I was laughing when I read this. Some person, invented a DIY SockPhone that’s 100 times more comfortable than the usual headphones. Okay, we all know that as technology advances, headphones are becoming really hi-tech as they come but how many actually took levels of comfort into consideration. Hi tech as they may come, many headphones still gives you an ear ache after a while.

That is, until the Sockphone came about :) It’s pretty much a DIY thing, just put socks around the headphones and make it comfortable for yourself LOL.

Geez…ingenious but I wonder how the sound quality is with a sock in your ear?

P.S: Did you notice that the headphones has a mono and not a stereo connector?

Another Sony stuff, because they seem to be hot on the conveyor belt these days spouting stuff over and over. In my previous post, they created a new desktop display (which they said they wanted to stop production for good previous), the Sony Luma and now they’ve come up with Sony NW-A800 DAP-PMP, which is like an iPod kind of device. Plays music, plays videos and is a storage system that allows you to store pics, etc. I just wonder if they had a better name for it because that is a mouthful.

Anyhow, this device will be out in Japan soon! It’s already being introduced in Europe. I thought it’s funny since Sony is a Japanese brand, shouldn’t they release it in their home country first?? Oh well, the Sony NW-A800 comes in 5 colors to choose from: black, blue, pink, silver and white.
The player has a capacity of 2, 4 and 8GB and it supports AAC, WMA, MP3 and ATRAC files for audio, and H.264 for video on a 2” screen.

I still don’t know much about it yet. Will probably update you guys on it as soon as i get more info!

Source: AkihabaraNews

LG KE850 Prada

When the iPhone first came out to wow everyone, you didn’t think it’d be the end of it, did you? Well, no, you’re right, it’s not the end because words has it LG Prada is making its debut in 3 weeks time. The phone looks like iPhone but it’s no iPhone, let me tell you that. It has a touch screen just like the iPhone but it doesn’t have smartphone capabilities and there’s no QWERTY screen keyboard.

Perhaps the only thing it shares with the iPhone is it’s large touch screen. I wouldn’t compare the quality of the pix that comes out of it yet but I guess we’ll see. The price for the LG Prada is lower than the iPhone, naturally, thus making this phone potentially popular with those who likes the iPhone but can’t really afford spending that money on a phone knowing that those functions won’t be used half the time unless you’re an Apply fanboy like him..:)

The LG Prada is 2.99 oz and 0.47 inches thin. It’s a still a pretty compact phone if you ask me. The two things that will appeal to people are:

1) It looks like an iPhone
2) It’s cheaper than the iPhone x3

The two types of person who will be most likely to buy the LG Prada:
1) People who likes the iPhone look but want a simpler more affordable phone
2) People like Paris Hilton, who thinks Brandedness = AWESOME.

:)

Source: Gizmodo

There is this puck-like thing that looks exactly like a, well, puck. The only thing that’s special about this little puck is not that it was in the games where the hockey team won the Stanley cup but it’s in fact a storage place for the iPod Shuffle. Of course :)

People have been coming with up lots of accessories for the iPods that it’s hard to keep up with it. How many different kinds of storage system do you really need? I think a pocket would suffice, usually since the iPod shuffles clips.

This is definitely for those who are downright, unshamelessly, decadent :P I mean, even though it’s $20 bucks…wait…did you say it’s only $20 bucks? I guess I’ll take one….:) Well, if the price is right, i think anything goes in this case.

The casing even comes with a carabinder clip, how fashionable is that!

The iPod Shuffle was created so that sports enthusiasts and athletes can have their tunes while working out. Before, iPod Shuffle was only exclusive to those who do sports outside of water. Now, iPod Shuffle is for both water and dry sports. Then again, with all those sweat, no sports is very dry.

This Waterproof iPod by SwimMan carries all the goodness in the mini iPod Shuffle PLUS a waterproof casing. It has the capacity to work for up to 10ft of water. That means you can’t really use it for scuba diving you can when you snorkel or swim laps though. Or you can even use it when you’re in your bathtub or shower - just clip it to your shower curtains or your hair if you have any. It even comes with a waterproof earplugs that won’t slip.

The beauty of the waterproof iPod is the fact that it doesn’t look waterproof heh. It’s unlike the conventional bulky waterproof stuff you see. It’s going for USD150 each. I don’t know if it comes in multi-colors though.

Source: Engadget;iPod

Remember those days when vinyl was the in thing? My uncle has a collection of vinyl records to which I broke some because they look so flimsy that my young 9 year old hands just had to try its strength on it. Anyway, after some heartbreaking moments and being screamed by my mother, my uncle put on Engelbert Humperdink’s record…*shudders*

But shuddering aside, i was fascinated by how a small needle is the only point used to play the vinyl on a turntable. Anyway, now, vinyl records are a dying breed, if not already dead. I found this gadget on ThinkGeek where it’s a USB Turntable by Numark. How cool is that? It’s cool because now, you can play your old Engelbert Humperdink’s songs via a USB Turntable. I would shout “The Vinyls are back!” but i think this gadget is just another fad. It’ll fade away - yes, right after you rip your vinyls into MP3’s yo’!

