zik

This week in awesome: Twelve 4-star gadgets and apps

I'd call this week the calm before the brewing Motorola/iPhone/rumored smaller iPad/Kindle update/Surface storm, but in truth, fall gadget winds are already whipping up. This week's Microsoft Release to Manufacturing of Windows 8 signals the company's final few weeks before a hurricane of Windows 8 machines blow into the market.

Storm metaphor too heavy-handed? I'll just cut to the chase: Seth Rosenblatt took a very close look at this final version of Windows (it's the code that ships to partners installing the OS on new computers) and made a call: It'… Read more

Best Bluetooth accessories right now (roundup)

Do you like wires? Neither do we. And thankfully, you don't really need them anymore when you're using a smartphone.

No matter your preference -- iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry -- any decent modern smartphone is equipped with wireless Bluetooth capability. In addition to hands-free calling with headsets and stereo headphones, phones can also be used as wireless music sources for an increasingly large array of Bluetooth speakers -- perfect for listening to MP3s on the phone, or Web-based audio services like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Cloud Player, iTunes Match, or anything else.

As someone who uses Bluetooth gadgets daily, I'd frankly feel lost without my handy assortment of hands-free mobile toys. And I've collected a list of some of CNET's favorites. … Read more

Zik by Starck: Not just a pair of pretty headphones

LAS VEGAS--It's easy to get caught up playing with the AR.Drone WiFi quadracopter at the Parrot booth here at CES and almost almost miss one of the smartest pairs of headphones around.

Most products by French designer Philippe Starck come with a simple yet elegant appeal, and the Parrot Zik by Starck headphones are no exception.

However, what captured our attention about the Zik is really all the underlying technology it incorporates. Besides supporting active noise-cancellation technology, it also sports a touch-sensitive panel for tasks such as volume control. The Zik can be connected to devices via Bluetooth or a 3.5mm analogue line-in. It even comes with compatible apps on iOS and Android smartphones. … Read more

This week is all about car stereos, baby!

I ended last week's blog with a video and blurb about the new lightweight, energy-efficient stereo system designed for the 2011 Chevy Volt by Bose. And then I realized that I'd never done a full-fledged blog theme week about car stereos. But better late than never, right?

And so here I start a new theme all about car stereo systems, how they work, and how they're installed. And just to whet our appetites, I have a video of European cars being made over into bass-thumpin' beat machines. Unfortunately I don't have any specs on the components … Read more