TokyoFlash Barcode SS

If the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica ever had the need to wear a watch, I am pretty sure this is what it would look like. From the land that brought us Hello Kitty Contact Lenses, we now have the Barcode SS watch. Featuring red, green, and yellow binary L.E.D.s that display the time and date in such a cryptic manner that even Steven Hawking would find it perplexing.

TokyoFlash carries a complete line of ultra modern timepieces that will impress and bemuse your friends.

Pros: Very Solid Build Quality, Cool L.E.D.s, Chicks Dig It.

Cons: What F*&%ing Time Is It?

List Price: $225.00

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mStand Laptop Stand

Ever notice that after spending several hours working on your laptop that your neck and shoulders are a little stiff? Get that laptop off your desk and elevate it to a higher and more ergonomic level. Rain Design has created a sleek laptop stand that looks like it belongs on exhibit at MOCA.

Made of a single piece of aluminum, the mStand raises your laptop's screen to the same height as an external monitor. This helps to improve your posture by raising the laptop's screen to eye level which results in better ergonomics. As a bonus, since it is made of aluminum, it also acts as a heat sink to help cool your hot running machine.

Pros: Sculpted Good Looks, Improves Airflow & Ergonomics.

Cons: Doesn't Come In Black.

List Price: $49.99

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

GOM Media Player

Let's be honest, Windows Media Player sucks. Say goodbye to Bill Gates and his cronies with the new GOMPLAYER. It will pretty much play any video format that you can throw at it. It will even play broken AVI files via it's patented technology. Other amazing utilities such as built-in screen capture with multi burst capability and advanced slowmotion/fastmotion with pitch voice adjustment make this media player a no brainer.

Bye bye Windows Media Player you will not be missed.

Pros: Various format playback, multi burst screen capture, built-in codec finder.

Cons: No Mac Version.

List Price: FREE!

M-Audio Nova Large Capsule Cardioid Microphone

Looking for a professional quality cardioid microphone but don't have the deep pockets for the world famous Neumann U 87? For about $3,400 less, you might want to consider M-Audio's Nova. The Nova is an affordable large capsule cardioid microphone that features a 1.1 inch evaporated gold diaphragm. Frequency response is rated at a respectable 20Hz-18kHz. The feel and weight are much more substantial than you would expect from a mic at this price point. It's solid brass body and capsule should provide years of trouble free service.

For recording podcasts, voice overs, or acoustic instruments, this budget mic is more than capable of providing professional quality results. As with most studio mics it does require 48V phantom power and connects via XLR.

Now all you have to do is to figure out what to do with all the money that you saved.

Pros: Very Solid Build Quality, Sounds Rich & Full, Great Bang For Buck.

Cons: Shock Mount Not Included.

List Price: $129.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Minty Fresh Penguin Headphone Amp

Ever wonder what to do with all those empty mint tins? How about making an audiophile quality headphone amp? Amazingly enough a whole community of DIY'ers has sprung up making high quality headphone amps that fit into a minuscule mint tin. Commonly known as a CMOY, named after the original concept and design by Chu Moy. If you are tech savvy enough to build your own, you can find instructions and parts lists at Tangentsoft and at Williamneo.

If you are too lazy or technically challenged, you can get a slick professional built amp from Penguin Amp International. Based in Germany, Robert Gehrke has taken this idea and raised it to a new level. He offers three models ranging from $49.00 to $99.00. I like the "Caffeine Ultra" which features a meticulously designed printed circuit board. Much nicer that anything I could ever cobble together.

Pros: Retro Graphics, Professionally Built.

Cons: Mints Not Included.

List Price: $49.00 to $99.00

XtremeMac Roadshow for iPod Video

If you live in a city like Los Angeles where you spend more time in your car stuck in traffic than you do chillin' on your sofa at home watching T.V. You might want to consider getting yourself XtremeMac's IPV-CAV-100 Roadshow for your video iPod. With this sweet little cable you can hook up your iPod to your vehicle's standard 12-volt accessory outlet to power an charge your iPod while the audio and video cables output a signal to your DVD Navigation/Entertainment system.

It looks like this product might have been recently discontinued, so get one while you can.

Pros: Video & Audio Output, Charges iPod.

Cons: Might Be Hard To Find One.

