Archive for: mp3 player
The quest for a new MP3 player isn’t what it used to be. Just a few short years ago, MP3 players were hot. Little boxes of music from iRiver, Creative, Sansa, Samsung, Archos, and yes, Apple littered the shelves at your local electronics store. The digital music revolution created a frenzy similar to that of the 80′s when the Walkman started gaining momentum. And now in 2011, some would argue that MP3 players have lived out their rather short lives at the top. For now all that seems to dominate consumer electronics news consists of various smartphones and “do-it-all” tablets. In an environment and age of multi-taskers, is a simple MP3 player still something to cherish?
The Samsung YP-Q3 may not have a leg to stand on when compared to media players on even mid-range smartphones, it is nonetheless a formidable foe which aims to do one thing and do it well — play music. With that said, hop inside to see how it fairs…
- September 1, 2010 2:04 pm
New iPod Touches were a given. Still, it’s nice that they’re finally here. But as awesome as they are, the new iPod Touch is hardly the only thing worth talking about.
Hop inside and get the quick rundown of everything Apple dished out today…
Some gadgets age well, growing more valuable and priceless with age. Others do not. This “Intel® Personal Audio Player 3000″ that was found on a Walmart clearance rack for a steal of a price — $20 (previously on “sale for $50). It’s a nice look back to yesteryear when the MP3 movement was just starting. I can’t knock it too hard though, I had an old Rio mp3 player with 32MB of memory. This would have been an upgrade. Thank god the human race has progressed…
If you need a good laugh (or look back into the past), hop inside for the official press release all the way out of 2001…
- February 15, 2010 12:56 pm
Bobble heads they are not. Light they do not shine. These seemingly clever gadgets appear to at first be another geeky lamp. Upon closer inspection however, you’ll quickly notice they are in fact speakers. What’s different from normal Star Wars themed gimmicky gadgets is that these actually look really well done. That is of course based on physical looks alone.
How do they actually sound? That is another story — one that I cannot answer unfortunately. And without a spec sheet to run through speaker specs, I’m going to have to advise holding off for now. That is of course if you can contain yourself and keep that credit card in your wallet. Otherwise, by all means take the plunge and let us know how it goes.
Any Star Wars fans getting excited, or is it too gimmicky for ya?
[Product Page: Funko]
Nerd Approved > Fanboy
- February 14, 2010 10:21 pm
Think sound quality are the only things people care about when purchasing headphones and in this case, ear buds? Well, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the answer to that question is actually a pretty loud and resounding “No”. Hell, if it where, half of Japan’s headphone business would be wiped out. Their at times odd fascination with the more “creative” side of headphone design has created some of the more elaborate designs I’ve seen in simple sonic devices. At the same time, that design and creativity has come at the expense of sound quality. I’m sorry if I’m bursting your bubble, but a pair of headphones that when worn look as if a miniature samurai sword is being rammed through your skull just won’t able to compete (sonically speaking of course) with even a low-end set of Shure, Etymotic, or Westone headphones.
If you can put aside the frivolous pursuit for sound quality however, a headphone company based out of Japan — Solid Alliance — has (4) nifty novelty headphones that may just tickle your inner geek. The four designs include: an apple with an arrow through it, a mushroom, a small ear, and the now infamous samurai sword.
The clever design and conversation starter will set you back about ¥2000 if you live in the land of the rising sun or roughly $20 USD if you happen to reside back here in the States. Hooked?
TiPB
- February 10, 2010 7:45 am
One of the few parts of the iPhone that is generally free from any criticisms is it’s Mobile Safari browser. As far as mobile browsers go, it’s nearly perfect with blazing speed, extremely accurate rendering, and drop dead simple navigation. But you can’t please everyone with a single product. No matter how good a product is, it’s always nice to have a second or third choice. As far as third party iPhone browsers go, there aren’t too many legitimate contenders. Sure, there several 3rd party browsers now available since Apple lifted that restriction earlier last year. But these browsers aren’t as fully featured as Mobile Safari, or are slower, or less thought out in regards to navigation. This year at MWC, a real 2nd choice browser is being unveiled: Opera Mini.
If you’re not familiar with Opera Mini, it is a lightweight and highly nimble mobile browser that gets a big boost in browsing speeds thanks to server-side caching and heavy lifting. By the time the web page reaches your phone, it’s 1/10th or less the size of the original page. But it’s not only fast, it looks good and is easy to navigate as well. Just because everything adds up of Opera Mini, don’t get too excited yet — Apple still has to approve it.
