Tentatively known as The Cube, this concept from Mintpass puts a retro spin on a conventional MP3 player.
(Credit: Mintpass)If you love the look of old reel-to-reel tape decks, hi-fi receivers, and analog mixing boards, the latest MP3 player concept from Korea's Mintpass design team will probably leave you drooling.
The Cube MP3 player offers not one but three analog VU meters, capable of displaying volume, battery live, and FM radio frequency.
If the menage a trois of vintage analog gauges wasn't enough, the Mint Cube includes two rows of apologetically chunky buttons that hearken back to an era of cassette decks and bad hair. Other proposed features include Bluetooth audio, FM radio, A-B looping, shuffle, and a standard headphone output.
Of course, the whole thing is purely fiction at this point, with not even a hint of price or release date. Also, my gut is telling me that this thing would be wholly impractical to build. My retro nerd heart, however, is keeping hope alive.
(ViaTechfresh)
Slacker's first-generation Wi-Fi portable media player sold for $200 when it hit in 2008. Today it's just $50.
(Credit: CNET Networks)There was a time in the history of MP3 players when new models were clearly superior to hardware that had been on the shelf a few years. If you were one of the unfortunate souls who bought an iPod Photo a few months before the iPod Video came out, you know exactly what I mean.
These days, the MP3 and portable video player landscape has hit a plateau of sorts. Sure, you've got your iPod Touch and Zune HD out there to keep things interesting, but for the others, features such as sound quality, format compatibility, screen size, and capacity have stayed relatively unchanged over the past few years. In fact, when it comes to storage capacity, your choices are more limited today then they were a few years ago--back when the hard drive was still king.
The point is, you can get some killer deals on a one- or two-year old MP3 player, without sacrificing much in way of features. Sometimes we get so caught-up in what's new, we forget to acknowledge those choice pieces of gear that are still relevant and excellent in spite of how long they've been on the shelf.
To honor these remarkable elders of portable audio and video, we've rounded up our top picks in the following slideshow. Feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments section.
For more tips on wallet-friendly MP3 players (both young and old) check out our Budget MP3 player list, as well as MP3 players under $100, and MP3 players for under $50.
Every way you turn the 788T, you're confronted with a stupefying amount of I/O connections.
(Credit: Sound Decvices)
You know that scene in Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan gets held up with a switch blade, gives a little giggle, and then proceeds to unsheathe a knife that could disembowel an elephant? That's how I feel after producing my pro-audio recorder roundup last week, only to later learn about the Sound Devices 788T.
Due in May, this truly professional-grade portable multitrack recorder will set you back a cool $5,995. For your money, you'll get eight tracks of simultaneous audio recording up to 24-bit WAV resolution; a 160GB 2.5-inch SATA hard drive; compact flash memory expansion; external FireWire hard-drive support; LED VU meters; pop-out illuminated gain control knobs; microphone phantom power; soft-knee limiting; digital I/O; USB keyboard input; word clock and video sync; and a removable Li-ion battery pack. The 788T's chassis is built from aluminum and stainless steel and weighs just under 4 pounds.
For anyone not involved in on-location movie and sound production, the Sound Devices 788T is way overkill, but it's cool to know this kind of hardcore gear exists.
If you need to bootleg that upcoming Tom Jones concert, we've rounded up the best tools for the job.
(Credit: CNET Networks/Corinne Schulze)
When it comes to recording concerts, lectures, or interviews, sometimes you just need to break out the big guns. Over the past few weeks, I've been testing out some of the best sub-$1,000 pro-audio portable recorders on the market, including the Edirol R-09, Korg MR-1, and Sony PCM-D50.
If you're in the market for a serious mobile audio recorder, then take a look at our product roundup.
(Credit:
DLO)
OK, even I have to admit this is kinda sweet. DLO has upgraded its excellent TransPod FM transmitter to include video output to your in-car entertainment system, making it simple to play iPod content on all those handy screens mounted in the backs of headrests and flipping down from the ceiling. That's a bit overstimulating for me, but if I had kids--and an iPod, for that matter--I'd find this accessory hard to resist. The new TransDock, which will retail for $99.99, will continue to play music over the car stereo and charge the iPod. Here are some more highlights from DLO:
- No installation required; simple to move from car to car
- Powerful integrated antenna for even stronger iPod transmission through your FM radio
- Built-in USB connection to simultaneously charge your cell phone or other electronic device
- Enhanced design with more flexible mounting arm
- Two interchangeable face plates included; others available for purchase online
- Four assignable presets and indigo blue back-lit LCD display for ease of operation
- Auxiliary line-input for use with non-iPod MP3 players
(Credit:
DLO)
Bose TriPort In-Ear headphones ad.
A perfectionist company like Bose doesn't often admit to making mistakes, so it took me by surprise when I got an invitation to a Bose press conference in New York next week, where it appears that Bose will indeed do just that--or sort of anyway.
The product in question is Bose's Triport In-Ear headphones, which we didn't exactly give high marks here at CNET. The company trotted out its first in-ear headphones last year with ads boasting that it had solved the three problems (sound quality, comfort, and stability in the ear) that prevented it from making in-ear headphones that "it could present with pride." Well, it appears that based on customer feedback, Bose hadn't really solved the stability issue *(read: snug fit in ear).* Oops. "Back to research!" says the invitation.
At the press conference, Bose reps are going to tell us what it's going to do "for any owners who experienced a stability problem," according to the invitation. Alas, I'll be in Las Vegas at PMA (a photo trade show), but I wish I could attend; I always like a good fix.
On Sale Now: $89.95 - $90.00
View the latest prices for Bose TriPort In-Ear Headphones (black)
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