius XM subscribers are now being billed an extra $2 each month to cover new performance royalty fees.

Before, Sirius had absorbed the cost of the fees itself, but that’s changing post-XM acquisition. The fee covers performance royalties paid to musicians, singers, and recording companies.

The report said that when the FCC approved the merger, it barred Sirius XM from raising prices for three years. That meant the only way Sirius XM could levy the charge is if they called it a separate surcharge–similar to all the baloney surcharges on your monthly cell phone bill.

It turns out Sirius began charging customers the extra $2 in August, and had begun issuing customer notifications for this by e-mail and post office mail in June. Is this why they haven’t gone bankrupt yet, despite warnings back in February?