When digital TV arrived, you could just add a set top box and off you went. If you want digital radio (called DAB+), then you have to buy a new system.

Digital radio gives you more radio choices, easy station tuning, extra info like the artist’s name you’re listening to, and really crisp reception - especially for AM listeners.

If you then want to combine all these benefits of digital radio with a mini hi-fi system, CD player, plus a dock for your iPod - then the new Sony Micro Hi-Fi System might be the next gadget for you.

No, it’s not as portable as an all-in-one digital radio, but the fact that you can move the separate speakers around your room - to get the best stereo separation possible, makes this inexpensive Sony system ($279) a really great option.

The Sony Micro Hi-Fi System’s sound got the thumbs’ up from tech reviewers, who’ve commented that the quality is really very good compared to DAB+ radios with integrated mono speakers (that they’ve also tested), costing up to three times the price of the CMTFX350i.

As well as DAB+ radio, the Sony Micro Hi-Fi System CMTFX350i includes an FM tuner with a 20-station preset. There’s an alarm and sleep timer, which makes it great in your bedroom.  Plus top-loading CD player and an iPod dock at the front.

Find more mini hi-fis on Lasoo.

It’s great to see an Aussie tech product receiving a rap from o/s reviewers. That’s exactly what the Australian-designed Epoz AktiMate Mini iPod dock is getting!

Not only does the Mini look like a cute couple of 30cm-high sugar cubes, hi-fi reviewers report that it’s the closest experience to a stereo hi-fi performance you can get from your iPod or iPhone. Available in gloss white, red (below) or black, the dock has rubber feet to stop the speakers jumping around when the volume goes up!

The main advantage this well-built stereo dock has over other single units (with left/right speakers obviously together), is the very fact that it is two separate speakers. Rarely can a single unit dock present true stereo - noise comes out of the middle in a bit of a muddle. AktiMate Mini doesn’t have this problem as vocals are locked to the centre of the speakers while instruments spread between the two.

AktiMate Mini is premium priced (around $570 - iPod not included), is a 2.0-channel system with an amplifier from well-known Creek Audio. The Mini pumps 40 watts per speaker which doesn’t sound a lot, but in reality, hi-fi reviewers say the speakers are: `Good and loud; if you want to feel like the musicians are assembled right in front of you, then this is the dock to get.’

The Mini is a bit precious about where it stands - placed too near a wall it may struggle with low pitch; however move the speakers about a metre away and this goes. Inputs include 3.5mm jack, stereo input and AV output, which displays videos on your iPod/iPhone to your TV. The Mini can also be used as the TV’s speakers - they’re fully shielded. Epoz says to use the stereo output for a sub-woofer - and hey presto, you have a decent ‘party boombox’.

See more iPod docks on Lasoo.

With all the hype surrounding the recent launch of the iPhone 4, it was easy to forget that a new version of the iPod Touch was also on the way.

In actual fact, the Apple iPod Touch 4G has a lot in common with its famous stablemate. Just like the iPhone 4, the new iPod Touch has both a front and rear camera and runs the FaceTime video conferencing app, so you can use the built-in microphone to chat with your contacts face-to-face (as long as they have the new iOS4.1 operating system installed on their Apple device). The camera can also be used to make Skype calls.

The rear camera lacks an LED flash and only takes photos at 0.7-megapixels, which is unfortunately inferior to the iPhone 4’s resolution. However it is capable of recording high-definition video at 720p resolution.

Another new feature is Game Center, which is bundled with the new operating system. This allows social multiplayer gaming between iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G users. A number of features from the previous Touch are also carried over to the 4G, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, the ambient light sensor and an accelerometer.

The new Touch also has some of the iPhone 4’s behind-the-scenes wizardry, including a Retina display (so everything on the 920×640 pixel screen looks amazing) and A4 processor, which means vastly improved performance.

The Apple iPod Touch 4G is available for $289 (8GB), $378 (32GB) and $499 (64GB).

Buy a cheap iPod on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

With all the hype surrounding the iPhone, it’s easy to forget that Apple makes other products, too.

