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Gadget Rewind 2007: Aliph Jawbone
In the years before texting's domination of smartphones, the mobile-toting masses relied heavily on headsets and earpieces to stay connected. These people would often be seen shouting crazily into the air just so they'd be heard over environmental noise. That's about the time Aliph arrived with a solution with its first Jawbone earpiece. It sported military-tested noise cancellation and bone-conduction sound tech, as well as clean styling from designer Yves Béhar. The first wired iteration showed up in 2004, offering an alternative to the "business basics" style that was typical of mobile headsets at the time. It wouldn't be until 2007's Consumer Electronics Show, however, that Aliph would give consumers a redesigned and colorful wireless option with the release of the Bluetooth-enabled Jawbone.
Jawbone now lets you link Mini Jamboxes -- if you happen to have two
As far as portable Bluetooth speakers go, Jawbone's Mini Jambox falls short of being our favorite; it's more expensive than the competition, without being significantly better. Given that, then, you might want to take this post with a grain of salt: The company just announced a new feature called Multiplay that allows you to turn the tiny Jambox into a stereo speaker. The catch? You need not one, but two of these $150 units to make it work (N.B.: They're priced at $130 right now, but only as a limited-time offer). Assuming you can pony up, or have a friend with the same speaker, you can send music from one to the other by holding down three buttons on the device. Or, you can play the same song through both at once, with the option to designate a right and left speaker, allowing for a wider soundstage. (The Mini already has a "LiveAudio" feature that does basically the same thing, except the effect is subtler.) Given the prohibitive cost, this is a fairly improbable setup for most folks. That said, if you happen to own the Mini, and have access to a second unit, you can enjoy the feature now through a free firmware update.
Wooden iPad mini case creates the 1950s TV that never was
Jeffrey Stephenson has long had a knack for giving PCs an elegant retro look, and he's now bringing his crafting skills to the mobile realm. His recently completed DuMont project turns an iPad mini, a Jawbone Jambox and a heap of wood into a tiny 1950s TV set, complete with a woven speaker grille; the owner just has to slot devices into the enclosure's side to indulge in some nostalgic viewing. Stephenson isn't officially selling the box, but he is taking inquiries from those who want a tablet TV of their own. If you're wondering how he did it, you can visit Bit-Tech's forums to check out the project work log.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Audio
Welcome to Engadget's holiday gift guide! Head back to our hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Like cameras, audio gadgets are the kind of gifts you want to start using fresh out of the box at this year's holiday parties. Okay, it's probably not a good idea to ditch the festivities to test out that new pair of over-ears, but the speakers and services listed below should guarantee that your party playlists are taken care of.
Jambox and Mini Jambox score a water-resistant option for an extra $50
Sure, you might shrug off peril when it comes to placing portable speakers near the tub or sink, but it wouldn't hurt to have an added line of defense. To that end, Jawbone is now giving folks who purchase a Mini Jambox or its normally-sized counterpart from their website the option to add Liquipel 2.0 protection for an extra $50. The coating bestows hardware with an IPX-5 rating, which lends it protection from water splashed upon it from all angles. It might not be the time of year to bust out your super soaker or dip into a pool, but you can prepare for summer by picking up one of the specially-treated gadgets at the bordering source link.
Jawbone's Mini Jambox now available for purchase with regular-sized dollars
If you like your Bluetooth speakers nearly pocketable and can live without wall-shaking volume, the Jambox's diminutive offspring is now available for $180 at Jawbone.com. The aptly named Mini is available in nine colors and five textures and debuts alongside iOS and Android streaming apps that are compatible with iTunes, Spotify and Rdio. The speakers will be available at US retailers "shortly," according to the company. Hit the source below to get your Mini jams on.
Daily Roundup: Distro Issue 109, Valve's Steam Controller, CyanogenMod creator Steve Kondik and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Xperia Z1 review, JetBlue's 12Mbps Fly-Fi, iMessage briefly appears on Android, and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Jawbone Mini Jambox review
Jawbone's original Jambox made Bluetooth portable speakers a mass-market hit. Since then, though, Jawbone has started to lag behind as other companies have come out with better units that cost either the same price or less. Now, the $180 Mini Jambox is here with an even more portable design to help Jawbone keep its edge. Now that we've gotten the chance to live with it for a few weeks, it's time to answer the big questions you might have before placing a pre-order. Does the Mini Jambox offer marked improvements over the original? Is it enough to compete with all the other options in this space? And, most importantly, is the price right? Read on for the Engadget take.
