By: George Johnson

The large accessories market that has built up around the iPod is sometimes described as the iPod ecosystem. A host of different companies produce accessories that are designed to work with the iPod.

Companies such as JBL, Bose, Altec Lansing, and Kensington all make speakers that are designed specifically to work with the iPod, using the iPod's thirty pin dock connector.

Other companies, such as Griffin Technology and Monster Cable, make add-ons that allow the iPod to record sound, recharge "on the go," play music over the radio, or be used wirelessly with a remote.

One of the most useful iPod accessories is a protective case which protects your iPod's screen and back from scratches and scuffs. Cases come either in clear or in a number of colors to match your style and personality.

With Apple's release of the iPod Nano and the iPod Video, iPods are becoming more and more popular. They're wonderful little gadgets, but they become even more useful with one of many iPod accessories that can personalize your mp3 player and tailor it to your needs.

Another way to protect and carry your iPod is with an arm band, which makes it easy to rock out to your music while working out at the gym.

On the way home, instead of sitting through the chatter of radio DJs in traffic, you can listen to your iPod in your car. Various FM transmitters can allow you to listen to your iPod on your car stereo, and power adapters let you plug in for the long haul.

No more screwing around with racks of tapes or CDs in your car in order to listen to your music; now thousands of songs are at your fingertips.

These transmitter/power combinations can be the perfect iPod accessory for long commutes or cross-country road trips.

Once you make it back to your home or apartment you can drop you iPod into a speaker set and listen to your music at home too. Many speaker combos are compatible with the iPod base station, which charges your iPod and allowsyou to connect it to your home stereo or television.

Of course, the new iPods with video and photo capabilities allow for a wholenew host of iPod accessories. A/V cables allow you to share photos directly from your digital camera to your iPod, and allow you to connect your iPod to your television to transport your movies and show them on the big screen.

You can even get a wireless remote to incorporate your iPod into your home stereo or theatre, putting thousands of songs, videos, and photos at your fingertips.

Other iPod accessories expand the boundaries of what you thought your iPod could do. The Griffin iTalk allows you to take voice and audio recordingsleaving yourself audio with your iPod, making it a handy tool for tasks from reminders to dictating letters and documents directly to mp3 files.

With the hundreds of iPod accessories on the market, you can quickly turn any iPod into your iPod and have a customized mp3 player to fit all of your needs.

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By: Gregg Hall

MP3 Accessories

The networking standards of Bluetooth will transmit data via low power radio frequency. Bluetooth communicates on a 2.45 GHz frequency. This very band of frequency has been set aside by international agreement for the use of industrial and medical devices.

Many devices that you already known and use take advantage of this frequency band. Garage door openers, baby monitors, and the next generation of mobile phones all use this frequency within the ISM band. Ensuring that Bluetooth and the other devices don't interfere with each other is a crucial part of the design process.

One of the ways Bluetooth will avoid interfering with other electronic devices is by sending out weak signals of around 1 mw. In comparison, even the most powerful of cell phones can transmit a signal of 3 watts.

The low power signals will limit the range of a Bluetooth device to around 32 feet, which cut the chances of interference between your computer and other electronic devices. Even though it has low power, Bluetooth doesn't require a line of sight between the communicating devices. The walls in your home won't stop the signal, making it great for rooms throughout the house.

Bluetooth can connect 8 devices at the same time. With each of those devices on the same radius, you may think they would interfere with each other, although it's very unlikely. Bluetooth utilizes a technique known as low frequency hopping, which makes it harder for more than one device to transmit on the same frequency at the same time.

With this technique, a device will use 79 individual, randomly chosen frequencies within a designated range, which change from one another on a regular basis.

In the case of Bluetooth, the transmitters will change frequency 1,600 times or more every second, meaning that more devices can make full use of the radio spectrum. Since every transmitter of Bluetooth will use spread spectrum automatically, it's very unlikely that two transmitters will be on the same frequency at the exact same time.

When the Bluetooth devices come within close range of each other, an electronic conversation will occur to determine whether or not they have data to share or whether one needs to take total control. The user doesn't have any buttons to press or commands to give - as the conversation will occur automatically.
Once the conversation has occured, the devices will form a network. Bluetooth devices will create a PAN (Personal Area Network) or piconet that may fill a room. Once the piconet has been established, the devices will randomly hop in frequencies.

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By: John Francis

If you're looking for the latest in wireless headphones for your enjoyment and private listening, whether to TV, stereo, home entertainment such as theater, iTunes or Ipod, you might do well to look at the highly recommended Sennheiser RS 130 wireless headphones.

These state of the art wireless headphones provide an advanced communication via FM radio frequency. The result is clear sound with no background noise or static and nearly 500 feet of free movement. The headphones have terrific surround sound effects and weigh less than ten ounces. They are ergonomically designed to provide hours of comfort.

The features of the Sennheiser RS130 wireless headphones include a base station for the headphones that is attractive and stores the headphones whre they are not in use and also charges the batteries. Batteries are NiMH type, and their single charge keeps them going for 22 hours of your listening enjoyment. The wireless headphones base station has a 900 MHz high performance transmission, also wireless, that delivers a playback that is very impressive in its high fidelity capability. Its transmitters use Sennheiser's customized system of intelligent automated tuning. This seeks and then chooses the best of three channels from base to headset that are available for delivery of sound to the wireless headphones.

