Edifier Luna 2
Introducing the Luna 2, the latest speakers from Edifier, supplier of innovative speaker systems with state-of-the-art design and extraordinary sound quality.
Okay so you may think that they are just pretty speakers, but the Luna 2 sound system brings life and movement to music. With CapSense touch-sensitive controls, you can skip, pause, and control volume all by the movement of your hand.
Truly beautiful and definitely striking, perfectly suited for any home or office. Connect to your computer, television or even MP3 player, the bass is just right, and the magnetic shield stops any interference or static.
The Luna 2 system feels, looks and sounds expensive and at just under £250 it is an expense, but an impressive, attractive and totally unique one.
Airstream 10
Possibly one of the most unique designs we’ve seen for a while, the Airstream 10 creates a whole new experience of listening to the radio.
The music industry has boomed in recent years and with the whole concept of buying music been turned on it’s head, surely the way we listen has to follow suit. Monitor Audio have created a radio so brilliant, that it must be challenging the competition to a grudge match. Think about all the ways we listen to music, put them all in a box, shake it up and what do you get? The Airstream 10, equipped with:
- FM radio
- DAB Digital radio
- Internet Radio
- Shared music system (that takes music from your computer)
- Podcasts
- Mp3 compatibility
Now all this, you may think isn’t necessary, however it’s like having a whole multimedia system for your music. If your tired of listening to Moyles in the morning, just switch to a podcast; and if that doesn’t wet your appetite, put your own music on and drift away.
With the unique design, the Airstream will fit seamlessly into any home or office, stand it on its side to save space, or lie it flat for an optimum showcase of design. Designed with a real wood veneer and aluminium casework, the Airstream has fantastic sound quality and durability, as if the versatility wasn’t enough!
Onto actual sound quality and the Airstream is loud and proud. Even with the unit laid flat, you could still fill the Albert hall with sound. Equaliser settings include, classical through to rock, and whatever you’re listening to, the sound it truly class.
The interface is easy to use, and has a clear flow to how you control what you’re listening to. Use the dial to select, and the surrounding buttons to go back, pause, play and skip tracks. The white backlit LCD display is easy to read, and the glowing light reflects behind the dial and buttons, making the whole set look contemporary but classis at the same time.
Fantastic for people on the move that want their stations from home streamed through the internet, or just for the music obsessed, and with the genre selection in the station menu, it’s fantastic for finding new radio you may never have listened to before.
Not only is it great for listening to as a radio, but it also features an alarm clock with snooze and sleep functions, so it’s a brilliant lifestyle product for the bedroom, featuring presets for your favourite stations.
Overall this is a fantastic product and at around £220 its quite expensive, but definitely worth it’s weight in gold. For more information on the Airstream 10 and many other products from Monitor Audio visit, www.monitoraudio.co.uk
Sony Walkman 
After looking at the Zen I was so impressed with it I really didn't want to be let down by the Sony. To my delight this gadget is far from standard, offering fantastic sound and picture quality with little touches that made the Walkman so fun to play with.
With a whole host of features including, video, music and picture viewer, it was so simple to download from the PC to the device, it made even me look like I knew what I was doing. At first impressions the Walkman looks terrific, available in sleek black, pure white, sophisticated silver and colourful violet and pink. Although at first the buttons seem complicated to operate, that is certainly not the case. Utilising their mobile phone style menu, Sony have made it feel as simple and easy to operate, even your Nan could use it!
The Walkman also boasts a battery life that sets the bar for contenders on the market, 33 hours playback when listening to your favourite tunes and 15 hours when watching your all time greatest movies, able to be viewed vertically and horizontally, perfect for train and long car journeys.
To top it all off the Sony Walkman is a brilliant piece of equipment that everyone will enjoy, and its slim design means it will fit discreetly into your pocket so you can sing along with it wherever you may be!
Motorola EQ5
Motorola
have released some fantastic products lately and I am more than
impressed with some of their in-car kits. However when it comes to
Bluetooth not much stands against Motorola in terms of usability and
quality. The leaders in headsets and hands-free kits, Motorola have now
moved onto speakers and have released two new gadgets into their new
range.
The EQ5 - a small portable twin speaker system, and the EQ7 - the bigger more stationary device.
The EQ5 is fantastic and can be hooked up with any Bluetooth gadget for example your phone. After pairing the devices, you can take your phone around the house with you while the music plays in on place, or take the speakers about with you while your phone stays put! Its great for maximising volume on any piece of Bluetooth enabled MP3 and doesn't require any cables! Alternatively you can hook it up to your computer, laptop or any other audio device using the cable included!
On full charge, the speakers last up to 8 hours and with the bass ports and Noise-reduction with echo cancellation keeps the sound clear for optimum quality.
Lastly as it pairs to your device like a headset or headphones would, it is a perfect way to communicate using the speakerphone function on your phone. So you are sure that you don't miss even the quietest of comments made on the other end of the phone!
Motorola EQ7
Motorola have decided to go one step further with the launch of their wireless Bluetooth hi-fi stereo speaker. Capable of handling both music and phone calls, this device is ideal for anyone that needs a hands free solution in their home or office.
The Bluetooth connectivity allows use within up to 100 meters and is compatible with any A2DP Bluetooth enabled device such as a mobile phone or PC. Pairing couldn't be simpler. Simply search for the hands free device via your mobile phone and click connect!
This small stylish black device can be powered by 4x AA batteries or by the supplied AC power adapter.
