First iPod Dock/Speaker With DAB
For £99, Intempo is promising a seductive little addition to your entertainment gear with what it claims is the first iPod speaker dock with a DAB radio thrown in for good measure. The very stylish RDI-03, which will ship in October, is the first merged product from Intempo which already builds speaker docks and decent DAB radios. The glossy piano black exterior hides 30Watts of power including a 15Watt subwoofer. It’s compatible with iPods and MP3 players and will charge all iPods, barr the Shuffle.
The DAB radio sports a alarm clock function too and everything can be controlled by the remote. You will be able to find it in Dixons, Currys.digital, Argos and Amazon.
Moody Projector Helps You Relax
I’m not adverse to a bit of relaxation. I’ve owned the odd lava lamp and light projector in my time but this one cranks things up a notch. The Healing Theatre Umine from Takara Tomy is what you get when you combine a basic projector with those Sounds of Nature audio tapes your mother got free with Readers Digest. Essentially, it projects the sea on your ceiling with accompanying sounds of dolphins, bubbles and waves, or, if your inner Hobbit needs a stroll you can opt for a forest scene. You get the idea.
Thomson’s ‘World's Smallest PMP’
French electronics outfit, Thomson, has launched the tiny A1 portable media player, claiming it to be the smallest on the planet. I seriously question that claim, like most ‘World’s Whatever’ claims, but it sure is minuscule, measuring a little less than a credit card and weighing in at 87g. The 3in 16:9 widescreen display boasts a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and can cope with 24fps video – just like the movies, but smaller.
It can handle photos, MP3, WMA, WAV, and AVI files and also manage to cram in an FM tuner. Even better, this diminutive player comes in respectable 4GB and 8GB flavours. Don’t ask what those bead things are in the photo ‘cos I don’t know either. Hell, they are French after all.
80GB PlayStation 3 Launches
“The 80GB PS3 offers expanded options in the PS3 family of products for those who want to enjoy more downloadable content,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing, SCEA.
“The new model will provide ample storage space to meet the appetites of those who wish to download content today, and for many more years to come. With the expanded disk capacity and dynamic system upgrades, we have effectively created a system that is 'future-proof', providing consumers an exceptional entertainment value that will stand the test of time.”
Transformers Headphones Fight Over Your Ears
I’m pretty sure the Transformers thing has been done to death by now but just in case it hasn’t, let’s make this the final nail in the coffin. If you’re the type of person who got excited by the Deception Soundwave MP3 player then you’re probably going to like these Frenzy & Rumble Earphones by Takara Tomy too. Of course, being that they mortal enemies in the robotic war it’s just as well that your head is there to keep them from tearing each other apart.
Duo Sim: Samsung & Indicom
Samsung is yet again in the news; the only difference is, this time we know their newest mobile is on our shores. The Samsung Duo is a world mobile in a very literal sense. The reason for its name is due to the fact that it supports both GSM and CDMA technology. Yup! That’s right. You can have two Sim cards in the Duo and you have options for 2 GSM cards or 2 CDMA cards or even one of each.The phone is available off the rack and mainly through TATA Indicom who is the service provider partnering with Samsung for CDMA. Although it may look like a regular Samsung slider, it’s not a slider at all. I fact it’s a touch screen Smart phone with a 2.2-inch hybrid TFT display. It’s also equipped with a 1.3 megapixel camera with 10X digital zoom and video recording.
It’s also a business phone that supports document files in excel, word and PDF formats in read only though. For messaging, it has 3 options viz an ‘ABCD’ keyboard or a normal mobile phone keypad and of course since it uses handwriting recognition software, you can just scribble it in. The phone also supports Bluetooth with A2DP compatibility. The Duo has 10MB of internal memory and can support a 1GB external memory, microSD card. It doesn’t support WAP when using a GSM provider.
The Samsung Duo is out and was launched in Mumbai today. It’s available at a price of Rs. 11,999 not including the Indicom Sim. TATA Indicom is also offering special plans with customers who decide to switch services.Feel Those Curves With Logitech’s Wave Keyboard
I guess I’m getting old since I never could get to grips with hump-backed, hand-friendly keyboards. The rest of the world seems fine with them though and Logitech continues to plug it’s anti-RSI efforts with the launch of the new wireless Wave keyboard.
