“I’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty; I’ve got whozits and whatzits galore!”

It’s that time of year again and you’re left wondering what to buy the person who has everything or at least give something besides that lame gift card. Here are 21 different gifts at every price point that are sure to be a delight to whoever receives them.

Open it!  $9.99

Did you know that each year an estimated 300,000 people visit the hospital as a result of a laceration incurred from packaging, mostly during the holiday season? To avoid having your own Larry David breakdown over a plastic wrapped gift, pull these out of the drawer before anyone starts unwrapping anything on Christmas morning to save your sanity and to avoid spiking the coffee.  This highly anticipated package opener now offers a five-in-one method to open everything under the Christmas tree safely and easily.  Open it! Allows you to cut it, snip it, slice it, unscrew it and pop it open.  It’s even lefty compatible.

Scosche: flipSYNC $19.99

Scosche’s flipSYNC is pretty damn awesome if you ask me. If you’re not home or near a car, how do you plan to charge your phone? The flipSYNC attaches to your keychain so you always have a way to charge and sync your phone or MP3 player. The flipSYNC features a USB 2.0 for fastest data transfer possible. Available for both Blackberry and iPhone/iPod with the data cable included.

Desk Pets: SKITTERBOT $19.99

Save the coffee mug full of peppermints for the coworkers you don’t like and buy your neighbor who always has your back one of these for when “doin’ work” ain’t on the schedule. Who needs the water cooler to have a joke when at your desk you can race these for endless bragging rights. The world’s fastest legged micro-robotic toy that travels one foot per second with 5 full-function remote control that allows you to go forward/back/left/right/stop and retractable USB charger for 15 minutes of play. While it sits on your desk begging you to ignore your TPS reports it the SKITTERBOT has red heartbeat eyes that pulse to egg you on. Available in red, blue, clear and green all operating on their own frequency for multi-player racing and battling.

EZ Grill $4.99 – 9.99 (depending on size)

Is there anything better than tailgating? Tailgating can be more fun than the actual event if you do it right but who wants to deal with messy grills you have to transport home later? Not I said the hostess. EZ Grill’s are ready-to-use recyclable, convenient and portable instant grills complete with foil pan, grill grate, stand and charcoal.  Instant all-natural charcoal included – NO additives, unnatural chemicals, fillers or lighter fluid.  Convenient clean-up means no mess. Lights with one match and cooks for at least 1 ½ hours and it’s approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). So encourage your diehard Dolphin fan, or whoever it is you root for to tailgate and gtfu out of your living room for a silent Sunday.

Hercules: XPS 2.0 35 USB Speakers $19.99

I confess, I do not own a stereo, an iPod or any other device to listen to music from other than my laptop. The speakers on my laptop just don’t cut it for when I get the urge to sing into my hairbrush either. The Hercules XPS 2.0 35 USB speakers provide that extra oomph. They are so easy to plug into your headphone jack so in you can listen to it wherever without needing an outlet to plug into. It comes equipped with a padded carrying case for portability.

IDAPT i3 Universal Desktop Charger $49.99

If you have a power strip devoted entirely to charging your gadgets, toss it. The i3 Universal Desktop charger simultaneously charge three different portable devices and clear cord clutter with one affordable system. Interchangeable “quick release” tip system allows for easy, customizable charging

System that is compatible with over 3,500 brands of mobile devices, including Apple, Nintendo, PSP,

Blackberry, Garmin, and more. Package includes either six of the most popularly used interchangeable tips, or you can custom chose 4 tips. Available in black, silver, white, and pink

iSkin: iPad Vu $64.99

If you just so happen to have an iPad on your holiday shopping list, a case cannot be forgot. The iPad Vu case is designed for fashion, functionality and protection with an environmentally friendly soft plastic with a beautifully patterned hard plastic back shield that entirely embedded Microban antimicrobial protection, which is exclusive to iSkin. Vu’s unique rear-bottom hatch that can be easily removed for docking it into the iPad keyboard or standard dock. Recessed volume and power button coverage, an integrated earphone port cover, and home button protection. Available in multiple colors: Pink, Aqua blue, Blue, Red, Orange, Purple and Black.

FINIS: Lap Track $74.99

An avid swimmer would appreciate the ability to easily keep track of the number of laps they have swam, lap times, lap chrono function, split times, calories burned as well as the date and time on a clear 6” by 6” display. With four ways to mount the device for different size tiles.

