Thursday
May162013

a-Jays Five By JAYS Announced, In-Ears Designed Right

Renowned Swedish audio brand, JAYS, is finally back with a sequel to our much beloved a-Jays Four that we've reviewed back in 2011. The a-Jays Five are a totally new pair of in-ear headphones that have a durable one-piece rubberized construction that prevents cable strain, and which is also ergonomically shaped to fit the geometry of your ear canals. What's more, JAYS has improved its already incredible flat tangle-free audio cable which launched with the a-Jays series years ago with even more durability. And of course, the a-Jays Five feature redesigned custom JAYS drivers similar to those found in the a-Jays Four but "with powerful and precise bass but with even more dynamics and improved details in the midrange and highs".


Using a high performance MEMS technology, the microphone consists of an acoustic sensor, a low noise input buffer, and an output amplifier. The built-in echo cancellation makes the audio perfect in nearly all situations. It reduces surrounding noise and, best of all, unlike many other microphones, this one won’t degrade during time as it recharges the mic-magnets each time you connect your earphones to your phone.

JAYS wanted to bring compatibility of its award-winning, fully featured 3-button remote and mic with MEMS technology module to all popular smartphones and not just the iPhone this time. The a-Jays Five will be available in three models, each with its own custom 3-button remote and mic module designed to work specifically with either iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8. JAYS also improved upon its a-Jays Four remote which we thought was one of the best control and mic combination ever put on a pair of headphones. The a-Jays Five's in-line remote module is now slimmer by 20%. JAYS has yet to announced an availability date, but one thing we now for sure is that the a-Jays Five will retail for $100/€90 in matte black and white. 

Wednesday
May152013

You Can Now Design Your Own Jawbone Big Jambox

Jawbone has introduced a way that you can color-customize your very own $300 Big Jambox wireless speaker in over 100 color combinations directly online. So if you've never took a liking to Jawbone's color picking skills, it's now your chance to prove yourself that you have better taste in design. Right?

Wednesday
May152013

Mophie Juice Pack Plus, An iPhone 5 Battery Case With More Power & Protection

If you're a power user, chances are your iPhone 5 is in dire need of an energy supplement. The kind that actually works. Mophie is your dealer, and now it has a third battery case to fill its lineup and it's called the Juice Pack Plus. Unlike the company's previous released Juice Pack Helium and Juice Pack Air iPhone 5 battery cases, the Juice Pack Plus is a $120 case with a huge emphasis on drop protection thanks to its rubberized shock-absorbing band that acts as a protective bumper. Of course the Plus moniker is for added power, which means the Juice Pack Plus features a respectfully decent sized battery capacity of 2100mAh, that's an extra 400mAh compared to the $100 Juice Pack Air.

Mophie is claiming that the Juice Pack Plus will more than double the battery life of the iPhone 5 by up to 120% for all-day usage, but we'll reserve judgement until we get our hands on it to test that claim for ourselves though. The Juice Pack Plus for the iPhone 5 is the thickest of Mophie's battery cases coming in at 0.70" thick. The case features integrated buttons including a silent/mute switch for easy operation, and is available now in matte black, red and glossy white color options for $120.

A near-identical Juice Pack Plus battery case rival - the Atomic Plus by Maxboost, offers a massive 3000mAh internal battery capacity while sharing the same exact thickness at a more reasonable $70 price point. We're disappointed that Mophie isn't stepping it up in the performance to price ratio department, because clearly it can be done.

Friday
May102013

iOS 7: What It Might Look Like

Do you smell that? It's the smell of a new iOS brewing. Now that Jony Ive is in charged of redesigning iPhone's OS interface, rumors spread that Apple's upcoming iOS 7 will feature Ive's brilliance in design and of a revamped 'very flat' user interface free of gloss and those iconic rounded corners. All we have now are concepts of what we expect out of this flat new design, and this particular iOS 7 concept made by Simply Zesty is breathtakingly beautiful. Slick app animation, a clean fresh look with an informative lock screen and Notification Center, Android-inspired widgets and a clean interface partly borrowed from Windows Phone 8. It's all there, and it feels right.

This vision for what iOS 7 could be like we think is stunning enough to land its designer a dream job at Apple HQ. We've seen it happen in the past. Let's say no more to leather and wood trim, here's to a truly up-to-date iOS! Head past the break to see this iOS 7 concept in action.

Click to read more ...

Friday
May102013

XiStera Puts Several Successful Kickstarter Accessories Into One iPhone 5 Adapter

Needless to say, the iPhone is a fantastic little device we take everywhere with us. It lacks a huge screen yes, but you can make up for that little nuisance in a big way thanks to a magnitude of useful accessories made exclusively for the iPhone, leaving the well endowed with their removable batteries and widgets. What if someone took some of Kickstarter's big iPhone accessory hits such as the Glif tripod mount, the Opena bottle opener case and the olloclip lens attachment to conceive one accessory that does it all? XiStera is an all-in-one accessory adapter for the iPhone 5 which combines some of the best Kickstarter accessories into one affordable gizmo.

Shamelessly designed after the Glif tripod mount, the XiStera is rigid one-piece rubber adapter with metal interior hardware that attaches to the side corner of the iPhone 5. It features 8 functions including a bottle opener, a stylus tip, a tripod mount with portrait and landscape threading points, an angled landscape and portrait stand, keychain attachment, EarPods/earphone organizer, and best of all an interchangeable magnetic 3-lens adapter (macro, fisheye, wide angle) you can fit into your pocket.

You can pre-order the XiStera starting at $30 for a limited time ($35 soon after), or if you're really into using your iPhone 5 as your dedicated camera - you can opt for the $50 pro package which includes two extra telephoto lenses and a rechargeable 32 LED video light that you can attach to one of XiStera's two tripod threads. By the look of it, these guys thought about everything, took some great Kickstarter ideas and improved upon them with the XiStera iPhone 5 adapter.

Tuesday
Apr302013

Mophie Juice Pack Battery Case For HTC One Released

Lo and behold, Mophie was quick to release a Juice Pack battery case for the HTC One. It took the company months to release its iPhone 5 battery cases, but as Android gains more and more popularity with devices like the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 standing on solid ground as the Android handsets, accessories for these are becoming more prevalent. Mophie's Juice Pack for HTC's One is a svelte $100 battery case packing a 2500mAh rechargeable battery enough to replenish your One with nearly a full extra charge. The Juice Pack is designed to follow the original contoured design of the One as much as possible while featuring an integrated volume button rocker and support for the universal IR remote button. You can of course charge and sync your One thru USB while its protected inside the Juice Pack.

Mophie's Juice Pack for the HTC One is available starting today in a smooth rubbery coated black finish, as well as a silver equivalent which will only be available in mid-May. Mophie has yet to announce plans to release a version for the Galaxy S4.

Friday
Apr262013

Satechi Dual Sonic Speakers Enhance Your Mac's Audio Without Costing Much

Satechi recently introduced the Dual Sonic Speakers, an inexpensive USB-powered 3 watt compact desktop speaker setup for people on a tight budget and limited space. With a sleek blue LED accent lightning and a brushed metal finish, the Dual Sonic Speakers feature an Acoustic Air Spring technology claiming to produce crystal clear sound with increased dynamic bass, mids and highs. Satechi's Dual Sonic Speakers are available now in silver or black for $25.