I actually want to call this little droid R2-MP4, since I think that would be a more appropriate name. The musical R2 unit even comes with earbuds which look like C-3PO’s head. Hopefully, when you stick them in your ears, he won’t go blathering on about how he he’s fluent in over six-million forms of communication, and just let you listen peacefully to your playlist.

Now, this R2-D2 media player isn’t exactly high-end. It’s only got 2GB of storage – or about 500 songs, and despite the screenshot above, I’m not convinced it can play video or view photos. That sure looks like an screen grab from an old iPod with some Star Wars images tossed in. But I could be wrong. Heck, maybe it can project holograms and hack into the Death Star’s security system for all we know.

Anyhow, if you’re buying this, you’re probably not getting it for its tech specs, and just because you have to own every Star Wars gadget and gizmo. R2-MP4 sells for $44.99 (USD). If you want one, you’ll have to go to your local Toys R Us and poke around, as they appear to be sold out online right now.

[via 7 Gadgets]

It was designed by Christopher McNicholl for SUCK UK. The internals of the radio are housed in a simple cardboard structure, which can easily be recycled at the end of the product’s life. The device itself is also pretty minimal, which is somewhat appealing from a design standpoint. It’s powered by 4 AA batteries or DC power (power adapter not included). It comes with two nice retro dials and an audio jack to allow you to play some tunes off your media player or smartphone.

The Cardboard Radio sells over at Suck UK’s store for £25 (~$40 USD).

[via NotCot]

The button allows you to share and discover content through Facebook integration. It also will let you explore the Qriocity service from Sony, which provides streaming music and video content. The phone has got a glossy finish and a mineral glass display. It will be available in either black or white, but the white version is certainly distinctive.

It has a 3.2 inch touchscreen and a 1GHz processor under the hood. You’ll find two cameras, including a rear 5MP AF one that will capture 720p HD video. It also features Sony’s “xLoud” technology, which lets you crank the volume all the way without distortion. Since it’s an Android phone, it will have access to the 250,000 apps in the Android Market. The Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will be launched later this year – sometime in Q4. Prices haven’t been announced yet.

[via FarEastGizmos]

The concept design was created by designer Olivier Meynard, and at first glance just looks like an old-school record player. But look to the right of the silver-platter and tone arm, and you’ll see a built-in iPhone dock.

With a press of the surface-mounted button, the turntable would play and then send its audio to the iPhone to record it into a digital file. The design also calls for a built-in amp and speakers, so it could work as a standalone audio system. At this point it looks like the iPhone turntable is just a design concept, but from the looks of the photo below, we can only assume that Olivier is working on a functional prototype.

[via Yanko Design]

The HI-MACS material has been thermoformed into sweeping curves, and helps drive four small full-range three-inch drivers per channel to a powerful level, due to its acoustic properties. The enclosure allows for minimal sound diffraction, providing the purest sounds.

When this enormous podium speaker is lit up, it definitely looks pretty impressive. There’s no word yet if this will every make it into production, but it’s definitely an interesting concept design.

[via Moco Loco]

The Trembo Trunks were created by two designers from Sydney, Australia. While they aren’t very small, they are supposed to boost the available sound from any music player’s earbuds significantly.  The sounds can be amplified up to 80dB, which isn’t bad for un-powered speakers. Plus, they’re made out of flexible, waterproof silicone rubber, so they’ll hold up for a long time.

If you’re interested in a pair, the good news is that they’ve already hit their Kickstarter goal, so they’ll definitely be made. To get in on the action yourself, head on over to kickstarter. A $39 or greater pledge will get you one of the first pairs.

[via Ubergizmo]

One of Giha’s main motivations included the fact that most chargers for MP3 players can be as large or larger than the actual MP3 player. The overall design is pretty minimal and should work for people who don’t need a screen to check out what’s currently playing. I have to say that I like doing that though, especially with a large music collection, but if you’re used to working with an iPod Shuffle, you’d be just fine with one of these.

Granted, you’ll need a country-specific version plug for it to work in your particular country, but honestly I like the overall shape of the bi-pin version shown here, but the prongs could poke you if you’re not careful when you’re wearing it.

It’s also not clear if  it’s technically feasible to cram a transformer into a package this small -but it’s not much smaller than the cube Apple gives you with the iPhone these days.

