http://www.ecoustics.com/latest/news Latest news, updated every five minutes http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17888 Giving notebook users one less wire leash to bind them to a desk, Creative on Wednesday unveiled the X-Fi Notebook card, which makes streaming audio to any pair of speakers easier. When combined with Creative’s Wireless Receivers, the X-Fi card can send digital music to up to four pairs of speakers.The card fits into a standard ExpressCard slot and transmits with a range of up to 100 feet, allowing notebook users to trade their tinny built-in speakers for a fulRead | Permalink | Linking Blogs Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/515531.html Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:50:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17438 If the thought of leaving your precious iPod behind for even a few minutes while you take a shower, relax in a pool, or hang out on a boat is just too much to bear, the Atlantic Inc. wants you to know its EGO ice and iceBar2 waterproof cases for the iPod are now available from retailers like Best Buy and Bed, Bath, and Beyond."The EGO line of waterproof speaker cases allows iPod owners to enjoy their favorite music and videos in practically any setting," said Atlanitic Inc. COO James Dardashti, in a statement.Best Buy is carrying the EGO ice, a portable, waterproof, floating boombox that acc Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/news/147367 A great desktop is only as good as the sum of its parts, so picking the right RAM, hard drive, sound card, and speakers is key. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 19:40:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17015 Hands-free devices may save you from a ticket by allowing you to pick up the phone on the road, but without caller ID to let you screen your calls, you may end talking to your boss for an hour on your way home from work, or awkwardly fielding drunk dials as you bring Grandma to the airport. BlueAnt phases out this problem with the next generation of its Supertooth in-car speakerphone, which reads caller ID information out loud and allows you to accept or reject calls vocally.The Supertooth 3 uses text-to-speech technology to translate incoming call data to voice alerts, and includes support for Ame Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:25:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/17005 Verizon Wireless has announced an exclusive tie-in with this summer's The Dark Knight Batman sequel due to hit theaters July 18: the Nokia 6502 The Dark Knight Edition mobile phone. The phone combines a Batman-inspired black cover with a Dark Knight emblem, and comes pre-loaded with Bat-themed wallpaper, screensavers, and voice tones…along with a complete movie trailer.As a phone, the Nokia 6205 offers 58 MB of internal storage (expandable with microSD cards), a 1.3 megapixel camera, a Bluetooth wireless networking, and an integrated speakerphone. The phone can tap into Verizon's VZ Navigator location Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:45:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/486697.html Wed, 21 May 2008 03:11:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9946665-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet Speakers at security confab LayerOne say people should be careful with sensitive information while using GSM-based mobile phones and most VoIP systems. Sat, 17 May 2008 22:33:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/16316 Snip:"The N95's music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, and WMA files, as well as Real's OM-DRM and Microsoft's WM DRM 10. We had no problems loading music onto the device via an 8GB microSD card, and the music player found our files quickly. The audio quality is good, though the bass output could be stronger. We're extremely happy that the phone has a standard 3.5-mm jack, and the built-in speakers are surprisingly loud and clear even at max volume. The FM tuner's sensitivity is excellent: We picked up even fringe stations like 88.3 (WBGO) in New York City -- as long as we had the headphones plugged in, since they act as the antenna.The video player supports MPEG-4, H.264/AVC, H.263/3GPP, RealVideo 8/9/10 fo Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:51:01 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/15906 While most people seem content with on-board audio on PCs for cranking out music through a cheap set of headphones or PC speakers, more serious audio enthusiasts look to better solutions to match their high-end systems, and Asus launched its own entry targeting this niche market on Thursday. The Xonar DX PCI Express Audio card offers 7.1 channels and a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) Asus claims is 35 times cleaner than onboard alternatives.In terms of output, the board boasts an SNR of 116dB, while Asus says most onboard chi Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:50:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/15404 Building momentum for its booth at the upcoming booth at Macworld expo in San Francisco, Illinois-based Newer Technology unveiled a line of six low-cost iPhone accessories this week, including a speaker dock, earbuds, and car charger.The dock will not only play amplified music like a traditional iPod dock, it will also make use of the iPhone’s telephony capabilities with a hands-free microphone for conference calls. Suggested retail price when it debuts on January 28 will be $34.95.Newer Technology’s glossy black bass response earbuds currently retail for $19 Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:20:00 -0500 http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/news/141069 Velocity 2Go debuts at CES, offering double duty as portable speakers and a car subwoofer. Sun, 06 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0500 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/399838.html Thu, 01 Nov 2007 05:23:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/14668 Drawing on the same phone-and-music blend that serves as the basis for the ROKR handset, Motorola announced a new ROKR hands-free device for the car on Wednesday. The ROKR T505 pumps both music and voice from a Bluetooth-enabled phone or MP3 player through a car stereo, via an integrated FM transmitter.To make sure callers aren’t greeted with an ear-splitting dose of AC/DC when you pick up the phone in the car, the T505 automatically cuts off music when you take a call, and cancels out noise and echoes. It also does the grunt work of finding the clearest FM station for Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:20:00 -0400 http://news.