Cue Acoustics Cue Radio Model r1 iPod Dock

Cue Acoustics launches the new Cue Radio Model r1 iPod dock that comes in three editions, the Outlaw Signature Edition, Hospitality Edition and a custom edition.

The Cue Radio Model r1 is a clock radio with integrated iPod/iPhone dock. It features dual alarms AM/FM radio tuner with 24 presets, D2Audio DSP/Digital Amplifier and bi-amplified sound. It also offer 3.5mm input for other audio sources.


The Outlaw Signature Edition of the r1 adds a global “Position” setting that optimizes the r1’s output to match its placement and a “Talk” sound profile that reduces some of the “boominess” of talk radio. It is priced at $399 and comes with an exclusive gloss black finish. The Hospitality Edition is ideal for luxury hotels and resort brands offering custom hotel brand logo on the display when the r1 is turned on and custom alarm behaviors. Lastly, the Cue Radio Model r1 is also available for customization targeting at premium gift market, allowing buyers to pre-programmed the r1 with a personal message or picture on its display.

The standard Cue Radio Model r1 is available at Amazon for $399.

iHome iP46 Rechargeable iPod/iPhone Speaker System

iHome launches the iP46 portable rechargeable stereo speaker for iPod and iPhone. The iP46 is equipped with rechargeable lithium ion battery enough for 10 hours of audio playback. It features four speakers in Reson8 speaker chambers, SRS WOW sound enhancement and a pivoting retractable dock for iPhone and iPod. It also offers a line-in jack for connecting other audio sources such as MP3 player, PMP.

Can the Apple iPad save newspapers?

Despite yesterday's news that the UK is officially no longer in recession – by a whopping 0.1% – there are still a lot of people looking for work.

However, with human resource departments using social media, tracking down vacancies has been made easier – even more so with the launch of an application tracking jobs advertised on Twitter.

The London-based company TweetDeck recently teamed up with the job search engine TwitJobSearch. Together they've created JobDeck, a version of TweetDeck that tracks recruitment news, and is indexing tweets containing job adverts.

More than 360,000 jobs have been listed on Twitter in the past 30 days. "Recruitment is quickly evolving and better tools to manage this shift are an essential part of any career management suite," says Howard Lee, the CEO of WorkDigital, the company behind TwitJobSearch.

JobDeck is a custom-branded version of Tweetdeck. It is rolled out with pre-installed columns, for example listing 25 Twitter accounts of experts, or all the tweets from @TwitJobSearch.

The search engine TwitJobSearch scans Twitter for job postings, and tags them according to job categories or location. Their knowledge is now integrated in the popular desktop application Tweetdeck that hands you a neat organisation of your Twitter feed, and integrates at the same time Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn into one central application.

TweetMYJOBS is another service that brings recruiters, hiring managers and jobseekers together. It is free for jobseekers, while recruiters get a 15 day trial.

Apple iPad: too cheap for Taiwan?

Apple's iPad prices, which range from $499 to $829, might start too cheap for Taiwan. Leading suppliers such as Asus and MSI have already developed their own tablet PCs, but they were expecting to undercut an Apple price of $800 or more. Undercutting $500 is harder, and might not be worth the effort.

A report today in Taiwan's DigiTimes, Unexpectedly low Apple iPad price forces notebook vendors to re-evaluate their tablet PC strategies, notes that "starting a price war at below US$499 raises concerns that any profitably will be driven out of the nascent tablet PC market, before it even has a chance to take off. Vendors are currently evaluating their strategies hoping to avoid price competition, the sources noted."

Asus had been expected to show its Eee Pad tablet at the Computex 2010 trade show in Taiwan in June. It's based on the nVidia Tegra chip and was expected to cost less than $500. MSI's 10in touchscreen tablet is also based on Tegra; yesterday, DigiTimes published a photo of it taken by its reporter, Monica Chen (MSI plans to launch an US$500 tablet PC in 2H10).

Apple uses Taiwanese contract manufacturers such as Hon Hai (Foxconn), which also makes Xbox 360s for Microsoft. Rival contract manufacturers such as Pegatron, which has been spun out of Asus, may not find it easy to undercut its prices, especially if manufacturers include things like USB ports and SD card slots that the iPad lacks. Much of the differential would come out of profit margins.

Another problem is that the iPad's sales volumes are uncertain. Earlier this week, DigiTimes reported that "Positive watchers predict shipments to top as many as 8-9 million units, but those who are less optimistic look to shipments of merely 1-1.2 million units":

"the skeptics pointed out that sales of the MacBook Air have not measured up to expectations, meaning that not all Apple-branded products can expect guaranteed sales."

All this leaves sales of me-too tablets even more uncertain, though there might still be worthwhile marketing opportunities in parts of the world that Apple barely reaches.