Listening to music when I run makes it a lot more interesting and maybe even fun. If I were to go swimming, I’d be bored to death: there would be no music, podcasts, or audiobooks to distract me from the actual exercise. While seasoned swimmers wouldn’t use the SwiMP3 player, I definitely would.
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So you have recently discovered the wonders of VoIP and have managed to track down your long lost relatives who are currently residing across 6 continents to hold a Skype conference on a weekly basis, catching up on old times. The eternal question then pops up - which is the best gadget to purchase for your VoIP needs that will not add unnecessary clutter to your desktop while offering great voice quality in a nice looking package? Gizoo claims to have the answer with the Street Mouse VoIP handset. It looks very much like the well-loved Beetle and retails for an affordable £21.95.

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So you have had a tough day at the office and arrived home, kicking off your socks and planting your tush on the La-z-Boy, hoping to see what the almighty TV is able to offer you in terms of entertainment. You sense that something is amiss and start to panic when you realize the TV remote control is nowhere in sight, and turning the couch upside down yielded no positive results either. Muttering a line of curses under your breath that will even send Harry Potter into oblivion, you walk up to the TV and do the unthinkable - you turn it on manually. How nice would it be if you never get caught in such a situation? That is now possible with the Super-Sized TV Remote Control from Brookstone.

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Why not get your kid an MP3 player? As long as it keeps them occupied for 10 minutes, it’s worth a good amount of money. Fisher Price, a regular in the children’s toys market, is here to take your money with their new Kid-Tough FP3 (no typo!) player.
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If the latest round of touchscreen iPod rumors are true, you may want to revise your holiday wishlist.

Touchscreen iPod rumors have been circulating around the Internet for awhile now. Even MethodShop.com posted some touchscreen iPod patent pictures back in February. The new twist to this story is that the touchscreen iPod might have a wide aspect ratio screen. This would make a lot of sense since Apple recently started selling movies on iTunes.

The new widescreen rumor originated from an anonymous executive at an iPod accessories company who spoke to someone at TrustedReviews. How reliable is this anonymous executive? Your guess is as good as ours. Anyway, here’s what Mr. Anonymous had to say:

“In a very matter of fact tone I was told that the product was not designed for the current generation of device, but the official 6G iPod… which is to be released in December. His company’s device only comes onto the market shortly before then and would benefit hugely because the new iPod would sport a screen that filled the full side of the device and consequently offer higher resolution video… This is why Jobs isn’t afraid of the Zune,’ he said, though he had no knowledge of whether wireless would make an appearance.”

This might help explain Steve Jobs dismissive attitude last week:

“Jobs is unimpressed with Microsoft’s Zune, which allows users to exchange songs. ‘It takes forever,’ said Jobs. ‘By the time you’ve gone through all that, the girl’s got up and left!’”

Adding more fuel to the fire, here’s what Gizmodo had to say about the widescreen iPod rumors:

“One thing’s for sure, if this widescreen iPod is released in the next two months, the Microsoft Zune with its old-fashioned 4×3 screen and crippled WiFi will be slam-dunked.”

digg story | methodshop

There are times when you just want to take a break from all the noise around you and retire into your very own private hole, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Sometimes even the privacy and comfort of our very own rooms are not able to provide us with that as the constant sirens 20 floors below pierce through the air while the whirring of news helicopters above provide a steady stream of distraction. If there was a way to completely cut off all form of sound, how much are you willing to pay for it? The Total Isolation System might cost $315, but read on to see if it is just a pile of hogwash or the true blue silent solution.

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These have got to be the smallest earpieces I’ve ever seen, the micro earpieces slot into your ears and are near invisible.

I’m pleased to say all models are wireless (having an invisible earpiece with a wire dangling from it would have kind of defeated the object). Communications is via Bluetooth or an inductive coil that you wear under your clothes.

They may be small but they’re certainly not cheap with prices starting at over $200. More info over at wintec, thanks to fellow gadget enthusiast MystD for the heads up on these tiny devices.

According to several police chiefs in the UK, the popularity of the iPod may be behind a 5% increase in robberies. Ian Johnston, chief constable of the British Transport Police had this to say last Friday about the iPod and other valuable gadgets, “The mobile phone explosion is continuing. The iPod explosion is continuing. All of these gadgets that people carry around with them are very attractive to robbers, so that puts the opportunities up. We’ve obviously got to respond to that…”

Apparently just wearing an iPod in the UK can make you a target for a mugging. If you are extremely worried about being attacked for your iPod, you should consider not using the white earbuds that come with every iPod. White headphones are a dead giveaway to everyone around you that you own an iPod.

Even though overall crime in the UK has dropped, robbery rose by about 5% compared to last year. Violent crime was also slightly up nationwide mostly due to street brawls and pub fights.

In case you are curious, here’s the breakdown in recorded crime in the UK compared to last year:

• Drug offences up 16%
• Other offences against the person-with no injury up 6%
• Robbery up 5%
• Criminal damage 0%
• Theft of and from vehicles 0%
• Domestic burglary down 4%
• Other burglary down 5%
• Other thefts and handling down 6%
• More serious violence down 13%
• Other offences against the person-with injury down 4%
• Sexual offences down 6%
• Total recorded crime down 2%

digg story | methodshop