The Newman M8000 looks pretty decent at first glance, but wait till you hear that it comes with a 250GB hard drive inside! That's a whole lot of space to carry all your entertainment files, and chances are it will be a long time before you exhaust the amount of space inside. Of course, if you're on a tight budget, there are always different capacities to choose from such as the 80GB, 120GB, and 160GB models. I wonder if any enterprising person will purchase the 80GB M8000 and dissect it, replacing it with a 250GB or even 320GB hard drive instead. Features of the Newman M8000 include :-

• 4" TFT display at 320 x 240 resolution
• TV out
• Supports MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 formats
• 1.3 megapixel camera
• SD memory card slot
• Game emulation
• PVR functionality

Narae Inter in Korea has recently introduced its high-performance microphone known as the Recorder Mini. It is extremely tiny, but not as small as those Bluetooth USB dongles which have recently been seen in the market. You connect the Recorder Mini to your PC or notebook's microphone port in order to record conversations held in the office, at least those within a 10 meter radius. Most folks will probably mistake this for some sort of other USB device without looking where it is plugged into properly, so it definitely wins points for being discreet. No idea on how much it costs though.

JVC has rolled out its new RA-P30 iPod Audio System that comes complete with the following :-

• Stereo speakers with 3D surround sound
• FM radio
• Alarm clock
• Remote control
• AUX

Klipsch is a name synonymous with great sounding audio, and the Palladium P-39F doesn't only offer superb audio but it does so with a clear conscience. I say so because it comes clad in a "Linia" veneer, which is available in three different finishes and proves to be a very close match to rare zebrawood. After all, it was carefully hand-selected and made from real trees in government-sanctioned controlled harvests - sounds more like a jam advertisement, hand-picked berries and all that jazz. The only drawback is the price - you would have to be loaded in order to afford the £7,685 asking price.

Sonoro Audio's Cubo has finally arrived on US shores, after Europeans and Canadians have enjoyed it for some time now. The Cubo is but an AM/FM clock radio complete with a CD player, but I think this might be a case of a little too late. After all, how many people still have their CD collection in the bedroom? Thankfully there is MP3 playback capability, so perhaps the only kind of music you'll enjoying are those with a lower bitrate compared to CD-quality audio. Good thing it comes in a great looking package which might actually persuade some to part with $349.99 for it.

Panasonic wants to keep us entertained with the SC-BT100 home theater system that features a special connection to external devices, including a video recorder or console, turning this into the media center of any home. You also get a Blu-ray player thrown into the mix, although it supports just Profile 1.1 which misses out on all the extra-licious features on 2.0. Since it functions wirelessly, there should be no worries about tripping over while you're serving drinks to your guests in the living room. The Panasonic SC-BT100 was released in the US for $999 this spring, and it ought to hit Europe pretty soon.

I must admit that most iPod speaker docks these days seem to be dry in terms of design - the Gear4 DUO takes a different route as the front speaker section can be unclipped from the main body of the DUO, functioning as a portable speaker setup thanks to the inclusion of a rechargeable battery. Of course, doing so would mean you lose the functionality of a 20W subwoofer which is housed within the main unit. There is no word from Gear4 on just how long the battery will last, but I don't think it will be that weak. The DUO will come in black and silver finishing, hitting Europe this Friday for €200 while folks in the UK will have to fork out £150. A US release is in the works sometime later this year, and rest assured it won't pass the $300 mark.

Inventables has just rolled out its Pocket Pal MP3 player concept which features an interface on the outside, controlling your tunes which are located within your pocket without having to reach inside of it.

This is a concept for a control interface using a magnetic knob on a MP3 player. The knob can be removed and placed outside your pocket to control the volume and skip to the next song. It can be implemented using hemispherical oriented magnets and existing magnetic field sensors.

And I thought that data and magnets don't really play nice with one another...

Guess Archos and Apple aren't the only ones offering WiFi-capable portable media players as Onda has jumped onto the bandwagon with its VX777, bringing a 4.3" touch screen display as well as broad file format support without breaking the bank. The standout feature would be WiFi connectivity, but other noteworthy ones also include :-

• 4.3" 260k color TFT display at 480 x 272 resolution
• Internet Radio and WiFi
• TV-out connection
• Supports TF card up to 32GB
• Built-in Speaker, MIC and FM radio
• Supports MP3, WMA, WAV and FLAC music formats
• Directly plays RM/RMVB, AVI, FLV, ASF, MP4, MPG, MOV, WMA, WMV, 3GP and SWF movies
• Supports JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG picture formats

Sony has a couple of new home media servers available, with the HS1 carrying 1TB of storage space while the HS1S has 1.5TB. Both were specially constructed to share content automatically with devices such as the PS3 and PCs with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compatible software, where content will be streamed over a Gigabit Ethernet link. Supported audio and video formats include AAC, ATRAC, MP3, WMA, H.264 (AVCHD) and MPEG-2 (up to HD resolutions), while shutterbugs can always load up the servers via Memory Stick or SD card readers as well as from any one of three USB ports. The HS1 range will hit Japan first this May 17th, with the HS1 and HS1S retailing for $570 and $760, respectively.

Eggs are one of my favorite foods - there is nothing quite like a couple soft boiled eggs to begin the day. Since they're also associated with new life, it makes perfect sense for this Egg concept device to function as a pair of satellite speakers when 'cracked' open, with its base functioning as a subwoofer. In addition, the base will also double up as a dock for a compatible MP3 player, charging your device through induction. Designed by Nathan Gabriele, I'm just curious to know why this design has not been given the green light yet to be manufactured. It'll surely sell a bunch, and best of all is there is no high cholesterol to worry about.

Most conference phones that we have covered to date are meant for a small office or desk area, but the Konftel 300 has set its sights on medium to very large meeting halls, since it is able to be supplemented with external speakers, microphones and headsets along with the ability to be connected to a meeting room's existing sound system. The Konftel 300 has an original reception area of 30 square meters, and this figure can be double thanks to the use of expansion microphones. It also holds the honor of being the first conference phone to come with a wireless headset connection, allowing people to hear voices clearly without being shackled to a handset of sorts. Other features include an SD memory card reader, a recording function, and the ability to switch between and combine 3 connection methods - analog line, cell phone or computer for VoIP.

Valentine's Day is over, but that is still no reason not to get gifts for your loved one. The I LOVE YOU Music Pillow comes in the form of a throbbing red heart, pumping out tunes as long as it is wired to a working MP3 player. Looks like the perfect travel accessory when you're on a long haul mission, since it is soft and comfortable enough to lie down and even catch forty winks with it. It retails for $14 and connects to any external music source through its 3.5mm stereo audio connector. This won't be able to hold a candle to the Scented Musical Fruit Pillows though.