Category: Music Hound

You're buying so many tech gifts this year, so wouldn't it be nice of those companies actually gave you a present in addition to their products? Yes, we thought so, too. We saw an interesting deal between Sharp and new video-on-demand service Vudu, where the purchase of a new Aquos LCD display gets you a free Vudu set-top box and $50 in download credit. You'll put that to good use, for ...

Samsung P2 $250, samsungusa.com Most so-called iPod-killers hardly live up to the name, much less Apple's digital audio player, but Samsung's P2 is pretty darn close. The size of a pack of Dentyne, and yet boasting a three-inch, 16:9 touchscreen, the P2 is a perfect alternative for iTunes haters, or just somebody who's got a lot of WMA or cell-phone-music-store-purchased tunes on their PCs. The ...

Sony HD Radio $200 Sick of the same-old, same-old chart-based tunes and endless ads you hear on the radio? You're missing the party, or the talk-orgy, that's happening on HD radio, which is the technology that allows more than one programming feed to broadcast on the same FM frequency. Provided you have an HD radio such as this minimalist cherry wood and black mesh speaker tabletop model from ...

Finally, a gift for the child who wants a puppy, a stereo and a robot for Christmas: The iDog Amp'd, quite possibly the strangest iPod accessory we've seen since the iCan't-keep-making-i-jokes-anymore. ...

It may look a little strange, but the $600 B&W Zeppelin sounds perfect and sets a new standard for acoustics and ergonomics in the all-in-one iPod dock category. ...

HYPE CHECK: BURTON SLEEPER HOODIE . What it is: Burton's Sleeper Hoodie is designed for the busy air traveler, but should be a big hit with everyone from bands who spend weeks at a time tour buses, to those of us who like to catch a nap on the bus on our way to work. Inside the neck rests an inflatable neck pillow; blow it up, and you've got immediate, built-in head support. (Much better than ...

The folks at I Am 8-Bit (you may remember them from such art shows as this one) and a design company called Couch (great name, eh?) have put their collective pixels together to create some nice Space Invader-inspired guitar straps, particularly for those of you with 'Rock Band' and/or 'Guitar Hero' gee-tars. The vinyl strap comes in either blue or black, and will set you back $33, or ...

Verizon Wireless recently released the FlipShot by Samsung, a snazzy new 3-megapixel (MP) camera phone with swivel 'technology.' The crisp 240x320 pixel phone display swivels 180 degrees to allow for different viewing angles and easy sharing of multimedia with friends. To activate the camera, you just open the clamshell halfway and swivel the display 90-degrees towards you and begin shooting ...

Hype Check: Gibson Robot Guitar On December 7, guitar enthusiasts around the nation will be able to get their callused hands on the Gibson Robot Guitar, a first-of-its-kind, self-tuning instrument packed with a computer and motorized tuners. This special edition Les Paul will initially only be available in limited quantities -- 10 guitars for each of 400 retailers across the nation. What it ...

Slash is a busy guy. In fact, we're not sure he's had any down time since recording what may be the greatest debut album in the history of Rock 'n' Roll, the Guns n' Roses classic 'Appetite for Destruction.' After the disintegration of the band and the hijacking of the name by a corn-rowed Axl Rose and a band of impostors ( whose next album 'Chinese Democracy' should be out some time before ...

This just-released home entertainment system is co-branded with Ferarri -- so you know it's not gonna be cheap -- but this baby is for the high-end music lover who probably already has an Italian sports car, anyway. The Meridian F80 is a one-box, tabletop 2.1 system -- two speakers in the front, a subwoofer in the back, and a whole lot of DSP in the middle. It features the same Meridian DSP ...

Attempting to differentiate your portable music player from the iPod isn't easy; so Microsoft has taken quite a literal approach, by letting users...well, differentiate their Zunes. Zune Originals are built for those who love to customize: Head to the website and choose your color, text and/or art inscription (there's both an artist series and a tattoo series, with plenty of options for each). ...

Unplayed since the dawn of the CD era, your Dad's pile of vinyl is just sitting there, collecting dust. Those records look good, smell good, and sound even better. But the potential for wear and tear has relegated them to conversation pieces. Now, if your Dad (or other vinyl-loving person) had the Audio-Technica AT-LP2D-USB digital turntable system, he could capture the audio of those old ...

Though it's aimed at kids, we think anybody who loves a tune or just hates brushing their teeth will get a kick (and a sparkling smile), out of Tooth Tunes, which plays music while you brush your teeth (for the full two-minutes recommended by dentists, no less). When you take the brush off of your teeth, Tooth Tunes stops playing music and picks up where it left off as soon as you start brushing ...

Whether your giftee wants to rock out at the club or work out at the gym, V-Moda's Vibe (and iPhone-compatible Vibe Duo) makes a great choice. Sound quality is higher than many (much) more expensive models (the bass is pretty booming), and the buds fit very snugly in your ears. These $99 buds are also made of solid metal -- unlike your chintzy iPod headphones, which we've broken countless pairs ...