Oh! Gizmo

By Andrew Liszewski

There are portable iPod speakers available in every shape, color and material you can think of and they all share the common trait of sounding pretty terrible. Well maybe terrible is a bit strong but when compared to listening to an iPod connected to a home stereo setup the difference in sound quality is pretty noticeable.

But it seems a portable speaker called the iMainGo is breaking the mold. Not only is it just slightly larger than the current iPod video but it also sounds pretty amazing. In fact the good folks at gearfuse recently wrote a review of the iMainGo and were pretty surprised by its sound quality. They were able to crank their iPods volume up to about 95% before the sound started losing quality and that was because the track they were testing was particularly bass heavy. In theory some tracks could probably be pushed all the way to 100%.

As for specs the iMainGo connects to the iPod via the headphone jack (which means it can connect to any device with a headphone jack) and has an iPod pocket with a clear vinyl face allowing you to access the control wheel while it’s inside. It even includes several adapters to allow older iPod models to fit inside. The iMainGo even has impressive battery life and will run for about 30 hours on 4 AAA batteries.

The iMainGo speakers are available now for $69.95 so in this case it seems you get more than what you pay for.

[ iMainGo iPod Speakers ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I won’t go into much detail about the newly announced Apple iPhone because quite frankly it’s already been covered by nearly every single website and news agency on the planet. Needless to say it’s another slick looking piece of tech but since we all have to wait until June to get our hands on one we’re stuck with our current iPods and Nanos for the time being. Thankfully though there are still plenty of new accessories being released for the current models to help tide us over.

A company called Kleer has just announced a wireless iPod adapter that is the first to use 2.4Ghz radio frequencies to deliver full CD quality audio without any loss in sound quality. Anyone who regularly uses one of the FM transmitters currently on the market will definitely appreciate that. In the photo here you can see the adapter mounted to an iPod Nano along with a pair of wireless earbuds but Kleer plans to license their technology to other manufacturers as well. RCA will be one of the first companies to do so and plans to incorporate the Kleer wireless hardware into their new Jet Stream MP3 Player.

[ Kleer Wireless iPod Nano Adapter ] VIA [ CrunchGear ]

By Andrew Liszewski

I’m a big fan of Sony’s ‘in-ear’ earbuds when it comes to listening to music on the go. Not only do they keep most other sounds out but they also ensure whatever I’m listening to isn’t being broadcasted to people standing around me. But I always keep a pair of the standard iPod white earbuds on hand in case something happens to my Sonys.

While I’m not really crazy about how the included iPod ones sound the main reason I don’t regularly use them is that they’ve never really fit well in my ears, even the latest versions that started shipping with the new Nano. Thankfully it seems I’m not the only person unhappy with their fit since a company called Comply makes these Whoomp! earbud enhancers that basically snap onto the iPod’s headphones and provide a soft extension that allows them to fit inside the ear canal. It’s also claimed that the Whoomp! makes the iPod headphones sound like more expensive models by increasing the bass response but I have my doubts.

The Whoomp! enhancers are available on the Comply website in a set of 4 for $19.95.

[ Comply Whoomp! Earbud Enhancers ] VIA [ Krunker ]

By David Ponce

It’s pretty clear to anyone with eyes that Taiwain-based Luxpro’s Super Shuffle (pictured above) is a direct rip of Apple’s 1st generation Shuffle’s design. I mean, hey, even the product name has the word “shuffle” in it. But that hasn’t stopped Luxpro from being able to file a $100 million suit against Apple. Here’s the story.

Some time in 2005, Apple decided to sue Luxpro over the blatant copy of its design. They managed to get an injunction halting the sales of the product, and forcing it off the shelves until the suit was settled. Well, it’s a little over a year later, and the court in Taiwain decided that the Super Shuffle didn’t rip anyone off, as the devices “have FM radio functionality, feature OLED (organic light-emitting diode) panels and have a distinct Luxpro logo, unlike the Apple product.” And, well, since the Super Shuffle was forced off the shelves all this time, Luxpro’s going for $100 million in damages.

The lesson? Copy anyone’s product, slap an ugly logo on it and add a couple extra vanilla features for good measure. Sit back, and enjoy soaring sales off the back of someone else’s marketing efforts. What fun.

