Yesterday I was at Target doing some shopping, when I spotted this on sale for $6.99.

A strange marketing combination to be sure, but look, they got me to pick up the box. The picture is obviously of a Zune, but the box says it is iPod compatible. Visions of cool docking systems swam through my mind. For $7 I would get a razor, 6 blades, an MP3 speaker set, and 4 AAA batteries. Of course, I bought it. Cruft Labs always needs new things to examine.

When I opened the package, I found the speakers folded up. I put in the batteries and attached the actual holder for the MP3 player.

I was disappointed, that there was no docking in the traditional sense with the multi-pin conncector found on the bottom of most major MP3 players. The was simply a headphone jack that I needed to plug into the MP3 player.

In my first test with an iPhone, the infamous headphone connector problem was in full effect. I had to trim down the plastic on the speaker set connector to get it to fit. As you can see, there's a on/off switch, a volume control, and even a DC power connection.

The sound was mediocre. Way worse that most of the other speaker setups we have around the house from the Muji Cardboard Speakers to the Tivoli PAL. But for $7 I'm not expecting much.

I put the Zune in place, and unsurprisingly it worked just fine, just like the cover of the box.

I also tried a video iPod. Like the others, it fit well and I could see using on an ongoing basis.

At this point, my daughter Mira came in and wanted to see it. She put on Ratatouille and shooed me a way so she could watch the movie. She could have gone 25 feet into the family room and watched the same film on a HDTV set off of the Apple TV, but she preferred this way. I think this says something for what the younger generations will expect when it comes to personal media. She picked up the set and walked out of the room.

Now that I was no longer in possession of the speakers, I took a look at the razor part of the boxed set. In the past, I tried a Schick 4 blade razor and was unimpressed. Keeping an open mind, I wanted to give it a second chance. Currently I prefer a Gillette Sensor 3 . I have backed away from the Gillette Fusion since I reviewed it.

The head of the Schick seems to be a step back toward sanity from the gel surrounded razor I last tried. The design is simple in comparison. I prefer to shave in the shower and use Kiehl's Shave Cream (as should you if you want a close shave).

The razor went pretty smoothly on the flats, but just didn't feel right on the curves. It just couldn't stay as close as I've come to expect. Perhaps that the head size is bigger than what I'm used to these days. But the Schick did feel much better than the previous one I tried. Very comparable to the Gillette Fusion. On the back of the razor is a trim blade. Nice idea, but when I'm in the shower, sans contacts, I can't see well enough to trim my sideburns.

Overall, I'm pleased with my purchase. I will keep the razor as a backup and I will actually use the speaker set when I travel.

Posted by michael at December 09, 2007 02:22 PM