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Logitech has announced a new range Ultimate Ears earphones – with prices ranging from £17.99 right up to the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones prices at £159.

The Ultimate Ears range from Logitech has been extended with a host of new options.

All earphones come with five pairs of variously sized soft ear cushions, a compact, protective case for your earphones while you're on the go and noise-isolation technology.

The flagship pair are the Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones, which Logitech states "offer superior sound without cramping your style."

Dual-armature

"These earphones use a custom-tuned dual-armature micro design that separates the high and low frequencies to deliver sound so full and detailed you'll hear breaths in between lyrics.

"The noise-isolating design reduces outside noise by 26dBs and lets you focus on the music.

"At just 11.6g the earphones are light enough to wear whether you're relaxing, riding the bus to work, or going for a jog. The sleek, micro design makes your earphones look and feel as good as they sound – ear earphone is smaller than a scent."

We don't understand the last bit either.

Seal of approval

A little oddly, Logitech has rolled out musician Seal to promote the product; "Whether I am using my in-ear monitors on stage during a live performance, in the studio during a recording session or on a plane listening to music on my iPod, everything comes through so clearly," said Seal.

"With Ultimate Ears, singing – and listening – becomes a simple pleasure."

"Many performing artists we work with enjoy putting personal artwork on their stage in-ear monitors as an additional form of self expression," said Philippe Depallens, Logitech vice president and general manager of the Ultimate Ears business.

Coolermaster has announced the Choiix Boom Boom speaker, a low-cost option to play your music on the go.

The Choiix branded Boom Boom will cost less than £17 and offer what the company describes as "high volume and a high quality, acceptable sound".

"It's a slim size with a light design for consumers' needs," says the Choiix press release.

"Since the Boom Boom Speaker utilises the power provided by laptop USB ports it can come equipped with four slim drivers that are optimally placed to construct a perfect sound experience."

Slim and light

"The best of both worlds is now offered by Choiix's brand new product the Boom Boom Speaker. It's a slim size with a light design for consumers' needs."

The Choiix Boom Boom has been given a UK release date of mid-September with an expected price of £16.95.

Philips and extreme lifestyle brand O'Neill have joined forces to unveil a new line of extreme headphones, including The Stretch range which are inspired by the heavy-duty materials and styling of wetsuits.

The intriguing Philips | O'Neil headphones are designed to: "withstand the rigours of an active lifestyle".

To that end, The Stretch – the 'toughest in the new line-up'- is impact and high-stress crack resistant, and made of TR55LX which is apparently 6 times harder than polycarbonate.

"The Stretch maintains its toughness and durability in the most extreme conditions – be it the hottest place on earth or the coldest climate down to -25C temperatures," adds Philips release.

Snug, Covert and Specked

The Stretch is not the only part of the new range, with Philips also offering The Snug model – flat folding headphones "that deliver flawless fit and sound with bold graphics".

Next up is The Covert ,"a discreet bud with deceptively powerful sound impact and iPhone control", and last but not least is The Specked, which includes a range of three striking coloured in-ear buds.

We can testify to the toughness as we've been (web) surfing with our set of The Stretch for nearly 15 minutes now and they are working fine. Radical.

Synergies

Nick Andrews, senior manager, Consumer Marketing at Philips, comments: "This range realises the synergies of Philips' simplicity and innovation and O'Neill's set of core values based around the concept of innovation in style and technology.

"Our new headphones are totally uncompromising in their durability – because they've been tested on our test animals: the toughest O'Neill riders, the most uncompromising and daring boarders around."

Eppo van Berckelaer, Global Marketing Director at O'Neill, said: "O'Neill and Philips share a long and successful history of product innovation, working to create products that allow people to get the most out of their lives.

"Knowing how important music is to the lives of our consumers, I now encourage everyone to get out there and test the headphones for themselves."

Audio specialists Bose is targeting music fans that are using their iPhones and smartphones to listen to their favourite tunes, revealing its latest range of in-ear headphones this week.

Bose has released details on its new IE2, MIE2 and MIE2i 'phones, with the latter two also featuring an in-line microphone to allow you to make and receive calls on your mobile.

Music-enabled mobiles

Bose informs us that the IE2 audio headphones are "for listening on-the-go," while the MIE2 and MIE2i mobile headsets have been "designed specifically for music-enabled mobile phones."

"Each is engineered with proprietary Bose technologies for improved audio quality, and feature new Bose StayHear tips for greater stability and a comfortable fit."

Bose claims that all three headsets "offer an enhanced acoustic design using a more sophisticated application of proprietary Bose TriPort acoustic headphone structure," adding that, "Music sounds smoother and more natural, instruments have better detail and definition, and high frequencies and vocals are reproduced with improved clarity."

Bose's new soft silicone StayHear tips have been designed to attach more securely to the headset itself, while also remaining more securely in the ear while in use.

The IE2 and MIE2 will be available on August 23rd and the MIE2i will be available in October. UK pricing is still to be confirmed. For more head over to www.bose.co.uk

Logitech has unveiled the £149 Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S715i – a portable iPod/iPhone speaker offering eight drivers.

