Archive for the ‘peripherals’ Category

Urbanears Plattan Headphones

Though I’m normally partial to in-ear headphones, I decided to give the Urbanears Plattan headphones a whirl and was very impressed.

I admit to being a sound snob. I usually go toting around in $600 professional headphone gear, so I was skeptical about anything with a $60 price tag. I’m pleased to report, however, that these stylish, full-sized headphones delivered great sound that was music [pun intended] to these audiophile ears. I plugged into my iPhone and cranked some thumping dance tunes. Clear, rich sound with no bass breakdown or muddiness. Their adjustability even made them start off comfortably on my fat head and their light weight made them stay comfortable.

The Plattans feature an in-line microphone and remote compatible with the iPhone and Nokia, HTC and Blackberry phones along with two extra cable extensions making the headphones compatible with a majority of all devices. Also featured is the “zound plug” which allows you to daisy-chain another set of headphones to let a friend listen in. This set also folds up to a neat, compact size for convenient transport. And, finally, the best part… 14 fashionable colors to choose from, with everything from basic black to ocean blue and salad green.

Great listening at a great price.

S&J’s Incredible, Non-edible Speakers

Computer peripheral manufacturer, S&J Co., Ltd, proves that sometimes to get great sound you have to break a few eggs. Their new line of ultra portable speakers are egg-shaped and awesome hence their name, Eggy.

The little speakers pack decent sound thanks to their 2W output and digital amps. They’re USB-powered so there’s no need to worry about batteries. The coolest thing about these speakers is that the magnetically lock. Once you’re done using them, just put them together and you’ve got a shiny egg that can be easily slipped into a bag or pocket. These speakers would be an awesome peripheral for all those netbooks and laptops out there.

No word yet on price or availability, but they will be showing at this year’s CES, so hopefully there will be more information in January.

Via Coolest Gadgets

Wii BOSS Controller Case: Great In Theory, Poor In Execution [Wii]

There’s a lot of useless accessory crap for the Wii, but the B.O.S.S. controller case looked to buck the trend by addressing Nintendo’s baffling lack of classic controller support for New Super Mario Bros Wii. Too bad it doesn’t work.

Ars Technica says the additional bulk just makes things unwieldy. One needs big, beefy hands to use this thing properly, they report, and the additional heft in back—junk in the trunk, if you will—only makes things worse. And since the buttons on the case are just pressing down the original Wiimote buttons below, things got a tad unresponsive. Even at $10, the reviewer “breathed a sigh of relief” when he tore it off after an hour of play time.

It’s too bad. That tiny directional pad and those tiny 1 and 2 buttons really cramp me up after an extended play session in the Mushroom Kingdom. [ars technica]

Titanium Mouse by Intelligent Design costs $1,200, might be worth a little less

No matter how bad the global economy gets, you can always rely on there being a select few people with (a lot) more money than sense. Exclusively for them, Dutch outfit Intelligent Design has put together this handcrafted Bluetooth laser mouse, which boasts a neodymium scroll wheel, high quality plastic resin and a grade 1 titanium body. We didn’t know you could handcraft titanium and we challenge anyone to explain what neodymium has to do with good input ergonomics, but then maybe that just shows how little we know about luxurious items like this. So, if you have $1,200 (or €800 in Old World money) to spare, why not add this unnamed mouse to your shopping list, just under the Mnemosyne USB drive? More snaps can be found after the break.

[Via HardOCP]

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Filed under: Peripherals

Titanium Mouse by Intelligent Design costs $1,200, might be worth a little less originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ReNu: Modular Solar Panel for iPod Docks and Desk Lamps [Solar]

We’ll suspend our general disbelief for a moment to talk about the Renu, an unbelievable but incredible solar product that’s actually coming to market next year.

The ReNu probably doesn’t work as you’d imagine from looking at the photograph. Sure, you see an iPod dock with speakers, just as you’d expect. But that huge back plate is actually a solar panel/battery combo that you can remove from the dock to hang near a window to store energy. It takes about 9 hours to charge in direct sunlight, or 20 hours to charge in indirect sunlight, to power music for 7-8 hours.

This ReNu panel actually supports a variety of different base units, including a pure iPod/iPhone dock (no speakers included) and an LED desk lamp.

I think the basic idea becomes something like, hang or place a bunch of solar panels in sunlight, then grab power as necessary. But in case you find this ease of use scenario as hard to believe as us, all of the docks and the ReNu panel itself will plug in should the sun’s juice fall short.

The base ReNu panel alone can be preodered now for 2010 availability. It runs $200. The accessories start at $90 and work their way up. [Regen via Treehugger via DVICE]

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