Macenstein

Steve’s “One More Thing” shows up a week late

Odds are a pink 8GB nano would have caused a riot at last week’s Macworld Keynote if Jobs had made it his “One More Thing”, but at least a riot implies strong emotions, something this year’s Macworld speech did not deliver. Speaking of strong emotions, what better way to say “I don’t know a thing about picking out jewelry” this Valentine’s Day than buying a pink nano for the one you love? It likely beats the Roomba I bought the... Read More

Review: JBL Reference 610 Wireless iPod Headphones

Since the beginning of time, man has sought to cut the cable that attaches his iPod to his headphones. Primitive man used stone axes and crude cutting tools to smash the cables, but this often had undesirable side effects. Luckily, today we have Bluetooth, the “stone ax” of the modern age. JBL has incorporated this modern marvel into their latest set of reference headphones (the 610), in an attempt to finally free man from the tangles of wires that killed off so... Read More

Sonic the Hedgehog, Peggle added to iTunes Games Section

Apple has released 2 new games for (certain) iPods (although for some reason neither is currently showing up in th games section. Click the links below to jump directly there). Read More  Read More

Break your expensive gadget? Just tell them the ads told you to do it

So what’s the deal with expensive electronics being used as dominoes in ads? If you watched this September’s Apple Special Event address, you may remember this shot of Steve Jobs standing next to the new nano’s ad campaign pic (approx. 24:13 in). That pic was also used that week on the Apple homepage to promote the new nano, and while I thought it was certainly cute, I was a little surprised in this age of “suing a company for spilling coffee on yourself”... Read More

Review: boynq’s iCube II and Sabre “gender specific” Speakers for iPod

Everyone knows girls like pink things and men like black things, right? Well, boynq does, and has decided to take the traditionally gender neutral iPod speaker system back to grade school with their “Boys vs. Girls” colored iCube II and Sabre speakers. Top: boynq’s sabre iPod speakers. Bottom: the iCube II. boynq, makers of a wide range of unusual-looking (in a good way) speakers has created an entire pink/purple/white “Pour Femme” line to compliment... Read More

Review: Jensen’s Banshee JISS 330 and JISS 550 docking speakers for iPod

Banshee is about to release their JISS 330 and JISS 550 speakers for the iPod, and we managed to get a sneak peak. The JISS 550 and its little brother the JISS 330 look remarkably similar to Banshee’s 5.0 surround sound speakers we reviewed back in July of 2006. We’ve found the Banshee’s “unique” styling is either a big hit or a big miss with most people, but after having seen so many similar-looking iPod speakers, we still appreciate its futuristic,... Read More

Review: Logitech does the portable iPod speaker right with the Pure-Fi Anywhere

Logitech has finally come out with a portable speaker system we can all get behind with their Pure-Fi Anywhere Compact Speakers for iPod. Available in black or white, the Pure-Fi delivers exceptional sound given its size, and addresses pretty much all the complaints we’ve had with other portable speakers. Styling First off, the Pure-Fi looks great. The design is a somewhat revamped version of their mm50 iPod speakers, but they look much sleeker and feel a bit more solid.... Read More

Free Stuff: SendStation iPod FW adapters

If you’re like us (God help you) you can’t resist free stuff, whether you need it or not (we still have every free, unlistenable song from the iTunes Store, for example). Well, lovers of free stuff rejoice! SendStation Systems is giving away 1,000 of its PocketDock FW iPod adapters, which allow you to charge the iPod or iPhone using any standard 6-pin FireWire cable. Offer available while supplies last or until October 1, 2007, limited to one PocketDock per person... Read More

iEye, Cap’n!

What better day to write about an invention called the iEye than on National Talk Like a Pirate Day?! Faithful Macenstein reader Tom Miller sent us a link to his entry into the NASA Tech Briefs “Create the Future” contest which we thought was pretty cool. Tom’s idea (patent pending) is an add-on for the iPod/iPhone/iPod touch (basically anything with an “i” in the front of it) that would add high-quality still and video optics to any of Apple’s... Read More