USB Cassette Deck

Cassette decks are just about equitable to the stone ages, especially with the immersion of high def DVD.  The Plusdeck-EX converts your favorite analog cassette tapes to MP3 via USB.  It can also handle records, radio and more all thanks to its USB sound card, which also allows you to configure the audio up to 7.1 channels.  Not exactly an advance in audio engineering, but a nice option for those analog audio dinosaurs.

Available here for $260.

Add comment March 31st, 2008

Watch Sports Touchscreen, Phone, and More

The DigitalRist D-RiseTM m600i is quite simply out of control. Not only is it unlocked for use with any SIM card, but it rocks a touchscreen, a 1.3 megapixel camera, mp3 player, voice recorder, Bluetooth, expandable from 60mb to 512mb flash memory, and more. What, no GPS? The only draw back: it only works in Europe and Australia. Price: $320 (350AU)

More info here.

One more pic after the ‘leap’

[Therawfeed]

2 comments March 26th, 2008

Ripserver: Super Powered Consumer Level Music Ripping Server

Ripserver has long been in the prosumer game providing the necessary technology for companies to ‘rip’ massive amounts of music. Today they’ve announced the availability of their consumer level rip station called the ‘Ripserver’. Setup and operation sound super simple. Just toss in a CD and within minutes the Ripserver will copy the music (MP3 or Flac encoding), download artwork, and add the necessary tags. A monitor isn’t mandatory for use - although there is a VGA out - as the Ripserver is intended for shared network use (it’s an NAS or Network Attached Storage) via its Gigabit Ethernet connection, and you’ll need to access its configuration via a web browser for initial up and running. Runs on Linxus so expect a very stable environment and it’s compatible with most popular music networking devices (e.g. Sonos, Slim Devices, Roku, PS3, etc). Available now in black or white, and comes in two sizes: 500GB ($1190) and 1TB ($1390). If that isn’t enough space for you, then add on an external drive via USB.

More info here.

Add comment March 5th, 2008

Creative Zen Stone Plus With Built-in Speaker Now Available

The Zen Stone and Zen Stone Plus (the plus has a screen) with built-in speakers are now shipping in the UK and US. Announced at CES this year, the Zen Stones are tiny little MP3 players with even tinier speakers on the back. They have up to a 4GB capacity, although the site only allows you to select a 2 gigger, and come in a variety of colors: Blue, Black, Champagne, and Pink. Included in the package is a radio and expect to get about 20 hours of run time.

Available here for $60.

Add comment February 27th, 2008

Gear4 BluFM Offers Bluetooth For Your Phone Calls and FM Transmission For Your iPhone

MP3 FM transmitters and Bluetooth speakerphones are nothing new. The combination of two, though, is something that seems to have alluded most manufactures. Gear4s newest offering, the Gear4 BluFM offers just that. Simply plug in your MP3 player and jam out to tunes via the FM transmitter. Pair it with your phone and when there’s an incoming call, it should cut the music and transmit the caller’s voice over the car’s speakers via the FM transmitter. One question remains: will this thing work with an iPhone much like the iSonTalk? The jack probably isn’t compatible with the iPhone’s recessed input so you’ll have to address that with an aftermarket adapter.

Available here for $98.

Via T3

Add comment February 26th, 2008

Toshiba G450 Modem/MP3 Player/Phone

The Toshiba G450 is not a mass appeal piece of equipment. Designed primarily as a USB modem (GSM/UTMS), the G450 can also make phone calls and play MP3s, which are displayed on its OLED screen. Unfortunately, the G450’s frequency band probably (2100MHz) won’t support US use anytime soon. No built-in USB plug so you’ll have to drag along a cord.

More pics after the ‘leap’.

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Via Mobileburn

Add comment February 17th, 2008

Wind Up PMP

Although the Eco-media player will never catch on like the iPod or iPhone, it’s sure to set a precedent for self-powered portable PMPs. The device can play movies, music, photos, and the radio. It even charges your cell phone when you run out of juice. One minute of winding will achieve 40 minutes of playback time with a maximum battery life of 20 hours. If you get tired winding you can simply plug the Eco-media player into your computer and charge it up. It features a 1.8” color LCD and .021 million pixels (that should read 21,000 pixels) and is compatible with a multitude of video (software converter included) and audio formats.

More info here and looks like you can buy it in the UK only.

Via Gearlog

Add comment February 15th, 2008

The Slacker Device (aka Slacker Portable) Review

It’s probably safe to say we’ve all been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the much anticipated and hyped Slacker Device (aka Slacker Portable). Started by the founding fathers of MP3 players (CEOs of the original MP3 player companies) The Slacker Device takes an old approach - we’re talking Tivo like music (aka Pandora, iLike) - to the portable world. Although Apple has long dominated the MP3 market, The Slacker Device does pose a threat to Apple’s 70%+ market share, but not a significant one - at least not one that will garner double digital numbers anytime soon given both technology adoption life cycle and infurstructure issues (powerful wireless signals aren’t ubiquitous enough yet).

So what’s the verdict? Well, Wired got an exclusive (I’m jealous) with The Slacker Device, but only provided a top level review - very Wiredesqe. Wired agrees that it’s an “antidote to music collection boredom”. You can modify your music collection with a ‘like/dislike’ or ‘ban’ feature. This get’s you to truly customized music. Thank God, because if they didn’t nail this, the The Slacker Device would be useless. This is supported by clean sound, detailed band and bio info with art work. They were a little frustrated with the free service option which only allows 6 song skips per hour, which is in addition to ads. But hey, its FREE. On the other hand, the premium service ($10 a month) allows endless skipping and no ads.

Apparently there is some satellite that will allow song refreshing without the need for WiFi, but that’s neither here nor there right now. The device will arrive with your top 10 selected radio stations. It comes in 3 sizes: 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. You can also add your own MP3s, but after adding Slacker Radio your left with 500MB, 1.5GB and 4GB respectively. Slacker describes the portable player sizes in stations: 10, 25 and 40. Surprisingly, it’s not touchscreen and includes a ‘touchstrip’ which is apparently quirky, and some hard keys located on the top and either side of the device - there is a jog dial in there some where. Battery life is a measly 10 hours, but I’m not sure if that’s without or without WiFi use. We all know what WiFi does to the iPhone battery (insert toilet flushing noise here). Based on the pics, the included headphones look no better then the headphones that come with the free Napster Mp3 players - that means they probably suck. If you’re wondering how the device works, then I suggest heading over to the Slacker website for complete details. In short, The Slacker Device caches your radio stations on your device. Whenever you’re in range of accessible WiFi, or plug into a computer via USB it’ll update your stations based on your musical preference. The Slacker Device, or Slacker Portable sounds promising. Slacker Radio is available to anyone right now. I’d suggest giving that a shot, building up your stations and then if you find yourself enjoying that library more then the one you own, drop the $200 - $300.

Slacker Portable info and pricing here.

Update: Laptopmag just dropped me an email and they’ve got a full blown review.  How’d they rate it?  3.5 out of 5 stars.  They love The Slacker Device, but feel a Gen 2 or a licensed version might be more robust.  Check out Laptopmag’s Slacker Device review here.

1 comment February 3rd, 2008