[via Dezeen]

Now why anyone would want one of these instead of a pair of normal speakers is beyond me. I can’t imagine that the sound quality of such a thing would be very good, nor would I guess that the built-in amp would be very powerful. Maybe if you’re really into photography, and don’t much care what your audio sounds like, you might buy one. From what I can tell, it’s not even stereo, so you’d need to buy two and get a “Y” splitter if you want true stereo sound.

This oddity can play audio from your MP3 player connected via a 3.5mm audio plug, or it can play MP3 and WMA tunes directly from SD/SDHD/MMC or USB flash drives as well. It comes with a wireless remote for playback and volume controls, and can be powered with either AA batteries or via USB.

If you must have one of these, you can grab a DSLR USB Camera Speaker over at Brando for $75 (USD). And no, it doesn’t take pictures.

For that much loot, you get a media server that looks a lot like the other Olive offerings with silver or black finish and a 4.3-inch touchscreen for navigation your tunes. The device has a CDR drive inside that lets you rip CDs right to the server and you can burn music to disc as well.

The 03HD has a Cirrus Logic DAC with 192khz/24-bit clarity. The device has a 500GB HDD with noise isolation for quite operation. It also features a wired Gigabit Ethernet port and support for WAV, FLAC, and MP3 formats as well as AAC. That 500GB is enough space for 1500 CDs or 5000 HD tracks to be stored.

If you’re looking for high-end audio quality for your digital media server, you definitely should give the Olive a look.

The device looks like a mobile phone form the 1980′s. The color isn’t retro me, all the old phones I ever saw were in ugly beige cases not black like this thing. If you like the retro style of the thing you can order one up for $23 (USD), but don’t be surprised if we all laugh and point at you.

For that much loot you get a player that works with most MP3 and MP4 devices with 3.5mm plugs that can be used as a portable speaker. If you want to play music directly from the device you have to move tracks to a microSD card and slip the card into the players slot. It also has a FM digital tuner and a rechargeable battery. And no, it doesn’t make phone calls.

The unusual Hoodiebuddie hoodie has surfaced, and while it is in clear violation of rule number one, it might be of interest to some of you with less stringent requirements for not looking like a goon. The thing looks like a normal hoodie, only the strings for the hood are actually headphones for your music player.

I will say that those strings look weird poked in your ears and someone will think you have just crammed the drawstring in your ears. My 5-year-old daughter would totally get this. I caught her chasing the other kids around the yard when it was cool out in early spring with the strings to her hoodie crammed up her nose. When I asked why she looked at me like I was crazy and said her nose was running and snot tastes gross, which sort of made sense.

This speaker is a dead-ringer for a classic cassette tape, and plugs into your MP3 player’s 3.5mm audio jack. It’s available over at fredflare for $22 bucks.

I’d imagine that it would look even dumber plugged into one of these MP3 players that looks like a cassette tape.

[via Chip Chick]

Called simply “THE AUDIO,” this newfangled contraption houses all of its audio circuitry inside the central tower, and then includes a pair for super-slim satellite speakers to flank the main unit. What’s really unusual about the design of this uber-modern stereo is the control bars that stick out of the sides of the main tower.

Depending on mode, each of the metal rods controls a different feature. For instance, in radio mode, the bars control the band, station and volume. But in MP3 playback mode, the top bar controls the track, the middle bar controls the playback mode, and the bottom remains as volume. Controls are boldly displayed on a bright dot-matrix display embedded into the control tower.

THE AUDIO system has built in AM, FM and DMB/DAB tuners, as well as a 3.5mm stereo jack for connecting your media player to the back. You’ll also notice a strategically placed SD card slot at the front bottom of the control bar, so you can play back all of your digital tunes without additional hardware.

At this point, it looks like THE AUDIO is still in the prototype stage, and it’s doubtful we’ll ever see it outside of Korea. Perhaps the EarlyAdopter folks will realize they have a following around the globe and will indulge us with these in other countries. For now, you’ll just have to look and drool from afar.

It’s kind of hard to decide what to make of this product. Was there ever a uCrown1? The greyish plastic reminds me of the color of a NES.

One thing is for sure: anyone visiting Asia will be surprised to get a full back and head massage when visiting a hairdresser to get a haircut. It surprised me the first time I got one a few years ago in Taipei. I have to say that head massages are pretty relaxing.

