S'pore invention turns iPod into a personal radio station
By Oo Gin Lee, In Las Vegas 
Mr Tan Ming Liang said: 'Simply put, Jook turns your iPod into a personal radio station without blasting the music out of your speakers like a boom box.' -- PHOTO: OO GIN LEE
AMONG the gadgets being launched at the world's largest technology show in Las Vegas this week is a Singaporean invention touted as a way to turn your MP3 player into a personal radio station.
Just hit a button on a Jook-enabled device and it will start broadcasting the music being played.
The button will flash to let other users within a 10m radius know they can tune in on their own earphones.
Mr Tan Ming Liang, the Singaporean chief executive officer of US-based Jook, said: 'Simply put, Jook turns your iPod into a personal radio station without blasting the music out of your speakers like a boom box.'
Mr Tan, who also heads the world's No. 2 gaming mouse manufacturer Razer, says it is a good way to make new friends.
Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, he said: 'If you see a pretty girl with the flashing red Jook button looking your way, quickly flash a smile back and press your Jook button to receive.'
The social networking aspect comes in as users can also choose to broadcast personal information like phone number, Facebook profile and Yahoo Messenger user ID along with their songs.
Jook will be commercially available at the end of the year.
Among other new products on show in Las Vegas was Sony and Samsung's Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) super thin flat panel TVs.
The width of just two to three credit cards, they offer superior picture quality to LCD and better power efficiency.
But the company that left the biggest impression was Panasonic with the debut of its 150-inch plasma display.
Other TV makers also had some big screens, like Sony's 82-inch LCD TV, but they were literally dwarfed by the Panasonic giant.
The show began on Monday, and ends on Wednesday.
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