Kansas City Tech Guide

In one fell swoop, Newman shows the industry how to get its ass back into plastic. The Cool Man MP3 player is anything but, man. Unless you’re still wearing that acid-washed, Blondie pin collector from your 80’s wardrobe. The DAP features an OLED display, MP3/WMA support, built-in mic and bleb poppin’ safety pin. And that juicy orange? We have no fracking idea since the player is about as waterproof as a, as a… well, entry-level MP3 player.

For the folks that just can’t let go, JVC is introducing a new duo of recorders that handle VHS, DVD and HDD-based logging. Predictably, the DR-HX500 holds 500GB while the DR-HX250 gets a 250GB drive, and outside of that, both units are identical. You’ll find a built-in analog / digital TV tuner, an HDMI socket and all the dubbing features you (or your grandmother) can handle. It should be noted that digital TV recordings can only be stored on the HDD, but it is possible to capture a digital show there while copying an analog broadcast to VHS / DVD. The pair is all geared up to land in multi-generational homes this July, with prices being pegged at Â¥95,000 ($906) and Â¥75,000 ($715), respectively.

[Via Pocket-lint]

That 80GB Zune above looks mighty familiar, now doesn’t it? At least it does if you checked out our totally wild guess mockup that we created upon hearing of this gem. The limited edition Joy Division-themed Zune has finally been pictured (officially) and priced, with just 500 of ‘em to be offered up through the Zune Originals website. Of course, we have no idea how quickly these will (or won’t) go, but if you’re looking to grab one, we’d have that trigger finger ready to roll on June 17th.

While JAYS’ q-JAYS claimed to be the “smallest earphones on the market” just days ago, we doubt Klipsch would be willing to agree. Turns out, the firm’s IMAGE earbuds are also proclaiming that they are the “world’s smallest and lightest in-ear earphones,” and while we haven’t seen the ruler busted out just yet, we fear it may be needed to settle this obvious conflict. Regardless, these ‘buds utilize patent-pending Contour Ear Gels, KG926 balanced micro-armatures, aluminum bodies that are finished in anodized copper, and come with 50-inch long vinyl cables. Ready for a November release, the IMAGE earphones will ring up at $349 and will arrive with a carrying case and pouch, a 1/4-inch / airline adapter, five sets of ear gels, and a cleaning tool to boot. Click on for a literal hands-on shot.

Klipsch made tiny waves with their original Image headphones, saying they were the world’s smallest. We took their word for it and moved along. Now Klipsch has given up on the size game with its new X5 headphones, boasting that the 2mm-bigger X5 headphones are “light but heavy in sound.” Anyway, the Image X5 use a full-range armature driver, tuned bass-reflex system, and sport a long-enough 50-inch cable. The housing is electroplated aluminum and Klipsch says the black “tail” reduces cable stress and dampens cable noise. The X5 is iPhone compatible and comes in at a more wallet-friendly (but still slightly alarming) $249 later this month. For that price you’ll get the headphones, carrying pouch, airplane adapter, five multi-sized ear gels, and an ear gel cleaning tool.