While some ergonomic keyboards divide the keys into two halves, the Wave looks likes its name. According to Logitech, it has three components: a wave key frame design, a U-shaped constant curve, and a cushioned, contoured palm rest. The A and Enter keys, for instance, are at the highest points where they can be clicked by the little fingers.
Xbox HD DVD Drive Gets Price Cut & Free Movies
Just weeks after Blockbuster decided to shun HD DVDs in favour of Blu-ray discs for a national roll-out in the US, Microsoft has reduced the cost of the HD DVD add-on drive for the Xbox console to $179 [£88].
This is down from $199. Even more drastic – and better for consumers – is that for the next two months it plans to throw in five free HD DVD movies with each one sold. What a bargain, regardless of your stance on the format war, especially since the HD DVD drive can upscale your existing DVDs to near-high def. Don’t start jumping for joy just yet because this applies to US-only gamers [as usual] for the moment.
In addition, Microsoft will be offering HD DVD versions of sword n’ sandals smackdown, “300”, and “Heroes: Season 1,” for download on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
The pilot of episode of Heroes in high-def will be available on
Xbox Live before it hits the streets
Sky TV Coming To The PSP
Are you one of the 2.3 million PSP owners in the UK and Ireland? If so, you might be happy to know that you’ll soon be able to view Sky TV on your little handheld buddy. The Sony-built one, that is. On top of recent launch of the new PSP, this is a clever expansion of the PSP's capabilities. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and Sky have announced plans to create a joint-venture company to bring a broad mix of downloadable content to the PSP, ranging from movies and sports to high profile TV shows like Lost and Weeds. The content can be downloaded via Wi-Fi or PC but there’s no news yet on pricing. That’s right, this is Sky after all so no freebies here. According to the press release:
“The Joint Venture company, with equal Board level representation from Sky and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe will draw on the unrivalled entertainment aggregation expertise and technical leadership of SKY, and the handheld entertainment knowledge and brand power of PlayStation. The company will establish PSP and the new ground breaking video download service as the natural partners for those seeking the ultimate choice of portable entertainment content.”
Samsung Releases Details Of HD DVD/Blu-ray Player
I covered this a while back when Samsung decided LG wasn’t the only one going to make cash from a dual format HD player. Samsung has just released details of what we can expect from the forthcoming BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player, out around Christmas. It will support the interactive features of both HD DVD and Blu-ray (a.k.a. HDi and BD-Java) – something the original dual-disc spinner, the LG Super Multi Blue BH-100, doesn’t do very well. more...
iPhone Sells 270,000 In 30 Hours
Apple posted some very healthy results recently, up until the end of June, but even a couple of days can make a difference. When the iPhone went on sale on June 29, it managed to shift 270,000 units in its first 30 hours, before the financial quarter ended. This is lower than some optimistic first weekend analyst estimates but it’s hard to deny that 270,000 sales of a £300 phone is still impressive.
Apple went on to say that it plans to top 1 million sales by the end of the next financial quarter in September – that’s 730,000 between July 1 and September 30 at a rate of 8,000 a day. To put it in context, the iPod took 21 months to sell its first million units.
However, to hit its ambitious 10 million sales target by the end of 2008 will mean ramping that up to around 27,000 units a day. Even with a European launch at the end of this year it’s going to be tight.
First Blu-ray Camcorder
Hitachi has developed some key technologies that will allow it to launch the first Blu-ray camcorder this year. The new camcorder – see prototype above – will allow you to record in 1080p on little, 3in blank Blu-ray BD-R/RE discs that can cope with up to 7GB of video. Not outstanding but a lot better than little DVDs.
The new technologies include an optical head for Blu-ray/DV and image processing LSI among others. The device uses AVC/H.264 MPEG-4 encoding for the high def stuff and MPEG-2 for standard definition material. That said, why?
