Mic Archive

  • Motorola Droid X first (official) hands-on and unboxing! Update: video!

    Motorola Droid X first (official) hands-on and unboxing! Update: video!

    Posted on June 23, 2010 | No Comments
    Yeah, we kind of already saw this phone, but if you don't tell Motorola and Verizon, we won't. We just got our hands on an official, final Droid X at the NY launch event, and it tastes just as sweet. Here are a few notes:
    • It's built of basically the same material as the Droid, but there's something almost kind of "taut" about the phone, where when you thwack it with a finger it resounds like a drum. The phone vibration seems to work on this same principle, giving it much less of the typical buzz (in the funky, cheap sense) you expect.
    • There are three mics, and in video mode you can select between "scenes" based on which mic you want to use: outward facing for regular shoots, inward facing for narration. The third mic is up top for noise cancellation during calls.
    • Yeah, there's not kickstand, but the EVO 4G really does seem chunky up against the Droid X, and the camera bulge on the latter is not annoying at all.
    • PHYSICAL BUTTONS.
    • You get your choice between Swype and Motorola's multitouch keyboard, which is really pretty great. We were typing at speed within a few seconds of using it.
    • You can tell that the processor is fast, but the UI still has a jerky quality to it -- it's not totally fluid. We'd say that's more of an Android thing, though.
    • The new version of Motoblur is much, much more attractive than before -- the widgets are sleeker, smaller, and less in your face. You can also resize them, and they rearrange themselves somewhat intelligently.
    Update: Video after the break!

    Continue reading Motorola Droid X first (official) hands-on and unboxing! Update: video!

    Motorola Droid X first (official) hands-on and unboxing! Update: video! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Innpu’s ‘wired phone’ has retractable headphones, intractable sense of self-worth

    Innpu’s ‘wired phone’ has retractable headphones, intractable sense of self-worth

    Posted on June 22, 2010 | No Comments
    This is news to us, but apparently there have been "few noteworthy advancements" in smartphone hardware since the iPhone and BlackBerry came out. Out to fix this stale, plateaued industry is Innpu, with its revolutionarily new "wired phone" (it's bad news when even the manufacturer puts the product name in quotation marks, right?). Setting the new high watermark in cellphone engineering, it comes with built-in headphones and mic, which retract automatically when you complete your call. And hey, we've seen earphones like that selling by themselves for $2, maybe $4 a pop -- luxurious stuff. Lest you think Innpu unambitious, the company's also promising to bring this life-saving functionality to the iPad and netbooks, while noting that its sophisticated technology "can hardly be copied." Probably because no one will ever care to try.

    Continue reading Innpu's 'wired phone' has retractable headphones, intractable sense of self-worth

    Innpu's 'wired phone' has retractable headphones, intractable sense of self-worth originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Are you a citizen of the Roc Nation? Well, then your passport is these Skullcandy headphones

    Are you a citizen of the Roc Nation? Well, then your passport is these Skullcandy headphones

    Posted on May 18, 2010 | No Comments
    Skullcandy has officially announced the availability of their Roc Nation Aviator headphones, the only headphones officially sanction by Jay Z. Jay Z is a rapper who raps about, among other things, his 99 problems, New York, and detritus under your ear. The headphones actually look quite cool and they’re completely portable. You also have a mic [...]

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  • Sony Japan busts out cassette(!)/radio/CD-player combo

    Sony Japan busts out cassette(!)/radio/CD-player combo

    Posted on May 18, 2010 | No Comments
    It's not a joke: Today, Sony in Japan did announce [JP] a portable cassette tape/radio/CD-player. Technically, the CFD-A110 is based on a model Sony introduced exactly seven years ago. The company updated the hardware because Japan plans to stop analogue radio transmission next year (the updated model can't receive these signals).

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  • Japanese government believes in future full of mind-reading devices

    Japanese government believes in future full of mind-reading devices

    Posted on April 27, 2010 | No Comments
    Mind-reading devices are nothing really new, but Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) apparently sees a huge potential for that market in the near future. The MIC will join forces with selected private tech companies to develop and commercialize robots and consumer electronics that can be controlled through thought. The project kicks off this fiscal year and is supposed to end by 2020.

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  • Review: VC Audio Pro recording / audio editing app

    Review: VC Audio Pro recording / audio editing app

    Posted on April 21, 2010 | No Comments
    Most recording apps are fairly limited in what you can do with your recording once you’ve made it. VC Audio Pro from VeriCorder is the first multitrack audio editor for the iPlatform and is primarily aimed at journalists making field interviews and whatnot. While the editing and sharing capabilities are pretty powerful, VC Audio Pro [...]

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  • Review: Truphone for iPad

    Review: Truphone for iPad

    Posted on April 5, 2010 | No Comments
    Just when you thought side-talking was dead, Truphone has release Truphone for iPad, an iPad-ready of their popular VoIP service. The system uses the iPad's built-in speaker and mic to create what could be the most ridiculous talking experience you've ever seen. The app worked quite well and if you've used it on the iPod Touch you're familiar with the call quality - standard - and ease of use - standard. It's great for making quick calls from abroad, however, and until Skype goes iPad we're kind of stuck with it.

