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Griffin Technology Rocks

Thu, 10/06/2005 - 02:54 -- rprice

I was cruising around looking for deals today and I once again came across Griffin Technology’s iTalk voice recorder for iPod. I always wondered “can you ever get that audio of your device?” In the process of searching for the answer, I saw some other great products that make life easier.

iTalk - Turn your iPod into a simple monophonic voice recorder. This device has a built in speaker and microphone, but also has a mini-jack for mono input and one for standard iPod stereo out. I think this takes the term Podcasting to a new level. Also see the iFM that loses the mic in and stereo outs, but allows you to listen to or record FM (but not AM) radio.
Records to 8kHz 16-bit mono WAV files. Yes, you can remove the files from your iPod.
$3999

iBeam - turn you iPod into a flashlight or a laser pointer. Cheap and fun at a presentation.
$1999 (street $10)

radio SHARK - Basically, this is a TiVO for AM/FM radio. It comes with software to help you set up favorite shows and preset stations, and even has the feature that lets you pause live radio.
$6999

iMic - A simple USB preamp for $40. Need I say more? iMic supports both Mic level and line level input. It also supports line level output for connecting speakers or an external recording device. Great for music hobbyists and poor geeks.
$3999

SmartDeck - This is great. If you use your iPod in your car through a tape deck, you will love this device. It connects to the accessory port on top of the iPod amd iPod mini and turns your tape deck controls into forward, back, play, and pause. Automatically pauses iPod when tape playback stops (i.e. turn of the radio or change radio mode). Only $5-$10 more than a regular “car kit”.
$2999

TuneJuice - Backup battery for iPod that won’t bust your wallet. Takes a standard 9 volt battery. Boasts up to 8 hours of playback time like all the other accessories, even if it is not as sleek and player-hugging. Since Li-ion batteries take more power to charge from a full drain, gets more like 4 hours from a dead iPod battery. I personally would choose this solution over a $70 rechargable battery or a $30-$50 car power adapter. Well, maybe the $25 PowerPod wouldn’t be too bad.
$1999

Turntable Grounding Cable - For the vintage music lover, the Turntable Cable provides the classic left-right-ground input to a standard stereo mini-jack for attachment to your computer, iMic, or other input device. The grounding wire helps eliminate electronic interferance from your classic turntable. Griffin also provides free recording software with filters and equalizers designed to help you archive your vynil.
$1299

I doubt I would buy all of these products, but the the iTalk and TuneJuice are definitely on my list, and the iBeams are just so cheap, but I already have a laser pointer. Most of the other products are out of my price range, or duplicate functions of products I already own.

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