Use Your Noggin: LimbGear's Noggin Net

Think you've seen it all? How about an MP3 skullcap? At first glance, you must wonder why anyone would bother, but you know, it's actually kinda cool.

LimbGear's Noggin Net is a cap with a built-in pocket for an MP3 player, plus the band has a slot in it so you can route earbuds from the player to your ears. Sounded silly, but think about it. In the winter, if you're using an MP3 player, you've got to route it from your jacket, over a scarf, under the hat, or more.Taking off any one of those layers becomes a hassle of tangled cords and clothing.

Think of the Noggin Net as a kind of wireless system. With wires.

See what players it's compatible with, and how it works.

Bluetooth Speakers for MP3

Samsung is showing off their new YA-SBR510 Bluetooth stereo speaker. This little beauty is designed for Samsung's lineup of MP3 players, providing wireless playback from a docked player. The speaker features Bluetooth 2.0, with an advertised range of about 30 feet (10 meters). Interestingly, it also apparently has a motion sensor that switches on the system when you come within a distance of about 15 feet (5 meters). This could be especially useful for startling pets and small children.

The Samsung YA-SBR510 features 30 watts of power over 3 channels. Digital signal processing is used to create a surround-sound effect from the cabinet. Currently, this speaker has only appeared in Samsung's Korean media, but hopefully it will find its way to the U.S.

Of course, a Bluetooth audio product always raises the interesting question....

Old-School MP3 Player

Have you been looking for a way to recapture the glory days of your youth that doesn’t involve Botox or having someone cut and paste your face back together? Do you want to return to the days of big hair, glam rock and synthesized sounds that were the '80s but don’t have the flux capacitor and 1.21 gigawatts needed for a quick trip back in time? The folks at ThinkGeek.com have you covered.

Iron Maiden Tempts Youth with Free Album Trial

The musicians of British heavy metal band Iron Maiden are well into their fifties, but that's no reason for them to ignore a potential new fan base of teenage download-fiends.

The band said last week that it would offer a free trial download of its latest album — the greatest hits-themed "Somewhere Back In Time" — that can be played three times. The campaign, called "Somehwere Back in Sound" because of its emphasis on better-sounding tracks than MP3s, will encourage listeners to eventually pay up for a copy of the album freed from digital copyright restrictions.

Four Words: Led Zep Goes Digital

Just got the press release 10 minutes ago. Reprinted in full below. —Ken Richardson

LED ZEPPELIN TO RELEASE DIGITAL CATALOG

The Legendary Band's Original Albums Available for the First Time at All Online Music Retailers November 13

LOS ANGELES — Led Zeppelin's catalog is among the most enduring bodies of musical composition to come out of the 20th century — and now it's coming to the 21st. As one of digital music's final holdouts, the band's illustrious catalog is one of the most highly anticipated digital releases to date. Beginning November 13, the band's original albums will be available for full-album or a la carte download from all online music retailers.

The albums being made available include Led Zeppelin (1969), Led Zeppelin II (1969), Led Zeppelin III (1970), the untitled fourth album (1971), Houses of the Holy (1973), Physical Graffiti (1975), Presence (1976), The Song Remains the Same (1976; recently remixed and remastered for reissue on November 20), In Through the Out Door (1979), Coda (1982), How the West Was Won (2003), and Mothership (available November 13). Featuring such indelible anthems as "Communication Breakdown," "Whole Lotta Love," "Immigrant Song," "Stairway to Heaven," "D'yer Mak'er," and "Kashmir," these releases, together with various retrospective collections, have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide.

"We are pleased that the complete Led Zeppelin catalog will now be available digitally," said Jimmy Page. "The addition of the digital option will better enable fans to obtain our music in whichever manner that they prefer."

[Editor's Note to Mr. Page: Some of us fans would still prefer to hear the complete Led Zeppelin catalog in high-resolution surround sound. Next year, perhaps? —KR]

Sony: On to the Video

Whoulda thunk that the company that invented the portable music player would years later play catch up to a computer company and some of its biggest TV rivals?

But that's what happened to Sony and the Walkman in the digital age. Today's "news" is the video Walkman has finally arrived in the U.S.

Apple is on the verge of announcing yet another generation of video iPods, so what has taken Sony so long?

Both the NWZ-A810 series and NWZ-S610 series video Walkman products pack quarter-VGA screens that display video at 30 frames per second. Sony claims battery life in video mode of 8 hours for the A810 series and 9 1/2 hours for the S610 series.  The players are said to deliver 33 hours of music playback on a single charge.