Oh! Gizmo

By Shane McGlaun

The iPod is the most successful and popular digital music player by a huge margin. With the raging popularity of the iPod a world of accessories are available from speaker systems to car chargers and all sorts of gear in between. iLuv is one of the makers of many accessories for the players.

iLuv has announced its latest iPod alarm clock that is compatible with all dockable iPods and with any other DAP using a 3.5mm headphone jack. The clock is called the iMM153 desktop alarm clock with bed shaker. The clock is offered in black, white, blue, and pink colors.

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By Andrew Liszewski

So, does someone want to help me figure out how and why this CD clock radio from Sonoro costs a whopping $550? Let’s see, it’s got a slot loading CD player that’s MP3-friendly, nothing special there. A ‘top-quality’ AM/FM radio, not exactly a bleeding edge innovation either. An iPod dock that will also recharge your player? Hmm… Well I guess if you haven’t set foot in an electronics store in the past 10 years this might seem like a technological breakthrough, but other than that, I’m hard-pressed to find a reason why anyone would drop $550 on this thing. Oh wait, I didn’t notice the shiny black finish and glowing accents! Now I get it!

[ Sonora Eklipse CD Clock Radio With iPod Dock ] VIA [ Better Living Through Design ]

By Andrew Liszewski

And speaking of the newest iPod Shuffle, it looks like Scosche Industries will be one of the first accessory makers to sell a headphone adapter for Apple’s tiniest player to date. The IRM35 tapLINE Control Adapter lets you use any pair of headphones with the 3rd generation iPod Shuffle, while still being able to control playback, adjust volume and activate the VoiceOver feature. Unfortunately the adapter also means the inline controls are situated just a few inches from the Shuffle itself, limiting where you can stash it, and at $29.99 it makes the cheapest iPod on the market a bit less so.

[ Scosche Industries' tapLINE Control Adapter ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

According to Akihabara News, LG Korea announced this new Blu-ray home theater combo this morning that includes a pop-out iPod dock on the player that will apparently accept all iPod models (I assume that means the iPhone too) allowing you to listen to music stored on the devices. There’s no word on whether or not it can access video content on the iPods, but details are a bit vague at the moment. What is known though is that the HB954TBW will be sold in Korea for just over $1,000.

[ Akihabara News - LG latest Blu-Ray Home-Theater combo iPod friendly ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It seems like Buffalo decided to cast a big net when they designed this miniature iPod speaker, in order to appeal to as many users as possible. First, there’s the iPod users who think that everyone else wants to hear what they’re listening to. The OTOKORO speaker connects to your iPod (iPod Nano 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Gen. / iPod 4th, 5th Gen. / iPod Classic 80/120/160GB / iPod Mini 1st, 2nd Gen. / iPod Touch 2nd Gen) via the dock connector which not only allows you to blare your tunes, but also control the volume via a set of + and – buttons. (Even though the iPod’s own volume controls should still work fine.)

Also, I guess since the speaker is cube-shaped and has a couple of round buttons, Buffalo figured they could go the whole nine yards and make it look like a single die, appealing to the problem gamblers. And finally, instead of leaving a single dot on one side, they replaced it with a heart graphic, which should appeal to teenage girls and those who can’t wait for Valentine’s Day to roll around every year.

You can get it from AudioCubes for $39.99, and it apparently comes in 6 different colors that each feature a different ’special mark.’

[ Buffalo OTOKORO Mini iPod Speaker ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Try as they might, I’m just not convinced that my iPhone is ever going to replace my DS as my portable gaming device of choice. But given a good chunk of those billion apps sold through the App Store were games, I have to assume that there are plenty of people using the iPhone or iPod Touch for that purpose. And it’s those people that the Jam Jacket Game will appeal to.

It’s basically another case designed to make gaming with the iPod Touch a bit easier, but unlike the ridiculous GameGrip from last week, the Jam Jacket Game features a set of considerably more subtle ‘handles’ on the back providing a better grip on your device. At $19 it’s a cheap way to protect your Touch (it’s actually not iPhone-friendly) and it even comes bundled with a clear adhesive screen protector.

[ DLO Jam Jacket Game ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

This folding charging dock from Scosche Industries is nowhere near as compact as the charging adapter currently shipping with the iPhone 3G, so why would you use this one instead? Well that’s simple. For some reason Apple never thought to include an LED night light on their charger, and I don’t know about you, but I sure can’t see in the dark. I guess the other advantage is that you don’t have to worry about losing your sync cable, but keep in mind this thing will only work as designed when plugged into a wall outlet, not a powerbar sitting on the floor.

It’s available on the Scosche Industries website for $39.99.

[ Scosche reviveLITE ] VIA [ Gear Diary ]

By Andrew Liszewski

NAB is just around the corner, so for the next week or so you can expect an avalanche of new broadcast-related gear. Like the ProPrompter Wing from Bodelin Technologies. It attaches to your camcorder’s tripod mount and allows your iPhone or iPod Touch to hang off the side, relatively close to the lens, and be used as a teleprompter.

The other piece of this puzzle is the ProPrompter software which is still awaiting approval on the Apple App Store. It features smooth scrolling in landscape or portrait modes, seven ‘prompting’ speeds, customizable fonts, text size and background color as well as cue point functionality. Your scripts need to be uploaded to the ProPrompter website and then downloaded to your device, but you’re able to upload as many as you need once you’re logged into their site.

The ProPrompter software will be free once available on the App Store, and pricing for the ProPrompter Wing will most likely be officially announced at NAB.

[ ProPrompter Wing ] VIA [ Gizmag ]

By Chris Scott Barr

A few days ago I gave you my full review of the iPanda, and hinted that I had another similar device to check out. The other iPod dock that I was referring to was the iBoo, which is also from Speakal. This time around they have slimmed down a few of the features into a less-expensive ghostly shape. The main question is whether or not the lower price means lower quality.

So what are the main differences between the iBoo and iPanda? Well if you’ll recall the iPanda had 5 individual speakers (1 bass, 2 mids and 2 tweeters). In order to trim down the price the iBoo has only three speakers. The mids have been removed, while the tweeters are now picking up the slack. Another change is that the sub only puts out 9W, bringing the grand total to only 15 Watts of output.

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