Japan-based gadget maker Strapya is offering the so-called Music Card MP3 Player (the link leads to their English store), an MP3 player that houses a speaker and an earphone plug but is still just 5mm (0.20″) thin. Sized at 5.4×8.6cm, the player weighs 20g.

Strapya says the headphone jack is just 2.5mm and ships fitting earphones with the player itself, but they’ll also give buyers an adapter so they can use their 3.5mm headphones as well. You can connect the player to your PC or Mac via USB and store MP3 or WMA files in its 2GB internal memory. If you don’t use the built-in speaker, you can listen to music for about 15 hours before the battery needs to be recharged.

Strapya is selling various versions of the Music Card (gold credit card, three chocolate bar-type models, vintage camera (?), and cassette tape). The player costs $26.40, with Strapya shipping ready to ship it worldwide.

Here’s the weird – but official – promo video for the device (subbed in English):

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These $90 neckties are made from 50% cotton and 50% old audio tapes. There’s more, there’s more. If you have the time, interest, and/or wherewithal to take apart an old tape player, you can actually run the tape head back and forth over the tie to kinda, sorta reproduce the sounds originally found on the cassette.

It ends up sounding like a bunch of gobbledygook but, hey, do your regular ties make weird sounds when you run a tape head over them? If so, your house is clearly haunted. Run!

The “Sonic Fabric Neckties” are available in black, dark brown, or light gray for $90 each. If you’re hell bent on getting your hands on a tape head, here’s a how-to video.

Sonic Fabric Neckties [SupermarketHQ.com via Wired]

It seems VHS will never die, and this is generally welcome, as a lot of good movies aren’t still available on optical discs. In summer 2008, Panasonic released a VHS/Blu-ray combo, followed by Sharp’s Aquos BD-HDV22 that was pretty much the same thing. And today, over one year later, JVC anounced the DR-BH250 [JP], which is a VHS recorder, Blu-Ray Recorder and 250GB HDD rolled into one.

JVC also threw in 1080/60p/24p support, BD-Live and BONUSVIEW support, AVCHD support, a USB port, an HDMI CEC interface, and an SD/SDHC card slot. It’s possible to transfer material between DVD, VHS and Blu-ray, including copying video from a VHS cassette to a Blu-ray disc.

JVC plans to roll out the DR-BH250 at the beginning of next month in Japan for $1,400. The company hasn’t said yet whether VHS fans not living in Japan will ever get to lay their hands on the device, too.

27 years ago, today, marks when the first commercial CD players hit the market. Sure it was in Japan, but they always get the good tech first. The CDP-101 was hardly affordable either: $2,200 if you wanted one, so that you could listen to any one of the mere 113 albums available at release. Then those were another $40 a piece, don’t forget. But that didn’t stop Sony from moving 20,000 of these units in a single year.

So today, we can set aside the hate of the music industry (might be hard, considering there isn’t one anymore) and say Happy Birthday to one of the greatest data mediums of all time.

In this case, John Meyer of Newform Research (opting for arbitrary numbers) has computed the effective bitrates of all the major audio media, from wax cylinder to MP3. You can see the partial results above, but I had to compress and crop them; the full table is at the link above or in PNG form there to the right. His methods are scientific in a way, but also questionable. The effective bitrate of a record can sort of be calculated, since it does indeed rely on a sampling rate and frequency range among other things, but that’s not really the end of the story.

Between your amp, speakers (or headphones), and other acoustic conditions, the end result is going to be so hopelessly complicated by extra variables that at times, sometimes it hardly matters whether the source is a 33RPM record being read by a thousand-dollar cartridge or an MP3 you bought on iTunes. Lossless codecs and high-quality digital audio systems are complicating this even further.

The idea of a reproduction being true to the original has more to do with the process than the medium. Would the Crystal Method sound better on vinyl? Much of their music is recorded and produced digitally, and is intended to be distributed via a digital medium. However, The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper was recorded in analog and mixed with the intention that it would sound best on single-channel record players. So it’s no surprise that digital copies of Ratatat are true replicas and sound great, while digital copies of Sgt. Pepper (until lately, ripped from re-mastered stereo CDs with added loudness to compensate for different playback equipment) not only sound worse than the original, but are less of a true reproduction.

