Conde Nast Publications, owners of Wired and a bunch of other publications, has recently purchased the tech blog, Ars Technica.  It will become part of Wired Digital, which includes Wired.com and reddit.com.  The site was rumored to have been sold for $25 million, the same price that Conde Nast spent to purchase Wired.com two years ago.

Read

Nokia has admitted to working on a software update for the N95-3, the North American version of the phone.  There are no details other than that it may be released sometime in early June, so look out for a new version sometime soon.

Read

Read

User TRF on the OQO Talk forums has reportedly hacked his OQO to run Leopard. He posted a video on YouTube proving that this image was not a fake and it appears that he is dual booting Leopard off of Windows Vista.  He also says that “Sound, wifi, power management, and usb are working fine and the system is very responsive.”  I don’t think that he has posted a guide on how to install OSX on the OQO but you can go check out his forum post and video.

Post

Video

Read

That’s right kids! The good old Apple store is down, and you all know what that means. Updates! Stay tuned for more info.

On a different note, Apple has recently added the newest versions of the MacBooks to their refurb section. The black 2.4 GHz one will go for $1,250 and the white will go for $1,099. I’m not entirely sure on these prices but they are definitely within fifty dollars of the real price.

Want your MP3 player to look hot? The new Red Zune 80 with three line custom message and tattoo ingraving is what you need to be noticed. You can craft your own Zune here, or check stores soon for the new color.

Many rumors have been floating around for several months about a new Blackberry, numbered the 9000. You may be asking if they have pics and the rumors have been out for quite a while, then where is the phone. That exact question has been puzzling the minds of many gadget geeks lately. Sources such as Fortune and BGR have also noticed this. They believe that it might be caused by bad call quality or AT&T being hung up with the release with the 3G iPhone.

Read

As Chris mentioned, I am also reviewing these same headphones, so you can get a balanced opinion.

I will be reviewing these headphones in several different categories, and giving them 1-5 ratings.

#1: Sound Quality

Sound quality is obviously an important factor in choosing headphones, so I took these and compared them with several other headphones: some very inexpensive $15 Audiology Atomics and some high-end Bose QuietComfort 3s ($349). These Boosted Mobile Grandes sit in the middle of the line, at $70.

In tests of all three of them, they performed exactly according to their pricing. The Atomics produced a tinny sound without the heavy bass of the Grandes. The QuietComfort 3s had, as would be predictable, a superior sound, for a high price out of the range of most people.

The Grandes produced a nice bass and a decent sound. I wouldn’t say it’s superior quality, but it isn’t bad by any stretch.

The Boosted Mobile Grande Darkness headphones receive a 4 rating out of a possible 5 for sound quality.

#2: The Microphone

Unlike most headphones, this pair has a microphone. It is supposedly iPhone compatible. Since I have an iPhone, I won’t take their word for it, I’ll go out and test it. I want to check out the sound quality and how it works with iPhone features. Time to hit the streets with their special iPhone adapter cable!

The microphone has a clicker on it which can be used to play, pause, and skip tracks on the iPhone and answer phone calls. It works perfectly fine. The quality of the actual microphone, however, is a bit disappointing. The sound from the microphone was grainy and distorted in pure recording, but it is perfectly sufficient quality for making phone calls. Those serious about microphone call quality should look towards devices that are more optimized towards that usage.

The headphones recieve a 2 rating out of a possible 5 for the microphone.

#3: Design

The pair we recieved, the Grande Darkness, has a black and grey design with padded ear covers that make them comfortable to wear. They do not look discreet. I wouldn’t wear these as a cell phone headset, which is part of the targeted audience, due to it’s bulky, obtrusive, large nature and heaviness, but it looks very good in general “sit down at a computer” use. They feel relatively solid and sturdy.

The headphones recieve a 4 rating out of a possible 5 for design.

#4: Portability

These headphones are relatively portable. They come with a cloth carrying case and fold easily. However, the native plug is a small cellphone plug. To use with an MP3 player, computer, or iPhone, they require adapter cables, however, but they are small. The headphones are heavy.

I give these a 3 out of 5 for portability.

#5: Overall

The Boosted Mobile Grande Darkness headphones are excellent. I can’t complain. However, there is a relatively high price point: $70. However, I would recommend these headphones to somebody who cares about sound quality but doesn’t want to spend excessive amounts of money.

In the final overall rating, the Boosted Mobile Grande Darkness headphones ($70), receive a final rating of…. 4 out of 5!

Read