Sony 8GB E Series Walkman Video MP3 $79.99

For those nonconformists like myself, there are some MP3 players out there that do not reflect a certain piece of fruit in order to be of quality or easy to use not to mention for a lesser price. The Sony E series Walkman has a long lasting battery with up 50 hours of music or up to10 hours of video playback, FM turner, drag-and-drop file transfer, Clear Audio technologies, headphones and a 2.0” LCD. Available in black, red or blue.

Last summer, I purchased my fifth iPod Nano in as many years.

Besides being a costly endeavor, it’s also annoying as shit.

Now, this has continued to happen to yours truly solely because I’m an avid runner who needs musical motivation, and more specifically, because I steadfastly refuse to leave my iPod at home when I head out for a run during a torrential downpour.

Yes, I know, I’m a stubborn ass who refuses to learn their lesson.

Still though, for the price that Apple is charging for those damn things, one would think that at this point they’d have made them, y’know, waterproof.

Thankfully, Finis XtreaMP3 is the answer to my recurring problem.

The XtreaMP3 is a 1GB MP3 player that is waterproof to depths of 15 feet. It comes with a surprisingly sturdy neoprene armband, and specialized waterproof earbuds that are roughly 8 thousand times more comfortable than the stock Apple earbuds you get with an iPod . The XtreaMP3 is also USB compatible for charging, and more importantly, for syncing up your music via iTunes (the easiest route) or via the drag n’ drop process through Windows Explorer (the archaic way to go about it.)

So, while all of that sounds all well and good, you’re no doubt wondering (much like I was) is this thing ACTUALLY WATERPROOF?

Oh, indeed it is.

Seeing as the weather has been pretty nice around these parts as of late, I wasn’t able to put the XtreaMp3 through it’s paces during a rain filled run. So instead, I did the next best thing.

I wore it while taking a bath.

While sitting in my own tepid filth, I was pleased to hear that the sound quality of this unit was much better than I had anticipated. The highs are nice n’ bright, and there’s just the right amount of bass. When I did the old school fat kid move of holding my nose and dunking my head underwater, I’ll admit that I noticed some loss in sound quality, but that’s to be expected I’d think, considering that you’re underwater and all.

The XtreaMP3 is very well made, and it’s buttons and overall “feel” are anything but cheap. One can easily and quickly go to the next and previous tracks, and change volume, without fumbling all over the place, and losing your stride and or breaststroke.

That said though, the one major drawback I found with the XtreaMP3 was this. See, unlike an iPod Nano (or really, just about any high end MP3 player at this point)  there’s no digital display for you to scroll through, which can be highly annoying at times. Still though, the lack of a display screen does make the XstreaMP3 more streamlined, and it’s probably what makes it just so waterproof in the first place.

All in all, even though I am an admitted Apple dork, I’m a fan of the XtreaMP3, and would highly recommend it to any avid outdoorsy type who just needs their tunes while they’re swimming, snorkeling, white water rafting or running in the pouring rain. It’s rugged, built to take a beating, and sounds pretty damn good.

Retail price of the Finis XtreaMP3 is $149.95.

Nine years ago today, a federal judge made a decision that changed music — changed the Internet — forever.

For all intents and purposes, Napster died nine years ago today

Judge Marilyn Patel, of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, granted an injunction filed by the record industry against Napster, forcing it to cease all operations.

That was the death of Napster, though two days later an appeals court granted the peer-to-peer file sharing service a stay of execution, which ended on February 12, 2001, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit announced a decision in A&M Records v. Napster, which upheld the RIAA’s injunction saying Napster was participating in copyright infringement.

Napster’s legal counsel tried to argue the VCR case, citing the Audio Home Recording Act and throwing out phrasaes like “fair use.”

They failed.

The following article appeared on ReviewCenter.com on July 26, 2000.

Here Today … Gone Tomorrow — Is Napster Really Dead?
By Christina Warren, Review Center Staff

On Wednesday, a Federal Judge sided with the Recording Industry Association (RIAA) of America, and ordered a temporary injunction on the popular music program Napster. Napster allows its users to share music files in the form of MP3s without regard to copyright.

