Alarm clocks and speakers

UFO speakers land in U.K.

As they continue to morph into music devices, phone makers have made significant strides in portable speakers over the last year. But all too often they're still too big to carry around easily, with even the most compact models often larger than the phone itself. At the other end of the scale, some of the smallest versions look like some kind of makeshift project from a 7th grade electronics class.

Miidio tries to address both issues on the U.K. market with its line of ultra-compact speakers, which have a standard 3.5-millimeter plug so they can be used … Read more

New speaker takes a cue from the old Ma Bell

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It's not mentioned in its product description, but there's an obvious point to make about the design of the new "Parrot Party" portable speaker: It looks like an old-fashioned telephone receiver.

So even if you have the newest, hottest music phone on the market, you'll immediately be transported back to the bad old Ma Bell days if you pull out this "Black Edition" of the 6-watt, 9-inch-long speaker to go with it. Pocket-lint says it's compatible with other U.K. devices too, … Read more

Are bike speakers taking us for a ride?

Some gadget makers just won't listen to reason. As much as Crave has ranted about the dubious value of handlebar speakers, they insist on coming out with more of them.

The latest example comes in the form of this bike stereo speaker from a distributor in Italy, of all places. We can't even imagine what it would be like to try to hear them over the cacophony of horns and obscenities in Roman traffic jams.

It does have the practical foresight to include a protective case for an MP3 player to protect it from the elements, according to … Read more

Speaker satellites for the iPhone

There's clearly no shortage of speaker sets for the iPod, but what about its call-happy brother the iPhone? In fact, since it uses the same proprietary 30-pin connector as its phoneless counterparts, the iPhone works with many of the sound systems that were designed with the iPod in mind. However, none of those speakers have integrated technology to prevent electromagnetic interference. That's where the new DLO Portable Speakers for iPod come in. (How's that for creative naming?)

The speakers, which cost a reasonable $49.99, offer an interference-free amplifier. The unit also comes with two orbiting speakers … Read more

Note to gadget makers: Just say no to pink

So let's say you waited till the last minute and, in a panic, caved and got a pink Nano to give for Valentine's Day. Fine. Just don't get too carried away with accessories for it, because this is living proof that there's definitely such a thing as too much pink.

U.K.-based Intempo has created a 12-watt speaker dock to go with the latest iPod, according to Tech Digest, but--judging by the photos--it has taken the pastel palette in a disturbingly neon direction. We pray that Apple isn't planning a kelly green version for … Read more

Take a load off on an MP3 ottoman

After seeing so many chairs and sofas that play music, we didn't think that there were many other ways to pipe MP3s through upholstered furniture in the living room. Then we saw it: the musical ottoman.

Actually, it's called the "Audio Cube," according to Chip Chick. Just slip your MP3 player in a pouch on the side, plug it in, and kick back--literally. Our only quibble is the choice of upholstery, which, other than black, isn't exactly understated (French pink, polka dots, etc.). Hardly the kind of patterns one would find in "Salon du Emo.&… Read more

A wireless speaker worth hearing?

When Yamaha shipped me its itsy-bitsy NX-A01 speaker cube last August, I had only two complaints: It needed to include Bluetooth; and it needed the option of being battery powered. Lo and behold, Yamaha got its act together and created the NX-B02, a taller, less tofu-looking, completely wireless speaker based on the NX-A01 design.

The Yamaha NX-B02 includes a stereo pair of 1.75-inch titanium cone drivers, along with the coolest little fluttering bass port I've ever seen (watch the NX-A01 First Look to see what I mean). You also get a standard 3.5mm line-input, Bluetooth 2.0+… Read more

The iPod earbuds that ate the world

As rumors continue to swirl about Shaq retiring, we've got an idea for his post-NBA career: as a pitchman for these giant earphone speakers. He's one of the few living giants who could probably fit them in his ears.

The rest of us will have to keep them on the desk beside the computer, which most likely would be a Mac. (Why else would anyone buy a pair of speakers designed to look like the iPod's standard white earbuds?) The name, by the way--"500xl"--refers to their supposed dimensions, 500 times larger than the … Read more

Another tiny iPod speaker packs a punch

A couple of months ago we talked about the X-mini capsule speaker, a tiny accordion-like gadget that produced sound volume you won't have expected from its diminutive form. Now here's another product that could rival it: the Dancing Cube portable mini-speaker, distributed by Singapore-based Alpha Wireless Systems.

You might have guessed from the photo that the design of this model isn't quite as interesting as the X-mini's. Although it also has that accordion-style pull-out so that there's more space for sound to resonate, it's nowhere near as cute as the capsule speakers. In fact, … Read more

'Recycling speaker' is better left in the bin

Japan's Bird Electron has always been known for the literally stripped-down design of its products, but it seems to be in a particularly minimalist mood these days for the iPod.

First we saw the industrially bare steel speaker stand made for the Touch, and now we have a decidedly DIY-looking iPod speaker. And it's not just any speaker, according to GeekAlerts, but the "one and only recycling speaker for iPod."

The EZ17-B speaker is designed to fit snugly into the clear plastic box that comes with certain versions of the Nano and Shuffle, without the need … Read more