For those that want a practical way to play emulators on their jail broken iPhones can rejoice.  The above video shows a demo of ZodTTD’s iControlPad in action while playing Sony’s Wipeout.  Some may argue that the design doesn’t compliment the sleekness of the iPhone.  But you can’t really complain when you can switch from touchscreen and tilt-motion control to actual direction pad, analog pads and traditional buttons.  That and the final design is actually really streamlined looking as well.

Source: CrunchGear

Gelaskins just announced that Frank Miller has joined their roster of artists.  With that said, several designs from ‘300‘ and ‘SIN CITY‘ are available for your iPod, MacBook Pro, iPhone, etc.  You can check them out here.  Personally, I would love to see art from Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns as available skins for my Apple products.  But the ‘Spartan‘ and ‘Moon‘ skin with King Leonidas isn’t looking too shabby either.

Image Source: Gelaskins

Audrey Kawasaki’s solo exhibit at the Jonathan Levine Gallery is just around the corner.  Recently, GelaSkins announced two designs from previous art prints, ‘Oiran‘ and ‘She Who Dares‘ are now available for Apple and Blackberry products.    ‘She Who Dares‘ was one of my highly sought after prints and with only 115 units, it was not an easy transaction.  Unfortunately, last November f5 Hell got the best of me and I never got the print.  At $14.95 a pop, this is a decent makeshift solution in owning a piece of Miss Kawasaki’s artwork on the go.

Image Source: Gelaskins

When shopping for an iPod docking station, there are certain variables to consider.  But perhaps the first and foremost is size.  It may be safe to say we’re all hard-coded to think that a docking station should be as portable as the iPod itself.  Not with the docking station seen above.  The Wall of Sound by Brothers may be the biggest iPod docking station to date.  Jus don’t plan on playing a 92kbps mp3 anytime on this system.  The Wall of Sound is available for pre-order here.

* Dimensions: 950 x 1,250 x 300 mm
* Frequency Response: 40 Hz – 20,000 kHz
* Weight: 102 kg
* Max Amplifier
Power: 125 watts
* Sensitivity: 95 decibels
* Nominal Impedence: 8 Ohms
* Crossover Frequencies: 1000 and 5500 Hz

Image Source: Engadget via Geek.com

How wonderful will it be to power up your iPhone or iPod with the use of the sun’s energy? You can literally charge your phone anywhere and directly from the sun! NOVOTHINK has released product information about their hybrid solar charger case. Not only is the case’s design sleek but it is also sustains energy to charge the iPhone or iPod. The case comes in eight colors and available to pre-order here.

With 2 hours of direct  exposure to sun, the solar charger case gives 30 minutes of talk time on a 3G network or 60 minutes of talk time on a 2G network.

“Novothink has developed the Solar Planner App as a free resource for our licensed solar charging cases, the SURGE, specifically designed for the iPhone 3G / 3GS and iPod touch 2nd generation. The NOVOTHINK Solar Planner provides an estimate of how much time you need to expose your Surge to the sun to maintain the battery level of your iPod touch or iPhone.

It works by transforming the energy from the sun into a reusable form of electricity, a process known as Photovoltaic (or PV for short). Your solar panel acts as a collecting tray, helping you catch the sun’s rays. The bigger the panel, the more energy you can collect. The energy collected is stored for your future use in a battery.”

I have such a soft spot for urban vinyl.  Add in a technical functionality and I’m sold.  Splitterbot fits the aforementioned requirements.  It serves as a cool keychain.  But remove its head and you’ll unveil a male jack.  The eyes are double as headphone jacks.  With that said, you can now share music from your iPod with a friend wherever the two of you are.  If this little guy gave you the insatiable need to impulse shop, here is where you can get it.

Image Source: Albotas via Geeksugar

Here’s our obligatory Apple iPod post. On 9/9/09, Apple held an event in which they announced a few items here and there, but they also revealed this years updated iPod line. The iPod that probably sees the biggest change is the nano, pictured above and below, as you can see in the picture below it now has a small camera embedded into the back side of it.

