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ION Audio has a handful of vinyl to digital audio converter products. However, the ION LP-2-Flash is their first to directly off-load vinyl audio to a USB stick, USB hard drive and even SD card. The LP-2-Flash is a standalone, PC-less vinyl audio ripper for simple operation for even the most lazy music junkie.

The LP-2-Flash has a built in SD slot where you can directly load up your flash memory. The process fully logs, categorizes and separates the audio tracks and digitally converts them to MP3. If you aren’t into SD then USB is equally available. Now, connecting your USB stick or HDD for vinyl download is just as easy.

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We’ve seen everything from iPod Gloves to iPod underwear. And now we bring you iPod ready T-shirts. These hip Music-ed t-shirts all come with special short earphones and an integrated connection cable, as well as a pocket to store your MP3 player. Each of the t-shirts are also individually hand-printed and customized so that no two t-shirts are identical. They are also made up of environmentally friendly organic cottons and bamboo jersey, because it’s also hip to be green. Pricing starts at 31.50EUR and the Music-ed t-shirts are available for both men and women.

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Did you ever wonder how iTunes or other media players know so much about the files they’re playing? I mean, you’ve got a file with a name like “my-cool-audio-file.mp3″ but when you load it into your player, it tells you that it’s actually “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” from The Beatles’ White Album. This bit of data sleight-of-hand is accomplished though the use of an “id3 tag”, a bit of meta-data that many media files carry along with the actual content of the file itself. This meta data includes information about the title and number of the track, the artist, the album, and more.

If you need to tweak this information, or maybe add more to it, you need a tool to access it. That’s where ToeTag comes in.

Named, unfortunately perhaps, after the coroner’s favorite means of identification, ToeTag lets you add, edit, or delete meta information stored in your media files. Add a track name, correct a misspelling, or even enter information about the bitrate of the recording, or the composer of the piece. You can also grab song information on-line from the free tracktype.org server.

ToeTag works on Windows Vista and Windows XP with .NET 2.0.

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The mighty iPod might be able to handle just about anything except getting wet. So, any music-loving swimmers will tell you the new Ubanana uCan waterproof MP3 player is their new best friend. The uCan - made specifically for water sport - has a behind-the head design so that the gadget doesn’t get into the way while doing laps. The DAP can float on water for easy retrieval, and it can survive up to 10 feet underwater in case you decide to do some free-diving.

uCan’s controls are all on the back along with the USB rechargeable battery that can last for about 15 hours. The player is also screen-less, but we reckon few would need to check the ID3 tags during the full-body workout. $150 may seem very steep for a mere 1GB even with its waterproof & nifty design. In any cases, uCan won’t ship until shortly after Independence Day.

Sleek Audio’s Web site is peppered with reminders that it makes no sense to listen to your expensive MP3 player through a “$5 pair of earbuds.” I couldn’t agree more, and, at $249.99 list, the SA6 from Sleek Audio is certainly an upgrade! Sleek Audio, which started off as a hearing-aid manufacturer, takes an admirable step most companies don’t: The manual includes in-depth explanations of safe listening levels and hearing-loss risks. Also included with the earphones are treble and bass “tuning ports” that alter the audio output to suit different tastes and eardrums. These are not the most fantastic earphones I’ve heard, but for the price, they offer a customizable, fairly flat response. If you’re seeking a truly flat response, the best choice is either Etymotic’s $400 ER-4P or Ultimate Ears’ $900 custom-fit UE 10 Pro. If $250 is more what you had in mind, the SA6 can do battle with similarly priced Shure and Ultimate Ears models and is customizable in a way most earphones are not.

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