But there was life before the iPhone - remember when the world fell in love with the iPod? And the latest generation Apple iPod Nano proves that the manufacturer can still wow us with its flagship MP3 player.

The most obvious difference comes in terms of appearance. The sixth-generation Nano is far more compact than its predecessors - in fact, on first sighting it, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s an iPod Shuffle. It weighs in at just over 20g and can clip onto your clothing, which is handy for when you’re exercising.

Despite the smaller size, Apple has fitted out the new Nano with a 1.54-inch TFT screen with 240×240 pixel resolution. You can change the screen orientation by using the multi-touch controls.

However when you shrink a product this much, something has to give, so Apple has removed the video camera from the fifth generation Nano. Thankfully, other features such as FM radio, voice over and pedometer are all still there.

The sixth-generation Apple iPod Nano sells for $199 for the 8GB model and $229 for the 16GB model.

Buy cheap iPod on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

When it comes to Sony product names, the B stands for Basic, so don’t expect anything groundbreaking from the Sony Walkman NWZ-B153 MP3 player.

The B153 is one of those basic USB-style devices that have been around since the dawn of MP3 players. They don’t tend to offer a raft of features, but are valuable mainly because of their simplicity. Such is life with the B153 - you don’t need any special software installed on your computer to operate it, you can simply drag and drop your tracks straight onto the drive, as you would any USB device. Alternatively, you can load them through Windows Media Player - the advantage of this being that you can create playlists.

It’s a small player, so Sony has minimised the number of buttons on the exterior. It comes equipped with a jog dial plus play/pause button. There’s also a small LCD screen which displays the four icons of the home screen (Voice, Music Library, FM radio, Settings). As mentioned above, beyond this, features are minimal, though one noteworthy inclusion is Quick Charge, which allows you to connect the player for just three minutes to get around 1.5 hours of playback.

As you’d expect from a Walkman-branded player, audio quality is good, especially for the price. However the bundled earphones are not of great quality.

The Sony Walkman NWZ-B153 is available now for $89 for the 4GB model. It comes in blue, pink, red or black.

Buy cheap Sony MP3 player on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

There’s no doubt about it: the Sony Walkman NWZ-A845 is a classy MP3 player. Unfortunately, its exceptional performance is more than reflected in its price.

At $399 for the 16GB model, the NWZ-A845 is considerably more expensive than its equivalent model from Apple, the 16GB iPod Nano - $150 more expensive, as a matter of fact. Its features and performance are on a par with the Nano, while sound quality is slightly better. Whether or not it’s $150-worth of better will be up to you to decide.

Price aside, this is a classy device from Sony - both in terms of looks and performance. It’s both slim and sexy, measuring in at under 8mm thick, and is finished in glossy black. It boasts an excellent 2.8-inch OLED display that handles photos and videos admirably.

Then there is the NWZ-A845’s audio quality. As mentioned above, it’s excellent. It features built-in noise-cancellation technology in three profiles: bus, plane and office. Each profile is customised for the unique noise conditions of that environment. You can also adjust the equaliser settings, depending on how much bass you like served with your music.

Battery life is also a significant improvement over the iPod Nano. Sony claims it’s capable of 29 hours of audio playback or eight hours of video off a single full charge. Unfortunately, the device can only be charged by hooking it up to a computer, and you can’t use it when it’s charging.

Buy a cheap MP3 player on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

The Creative Zen MX MP3 player is a pared-down version of the popular Zen model, adding “incredible value and convenience of use” to the old player’s feature set.

Just like its predecessor, the Creative Zen MX is an extremely portable player. It weighs in at less than 70g and is compact enough to fit comfortably into most pockets. It features a 2.5-inch glossy QVGA display which can display 16.7 million colours.

It’s a flash memory player, so to use the Creative Zen MX you simply connect it to your computer using the included mini-USB cable to transfer you music, video and photos. If the internal memory (8GB or 16GB) isn’t enough, it’s expandable by SD/SDHC card.