When the program gained astounding popularity, the recording industry and a group of vocal artists took exception and filed suit against the company, alleging that the trade of MP3s violated copyrights held by the artists and their recording companies.

“Napster is enjoined from copying or assisting or contributing to the copy or duplication of all copyrighted songs and musical compositions of which the plaintiffs hold rights,” US District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered at a hearing in San Francisco federal court.

This ruling will no doubt shock the many users of Napster, as well as supporters who did not think the program would be shut down so quickly.

“When the infringing is of such a wholesale magnitude, the plaintiffs are entitled to enforce their copyrights,” Patel said. Patel ordered that the injunction go into effect at 12 a.m. PDT on July 28, 2000. Patel’s ruling in favor of the RIAA strongly suggests that the trial that will take place against Napster at the end of the year will also find in favor of the RIAA.

The creator and CEO of Napster held a live web broadcast at 7 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, addressing the courts ruling and the future of Napster. Essentially, the message was that while they adamantly opposed the ruling by Judge Patel in the hearing, they would comply with the court’s order. What does that mean?

This means that as of midnight on Friday morning, Napster will basically cease to function as we know it.

The question then becomes for Napster’s users, “What next?” Programs like Gnutella sprouted up as soon as the RIAA filed suit against Napster in December. These programs are even more dangerous to copyright holders, because they allow not only the transfer of music, but of video and text files as well.

It will be hard for anyone to stop people from sharing files. The MP3 format is hardly new, even if it has been making a lot of news with the advent of Napster and the subsequent trials. MP3 files were around before Napster, and they will continue to exist in the wake of this judgment.

Websites are already in the planning stages of trying to keep Napster alive. www.napigator.com has already started posting un-official Napster servers that can be used with the current Napster clients. This will allow Napster users to continue to use Napster after the Friday injunction, but without logging onto “official” servers. As these services become increasingly popular, it is going to be difficult to shut Napster down completely.

Users will have to await a final ruling when the case against Napster goes to trial this fall. The RIAA represents major acts like Metallica and Dr. Dre and represents companies such as Universal Music, BMG, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and EMI.

Considering the shear unsuccessfulness of most streaming music platforms, one might thing that streaming music can’t be more than a novelty. Napster is barely a thought in today’s music marketplace, Rhapsody shares a laughable market, and the Zune Marketplace is just sort of puttering along in the background. When users have the uber-intelligent Pandora and Slacker Radio to tap into their minds and pick songs they’ll love, why pay for streaming music? Likewise, polled Internet users routinely state that they want to own their music collections, hence why they so rarely choose subscription-based music models.

But what about those times when you want to listen to a certain song — like right now? Sure you can try to prod Pandora into playing the song for you, but it’s hit or miss. Slacker lets you choose some favorites, but these choices are limited, and again, there are no guarantees. And since the RIAA is actually still suing people, despite their assurances otherwise, we’re going for legal methods.

Enter Spotify.

Spotify is essentially a digital version of the iTunes catalog, where every song is available for free streaming. No kidding, you can pick and choose any song you want to listen to, and it will begin playing on demand. (OK, OK, The Beatles are still nowhere to be found, but that’s surprising to no one.) The familiar interface works much like iTunes. Artist names and albums are hyperlinked to the respective pages where you can listen to the artists other songs and albums.

I was very impressed with the selection. While all of the most obvious artists and songs are available, there’s an impressive back catalogue. I found many b-sides and live albums I didn’t know existed for many of my favorite bands as well as many, shall we say, “band nerd” songs from my yesterdays in the high school band.

The software allows you to build playlists drag and drop style but many websites also offer a robust selection of playlists that you can add. The software also comes with the ability to share songs via links.

All in all, this possibly strikes you as too good to be true; and alas, for anyone living state side, it is. Spofity is currently only available in a handful of European countries. Of course, enterprising users have managed to find a way around the IP address checks used to make sure that users are from these allowed countries; a simple Google search will probably reveal the methods.

Though currently in invite only-beta, the site actually allows new users (again, from the appropriate countries) to sign up and download the software, all for free. The company’s revenue model is based on inserting ads in the software and in the audio stream. Users can also sign up for premium service to eliminate these ads.

For the future, the company also has iPhone and Symbian apps in development, an obvious addition considering the limited space on most devices. All in all, free is hard to argue with, and should Spotify manage to strike the right licensing deals, they might just have a winning formula.

