Though many of us are not particularly musically inclined, we still tap our feet and drum our fingers on the table.
Now, there’s a neat little gadget that can help you turn those vibrations into musical masterpieces of your own.
Meet the Pulse Surface Controller System, a MIDI-based controller that hooks into your computer and turns any surface into a musical instrument.
Audiophiles are a difficult bunch to please. If a company adds a slight tint to the connector jack of their headphones, their consumers will quickly notice — and heaven help the poor manufacturer who decides to change the actual performance specs of a set of earbuds like Skullcandy did with their bass-boosting TiTANs.
While the technical specs of the 2011 TiTANs did not change (Frequency Response: 20-20k Hz, Impedance: 16 ohms, Max Input Power: 100mW), there were some rather dramatic alterations made to the design of the earbuds that confused a great many consumers. Foremost among these changes was the removal of the in-line volume control unit, a handy feature that made the TiTANs ideal for regular commuters and those who liked to stash their phones/MP3 players in the depth of their pockets but still adjust the volume. Curiously, the new TiTANs retained the customary $39.99 price tag of their predecessors, essentially offering consumers less functionality for the same cost.
The reasons for the removal of the in-line volume control unit were never made clear, but a frequent complaint leveled against the older models of TiTANs was their unfortunate penchant to discharge sharp shocks of static electricity into the wearer’s ears. I endured this quirk as it helped keep me awake and focused on whatever I was working on at the time, but a good many consumers who used their TiTANs while exercising found it too much of an annoyance to endure.
A great gadget doesn’t need to be overly advanced. Sometimes, killer design is the real marker of a product that sticks in the memory. That’s what the developers of the Hidden Radio and BlueTooth Speaker have managed to create. It has a minimalist design, but still manages to fill a room with up to 80dB of sound from your favorite music, movies or games.
Simplicity is the key word here. From the operational mechanics (raise or lower the cap to adjust the volume) to the refreshingly minimalist aesthetic, the creators claim that all you need to do is find the Hidden Radio option on your BlueTooth device, connect to it and lift the lid to enhance your audio experience.
The gadget contains an AM-FM radio, can operate as a speakerphone and can run for up to 30 hours on its rechargeable battery.
A few days before Christmas, I found myself scrambling to find a last-minute stocking stuffer for my wife. Looking for something geeky, inexpensive, and practical I stumbled across the Robot Headphone Splitter on Amazon and fell in love with it instantly. By marrying (adorable) form with simple function, the Robot Splitter allows two people to plug their headphones into the same port- so long as they don’t mind decapitating a loveable little android and jamming their respective headphone plugs into its eye sockets.
The 3.5mm jack splitter connector is a concept almost as old as the original Sony Walkman, but the rise in smartphone entertainment and portable gaming has generated a huge amount of interest in this time-honored solution for how to share audio with a friend. Measuring 1 ¾” high by 1 ½ across, the Robot Splitter is a small, lightweight and attractive little gizmo that looks as good as it performs. After running a few tests on an iPod Nano, iPhone, PSP Go, and a Nintendo 3DS there was no detectable loss in audio fidelity or clarity.
There might by an innumerable amount of portable laptop speakers out there, but the Room Filling Travel Speaker is true quality turned freakin’ LOUD.
This is one that has to be seen (not to mention heard) in person.
Imagine my surprise: I shyly seated myself at the back of a gargantuan classroom that held upwards of a couple hundred physics students, and the YouTube sports clip that the professor unleashed on us rocked our ears as well as our eyes.
Pineapple’s Panda Earphones are compact, affordable, adorable, look bad-ass, and sound amazing. They are the ultimate gift for any occasion.
Any questions? No? Well, let’s growl like a bear woken from hibernation and elaborate anyway.
Any child, girlfriend, or heck even boyfriend that is an animal lover will absolutely become ecstatic when receiving the Panda ear buds. And once they put them in, they might attempt a backflip in glee from the awesome tunes that dance out of the bears’ ears.
The Panda earphones do all of the right things, as least as far as ear buds are concerned. They come with multiple inner pieces to fit all ear sizes, and they hold up to the test of time and movement.
The Belkin Power Essentials Kit is utterly amazing and a gadget geeks best friend! It charges in the car and out of the car; it powers smartphones, iPods and digital cameras everywhere for less than forty bucks! These chargers go for about thirty apiece if you were to buy them separately.
The reputable electronics and router company Belkin has created an all in one charging kit that is truly essential. Get down to the local Costco, where these are currently selling out at less than thirty dollars, or wait for them in many an online store (like Neobits).
What does this Kit entail? Well, normally charging things do not blow my skirt up, but Belkin has enraptured me with micro and mini USB cables, iPod and iPhone sync cables, two USB wall chargers and one micro auto USB charger.
Watch bands for the tiny, sleek sixth-generation iPod Nano are abound these days, and no doubt Christmas will have even more hipsters sporting tacky neon plastic or nylon wristbands. But what about those of us who want something a little more sophisticated?
Well, you could opt for either the TikTok or the LunaTik watch conversion kit — the kit recently broke the record on KickStarter for funds raised, garnering pledges from willing buyers totaling over $941,000. But then there’s still the issue of the plasticky look.
Nay, for those who want something more manly (especially if you’re strapping a neon pink iPod), the good folks over at ThinkGeek have just the watch strap for you. We’re talking real hand-tooled leather and anodized stainless steel here — what could be more manly than that?
DoCoMo, a Japanese company that describes itself as “Japan’s premier provider of leading-edge mobile voice, data and multimedia services” on it’s website unveiled it’s most recent project at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2010. They are creating a set of headphones that contain electrodes which sense electrical changes in your head when you move your eyes (I’m not exactly sure what that means either, just watch the video).
As you see in the video when the dude looks left the line moves left and when he looks right it goes right. You’re probably thinking cool, but why would I want to buy an expensive Jedi powered earphone etch-a-sketch? Good question, NTT DoCoMo is working on integrating the earphones to control your MP3 player. That means the next time you’re at the gym in the middle of an intense workout and a Christmas song comes on because it’s set to shuffle, you don’t have to stop your workout to find a better song. You can just look to the left and the song will automatically change.
It used to be that camping meant getting out and being one with nature. You could leave behind all of your worries and cares and just enjoy the great outdoors. Sometimes it’s nice to turn your phone off, forget about your inbox for the weekend and eat some s’mores. However if you have a smart phone and you’ve spent $400 buying every survival app on iTunes you may want to bring that phone with you. Who knows when you may need to use the built in compass or access the army field guide to see if those berries are safe to eat. But you can’t do that if you drained the battery listening to Lady Gaga during your 3 hour hike into camp.
Brunton has come up with a solution for you, a portable hybrid solar charger. Solar chargers have been around for a while but the Brunton Restore has some unique features that you need to know about. First, it is a hybrid charger. That means you can clip it to your pack and it will charge while you’re hiking or fishing but you can also charge it at home before your adventure using the USB or DC adapter. Second, it only weighs 7.2 oz, that is light enough for even the most hardcore backpacker out here. It is also water resistant, comes with a tough rubber shell and a power gauge so you know how much energy is left.
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