Got some old speakers gathering dust at home? Would you love to hook them up to your AirPlay network but don’t want to buy a) an amp and speaker cable and b) an Airport Express? Well, The Vamp is here to save you. It’s a tiny box that sits on top of your speaker and acts as both amp and Bluetooth receiver.
Say hi to the little Braven BRV-1. Take a while to get acquainted… You’re going to be spending a lot of time together this summer. Why? Because not only does this little fella sound pretty good, he can follow you almost literally everywhere you might go – beach, biking, even boating – without stopping.
We’ve seen a lot of iPad-enhancing accessories over the last couple of years. Speaker cases like the Belkin Thunderstorm, bring-your-own-keyboard cases like the Incase Origami, and even iPad battery cases. But here’s a new one: DOCKr, an accessory that brings all these advantages together in one Skittle-colored package.
If you’ve ever had a party with people in various rooms of your house, maybe even outside, Bem’s Wireless Speaker Trio was made just for you.
The Trio is a neat idea: connect your music source (iPhone, iPad, iPod) via Bluetooth to its base station, then move any of its three rechargeable satellite speakers anywhere in your home, up to 120 feet from the base, and they’ll fill that room with music from your iDevice or Mac.
But while Bem’s Wireless Trio is a great idea and was awesome when it worked, my tests brought to light some problems I just couldn’t ignore.
The Rocksteady XS is meant to be a tough, loud outdoor speaker. And it is. But how does it stack up, sound and feature-wise, against some rather stiff competition?
I thought I’d heard everything there was to hear from wireless speakers. I have tested everything from the smallest, crappiest pocket speaker to the big booming Big Jambox. Then I “hooked” the Libratone Zipp up to my iPhone, and I started to enjoy music again.
Yes, it’s a frisbee that doubles as an iPhone speaker. When you’ve finished flinging the Fli Tunes around, pop the center out and stick your iPhone in it. Be sure to pick up your iPhone before flinging it around again.
Any of you out there familiar with the Muji CD player? It is/was a cute little box which you’d hang on the wall, press a CD onto and enjoy the tinny sound of tiny speakers spitting high-grade digital files into your ears.
Now you can — like any civilized person — ditch the spinning disk and just enjoy the music. Muji has now launched a Bluetooth speaker that looks a lot like the old CD box.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Bluetooth speakers are great in the kitchen. But the the Josiah from Kwamecorp is possibly the best kitchen speaker ever. Not only does its beautifully minimal styling fit right into any kitchen, but it’s fashioned from ceramic, and can even act as a snack tray.
This small Bluetooth speaker looks remarkably like the iconic Jawbone Jambox, arguably the most popular ultra-portable Bluetooth speaker on the market right now. And just like the Jambox, it can be used to stream music and make calls. It even comes in what looks like the same colors — or very similar colors — the Jambox comes in.
But look more closely, and you’ll see small cosmetic differences — because this isn’t the Jambox. It’s the Urge Basics Sound Brick, and it has one very big difference with the Jambox: it’s less than one-third the price.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Zagg, who you surely know better for its excellent iPad keyboards, also makes a speaker. Or two speakers, to be precise. This is the Zagg Origin, and it consists of a pocket-sized Bluetooth speaker which docks into a desktop mothership.
Now that you’ve upgraded to the latest iOS devices, you’re probably wondering what to do with all your old 30-pin speaker docks. You could get a $30 Lightning to 30-pin adapter from Apple and continue to use them, but for just $15 extra, you can get the auris and turn them into wireless Bluetooth speakers.
Another day, another awesome-looking Bluetooth speaker WHICH I TOTALLY WANT. Today’s chunky rectangle of wireless audio goodness is the Switch from Native Union, and it has one distinguishing feature: a big round volume knob on one end.
I’ve been in love with the iPhone for the past five years. I got the original as soon as it went on sale in the U.K. in November 2007, and I’ve had every model Apple has released ever since. My job has given me the opportunity to play with plenty of other devices over the years — including those powered by Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone — but I’ve always remained loyal to the iPhone and iOS.
That was until a couple months ago, when my contract ended and it was time to decide which smartphone I wanted for the next two years. I already have the iPhone 5 — I bought it unlocked when it was launched back in September — and I wanted an Android device to replace the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I broke late last year. So I decided to pick up the new LG Nexus 4.
