Be your own Idol

While I'm obsessing over the nuances of plain vanilla iPod microphones, Ellen Lee at the San Francisco Chronicle writes about something that sounds like a lot more fun: an iPod karaoke device.

Griffin Technology, a Nashville company that makes iPod accessories such as an FM transmitter, introduced the iKaraoke for $49.99 last fall. The iKaraoke is a small microphone that connects to an iPod. It can soften the lead vocals and pump up the background beat so people can sing along to any song on the iPod.

Singers can hear themselves and the music if they use an FM transmitter or cables to send the audio to speakers.

"It allows you to use it with the music on your iPod," said Cameron Boone, iKaraoke product manager. "You don't have to go and buy new tracks."

The story mentions several other karaoke-type products on the market, including Web-based Singshot, which I profiled on Future Tense in August, 2006.

Hi John,

I have been listening to your Future Tense for years. Maybe it is just me, but the topics you cover seem to be "Present Tense". Web, iPods, music...anything I can easily find out about by going to my local best buy store.

I would like to see you expand your horizons and cover some topics that consumers really need...ways to live well woithout using as much fossil fuel. I would love to hear you explain photovoltaic and windpowered solutions to problems with the same clarity as you do the consumer electronics products. Or perhaps cars that run on ethanol, biodiesel...how about hybrid cars...bikes or walking? You may even find it a nice change!

Let me know what you think. I probably will not be checking your blog...email is better. I just have wanted to mention this to you for awhile.

Take care, Dan

Dan

Maybe I'll just change the name of the program to Present Tense (wink wink). Seriously, thanks for your comments. I should be doing some more forward-looking segments. Thanks for the prompt...

-Jon