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Posted Jan 30th 2008 5:57PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: Portable Audio
You’ll be needing some appropriately shady headphones to plug into all that leaked Sony audio gear we just showed you, and we’ve got you covered with info on a whole host of new headphones that’ll hit in April. The MDR-AS20J, MDR-AS40EX, and MDR-AS50G all loop buds around your ears, while the MDR-AS30G drapes you down with some big ol’ cans. Also leaked are the MS-AS100W buds, which look like a cross between classic Walkman headphones and in-ear monitors, while the MDR-EX700 does it straight-up in-ear style with seven different silicon sleeves for proper fitting. No pricing yet, but it looks like a strong lineup — but we’ll wait to see how these all sound before giving up our Ultimate Ears. Check ‘em all out in the gallery below.

Gallery: The hits keep coming with leaked Sony headphones

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Whether you’re a podcasting wonder-kid, professional musician, or member of a garage-band (with secret aspirations of fame and fortune), Belkin’s TuneStudio might be the single best investment you make as an audiophile.

Belkin’s TuneStudio for iPod lets you create and record high-quality digital recordings directly to your iPod, with instant playback. The 4-channel mixer allows for the input of up to four different instruments or audio sources and records at 16-bit, 44kHz quality in uncompressed WAV format, which translates as “crystal clear!”

TuneStudio’s compact and durable design is perfect for portability. Podcasters, musicians (professional and garage band alike) can record shows and sessions directly to their iPods anywhere they go.

In spite of the 29 different dials, this basic design is also surprisingly user-friendly:

* LEDs indicate master audio level, power status, peak indications, and compressor
* Compression is controlled by a single knob. And, audio is streamed though the built-in USB interface to and from a PC or Mac
* TuneStudio functions as an external sound card, allowing input and output of audio to a PC from its connectors

TuneStudio is currently compatible with:

* iPod classic (6th generation–80 GB and 160 GB);
* iPod nano (3rd generation–4 GB and 8 GB; 2nd generation–2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB)
* iPod video (5th generation–30 GB, 60 GB, and 80 GB)

(Available March 1, 2008)

Special discounted price: $249 at Belkin.com

Pre-order price: $299.99 at Amazon.

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The Sansa Clip is a small and smart MP3 player perfect for working out, traveling, or keeping tunes on your person.

At 4GB it’s both larger and more powerful than the iPod Shuffle and features a bright four-line screen for fast and easy navigation of tunes and features. Sansa Clip features FM radio with 40 user presets, built-in microphone for voice recording (memos, meetings, lectures, moments of brilliance and espionage/subterfuge), and plays MP3, WMA, secure WMA, and Audible file formats.

Fully charged, Sansa Clip provides about 15 hours of play time with the internal rechargeable battery, and take up to 2,000 songs (WMA format)

Connect via USB to your computer for charging and synchronizing.

Price: $80 at Amazon.

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Bring the fun and simplicity of a boogie board to the slopes with the Airboard Classic . Its Made from ultra-durable urethane-impregnated nylon, the Airboard inflates in less than 3 minutes using the included hand pump. Profile runners running the length of the bottom of the board provide control, while its six-pound weight makes it easy to pack up the hill. Just remember to watch your head. $280

[Via] [Buy]

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If you have a fear of crashing on your motor bike then this air bag jacket could fix that fear. It is called Hit Air jacket and attaches to your motorbike with a tether. If you happen to fly off your bike the jacket will inflate to protect your neck, chest, back, ribs and hips from getting any serious injury. It costs $410 and is available from a company named Hit-Air.

[Via]

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If you have ever played Guitar Hero or Rock Band, then you have imagined yourself to be a Rock God with the game. The Guitar Zeros, however, are a real band that have harnessed the power of the Guitar Hero controllers and are creating real music with them.

• THE GUITAR ZEROS

You can see them in action here:

They have the complete instructions on how to turn your own Guitar Hero controller into a musical instrument here:

• THE ZERO GUIDE

Using just a laptop computer, a Guitar Hero controller and some software from the Guitar Zeros, you can play music too. You don’t have to take apart your controller and it will still work to play your favorite game. It will just have super-hero abilities when you plug it into your PC.

Via: Guitar Zero is a band that has repurposed the Guitar… (kottke.org)

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We all know how prone the elderly are when it comes to accidental falls, and sometimes us kids worry as our aged parents are left all alone at home. Researchers at the University of Missouri claim that they have developed a ’smart carpet’ capable of electronically monitoring a senior’s location and sending out an alert in case of a fall. This new sensor can be printed on thin, flexible sheets using inexpensive organic ink, so cheapskates have no more excuse of not getting this for their parents. It is said that a commercial version could roll out in a couple of years’ down the road. This is definitely better than other solutions on the market since the individual in question does not have to be conscious to summon any help.

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The Koreans often produce many, many nice portable media players and other electronics that, unfortunately, never wash up on American shores. This new PMP is no exception, its very nice and sure to impress many. One of the more notable things about it is the size, it’s only about a half an inch thick, and measures out at 4.4-inches x 3.14-inches x 0.49-inches. Also, it weighs only 3.21 ounces.

Otherwise, it comes with a nice 4.3-inch TFT screen, boasts 16 million colors, has a resolution of 480 x 272 pixels, plays video at a 2 Mbps bitrate for AVI format. Additionally, 30fps rate players, audio format of MP3, SDHC memory expansion. Some of the other interesting features are a camera and dictionary functionality. The only negative thing about this PMP is the memory - either 4GB or 8GB depending on model choice. At least, it can be expanded via SDHC.

At this time no word on pricing or availability, but again this most likely will not leave the Korean market.

Via [The Gadget Site]

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The Pint Mug
he ‘pint’ mug looks like a pint glass, taking its cue from the classic ‘dimple mug’ of old. It feels like a pint glass, possessing both weight and substance. But instead of foaming Anglo-Australian lager, it’s designed to hold a whole half litre of steaming, warm brown Anglo-Indian tea. A ‘pint’ of tea or coffee promises to be a substantial drink.

See price

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Looks like those who still prefer to have a hard drive in their MacBooks compared to the 64GB SSD found in the MacBook Air can rejoice - Apple looks set to ship a HDD-based Macbook Air in the US when February 1st rolls around. That’s just a couple of days’ away folks, so if you can keep that itch to pick up the MacBook Air today, you will be rewarded with more GBs then. Folks in the SSD camp will have to wait a wee bit longer, as shipping of the SSD-based MacBook Air will commence sometime between the 6th and 8th next month.