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Logic3's Ferrari-branded headphones and speakers make their stateside debut, no license required to rock
Ferrari isn't a stranger to licensing its brand for use on gadgets. As of this week, the automaker's added some new offerings in the US on the audio front with the help of Logic3. Way back at CES we got our eyes on the duo's full lineup of co-branded headphones and speakers, and now folks in the US can officially get their hands on two such offerings (Tim Stevens-approved racing gloves not required). Its $400 Cavallino T350 headphones come in black or tan, featuring 40mm drivers, active noise cancellation, an inline remote / mic for your smartphone and a tangle-proof cord. As you'd expect, they're crafted from premium metal and leather for an extra luxurious feel on the ears. Those looking to fill a room with sound should take note of the $500 Scuderia FS1. It's a 2.1 speaker system complete with Bluetooth and the ever-aging 30-pin connector for older iOS devices. Sure, it's been a slow start to market, but here's to hoping the performance matches the prices -- hey, it still beats an actual payment on one of Ferrari's actual whips. Full press release after the break.
Ferrari, Logic3 team on headphones, may be closest we get to an Enzo's engine note
Ferrari likes to brand just about everything. That said, the two new lines of in-ear and over-ear headphones it's introducing with Logic3's help seem like more natural fits for the supercar brand than for other gadgets. The speed-loving elite will inevitably swing towards the Cavallino series' premium materials and universal microphone remote. Us plebeians have to consider the more plastic-laden Scuderia range, which still manages to pack in some Formula 1 styling along with the remote control. Prices are high at $150 to $315 for the Scuderias, or $201 to $352 for high rollers eying the Cavallinos -- but it's hard to dispute that either series is much more likely to turn up at our houses than a hybrid Enzo.
IRL: Logic3 PowerSleeve, HP Folio 13 and a trio of Nintendo handhelds
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week's IRL is a bit of a mixed bag, with tales of gadgets well-used and those deployed for pure pseudo-science. In two paragraphs, Mat Smith sums up his experience with three generations of Nintendo DS handhelds, while Dan Cooper attempts to explain why he's still using a gadget he obviously hates. And Dana, our resident laptop reviewer, tries leaving the 'ole six-pounder in the office and going home to an Ultrabook instead.
CES 2012: headphone and speaker roundup
Audio-wares may not be on the forefront of many geek's minds during CES, but that doesn't mean you won't find a bevy of sound-pumping gizmos while traversing across the crowded show floor. From giant AirPlay and iPod dock systems to premium audiophile headphones (and a bevy of dinky iDevice-compatible buds), we've picked out a few of our favorites. Whether you're focused on getting great sound or something packed with technology, jump past the break to visualize it all for yourself.
Logic3 rolls out multi-colored "FunChuk" mini Wii nunchuks
There's certainly no shortage of alternative Wii nunchuks out there, but those really looking for something different than the norm may want to keep an eye out for Logic3's new "FunChuks," which ditch some of the size of Nintendo's standard offering and increase the eye-catchiness considerably. At $20 apiece, and no doubt cheaper in store, they're also affordable enough to pair 'em with all your Wiimotes, which'll no doubt suddenly seem a bit less fun in comparison. Interestingly, Mad Catz actually announced some funchuks of their own way back in the early days of the Wii, but they don't seem to have ever seen the light of day. Could a funchuk feud be in the offing? Only time, and many attempts to keep a straight face, will tell.
Logic3 intros i-Station Rotate iPod / iPhone dock
It sure is tough for iPod docks to stand out from the pack these days, but it looks like Logic3 has found one fairly unique way to get its new i-Station Rotate unit noticed, with it packing a rotating mechanism that will let you adjust your iPod or iPhone to suit your screen format. Other than that, it looks to be a fairly standard speaker dock, with it boasting a whopping 10W of total output power, a video output for some larger screen viewing, a 3.5mm line-in jack to accommodate your non-Apple devices, a remote control, and accommodations for four AA batteries to let you take it on the road. You won't be able to get your hands on this one until January, however, when it'll set you back $130.
