Music

V-Moda tarts up your ears

V-Moda gets it. Not only does the company produce high-quality earphones, but it also makes them look good. We must digress: We're surprised at the uninspired designs of most earphones on the market--after all, unlike most tech products, they're worn on the head.

V-Moda had already introduced some impressive styles, but Popgadget points out that a new line has just come out with even more head-turning colors: metallic pink, blue, silver and polished alloy silver. As soon as we find the right one to match our comb-over, we'll be hitting the clubs.

(Photo: V-Moda)

Egg-shaped speakers, part deux

Is round the new square? That seems to be the case where digital speakers are concerned. Just a few hours ago, we posted an item on an egg-shaped speaker. Now we find this speaker product on Aving.net, which looks like an iEgg cracked open. Samsin Innoctec apparently debuted this pair of wireless speakers at the Korean Electronics Show this week. The battery-powered Bluetooth speakers can run for eight hours.

Cowon: iPod? What's an iPod?

We love Korea-based Cowon and its multitude of feature-packed and great-sounding MP3 players. We also admire its "who cares about the iPod anyway" attitude. Probably the biggest complaint about Cowon digital audio players today--outside of tricky interfaces, mostly due to all those features--is that most of their flash-based players currently max out at 2GB.

Well, we've just heard from the dudes over at Cowon America, and they'll be bringing 4GB versions of the iAudio F2, the iAudio U3, and the iAudio T2 in November. Eight gigs would be nice, but four gigs seems to be today'… Read more

iEgg breaks out of its shell

We love the look of this digital speaker, but its makers seemed to have gotten their marketing calendars mixed up. It would have made a lot more sense for Axxen to roll this out (literally) right before Easter, not Halloween.

The i-Egg, which can be hooked up to an MP3 player or a computer with its USB port and SD slot, actually houses two speakers that can also be detached. We tried getting more information from Axxen's Web site, but its JavaScript-crazed applications almost gave us an epileptic fit.

Still, as food-shaped music devices go, it makes a lot … Read more

MP3 player does the backstroke

Call us old-fashioned, but we still cringe at the idea of taking anything electric into the water. But then again, we won't swim until an hour after eating either.

So we might be willing to take a chance on the Hydra, a water-resistant MP3 player scheduled to go on sale next month (pictured at top). The USB player, which includes a multicolored LCD display and FM radio tuner, is designed to work with both Windows and Mac operating systems and comes in 1GB and 2GB sizes for $40 and $60. No matter what your opinion on the necessity or … Read more

Please silence your messenger bags

Yes, we know. We're tired of iPod accessories too. But this one cries out for attention--literally.

A new G-Tech messenger bag has a built-in speaker for external sound, as well as the requisite sewn-in controls sported by so many other iPod couture items, according to Gizmag. Depending on where you stand on the ubiquitous music device, this is either good or bad. We're agnostic toward the iPod itself, but we're certainly not wild about the bag's noise potential. (It also comes in a generic MP3 version, which we assume would be just as irritating.) Sound Guy, … Read more

Archos 504: 160 raw gigs in your pocket

On Wednesday, Archos makes official the availability of its 504 series of PVPs, which actually have been available for days.

The 504, which sports the same gorgeous 4.3-inch wide-screen display as the sleek 604, blends excellent video playback performance with gigantic drive capacities--including the monster 160GB version (enough for, say, about 50 Amazon Unbox movies and room for a few thousand songs).

The 504's 2.5-inch laptop drive explains the unit's thickness (the similarly designed 604 is waifish in comparison but maxes out at 30GB); like the 604 it has a removable battery but lacks a built-in … Read more

Make your co-workers sound like Charlie Brown's teacher

You know that person at work who always starts droning on right when you've finally buckled down on that day's project? He wanders by your desk and starts chatting your ear off, while you pretend not to see/hear/notice him.

Or there's the Loud Talker--the one whose voice is somehow several decibels stronger than everyone else's. (Really, how do they not notice that?)

The Sound Guy might be able to help. Its ChatterBlocker software uses an auditory masking algorithm to render background conversations unintelligible. Translation: "Nature sounds" + music + background chatter = "soothing" … Read more

Bose sticks it in your ear

We can't help but laugh sometimes when a company's product literature tries to hide the fact that it's late to the market. That's exactly what Bose seems to do, for example, with the description of its new TriPort in-ear headphones: "the only in-ear headphones with the rich audio and comfortable design you've come to expect from Bose." Yeah, that's a first, if you want to call it that.

Anyway, snarkiness aside, these headphones are supposedly noteworthy for the listening comfort of their silicone tips, as well as Bose quality. And we guess … Read more

12GB pocket drive looks good too

This is one of those tech developments that just plain makes us feel old. We remember--not that long ago--when a 1GB hard drive on a desktop computer was enormous. Now, according to Electronista, US Modular is preparing to release a 12GB version of its Monstor USB pocket drive. That's storage for enough media to choke a horse, as far as we're concerned. Besides, we like the shiny case.

(Photo: US Modular)