If you thought cubes were so last-century, take a look at this Yamaha NX-A01 portable cube speaker that's just 3.3 inches high.
It uses an optional Yamaha Bluetooth receiver to let you listen to wireless audio from cell phones or PCs, and it's punching plenty of power for its size, driving 4 watts each into two channels. It's $129, and its TRX-RO1BT Bluetooth receiver is also $129.
This is one great-looking speaker, and weighing 11 ounces, it's packing some serious magnets inside.
The company quotes a frequency response of 90 Hz to 20 kHz, and if it's anywhere near that number, it'll sound sweet. Too bad that pricey Bluetooth receiver isn't internal or included.
[Yamaha, via ]
Yamaha has developed a compass that's just 2mm across, small enough to fit into even the smallest mobile device.
It's designed to work in concert with a GPS system, giving users a choice of keeping the map oriented north or pointed in the direction they're heading. It measures 2mm square and is just 1mm thick. To give you an idea of how small it is, each one of those markers on the graphic above is .
5mm.
Samples of the chip will start to ship in October, so that means it'll be a few months after that when we'll start seeing new capabilities cropping up in handheld GPS systems and mobile phones.
[Yamaha, via ]
By Brendan I.
Koerner
There are really two types of stereo users in this world: those who will settle for nothing less than all-tube pre-amps with speakers bigger than a fat man's coffin, and those who make do with all-in-one shelf systems. The latter group is by far the larger, as most folks don't see the need to drop $2,999 in order to better enjoy the nuances of that Bob Marley: Legend disc they bought in 1997. is an exceedingly rare affliction in our society, for better and for worse.
Yet shelf systems, even on the low end, are a lot mightier than a few years back, 100 watts of power and dual tape decks were enough to make your dormmates jealous. And while the geek fixed-audio buzz is all about , the store windows on 125th Street are all about shelf systems with Buck Rodgers looks and price tags on par with a 1-gig iPod Shuffle. After the jump, Low End Theory checks out the shelf-system scene at Record Shack.
PLUS: One more chance to share your tales of Sharper Image excess.
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