Gadgety News

Looking for a virtually indestructible acoustic guitar?

Blackbird’s Rider Nylon guitar is really made of carbon fiber; it’s the strings that are nylon - don’t ask me why it’s not named the Rider CF!

Blackbird says that the Rider is “nearly indestructible” so that should make it pretty much the perfect travel guitar.

The unusual material has meant altering the style from a more traditional shape.

As you can see: it’s far squarer, and the sound hole has moved up to the neck, and been renamed a “soundscoop” instead.  This, apparently, makes for a better sound response.

The other side-effect is that it’s light enough at 3-pounds to fit into an aircraft overhead locker.

There is also a steel-stringed version but these carbon fiber axes aint what you’d class as budget strummers:

Nylon string model is $1,900 and the smaller steel-stringed version is $1,600.

They’ll be grinnin’ while you’ll be pickin’ boy!

Blackbird via GadgetLab

Looking for a true all-in-one media thingy?

Say Allo to the Allio HDTV with built-in PC and Blu-ray player!

No more will you need to multi-task from laptop to tele and back again - this 42-inch 1080p TV has cojoined with a high spec PC that holds an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory, a massive 1TB of storage and Windows Vista Premium.

It’s no surprise really that it is also packing plenty of connectivity including wireless networking.

You can still multi-task (of course) with this big TV as the split screen/picture-in-picture options are a go-go!

To ensure that all boxes are ticked there’s that Blu-ray player - surly making this the first high-def all-in-one to hit the market.

Silicon Mountain is offering up six flavours of the TV, starting at $1,599.99 for the 32-inch model, jumping to $2,799 for the big boy.

No news of a UK launch as yet but don’t question about future upgrades or “what happens if this bit breaks?”………….

Silicon Mountain via Engadget

What you are looking at is a lovely iPod/iPhone dock that features wireless speakers.

The EOps 124R3 has Just been unveiled at Tokyo Designer’s Week and is quite possibly up for the award for being the best-looking speaker system for the iPod/iPhone ever!

This Michael Young designed idock comes with a woofer-equipped base station and is paired with up to eight remote stereo speakers and rocks a wireless dongle to let you stream music from a Mac or PC.

A full-function RF-remote control is packaged with it as well as having the gesture control of iPhone touchiness - you just wiggle your hand in front of the base station and control volume and equaliser functions.

Nice.

Would you buy one?

If you’re looking for something that’s like an iPod then you could do a lot worse than to check this little beauty out!

The Cowon O2 is coming to the UK and it is more than adequate to taunt the iPod and blow raspberries at the best of the rest.

Memory for all your media ranges from 16GB to a lovely 32GB of flash storage.

That’s not enough? Then whack in an SDHC card for up to 32GB more!

Video caresses those eyes of yours via the HD-friendly 4.3-inch TFT LCD screen and there’s compatibility for just about every audio and video format around - yes, even MP3’s!

If it wont play; well……you’ve probably made it up yourself!

Throw in video recording, photo viewing, a respectable battery life of 18 hours of music per charge and an open source operating system - the latter of which could bring forth some interesting downloads, stuff and things.

There’s no pricing details as yet, but as most of us know, Cowon players are generally very competitively priced

Cowon

MP3 music downloads at seven big UK online stores are to be marked with this highly attractive, new and cutting-edge MP3 compatible sign. How cool is that? ~insert sarcasm where applicable~

It’s part of an initiative (to spend pointless money) led by the Entertainment Retailers Association to make consumers aware of the “advantages of the format and the fact that it can be used across multiple brands of music players and across PCs and Macs”.

7digital, Digitalstores, Tescodigital, Tunetribe, Play.com, HMV and Woolworths are all on board for the launch. The ERA digital chairman Russel Coultart said the move was to take the message to music fans “that they can legally buy downloads which are not locked to specific players or computers or mobile phones”.

7digital said consumers much prefer the MP3 format because it is so easy to use. If the MP3 logo is successful, it could be rolled out by the equivalent trade bodies internationally and Coultart also said it is in discussions with music retail organisations globally “to make ‘MP3 compatible’ an international standard”.

This is all very well but how long have MP3’s been with us? Surly it’s not far off from being old enough to smoke and drink? I would understand all this fuss if there hadn’t been a new version of this tech available – I’d call it MP4 or something

The other thing that confuses me about this ‘push’ is that MP3’s aren’t that great quality and now that even small players can manage 4gb why can’t we be upping the quality? Surly we should be pushing CD quality by now?

If it’s a problem about downloading – most people have access to broadband now (especially with all these mobile interweb dongles flying about the place – you don’t even need a BT line!).

