GeekSugar

Go Au Naturale With the Koostik iPhone Dock

Kristen Hawley — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 14:00:23 PST

Though plenty of pretty wooden gadget accessories exist, this item is my hands-down favorite of the holiday season. Behold, the gorgeous Koostik, a completely wooden iPhone dock that acoustically amplifies the volume of your music two to four times. While it's not meant as a replacement to electronic amplifiers and docks, the Koostik is perfect for your workspace, counter, or any other place you'd like to listen to music (or even take a call via speakerphone) a little louder than your phone permits.

The Koostik was crafted by a long-time woodworker, who still makes each Koostik by hand. It comes in six different wooden combinations: Cherry, Walnut, Maple/Cherry, Cherry/Walnut, Walnut/Cherry, and Maple/Walnut, and retails for $85-$90 depending on materials. It's made to work with all generations of the iPhone, but sadly wont' work with your iPod Touch.

Check out more photos of the Koostik after the break.

Jawbone Gets Into the Music Business With Jambox

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 11:00:19 PDT

If you thought that Jawbone only made products that allowed you to speak with friends, family, and colleagues (or secretly to yourself - you know you've done it) while on the go, think again. Today, Jawbone introduced its Jambox, the first music player to come from the mobile communications company. Connecting to your computer, laptop, iPod, cell phone, or any other Bluetooth device, you can rock out to your favorite tunes wirelessly from anywhere. And since it's made of stainless steel with a sturdy rubber casing, you can leave it at home, take it on the road, or post it up at the office without worrying that it will get thrashed by rowdy co-workers.

Not only does it play music, but the Jambox can also be updated with apps and software from Jawbone's online platform, MyTalk, which lets you update your Twitter account and send texts with your voice, and listen to podcasts on your Jawbone devices.

Find out pricing and availability details on the Jambox when you read more.

Gear Review: slotRadio by Sansa

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:20:25 PST

I love my iPod, but there is a new music player vying for my heart: the slotRadio ($79) by Sansa.

The two-inch-by-two-inch clip-on music player comes with a data card with 1,000 songs from the Billboard music charts, with prearranged playlists by music genre. I tried the additional Health and Fitness mix, which includes the mixes for warmup, cardio, roadwork (cycling), power (lifting), yoga, cooldown, and the even more mellow spa mix.

To see what I thought of this music player, just

I must admit I am a bit technically challenged - ironic since I am a blogger, I know. Even with my latent Luddite ways, I found the slotRadio super easy to use. The instruction manual was simply written with helpful graphics. Open the box, charge the radio, which took about an hour, put in your music card, and go. My inaugural run with the slotRadio was great. It clips onto your clothes and is so small and light you don't even notice it. The volume button is easy to find, as is the skip button. You can easily skip genres, too. I warmed up with Lady Gaga and Nelly and moved onto cardio with a few bands I have never heard of, like VHS or Beta. The slotRadio feels like a pop music education in a good way. This little player is a great way to introduce yourself to new music. However, I had to remove the foam covers from the earbuds to keep them from falling out of my ears.

The video screen features graphics of exercises and lets you know the next song up on the playlist so you can advance easily to find motivational music. The slotRadio is also a real radio. As an NPR junkie, I love that I can switch over to radio and catch up on news or Fresh Air while working out.

I enjoyed the Health and Fitness music card much more than the standard Billboard artist music card. Thankfully, the data cards are easy to change, and there are many options to choose from, including Christmas tunes, '80s and '90s music, Latin, and classical. The extra data cards cost $40. The slotRadio bundle comes with headphones, charger, and Billboard music card. These make a great gift for the musically impaired fitness fanatic in your life.

View 3 Photos ›

Website of the Day: CitySounds

GeekSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:30:30 PDT

I'm always on the lookout for new music, and although Pandora does a pretty good job of "getting" my tastes and introducing me to new artists, sometimes I feel like I really just need to branch out and expand my musical horizons. What a better way to do that than to check out the most popular tunes from around the globe?

That's exactly what you get with CitySounds.fm - a world tour of music right at your desk. I've already found and downloaded a few tracks that I couldn't get enough of, and I couldn't be happier with the latest entries to my music library. And that's after only an hour of perusing the global music selections! Imagine what I could find in a few days. My iTunes will never be the same.

Have an interesting website you want to share? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group,

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click "New Post" under the website of the day tab at the top of the page.
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Type "Technology and Gadgets" in the Categories box
Add keyword(s) in the tag field with relevant tags (for example mine for this story was "Website of the Day").
Choose whether you want the post to be private or public.
Click "Create Post" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the GeekSugar homepage!

