The iPod touch
Find out which music gadgets will help liven up the party season or will keep you going if you plan to make any exercise-based new year’s resolutions.
iPod touch
- Available: Apple’s online store, Compu B, HMV
- Price: From €199
The iPod touch can hold thousands of songs and gives you access to the iTunes Store.
Its new iCloud feature lets you access your music, apps, games and photos across all your devices, which is automatically kept up to date for you.
You can browse the web with the help of its Wi-Fi connectivity and can get hundreds of thousands of apps for it.
It also has a front and rear-facing camera for photography and online video calling.
Philips Fidelio speaker dock
- Available: pixmania.ie
- Price: €189
This speaker dock, with versions for Android smartphones or iOS devices, includes DSP technology, giving full-bodied sound from each track. It also includes a remote control.
There is also a Fidelio app, which lets you tune into internet radio stations, browse your playlists from a PC or mobile device and share what you’re listening to on Facebook.
Sony SRS-BTV25 Bluetooth wireless speaker
- Available: Sony Centre
- Price: €129.99 (from 22 November)
This stylish sound device offers Bluetooth wireless music streaming, letting you play music from your smartphone and other Bluetooth-enabled devices on the speakers without having to use messy wires. It also has an audio in port for any player without Bluetooth connectivity.
It has omni-directional acoustics, spreading the sound around the room no matter where it’s placed.
The SRS-BTV25 also has a bass-boost function, which will certainly be useful for any upcoming New Year’s Eve parties you may be planning.
GEAR4 Angry Bird Green Pig Speaker
- Available: Currys, PC World, HMV
- Price: from €79.99
Fuel your Angry Birds obsession this Christmas with this green pig-shaped speaker.
It includes an iPod/iPhone dock to play music from, as well as a 3.5mm jack to play audio from another source.
The speaker also comes with a remote control to let you skip and shuffle tracks from your couch.
iPod Shuffle
- Available: Apple website, Compu B, HMV
- Price: €49.99
Portable music players don’t necessarily need to be complicated, and the iPod Shuffle is as simplified as they get. With 2GB of storage, you can either shuffle your music or play them in order at the flick of a switch.
Its VoiceOver button lets your iPod Shuffle tell you information, such as the titles of the songs or if the battery needs charging. It also tells you the name of your playlists, letting you switch between them.
The device includes a clip to attach to what you’re wearing, which is particularly handy for ambitious new year resolutions which involve jogging or joining a gym.