Soon there will be a generation of music lovers that will expect that highly compressed low quality vibe – weren’t we dragged away from vinyl and promised a golden-age of high quality, high fidelity listening through a surround sound immersive environment at one point? Or did I dream it?

ERA credits MP3s with much of the growth of music downloads sales, which have risen 41% year-on-year to October this year, according to the Official UK Charts Company, and album sales are up 69% - Before anyone hails iTunes as the leader………….as far as I’m aware (and please correct me if I’m wrong) iTunes started by using MP3 but then quickly moved over to AAC……

~End Rant~

I downloaded this yesterday while it is still free

iTalk is a new sound recording app for iPhone, iPhone 3G, and 2nd generation iPod touch.

This natty little app allows you to create one-touch, high-quality recordings which can be transferred over to your Mac or PC.

You’ll need to download the iTalk app from the iTunes App Store and whack it onto your iPhone/iPod touch for the recoding/playback bit while the buddy prog, iTalk Sync, runs on your computer to transfer recordings from iPod or iPhone for editing and sharing. 

iTalk Sync connects to your iPod touch or iPhone wirelessly via your local Wi-Fi network, with recordings saved as high-quality AIFF files, playable in iTunes and most other media players.

I’ve only had a quick play around with it and the quality sounds pretty good for a free app - handy for a quick recording of a riff before I forget it or a melody line that comes to me on the bus or tube - it happens!

Griffin’s iTalk is free for a limited time, and is now available at the iTunes App Store.

iTalk Sync is now available as a free download at www.italksync.com.

Grab it while it’s hot (and free!).

I’ve seen double-adapters for headphones plenty of times but if you’re anything like me you’re gonna end up leaving them at home.

Some bright spark has had the brains to shove a splitter on a keyring - genius!

Now a pair of friends can happily share tunes safe in the knowledge there will be an acceptable earphone to ear ratio - although I’m not sure how it affects sound quality and/or volume.

Buy it here: Gadgets.co.uk for under 7 quid!

When I read something about a new Soundgarden I instantly thought that the band had got back together - but you can blame that on me being of an age and being an 80’s rocker.

Whilst it isn’t news about the Seattle band’s reformation it is the fact that JVC has gone all eco-friendly with its latest speaker concept - the Sound Garden, or rather the Kirikabu, speaker.

This combines a plant pot with multi-directional speakers consisting of a woofer, and left and right channel stereo speakers powered by an internal amplifier.

See, you didn’t realise you needed this did you?

The manufacturer showed off the concept in Tokyo at the Designer’s Week exhibition.

I’m still slightly confused.

A lot of emphasis has been put on getting the best pic from your google-box with high-definition but what about the audio people?

Well, French TV station - TNT is the world’s first to broadcast a Dolby Digital Plus track over a terrestrial signal.

The Dolby system is said to be just the thing for limited bandwidth applications like terrestrial broadcasts, as the original Dolby Digital bitstreams are maintained and can still be decoded.

Not sure when this will travel across the Channel though.

Marketwatch via CrunchGear

Happy birthday to this gadget blog. Happy birthday to this tech blog. Happy birthday dear Jay’s Gadget News.  Happy birthday to yooooooooooooooooou!

Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog! Blog!

Well, what started off as a test to see if there was room for another gadget and tech blog site a year ago has slowly gained enough of you lovely readers for me to carry on writing about things that have caught my eye and that you (hopefully) find interesting.

My first posts (ie not ones dragged over from my temporary test site) were posted this very day 12 months ago - I know, how Goth to choose Samhain/Halloween to start a blog

I would like to take this moment and space to thank all of you for coming here and making this place feel loved - whether you were here from the very start or have only just found this place.

If there are anythings that you would rather see more/less of now is your chance. Either email me or just leave a comment here and I’ll do my best to please - the new look was prompted by a comment a lo, it was done.

So, thanks once more and here’s hopefully to another year of gadget grooviness and tech tremendousness

Much gadgety love

Jay

The Sony Rolly has always been an enigma to me.

Ok, it’s cute - It’s probably one of the cutest small speakers around.

But.

It’s a portable, trundling, dancing speaker - but the sound isn’t great for £250.

It’s a music player able to stream via A2DP Bluetooth or play from its internal flash but there’s no place to shove your 3.5mm lead.

 Sony are now updating it - and it will be controlled by YOU!! MWAHAHAHAHH!!!

Ahem.  Next month, Japanese Rolly buyers will be able to get the new SEP-50BT version complete with Bluetooth controls thus allowing them to make Rolly dance and spin like a performing monkey-bot all directed via their mobile phones.