It’s not about analog vs. digital; those categories are too broad to allow meaningful judgments to be made. Even choosing simply between one format and another can be too coarse of a distinction. Meyer’s little study notes this at the bottom, but when you give a sort of “quality ceiling” number to every audio format, it suggests that there is some judgment involved. He does, however, say (and truly):

The ongoing debate over the past 25 years as to which format – analog or digital – “vinyl or CD” — sounds better has been conducted in the fog of ignorance and marketing hype.

How true that is of nearly every tech rivalry. What will the historians make of Blu-ray and HD-DVD? But I digress. Meyer cautions that there are “a huge number of caveats and remarks” to be observed, but that I fear I’ll be seeing this chart and others like it referred to in the unending audiophile debates on this internet of ours.

I would simply suggest the following. The true audiophile creates something of a zoo for his music: songs must be kept in as close to their original habitat as possible. That’s the true test of fidelity.

What the table above may prove is that formats like DVD-audio and other high-bitrate digital copies have the potential to deliver more precise audio information than did 45s or cassettes (hence the title of the table). Whether that will ever sound better (what with the way music is produced today) is an unanswered question. Bands like the Flaming Lips, in putting out 5.1 versions of their albums, or classical SACDs with ultra-stringent recording standards are pushing the limits, but for now there is no reason to assert the absolute superiority of one audio format over another.

[via Metafilter, where they are having, as always, a lively discussion]

Someone call LATFH. This is “Sonic Fabric,” and it’s made out of old cassette tape, um, tape. It’s 100 percent ridiculous, yes.

The fabric was invented (I guess that’s the word you’d use here) by one Alyce Santoro. The basic premise is to take all that old tape you have here and there, wind it up into a fabric, and wham-o, you have clothes.

The best part is that the clothes can be played, as this handy video shows:

We might as well stop inventing things, because I can’t see humanity topping this. Granted, it’s no knissors, but that is?

The fan is hand-made, which should be the major reason it goes for $294.25 plus shipping. It stores 16GB, but my guess is they won’t even sell one.

Via Akihabara News

Canon has also released some PIXMA all-in-ones and SELPHY compact photo printers. Real winner is the ES40, a $149 printer that looks like a child’s radio. The best part? It talks to you!

Canon SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer
The Canon SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer is the latest addition to the SELPHY line which has become synonymous for producing high-quality photos, being portable and easy-to-use. The SELPHY ES40 is ideal for printing images of a child’s first birthday or a loved one’s retirement party which can be distributed to attendees for a keepsake as they leave. The voice guidance system, large 3.5-inch LCD screen and Easy Scroll Wheel allows for printing and navigating through menus and images to be more intuitive than in previous models. Users will now have more opportunities to personalize their photos with new frames and clip art available under the Creative Print function as well. The estimated retail price of the SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer is $149.99.

CANON U.S.A. ANNOUNCES THREE NEW FEATURE-PACKED PIXMA PRINTERS AND A VOICE-GUIDED SELPHY COMPACT PHOTO PRINTER

Lake Success, N.Y., August 19, 2009 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced two new PIXMA Wireless1 Photo All-In-One (AIO) printers, one new PIXMA Inkjet Business Printer with PgR technology and a SELPHY Compact Photo Printer with a new voice guidance system. The versatility of these machines provides users with many options, whether working in the home office to print business documents or putting together an album of the latest family vacation.

Developed with the idea of making photo printing easier, the new Canon SELPHY and PIXMA products have several innovative features. The SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer includes a voice guidance system which provides step-by-step instructions for printing and adding graphics to images without having to rely on a manual. The PIXMA MP990 and PIXMA MP640 Wireless1 Photo AIO printers utilize the Auto Photo Fix II feature to help users get the most out of photos and help to correct many common photo errors, such as underexposed images. To enhance those near perfect memorable photos from either a sunny beach wedding or a child’s graduation taking place in a dark auditorium, Auto Photo Fix II can assist with features such as Multi-Zone Exposure Correction, improvements in overall face detection, scene analysis, plus brightness and saturation correction.