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/10381/399521.html Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:44:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/14520 Snip:"Boynq, a product line by "youSP" in the Netherlands, has a new iPod dock speaker system - the Sabre - available for $129 USD. With little-to-no company information available to consumers, Boynq has managed to carve out a name for itself with its unusual and often hip-looking products. The Sabre has a funky design, two 10 watt speakers and can push audio and video from 5G iPods to a TV set. Though looks are important, solid performance and superior sound quality are the ultimate goal of any speaker manufacturer. Does the Sabre live up to the hype? Read on to find out."Read the full Boynq Sabre review Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:01:16 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/13996 Finland's Nokia might be the world's largest cell phone manufacturer, but they're also in the peripherals business, and they're hoping to carve out a place in the personal and in-vehicle GPS markets. Today, the company announced two new Bluetooth headsets and two new GPS units aimed to do just that.First up, the Nokia 500 Auto Navigation is a in-vehicle GPS with a 4.3-inch LCD display, hands-free design, and Bluetooth capability to let the device function as an in-car speakerphone in conjunction with a compatible mobile phone. The device is a followup on last year's Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/13863 Snip:"One of the truly sensible reasons why USB-powered speakers have gotten a bad rap is the low power output of the USB bus itself. Speakers require electricity to generate sound, and while more electricity doesn't always equate to better sound, it gives a rough logic to louder, more powerful sound. (Think of the massive electrical arrays that power the monstrous speaker systems at concerts, and you'll understand what power can do for sound.) USB generates only 5V/0.5A of power - just enough to charge the average cell phone and carry data signals over modest distances. This 5V power leaves the average USB speaker with 0.5W of power per channel. If you don't know what 0.5W of power sounds like, trust us — it's really Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/13761 Harman/Becker Automotive Systems has announced a new in-car GPS system for the U.S. market, the Traffic Assist Highspeed 7934. Set to be offered exclusively through Office Depot, the unit offers more-or-less standard mapping and navigation features, plays music over a set of integrated stereo speakers, and—get this—even offers voice warnings when a driver is speeding."We recognize that there are a variety of choices when it comes to mobile navigation," said Ralf Hoellmann, Harman/Becker Automotive Sys Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:00:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/13732 Panasonic—the consumer brand of electronics and manufacturing giant Matsushita—has announced it has developed a technology which will improve low-end frequency response in compact speakers—or, in more general terms, put subwoofers into cell phones.Panasonic says the patent-pending Nano Bass Exciter technology uses a nanometer-scale porous carbon material inside the small and/or thin speaker enclosures; when low-end sounds come long, the carbon material briefly absorbs the increased air pressure produced by the speaker diaphragm, enabling the speaker to move in a way an Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/13542 At its presentation at this week's E3 Expo in Santa Monica, Sony took the wraps off a redesigned PlayStation Portable (PSP) which is 33 percent lighter, 19 percent thinner, and sports a high quality video output so users can hook the unit to an external monitor or display to view photos, videos, or movies.On the surface, the new PSP doesn't look dramatically different from its current incarnation, and in some ways the redesign fails to meet some gamers' hopes for a "PSP 2" with dramatically enhanced capabilities. Nonetheless, the new PSP will offer a 4.3-inch screen and support for UMD discs, front-facing speakers, faster load times, and Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:30:00 -0400 http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/8301-10784_3-9724882-7.html?part=ecoustics-cnet&tag=feed_2574&subj=news Blog: The House speaker, fresh off a visit to Greenland and Europe, says she hopes Congress will enact new restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions by year's end. Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:30:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/12952 We know it's a cliché, but that doesn't mean thousands—may, millions— of people don't work on their fantasy opera and rock'n'roll careers in the midst of their lather-rinse-repeat routine. It's just too tempting: small space, all those hard reflective surfaces—it's almost like having your own stage monitoring system!Unfortunately for anyone in hearing range, the effect is usually less than pleasant.Now home appliance brand Kohler has teamed up with Polk Audio to offer Kohler SoundTile speakers, high-fide... Thu, 10 May 2007 11:45:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/12627 Hop-On, a developer of wireless phones and accessories as well as wireless surveillance systems, announced today it has received a design patent for what it is calling MP3 phones. This design patent, apparently granted here in the United States, is described by Hop-On has being for "a MP3 phone with speakers on the side, in addition to front and side buttons to activate its camera/video features."Hop-On wasted no time in stating it would be seeking payment from those whose cell phones might fall into their patent's rangefinder. "We look forward to the four major carriers, manufactures selling products and major retailers in the US to cooperate with Hop-on&rsq... Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:35:00 -0400 http://www.ecoustics.com/dt/news/12282 Germany's Canton Electronics has introducedits new GLE series of speakers for home audio and home theater use, incorporating a number of features from the company's higher-end offerings in a lineup with a more consumer-friendly price tag."The GLE series is a remarkable lineup," said Paul Madsen, President of Canton USA. "Through the careful application of the most effective new technologies developed for the flagship speaker lines, Canton's engineers have managed to deliver performance that comes surprisingly close to our higher-end speakers at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, we've added two new options to the range o... Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:15:00 -0500