Baylis Eco Media Player - Not Just For Tree Huggers

It’s hardly a secret that we should all be doing our bit to save the environment, but that doesn’t mean we have to be eco-warrior tree hugging hippies does it? The Eco Media Player offers a vast range of functions, a slightly odd design, and dual charging methods. OK, so we doubt it’ll ever be quite as popular as the iPod, but its ingenious nevertheless.

Treover Baylis has designed and developed this impressive bit of personal audio kit so you know that it’s going to do its job and more. Among its prestigious fans, Stephen Fry wrote a glowing review in his Guardian column last year.

First, to the features and functions it offers. The Media Player, as you hopefully guessed, is predominantly a media player. It doesn’t just play mp3, though, and can be used to playback video, view photographs and even store your vinyl music collection. An FM Tuner rounds off a solid display of media functionality.

As well as providing media playback, the Eco Media Player can also be used as an emergency charger for mobile phones, a flashlight, sound recorder, and data storage device.

There’s no disputing the fact that the Eco Media Player is pretty handy but how does it warrant the tags of Eco and ingenious I hear you ask. As well as offering USB charging through your PC it also features an ECO-Dynamo system. For every 1 minute of winding, you gain 40 minutes of playback time up to a maximum of 20 hours playback.

The Gear4 Blackbox

Gear4 is a truly great company that regularly releases new products for the technophile. They make some damn good speakers for mp3 players and PSPs (no, they haven’t suddenly offered us sponsorship although if they’re reading…). We recently reviewed the Bass Station – another great sounding speaker but it looked, to be frank, dull and unimaginative.

In order to try and show off some of their better looking, or at least less dull, speakers here is the BlackBox. Compatible with Bluetooth phones (but not the iPhone without a little tinkering), laptops, mp3 players, and the iPod it is still in essence a box but it has a lot more character than the BassBox.

24w output from two speakers gives crisp sounds and clarity, while the funky graphic equalizer display is retro styling at its funky best. A Mini USB port is provided so that you can also downoad the most appropriate firmware for your mobile device.

Pretty much every conceivable store stocks the BlackBox and it is available (with it’s very own carrier bag) and at £100 it’s not an unreasonably priced bit of kit. We’ll be the first to admit that the design won’t be to everybody’s taste but I personally like it and it’s got oodles of character compared to the Bassbox.

The Ultimate Bang & Olufsen Beoliving Home Theatre System

Bang & Olufsen has long been a name synonymous with high end goods with equally high end price tags. The equipment is virtually unsurpassed but you do need a large bank balance in order to be able to afford even the cheaper end of the remote control spectrum. But, hey, we can dream – and, in this particular dream, we live in a house that has the most exquisite home theatre system.

Beoliving systems don’t have to stop at the TV and DVD player either. For a little extra you can also have them integrated fully and seamlessly into your automated home system. This means that with a single click of your reassuringly expensive remote control you can dim the lights, close the curtains, turn the kettle on, start playing a DVD, and have the volume adjusted to just the perfect setting.

Add to that, the fact that B&O still produces some of the finest sounding speakers and greatest looking visual equipment on the market, and you’ve got a recluse’s dream. If you are interested, then pop along to the Beoliving website and you can arrange for a group of technicians to come and assess your house – presumably they check whether it looks high quality enough to house the equipment before you buy anything.

Oakley Split Thump Sunglasses With Built In MP3 Player

I saw an impressive pair of sunglasses during my daily jaunt around the Gizmodo website. When it comes to tinted specs nobody does it quite as well as Oakley, but with the Split Thump glasses they seem to have managed to go one better than their usual inimitable style by combining gadgets with good looks.

The gadget is a built in MP3 player which does nothing to hinder the class that the glasses exude. A USB port enables you to download any and all of your music onto the player, which is available in 1GB and 2GB capacities.

The Gizmodo website also gives a link to the and a (possibly) handy tool that lets you upload an image of yourself and then try the glasses on your image. Just in case you’re not sure whether they’re “really you”, you can even print the picture off and show it to your friends.

The 1GB and “GB Split Thump glasses with built in MP3 player cost £164.99 and £255 respectively, which is expensive as a pair of sunglasses and expensive as an MP3 player but these aren’t any pair of sunglasses (they’re Oakley) and the overall look of the glasses really don’t suffer with the addition of the MP3 player.

HTC Touch Diamond – Competition For The iPhone?

The iPhone was far and away the must have gadget of the last year for many people. Touch screen goodness and a good set of features made it truly stand out from the crowd, although the millions of people that will seemingly buy anything with the Apple logo also helped its popularity I’m sure. Recent news on the iPhone is that it’s now unavailable in the UK but an updated 3G version will be available very soon.

In the meantime, here’s a potential competitor to salivate over. The HTC Touch Diamond is expected to be released in less than a couple of months although no firm information on networks and pricing have been released. Murmurs have indicated that Orange will be the first to offer the Touch Diamond at a sim-free price of £400 or, if you’re willing to sell your soul on a monthly basis, you could get the handset free.

As well as offering a full touch-screen interface with 2.8” display, it will have built in A-GPS software to use with any satnav application. It will also have a 3.2MP camera and 3G data meaning that users will be privvy to speeds of up to 7.2MBps. FM radio and built in WiFi and bluetooth round off an impressive set of features that is designed to make the Touch Diamond compete with the latest incarnation of the iPhone.