That’s probably the reason why OSIM is making this product, although I have to wonder if it actually works well. Brookstone says that it’s got an air pressure massage, as well as a vibration massage, coupled with magnetic therapy and gentle heat. Plus, it’s got built-in speakers to play your tunes while relieving stress and relaxing your muscles. Sounds like a full package!

It looks pretty unflattering, so I’d suggest using this when you’re home alone. It will cost you $200 (USD) to look like an idiot in the privacy of your own home. But you’ll feel good doing it.

[via DVICE]

Korean design firm Studio Lim created these unique speakers called Sound Pots. The speakers feature an unusual control scheme: turn the knob on the back to turn on the MP3 player, then roll the speaker from side-to-side to control the volume.

The guys over at Moco Loco also offer up these slightly more obvious control suggestions: “set it on its side so the sound can flow out towards the listener”, and “set it face down to turn it off by blocking the sound.” Duh.

I have no idea if Studio Lim plans on ever selling Sound Pots, but if they do, I sure hope they pack them in plenty of bubble wrap and foam peanuts when they start shipping them.

[via unplggd]

The 2-inch Mint Cube features a striking cubic design that’s punctuated by large analog meters on three sides of the cube. One gauge is a traditional VU meter, another tells you how much battery life remains, and the last one tells you what station the built-in FM tuner is dialed to. The gauges each have a bright backlight, which makes them easy to read in the dark.

On the top of the player are ten deep-set analog buttons, like the ones you might find on an old Sony Walkman. Press in the MP3 button and it stays in place until you press FM button, which pops the MP3 button back out. Very retro indeed!

Now mintpass says they designed the Mint Cube with men in mind, but I don’t see any reason why they can’t be for cool girls too. Geeks don’t discriminate! If only these things actually existed, then guys and girls could both buy them. For now, enjoy the virtual gadgetry.

[via Unplggd]

As you may have guessed from its looks, the Tape Express is also a portable cassette tape player. So if you just can’t let go of your tapes even after recording their contents, you can still use them with the Tape Express. Pop in a couple of AA batteries and take it with you wherever you go, just like old times.

You can get the Ion Tape Express at Firebox for £50 (approx. $80 USD). Nostalgia guaranteed.

[via popgadget]

Created by Amidio – the same folks who brought us the amazing noise.io iphone synth. According to the Amidio guys, Touch DJ is a serious live performance tool, and not just an audio toy like many other iPhone apps.

The app not only can mix two MP3 tracks, it lets you apply audio effects, pitch-bending, equalization and looping without ever leaving the intuitive visual interface. Each track is automatically color coded to correspond to its frequencies to make it even easier to match beats. Check out the video clips below to see (and hear) a sneak preview of Touch DJ in action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Once released, Touch DJ will ship with 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub that you can immediately create music with, and I assume that additional tracks will be available for download in the future. Amidio also plans on releasing a Touch DJ sync application that lets you send your own MP3s to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Keep in mind that the audio processing is very processor intensive so Amidio recommends using Touch DJ only on the iPhone 3GS or newer iPod Touch models with faster CPUs. There’s no word yet on when Touch DJ will hit the app store. All Amidio says on their site is “ESTIMATED AVAILABILITY DATE: ??? (ASK APPLE!)”. Hopefully, that means soon. For now, follow them over on Twitter to be notified when Touch DJ is released.

The mp3 grenade is Matt from NYC Resistor’s baby, as well as his childhood dream – or so he claims. I really can’t imagine grenade + music = smiley face entered his head as a child.

Wherever or whenever the idea came from, Matt really did bring it to life – but not before giving his workmates a scare after forgetting to mention a box of hand grenades would be arriving at their office. After clearing things up, Matt got to work. First, he fitted the grenade’s pinhole with a 1/8-inch jack. Then, after hacksawing the body open, he replaced its grenadey guts with a Sansa 2GB mp3 player, which apparently called for “a session of intense soldering onto very tiny soldering points.”

A few legally purchased mp3 tracks later and viola – instant mp3 grenade.

[via Geek.com]

Awesome! But how does it work? What’s inside? An iPod shuffle, of course.

Except that’s no iPod. Er, it is, but it’s been modified as well. A mod within a mod! Xzibit would be proud.

Modder goteking is a pretty handy guy; he’s been in this space before not once, but twice, and it’s probably a safe bet that we’ll revisit him sometime in the future.

[via TinyCartridge]