With PgR technology on the Canon PIXMA iX7000 Inkjet Business Printer, business owners will be able to produce professional-looking documents in-house while also reducing overall printing costs by printing documents on plain paper. Small businesses will be able to print high-quality color business and marketing documents on low-cost plain paper as large as 11″ x 17″ or 13″ x 19″ without having to leave the office. Using a clear ink working in tandem with five LUCIA pigment inks when printing on plain paper, consumers will no longer need to worry about oversaturated and wrinkled documents.

“In today’s economy, consumers are searching for versatile and easy-to-use products at a reasonable price without sacrificing overall quality,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “The addition of these new PIXMA and SELPHY printers will provide consumers and businesses with many different choices when making a decision and can be confident that they will receive a high-quality, durable product.”

Canon PIXMA iX7000 Inkjet Business Printer
For business owners seeking an in-house solution for their overall printing needs, Canon’s PIXMA iX7000 Inkjet Business Printer has a wealth of advanced features to help streamline productivity. With advanced paper handling, such as Auto Duplex Printing, a three-way paper feed, an extra large paper cassette and the use of PgR technology, business materials can be produced on plain paper to help reduce overall production costs. Added features of this printer include built-in Ethernet connectivity making this the perfect shared device for a small office.

For the first time, Canon will be providing special solution templates designed for use exclusively with this printer through Canon Inc.’s Creative Park Web site, where business owners will be able to find templates to print menus, sales offerings and other office-related signs from the comfort of the office without having to take a trip to the local print shop. The PIXMA iX7000 will deliver high-quality documents at approximately 10.2 ipm for black-and-white and approximately 8.1 ipm for color2. The estimated retail price of the PIXMA iX7000 printer is $399.993.

Canon PIXMA Wireless Photo All-In-One Printers
With the introduction of the Canon PIXMA MP990 and MP640 Wireless1 Photo AIO printers, Canon has once again taken high-quality and ease-of-use to a whole new level. These stylish printers, with built-in Wi-Fi1 capabilities, are designed for use almost anywhere without sacrificing the overall décor of the home or home office. To print vibrant and long-lasting photos with superior quality, both printers use the ChromaLife 100+ ink system plus have a maximum color resolution of 9600 x 2400 dpi4. For the advanced amateur ready to take their hobby to the next level, the inclusion of a gray ink tank on the PIXMA MP990 helps produce superb black-and-white prints in addition to vibrant color prints. The PIXMA MP990 can also scan both film and slides, allowing users to reproduce and preserve memorable moments from the past. The integrated Easy-Scroll Wheel, for easy navigation through menus and images, is further enhanced by a large 3.8-inch LCD screen on the PIXMA MP990 and a 3.0- inch LCD screen on the PIXMA MP640.

In order to improve the users overall printing experience, both printers feature advanced paper handling, Auto Scan Mode5, and the Easy-WebPrint EX6 software. The easy-to-use Auto Scan Mode helps to simplify the scanning process by identifying, scanning and saving an original in the correct format with the touch of one button. Advanced paper handling features include Auto Duplex printing, to help consumers save their paper supply by up-to-50 percent, and a two-way paper feed which makes it fast and easy to change paper types and sizes. The Easy-WebPrint EX software can help make printing documents from the Web a simple operation. The software comes with an Auto Clip feature where users can select a specific part of a Web page to print rather than having to print the whole page, helping to conserve paper supply. The PIXMA MP990 will create a 4″ x 6″ photo in approximately 21 seconds7, and has an estimated retail price of $299.993, while the PIXMA MP640 will create a 4″ x 6″ photo in approximately 20 seconds7 , with an estimated retail price of $219.993.

Canon SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer
The Canon SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer is the latest addition to the SELPHY line which has become synonymous for producing high-quality photos, being portable and easy-to-use. The SELPHY ES40 is ideal for printing images of a child’s first birthday or a loved one’s retirement party which can be distributed to attendees for a keepsake as they leave. The voice guidance system, large 3.5-inch LCD screen and Easy Scroll Wheel allows for printing and navigating through menus and images to be more intuitive than in previous models. Users will now have more opportunities to personalize their photos with new frames and clip art available under the Creative Print function as well. The estimated retail price of the SELPHY ES40 Compact Photo Printer is $149.993.

