Podio music player adds a soundtrack to your bike ride

Listening to headphones while riding a bike is obviously dangerous, and yet I see so many fellow cyclists mashing around with wires dangling from their ears. Why? Well, that's easy: Because everyone loves riding to a soundtrack.

Unfortunately, there are too many important road noises (honks, sirens, etc...) that deserve attention, so music has to take a back seat... that is, unless you have the Podio, a digital audio player with a built-in speaker specifically designed for jamming in the bike lane.

The portable Podio includes a special bracket that easily mounts onto a set of handlebars. You can also throw a lanyard on it and hang it around your neck, since its convenience and size make it suitable as a walking, jogging, hiking, and camping partner as well. I guess that's cool, as long as you're willing to broadcast your music to everyone around you. Maybe leave the High School Music soundtrack off that playlist.
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Is there a future for media players?

A few years back, I used to carry an MP3 player and a mobile phone. The two devices coexisted nicely, but it was a hassle carting two devices around all the time. The solution that Sony Ericsson came up with was to create the W800i, its first handset to feature the Walkman branding. This sparked off a new market trend of having media players integrated into mobile phones.

Did Sony add phone features to the MP3 player or was it vice versa? Today, the iPod touch and the Sony X-series Walkman are packed with features, as are many mobile phones. Even portable game consoles such as the Sony PSP and Nintendo DSi now support media playback capabilities. Have dedicated media players matured so much that it's impossible to improve on them anymore?

Share your thoughts with us below.

Kelvin Low is CNET Asia's very own go-to intern for Music & Play. When he's not fiddling with gadgets or setting up new PC rigs, he can be found hitting the dirt tracks on his mountain bike. Kelvin is currently studying mass communications at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore. Email Kelvin.

Radiopaq Sound Jacket: nano technology to pimp your 'Pod

What's your favourite kind of jacket? Bolero, donkey, Nehru or smoking? Crave favors the classic mod-style Harrington, but has now been introduced to the Radiopaq Sound Jacket, which has the added effect of making music sound better.

Bear with us on this one. The Sound Jacket is a metal sleeve that you slot your fourth-gen iPod nano into. The Jacket will then beef up the sound, improving the performance through your headphones or speakers. The Jacket boasts a dock connector in the bottom for hooking the whole shebang up to your speakers--as long as your dock is the right shape--or mains operation. With no power supply of its own, the Jacket will draw roughly half of your nano's juice.

Radiopaq is an Internet radio portal we first stumbled across a year ago, with designs on getting into hardware. The Sound Jacket is a nano-specific version of the Sound Mix, an in-line headphone adaptor that boosts the sound of any MP3 player.

We were the first to get pictures of the Sound Jacket when Radiopaq dropped into CNET Towers last week for an exclusive hands-on. The final production version will probably be a slightly different color, but probably won't have a Baracuta G9-style tartan interior. Which is a shame.

We had a listen, and there's no doubt the Mix and Jacket beef up weedy MP3s. Bass is fuller and the high end clearer. Our resident aural expert, Nate "GoldenEars" Lanxon, will no doubt have something to say on the subject when he listens the heck out of the Radiopaq Custom Tuned Earphones, also pressed into our clammy hands, each of which is optimized for a specific genre. The Sound Mix and Sound Jacket will be available soon, for 80 pounds (about US$117).

Via CNET Crave UK

Bluetoothing your speakers--Ask the Editors

Q: What is the best all-around Bluetooth speaker adapter if I want to connect my laptop to some good speakers that are not equipped with Bluetooth?--Tom, via email

A: What you would want is a Bluetooth receiver, which can be a challenge to find; actually, we don't review them at all at this time, so I can't give you a personal opinion on any specific product of this kind. Generally, I get questions from people who are looking for a Bluetooth transmitter, which will allow you to connect a non-Bluetooth audio device with headphones or speakers that do have the technology built in.

In fact, many of the Bluetooth "receivers" I've come across in my search are actually mislabeled transmitters, so you'll want to pay particular attention to the feature and spec listings when searching for this product. However, it looks like the GE Bluetooth Home Stereo Transmitter and Receiver would do the trick. It won't come cheap--the unit will set you back about US$100--but if you really want a no-nonsense wireless setup, it's probably a safe bet. (I welcome other suggestions--please comment below.)

Via CNET

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