If you own an iPhone or iPod touch and have a collection of music on cassette tape, this just might be the gadget of your dreams. ION's Tape Dock allows you to take your favorite cassette tapes and bring them to the digital age. It works with chrome or normal cassettes, so your tapes should not have a problem going digital.
Cassette tapes are a dying breed. Finding new music on a cassette is almost impossible. Walk into your local music store and see if there is a huge selection of cassettes. Chances are, there will not be. The second problem with cassettes is that they only last for so long, and the tape stretches and eventually stops working.
If you want to preserve the music from your precious cassettes, you need to transfer them to a digital medium, and this gadget, aptly named the Tape Dock, looks like an easy way to accomplish this. You simply dock your iPhone (or iPod touch), put a tape in the tray, and use the accompanying app to copy the music to your iPhone in digital form.
If you don't own an iPhone or iPod touch, the device also comes with a USB cable that allows you copy your tapes to your Mac or PC. The software you will need to make the conversions is included with the purchase of the device itself.
The converter comes in at a modest eight ounces, so it should prove light enough to carry around. It's 4.5 inches (114.3 mm) long, 3.25 inches (82.55 mm) wide and 1.5 inches (38.1 mm) thick. To keep it portable, it takes two AA batteries, so you do not need to carry a charger around with you.
The device costs US$69.95 and includes the physical device, as well as the software needed to do the conversion and copy the music. It is not available for purchase just yet, but it should hit the market in mid October.
Source: ION Audio via GadgetReview
