Jan 04

Bob Marley Son Shows Off House of Marley Products

Posted in: headphones, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

marley_headphones_on.jpg

I wasn’t sure whether or not I was going to do a followup on House of Marley’s new line of Bob Marley-branded audio products, but lets face it, when one of the reggae pioneer’s dozen or so offspring shows up at a tech show to flaunt the company’s goods, it’s probably worth a post.
The company’s got all manner of audio products–headphones, earbuds, an iPod dock, a speaker bag. They sport names like “Destiny,” “Freedom,” “Jammin,” and “Top Rankin,” and Marley’s sixth kid, Rohan, was wearing pretty much all of them at the same time. Prices on the products range from $29.99 to $499.99.
Says Marley daughter, Cedella,
Our father shared his vision with our family and his fans through the gift of the messages in his music and it is our mission and responsibility to push the movement forward. The House of Marley and the MARLEY audio products that bear our family name were created to spread our father’s music and vision to a new generation.

In other words, they want to jam it with you.
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Jan 04

iGo Headphones: Lots of Sound for $60

Posted in: headphones, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

igo headphones.jpg

I gave the above headphones a test drive (once the lady pictured was done with them, naturally), and I’ve got to say, I was a bit surprised when the iGo representative told me that the things are only $60. The over-the-ear headphones offer a lot of sound for a pretty nice price.
The featuring swiveling ear cups, a soft adjustable headband, and as mentioned above, sound pretty good for a $60 pair of headphones. The company collaborated with ARIEL7 on the design, and I’m told that, if you’re willing to plunk down a couple of extra bucks (okay, $20 or so) you can get a fancy Hello Kitty design. Can you really put a price on that?

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Jan 04

The Hercules XPS101 Adds Style and Sound to Your Desk

Posted in: MP3 Digital Audio, speaker, Today's Chili

Hercules XPS101

For some, form and function are both important – it’s not about one or the other, and for those people, the Hercules XPS101 2.1 Speaker System may be of interest. Hercules is already well known for their digital audio systems and Webcams, and the company’s newest line of PC speakers feature a pair of curved, black speakers for your desk surface and a shiny black subwoofer to go under your desk. All of the components come in piano black with a lacquered finish. Also included with the system is a wired remote that allows you to tweak volume, bass, treble, and other speaker settings. 
Hercules promises that the XPS101 delivers high-end sound to match the attractive design, and the speakers feature an auxiliary jack so you can connect a digital music player or game console as a secondary audio source, and a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can connect headphones for more private listening. The XPS101 will be available later this month, retailing for $249.99.
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Jan 03

Bob Marley Headphones/iPod Docks Launching at CES

Posted in: headphones, ipod, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

bobmarley_iPodDock.jpg

Dr. Dre, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber–are there any musicians who don’t have their own branded headphones, these days? If you offered Bob Marley, you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. The reggae pioneer may have died 30 years, ago, but he’s not going to let a little thing like that get between him and product market.

Marley’s name is about to grace a new line of headphones and iPod docks, thanks to the House of Marley. Before you get all weird about it, however, it’s important to note that proceeds for the devices will benefit Marley’s One Love Foundation, so there’s that.

The devices are also “eco-conscious” and embody those important “values of equality, unity, authenticity, charity and sustainability all while giving back to people and the planet.”

More information on the products will be arriving later this week at CES.

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Dec 29

Wicked Audio Unveils 3D Series Headphones, Launching at CES 2011

Posted in: headphones, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

Wicked Audio 3D Series

CES 2011 is almost here, but a number of companies are already announcing some of the new products that will be available at the show or on the market shortly thereafter. Wicked Audio, for example, announced today that their new 3D Series Headphones will be available next month both at the Consumer Electronics Show and in select international retailers worldwide.  
They’ll feature tactile, raised designer graphics on the earcups and headbands in a number of colors and metallic shades. The 3D series will be Wicked Audio’s new premier line of headphones, coming in at $29.99 list price.
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Dec 28

Omega Headphone Stands Put Your Headphones on Display

Posted in: headphones, Miscellaneous Tech, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili

Omega Headphone Stand

If you constantly have a pair of headphones connected to your computer, you also probably have a difficult time finding a place to let them rest on or near your desk without them getting in your way. Sure, you can coil up the cable and stash them in a drawer or let them take up space on your desk surface, but with these Omega Headphone Stands, you get a head-shaped piece of wood that will keep your headphones out of the way and turn them into a little desktop art in the process.
You’ll pay for these curved bits of wood though, $180 retail each, to be exact. You have your choice of maple, walnut, cherry, or zebrano finishes over the single piece of wood they’re made from. They’re all the same price and all hand-made.
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Dec 28

iPod Nano Hack Points to Video, Apps, Calendar Functionality

Posted in: Apple, ipod, MP3 Digital Audio, nano, Today's Chili

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When PCMag reviewed the 6th generation nano, we knocked the tiny touchscreen music player points for all of the functionality that Apple had stripped from the device since the last version. Turns out the little iPod maybe actually have more capabilities than Apple is letting on.

A hacker who performed a bypass of the device’s cache comparison, stripping the nano of its ability to revert its settings. Doing so allowed him to take a look at the player’s plists, Turns out that they’re awfully similar to those of its predecessor, featuring, among other things, Movies, TV Shows, Games, and Calendar functionality.

The poster “hope[s] to enable these pretty soon,” so you may actually be able to turn the thing into a tiny iPod touch–just so long as you’re willing to do it yourself.

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Dec 27

Samsung Introing iPod Killer at CES – Report

Posted in: ipod, MP3 Digital Audio, samsung, Today's Chili

Samsung Galaxy MP3 Player.jpeg

The MP3 player space has long been a single horse race. A number of companies have continued to produce players, but they’ve all been minor entries, at best. Samsung has been among those who have continued to offer up these devices, in spite of only capturing a small portion of the market–like others, it has focused on the more immediate threat: the iPhone (and now the iPad).

The company reportedly announced this week, that it will be making another major push in the music player space at CES, next week in Las Vegas. The device is set to become the latest addition to the Galaxy line, running Android 2.2 and featuring a 4-inch touchscreen, 1GHz processor, front and rear facing cameras for video conferencing, a MicroSD slot, and, naturally, access to the Android Market.

All in all, the thing looks an awful lot like the iPod touch, but perhaps the focus on Android is precisely what Samsung needs to win back a little market share.

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Dec 27

Samsung to Show Off Galaxy Player at CES 2011

Posted in: ipod touch, Miscellaneous Tech, MP3 Digital Audio, samsung, Today's Chili

Samsung Galaxy Player

A number of people have noticed the uncanny similarities between the Samsung Galaxy S phones and the iPhone and iPod Touch, both in the hardware design and the way Samsung has skinned Android to look a lot like iOS. 
Now, Samsung is taking on the iPod Touch with the Galaxy Player, which the company has announced will be showcased next month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. 
The Galaxy Player will run Android 2.2, have a 1GHz processor under the hood, and feature an 800×480 pixel resolution LCD display. The player will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and feature a front and rear-facing camera, just like the iPod Touch. Pricing and availability haven’t been announced, but it’s likely there’ll be more details next week at CES. 
[via SlashGear]
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Dec 22

The Aluratek Bump Offers Wireless Audio

Posted in: audio, MP3 Digital Audio, Music, speaker, Today's Chili, Wireless

Bump Player

If you’re looking for a media player that’ll look sharp on your desktop and won’t contribute to the rats-nest of cables that’s probably behind your monitor, the new Aluratek Bump media player and wireless speaker system might be worth a look. The Bump media player itself is a small, cylindrical player with playback controls on the top and a display on the front that shows you what’s playing, the time and date, or volume level. 
The beauty of the system is that if you want more audio power, you can add another Bump speaker to the system wirelessly by pairing it with the player. The speaker and the player communicate over 2.4Ghz wireless with a range of about 60 feet. Wireless audio has its downsides and it probably won’t make audiophiles happy, but 2.4Ghz is definitely better than Bluetooth audio. 
You can pair the Bump player with up to six additional wireless speakers, and when it’s time to keep the music to yourself, you can pop a pair of headphones into the 3.5mm stereo jack. If you want to pull music from your computer or another device, the USB port on the media player lets you connect a phone or other media player to the system. The Bump player will set you back $99 list, with each individual speaker priced at $99 as well.
[via SlashGear]
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