The latest speaker from Logitech has a NiMH rechargeable battery, doing away with the need to buy new disposable batteries.

"With this system, we set out to deliver our next generation in sound quality for an iPod speaker dock," said Mark Schneider, vice president and general manager of Logitech's audio business unit.

Eight drivers

"The new Rechargeable Speaker S715i offers eight drivers – double our previous iPod docks – and includes a NiMH rechargeable battery so you can take your tunes with you.

"So go ahead, lose yourself in your music – and never worry about disposable batteries again."

The S715i comes with remote control and an included travel case that also has space for the power adapter and remote.

The Logitech Rechargeable Speaker S715i has a UK release date of this month for a suggested retail price of £149.

Sony has announced its latest range of style headphones, with the MDR-570, MDR-370 and MDR-EX77LP and MDR-EX57.

The 'murder' range – as we've decided to call them due to their unfortunate letter selection – is all about the looks.

"Add a splash of colour to your favourite music with this season's new collection of great value headphones from Sony," says the company.

'Whether you're listening to your favourite downloads, catching up on the latest podcasts or gaming in private with your handheld console, you'll enjoy sensational sound plus fresh, attention-grabbing looks.'

The closed back 'colourful' 570 range offers a 30mm Neodymium driver and a gold-plated stereo plug and is a 'perfect upgrade for your MP3 players supplied headphones'.

And the rest

The 370 range has a headband that is, and we quote, 'designed to fit youthful teenage music fans' and is available in four 'cute' colours: pink, blue, green and white.

Finally, for 'when style is as important as premium sound' come the MDR-EX77LP and MDR-EX57 ranges.

That means a 9mm neodymium driver, carry case and cord adjuster.

The new MDR-570, MDR-370, MDR-EX77 and MDR-EX57 headphones by Sony have a UK release date of April 2010.

Thinking of buying someone an iPod for Christmas? Then look no further - we'll tell you how to choose between the various models available so you can choose the one that's best for you to buy.

Back in the autumn the whole range got an update, with the nano enjoying the most significant revision. Its new camera captures audio as well as video, but it can't take still photographs.

The latest iPod nano also offers a larger screen, at 2.2 inches corner to corner, and an FM radio with Live Pause functionality.

The shuffle's VoiceOver feature makes its way to the nano too, so you can navigate through your artists, songs and playlists without looking at the screen.

• Read our Apple iPod nano 5th Gen 16GB review

Curiously, although the 16GB nano has dropped in price to £135 from £146, the 8GB model is up to £115 from £107, making the higher‑capacity nano a much more attractive option.

The iPod shuffle has had a minor update. You now have five colours to choose from, not just black or grey. It comes in two capacities, a 2GB model for £45 and a 4GB version for £59. For our money, the 4GB shuffle is better value.

If you're feeling rich, there's a special edition iPod shuffle stainless steel model, which is available exclusively from Apple stores (including online) and costs £75. It's very shiny, but considering that it's functionally identical to the standard 4GB model, is it really worth the extra money?

• Read our Apple iPod Shuffle 4GB review

The iPod touch has been upgraded, but not with a camera, as was widely predicted.

The 16GB model has been dropped and a new 64GB version added. The 32GB model has been reduced in price to £229 from £283, and the 8GB version is down to £149 from £165.

The new 32GB and 64GB iPod touch models feature improved performance and support for OpenGL ES Version 2.0 graphics, which is great news for gamers. Now your games can offer more realistic textures and even greater detail.

• Read our Apple iPod touch 64GB review

And finally, don't forget the classic. At £189 for 160GB, it still offers the best cost‑per-GB ratio of any iPod.

The classic may not have moved on much in recent times, but it's still the best way of taking your entire music collection with you.

• Read ourApple iPod Classic review

iPod touch v iPhone

The iPhone is not just a phone – it's also a great iPod. Steve Jobs even called it "the best iPod Apple has ever made". But at 8GB the iPhone 3G is not capacious, which is annoying as the 3.5-inch screen just calls out for you to load it up with bulky video files.

The latest iPhone 3GS comes in a 32GB size, which is more like the kind of capacity you need for movies, but there are some key differences between the iPod touch and iPhone.

• Should you choose iPhone 3G or 3GS?

The obvious one, of course, is that the iPod touch doesn't have the ability to make phone calls. Fair enough, but remember that this also means that the iPod touch users won't have access to the internet – browsing, updating weather and stock widgets and sending and receiving email – when out of range of a WiFi hotspot.

The payoff is that an iPhone costs a lot more, and you also have to pay for the data you use. You either have to take out a contract with Orange, O2 or buy it on Pay & Go (O2) from £342.50.

• Search all iPhone deals at Omio

The iPod touch currently lacks many of the iPhone's features, including a camera, voice control and digital compass. Rumours that a camera would be included in a future iPod touch were not confirmed in the September 2009 update, but it may happen in the future.