Here’s a break down of the update:

iPod classic

• 160 GB of storage
• thinner hard-drive used

iPod touch

• 8 GB, 32 GB and now 64 GB
• 16 GB no longer available
• Comes with remote and mic on earphones

iPod nano

• 8 GB and 16GB still.
• Added Camera on the back
• 15 real-time special effects for camera
• shoots 30 frames with aac sound

iPod shuffle

• More colors to choose from
• 2 GB and 4 GB

By now this video has already been made several rounds on the internets.  But I can’t help watch over and over how quickly the thieves made out with all that Apple goodness.  In total, 23 MacBook Pro’s, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod Touch were lifted by a team of 5.  What I’m wondering is how the dudes will unload the stolen goods considering they don’t have power cables and boxes.

Source: Geekologie via Peggy Wang

There ain’t nothin’ more frustratin’ than scratching or cracking your fave devices – be that cell phone, MP3 player, laptop, or game console. That’s where the brilliance of Music Skins comes in. These high-quality, vinyl skin products not only add a slick layer of protection to your devices, they allow you to add a unique design/print/or image that tells the world just a lil’ ’bout your personality.

Recently, KB was lucky enough to get the chance to test out some of the products at Music Skins for ourselves. With a small nick already in my ‘Berry, I jumped at the chance to cover it and change up the bland, grey color I got the phone in. So after combing through the hundreds of patterns and images Music Skins had to offer, I went with a pattern called “Ghost.” Thought it’d be nice and bright for summer.

What’s great about the variety of skins is that you can chose to cover your devices in images ranging from singers like Bob Marley, Madonna and Lil’ Wayne, to artist images of President Obama, to anime-inspired art and crazy, colorful patterns. It was definitely hard to choose!

Applying the Music Skin was definitely not too difficult either, took less than 10 minutes to do a slick job. The stickers came in three pieces, and the best part was that it was easy to peel off and reapply if you messed up the first few times. What’s also great about Music Skins leaves zero residue if you decide you want to peel it off or change up your ’skin.

Music Skins run at $15 a pop and can be ordered online.

For more info or to cop your own Music Skin, check out musicskins.com

Available for pre-order over at Sony is their newest PMP (Personal Media Player) dubbed the S Series Walkman. These units are available in either 8 or 16GB of storage and an array of colors including purple, red and pink. They sport a 2.4-inch QVGA LCD screen, voice and FM recording, built-in stereo speakers and support for audio and video. These are actually cheaper than Apple’s iPod line-up for the most part as they range between $110 – 130. Also these joints have what people have been wanting in iPods for a minute now, FM radio, external speakers, overall a great alternative.

Link: Sony

Given any previous iPod whether it be Nano or Touch, the default headphones can easily be swapped out for an aftermarket counterpart for better quality sound and comfort.  And you’d want that considering the proprietary earbuds are not comfy whatsoever.  The 3rd gen iPod shuffle features a set of earbuds that also have controls for skipping tracks, playlist and the Shuffle’s latest feature, hearing track info.  It was only a matter of time before a 3rd party iAccessory brand like Belkin stepped in to saved the day.  With their 3rd gen Shuffle headphone adapter, all the functionalities of the Shuffle’s headphone remote are retained and can be mated to any headphones of choice.  Get it here.

Image Source: Belkin

Coming from designer, Armada d.o.o. is a nifty two in one package.  The Sound Bulb Speaker for Altec Lansing is simply a light bulb that also houses a speaker and a Bluetooth wireless receiver.  Getting this system up and running is pretty fail-proof.  And as long as you’re in range, you can have your cake and eat it too.  One question that comes to mind is how much output does the speaker give.  Other than that one bit of curiousity, I’d love to one if it makes it to production.

Image Source: Yanko Design via Armada d.o.o.