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  • CrunchGear Week in Review: Rock Cafe Edition

    CrunchGear Week in Review: Rock Cafe Edition

    Posted on March 29, 2010 | No Comments
    Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: PAX East 2010: It’s a 3D world, and we’re just living in it Why not a third iPad App Store post? Project Natal knows you live in a tiny apartment Turn up the mic, I can’t see Low-tech coffee: it’s the way to go

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  • Daily Crunch: 3D Club Edition

    Daily Crunch: 3D Club Edition

    Posted on March 24, 2010 | No Comments
    Turn up the mic, I can’t see Is the Nintendo 3DS going to work? Are you kidding, of course it is! Parametric Generators could power your watch with street noise Insert smiley emoticons hands-free with Auto Smiley Nintendo 3DS: Look who just innovated itself out of a paper bag! Contest: Hardees/Carl’s Jr. and CrunchGear love you and want you to [...]

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  • Thanko’s mouse has a built-in speaker

    Thanko’s mouse has a built-in speaker

    Posted on February 26, 2010 | No Comments
    Tokyo-based crap gadget maker Thanko continues to amaze. The company today announced [JP] a mouse with an integrated speaker, believe it or not (Thanko already gave us the "mid-air" mouse, the USB cooler mouse, a heated mouse, and a liquid mouse).

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  • AV Bank Dodeka: Thanko’s pretty decent looking 7-inch media player

    AV Bank Dodeka: Thanko’s pretty decent looking 7-inch media player

    Posted on December 16, 2009 | No Comments
    Tokyo-based crap USB gadget vendor Thanko does roll out devices from time to time that are not that crappy. And their so-called AV Bank Dodeka [JP], a media player that boasts a 7-inch screen (iPhone: 3.5 inches), seems to be one of those. It's a major upgrade to the AV Bank Thanko started selling just last month. The Dodeka's LTPS screen has a 800×480 resolution and can double as a digital picture frame. It features 8GB of internal memory but also supports microSD/SDHC cards (up to 16GB). Videos can be viewed in AVI/MPEG/FLV/MP4/MOV/PMP/DAT/VOB/RM/ or RMVB format. The player also plays MP3s and displays JPEG/GIF/ and BMP photo files.

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  • The Beat Thang Music Production System.

    The Beat Thang Music Production System.

    Posted on December 15, 2009 | No Comments
    Remember when using z's on the end of plural words instead of s's was edgy and revolutionary? Well, apparently no one told Beat Kangz Electronics that that time has passed. Misguided syntax choices aside, Beat Kangz has just announced the release of their new Beat Thang music production system. Not only does it look like something the Covenant would use, it comes in either software form or with its own dedicated hardware.

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  • Digital Contents Expo Tokyo: Pioneer’s awesome 3D display “Floating Vision” (video)

    Digital Contents Expo Tokyo: Pioneer’s awesome 3D display “Floating Vision” (video)

    Posted on October 27, 2009 | No Comments
    Pioneer has showcased the Floating Vision at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo (that ended Sunday), another 3D display that doesn't require you to wear glasses (yawn) to view 3D images. It's not bad at all though, even though visitors flocked to Sony's booth to see their stereoscopic 3D display (which was a bit cooler). You can connect the Floating Vision to a PC via USB 2.0 to view images or videos "floating" over the display (5.7 inches, 640 × 480 VGA resolution). What's pretty cool is that you can "interact" with the image, as the device detects your hand movements. It's also possible to "control" an image with your voice (the device has a mic on its front). Both Windows PCs and Macs are supported.

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  • Review: iFrogz Timbre earbuds w/mic and Luxe case for iPod touch

    Review: iFrogz Timbre earbuds w/mic and Luxe case for iPod touch

    Posted on October 20, 2009 | No Comments
    DSC_0806 Short Version: What we've got here is a failure to communicate iFrogz's Timbre headphones w/mic and their iPod touch 2G & 3G Luxe case. In a nutshell, the Timbre headphones (which work with both the iPhone and iPod touch) provide decent audio playback, a reasonably comfortable fit (thanks to the three different ear bud choices), and the convenience of a built-in microphone for voice memos, Skype, etc albeit for the slightly higher than desirable price of $49.99. As for the Luxe, it is mediocre at best with a suspect design and very little going for it, especially considering it runs $29.99.

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  • Pretty enough for HD? Check out the Blue Mic Eyeball 2.0

    Pretty enough for HD? Check out the Blue Mic Eyeball 2.0

    Posted on October 1, 2009 | No Comments
    You know, there’s one good thing about the low-res garbage webcams that most people use: it tones down the ugly. Got a wicked huge nose or a massive scar from your pirate-fighting days? Your webcam forgives you. That said, there are plenty of pretty people out there who are more than worthy of HD video. Half [...]

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