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USB Travel Dock for 2G iPod shuffle now shipping

407418586 8efddcb16a m USB Travel Dock for 2G iPod shuffle now shipping As much as I hate the iPod shuffle, I really like the look of the USB Travel Dock for 2G iPod shuffle. Marware and Dr. Bott have announced its availability today and have added it as the latest addition to Marware’s line of accessories dedicated to enhancing the iPod experience.

In keeping with the new shuffle’s compact design, Marware’s USB Travel Dock is sleek, lightweight, and ultra-portable. Small enough to fit anywhere, USB Travel Dock goes where you go, letting you conveniently charge and sync your shuffle on your laptop anytime.
The minimalist design does not interfere with adjacent ports. A blue “Power On” LED indicator rounds out the features.

The USB Travel Dock retails for USD$19.95.
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Quicky USB Transceiver available for iMacs

366528307 6f37acefcc m Quicky USB Transceiver available for iMacsQuickerTek announces the introduction of a new Quicky USB Transceiver for wireless iMac networking. This device provides up to ten times the wireless performance of any USB iMac with 500 milliwatts of RF power. Quicky easily attaches to the USB port only–and can even be powered
from USB (an AC adapter is included for maximum flexibility).

New updates to Quicky design include four high-visibility LEDs for transmit, receive, power and link. The new external case design also distinguishes this new Quicky USB Transceiver. In addition to the 500mW of RF power, Quicky includes a 5dBi antenna which is not only more powerful than the internal antenna, but it also is positioned up and out of the confines of the iMac case.

Quicky temporarily clips to the top of the iMac case. It requires no skills to either set up or use. Quicky works with all 802.11/b/g WiFi equipment including Apple AirPort and AirPort Extreme–even the new one just announced at Macworld Expo. Quicky works with all AirPort-equipped iMacs and requires no software drivers.

The Quicky for iMac sells for USD$225 USD.

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iTalk Pro from Griffin Technology

The iPod is primarily a playback machine, but thanks to accessories and a little help from Apple that’s not true of voice memos. Today we have three choices, Belkin’s TuneTalk, ExtremeMac’s MicroMemo and Griffin’s iTalk Pro. Today were looking at Griffin’s iTalk Pro.

Looks aren’t everything, but when strapping something to your iPod it needs to look at home. The first thing you’ll notice about the iTalk Pro is that it looks perfectly at home on your video iPod. The flat glossy face and metal back blends perfectly with a black iPod. Its too bad this effect is lost on the new aluminum nanos.

italkpro iTalk Pro from Griffin Technology

The iTalk is light and small, and snaps right on the doc connector. A red ring lights up to let you know you’re recording. The only button on the iTalk starts and stops recording (and adjusts gain settings) and a mini-jack microphone input is hiding on the bottom.

Thanks to Apple’s built-in support, the recording experience is very iPod and identical across recording devices. Voice memo’s are named with the time and date and are accessible from the Voice Memos menu (under Extras). On the next dock, iTunes will find the recordings and ask to import them (removing them from the iPod). The process is simple and fast.

The iTalk sports two stereo microphones in addition to the minijack input. You can (and for best recording quality should) adjust the gain level to high, low or automatic. In my test recordings, I found the auto and high gain to be too sensitive, resulting in pops. Speech alone didn’t make the pops obnoxious, but with the dynamics of music the popping killed the recording.

Once I’d adjusted the gain down, the popping was eliminated. Aside from the gain issues I experienced, I found the audio quality to be very good – more than acceptable for podcasting on the go.

italkpro2 iTalk Pro from Griffin Technology

Recoding drains the battery fairly quickly – fast enough that my 30 gig video would run out of power in about an hour by my estimation. So, while Griffin suggests the iTalk is great for recording lectures, it is probably better used for shorter recordings of dictation, podcast or interviews.

The Belkin recorder does have a USB pass-through that you can use to power your iPod while recording – but this is much less useful than it sounds. It still requires a power brick and outlet or laptop to power the recording pod. And if you’re going to bring your MacBook along you might as well use that to record. The iTalk is going to work best for short, on-the-go recording.

Documentation is sparse. This isn’t really a big deal. Push button to record, right? Among iPod recording devices, the iTalk is a great pick. It’s less expensive and better looking that the alternatives (particularly if you have a black video), sounds very good and is easy to use.

If you are expecting to record longer than an hour at a time or looking to cut your break-out album on your iPod, the iTalk will disappoint you. If dictating letters, recording thoughts or capturing an interesting conversation is your goal, the iTalk is perfect.

Buy it at Amazon! (Note: at press time, Amazon had the iTalk for almost half off MSRP at $27.50)

Brian