Here is an attractive piece of gadgetry I need in my life, or rather on my nightstand.  BlueLounge’s Sanctuary strategically charges up to three of your every day essential gadgets.  It also does all the housekeeping by hiding the wires within the unit.  With only my iPod and cell in need of charging,  I could actually make room to display a Dunny or three within the unit.  Currently, Turntable Lab has the Sanctuary in white and dark wood (price varies depending on finish).

Image Source: Turntable Lab

Available next month from iHome is a modern take on the boom box for the iPod generation.  The first eye pleasing feature is the smoked glass design.  The boom box comparison is ode to the 4″ woofers and accompanying 1″ tweeters.  Bongiovi references the proprietary digital signal processing that guarantees the highest quality of sound possible.  At $299, I am very impressed by the facade, but this is something I wouldn’t dive straight into and pre-order.

Image Source: iHome

Christopher Locke is a talented sculptor that utilizes a variety of medium to get his message across.  ‘Modern Fossils‘ is a project that evolves around subject matter such as slightly outdated game console controls, peripherals and the object I can’t leave my house with, the iPod.  Check out his other work in the gallery below.  Most of these pieces are available on his site, Heartless Machine.  And like any artist, I’m certain he’ll take commission requests.

Image Source: Christopher Locke’s Heartless Machine

Newest single and video from Franz Ferdinand for the song “No You Girls”, which people will most likely recognize from the iPod commercials that have been running recently. This is the second official video off of the latest album Tonight, cop it here at Amazon for $9.99. I have to say I’m loving this new album and one of my early favorites of this year.

Apple never ceases to amaze with its stable of highly intuitive products.  Recently launched is the third generation Shuffle, which by far is the best bang for the buck.  Size wise, its a bit smaller than the last generation Shuffle, but packs 4x amount of space with 4 gigs.  With the controls relocated near the right earbud, the base unit is given a minimal and sleek anodized aluminum body.  The only button is located on top of the unit allowing the user to select shuffle, continual play or off.  Aesthetics wise, I am completely sold on the stainless silver clip.  The biggest sell point however is not only design.  Rather with gen 3, Apple features VoiceOver.  By pressing and holding the middle depressed button in the control center, you hear track info.  Mac users get to listen to a Stephen Hawking like voice, while PC users can hear their track selection and/or play list from Mrs. Hawking.  Thats right, gen 3 also receives syncing your individualized iTunes playlists.  At $79, this is a no brainer cop.  I’ve been wanting to get another iPod on top of my first gen touch for convenience sake.

Source: Apple

Part of the LV bespoke program this lovely iPod case can be yours, but make sure you have your plum or black amex ready to get your hands on it! I will admit I am one of the biggest LV fans out there, from my belt, wallet, business card holder, I even have the toiletry kit! I will have to pass on this for two reasons, one my pockets are not that deep yet, and two I do not have 20 iPods for this case to hold, but if you insist on getting me a nice Christmas gift to add to my LV collection then be my guest!

source : inqmnd

Had it not been for the above video, I would’ve been oblivious to Xbox 360’s Lips.  The recently released karaoke party game comes preset with 40 songs with original music videos from Beyonce to Nirvana.  So no unlocking of songs is required.  One feature I like a lot is the ability to plug in your iPod or Zune and sing along to your playlist in the freestyle mode.  Included with the game are two motion-sensing microphones.  This is where the fun begins.  Depending on how you move the mic, it can take on the role of various instruments.  This of course enables your centerstage shy friends to join in on the fun.  Overall, this should be a hot product for holiday 2008.

Source: space invaders

Google has made life more simple for us – actually, a bit more simple for Apple iPhone and iPod touch users. Google Earth is a new application that provides access to satellite and aerial images of the world. To download the free application, visit the iTunes Store and search for “Google Earth.”

If you do not have an iPhone or iPhone touch, you can go to the original Google Earth site by clicking here.