List Price: $59.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Belkin Podcast Studio 2-Track iPod Recorder

The problem with field recording is all the gear you need to lug around just to make a high quality recording. Belkin might just have the answer to this dilemma with it's soon to be released Podcast Studio. It turns your iPod into a 2-track stereo recorder. Featuring two XLR/1/4" combo jacks, two built-in rotating directional mics (L/R), compressor/limiter, low cut filter, adjustable gain, LED meter, built-in playback speaker, and a headphone jack. Recordings will be stored as an uncompressed 44.1kHz stereo WAV file. Power will be provided by two AAA batteries.

It should work with any 5G (video) iPod, the iPod Classic, and the 3G iPod Nano. With a projected release date of June 2008, the Podcast Studio should retail for a low ball price of $99.99. Keep in mind that Belkin has yet to ship it's TuneStudio 4-channel iPod mixer that it announced over a year ago. Hopefully the Podcast Studio will not meet the same fate.

Pros: Two XLR inputs, Built-In Compressor/Limiter, Modern Design.

Cons: Records Only to WAV Format, Possible Vaporware.

List Price: $99.99 (Price subject to change.)

TuffWrap for iPod/iPhone/iTouch

It's a cruel, cruel world. You are going to need some protection. XtremeMac knows this and has just what you need for your iPod/iPhone/iTouch. TuffWrap is a high-grade silicone case that protects against scratches and dings. Featuring side ridges that give you a secure grip to help prevent inadvertent fumbling. A protective door for the dock connector and cutouts provide access to all controls. TuffShield, a clear hard-coated plastic film, is also included to protect the fragile screen of your device.

All it takes is dropping your iPod/iPhone/iTouch just once, before you realize that wrapping that little sucker would be a very good idea indeed.

Pros: Great Protection, Gripping Edges, Slim Design.

Cons: Not Waterproof.

List Price: $19.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter

Newer Technology has updated it's popular USB 2.0 Universal Drive Adapter. Touted as the "Swiss Army Knife" of disk connectivity, this little gadget turns any bare drive into an external storage solution. It's a complete solution that allows any 2.5˝, 3.5˝, or 5.25˝ hard drive or optical drive to be connected via USB to any USB equipped computer for file transfer, backing-up and storing file archives, and accessing date on stored backup drives with Plug & Play ease. It now features status LED's to provide easy confirmation of the transfer of data.

This makes it way too convenient to pick up whatever high capacity drive is on sale at your local retailer and make yourself a backup drive that you can place in a drawer or take off site.

Pros: Works With Any Bare Drive, New LED Status Lights

Cons: No Firewire Connection.

List Price: $29.95

mStation 2.1 Stereo Orb

Need a mod looking stereo speaker system for your latest iPod? Looking like an extra from the 1975 film "Rollerball" starring James Caan, this little orb packs 2.1 audio into a sleek modern design. MStation's Stero Orb features an iPod doc, Subwoofer, and a 10 key remote. This little guy is perfect for a home office or dorm room. With 30 watts of power it should be more than enough to satisfy your rump shaking needs. It comes in a rainbow of colors to match any decor. You can pick from white, black, blue, green, pink, red, and silver.

Just be sure to keep it away from drunken friends who might mistake it for a bowling ball.

Pros: Mod Design, Built-in Subwoofer, Nice Remote

Cons: Not for Audiophiles, No Video Out.

List Price: $129.95

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.

Elgato Turbo.264

The current king of the hill codec for portable digital video is hands down h.264. With this codec you can squeeze an hour and a half movie down to well under 1 GB, while still being able to maintain both color and detail. This makes it perfect for converting your favorite movies and videos for playback on your iPod, iTouch, and iPhone. The only downside is that with great compression comes very long processing times. A typical movie can take several hours to encode depending on how fast your host's computer processor is.

Elgato has come up with an ingenious and economical way to solve this problem. Turbo.264 is a USB 2.0 device that plugs in to your computer just like a typical thumb drive, but instead it features a built in processor that is designed specifically to encode h.264 videos. You can expect to see a speed improvement of about 2 to 3 times faster on newer macs. With much older macs the speed improvement will be even more dramatic. Some users of prehistoric macs have reported speed increases up to 10 times faster.

Is the Turbo.264 right for you? If you just bought a new 8 core Mac Pro, then you don't need it. For slower laptop users and owners of older macs it could just be the kick in the pants that you are looking for.

Pros: Faster Encoding, Leaves CPU Free to Perform Other Tasks

Cons: Somewhat Larger File Sizes Compared to Software Only Compression

List Price: $99.00

Click here to buy from Pixelphile's Amazon Stop & Shop.