Windows 7 Operating System
Canon is pleased to announce that its PIXMA inkjet printer products will be compatible with Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system. According to Microsoft, this operating system has new features to make everyday tasks easier and faster. Please stay tuned for updates regarding driver downloads and a full list of compatible Canon products.

The only reason I’m writing about this is because it looks ridiculous. It’s the “Retro Cassette Stereo Mini Speaker for iPod/iPhone,” and it’s exactly as it sounds. Plug your iPod in there, and off you go.

Will it revolutionize the industry? No. Does it represent a “paradigm shift” of some sort? No, sir. Does it sound good? I haven’t heard it, but I would guess it’s not going to win any awards.

That said, it probably will net you some sort of hipster cred, along with that GameBoy you’ve got wrapped around your neck:

Happy trails, America.

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So much so, in fact, that it’s the exact same dimensions as a regular cassette tape and it’ll fit in one of those old plastic cases.

So if you’ve lost LL Cool J’s Walking With a Panther tape like I have, you can safely house this hub inside the case.

But wait, there’s more! Apparently the cassette wheels do indeed spin round and round, except this time there’s no actual tape to get all tangled up. So you can stick a pencil in there and twist it for old times’ sake.

Just $24.95 at Vat19. “Just.” That’s actually a bit expensive, but can you really put a price on nostalgia? If you answered, “NO!” then perhaps you’ll buy this hub.

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I don’t think it’d be too hard to make one of these on your own with a kit of modeling tools… actually, I guarantee it wouldn’t be as good the first few tries, and you’d have to cannibalize more tapes than you wish. Yeah, you don’t really listen to the Eagles any more, especially on tape, but can you bring yourself to destroy it? Or would you rather pay 49 Maple dollars?

[via The Daily What and HolyCool]

…plus her source is tight, eh?

Coder Girl by Dale Chase. Catchy, funny, cute girls. But, as Fake Steve notes “this depicts two demographics that don’t actually exist at Apple.”

via BBG

The old version.

I just realized I still have my MP3-CDs from my iRiver days… probably filled with the weird stuff I was listening to in college.

$250 is a bit pricey, I’d say, and if you’re sure you’re not going to be using a few of those inputs, you can probably get more power for less price. Might be really nice in a shared area, though; housemates or family members can have their own SD cards or thumb drives with their selections for dinner music. How domestic I’m becoming!

Teac Japan announced the LP-R550 today [JP], a kind of Swiss Army knife for audio freaks. Buyers get a turntable, a cassette player/recorder, a CD player/recorder and a PLL synthesized AM/FM stereo tuner. Teac released a similar device on the Japanese market just a few months ago.

The CD unit supports CD/CD-R/CD-RW, while the 3-speed turntable supports 33(LP)/45(EP)/78(SP) and features auto return. The LP-R550 also has built-in 3.5W×2ch speakers and comes with a remote control. A USB port for easy PC connection, however, is missing.

The LP-R550 will drop into Japanese stores on July 30 (price: $750) and is Nippon-only at this point.

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I doubt there are still many music cassettes around but if you happen to own some and want to save your childhood memories on your computer for eternity, you might like the MV-CM001U. The retro-style device was announced by a Japan-based company called Novac today [JP].

Also dubbed “CASSETTE to DIGITAL”, the device comes with a USB port that allows you to connect it to your PC and save music played on a cassette as MP3/WMA/WAV files. MP3 and WMA files can be stored in 32/64/128/192/320kbps. The software to transform your music into digital files (CASSETTE MATE) only works with Windows XP or Vista though.

The MV-CM001U also features a built-in speaker (1.5W) and is sized at 165×135×143mm (weight: 1.4kg).

It will hit Japanese stores April 24 with a price tag of $80. Ask the Japan Trend Shop, Gizmine, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya if you live outside Japan and are interested in getting the device.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to talk to my best friend through a tin can attached to a string…