MP5-DS Docking Station Is Science Geek Chic, Half Off

GeekSugar — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:05:43 PDT

I totally fell in love with the Sonic Integrity MP5-DS iPod docking station when I first saw it back in 2007, and now my friends, it's on sale. I loved the science behind the MP5, being that it's a tube amplifier system, which generally produces more rich and warm sounds than regular amp systems. Pack on a set of 50-watt speakers and you're ready to pump up the jams from an iPod dock that's kinda reminiscent of an old school science experiment.

When the MP5-DS first hit the market, it came in at a whopping $750 bucks (way out of my price range), but now that it's half off at $370, I'm getting closer and closer to making it my own. Still, way too pricey for my blood, but it's nice to know that with enough patience you can achieve anything - even if it's achieving a larger total amount on my credit card. Don't tell Savvy I said that.

Making a Comeback: Six Retro Chic Record Players

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:00:42 PDT

There's just something about sifting through stacks and stacks of records, finding a gem, and then taking it home to hear the crackle and amazing sound that a record provides. There's really nothing like it. And although I (and a majority of you) get our music digitally, old vinyl is making its comeback. Maybe it's the "full steam ahead to digital" momentum that makes people long for something a little less electronic, but I personally don't mind. I love music in all its forms, even when it comes on 45-inch discs. In honor of the record player revival, check out some of my favorites that I've found while skipping around the web.

Love at First Sight With Philips Network Music Player NP2500

GeekSugar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:02:17 PST

During my adventures at the Philips event in Portugal last week, I was introduced to this tiny yet mighty device - the Streamium Network Music Player. As much as I was drooling over the touchscreen Prestigo universal remote (review on the way!), I must say that this player stole my heart. At home, I usually connect my laptop to my home stereo system to listen to tunes, or else I pop my iPod on my portable stereo's dock. The first one is usually a hassle (stereo must be changed from TV to AUX, volume must be adjusted on both laptop and stereo, etc.), and the latter usually offers a temporary fix since the sound quality isn't that great.

But now my friends, there's the Streamium network music player NP2500 which will wirelessly playback all of your tunes from your laptop or PC, and stream Internet radio stations (thousands of stations worldwide), all while utilizing the device's FullSound technology (which makes the sound amazing). The player shows off full album art in full color and you can control the player with the included remote control.

You can currently pick one up on sale from Dell for $162.

Website of the Day: 8tracks

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:00:42 PST

Being able to upload MP3s online and create your own playlists in a community-type website is great for a variety of reasons. One - you can access your favorite tunes online (from anywhere), two - you can hear new tunes by checking other people's playlists, and three - you can easily share your playlist with friends and family. The site that started it all, Muxtape, became unavailable last August after legal disputes with the RIAA, but thankfully an impressive site called 8tracks has debuted a similar (if yet better) online music service.

To listen to playlists, you don't need to sign-up (for a free account), but to upload your own songs, you will need to create a profile. You can create a mix containing about 8 songs (hence the name), personalize it with cool art and a description, and then embed it on your blog.

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group,

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

Recapture Your Lost Youth With This Winamp Tee

GeekSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:00:49 PST

You never forget your first . . . music player! Seeing this Winamp t-Shirt ($18) really brings back my Napster-abusing memories.

I changed my Winamp skins monthly and relied on it as heavily as any app I love now. How young I was then - no glimmer of iTunes or iPhones yet to distract me. I'd rock this with glee - and couldn't wait for the knowing glances of passersby that will definitely be picking up what I'm putting down.

Websites of the Day: Grooveshark and Grooveshark Lite

GeekSugar — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:00:52 PDT

Although Pandora is one of my favorite online radio players, I just discovered Grooveshark and Grooveshark Lite, and am completely hooked. And therefore, I thought it would be worthy enough to give you a double dose of Website of the Day action. With Grooveshark, you can upload your music for easy access anywhere that there's an Internet connection. Plus you can share, rate, and review music all over the web from your Grooveshark profile page. Think MySpace, but just for your music library, that's totally fun to use.

And Grooveshark Lite? Well, it allows you to browse through millions of songs worldwide, make your own custom playlists, and get this - listen to them in their entirety without interruption. GSLite can even create playlists for you, which is a great way to discover new music. Just imagine browsing the world's iTunes libraries, and you'll get the idea. I'm so in love, I can hardly stand it.