Nino's Portable Electronics Blog

JVC recently introduced some new additions to its inexpensive Gumy line of ear bud headphones. These new additions are known as the Gumy Air (HA-F240) and they are available in multiple colors for around $15.

The JVC Gumy Air ear buds make use of a soft, silicon rubber air cushion to the earpiece. JVC says this provides for more of a custom ear fit as the Gumy Air conforms to the contours of one's ear, ensuring they "fit securely and comfortably."

Sounds on these ear buds is handled through a 11mm neodymium driver unit, while friction noise is reduced through usage of a one-meter friction noise reduction cord, equipped with an iPhone-friendly plug. To see more information on the JVC Gumy Air, check out JVC's Web site.

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: JVC)

Another in the long line of would-be competitors to the Apple iPod is a company by the name of Sonix7. One of its more recent products is the smaller Sonix7 Lite, priced around $74.

The Sonix7 Lite is targeted to compete against the iPod nano in terms of size and functions. It sports a small, 1.8-inch color display and its 4GB of internal memory let you store up to 1,000 songs, 5,000 photos or 20 hours of compatible video. It offers a variety of functions, such as FM radio and digital voice recording, to round out its feature set. You can get more information on the Sonix7 Lite at the Sonix7 Web site.

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Sonix7)

The Creative ZEN Mozaic is a playful spin on the traditional portable media player market dominated by the iPod. This small player has a unique "mozaic" keypad design for controlling playback functions and also includes all the other usual bells and whistles such as audio/video playback, a FM radio, colorful body choices and more. For more details, check out this Creative ZEN Mozaic first look.

Say you are bored with your typical plastic earbuds and seek something which puts a little more uniqueness in your music listening experience. One route might be these Holua in-ear earbuds from Skullcandy, priced around $100.

The Skullcandy Holua makes use of wooden housing with "laser cut aluminum accents" to create something different from your garden variety earbuds. It seems to have some good technical aspects, including 8mm speakers and an impedance of 16 ohms. A wooden carrying box is included. If you desire to know more about the Holua, you can check out the Skullcandy Web site for more details. Available now. [via]

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Skullcandy)

Motorola recently announced some new portable speaker systems for those who make use of mobile phones embedded with wireless Bluetooth. These systems are known as the MOTOROKR EQ7 and EQ5 and pricing is set around $200 and $120, respectively.

The EQ7 (pictured) combines stereo music and a speakerphone system into its four JBL speakers. It uses wireless Bluetooth technology to connect with compatible music mobiles or other devices. You can also hook up a MP3 player via a 3.5mm audio cable. This system enables you as well to do conference calls, offering functions such as noise and echo reduction technology and also mute.

The EQ5, meanwhile, acts more as a portable Bluetooth speaker system without speakerphone abilities. It also pairs with Bluetooh enabled devices and players connected with a 3.5mm audio cable to let you enjoy music stored on these electronics. It includes special audio enhancement technology and a rechargeable battery offering up to six hours of playback. You can get more information on Motorola's Web site about the EQ7 and EQ5 if you so desire. Both should be available now.

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Motorola)

Palm is rolling out a new Treo Windows Mobile smartphone targeted squarely at business professionals. It is called the Treo Pro and it will price around $550 when available this fall.

The Treo Pro includes a number of nice features for the mobile worker. These include built-in WiFi for accessing the Internet from hot spots, built-in GPS for knowing where you are globally, world phone capabilities via high-speed UMTS/HSDPA data networks and a high-resolution color touch screen.

This smartphone comes loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, providing support for Word and Excel compatible files, PowerPoint presentations and PDF files. It also has a voicemail indicator, support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or 2007 for up-to-date email, contacts and calendars and media playback. You can find more details on the Palm Treo Pro by visiting Palm's Web site as well as About.com Smartphones.

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Palm)

Not a big fan of portable, old 16-bit Sega games? Didn't like the form factor of this portable media player which lets you play old school Nintendo games? Well, here's another one for you which does that hybrid player/gaming machine thing - the Chinavasion CVSB-008.

The Chinavasion CVSB-008, like the portable media player previously mentioned, lets you enjoy old Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) titles via a process called emulation. The old Nintendo gaming system's gaming titles have found their way online in the form of data files which can be run and played through a special application. You''ll have to hunt around for them for a bit, but they are out there.

If you desire you use this device as a media player, you'll find it sporting a 2.4-inch display and offering support for a decent amount of media files. It also has 4GB of internal memory, a built-in digital camera, built-in video recorder, USB 2.0 support and can function as an ebook reader. It will cost you around $67 and you can get more information on it at Chinavasion's Web site. [via]

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Chinavasion)

If you are old enough you probably remember with some fondness the glory days of 16-bit Sega video game titles such as Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe and Ecco the Dolphin. You can now capture a piece of said retro happiness if you so desire with this new Megadrive handheld gaming console from Blaze International.

The Blaze Megadrive contains 20 built-in, 16-bit Sega licensed games. These include, besides the ones mentioned above, such classic titles as Alien Storm, Altered Beast, Arrow Flash, Crackdown, Decap Attack, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine and Ecco Junior. All can be enjoyed on a portable game player which includes built-in gaming controls, a LCD screen and the ability to export video to a larger screen if so desired.

Other features of the Megadrive include a built-in speaker and power provided by AAA batteries. It should be available shortly, at least in the United Kingdom. For more details, visit the Blaze International Web site. [via]

(Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)

(Photo Credit: Blaze International)

Amazon's Kindle ebook reader redefines the category of products it belongs to, opening up a more obscure field of portable electronics to mainstream consumers. The ability to hold hundreds of books, access an online Amazon bookstore through a cellular network so you can purchase and download well known, bestseller ebooks directly and let you subscribe to newspapers, magazines and blogs makes this an extremely rich offering for hours of entertainment. For more details, check out my Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader review.

iHome, normally a maker of accessories for the iPod, also likes to tinker in doing up related products for the iPod's Microsoft-backed competitor known as the Zune. One of the latest of these is also the first in a line of new dedicated speaker systems - the ZN9.

The iHome ZN9 is a dual alarm stereo radio with a built-in Zune dock. This first ever clock radio for the Zune charges your portable player while at the same time letting you wake up to music on it. There are pretty good quality speakers built into this product, according to iHome, for stereo listening enjoyment.

Other features of the ZN9, priced at around $100, include radio or buzzer alarms, a 7-5-2 function for separate weekday and weekend alarm times, AM/FM and an extra large, backlit LCD display with dimmer. It is available now and you can get more information on it via iHome's Web site. (Note: Product mentions on the Portable Electronics blog do not certify endorsement of the product, but rather provide details on new products which might be of interest to consumers.)