Technoglam

Apple announce new iPod Shuffle with VoiceOver feature

The tiny iPod Shuffle just got even smaller. The new version is half the size of the previous model so good luck with finding that in your bag but it is the first music to talk to you using the new VoiceOver feature to announce song titles, artists and playlist names so when you've forgotten the track, a push of the button will let you know what it is and it should might make it easier to find your favourite tracks as they're shuffled.

The new Shuffle will hold 1000 tracks, available in black or silver and speaks in 14 languages including English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. Price approx £59 from Apple.

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Samsung launchs PL10 multimedia camera

Samsung's latest offering isn't merely a camera, it's a portable media player (PMP) too. The camera aspect gets 9 megapixels, a 2.7" LCD screen, 11 picture settings including Night Portrait and Macro, Face Detection that prioritises those you photograph most (awkward/useful if you are fond of the self-portrait) and can also search photos by the faces too - love that!

Now for the PMP - there's an integrated MP3 player with button-touch access to stored movies and tunes and you can put together a slideshow of your photos with a music soundtrack. The PL10 will stay ready to shoot so you won't miss any photo ops even if you're watching a movie.

Available in silver, black, red, candy pink and purple, it'll cost £179 and will be out in April. 

Samsung Camera 

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Hi-tech gadgets for your trainee geeklings

How old should you be to get into tech? From birth if these gadgets have their way. We've taken a fun look at the gadgets for hi-tech kids...

Combi iPod Bouncer with built-in sound, vibration and rear-mounted controls and a toy bar, usable from birth for $79 ThinkGeek; Lego digital camera made to appear as if it's built from Lego bricks, out this summer around $60 Lego; rechargable Kid-Tough DVD player in pink or blue $150 Fisher Price; the Plasma 7 iPod buggy with padded speakers and an iPod pocket for sound whilst you're out and about, £230.99 at Little Butterfly; Crayola MP3 player with 2GB storage and powered by a single AA battery, around $50 and clock/radio dock, around $30, out this year from Crayola.

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Valentines Day gadgets - cool last minute gifts

Ah, Valentines Day, what's not to love about love? And what we love the most is getting giving gifts to the people we love. Of course, you don't have to celebrate just once out of 365 days but if you are, here's a few last minute gifts that are sure to surprise.

From top left, Technika 1GB pink MP3 player with headphones and space for 320 MP3s, £9.75 at Tesco Direct; diamante studded USB mouse, £29.99 IWOOT; Heartware Vitrail Light USB memory key pendant with 1GB memory (up to 1000 photos or around 250 MP3s), £103 at Swarovski; Samsung S760 7MP camera, £53.27 Amazon; PoGo instant photo printer (camera not included)- send phone or digital camera pictures via Bluetooth for instant photo sticker prints, black or pink £99.95 Firebox; mini digtal photo frame, £39.95 Firebox.

Review: Intempo InSession iPod speaker-dock

With a plethora of iPod speaker-docks on the market, there's an awful lot of competition but I'm pleased to say that the Intempo InSession dock can hold it's own. It's a little chunkier than its slimline competitors and whilst I probably wouldn't put it in my bag and take it on holiday with me, I'd certainly be happy to display it at home.

The simple black frame with fabric grill makes it ideal for use anywhere at home be it the living or dining rooms, bedroom or office where it won't take up much space on a unit and will certainly mean you can put your CDs into storage and do away with that oversized stereo.

With 25watt speakers and an integrated subwoofer, music is far from tinny and it throws out great sound that really defies its small form. A palm-sized remote control is included with functions for adjusting bass and treble and it was easy to adjust the volume thanks to the two buttons at the front of the dock. The InSession is adaptable for all iPods thanks to a range of included easy to fit adapters that help the iPod slot into place though it won't charge the shuffle. Two and three pin plugs are included along with a 3.5mm line-in and a mini USB port for connecting to iTunes via the PC.

I thought it was a good size and the low weight meant it was easy to move around though I would have liked to be able to slot the remote in for safe keeping. The sound was good quality when playing a variety of music styles and the simple styling means it won't date.

It's on sale at Amazon for £73.23 / Intempo Digital

Entertain little ones with the iPhone Peekaboo Barn application

You need three ingredients for this cute recipe - 1. an iPhone, 2. your child 3. a spare moment for some downloading. Created by artists and educators at Night & Day Studios, the touchscreen application is perfect for whiling a way a little time when waiting in a queue. Kids can tap on the barn doors, guess the animal by hearing its call and older kids can learn the animal types in Spanish and English. It also works on the iPod Touch. The application costs $1.99 here. [via Ohdeedoh]

Sony Rolly robotic MP3 player

If it ever occured to you to wonder how your MP3 players feels the beat - and it has never occured to me - you might find the robotic Rolly MP3 player rather intriguing as it twists, spins and lights up when music plays without any loss of sound quality.

It can store up to 515 songs on the 2GB internal memory or stream music from your PC via Bluetooth. You'll be forgiven if you think operating it might be difficult. Just twist it to choose tracks or flip it to change volume.

It's £239, in black or white at Sony Style.

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Waterproof Speedo Aquabeat MP3 player brings music to swimmers

                                                                                                                                                     I've seen a variety of pouches that can be combined with a MP3 player to make it suitable for underwater use but the 1GB Speedo Aquabeat is far superior in terms of size and suitability for swimming.

Submersible, waterproof and weatherproof, it can be used at depths up to 3metres and as it floats, swimmers won't have a long dive to retrieve it. Software is included for adding and sorting music and there's a range of ear size buds along with a USb cable and carry case. Colours are pink, yellow and black and it's £75 at Speedo.

What music would you swim to? Go Swimming by Peter Gabriel?

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Sony Walkman W series wireless MP3 player

With a fresh new design this wireless MP3 player sits on your head so there's no fiddling in jacket pockets or bags or tangling wires. Although there isn't a screen for viewing music, there is ZAPPIN Mode which detects and plays the chorus of each track, helping users to brose quickly to their preferences just by tapping the jog dial. Software is included for your PC so you can 'drag and drop' music from music services such as iTunes.

It's available in black, pink, green, purple and white for £59 on pre-order at Sony Style. The release date is set for Spring.

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Sony Walkman X Series Video MP3 player

 

With a 3-inch touchscreen, Sony's Walkman X Series Video MP3 player is a good looking music player. It claims to have nabbed a world first with digital noise cancelling on MP3/Video player which will help listeners with a superior sound quality along with the S-Master Digital Amplifier (generally used in home cinema set-ups) and Clear Audio technologies.

Hybrid controls mean that the touchscreen is combined with some hard keys for easier operation, there's multiple music and video formats and you can use it as a photo viewer with a music soundtrack. WiFi gives users the chance to access sites like YouTube, download new material from podcasts to music and browse the net.

It'll be out this Spring. Sony Style.

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