More and more companies are “thinking pink” and started to develop products for the ladies. That’s the case with these retro pink headphones, the Panasonic RP-HTX7. Not sure about you but they really remind me of those helicopter headphones they used in Mash, except these are pink.

They have a response range from 7Hz to 22KHz and have been extra padded for comfort. Expect to pay $60 for them. Though they are expensive it could be the perfect gift for your geeky girlfriend.

via PortableGadget

Here goes the problem of storing music on our hard drives.

Researchers at the University of Rochester managed to digitally recreate a music file that is almost 1,000 times smaller than a regular MP3 file. A 20 seconds clarinet solo that takes less than a kilobyte was possible using a computer that literally reproduces the original performance based on what it knows about the real-world physics of clarinet and the physics of a clarinet player.

Behind the computer model of a clarinet is Mark Bocko, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and two of his doctoral students, Xiaoxiao Dong and Mark Sterling.

“This is essentially a human-scale system of reproducing music. Humans can manipulate their tongue, breath, and fingers only so fast, so in theory we shouldn’t really have to measure the music many thousands of times a second like we do on a CD. As a result, I think we may have found the absolute least amount of data needed to reproduce a piece of music” said Bocko.

Here are the audio files, in WAV format for Web comparison :

Human performance recorded using MP3 format

Virtual performance using Bocko’s new compression

Though not perfect, it is very difficult to tell the synthesized sound from the original sound. Future improvements of the method will include more than just one instrument, and Professor Bocko is confident that the synthesis algorithms will improve and the future of music could be “reproducing performers and not recording them”.

Gadgets and jewelry, what not to love? Altec Lansing has created the MUZX Series earphones, especially designed for women and decorated with Swarovski crystals. The sparkling earphones retail for $59.95, which I can’t consider too expensive.

The extraordinary design concept joined Altec’s MHP 206 earphones with three Swarovski jewelry pieces. The earbuds were decorated with flowers and you can also observe the stunning butterfly on the choker. Altec Lansing didn’t neglect the technology either. The earphones design provide passive noise reduction and great sound at lower listening levels. I must confess, I really love this luxurious set! Don’t you?

Product page via Popgadget

Today we have the iPod, but 150 years ago they had the phonautograph. What’s that?! The phonautograph is the first recording device in the world. Invented by Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville, a Parisian typesetter and tinkerer, the phonautograph had been a mystery. It recorded sounds, but it couldn’t play them.

A team of researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, have decoded the first song ever recorded on April 9, 1860. It is called ‘Au Clair de la Lune’. The discovery is historic, as everybody knew that Thomas Edison was the inventor of recorded sounds. However, Scott’s phonautograph had been invented 17 years before Edison patented its phonograph.

Listen here the first recorded sound that can be played. David Giovannoni, an American audio historian, has also presented recordings made in 1853 and 1854, but those attempts of capturing sounds have a poor quality, because Scott’s machine wasn’t calibrated at that time. How would look gadgets in 150 years from now?

via NY Times

The recent release of iRiver, is a lovely PMP. The gadget has a smooth line, nothing fancy, but still gorgeous. It comes in several colors (white, black, pink, light blue and chocolate). Nevertheless the Chocolate model tops the rest. iRiver E100 sports a 2.4″ LCD screen and retails in three versions of 2GB, 4GB and 8GB internal memory.

iRiver E100 plays MP3/WMA/OGG/ASF/FLAC audio files as well as MPEG4/WMV9/XVID videos files. Also it supports JPEG/BMP/PNG /GIF files. Although a 8GB version could store a lot of photos, tracks and videos, the PMP features miniSD support.

I should mention here that iRiver E100 features voice recording option and FM tuner. Besides, it has an USB port for faster transfers, but the lack of Bluetooth is unacceptable at this level. It delivers up to 5 hours of video streaming and up to 17 hours of listening. The E100 is available in stores, with prices starting at €79.00 (or $119) for a 2GB model, €99 ($155) for the 4GB version and €129.00 ($194) for the 8GB.

Product page via Akihabara

Sony PCM-D50 is professional digital recorder. It is a 96 kHz and 24-bit recorder. The device features two Electret Condenser microphones with high sensitivity levels and is able to record in two positions (X-Y and Wide Stereo).

It has built-in flash memory 4 GB and a Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo for extra storage needs. Sony PCM-D50 supports MP3 playback and USB connection for fast transfers. The recorder needs four AA batteries. To minimize the noise, the device was designed with four separate circuit boards to separate analog audio, digital audio, digital recording, and power supply circuits. Besides it has many other features that would pleasure the professionals.

Buy it here for $500.

via Dvice

The most discussed SMS of the year, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy telling his ex-wife Si tu reviens, j’annule tout (If you come back, I will cancel everything) 8 days before his marriage with singer Carla Bruni is now turned into a song by Jeanne Cherhal a French Pop singer, and posted on her MySpace page.

No one is sure if the SMS was real but the buzz is not yet over and if anyone needs my honest opinion the song is great. The Si tu reviens song has been played 141,700 times so far and going up.

Here is a short clip (asx file!!!) of “Si Tu Reviens”. By the way, why isn’t Carla Bruni singing that song ?

The French manufacturer Waterfall Audio will introduce its glass speakers to American market at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show next month. The company announced two models for launching suggestively called Victoria EVO and Iguasçu EVO (after the names of two famous waterfalls).

According to the press release the “Victoria EVO and Iguasçu EVO are slim, pure-glass towers standing 40 inches high but just 10 inches wide. The Victoria EVO, a three-way/four-driver design, includes Waterfall’s proprietary, downfiring, 8.5-inch passive woofer, the Iguasçu (34 inches tall by 10 inches wide) employs identical drivers (including the passive woofer) in a two-way/three-driver arrangement. Both models use a key Waterfall technology: the Acoustic Damping Tube (ADT), which performs near-total damping of mid- and low-frequency ‘back-wave’ artifacts, and precise damping control of midrange reflections, allowing the speakers to produce superbly accurate, high-end performance within their effectively undamped glass enclosures.”

Victoria EVO speakers retail for $5,400 a pair, while their little brother, the 34-inch Iguasçu EVO costs $3,900 a pair. The glass speakers will be available in February 2008.

Griffin Technology has launched recently a new wireless sound system. The product was released on BestBuy.com, an online shop. The Evolve Wireless Sound System features a base unit dock, two wireless speakers and a RF remote control.

The dock station is compatible with iPod video, iPod photo and 1st- and 2nd-generation iPod nano. The unit recharges your iPod too, as it streams digital stereo sounds. The wireless speakers are powered by built-in lithium-ion batteries, which deliver up to 10 hours of functioning. Evolve Wireless Sound System has auxiliary audio in RCA jacks for alternate audio sources like other MP3 player for example.

You can buy it for $299 at BestBuy.com. (via iLounge)

Tango Studio is a compact audio system that will perfectly suit on a bookshelf or on your desk. Its sleek design match very well with iPod’s. The system features two full range loudspeakers and a full stereo high-dynamic amplifier. To keep the compact design, Tango Studio was projected with a retractable iPod dock.

The device was designed for iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano (1G, 2G, & 3G), iPod with video, iPod (4G), iPod mini. Even you have an iPod Shuffle it can be connected via the auxiliary line-in jack. Also the unit allows you to connect other devices, for example other music players or just a video game console.

The system features a wireless remote control. It works in a fifty feet range. Other specs needed to be mentioned here are the FM tuner and the display behind sleek the cloth grill. The Tango Studio Audio System retails for $79.95.

Product page via TechFresh