Logic 3's Valve80 brings that tubular sound to the iPod
Not that we haven't seen a tube-based iPod sound system before, but it's been awhile. And besides, this one's for the UK market first and foremost, so chew on that, rest of the world. Logic 3's Valve80 includes a pair of 2-way bookshelf speakers coated in a black lacquer finish along with a swank tube amplifier that pushes out 40-watts per channel. You'll also find an iPod dock, composite / S-Video outputs and a pair of audio ins and outs. Yeah, £299.99 ($448) is pretty steep, but we're sure there's some cheap credit left somewhere on that Diners Club International card.[Via T3]
The Wii Keyboard -- just exactly what the name suggests
Next time you sit down to write your Great American Novel, perhaps you should consider tapping the opus out on your Wii with Logic 3's weird and somewhat awful -- though excellently named -- Wii Keyboard. There's not much meat on these bones -- it's simply an add-on for Nintendo's console that allows you to type on a QWERTY pad rather than light-sabering all over your apartment to name your new Mii "Death Bringer." The 'board is due out July 18th (in the UK at least) and will nab a tidy £14.99 (or about $30).[Thanks, John]
Logic3's JiveBox does your iPod audio HD style
If you need a compact 2.1 speaker system for your iPod, then Logic3's JiveBox is for you. The system packs a 5.25-inch woofer, 2x3-inch midrange drivers and 2x1-inch tweeters all in a 7.25-inch cube. Stereo imaging may not be the point here, but you know that with an iPod dock, DSP processing and (wait for it) LED light bar, convenient insta-parties are. So what's HD about this cube-of-cones? The 90-Watt Class HD amplifier that makes the racket. Details on what "Class HD" means are sketchy, but we think it refers to "hybrid digital," most probably some form of a Class D, PWM amplifier. No availability announced for the US, so it'll cost you £130 (about $270) to find out if that guess is right.[Via Shiny Shiny]
Peripheral Vision
Happy days iPhone users, more peripherals are seeing the light of day for your lovely handsets and we're doing the gruntwork of bringing some of them to you. This week we see a new case hitting the shelves, a pair of reworked headphones -- odd, but tickle-our-fancy-geeky -- a portable speaker set, and a really odd retro gadget. Have fun and if you have any suggestions for things worth covering, fire them our way.
iPhone news roundup: benchmarks, Facebook, and (obviously) rumors
There was a lot of iPhone chatter this week -- although Apple might have done all it can to lock the little bugger down, it seems people are still finding ways to extend and explore its capabilities, while AT&T might have finally gotten the hint about those ridiculous paper bills. Logic3 unveiled the i-Station Traveler (pictured), the first speaker dock we've seen specifically for the iPhone. While most iPod docks tend to work fine with the iPhone, the $60 Traveller is designed specifically around the horizontal orientation, allowing you to watch movies while the iPhone is docked. Meebo and Facebook both launched iPhone-specific versions of their sites, allowing you to IM your friends and stalk your exes with all the swoopy-slidey flair you'd expect. Orange continued to act all coy about potentially being Apple's partner in France, saying only that it had "no comment" on the iPhone, even as rumors heat up. The iPhone got straight-up benchmarked for the first time: Craig Hockenberry whipped out his stopwatch and discovered that Javascript in MobileSafari runs right around eighty times slower than on a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo Mac. He also whipped up a little app using that pirate toolchain we love so much and discovered that native ARM code runs some 200 times faster than Javascript in the iPhone. Looks like that Safari sandbox might not be so "sweet" after all. AT&T seems to have decided that its vendetta against the trees of the world might be a little misplaced, and is in the process of moving to "summary billing," according to a call center employee. Either that, or they're trying to guilt people into switching to e-billing by sending out ridiculous bills. Really, that's what the email says. All in all, a pretty busy week for the iPhone -- kinda makes you wonder how much action there'll be when Apple finally releases that official SDK, eh?Read - i-Station TravelerRead - MeeboRead - FacebookRead - Orange declines to comment on the iPhoneRead - iPhone benchmarksRead - AT&T reducing paper bills[Thanks, risingsonn and The Boy Genius]