The Motorokr EQ7 does not let you down when it comes to sound quality either. Although there can be a slight hissing heard when connected via A2DP, other audio sources connected through the audio-in jack produce hi-fi quality stereo sound.
Other interface buttons include play/pause, prev/next, and volume adjustment, as well as the ability to answer and hang up voice calls streamed from your mobile phone.
With an RRP of around £100, this device makes hands free life much more interesting anywhere around the home or office.
Zen
When
looking at an MP3 player, there is no need to spend all out on getting
the latest iPod because Apple has decided to take over the world.
Shop around and give the other manufacturers a chance.
Now, don't get me wrong I am an avid fan of Apple and could talk about them 'til the cows come home, but this MP3 player really caught my attention. I first came across creative when they launched the MP3 that was iPod's lead competitor, the Zen and the Zen micro. Since then the Zen has now got a whole new look, and is better than ever.
Packed with features to keep you occupied for hours on end, the Zen includes:
• Music player
• In built radio receiver
• Microphone
• Movie and TV viewer
• and many more…
The only thing missing from this fantastic gadget is a built in
speaker, but Creative haven't fallen short on that with the launch of
the new Zen stone plus, which features (believe it or not) a built in
speaker.
It looks fab and is easy to use, both picture and sound quality is precise. Perfect if you're sat on a train or bus to work.
Now finally the price, sometimes a deciding factor when looking at
buying an mp3 player, and quite frankly its fantastic value for money!
With the cheapest Zen being £60 buying you 2GB of memory, cheaper than
the baseline standard iPod and if that wasn't enough it has many more
features than the Apple like for like model range.
Spending an extra £20 gives you an extra 2GB, perfect for storing films for all you movie fans. All in all I think this is an absolute steal, and would recommend to anyone that is tired of the iPod craze and wants something a little different
Creative Zen Mosaic
Creative are taking the MP3 market by storm at the moment and with Apple releasing their brand new nano (that looks much the same as the previous model) it seems that Creative are becoming stronger and stronger competition against the iPod generation.
They Have released the Creative 'Mosaic' Their new compact MP3 player with a range of fun skins and carry kits. The Mosaic brings a little fun to the Creative range and shows us that geo-metric shapes are nothing to be ashamed of.
Taking elements from the Zen range this mini MP3 is a fantastic little piece of kit that will keep you entertained for hours. With built in Radio and the capability of holding between 1,000 and 8,000 songs depending on which model you buy. Not only the radio but a microphone and a speaker are built in to so that you can not only record songs you happen to hear at the time, but share your music with the people around you.
Of
course, as with all the latest MP3 players you can store pictures and
movies, and view them on the beautiful 1.8" TFT colour screen. Lastly
to top it all off, there is a 'Personal Information Management' system
(Basically a calendar, clock, alarm and address book to you and me)
which is great for storing you life in this tiny little gadget!
Available in three colours: black, silver and pink, the Mosaic has a style to suit all.
Creative Zen X-Fi
The sound of perfection.
Or at least that's what Creative are claiming. Following the success of the Zen and many of the other MP3 players in their range, Creative have made the ultimate Zen MP4 player, and I have to say, it's nice… its very nice…
The X-Fi looks very similar to the Zen and works in much the same way. The small compact design is great and the display is big and easy to read. The only issue I came across using it was the buttons aren't exactly that clear and you find yourself a little puzzled at times to figure out what you're doing, however once you have the hang of it, it's a lot of fun.
With a fantastic 16GB of memory and a memory card slot this petite MP4 packs a lot of punch and will have you amazed with the amount of features it holds, from the standard extras like the organizer and alarms, right through to the wifi which allows you to search the 'Creative Mediabox' which is pre-loaded full of videos and music to view free of charge. Not to mention the Instant messaging capability too.
Lastly, the reason this MP4 is brilliant. The X-Fi technology making your music, crystal clear not only through your headphones but through the in built speaker too, meaning no muffled noise when the bass kicks in. Available in a 16GB and a 32GB, there isn't much choice but you kind of need the big memory to fit in with the giant capabilities of this tiny little gadget.
This new MP4 is really something spectacular. I just don't understand where creative have got it all from? They have suddenly become a favourite amongst the iPod generation and a stronger than ever
Clarion BlackICE
Clarion have gone digital (that's right - no moving parts!) with their latest Bluetooth audio 'source unit'. This next generation of car entertainment covers every possible method of audio input imaginable.
Its' iconic features include hands free calling, audio streaming, CD playback, and built-in SD card reader (up to 2GB).
Wireless Bluetooth communication means you can use your phone legally whilst driving, with the aid of the universal external microphone which you can clip just about anywhere in your vehicle!
Similarly, the BlackICE unit allows you to stream audio to your car speakers straight from your mobile phone - ideal now that most people use their phone as an MP3 player.
MP3 playback can also be achieved by inserting an SD card into the unit behind the flip down control panel. Simply download MP3 format songs from your PC to the SD card and you're ready to go - it really is that simple.
The fascia itself is a black and very fierce design, with sleek lighting creates fins to give the impression of a shark. The buttons are very solid, as is the rotary control which is positioned central to the unit above the mirrored display.
As well as all the advance technologies, the Clarion BlackICE also features other expected modes such as FM tuner. Other interfaces include AUX in (e.g. iPod), 2-channel output, and RCA outputs with 4 x 50W power amplification, which is more than enough to achieve a loud sound without compromising on the quality.
With just a flick through the manual, anybody will find using this device easy. This head unit is definitely worth its low price tag - you just get so much for your money! The latest technologies combined with a futuristic and contemporary interface for under £150.