There are two pieces of software out there that are more greedy and bloated than Apple’s music-playing, music-downloading title: AOL Instant Messenger and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

I hate iTunes.

I’m sick and tired of Apple getting a pass on quality control just because they gave us the Holy Roman iPod Empire and, by a roll of the dice, beat out 10 comparable music download services, both of which are jam packed into our worlds and force-fed to us through iTunes, a software title that just about creeps by on 4 GB of RAM.

It started out innocently enough with iTunes for managing and syncing your iPod and downloading new songs. But where did this incompetent “Genius” come from as it utterly paralyzes my computer from doing the one thing I’m actually trying to do — play a single song from my library?

What’s a decent sized audio library for anyone in their mid-20s? I have 2,000 songs that fit into a space under 8 gigs and play perfectly find on both my new Nano and my original third-generation iPod. Why is it that these same songs can bring a multi-core computer to its knees under the banner of iTunes?

And who gave Apple permission to try and install Safari and several other programs on my computer under the false auspices of “upgrading my iTunes to the latest version.” AIM tried to do that around the same time the term “adware” was coined.

Seriously, is Apple still so desperate for exposure that they will literally try and sneak their software into someone’s computer? No I don’t want Mobile Me. Thanks though.

When dragging a song from my library to a playlist is a 45 second, six click ordeal, there’s a problem here.

Strip it down! Turn off automatic art downloading. Save the Geniuses for the chess club.

In a way this is all our fault. We adopted the whole package and forked over our credit card numbers without asking questions. We can’t switch, right?

Now excuse me, there’s a new MGMT song I have to buy off the iTunes Store.

With its customary flair for sexing up the art of gizmo glorification, Macworld 2009 didn’t disappoint with some big reveals today.

Topping all the charts was Apple’s latest update to its iLife suite, touting major retrofits of iMovie, iPhoto and GarageBand. The changes range from a better system for organizing photos in iPhoto to more powerful video editing functions in iMovie to a series of learning tutorials for various instruments in GarageBand.

“iLife continues to be one of the biggest reasons our customers choose to get a Mac,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “With iLife ’09, we’ve made working with photos, making movies and learning to play music a lot more fun, and iMovie users are especially going to love the advanced but easy-to-use new features.”

Right after the big iLife news hit, Sling Media introduced a real stunner: HD streaming for Macs and iPhones via Sling.com. Sling Media expects to have an iPhone app out soon. Expected release date for SlingPlayer, a downloadable application that will interface with Sling.com to deliver HD content, is sometime in the first fiscal quarter of this year.

“SlingPlayer Mobile is ideally suited for the iPhone’s large touch screen display and I know iPhone users are eagerly anticipating the application’s availability,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media.

Following up, a new 17-inch MacBook Pro with unibody construction and a non-removable 8-hour life battery and an optional anti-glare coating on the screen was announced. The computer comes packed with a 2.66ghz Intel Core Duo chip, a 320 GB Hard Drive, and 4 GB of RAM, to name a few updates.

“We’ve developed new battery technology that is better for the user and better for the environment,” said Jobs. “Apple’s advanced chemistry and innovative technology deliver up to eight hours of use on a full charge cycle and up to 1,000 recharges.”

The final move of the day set social networking sites buzzing. Apple announced a new DRM free iTunes with a three tier pricing structure — $0.69, $0.99, and $1.29.

Both moves on the iTunes front were widely regarded as a necessity in order for iTunes to remain competitive with other online music stores, with the DRM removals hailed as long overdue.

The music coming out of your iPod doesn’t sound as good as it would coming from a CD. Period.

That doesn’t mean you have to spend $1,000 to squeeze the best possible audio out of your songs, does it?

Hence, we learn the plight of the audiophile. How good can music sound? How high can the quality get? How much should you spend?

The Marantz SA8003 was a treat. It puts out clear, rich bass notes, great midrange sound, and surprisingly clean treble with just a hint of imperfection at the highest tones. But we asked the company why anyone should pay $1,000 or more (the SA8003 is one of their midprice models) for a CD player.

After all, it’s a laser hitting a disc. What makes their lasers any better than Sony’s or even Coby for the matter.

