iriver refuses to give Mickey a rest

We know about the whole obsession with kawaii (translation: Cute) in Japan, but how much Mickey can any culture stand? Already they've gotten silver, gold, and even Swarovski-diseased 1GB "Mplayers," and now Disney and iriver Japan are introducing "Season 2" of the eared one in even more colors, patterns, and designs, according to Dvice. Between this and High School Musical, we may need a set of blinders as well as earplugs.

Via CNET Crave

Pioneer's splash-free speaker for portable audio players

Here's a nifty device that lets you listen to music from your iPod, even in the shower. The Happy Aqua AS-PS66 from Pioneer is a splashproof speaker with a built-in compartment to accommodate portable music players such as the iPod or Zen. It comes certified with Japan Industrial Standard (JIS) 4 rating, which essentially means it is splash-resistant, not waterproof as reported by many gadget blog sites.

Available in light blue, light pink and white, the 350g Happy Aqua speaker is clearly aimed at those who want to add a little music entertainment in the bathroom. According to the product Web site, the unique bottle shape of the Pioneer speaker is designed to blend in with the shampoo and bath bottles in the toilet. A loop design at its top end also allows it to be conveniently hung from a hook to save space.

It is estimated that four AA-sized batteries can power the 0.3W Pioneer speaker for up to 37 hours. The Happy Aqua speaker will debut in Japan for 4,000 yen (US$39.23) in early April. There are currently no plans to bring this speaker to other parts of Asia, according to Pioneer.

Via Newlaunches and Pioneer

Need to manage 25,000 CDs? No problem

Qsonix is a company that doesn't believe in doing anything small. Its original touchscreen media system, for example, was the first we'd seen that stores a terabyte of music while controlling four zones throughout the house independently with their own songs and settings.

And now it's gotten even bigger, with a new 17-inch screen (the previous one was 15 inches) and an additional 500GB of storage. That's right: Up to 1.5 terabytes of media, which translates to 4,000 CDs or 25,000 when compressed, according to Electronic House. Also available is software updated with new features, such as the option to burn and play back CDs simulateously, for free--which is a good thing, because the last version cost up to US$7,795.

Via Crave CNET

Beckham gets the golden (iPod) touch

Given the millions (in sterling pounds, mind you) that the Premiership soccer stars are being paid each year, one would have thought the English national team players would have gotten a sports car or a special-edition Vertu phone, at the very least. But it seems all they could come up with to celebrate David Beckham's 100th soccer appearance for England against France last week was... an Apple iPod touch.

At least there's been some attempt to jazz this up with specially customized gold plating as well as Beckham's name and the England soccer team's emblem engraved on the back. Did we mention that the £600 (US$1,196.50) player comes with 32GB of memory? Not that it really matters to the former England captain.

Via Telegraph
Picture credit: Telegraph

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