CES - MP3 and portable video players

Never accuse headphone and cable manufacturer Monster of being subtle, because you'd be proven wrong in a hasty fashion. True to form, the company trotted out both Lady Gaga and Dr. Dre on the show floor at CES this year. The shock popper and rap mogul were there to introduce the latest addition to the Beats by Dr. Dre line, a special edition pair of the Beats Solo HD.

Monster and the musicians have teamed up with RED, a business model designed to help the Global Fund, which is best known for its efforts to fight AIDS in Africa. … Read more

I have to hand it to Samsung this year, because it really is throwing out some unique (if a little wacky) MP3 players. First, it showed off a MyFit MP3 player that includes metal skin probes to measure your body fat. Then there's the Ice Touch, with its transparent touch screen OLED display. And finally, the TicToc, an MP3 player for children that looks like a miniature lipstick tube designed by a team of fairy princesses.

Samsung is tight-lipped on price and availability, but we do know that the TicToc will come in 2GB and 4GB capacities, and in … Read more

Philips' DirectLife fitness tracker, which monitors one's daily activity levels by tracking the duration and intensity of movements, has been doing so well since its release in October 2009, according to a company representative, that it is about to be released in Germany and the U.K. Moreover, Philips has just announced a companion gadget that might actually rival the iPod.

The "program" associated with DirectLife, which costs $99, plus a $12.50 monthly membership fee, is three-pronged: wear the small, waterproof monitor with 3D accelerometer technology (think Wii) to track your movements; go online to get … Read more

At November's CTIA show in San Diego, Slacker outlined a plan for its music-streaming Slacker Radio apps for BlackBerry, Android, and iPhone. A few months later and several cities over, my colleague, Jasmine France, takes you through a hands-on look at Slacker's embellishments to its iPhone app (caching!) from CES in Las Vegas. In the meantime, I've been tooling around the most recent beta version of Slacker Radio for BlackBerry 3.0.

At CTIA, Slacker told us that version 3.0 of its BlackBerry app would soon be able to sync cached stations over the air, through … Read more

Oh, I'm sorry...I can't hear you over the deafening chorus of angels singing "Hallelujah!" Yes, it's true: the iPhone and the iPod Touch are one step closer to subscription music and I'm pleased as punch about it. Slacker, which released an app for the devices earlier this year, is about to roll out an update that will allow for caching and over-the-air refreshing of stations.

While the new capability isn't a huge deal for the iPhone, it's a big win for iPod Touch owners because it means you won't need … Read more

If you're going to make fitness-friendly tech, teaming up with an athletic company is a good way to go. At least Sennheiser thinks so. The headphone manufacturer elected to work with Adidas when updating its sport line of earphones.

The line includes four new models--the MX 680, the CX 680, the OMX 680, and the PMX 680--ranging in design and price. For more details on each, check out the slide show, but the most compelling info is the fact that the headphones are super sweat and water resistant. Expect to see them on the virtual marketplace later this month.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Microsoft didn't exactly take our breath away with yesterday's CES 2010 keynote, but we're getting word that Zune HD users will soon have some good news to shout about.

Come Spring, the Zune HD should receive a firmware update providing support for MPEG-4 part 2 Advanced Simple Profile videos, including the torrent junkie's format of choice, XviD. When pressed on whether DivX support would also be added, our contact explained it was unlikely, because of proprietary restrictions. Also unclear is what range of resolutions will be supported, although we did confirm that the new format … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Shure on Thursday announced an update to its higher-end SE earphones, and while it may not be revolutionary, it's certainly welcome. Around the end of spring, you'll be able to pick up the SE425 for $299 or the SE535 for $499.

The new headphones feature the same inner circuitry as their predecessors, the SE420 and SE530, meaning you'll get the same stellar sound quality as with the previous models. However, the design updates to the earbuds are rather significant.

Namely, each pair has been noticeably slimmed down, making these 'buds an easier fit for more people. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--I know CNET pays me to cover MP3 players, but privately, I'm a sucker for my beat-up, old Technics SL-1200MK2. Compared with most of the flimsy, plastic, belt-driven, disposable toys that get passed off as turntables these days, my 1200 is a 20-pound metal beast that will probably outlive my grandchildren.

USB turntables are the worst offenders. Built on the cheap, to last just long enough to rip your old LPs into iTunes, most of the world's USB decks spend their lives stored in closets in garages once their owners see them for the bulky, eyesores they … Read more