Jawbone intros Mini Jambox Bluetooth speaker and a music-streaming app (hands-on)
When Jawbone came out with the Jambox back in 2010, the sales pitch was simple: here was a really loud Bluetooth speaker that was small enough to stuff inside a backpack when you wanted to have a dance party at the beach. (Okay, we're paraphrasing a little bit.) Three years later, though, "small enough to stuff in a backpack" isn't quite small enough. What about small enough to fit inside a suit pocket? Or a purse? That's the promise of the Mini Jambox, a $180 speaker announced today that's -- you guessed it -- even tinier than the original. If the idea of another Jambox seems redundant (as it did to us at first), Travis Bogard, VP of Product Management and Strategy, says you should think of it like a camera: "It's kind of like 'the best camera is the one you have with you." The idea is that you'll carry the Mini Jambox at all times, in the event you're, say, hanging out with a friend and decide to watch a movie together on a tablet. But if you mainly want something for home use, the Big Jambox will be the better choice. That leaves the original Jambox in a strange place: Bogard expects you'll use that at home too, even if you do occasionally trot it out for picnics in the park. You just wouldn't keep it on your person at all times; it's a little too large for that.
Big Jambox now available in custom colors, price stays the same at $300
We suppose even if you did buy a custom Jambox speaker done up in Red Sox colors, you wouldn't necessarily cop to it in the comments. As it turns out, though, you wouldn't be alone: more than 70 percent of the people who purchase a Jambox on Jawbone.com choose their own colors for the cap and speaker grille. Given that, Jawbone's decided to do the same thing with the Big Jambox, which you could previously only buy in the stock colors. As with the smaller model, there are over 100 possible combinations, including some permutations only a sports fan could love. As always, too, the personalization has absolutely no bearing on the price: the MSRP for the Big Jambox is still $300.
Edifier's iF335 Bluetooth speaker pumps up the volume for $99
Looks like Mr. Eddie Fier, the man we hope is CEO of Edifier, is planning to wade into the Jambox-wars with this Bluetooth speaker-cum-speakerphone. The iF335 Bric Connect bonds with your devices over Bluetooth and auxiliary inputs, pumping out 12 watts of RMS power over a pair of 70mm drivers. It's available from today for $99.99, assuming you can still type after the unremitting hilarity of our Eddie Fier / Edifier gag earlier.
Jawbone takes a cue from Colorware, will let customers order the Jambox speaker in custom colors
Want a blue-and-black Bluetooth speaker to match your Engadget t-shirt, messenger bag and whatever other paraphernalia you have lying around? You're in luck: Jawbone is about to start accepting orders for the Jambox speaker in custom colors. All told, you'll be able to choose from 13 shades for the grill, and nine for the end caps. Jawbone says it can see customers choosing school and team colors, not that you need an excuse to want an orange piece of kit. The personalization is free of charge, meaning the price of the speaker is still $200. The only downside, so far as we can tell, is that the Big Jambox isn't included. For now, the site is only open to select users (i.e., loyal customers who have participated in company forums, surveys and such), but starting August 28th it'll be open to everybody. In the meantime, which of you has the cojones to order it in purple and yellow?%Gallery-162979%
Engadget's back to school guide 2012: portable audio
Welcome to Engadget's back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn't nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain. Today, we're taking our audio with us -- and you can head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! With all of the studying and on-campus traveling you're about to delve into, sometimes adding a bit of music to your step can spice up those mundane times in your daily routine. That's why we've rounded up a selection of portable speakers and headphones that'll not only help you rock out whenever the mood strikes, but also go a step further by letting you take phone calls without skipping a beat. It may not be audiophile-grade gear in the official sense, but it won't matter when you're enjoying good sound just about anywhere your smartphone-connected life takes you.
OUYA console pre-order now available for non-backers starting at $109, slated to ship in April
Miss out on your chance to snag the Android-based gaming console during OUYA's Kickstarter tour-de-force? Worry not, friends. The outfit has opened up pre-orders it promised for those who didn't take the plunge initially via on its website. While you will have to wait another month to get your mitts on a kit of your very own, the second round of advance purchasing will set you back $109 for US customers and $119 for those abroad. Included in the aforementioned price tag is the console, a single controller and the requisite shipping costs. Hit up the source link below to part with your funds and begin the waiting period.