Here’s the complete, unedited response from Kevin Zarow, vice president of marketing for Marantz — you decide:

“There is a noticeable difference between a $200 CD player and an “audiophile quality” $1,000 Super Audio CD (SACD) player like the Marantz SA8003 “" and it’s something that even casual listeners will be able to hear immediately. The much higher fidelity SACD player actually enables you to hear subtle things in your favorite music that you’ve probably never heard before, like more realistic vocals, deeper, richer bass notes, as well as a wider, more three dimensional sound stage. Beyond that, the build quality between players is significant. A player such as the Marantz will weigh a lot more, due to a more robust chassis, designed to reduce vibration which by the way, improves sound. The power supplies, DACs and CD drive mechanism will all be much higher grade and great attention will be paid to the signal path to insure that you hear the music in its purest form and not the electronics.”

The SA8003 also has a USB port if you really get lonely for MP3s and music files. The optical output also

Pros: The SA8003 is an audiophile-quality CD player with crisp, clear sound, and rich bass. It also has a USB port for playing MP3s.

Cons: You really have to want it to spend $1,000 on a CD player, since your DVD player, video game console, and computer can all play CDs.

The final word: Speaking strictly from a quality perspective, the SA8003 is great. Remember though, this is just a CD player and it’s only going to sound as good as the speakers and amplifier you already have.

Don’t miss John Guilfoil’s “Five ways to listen to music without an iPod” story, in The Boston Globe.

The Logitech Squeezebox really tickled our fancy. This product will forever change the way we listen to music. We like it, in part, because the Internet provides tons of free choices from radio stations all over the world.

It would be fair to go into the ring not expecting much of a fight out of the plucky $300 Logitech — it’s based on fairly lossy streaming Internet audio after all and built on good if not basically mediocre drivers. But no. It sounds good. Not audiophile, but you’re not paying for audiophile either, are you?

One of the funnest things about the Logitech Squeezebox Boom is listening to Radio One London from an apartment in Boston.

That’s why Blast loves the Squeezebox: expanded horizons.

One of the funnest things about the Logitech Squeezebox Boom is listening to Radio One London from an apartment in Boston.

Tuning via a knob is much easier than tediously and repeatedly pressing buttons over and over, so that’s a big plus as well.

Download an audio design white paper on the Squeezebox Boom.

Pros: Internet radio provides a number of free choices from radio stations all over the world, giving you not only a wide range of music, but a little culture. A ton of the content is free, and you can also stream your existing music collection from your computer to the Squeezebox. It plugs into your network or downloads via Wi-Fi.

Cons: You have to download special software to send your MP3s and music files to the device. It doesn’t automatically find them on your network.

The final word: This is really more of a lifestyle choice than an impulse buy, meaning it will change your music listening life. We loved it.

Don’t miss John Guilfoil’s “Five ways to listen to music without an iPod” story, in The Boston Globe.

We love the little Orbit. It’s like a little baby who’s so cute and cuddly until you wake it up and it lets out a bellowing scream, the depth of which you didn’t feel possible from something so tiny. The iM237 is a new model with mainly design changes.

I’m an audio guy. I like the wires and plugs and cones and crossovers. I’m not a pro, but I know what I like.

When you get something like the Altec Lansing Orbit Mp3 and a crisp, clean sound with great bass and highs (read the back of the box, they quoted me) it’s easy to realize why name is still the first thing audiophiles look at when they buy a toy.

The best thing about this little speaker is that you can plug anything into it and share your tunes. Don’t underestimate it either; it’s loud!

You get a solid day out of 3 AAA batteries, so have the rechargeables ready to go.

5 out of 5 stars

Apple proudly boasted on Thursday that their highly successful iTunes Store has passed Wal-Mart as the top music retailer in the US.

iTunes has sold over four billion songs to over 50 million customers since opening in 2003.

“We launched iTunes less than five years ago, and it has now become the number one music retailer in the world,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s iTunes vice president. “We are thrilled, and would like to thank all of our customers for helping us reach this incredible milestone.”

The ranking comes from market research data from NPD Group’s MusicWatch survey that tracks consumer purchases. iTunes topped Wal-Mart based on their January and February 2008 sales figures, Apple said in a statement.

This is yet another blow to the hard copy, “old way of doing things” music shopping experience. And yet, it is has shown that legal music downloading can and does succeed in the US.

