Category: Portable Audio

You can't put velvet in these earcups and call 'em nice headphones! As Mr. Chappelle would likely attest, there are no better headphones in which to drop the beat into than Dr. Dre's "highly anticipated" Beats. The master of chronic himself has slapped his all-but-forgotten name onto a set of cans (which we covered a few months ago), and is now ready to introduce 'em to the world. Starting on ...

As anyone who has used noise-canceling headphones on a plane can doubtlessly confirm, they make the experience of flying a whole lot less unpleasant. While these sound-blockers can't do much to combat the shrieking baby in the seat next to you (or its shrieking parents, for that matter), they all but remove the low roar of the engines, the hum of the fans, and various (and usually) incessant ...

Maybe Mom wants something tiny and shiny? Though it may sound like a cliche gift, the neat and petite (GB) iPod Nano is still the ultra-portable music, video, and image player that we love best. It's simply the easiest way for your Mom to stay on top of her favorite TV or radio shows (thanks to availability on iTunes and radio podcasts of most major radio broadcasts) while on the go. And ...

We were excited when the online Apple Store went down this morning because MacBook Pro and Cinema Display updates seem imminent and rumors have been flying about new iPhone developments. The store came back up announcing updates to the... iPod Shuffle line. Apple dropped the price of the 1-gigabyte model to $49, and debuted a brand new 2-gigabyte Shuffle for $69. The 1-gigabyte is available ...

When we first reported about the upcoming launch of Dr. Dre's Beats high-end headphones, we expected a mix of both parties' aptitude for doing things big and right. We got a chance to take the new skullpods for a test run last night, and our expectations were spot-on. Sound Quality Without getting too technical, we can confidently say that the Beats handled all the frequencies thrown at them ...

As with everything in life, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that we've found some headphones that will keep you, your hearing and your social life safe when using them. We stumbled across The Air Drives Interactive Earphones in the sea of gadgetry and tricky tech publicists at this year's CES in Las Vegas. To be honest, at first we were just humoring the friendly Air ...

The Monster Cable press session at the Consumer Electronics Showcase started out bizarre enough: head monster Noel Lee cruised up on his Segway scooter, talked to the audience about HDMI and cables and all things monster. But then he asked Dr. Dre and Interscope Chairman Jimmy Iovine to come up, as they had a little surprise. They presented us with a set of new headphones called "Beats". These ...

Remember those groovy lava lamps from the 70s? No? Remember those cool plasma spheres from the 80s? Are we that old? Either way, this new tube of psychedelia is brought to us by a little company called Aquallusion. The iTube (granted, not the most creative of names) was inspired by bamboo rain sticks (first one to tell us what those are gets a bonus), and it plugs into your iPod, ...

These days one has no shortage of things in which to set his iPod. There's a keyboard dock, an old guitar, a faux-turntable, even a toilet paper roll (we wish we were kidding about that last one). At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, which opens next week, new entrant to the electronics market Cue Accoustics will debut yet another thing to set your iPods into -- a much more stylish and ...

Want to know where software piracy will get you a death sentence? Listen to our new audio podcast and plan your next vacation accordingly. Plus: E-nups, Wi-Fi in the sky, gadget threesomes, and all the top stories on Switched.com as discussed by the staff -- it's the Switched Show audio podcast. Plus, you can take it with you. On your iPod. Or your Zune. On your Juke. On your laptop. On your ...

Apparently, a Netherlands-based GSM phone Web site got its hands on some photos or renderings of what looks to be the next Nokia N-series phone, the N96. With dual-sliders that reveal a QWERTY keyboard split in half by the screen, this prototype seems to promise a very user-friendly multimedia device. It also looks as if the N96 will sport a lens that projects out from the camera when in use. ...