The UberReview » iPod

E-Blue: Wireless Tunes From iPhone Bluetooth Speakers

C. S. Magor — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:21:21 +0000

The E-Blue Speaker set is a has a cute little Bluetooth speaker option for the iPhone from Brando. It allows wireless streaming of music from your iPhoneand allegedly gets 8 hours of life from a rechargeable battery.

Mini-speakers and sound quality are normally diametrically opposed, and I would expect no difference here, but they will let you enjoy your tunes without earphones and are bound to be better than the tiny on-board speaker.

Price: $68 [Brando via Geek Alerts]

Skype Coming to iPhone and iPod Touch Tomorrow

C. S. Magor — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:43:50 +0000

It has been a long time coming, but it is finally here, Skype will be available for download from the App store from tomorrow (Tuesday). Both the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G will be able to run Skype without modification, as will the current generation iPod Touch. Those wanting to use the original iPod Touch will need to buy a third-party microphone accessory.

From the screen grabs, I definitely have to concur with opinion of Jessica Dolcourt on CNET, that it “looks more like your traditional iPhone app than it does Skype 4.0 for Windows.” Beyond the looks, there are a few differences between the iPhone version and other versions of Skype. While video is being considered, it is being released without video calling capabilities because of quality issues. Further, due to Apple’s terms of service, Skype will only be operable via hotspots or Wi-Fi, not over cellular network data services (this is due to Apple’s terms of service); that is probably a good thing when it comes time for the bill.

As with previous versions of Skype, making calls to other Skype users will be free, however, there will also be paid services for calling landlines or cell phones. [WSJ, CNET via Apple Insider]

Rapid Repair Offer 240 GB iPod Upgrade

C. S. Magor — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:38:29 +0000

A 240 GB iPod Video upgrade is not for everyone, it is for the guy that has a big sweaty wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket and that absolutely must have the highest capacity iPod on the block. The upgrade will only work for the 5th Gen iPod Video, and you will be paying for the privilege to the tune of $294.99 (that’s the price of the upgrade, not the unit). That being said, 240 GB holds more MP3s than most sane folks could ever download and quite a lot of video too. [Rapid Repair via The Red Ferret]

A Kitsch but Cool Guitar Amp MP3 Speaker

C. S. Magor — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:00:47 +0000

The Mytunes MP3 Amp is a cute little powered speaker for your MP3 player of choice. The output is a meager 5W, so it is hardly going to be upsetting the neighbors and it has working treble and bass knobs. I have to say that despite not being much of guitar enthusiast, I really like the look, as kitsch as it may well be.

Price: About $40 [Firebox via Nerd Approved]

Wanna See a $2000+ iPod Dock?

C. S. Magor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:04:59 +0000

The iCoral is the most expensive iPod dock I have come across. It is made by German manufacturer Copulare and includes a synthetic coral top that is supposedly good for eliminating vibrations. The iCoral sports S-Video out, coaxial out and a USB port, and a remote that displays the iPod menu on an LCD display. Given that this is for an iPod, a device which plays predominantly lossy codecs, one has to ask why there is any need to spend such a ridiculous amount of money. You could set up a perfectly respectable HTPC for that price that you could download all of your iPod tracks onto.

The iCoral is available in either black or white for the grand price of $2,350

Copulare via Six Moons via Audio Junkies