Big things come in little packages, right? Well, Orb Audio is out to prove that old adage right with their new Class T amplifier, the Mini-T to go along with their small, but full of sound, handmade Orb speakers.

The Mini-T allows consumers to use high quality home speakers instead of poorly built, questionable sounding computer speakers. By pairing the Mini T with Orb’s award-winning speakers, consumers now have a simple, elegant audio solution that looks as good as it sounds. This is a great way to bring high quality audio to your desktop or TV without large, complicated surround sound receivers.

The Mini-T is based on legendary T-Class amplifier technology, known for its audiophile sound quality and low harmonic distortion (just .04%). Like Orb’s speakers, the Mini-T produces a rich, brilliant soundstage with detailed imaging. Together, the speakers and amp create an immersive listening experience that will not disappoint.

The Mini-T is also small, measuring six inches wide, one and a quarter inches high, and five inches deep. Finished in an attractive charcoal gray, with black gloss front, the Mini T complements any of the six available Orb speaker colors.

The Mini-T can be purchased by itself for $88 USD or can be purchased alongside a matching pair of Orb Audio speakers for $299, for a savings total of $29 off of MSRP. I’m personally digging the hand polished steel enclosure on the speakers.

The Mini-T can accept audio input from many sources including your iPod, iPhone, PC and many other sources.

[ Links: Orb Audio ]

Old-world workmanship typically lasts a lot longer than automated, cheaply produced, mass-marketed items for the most part. And they tend to fit better. So while looking for a replacement pair of sneakers to replace my recently destroyed (now defunct) Medium Design Group, Medium Footwear Inc. Minimalist sneakers, I stumbled upon Feit. A manufacturer of trendy, old-world quality shoes and have been doing so for a while in small batches originally in Sydney Australia.

Just recently they opened up their website where you can pre-purchase or shop for what’s in stock – again, in small batches.

Like all Feit shoes the SUPERCLEAN is handmade using traditional shoe making techniques rarely found in the footwear industry today. These traditional methods are being lost as we move from local cobblers and small boot factories to assembly lines and mass production.

Making shoes by hand allows us to produce small volumes of very high quality. It ensures the shoe making process remains adaptable and flexible.

With prices that range from $240 and higher, these aren’t your normally priced sneakers. But I’m willing to bet you’ll have them longer than your last pair of Reebok’s. Pictured above are the Feit Superclean in white llama leather and retail for $248.46. And more than likely, my very next pair of sneakers. Cannot wait.

[ Links: Feit Direct, Feit Blog ]

Part camera bag, part 007 James Bond spygear, the Cloak Bag is actually a cool idea that means that protecting your camera doesn’t equate to missing some shots because you have to unpack, turn on, and then start to shoot. Sometimes, the zippers get in the way or worse… you just miss the shot because the bag is on your hip or on your back and you’re just trying to protect your DSLR.

I know that’s happened to me quite a few times.

Florida design group Naranja Studio released the Cloak™ Bag, the world’s first shoot-through camera bag that allows a user with an SLR camera to take photos without removing the camera from the bag. This ability allows on-the-go photographers to take photos at a moment’s notice and avoid drawing the attention of tourist-targeting thieves. The release of the bag coincided with the launch of its accompanying website, www.cloakbags.com

Made from high-quality nylon, this is seriously, this is an idea that it’s time has come. I could see myself using this while stalking people it’s raining or it’s too sunny outside indeed. Priced at $49 and is available in two attractive colors: a brown called “coffee tree” and a slate gray called “fog & turquoise”.

[ Links: Cloak Bags ]

OtterBox makes killer, high-quality cases that can protect the living daylights out of your cellphone and other electronics from drops, mishandling and other mishaps that we tend to do to our electronics accidentally. OtterBox has just announced their new series of cases for the Palm Pre:

OtterBox announces a new case line, the Tandem™ Series. Engineered with the same attention to detail and consideration for protection as other OtterBox lines, the Tandem Series enhances your smartphone experience with flagship protection for the Palm® Pre™.

“We’ve finally put rubber to the road with the concept of a case for a slider phone and the Palm Pre was just the right place to start,” Curt Richardson said, OtterBox CEO. “The Tandem Series is a completely new design for us and we have spent significant time and effort to offer not only protection, but functionality.”

Price and delivery date TBA.

[ Links: OtterBox, OtterBox Tandem Series, OtterBox Press Release ]

LaCie has introduced another one of those monolithic looking external hard drive with the “in style” Blue LED and what not. But the LaCie Lacinema Classic HD has HDMI outputs, 1080p playback and a remote control.

The LaCinema Classic HD offers a timeless and sleek design making it a great addition to any TV setup. Providing the widest media format compatibility, LaCinema Classic HD will play all your files without concern – from the most popular DivX format to high-quality MKV H.264 video format via its HDMI 1.3 connection. Uncompromising support for Dolby Digital audio quality enhances the LaCinema Classic HD, as well as your entertainment viewing experience.

The LaCinema Classic HD keeps it easy – use it as an external hard drive to load media from your Mac or PC. Then, simply connect the LaCinema Classic HD to your HDTV for instant playback.

Acting as a DLNA media player, LaCinema Classic HD can conveniently play movies, music, and photos from your computer or network storage. LaCinema Classic HD even offers network access to easily transfer files from your Mac and PC, while keeping it connected to the TV.

Drool. Do want. Comes with a 1TB drive and will cost $249.99 when it comes out shortly at your typical LaCie resellers.

[ LaCie ] [ LaCinema Classic HD ]