Hasta La Gadget!

It’s easy to imagine LaCie’s new Sound2 speakers finding a home with designers, architects, or anyone who appreciates sleek, minimalist design. But while looks are the first thing you’ll notice, the Sound2 have much more going for them. A collaboration between LaCie and audio engineering company Cabasse, this pair offers a 30W output, frequency response of 80Hz-20kHz, a Class D Digital Amplifier, and magnetic shielding.

The Sound2 are plug-and-play, so they can be used instantly with any computer or with a portable media player such as an iPod. They’re USB-powered, although they also include a wall plug for when you need some extra amplification. They also include built-in USB cables. You can pick them up at LaCie.com for only $99, although this hot new release is already on back order.

The aquatic music player SwiMP3 gets a much needed upgrade with the SwiMP3.1G. It now offers 1GB of storage, so swimmers can do many more laps without hearing the same song.

That seems to be the only thing that’s changed this time around. The player still clips to a goggle strap and delivers sound via bone conduction technology. Playback controls let you change the volume, go to the next or previous track, pause a song, and shuffle your songs. It offers 8 hours of playback time on a charge and, unfortunately, still only plays MP3 and WMA tracks. Adding AAC and Audible support would be a helpful addition.

You can read more about the SwiMP3.1G at FINISINC.COM and buy a pair for $149.99.

The Suzuki SX4 is a low-end economy crossover with some pretty advanced tech built-in, including a removable Garmin navigation system with the same robust feature set you’d expect from a regular standalone PND. However, that doesn’t mean the two manufacturers thought everything through. As Edmunds.com found during its long-term test, the unit lets you issue voice commands, and can also stream MP3s from an SD card through the stock car stereo.

So far, so good. But it’s not so simple; first, the unit can’t play anything imported in the default iTunes AAC format and only works with MP3s. Not only that, but you must navigate through many submenus to get to the MP3 player. That’s still not the end of the world–until you cue up a song.

Once you motor away from a stop, that’s it; the system locks the Garmin down into “Safe Mode,” which is intended to prevent you from controlling the GPS while driving. Except that it also takes away control of the MP3 player! Plus, if you choose a song and then set out, it will only play that one song–it doesn’t move to the next one automatically. And it won’t let you re-establish control of the MP3 player unless you stop the car, or pull the unit out of its housing and reseat it. Priceless. (Thanks to Warren W for sending this in)

Get out credit cards, parents, ’cause you know you’re buying this. You don’t want to be bad parents, do you? You don’t want your tots rocking out a little too hard and damaging their hearing. That’s why Griffin Technology just announced MyPhones, safety headphones for kids.

MyPhones have a circuit that limits playback to 85 decibels, which is the level pediatric hearing and safety agencies say is ideal for kids. They also offer an over-ear design, so that your rugrats won’t jam an earbud too far and damage their eardrums.

These headphones come with three changeable endcaps in pink, blue, and orange, or your kid can customize their own endcaps. You can download other designs from www.myphoneskids.com. Also, the packaging doubles as a durable case and includes room for an iPod.

You can pick up MyPhones starting in early October for $39.99.

Altec Lansing recently introduced the newest addition to its inMotion Line, the inMotion Classic.

The inMotion Classic is a portable lightweight speaker; features include an iPod/iPhone dock, a high-contrast LCD screen, an FM radio with 4 station presets, and rechargeable batteries. The device and folds up for easy portability. The InMotion Classic’s handle can be used to carry the speaker or as a stand.

A remote control lets you browse through artists, songs and playlists on your iPod or iPhone. Other cool features include a remote-control storage cubby and Music Pause, which halts song playback when a call comes in on the iPhone.

The inMotion Classic will be available in mid-September at Best Buy and other leading consumer electronics retailers and is now available at Altec Lansing and Apple for a retail price of $149.95.