Duplicating the functionality of the browser seems as if it would be a blatant rejection, yet there are other browser apps available. Of course, none are of the caliber or quality as Opera Mini. Even still, not only will it be a disservice to iPhone users if they reject Opera Mini, but also to AT&T and any cellular network admin. Opera Mini and it’s technologies take a big load off of the network and place it on their own servers. AT&T at least should be begging Apple for Opera Mini.
In the end, we really don’t have any say. As far as I’m concerned though, Opera Mini is already the best iPhone browser. Now Apple just has to approve it.
Unwired
And the Cat&Mouse chase continues. This time it is the Dev-Team volleying their latest Pwnage Tool 3.1.5 Mac edition jailbreaking tool which is meant to unshackle your iDeviecs from the latest 3.1.3 OS release. Some may be dancing in the streets, downloading the update as we speak, but there are some hurdles and things you need to know first.
- iPod Touch: The 1st and 2nd Gen iPod Touches are the only Touches compatible with PwnageTool 3.1.5. A special note to 2nd Gen iPod Touch owners: make sure your device has an early bootrom. If not, you need to avoid the 3.1.3 update from Apple at this time.
- iPhone: For iPhone users, the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS (with an early bootrom) can also partake of the jailbreaking goods. Again, DO NOT upgrade to 3.1.3.
Of course, if you really want to play it safe, just avoid 3.1.3 all together. It’s not like there’s anything of any real value included in the new release anyway. You’ve been warned…
9to5 Mac > Dev-Team
Want a completely useless gadget that could get you killed? Check out the TASER-Mp3 player combo. At first it may seem like a good idea. Masking a self defense and publicly undesirable object with something that every loves — an mp3 player. I thought the whole point of a tazer was to protect your from surroundings that were inhabited by less than friendly individuals? Now how can you pay attention in those dark, remote portions of cities with some stupid Clay Aiken song blaring into your ears? It’s simple: You can’t! Allow me to step through a scenario…
Chances are, if someone runs up behind you, they’ll do so unnoticed since you can’t hear them. Making matters worse, when you do get grabbed, a frantic battle will surely ensure in which you try to whip our your taser, get bumped, overpowered, and ultimately tasered by your own taser. Whether it was because you simply lost your footing and fell on the TASER, shocking yourself, or were overpowered by your attacker doesn’t matter. The end result could mean death if you’re one of the few people who just don’t have the heart to fight off thousands of angry electrons all gunning for your chest thumper.
See how quickly something can go wrong? Now how does that taser/mp3 player combo sound? Not lookin’ too good is it?
- See the TASER/MP3 player combo and 9 other “completely ridiculous” combos at PC World
- November 16, 2009 4:04 am
Excited I am. The creative line of players while robust and featuring top notch audio quality have often fallen short in terms of usability and UI interaction. Several months ago Creative announced that their “Zii” line of players would have both an in-house OS model as well as an Android model. But these were just MID/audio players to take on the iPod Touch market. The Android model had some pretty awesome specs, though sadly wasn’t a phone nor was it even hinted at being one. I’m not discounting the MID scene. It’s just that I love a good MID/audio player like any other geek, but what I would really love to see is a true uber phone. You know. a be all end all type of gadget. It looks as if my wishes will soon be coming true.
The banner pictured above shows the headline for the Zii Summit 2009 in China. The big surprise is that the Zii line of Android players looks to be transgressing into the phone arena. According to the banner, the specs are fairly mouth watering…
A range of OEM-ready Zii Powered devices will be showcased – powered by ZiiLABS ZMS-05 and ZMS-08 media-rich application processors. The line-up of devices on display include: a Touch Tablet PC, a Netbook, a Web-Box, a 360o Multi-View Camera System, ultra high-performance Speakers, a Piano Keyboard for the PC, and a Portable e-Book Reader. But the highlight of our devices line-up is our Mobile Phone platform. ZiiLABS ushers in a new era of explosive high definition 3D with the Zii Optimized Android Phone platform. The Zii Optimized Android Phone platform gives developers the chance to use the familiar Android OS, but with a difference. Harnessing StemCell Computing Technology found on the ZMS-05 Media Rich Processor, Android is now super-charged with seamless 3D graphics and High Definition video playback performance.
Phone with Fully featured Android Platform
- Accelerated video, graphic and imaging
- Full integration with SurfaceFlinger
The biggest draw for me would be a physically appealing device with the awesome abilities of Android all wrapped around true high-quality audio. Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone has a aesthetically pleasing music player skin and overall UI in general, but it’s only so-so in terms of audio quality. Could this Android powered Zii-phone be the music phone I’ve been waiting for? That’s assuming the fact it ever leaves the Chinese mainland. Still, I reaming ever hopeful.
What about yourselves?
Phandroid