PS3 Sales Jump 135%
That’s the news Stateside where SCEA (Sony Computer Entertainment America) is claiming that sales of the PS3 console have rocketed 135% at its key retailers in the past two weeks. The reason, of course, is the recent lopping off of $100 from the price tag, taking it to $499 for the 60GB edition. Jack Tretton, SCEA president and CEO, said:
“The new price on the 60GB PS3, coupled with our very strong software showing from E3, is certainly paying dividends in terms of impressive sales across the board at retail.”
Of more note though is independent US console figures from NPD for June, showing PS3 sales up 21% over May to 98,500 units. While promising, let’s put this in context: the older Xbox 360 sold 198,400 units, up 28 per cent on May.
The NPD figures for July will be interesting for the PS3, no doubt greatly boosted by the price cut, but can Sony expect a similar jump in European sales where it has substituted a much-desired price cut for a better bundle?
LG Shine revamped in Titanium Black
It seems that LG are enjoying the success of their Black Label Series and have decided to add a new member to the family. The new LG Titanium Black is actually the already well-known LG KE970 Shine, but its metal bodied case is shaded in black with a rather special nuance. Edgier than black and more chick than silver, the new LG kind of gets the best out of the two looks. The LG Shine Titanium Black has the same features as its forerunner: a 2 megapixel camera by Schneider Kreuznach, a multifunctional scroll button, and stereo Bluetooth. It has 50 MB internal memory and a microSD slot. You can read our review of the original LG Shine here.
LG Shine 'Titanium Black' will be launched in the UK, France, Netherlands and Austria. It should hit the shelves by the end of July.
Robotic Insect Takes World's First Bug-Bot Flight
Those Harvard boys are at it again, this time creating the world's first robotic fly that actually took flight for the first time. This sophisticated machine is made of tiny laser-cut pieces of carbon fiber, parts so small they're nearly invisible and molded to outlandishly tight tolerances of within 2 micrometers. There have been other attempts at building robotic insects, but this tiny bot-bug is the size of a horsefly with a wingspan of just over an inch, and uses the same flight technique as those everyday, filthy varmints flying around your garbage can. more...
S-series - Sleek, Sophisticated Mobile Phone
Today’s range of phones leaves a lot to be desired in terms of design, the aim of the game being to cram as many functions as possible into a lumpy box of endless buttons.
The S-series however steps back from this approach and sets off in a radically different design direction by combining sleek, sophisticated styling with top quality materials all put together in a compact package, to make the whole experience of looking at and owning the phone just as pleasurable as using it.
The phone is aimed at people who want to stand out and make a statement, without compromising on features. Designed in such a way that almost every key feature, from using the camera to making and receiving calls, is easily operated without the need to flip out the keypad and waste time.E3 2007: No PS3 Price Cut But, Meet The New Bundle
Sony has confirmed that there is no PS3 price cut looming for us Europeans but it’s hoping to soften the blow by announcing the new PS3 Starter Pack.
This is a new bundle that will kick in from next week (July 18) and for your £425 you will now get a choice of two first-party games and an extra wireless SIXAXIS controller. OK, so the PS3 is still too expensive but at least you now get a bundle worth around £115, compared to the £50 price cut the Yanks got.
The games on offer are Motorstorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, Resistance: Fall of Man [Manchester’s favourite], Formula One Championship Edition and Ridge Racer 7.
So, what would you prefer - £50 off or the new bundle?-Martin Lynch
“Honey, I Shrunk The Speakers”
How small do speakers have to get before they become just a little bit ridiculous? Just ask Sony. The company has just unveiled its new £600 Bravia Theatre DAV-IS10 5.1 home cinema system with possibly the smallest speakers ever on a home entertainment system. Even the main system, which will play and upscales DVDs to [near 1080i], measures just 21cm across and 10cm high. It also houses a FM/AM radio – not DAB - which is a bit disappointing. Still, the controls are hidden and touch sensitive and it boasts Bravia Theatre Sync to allow for one-button operation of this unit when it’s hooked up to other Bravia kit. more...
