Cardboard iPod Boombox

Many years ago, portable music meant carrying a heavy cassette player on your shoulder along with all the heavy D-sized batteries that went into it. Even though most of us have converted to tiny MP3 players now, you can still relive the good old days with this iPod Boombox. Made mostly out of cardboard, these speakers let you slip in an iPod classic and produce sound that could be as crappy as your 20-year-old boombox. No matter, surely no one would get this for its sound quality--but rather for its novelty.

The iPod Boombox comes flat packed from Firebox at US$39 a set. Batteries are included, but you'll have to provide your own iPod.

Via The Red Ferret Journal

How to upgrade your iPod touch software (in Asia)

Ready for more bad news? Apple Singapore finally got back to us and confirmed that its AppleCare centers will not be offering any services for users in Asia to upgrade their iPod touch software. The only way to do so is still via the iTunes Store--currently available only in selected Asia-Pacific countries.

There's good news. Chiefly that there are other means of obtaining the software update, albeit with some inconvenience.

Since all you need is iTunes, you can ask a friend with a personal iTunes account to update the iPod touch for you. Alternatively, the more hassle-free way is to purchase an iTunes Gift Card with enough credits to pay for the software upgrade. Either way, it's definitely more tedious than a simple download through the Web. But if you really gotta have the new apps in your touch, guess it's worth the trouble of a roundabout solution.

While thinking of other ways to get my own iPod touch software upgraded, an idea struck me. What if a faulty iPod touch were to be sent in for servicing? We all know Apple's policy of replacement rather than repair. Would it mean that the replacement unit (hopefully new, not refurbished) will come with the updated software? Has any current iPod touch owner put this to the test? Share your experience and ideas here.

Klipsch earphones: High-end sound isolators

When you think of earphones, you might think of Sennheiser, Etymotic or Shure. The name that won't immediately jump out at you like a lame plastic corpse on a ghost train is Klipsch.

Quite justified you'd be, too--Klipsch is best known for its loudspeakers. But there are three pairs of sound-isolating earphones hitting the market from the company, starting with the Custom-1, going up to the Custom-2 and--would you Adam and Eve it?--the Custom-3.

As sound isolators, they'll let you keep the volume of your music player down by blocking out external noise. All three models offer this handy feature, but the ones we're most interested in are the Custom-3s. The top model incorporates two drivers: a woofer and a separate tweeter. This is much like the Shure SE420s, another great pair of sound isolators, but one woofer less than the flagship SE530s.

Klipsch claims you'll get double-plus comfort and the "'live on stage' euphoria only Klipsch can provide". Well, we'll see--there's some stellar competition out there in the high-end sound-isolator world. We'll be getting all three models in for full reviews within the next week, so check back for our first "ears-on" report.

If you want to shell out some cash beforehand, you'll be looking at about 200 pounds for the Custom-3s (about US$392), 150 pounds for the Custom-2s (US$294), and around 100 pounds for the Custom-1s (US$196). All three models are on sale now.

Via Crave UK

Gizmondo to make a comeback?

Some of you may still remember the Gizmondo, a portable gaming console announced in 2005 that was positioned as a competitor to the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Tiger Telematics, the company which produced it, was headed by a couple of Swedes who eventually left the firm just before it went bankrupt in early 2006. It's an incredible tale involving a crashed Ferrari Enzo, dealings with the mafia, and millions of dollars of investor funds going down the drain.

Now it looks like Carl Freer, ex-chairman of the board of Gizmondo, wants to revive the brand. In an interview with a Swedish publication, he revealed that the next version of Gizmondo will be made inexpensive and work with open source codes. He went so far as to say that there will be a new widescreen device by Christmas 2008.

According to the interview (translated version here), Freer is doing it because he "still believes that Gizmondo can stand up to the competition, and in order to give the investors who lost money in the Gizmondo crash a chance to get some of their money back".

Wow. All we can say is he's going to have a hard time getting anyone to invest in his endeavor, given Tiger Telematics' turbulent history. We won't be holding our breath for a new Gizmondo. For those who want to try one out, you can still get a Gizmondo off eBay from those who (unfortunately) bought one before it went bust.

Via Engadget

Tiny iPod speaker packs a punch

We talked about the X-mini capsule speakers a couple of months back, a tiny accordion-like gadget which produced sound volume you won't have expected from its diminutive form factor. Now here's another product that could rival it, the Dancing Cube portable mini speaker.

You'd probably have guessed from the photo that the design of this model isn't quite as interesting as the X-mini's. Though it also has that accordion-style pull-out so that there's more space for sound to resonate, it's nowhere as cute as the capsule speakers. In fact, we would go as far as to say that it's bordering on ugly. The makers most likely went with function over form for the Dancing Cube, and they sure did squeeze in quite a number of features in it.
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