Product Features & Specifications

* Professional quality turntable connects to your PC via USB
* Rip your vinyl directly to MP3 or WAV format
* Ships with Audacity software (compatible with PC and Mac) for removing clicks, pops, and other undesirable characteristics of vinyl
* Audacity supports high-speed recording, then returns music to original playback speed
* Audacity software includes ability to export to WAV and MP3
* Anti-skating control for increased stereo balance
* Support for both 33.33 and 45 RPM playback speeds
* ± 10% adjustable pitch control
* RCA line outputs
* Plug and Play USB compatibility with both PC and Mac
* Packaged with all necessary cables to interconnect with both a computer and stereo playback system

Source: ThinkGeeks.com

These speakers from Yamaha boasts of mobility, as in you can carry it anywhere you want since it has a USB point and its compact. We’re talking 248×33x100mm and 500g. Sound wise, it is better than the cheap speakers you bought during the last minute sale. For those who don’t like to wear headphones, you can bring this to your office space too - we all know no music, no life..:) God knows my laptop’s speakers sucks; it’s no different than the sound my neighbor’s cat makes when its on heat. I should probably get one. But I already have my trusty iPod…so money is better saved somewhere for my retirement fund!

The Yamaha USB Speakers also run on 4 AAA batteries too if you can’t find a USB plug point and it also has an audio port too for whatever device you might have at home that might be able to spew music. That means you can also connect your iPod or other MP3 player to the speakers via a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Pricing is set at 149 pounds (about $293 dollars) and availability is set for later this year.

Source: Akihabara News

I am an iPod groupie, like i said previously and now that the iPhone is out, I am ecstatic! Did you guys see how it looks? It’s exactly like a touchpad on the iPods and you can scroll, click, push, type, do everything at the tip of your finger. Don’t even think about looking for any buttons except for the on/off button maybe…everything else is done on the touch screen.

It just looks sexy as hell…. i waaaaaaannnnntt!
The iPhone runs on a system that combines only the best features from the BlackBerry, Apple iPod, Palm and Windows mobile. So, technically, the best features from each of these gadgets means the iPhone doesn’t do everything but it does everything else that’s fun very well! That’s what a phone is for, isn’t it? Multi-purpose so that when you’re bored it can entertain you to the very least. It’s definitely a fun phone to have but right now patience is the key as it won’t be out for the general public consumption till June 2007 and Asia may not see the phone till 2008! Oh well….too bad, at least Canada will see it soon! yay! Now i gotta save money.The size of the iPhone is about the size of an iPod - 4.5 inches tall, 2.48 inches wide but still very slim at 0.46 inches thick. Airtime for this baby, is officially 5 hours (this also includes video time, yes it play videos too!) and if you’re using it for music only, it’ll play for 16 hours. I think that’s about the same time as the older version of the iPod Nano. iPhone comes in two storage sizes; 4Gig and 8Gig for $499 and $599 respectively.

For more information on the spec and accessories go to iPhone

Actually, I’m not very familiar with the Hello Kitty franchise. It’s quite possible that this is a legitimate Sanrio product, but I personally have never seen Hello Kitty with furry edges and an actually cat-like body, so I call Bootleg. The fact that it says “Charmmy (sic) Kitty” rather than Hello Kitty also rings alarm bells.

Either way, here is an MP3 player for the Hello Kitty loving masses. It’s screen-less, which might further advertise it’s cheap knock-off-ness, but then again, so is the iPod Shuffle. The technical details, according to Akihabara News:

20 Hz - 20 KHz
L 20 mW + R 20 mW 32Ω
Audio MP3 / WMA
MP3 : 8-320 kbps / WMA : 64-320 kbps
USB 2.0
Dimensions : 14.0×35.0×75.0 mm
Weight : 35g

Akihabara News also provides a link of a possible future stockist, but why you’d be interested is beyond me.

Link:
Akihabara News

A Japanese company called Digital Information Development (DID) have developed a portable virtual piano. A small black box shoots lasers beams of light that shape the keyboard on any surface (except blacks ones, since they absorb the light). A CMOS camera in the box watches your fingers play on the projected keys and a speaker plays the notes you “hit”. The box only weighs 100 grams so it’s much easier to carry around than any electronic keyboard.

This model only displays 25 keys (two octaves) but it could be increased to the size of a grand piano if the box size is increased. The speaker will play organ, pipe organ and harpsichord sounds along with piano sounds.

Links:
Pink Tentacle
Yomiuri Shimbun