I can imagine the high jinks and thoroughly wicked japes to be had through controlling the egg-shaped dancing speaker under somones chair and then unleashing a choice cut from ‘Cannibal Corpse’ as the little mp3 player starts its own circle pit :) 

The new system will actually give you control of up to seven of the little blighters at the same time using a mobile phone or laptop.

I reckon it’s time for some synchronised dancing……….

Gizmodo

It’s has been a while since I’ve seen anything regarding Jean-Michel Jarre - perhaps ’Destination Docklands’ was the last time.

This time it has nothing to do with his synth pop spectaculars as it turns out that he’s a bit of a gadget designer too! He also happens to be a bit fussy bout the output from his iPod.

So he’s gone and designed the AeroSystem iPod speaker.

Typically understated (arf!) he’s knocked together quite an imposing metal and glass tower that houses 2x 20W speakers and 45W subwoofer for blasting out that laser-synth music of his.  The remote is also a work of gadgety art in itself.

Of course it also charges your player and does have connectivity for other players - I’m guessing that these will require another stand/shelf.

450 Euros is the asking price and it is only available to rich French residents.

JM Jarre Technologies via Engadget

If you’re a fan of retro musical instruments or Rolf Harris - or perhaps you want to play a version of Telstar the Very Cool Software Company has recently announced its first iPhone application: The Dubreq iStylophone.

For those of you too young for the refereces made above; the Stylophone is an electronic musical instrument (kinda), originally invented by Brian Jarvis in 1968 and manufactured in the UK by Dubreq.

You’ll be able to replicate the instrument’s sound as well as other features by using the phone’s touchscreen.

But, is it worth the $5.95 (£3.49*) asking price?

We’ll see on the 1st December when it will becomes available.

I eagerly await the iWobbleboard for the full Rolf-tastic orchestra

* correction

Twenty or so of the tech who’s-who partied large in Cyprusthis last week, and posted a lip sync video of the Journey song “Don’t Stop Believing” a couple of days ago.

Among the group were Brittany Bohnet of Google, Mike Hudack of Blip.tv, Dave Morin and Aaron Sittig of Facebook, Sam Lessin of Drop.io and Jessica Vascellaro, the Wall Street Journal’s Silicon Valley beat reporter.

All is cool so far.  A little sun, sea and no doubt a few beers.

Perhaps their timing could’ve been a tad better though.

The video was released just as Silicon Valley really began falling apart and the meltdown occured.

This was the week of eBay’s 10% layoffs, Google’s stock nosedive, Yahoo’s self destruction, etc

More than a few people thought the ostentatious partying was in poor taste in light of the situation back home.

Now the video has been tagged private, which is what it should have been marked as in the first place.

But it’s too late - the video has spread to YouTube and other sites, and won’t be disappearing again.

This may become the theme track and visuals for the end of Web 2.0.

Dance, Sing along and then cringe at the Official Bursting of Web 2.0 Bubble on video

Yay!

We Brits are getting the rather fabby Korg DS-10 Synthesiser for the Nintendo DS before our American cousins!

I mentioned this app a while ago but now it has finally been released.

The synth as been developed by AQ Interactive and manages to pack a complete Korg MS-10 synth inside the handheld device.

This is no dodgy homebrew either; it has Korg’s official seal of approval and has been created by a crack team of game developers. The software makes full use of the touchscreen to generate new sounds and you can connect up gates just by drawing in the wires.

If you want to collaborate and make some serious tunes, you can hook up with up to seven other DSs wirelessly. You can also save up to six different tracks.

Can’t wait to see artists start getting their DS’s out on stage.

Play.com, the online store, has just bitten a chunk out of Apple.

Their range of DRM-free music now includes artists from Sony BMG, Warner and Universal joining EMI and a host of independent labels. 

At 65-pence-per-track, that’s 14p less than the iTunes variety and you don’t need an iPod to play them either.

Smugness abounds in the Play.com camp as they also beat HMV, Amazon and Tecso to signing with the big four.

PlayDigital head Wendy Snowdown says: “It’s great for us to get this service live before Amazon, HMV and Tesco and it’s showing in the sales results.”

They’re not the first, however, 7digital pipped them six weeks ago, but Play says the ability to purchase from DVDs, books and everything else, in the same shopping basket gives them the upper hand.

A bit of modesty please Play

PlayDigital

Why?

That’s my first question on discovering the latest venture by the large labels to convince us that we need another physical media to carry our tunes.

Personally CD’s are still my main alternative to MP3, etc.

