Sony X Series Walkman
There are countless unpleasant 1980s stereotypes attached to the word Walkman, the name of a trademarked product of Sony Electronics. The Japanese super-conglomerate shed that baggage in January by unveiling its newest-generation Walkman, the X Series. Sony’s answer to Apple’s iPod touch, the X Series Walkman showcases a number of the company’s innovative technologies. The 3-inch touchscreen, for example, is composed of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs); Sony stunned the display-panel industry in January 2008 with the remarkable color vibrancy and contrast ratio of the world’s first OLED TV, an 11-inch display with a mere 3 mm profile (The Robb Report Collection, November 2008). OLED technology also accounts for the light weight of the X Series—at 3.5 ounces, it weighs nearly 14 percent less than the LCD-equipped iPod touch. The 32-gigabyte X Series Walkman, which hit stores in July at the same $400 price as its Apple equivalent, has integrated digital noise-canceling technology and plays approximately 33 hours of music or nine hours of video. ––Bailey S. Barnard
Sony Electronics, www.sonystyle.com
Grado Labs PS1000 Headphones
Grado—a boutique family-run operation in Brooklyn—has been producing some of the world’s most respected dynamic headphones for 21 years. In March, the company introduced its new flagship headphone set, the PS1000. At $1,695, the Professional Series headphones are the most expensive Grado has ever manufactured, though that price is not without justification. The PS1000 uses the same enclosure shape and vented diaphragm as the company’s award-winning wood-chambered GS1000i headphones; however, the PS ear cans employ a virtually resonance-free metal-alloy outer housing. Oversize cushions push the cups far enough away from the ear to create a large sound stage and provide comfort for long listening sessions. An improved driver and denser cabling enable astonishingly faithful audio reproduction. ––B.S.B.
Grado Laboratories, www.gradolabs.com
Garmin Oregon 550t
Adventurers on foot can now travel off the beaten path and find the way back thanks to the Oregon 550t from Garmin, a leading manufacturer of GPS devices. The 550t is preloaded with topographic data on the continental United States, including detailed imagery of terrain contours, trails, rivers, and lakes, as well as relief maps of the rest of the world. Its altimeter plots atmospheric pressure over time to enable weather predictions and provide a more accurate altitude reading than devices that rely solely on GPS technology. A 3.2-megapixel camera with a four-times digital zoom can stamp photos with the coordinates of the location where they were taken, and the handheld can upload them to the Internet. Explorers can also transmit information on waypoints and routes to other Oregon-device users. When not in use on the trail, the $600 Oregon 550t can provide navigation around town or on the water using maps available for purchase through Garmin. —Hayley Lerch
Garmin, www.garmin.com
Callaway uPro GPS
What the iPod has done for music lovers, the $400 Callaway uPro does for avid golfers. Trading melodies for maps, the 3.1-ounce handheld uPro provides digital images of over 15,000 North American golf courses on a 2.2-inch LCD screen, which offers two different viewing modes. In BasicMode, simulated maps show distances to the green and hazards based on the user’s actual location on the course. In ProMode, actual satellite imagery purchased through Callaway’s online course-finder database shows distances to the hole and hazards, as well as superimposed yardage markers. ProMode also displays a video flyover of each hole and enables digital shot targeting so that users can plot out their next shot on the uPro’s screen and measure the distance between any two points. —H.L.
Callaway, www.uprogps.com
Samson Zoom H4n Handy Recorder
Today’s user-friendly, affordable, and compact audio-recording equipment has rendered professional studios nearly obsolete. Amateur musicians seeking to achieve professional-grade recording at home, however, are still forced to clutter their living space with a whole mess of gear. Samson Audio has devised a very handy solution to this dilemma. The Zoom H4n Handy Recorder is an entire home recording studio not much bigger than the average cell phone. The H4n will capture 24-bit high-definition audio from nearby instruments and vocals with built-in right- and left-channel condenser microphones. Two additional onboard direct inputs enable a total of four channels to be recorded simultaneously, while the digital preamplifier and mixer, which are controlled and monitored from the 1.9-inch LCD, allow all four tracks to be put together and played back at CD quality. The $350 H4n also acts as a USB audio interface so that the recordings can be easily transferred to a computer for postproduction. —B.S.B.
Samson Technologies, www.samsontech.com