Gear4 Bass Station iPod Speakers - Ugly But They Sound Good

There’s a mass of iPod speakers and speaker docks available on the market, making choosing the right one a seemingly difficult task. The Gear4 Bass Station is one of the latest to be released and despite its simplistic looks it packs a fairly incredible punch. It’s also not a particularly portable option weighing 3kg but that’s primarily because it combines an impressive 35W of sound output with a seriously capable 5 inch subwoofer hidden under the bonnet.

Make no mistakes, the Gear4 Bass Station is unlikely to win any design awards, except perhaps an award for the most inoffensive and plain uninteresting design award. But, looks aren’t everything, and crank it up loud sound quality counts for a lot – or, at least, it should.

The sound quality is truly immense with every note from every instrument and accompaniment played with crystal clear quality. From deep bass to high treble you will really struggle to find fault with the quality of the output.

Currently, this unit will set you back about £100 but if excellent sound quality is what matters, as well as a far from unreasonable power output. However, if you’re buying for show, then you definitely need to look elsewhere because this is, at best, dull in design.

Samsung K5 MP3 Player With Slide Out Speaker

Samsung MP3 players may not be as widely purchased as iPod, but they tend to offer excellent design and superb features for a not entirely unreasonable price tag. The Samsung K5 is an excellent example – modern and stylish in design, it also offers an excellent slide out speaker for when you don’t want your personal MP3 player to be that personal.

Available on Amazon for less than £100, the 2GB model is a snip compared to some of the more over priced alternatives on the market. Its ultra slim design make it practical for carrying around and the slide out speaker is an excellent addition feature for those that believe music is meant to be shared.

The supplied headphones are reasonable as far as MP3 included headphones go. The speaker itself isn’t designed to supply music to a large auditorium with reasonable sound quality at low to medium levels. If you turn it up a little too much you will begin to notice traces of distortion.

As well as being an MP3 player, the K5 also has a built in FM tuner and can be used as a portable photo viewer. All in all, it looks a great product at a reasonable price and offers a superb alternative to the iPod bandwagon.

Sennheiser HD650 Headphones – Reassuringly Expensive?

Headphones are the oft overlooked accessory to the MP3 player and iPod. Consumers are willing to shell out a small fortune to buy a portable audio player and then scrimp by spending little more than a few pounds on an inexpensive, and usually inept, pair of headphones. However, if you want to improve the sound quality then the best way to go is to buy a reasonable set.

Fair enough, we don’t all want to walk around with a full set of ear warmers on, but if you listen to music at home or have no shame then the Sennheiser HD650 headphones are among the very best that money can buy. Although, make no mistake, you are going to have spend money to buy these – even with some careful shopping around you are going to have to pay £200 to £250 or more for a set (yes, one set).

Sennheiser are renowned for creating high quality headphones and the HD650 headphones give a completely balanced and crisp playback of every sound. Kevlar reinforced OFC copper cable make them completely insensitive to handling noise. Every aspect of them has been designed to offer unparalleled sound quality. Once you listen to your favourite tracks through a set of these, those £5 ear buds will begin to seem way too expensive.

Samsung Soundbar HT-X810T Due For Release In May

Samsung will release its all in one Soundbar HT-X810T next month. First announced at CES 2008, the all in one wall mountable home theatre system is the perfect accompaniment to a wall mounted LCD TV. The Soundbar itself includes an upscaling DVD player that takes standard DVDs and essentially converts them for top notch HD viewing. A wirelessly operated sub woofer is also included to maximise your audio experience.

Despite being a single unit, the latest Soundbar will deliver an impressive 300W of 5.1 surround sound. Plus, it will deliver the depths of sound that only a dedicated sub can produce making your home theatre enjoyment even more enjoyable.

The DVD Player is an impressive piece of gadgetry goodness too. It upscales virtually any DVD, in a majority of formats (including DivX, WMA, WMV, and all the recordable formats) up to 1080p.

In terms of form and design, the HT-X810T is designed to sit neatly below 40-inch wall mounted televisions and larger so not exactly ideal for your 15 inch portable.

Alas, there’s no real indication of a price as yet, which makes me a little apprehensive but I guess if you have to ask then you probably can’t afford it, right?

Guitar Hero IV? Well - Sort Of.

Had enough of trying to master Through the Fire and Flames? Can’t quite master the ludicrous intensity of Dragonforce? Perhaps Raining Blood has got you spitting blood? Fear not, for there is an alternative to the incredible and incredibly difficult Guitar Hero III – in the form of the Guitar Hero Handheld Game.

OK, so it’s probably not as intricate as the Xbox360 version and it’s limited to ten songs but if you fancy yourself as a guitar hero now you’ve conquered Slash et al then this will amuse you for a few hours. The principle is clearly “based” around that of the incredibly popular gaming series with note sliding down the electronic fret board display. The aim is also to hit the notes in sequence and in time.

The guitar folds down so you can carry it with you when you next go busking down the main street. The ten songs include classics like Smoke on the Water and Heart Shaped Box. It’s also a whole lot cheaper than any of the Guitar Hero games. In all honesty, though, it does miss the Live experience of playing battles against your mates and trying to master co-op titles. Still, it’s pretty cool nonetheless.

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