OUYA's Kickstarter funding is complete: over $8.59 million raised, starts shipping in March
It's a wrap! Suffice it to say, it's a been a relatively short, yet astoundingly fruitful -- and initially record-breaking -- funding run for OUYA, the hackable, Android-based gaming console. With just 29 days to work with since being announced, the Yves Behar-designed system has raked in over $8.58 million thanks to just under 63,300 backers on Kickstarter as of its official 1AM ET funding deadline today (You'll find the final tally below). Those who opted for developer editions will be able to start tinkering with their own units around December, while the majority of backers should receive the console as early as March 2013. Missed the Kickstarter bandwagon? Don't fret, because OUYA plans to take pre-orders from the general public over the web soon, expecting those units to arrive at doorsteps near April. The numbers are only part of the picture, of course. If you'll recall, OUYA swiftly acquired a slew of partnerships from companies like OnLive, Square Enix, XBMC, Vevo, and Robotoki -- and as if that wasn't enough, just yesterday Namco Bandai and Plex officially joined the content-providing party as well. What's more, we now know that each console will support up to four of those touchpad-equipped controllers for local multiplayer action. Even with all that, this story is far from over, as Joystiq points out that Julie Uhrman and company "promise" to have more updates before its official launch. Naturally, it still remains to be seen how OUYA's (literally) tiny, Tegra 3-powered footprint will fare against the big three in gaming, but we're cautiously optimistic. So, while the final, mass-produced product is still months away, in the meantime you'll find a recap of all the highlights from OUYA in the nifty saga module below. You can also hit up our friends at Joystiq here for extra insight from the company about its successes so far. Update (1:15AM): Despite the timer hitting zero, it appears that pledges are still being accepted past the 1AM deadline -- better be quick! We'll be sure to update the numbers again as soon pledging is officially halted. Update 2 (7:30AM): It took a bit of time, but OUYA's Kickstarter is officially not accepting any more pledges. The final numbers? 63,416 backers helped to raise a final sum of $8,596,475.
Jawbone Jambox gets Android app support, semi-ironic silent mode
Those who bought the regular Jawbone Jambox have had to look on at Big Jambox owners with envy over the past several weeks for more than just the obvious: the larger model was the only one to support the Android version of the Jawbone Companion app and give audible reminders of distinctly non-audio tidbits, such as Google Calendar appointments. The software side of the gap is now closing through a version 2.2 update to the original Bluetooth audio brick. Along with adding in that missing Companion support, there's now a slightly misleading silent mode -- it's just turning off audible control cues and voice prompts, not turning the speaker into a paperweight. If these and minor tweaks like subtler volume tones strike your fancy, the Jambox update is ready and waiting.
OUYA's $99 Android-based gaming console meets Kickstarter goal: $950k in under 12 hours (update: it's a record)
The gaming public at large has spoken. In less than 12 hours, Yves Behar's Android-based OUYA gaming console has reached its lofty funding goal of $950,000 on Kickstarter. To refresh your memory, the $99 system (which was only $95 for 1,000 swift early adopters) packs a Tegra 3 CPU, 8GB of storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 2.0 port and an SD card slot -- that price also grants you a single controller with a touch sensor. Most notably, the system is aimed at being extremely developer-friendly, having open hardware and software with a push for free-to-play content. There are only about 5,000 units (out of 10,000) (update: that number has been bumped to 20,000, with just under 10k available) left at the $99 price, so feel free to check out our in-depth chat about OUYA with Behar himself here before you head over to Kickstarter. It appears that the traditional business model for gaming consoles just got rocked, and we can't wait to see the final results. Update: If you thought that was fast, you'd be right: Kickstarter has confirmed that OUYA achieved the biggest first day ever for one of its hosted projects, and it's just the eighth project ever to crack the million-dollar mark, joining an esteemed company that includes Double Fine's upcoming adventure game and the all-time champion, the Pebble smartwatch.
OUYA's Android-based, hackable game console now official: we chat with designer Yves Behar (update: funded)
A handful of details briefly slipped out about the project earlier, but now it's here: the OUYA, an attempt not just to delve into the cutthroat world of TV game consoles but to try and shift the goal posts. At its heart, the design sounds more like a smartphone than a gaming rig with a quad-core Tegra 3 and 8GB of storage running Android 4.0. The upscale, RF wireless gamepad's standout is a built-in trackpad for playing mobile games alongside the familiar sticks and buttons -- clever, though not entirely new. But with completely open hardware and software, an emphasis on free-to-play gaming and an all-important $99 price, the system is a gamble by a handful of game industry luminaries that at least a subset of players are frustrated with the status quo enough to want a real break. Read on for the full details, including a Kickstarter project as well as added details from our chat with OUYA (and Jambox) designer Yves Behar.
Jawbone releases Big Jambox Bluetooth speaker
If you're in the market for a portable hi-fi sound system, Jawbone has announced its US$299 Big Jambox speaker, which vows to turn any Bluetooth-capable mobile device into a sophisticated sound system. One of the neat things about the speaker is that you can hook it to a computer and download software updates and apps to further customize it. TechCrunch took it for a quick spin and was impressed with the LiveAudio feature that's native on the Big Jambox (and available on the original via software update). While the portability, the ability to use the Jambox as a speakerphone with FaceTime, Skype or GoogleTalk, and other features are a plus, the price might be a turn off to some. The Big Jambox is available for pre-order and will ship by May 15.
