We suspect that the CES logo in ice has long since melted and our time here in Las Vegas has also come to an end. In short, we came we saw and we offered quite a few hands-on style posts. Needless to say, while it has been fun we are sort of anxious to get back home and get some much deserved rest. Of course, we are already counting down the days until we can return in January of 2013. But until then, we have plenty more coming for the rest of 2012 so make sure you keep reading. When House of Marley showed up at CES last year they were showing off giant portable speakers that came in their own carrying bags. Now the Bag of Rhythm speakers are finally set to launch in the near future. The Bag of Rhythm is probably more accurately described as a modern boom box that you can wear like a messenger bag. It has a place for your iPhone or iPod to make it easy to listen to your music, or you can connect via the auxiliary port. It’s a fairly powerful system with two 4.5-inch high-definition woofers and two 1-inch tweeters pumping out the sound. You can control the music through touch options on the device itself, or you can do everything but change the volume from your iPhone or iPod. The only downside to the Bag of Rhythm is that is needs old-school D batteries (6 of them to be exact), though there is also an optional rechargeable battery pack. When you’re at home you can just plug it right into the wall so as not to use your precious battery life (it should also charge your iPhone or iPod when it’s plugged into a wall). The Bag of Rhythm will be coming out within the next few months with a price point of $349.99. It’s a bit steep, but this is a powerful device that seems to be fairly unique in it’s concept. House of Marley has a new set of headphones that could be perfect for kids, the Little Bird headphones. The Little Birds are lightweight on-ear headphones that are small in almost every sense. The earpieces will feel tiny on almost any adult’s ears, though they could be great for children. The headband is thin, though that doesn’t mean it’s weak. The construction of the Little Birds is all made of steel, so they’re not likely to break any time soon. The best thing about the Little Bird headphones is that even though I’d say the size makes them great for kids, they still have great sound for the sound and price. The only downside, if you end up buying them for a kid, is that the headphones cost $59.99. But, if you have small ears or don’t mind having small headphones, these are great headphones for you. House of Marley, has a few new earbuds for 2012 to fill out the lower end of its line for those who want less expensive buds, and for those who want earbuds specific for sports. On the low end are the Riff earbuds which come in at $19.99. They’ll come in a variety of colors with the buds made of recycled plastic, and the tips made of eco-friendly material as well, called eco-foam. The photos show colored plastic, but it’s probable that they will ship with the same braided cords that are on the current line of earbuds. A small step above the Riff are the Lively Up earbuds that are made for athletes, and they’ll cost $29.99. They also use eco-foam tips but they’re molded to fit in your ear as you’re running or working out where you have the possibility of the earbuds falling out. The design means there’s a chance for a wider variety of colors, which is cool. Like the Riffs, the Lively Ups aren’t going to be for audiophiles by any means, but they’re good looking, presumably decent sounding earbuds that are relatively inexpensive. Both of these earbuds are currently under development, and should be out sometime this year. Sony announced a brand new Walkman at its CES 2012 press conference. This time, Sony has created what is essentially an Xperia smartphone without the phone. The new Walkman is powered by Android and picks up where the Samsung Galaxy Player left off. The Sony Walkman has a 4.3-inch screen and is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor. I’m not too clear which version of Android is lurking underneath, but my gut tells me it’s Android 2.3. Sony also added its own custom user interface, but it’s nothing drastic like HTC Sense. The Sony Walkman is also very light much like the PlayStation Vita. Check out our hands-on video below.
Read [GadgeTell @ CES 2012] At CES 2012 House of Marley has you covered for just about any sort of portable speakers. There’s two Bluetooth stereo speakers and a smaller device that connect only via auxiliary. The smaller speaker is the Djembe, a single speaker that does in it’s own carrying case that includes a carabiner so you can just clip it to your bag. While it is small and requires an auxiliary connection, that doesn’t mean it’s not powered. the Djembe has an internal battery that needs to be either connected to something via USB or powered four AAA batteries. It’s a neat little speaker, and one that can just be thrown into or attached to a bag so you always have a way to share your music with friends. The other two speakers are the Block Party and the Nomad. Both are portable Bluetooth speaker sets that can also be plugged in a used inside. The Block Party looks almost like it’s the younger sibling to the Bag of Rhythm, with a similar bag style. The difference, of course, is that the Block Party doesn’t have an Apple 30-pin connection, it only has Bluetooth and auxiliary input. It is, however, also a very powerful system for it’s size. The Block party has two 3.5-inch high-definition woofers and two 1-inch tweeters which can produce a lot of sound. The Nomad is interesting because it can easily be mistake for an iPad bag because it has a canvas flap that covers the speakers. Between the woofers and passive radiators there’s also a pocket that will fir your mobile device so you can make sure it’s never too far from the speaker. Removing the flap will obviously give you a better sound, but the flap can be used to make sure the speakers don’t get damaged at all when you’re use the Nomad someplace outside, say while camping or at the beach. All three speakers are set to come out sometime in 2012, with prices ranging from $59.99 for the Djembe to $249.99 for the Block Party and $199.99 for the Nomad.
We told you how we sometimes find cool gadgets such as the Octa Whale Tail while walking around the show floor at CES. And well, sometimes those walks give us something else. Now we are not going to say that this thing is bad, but it did leave us scratching our head. Honestly, we are not entirely sure why someone would want a large blow up square box that you can put an iPad in. But that being said, just in case this is something that you have been wishing for — rest assured in knowing that it does exist. |