[ Newlaunches ] VIA [ Digitimes

By Andrew Liszewski

A week or so ago this Wallet MP3 Player from Walletex was announced and while it was destined to be released sometime in June of 2007 I didn’t want to post the story because there were no actual pictures of the device. It’s not that I thought it was vaporware or anything, I just felt that actually seeing the thing was important.

Well the good people at Krunker seem to have dug up a couple of photos of the player which I’ve included above. To recap, at just slightly thicker than a credit card the Wallet MP3 is basically the world’s slimmest MP3 player. It’s all solid state of course and includes a built-in double sided USB connector which is also used as the headphone jack with a small adapter. The player will be available in sizes ranging from 128Mb to 2Gb and can even be produced with custom graphics and used for promotional purposes. (ex. tradeshow giveaways)

Walletex says the Wallet MP3 will be available by June of 2007 but no pricing info has been released.

[ Walletex Wallet MP3 Player ] VIA [ Krunker ]

By Andrew Liszewski

For the time being Apple has decided to ignore the Zune’s ‘killer’ feature of being able to transfer music wirelessly between devices but while they may claim no one really needs or wants that option you can pretty much guarantee the iPod will one day gain that functionality. So for the time being the only way to copy MP3s, videos or photos between two iPods is with something like the Rapid Transit. Just connect two devices (including digital cameras) via their own USB cables to the RT and then using its built-in screen you can select what files or folders you want to copy between the devices.

And you can choose to view this feature as a plus or minus but the Rapid Transit also plays along with Apple’s DRM which means that music transferred from a friend’s iPod to yours can not be played until your iPod is re-synched to iTunes. (You need to enter your friend’s iTunes password to unlock the songs transferred to your own iPod.) However I’m pretty sure music that wasn’t purchased from iTunes is free of these restrictions. When travelling the RT can use its own rechargeable battery but also comes with an AC adaptor that allows you to recharge any USB-rechargeable device plugged into it.

The Rapid Transit is available from the Herrington Catalog for $129.95.

[ Rapid Transit USB Transfer Device ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The TuneView remote from Keyspan was supposed to be released sometime in May of this year but has been delayed for 6 or 7 months now. Thankfully what started out as another Optimus keyboard situation has managed to avoid becoming a Phantom Console or Duke Nukem Forever because at long last the TuneView is actually shipping!

To refresh your memory the TuneView remote can control your iPod from anywhere in your home while it’s placed in a special dock. (The 2.4 Ghz RF signal used should function at distances of 150 feet or more.) Of course what makes controlling your iPod from that distance possible is the fact that the TuneView has its own color screen that’s basically an exact duplicate of the iPod’s own GUI allowing you to see the contents of your music and video collection right on the remote. (So how long before Apple’s lawyers come knocking?)

The TuneView supports pretty much all iPods with the dock connector and is available for purchase on their website for $179.99.

[ Keyspan TuneView ] VIA [ Popgadget ]

By David Ponce

It’s the small, seemingly insignificant gadgets that can sometimes make a world of difference. Take this little device, from company Incipio. It’s called, somewhat narcissistically, IncipioBud, and all it does is allow you to connect your brand new 2G iPod Shuffle directly to a computer’s USB port, bypassing the dock altogether.

Yeah, that’s it really. Don’t wanna dock your Shuffle, get the IncipioBud, for all of $6.

[ IncipioBud ] VIA [ Xataka ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Whether you’re a fan of the iPod or not, one thing you have to admit is that there are a lot of accessories available for them. In fact ‘a lot’ is a bit of an understatement given how prolific third party manufacturers have been with producing anything and everything one could ever need for their iPod and in every color under the sun. It’s probably one of the reasons a lot of people hate the iPod as finding accessories for non-Apple MP3 players is almost impossible.

So instead of fighting the current, today I’ll be ‘going with the flow’ and looking at three iPod-specific accessories from WaterField Designs. The Nano and Video cases are designed to provide a safe way to stash your iPods away when not in use while the Large Gear Pouch is a handy way to keep power adapters, USB cables, FM transmitters and whatever other accessories you feel the need to carry with you organized and easily accessible.

So if you’re a fan of the iPod but are still looking for a good way to protect your investment please read my full review of WaterField’s offerings (with many additional pics) after the jump. However if you prefer to support that up-and-coming startup known as Microsoft and their Zune player instead then you might just want to move along to our next story.

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