Product Round-up TV’s have been getting thinner and thinner over the last few years, with some of today’s LED sets almost impossibly slim. Although picture quality has been improving, the tight amount of space available in these slim-line chassis means that they tend to house tiny speakers that produce audio that’s got less bottom end than most size zero models.
Of course, one way to improve sound quality is to twin your TV with a full surround sound system. However, the Wife Acceptance Factor is often low for surround sound systems as they generally involve dotting lots of speakers around your front room as well as trailing cables across the floor. A more agreeable alternative for many will be a soundbar. These long, thin speakers sit beneath your TV and produce beefier Stereoaudio and sometimes also virtual surround sound. Here we’ve rounded up the best models currently available. Read the rest of this entry »
If you fancy some music while you work out at the gym or go jogging then the options are endless. Apple, Sanza, Samsung or Sony will all sell you something small and robust so you can fight the flab to Lady Gaga or Rage Against The Machine. Jump into the pool for a dozen lengths with any of them though and you will soon be listening to the sound of silence. Enter renowned swimwear makers Speedo with just the answer, the Aquabeat waterproof MP3 player.
Making a splash: Speedo’s Aquabeat
The Aquabeat is actually only rated to a depth of 3 metres or 10 feet so you can’t get too Jacques Cousteau with it, but it will suffice for stroking about in the pool or splashing around on the beaches of Bimini or Phuket. It’s also buoyant, so there is no chance of you breaking the surface while it drifts to the bottom to be carted off by a larcenous crab. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Apple rarely – if ever – praises the products of rival companies, but the recent launch of the new iPod range included an unexpected tribute to the merits of the compact and easy-to-use Flip camcorder.
“That’s a market we want to get into,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs before confirming that Apple has added a videoCamera to the new fifth-generation iPod Nano.
Apple‘s iPod Nano 5G: now with Flip-style video recording
It’s a canny move that allows Apple to tap into a fast-growing market while at the same time shoring up an existing product line. The MP3 player market has had its heyday, so it makes sense to maintain demand for the iPod line by transition members into phones, handheld games consoles and, here, camcorders.
How long before iPod ads contain a sentence of small-print at the bottom that says, “also plays music”, we wonder? Read the rest of this entry »
Review Aimed at outdoor music lovers, the Outcast Junior comes from American manufacturer Soundcast Systems and, compared to the larger Outcast model, is the more compact and affordable version. It features four 3in drivers at the top of the unit and a 6.5in sub-woofer in the base, all powered by a 60W digital amplifier. Despite looking like a cross between a parking bollard and a pedal bin, its form is borne from its genuine ruggedness.
Soundcast’s Outcast Junior: the noisy neighbours’ weapon of choice
Appearing a little lacklustre in a shade of battleship grey, the Junior feels very solid with its hard plastic and rubberised body. Every input has a sealable cover for protection from water and grit. The whole shebang weighs in at 8.2kg and gives the product stability, while still being light enough to carry with its rubberised handle to a shady glade without breaking your back. The Junior also has protruding feet, which help to hold the product firmly in place on soft ground such as sand.
The unit includes several power options: an internal 12V rechargeable unit, a 12V car converter lead and a mains adapter. Initial charge on the internal cell took around seven hours and recharging takes roughly the same. All the connections and controls on the unit are easy to locate and operate. Read the rest of this entry »
Review After a little less than a year on the market Sony has decided to give its Gigajuke wireless music system a bit of a facelift and make a few modifications. Evidently, the company intends to capitalise on the fact that, within the same twelve months, its Walkman range has gone from being a bunch of also-rans to a collection of some of the best personal music players on the market.
Sony’s NAS-SC500PK Gigajuke HDD
Open the Gigajuke box and you will find a plethora of kit with Sony bundling a NAS-S500HDE hard-drive based server unit complete with built-in CD player and a pair of rather fine bookshelf speakers. There’s also the NAS-C5E wireless music player with built-in speakers – think Logitech Squeezebox Boom – a small wireless router, a dock for your iPod, two remote controls and enough cables to re-wire a three bedroom semi. Read the rest of this entry »