I was lucky; I didn’t have to wait six weeks for the device to arrive from Google Play. My carrier had plenty in stock, so a unit was delivered to my door the day after I ordered it. I was looking forward to testing it out, but I figured I’d play around with it for a little bit, then switch straight back to my iPhone 5 for everyday use. Like the Galaxy Nexus, I thought the Nexus 4 would be mostly used for work — testing apps and writing the odd tutorial for Cult of Android.
But boy, how wrong was I.
Bem’s new Outlet has a new take on portable Bluetooth speakers. Instead of packing a rechargeable battery, it just comes with a pair of prongs on the back so you can stick it straight into a power outlet. This does of course mean that you’re out of luck if you want to run it anywhere that doesn’t have mains electricity, but if you never use your $200 Jambox away from your kitchen counter, then you could have bought two Outlets for the same price.
Find the perfect volume level on your Mac can be tricky sometimes when you’re listening to music or watching a movie. Sometimes it’s like you move your volume one tick up things get too loud, one tick down and it’s too soft.
Until today I never knew that you can actually adjust your Mac’s volume in 1/4 increments by pressing Shift + Option (Alt) + the volume key on your keyboard. It’ll raise your volume at smaller increments so you can find the perfect level. Try it out. You’ll probably never just use the old buttons again.
Source: Little Big Details
Via: BI
Forget about lame-o portable Bluetooth speakers for your iDevices and take a look at this monster instead. It’s the PylePro soundbar, and it’ll sit up on your wall and blast 300 (three hundred) watts of sound into your living room.
It won’t — unlike a boat — float, but Braven’s new BRV-1 All Weather Speaker will survive squally showers and poolside splashes with aplomb. It’s a battery-powered Bluetooth speaker, and it looks ideal for taking anywhere this summer.
SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD/iWORLD 2013 –
While the iPad’s audio has always been certainly passable in most situations, the tiny speakers that Apple crammed into the device aren’t anywhere near a suitable replacement for the sound quality that can be produced from larger, more substantial speakers.
In order to bridge this gap, Belkin is showing off at Macworld this year what they call the Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater, a case for your iPad that integrates 2 4-watt speakers for a more immersive experience. Cult Of Mac’s Erfon Elijah talked to Brandon from Belkin at Macworld to learn more about the product.
The Rocksteady XS is a Bluetooth speaker with a big difference: it’s designed to be “as loud as possible.” To that end, it features a sealed design so that the sound can punch harder out of the end-mounted speakers. It’s also tough (with an aluminum shell) and cheap at just $99, making it ideal for outdoor use.
According to the manufacturer Teenage Engineering, the original OD-11 speaker was hot stuff in Sweden in the 1970s. The OD-11 was a cube which packed an amp, subwoofer and speaker into one box, and it sold over 100,000 pairs in Sweden alone.
Now it’s back. The new version is called the Cloud Speaker, and it packs Wi-Fi and Bluetooth along with all the rest.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – I love my Jambox, but I’m always perplexed why I can’t charge my iPhone using it. After all, it’s essentially a big battery brick with a speaker attached… why can’t I siphon some juice off the top?
The answer is that, in reality, the Jambox has a pretty tiny battery. It’s good for powering a speaker, but it would die pretty quick if you tried to juice an iPhone or (heaven!) an iPad with it. The JBL Charge, though, remedies that problem: it’s a great sounding Jambox-style speaker with a massive battery inside.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Most Bluetooth speakers are pitched as being ideal for taking out onto the patio for barbecues and parties. But none of them is really loud enough. And that’s where Samson’s new Expedition Express Bluetooth PA comes in. It’s a Bluetooth speaker which is so powerful that it runs off a 12-volt motorcycle battery.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Lightning accessories for the iPhone are starting to show up at last, but who really wants a speaker dock anymore anyway? ILuv seems to think that somebody out there will buy one, and the result is this Aud 5 dock, a device which is fully CES-buzzword compliant.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – Last year, Supertooth promised to make its Disco 2 speakers stereo, with each separate Bluetooth speaker becoming either the left or right speaker in the pair.
At the last minute, it switched out this feature in favor of low-power Bluetooth 4, which is probably way more useful to most buyers. Now, stereo is back, and it sounds great.