Unfortunately file format support is one of this player’s weaknesses. The only audio format supported are the standard MP3, WMA, WAV and Audible 4. Creative’s proprietary CMV format is the only video format supported.

Thankfully, Creative has equipped the Zen MX with some extra features to make up for the lack of extensive file format support, including an FM radio with 32 preset stations, voice recorder, alarm and basic organiser features.

The Creative Zen MX MP3 player is on sale in Australia now with a recommended retail price of $119.95 (8GB) or $159.95 (16GB).

Buy a cheap LG phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

The Creative Zen X-Fi2 is the latest in a long line of rivals to the iPod Touch.

And Creative has made a worthy attempt with the Zen X-Fi2 - while it may not be quite the MP3 player that the Touch is, it does come close.

As the name suggests, the Creative Zen X-Fi2 is an update to the X-Fi MP3 player, with a few notable upgrades. There’s a larger screen this time around (3-inches with 400×240 resolution), and this time it’s a touchscreen - Creative’s first. Unfortunately, this shows - the touch interface is nowhere near as intuitive or responsive as Apple’s.

The Zen X-Fi2 also offers support for a wider range of audio formats. This includes the Free Losslesss Audio Codec (FLAC), which many audiophiles consider to be the ideal format for digital music, and iTunes Plus (unprotected AAC format). Then of course there is support for all the standard audio and video formats, including WMA, WAV, WMV9, XviD3 - to name just a few.

Audio quality is where this player really shines. Creative claims X-Fi technology restores audio to high levels of clarity and simulates audio from high-end speakers by intelligently moving the earphone stereo source away from your ears. In any case, most people will find audio quality to be superior to that of any iPod. The excellent included earbuds also help.

Rounding out the package, Creative has also equipped the Zen X-Fi2 with an Fm radio and voice recorder as well as an RSS reader.

Storage options and pricing are 8GB ($154.50), 16GB ($199.95) and 32GB ($272.68).

Buy a cheap MP3 player on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

The Philips GoGear Vibe is the manufacturer’s brand new entry-level MP3 player, the highlight of which is an excellent colour screen.

The 1.5-inch colour screen is something of a rarity in budget MP3 players, but the Philips GoGear Vibe does it well. It excels in displaying photos and video as well as album artwork. The player’s navigation pad sits below the screen.

Despite the inclusion of a fairly generous screen, the GoGear Vibe isn’t an overly large budget player. It will fit into the palm of most hands as well as most pockets.

In terms of music, the player supports just three formats: MP3, WMA and Audible - support for AAC is a glaring omission. Sound quality is more than reasonable for an MP3 player in this price range.

Rounding out the Philips GoGear Vibe’s feature set are voice recording and an FM radio. A mini USB connection and 3.5mm headphone jack are also included on the player’s base.

The Philips GoGear Vibe comes in two capacities: 4GB (Australian price $119.95) and 8GB ($149.95).

Buy a cheap MP3 player on sale

By Caroline Warnes

Apple has unveiled the latest updates to its iPod range, with the most significant change being the addition of a video camera to the iPod Nano.

iPod Nano

The new iPod Nano has a video camera, microphone and speaker so you can shoot video and view it on the 2.2-inch colour display then transfer it to YouTube. Also included is an FM radio with live pause and pedometer. It comes in nine colours - silver, black, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, red and pink.

Available now, the 8GB model sells in Australia for $199 and the 16GB for $249.

iPod Shuffle

The third-generation iPod Shuffle has experienced a price drop, with the 2GB Shuffle now costing $79 in Australia and the 4GB costing $109. Both models come in silver, black, pink, blue and green.

iPod Touch

The iPod Touch has also dropped in price - $269 for 8GB, $399 for 32GB and $549 for 64GB.

iTunes 9

iTunes 9 also launched today with several new features, including Home Sharing (easily transfer music, movies and TV shows among up to five computers in your home and view up to five iTunes libraries on your home network) and Genius Mixes (automatically generates up to 12 endless mixes of songs from your iTunes library based on the results of over 27 million music libraries).

Buy a cheap iPod on sale

By Caroline Warnes