bluetooth

Speakers that look good enough to eat

Wrap this speaker in crinkled gold foil and you might be able to fool people into thinking it was an oversized Ferraro Rocher. But according to Sony Ericsson, the MBS-100 is its first portable speaker that's able to stream music wirelessly from a phone via Bluetooth stereo. A fully charged internal battery delivers up to five hours of music playback. However, you're out of luck if you need them for the holiday season--they'll be available only in the first quarter of 2008 in selected Asia-Pacific markets.

(Source: Crave Asia)

Review: Alpine IVA-W205

With the launch of the IVA-W205, Alpine becomes the second aftermarket manufacturer to combine mobile- and in-dash navigation. Unlike the Eclipse AVN2210p, which uses a similar combination of in-dash dock connected to a portable TomTom GPS device, the IVA-W205 can be purchased--and used--independently of its portable Blackbird PMD-B200 component. With the Blackbird installed behind the faceplate, the IVA-W205 becomes a useful in-dash system; without the Blackbird portable, the IVA-W205 is a simple--but versatile--multimedia player in the vein of the Alpine IVA-200. Read the full review here.

Zune vs. Samsung

After having a day to reflect on Microsoft's latest Zune offering, I began to think that perhaps the iPod vs. Zune battle is a little too obvious. Whether the iPod's position at the top of the MP3 player food chain is deserved or not, history has shown us that it will likely stay there. The real question is, "As the holidays approach, which MP3 player will come in second place?"

When it comes to interface and killer features, the challenger that Microsoft should really keep an eye on is the yet-to-be-released Samsung YP-P2 I reported on back in August. Although Samsung hasn't released pricing information yet, things could really heat up if the YP-P2 can get close to the $149 and $199 price points of the iPod Nano and Flash-based Zunes. Not only does the YP-P2 offer a 3-inch touch screen and built in Bluetooth, but it also has the advantage of not being Microsoft. Honestly, after Apple's successful "I'm a Mac" smear campaign, it's tough to convince people that Microsoft makes cool gear (unless you've got Halo 3 as bait).

We've been able to dig up two videos on YouTube that demonstrate the interface for both the Zune and Samsung YP-P2.… Read more

Zune vs. Samsung

Welcome to my first post on the newly relaunched MP3 Insider blog. I'll be updating this blog regularly with MP3 player-related rants and predictions. If you're a fan of the MP3 Insider podcast I co-host with Jasmine France, you'll probably enjoy this blog as well. I wanted to start with something classy, but instead, let's get the ball rolling with a juicy product smackdown.

After having a day to reflect on Microsoft's latest Zune offering, I began to think that perhaps the iPod vs. Zune battle is a little too obvious. Whether the iPod's … Read more

Photos: Alpine IVA-W205

Ten months after its debut at CES 2007, the Alpine IVA-W205 is finally hitting the shelves and we got our hands on one for a full review in our CNET test car. In its most basic configuration, the IVA-W205 is an in-dash multimedia player with the ability to handle a range of audio-visual disc format (CDs, MP3- and WMA discs, DVD video and VCDs) plus a bunch of other media sources such as iPods, HD and satellite radio via add-on modules. The star feature of the system, however, is its ability to swallow Alpine's standalone portable Blackbird GPS device, … Read more

Episode 572: AT&T, your world, censored

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Hello Kitty coming out of our ears

With all due respect (which isn't saying much), Hello Kitty's electronics products aren't usually associated with the highest of technologies, especially where music is concerned. So it comes as some surprise to see its latest gadget featuring Bluetooth specs.

The Sanrio empire is now offering a set of wireless earphones using the technology for $135, a fairly high price for items of this kind as far as the evil feline's products go. But even more curious, Hello Kitty Hell says the buds are being marketed toward male teenagers, claiming that they're "great for listening … Read more

Off with your head(set)!

I think I just found the funniest person ever. While perusing a recent San Francisco Chronicle I came across a regular featured called Two Cents where the newspaper asks a group of five readers a common question. Last Sunday the question was: "What personal behavior law has government not thought of--but should?"

Now if that's not a intriguing poser, I don't know what is. While most of the answers were relatively dull, two of them caught my eye. The first suggested banning excessively loud motorcycles (I don't like being woken up at 5 in the … Read more

Sennheiser's first Bluetooth headset

Looks like Sennheiser Communications is pretty late to the game. The VMX 100 is the company's first Bluetooth headset that features VoiceMax dual microphone technology, which is able to distinguish human voice from background noise. And we thought we'd moved on to bone conduction already?

Anyway, the VMX 100 allows the wearer to chat non-stop for up to 5 hours or 100 hours if you leave it on standby. But what sets it apart from its army of competitors out there is its 3D ball joint that allows the user to adjust the microphone boom to their fancy.… Read more