I still have my vinyl but that weighs a ton. I loved the ease of tapes and I even tried MiniDisks. In fact I  still record my rehearsal jams on MD but that’s about it.

These Sandisk slotMusic cards are not much more than tweaked 1GB microSD cards with a logo and a special USB-compatible sled: and the fact that they’ll carry albums from BMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group fails to pique my interest.

They’ll be DRM free which, to be honest, is a pleasant surprise.

It’s an attempt to change the way some people buy MP3s, the cynical amongst you might think this is a way to attract people back into real stores.  I worked for FOPP and I can tell you that when the chain of stores went into receivership noone was particularly shocked.

Anyhooooo…you’ll get a card you can slot into your cellphone or PC with high-quality MP3s (up to 320kbps), artwork, videos and such, which you can also reuse as a 1GB memory card later, and that’s kinda handy I spose.

If I want, and I generally do, a physical, tangible version of a bought album I’d go for the one with pictures and sleeve notes I can read, touch and yes; perhaps even smell!

I am prepared to be proved wrong - we can only judge after crimbo has come and gone I guess.

SlotMusic

I’ve been waiting for my favourite Hi-Fi brand to kick out a Pod Dock and they certainly haven’t disappointed at the Milan Top Audio Show.

Cambridge Audio have also dished out a 2 piece set as well as an all-in-one - the Sonata and the Fusion respectively.

Let’s start with The Sonata.

Pointed towards the more picky listener it comes as a two-part separates system.

The pictured AR30 (£299) is the FM receiver where as the 2.1 DAB receiver is the DR30 (also £299) and both boast 40 watts per channel and has that brushed aluminium finish which is so de rigeur.

You also get a choice of what to buddy up with the AV receiver.

Do you go for of an upscaling 1080p HDMI DVD player (DV30 - £179) or Wolfson-DAC-loaded CD unit (CD30 - £179)? OOoooo………the decisions!!

Next up is the all-in-one Fusion which scampers in for under £300.

It will rock out at 30w per channel and features an integrated CD player, DAB/FM tuner, USB port and SD card sockets and MP3/WMA playback compatibility from CD.

Both the Sonata and the Fusion sports that bespoke iPod dock that charges the player while tethered.

Now, Cambridge Audio’s brand new and specially built iPod dock uses bespoke technology - similar to that in noise cancelling headphones - to eliminate unwanted signal noise and improve MP3 sound clarity.

Matthew Bramble, technical director at Cambridge Audio told those fab people over at T3:

“The move to enter this market is to show people that integrated iPod docks aren’t always the best choice for iPod sound quality. We see the Sonata and Fusion as stepping stones for people to get into decent hifi and really improve the sound of their digital music collection.”

If you don’t have an iThingy then you have the blessing of a front-mounted line-in for attaching those other players.

The Fusion will be here in November whilst the Sonata will be saying “hello” in Feb 2009.

Ok fellow string botherers!

Anyone that has jammed, had a moment of brilliance and thought “I’ll remember that and get it down when I get home” only to find that the inspired riff eludes you will realise the importance of recording practically everything.

This little fella is called BackTrack and is the latest from those digital music maestro’s, Line 6.

Just plug your bass/guitar into BackTrack, plug BackTrack into your amp, and start playing.

The gadget starts recording when it detects a signal and it will keep doimg so until it runs flat (up to eight hours).

The basic package retails for $139.99, can capture up to 12 hours of audio and comes equipped with 1GB flash memory.

BackTrack + Mic comes equipped with 2GB flash memory and an internal microphone, records for up to 24 hours and retails for $209.99. Both models are rechargeable via USB and have the standard 1/4-inch in / out and headphone jacks.

I might have to upgrade from my MiniDisc………..

 
CNET

The name Marantz usually makes most people’s wallet or purse hide unless you’re serious about your audio.

But now they are trying to get the MP3 generation back to listening to music via those shiny discs and offer up the CD5003 CD player and PM5003 amp.
 

The CD5003 brings an audiophile-friendly reinforced chassis to cut out vibration, HDAM SA-2 modules for better audio reproduction and a digital-to-analogue converter that guarantees perfect symmetry between left and right channels.

It will also play CD-R and CD-RW, MP3 and WMA-enabled discs.

The PM5003 packs independent pre-amplifier, power amplifier and tone control sections, pumping out 80 watts of tuneage throughout your party pad.

There’s also the same HDAM SA-2 modules for sound quality, five line inputs, balance control and two sets of speaker terminals.

£230 will get you the amp and add £200 for the CD player.
 

Marantz