Sony's Wi-Fi cube lacks edge

Here’s a picture of Sony’s new cube-shaped wireless music receiver – but MP3 fans and Mac owners may find it a bit square.

The TDM-NC1 unit measures just three inches in size and you just need to attach it to your BRAVIA TV via the digital media port, fire up your PC and start streaming tunes from your computer to your home theatre over your network.

But with no support for MP3s or any protected music bought other than from Sony’s Connect store, it’s aimed at a very niche market. Seems a bit of a half-hearted effort to us and is definitely an example of style over substance from Sony this time round. It’s set to land here in the summer and should cost around £130.

Dragon I speakers

These are possibly the weirdest looking speakers we’ve ever seen on the GadgiTs desk. The Dragon I sound system features an integrated iPod dock and each of the tentacles is an independent speaker that each packs 5 watts of power. You can bend them as you wish and can control the unit via a remote and other MP3 players can also work with it. We’re hearing whispers it’ll be out in the UK later this year, with a price tag of around £200 being touted.

iPod alarm gets you from A to Zzz

Tired of waking up to the hum drum beeps of your alarm clock? Then plug your iPod in to this glam beauty and wake up to your favourite tunes. The bells on top of the alarm are actually speakers that pump out your ‘Pod’s soothing sounds so you’re able to pick any tune from A to Zzz before nodding off. Get one for £40 from here.

Onto a Shure thing

AUDIO giants Shure launched a range of mass market earphones at the Cafe Royal in Regent Street last night with a performance by celebrated DJ combo the Scratch Perverts. Gadgits was given a demo and had to admit the entry-level  pair, which will sell for around £90, sounded top notch. Each set of Shure phones comes with a selection of seven various-sized foam plugs so you'd have to have pretty freakish lugholes if you couldn't find a near-perfect fit. We noticed the Perverts  DJs hardly needed to use them to cue their sounds. Apparently the boyz are so good they can do without headphones of any kind to deliver a set described as both "dirty" and indeed "slammin".  For a full test of this product keep your eye on the News of the World's Gadgits page.

For the record

HERE'S a dictation machine with a difference. Olympus have managed to make the most boring gadget interesting. For those of you who can't type or write, or just plain refuse to, the DS50 will record your every word ready for transcription via a human assistant or voice recognition software. It's so easy to download the audio files to your PC where you can transfer them to a memory stick, email them or upload them to a website. But you can also store your music and picture files on this little beauty. The included software allows you to edit and transfer your audio files to the web. Hear for yourself on this file we uploaded with more information on the device click here Or here for the Olympus site.

WIN Super Saitek Speakers

WHEN it comes to portable speakers, the Saitek iPhonics are easily the best we’ve used this year.
The sound system pumps out storming levels of crystal- clear sound and it’s a snug size too. They’re a snip at just £40 but GadgiTs has FIVE up for grabs.

To stand a chance of winning, just tell us what the rrp of the Saitek iPhonic speakers is. Then e-mail your answer, together with your name and address to comps@notw.co.uk - Competition closes midnight, January 3rd. For more details on the Saitek iPhonic speakers, log on to www.saitek.com/uk.

London calling

GADGITS bumped into "next year's big thing" Towers of London at the city's exclusive Loft club this week and singer Donny Tourette revealed he was keen to do a free song download for News of the World readers. "I've always been a big fan of the paper, we always have it in the house on Sunday," he said at the Nokia Christmas party. So Donny, 25, originally from Liverpool, put in a call to his press officer on his 5500 Sport phone to try and get the project started . . . but he had clearly forgotten to top up his account. "They've cut me off again," he said. "I'm sure I put some credit on there." Could it be, he used up all his minutes in calls to Sir Bob Geldof's daughter Peaches. Donny wasn't letting on about the romance. "She's a lovely girl, and that's all  I'm saying," he said.

Pimp your pod

INTEMPO have launched a colourful range of compact, lightweight iPod speakers that are sure to turn heads. Available in silver, green, blue and pink, they’ll charge your iPod and a host of other MP3 players and pump out a solid sound. It’s mains powered and has a line-in jack so you can hook other audio devices up to it. A credit card sized remote also makes switching tracks effortless. The Intempo Ids-01nr is available now from www.amazon.co.uk priced at £50.

Sound out this Roberts

ROBERTS make some of the best DAB radios around, and their new Sound 23 model doesn’t disappoint. It features an on-board digital sound system and CD player and can playback all your favourite MP3s and WMA files too. You can also plug your MP3 player into it and play back your tunes through the radio’s stereo speakers. Costing a cool £250, the Roberts Sound 23 is available now. Call 01709 571 722 for your local stockist or log on to www.robertsradio.co.uk for more info.

Max out your mobile MP3s

THERE are more MP3 playing mobile phones on the market than ever before, but the sound quality they pump out is still pretty naff. So Orange have just unveiled a new Bluetooth loudspeaker system that’ll pair with your phone and pump out your songs in hi-fi sound. Once your phone syncs with the speakers, you can walk up to ten metres away from the device without your music stopping. Priced at just £90, it’s one of the better Bluetooth speaker systems we’ve seen recently, and it’s affordable too. It’s available now at selected Orange stores across the UK.

Radio to go

BRITISH radio pioneers Roberts have launched a new portable DAB with 80 hours listening time. Normally the larger digital models use up batteries like there’s no tomorrow and you can never stray far from a power point. But the Gemini 46 has an extended battery life as well as all the other functions you’d expect, including easy-to-read station name display. The “iPod” white finish gives it a classy look and, priced at £70, it’s a great buy. See www.robertsradio.co.uk for more.

Recommended by Nokia...

NOKIA'S bid to beat Apple at their own game shows no sign of flagging . . . the Finnish phone giants are launching their own music service backed by David Bowie. Music Recommenders harnesses forty independent music stores across the globe to create unique and customisable playlists for subscribers. Influential record stores like New York’s Fat Beats, Mona Records in Tokyo and Pure Grove in London will offer a personalised selection of new music spanning twelve genres including pop, rock, classical and electronic. Bowie will provide a series of features and podcasts every month and says the service will help music lovers discover a host of new and less traditional styles. Listeners will be able to browse each recommender's selections, hear clips and interviews and read city music guides. Subscribers get an instant playlist of 30-second samples tailored to their tastes, with the option to buy the full versions. Music Recommenders will be available as a beta version from the 15th of this month. Check out the stores taking part by logging on to www.musicrecommenders.com

Fans Peased off!

HUNDREDS of fed-up Fergie fans from all over the world are not best Peased with a website offering the chance to meet the star . . . because it applies to Americans only. The Black Eyed Peas home page has been inundated with complaints  about the contest run by online store Vanity Shops. So Gadgits has stepped in and we've been promised the chance to arrange a similar contest when Fergie hits Europe next year, except it will be open to anyone in the world. The winner will be escorted by Gadgits man Mark Gilbert, who will get down to the gig like, er, Tower Bridge.

Watch this space