Ad: Manage updates with the Download App

george hamilton

It's summer, so pump up the iPod ice bucket

What is it about outdoor music systems that makes manufacturers insist on designing them to look like ice buckets? Are they supposed to look like coolers or ice cream makers to blend in with the poolside decor?

Whatever. SkyMall, everyone's favorite catalog at 30,000 feet, is the latest to offer one of these picnic wannabes with its "Boombucket iPod Music System." Like others of its ilk, the $150 bucket claims to be "weather-resistant" and can play an iPod up to 8 hours per battery charge, though we wouldn't recommend dunking it for laughs.… Read more

Solar can look good even without a tan

Maybe we're just superficial (OK, probably), but we've often suspected that appearances are a key reason that solar products haven't taken off with the masses. Too often they look like something you'd find listed under "contractor's special" than, say, at Bang & Olufsen. So leave it up to the marketing-obsessed electronics business to come up with some effective packaging. Case in point: Sanyo's new Eneloop device, whose solar-powered batteries can recharge products through a USB connection while looking decent enough to display in the open. Now the marketing department just needs to … Read more