Five New Gadgets That Rock
It’s still early in 2011, but a number of nifty new gadgets for music lovers are already whistling sweet nothings in our ears. To savor favorite tracks with a novel high-tech twist, consider tuning into all.
Soul by Ludacris (Signeo, $TBD) – With the Beats By Dr. Dre headphones proving a profitable sideline for hip-hop’s best-known physician, it’s unsurprising that fellow MC Ludacris would try remixing the custom audio game in his own image. Five models are expected in the line of signature cans, including noise-cancelling headphones (SL300), two standard on-ear units (SL150 and SL100) and a pair of in-ear earbud options (SE99 and SE49).
Zeppelin Air (Bowers & Wilkins, $599.99) – Dock your iPod or iPhone or go wireless with Mac, PC and iPad using AirPlay streaming with this funky, football-shaped speaker system. Available March 2011 and packing five amplifiers and punchy bass, it’s sure to turn heads and empty pocketbooks.
Top Gear, Doctor Who Speaker Docks (Speakal, $TBD) – From the company that brought you such marvels of civilization as the iPig and miSoccer come two new speaker systems styled in equally absurd shapes. The Top Gear model resembles a racing helmet, and sports a digital amplifier, subwoofer and 25W of output. The Doctor Who edition, molded after a T.A.R.D.I.S. time-traveling police telephone box, promises hefty bass and Bluetooth playback. Neither will do wonders for your dating life.
DualView ST700 (Samsung, $279.99) – Stalking favorite musicians and uploading snapshots to Facebook’s a breeze with this double-faced digital camera, which adds a 3-inch touchscreen on the back and a larger-than-average 1.8-inch LCD on the front for more painless self-portraits. Think 16.1MP photos, 5X optical zoom and image stabilization features so you can focus less on aim, more on happy squeals and funny faces.
AVH-P6300BT (Pioneer, $700) – Of nine new in-dash options supporting Pandora Internet radio streaming and iPhone controls, this premium audio/video system with 7-inch high-res touchscreen display, USB connectivity and integrated Bluetooth provides maximum entertainment value. Letting you quickly play, pause or skip tracks, it also displays album art, artist info and song details.