Calgary-based Peapod Toys has released a children’s MP3 player called the SweetPea3. It’s a fully-functional, yet remarkably simply music device that plays 256MB of MP3 or WMA audio.

The SweetPea3 is battery-operated with an A/C adapter for charging/plugged-in use. It’s meant to be used by ages 0-8 — school age children, toddlers and even infants.

“MP3 technology makes perfect sense in a child’s music player. With no moving parts, small parts or removable media, an extremely robust music player can be built and safely given to children of all ages, including kids under three,” said Peapod Toys President Dan Lemay in a statement earlier this week. “Every feature, and absence of feature, has been carefully designed with the child in mind,” Lemay said.

These “child-centered” features include the simple three button operation, hidden parental volume control, easy to carry size and hanging ring and the absence of a power switch or removable media.

Amazingly enough, it will run for about 40 hours on a single AA battery. The exterior is made of food-grade rubber, and the device syncs via USB.

“The SweetPea3 boasts a great sense of style, appealing to stylish parents and children who seem to be naturally drawn to “real” electronic devices,” the company said. “The customer feedback indicates that this personal kid’s music player has become the constant companion of many children in their daily routine.”

The player ships with pre-installed children’s music and stories from award winning artists Susie Tallman and Jim Weiss.

The SweetPea3 comes in blue and pinkish purple and can be ordered online for $89.95.

Apple announced Tuesday that they are adding new models of the iPhone and iPod touch with double the storage capacity.

The iPod touch now comes in a 32GB model for $499, joining the 16GB model for $399 and the 8GB model for $299.

“For some users, there’s never enough memory,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPod and iPhone Product Marketing. “Now people can enjoy even more of their music, photos and videos on the most revolutionary mobile phone and best Wi-Fi mobile device in the world.”

Both models feature Apple’s Multi-Touch user interface and the ability to play music, videos, photos and more with just a touch of their finger, Apple said Tuesday.

All iPhone and iPod touch models include the latest software enhancements announced last month including the ability to automatically find your location using the new Maps application; create Web Clips for your favorite websites; customize your home screen and watch movies from the new iTunes Movie Rentals. Both iPhone and iPod touch feature the world’s most advanced mobile web browser in the world with Safari and great mobile applications including Mail, Maps, Stocks, Weather and Notes.

The new 16GB iPhone is available now through the online Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and AT&T retail and online stores.

The 32GB iPod touch is available nationwide.

The availability of the “Maps” positioning feature will vary depending on location.

An 80s child, I grew up during the last days of cassette tapes (the term mix-tape had to come from somewhere, it’s not just the CD you burned from your iTunes downloads).

With cassette tapes, we had boomboxes. They came in all shapes and sizes, and depending on the age, they were very, very analog. And the boombox hasn’t gone away entirely. Some will say the large-form boxes are enjoying a comeback of sorts.

Of course, now we have iPods, satellite radio, HD Radio, Zunes (well one or two) and every song we could possibly want at the tip of our fingers for 99 cents.

There’s just something about a July day on the beach with a cooler and a boombox, though. And that’s why I like Altec Lansing’s inMotion iM9 iPod system and all the lower-case i’s that go with it. It just screams retro, and I think that’s why consumers are really taking to this one.

First of all, it runs on either AC power or four C batteries. Some people might not like constantly changing the batteries, but it’s still a far cry better than the current technology of rechargeable batteries that never reach 100 percent again. Fresh batteries = peak sound. You get 24 hours of battery life from the C’s.

The second retro piece comes in how you plug an iPod into the iM9. You press the button at the top and, just like a cassette deck, a door opens letting you drop your pod in.

Third on the retro block, the iM9 comes with a BACKPACK. I’d never use it. It’s tacky. But damn, it’s a backpack!

Finally, this mother is LOUD. And it’s not just loud; it’s clear, crisp and deep. The iM9 may not be the size of a boombox, but it sure sounds like one. The system is built on 2.75″ drivers, but the bass rivals many larger systems. The highs are also crystal clear. The iM9 does have a slight hiss, even when music isn’t playing. It gets annoying, especially if you want to leave the device in your bedroom or something.

The iM9 has a rugged case, and I think it’s a versatile option for outdoor listening. It’s not weather/water proof, but you can put it next to the grill, poolside or bring it to the beach.