A music professional and online consumer music advocate reviewed the Sennheiser wireless headphones. He noted the worldwide acclaim of all Sennheiser audio products as well as its firm's state of the art designs and manufacture. He said that the Sennheiser RS 130 wireless headphones lived up to the Sennheiser quality reputation by delivering a high performance sound, as well as top notch value and ergonomically designed comfort.

He said that he tested the Sennheiser wireless headphones both inside and outside, in conjunction with his s

Mp3 Accessories speaker system - a ZVOX 315 - and his iPod.

The ZVOX 315, by the way, is a surround sound single box speaker system that uses a single cable to connect to an mp3, an iPos, portable music instrument or equipment, or a computer, TV, CD player, DVD, satellite or clock radio, game console or any other device that has a jack for headphones or an audio output of some sort.

He also used his iTunes from his laptop. What he found was that the Sennheiser RS 130 wireless headphones gave him unparalleled listening without any disruptive noise. His recommendation was that anyone who was looking for a set of wireless headphones for less than $200 to be used with their iPod, their iTunes, their TV, stereo, or home theater, didn't need to look anywhere else.

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By: Daniel Johansson

Mp3 Accessories

Forget DVD-A, SACD and MiniDisc, which have failed to threaten the humble CD. The iPod revolution, computer-based media players and the proliferation of formats such as mp3, ogg and FLAC have provided the catalyst for the explosive popularity of downloading music. It's here to stay, but how do we integrate new digital media into our homes? This guide aims to outline several methods to break free from listening to such media through computer speakers and portable media players.

For owners of iPods and the like, a docking station provides a low-cost solution to play music through existing HiFi equipment. You'll also need a 3.5mm stereo jack to RCA (phono) lead to connect from the dock into the back of your HiFi amplifier. The dock can be omitted and the cable used to plug in the he

Mp3 Accessories

Headphone out of your mp3 player, but the sound quality is significantly inferior to the lineout connection utilised by a docking station.

FM transmitters are available for mp3 players. This solution allows for more flexibility as any radio receiver in the home can be tuned into the frequency set by these transmitters. They are also the most ideal solution for in-car audio. Highly recommended is the Belkin Tunecast 3, which works with all mp3 players. Beware that the range of these devices is limited and so should be placed in the same room as the FM tuner.

Personal computers are great for storing vast amounts of digital media. The problem is: how do you get music from the study into your living room? Moreover, how do you control what you're listening to without having to use your computer? Slim Devices' Squeezebox provides a solution to each of these problems by wirelessly streaming music from your computer to your HiFi system. It is a small box with display and remote that doubles up as an Internet radio player. Unlike the mp3 player FM transmitters, this box can be placed anywhere in the home. Sound quality is excellent and it has been well-received by the audiophile community.

One of the main limitations of the Squeezebox is that is it only designed to stream into one HiFi system. What if you want to be able to play different files at the same time across a variety of different home audio systems? Sonos' Multi Zone Digital Music System tagline is "Play any song. In any room. From anywhere." This is a costlier, but ultimate, approach to streaming digital media in the home. As with the Squeezebox, sound quality is surprisingly high fidelity, especially if streaming lossless formats such as FLAC or Apple Lossless.

A Sonos system allows different music to be played in up to 32 rooms! This is enabled by using a "ZonePlayer", of which two versions are available. One version plugs into your HiFi system, the other is amplified and can be used to drive a set of speakers independently. Using a Sonos controller, which is very similar in operation to an iPod, music can be independently played from room to room, or other rooms can be controlled via one controller. As with the ZonePlayers, up to 32 controllers are supported.

Whether your requirements range from plugging in an mp3 player into your HiFi to installing a true multi-room wireless system, it seems that it is only a matter of time before computer-based music overtakes CD as the dominant format of choice.

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By: Eddie Lamb

Speakers and Headphones

These are the accessories that count the most when talking about the listening experience of your music or audio books. Even if the original manufacturers might not supply quality or comfortable headphones with the player, there are many other companies that will offer you some of the best portable speakers, ear buds or headphones. These are specially created to offer you amazing audio quality and are worth the extra price.

Batteries and Chargers

Flash mp3 players (the models that work with an embedded memory chip) usually need AA or AAA size batteries. However, if you're using your mp3 for extensive period of times, you will need to change the batteries quite quickly. This might not be at all convenient to you and can also be costly in the long run. A quick fix is to use a charger and rechargeable batteries.

Most hard drive mp3 players (the models that hold the memory on a hard disk) have a built in lithium-ion rechargeable battery. These models need a special type of charger and cable to recharge, but they are usually included in the pack when you buy it.

Armbands

Armbands are ideal if you want to use your mp3 player while walking, running or exercising. However, you need to choose the right armband for the exact model that you have.

Adapters and Cables

You need a cable or an adapter if you want to connect your mp3 player to your car, your PC or your stereo system from home. Most of the time, a USB cable will do the job.

Docking Stations

Besides the headphone jack, not all models of mp3 players have other needed output connections. In this case, you will need to separately buy special adapters and cables, or a special docking station for iPod, for example.

The docking station can also act as a charger for the battery, it has a remote control and sometimes even output connections for video.

However, a docking station is an extra expense, as very few manufacturers will offer a dock in the same package with the player.

Bags and Cases

You can use hard cases, plastic or leather cases and bags. The plastic cases are the most used, as hard cases are not always easy to use, and leather cases and bags are trendy, but they will not protect your mp3 player all the time.