There are several indoor applications, including audio and video outputs to hook your iPod up to your television.

The product works with iPod, iPod video, Nano, and Mini. The iM9 does work with new generation Nanos. There have been several complaints that it doesn’t work with the 2/3G iPod Nano, but it does. The device just didn’t come with the proper adapter. It was a huge F-up, but Altec Lansing offers the adapter for free for new Nano users.

Overall, the iM9 is impressive, compact and loud. It debuted with a $200 price tag, but you can scoop one up online for about $70. I say you should do just that.

Quick hits:

Developer: Altec Lansing
Genre: iPod audio system
Launch Date: May 12, 2006

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars Editor’s choice

Download the manual.

Belkin’s new RockStar ($20) is out to make everyone feel like their own personal DJ.

The device lets you mix your music on your iPod or other music player, and up to six people can listen to it on their own headphones. You could also select to mark other audio jacks as inputs an allow your friends to provide their own tunes. You can then Mix multiple inputs from the other jacks on it, or just listen to one source on all 6 jacks.

One port is set is input only, and then the others are selectable. This gives you the convenience of using it either to mix multiple audio sources together up to 6, or to listen to one audio source on up to six headphones, or output to a speaker. This could make a cheaper receiver, or audio selector for someone, just swapping the jack from output to input to select it.

Questions remains as to whether or not any signal power or quality is lost is all ports are used, as opposed to only one, but you gotta give Belkin style points on this one.

RockStar is coming in March. (Source: iLounge)

Altec Lansing’s new ultra-portable iPod/MP3 speaker, the Orbit, hit my desk recently.

Battery-powered and at under 3″, the iM207 Orbit doesn’t look like much. I mean, how much power can you pull out of 3 AAA batteries?

I gotta say I was surprised. The Orbit’s got a good little “thump” to it. The sound was really impressive for a speaker with no AC power. It’s also LOUD. The Orbit’s volume is controlled by the iPod, and it cranks when turned all the way up.

The Orbit does lose some clarity at full volume, but at 50-80 percent, you get a crisp, clean sound with great bass and highs that are surprisingly clear.

The big test — the theme from “House” played perfectly. The song starts with a crackling record player effect and beams out highs and lows that will test anything. This “House” fan approves.

You get about a full day of battery life out of the unit. Invest in some rechargeables. You might get less per charge, but you won’t have to buy them over, and over, and over again. Orbit is also shock-resistant so you can use it in any iPod application.

The Orbit works with any audio source that accepts a 3.5mm or 2.5mm headphone jack, and there are dozens of cheap adapters that will let you use it for other devices. It’s small with a big sound, cheap price tag and excellent sound.

Check out Altec’s FAQ for technical support.

Speaker features:

• Sound clarity with depth — powered by acoustic tayloring
• Fusion360 technology — Integrates a cone design with a custom-built Altec Lansing speaker to project a 360-degree sound field
• Personal configuration — place the Orbit on its edge for directed, more personal listening

Quick hits:

Developer: Altec Lansing
Launch Date: November 15, 2007
Price: MSRP $39.95 ($29.95 in most stores)

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Internet security firms are reporting a new trend in the “pump-and-dump” spam world — e-mails containing MP3 advertisements.

McAfee Avert Labs reported the phenomenon yesterday. “The spammed MP3 attachments promote a company enjoying huge success in Canada and expecting amazing results in the USA,” wrote McAfee’s Vinoo Thomas “These audio files are of very poor quality and one has to literally strain one’s ears to hear what’s being announced.”

The MP3 ads were encoded using the free LAME 3.97 and sound awful.

McAfee provided a list of filenames — take a look:

“In the last year or so we have seen multiple file types being used in spam runs in an attempt to subvert traditional anti-spam detection techniques. From plain text to ASCII art, image spam, DOC, FDF, PDF, RAR, and XLS,” Thomas wrote. “Thinking out of the box has given stunning results for these creative spammers.”

This doesn’t come as a surprise to industry pros.

“MP3 spam is a natural progression from PDF and Excel spam whereby spammers are exploiting a new file format to be able to send spam.” said David Vella, director of product management for GFI software. “This is their latest attempt to evade anti-spam filters. There is also a social engineering aspect to this tactic because people frequently share MP3 files.”

Have a listen.