College

Finally, your greatest and weirdest dream can be realized. Besides being able to check your Facebook account, email your girlfriend, call your Mom on the holidays, or play a Java version of Golden Axe, you can take a college class via your mobile phone. The questionably named Cyber University in Japan has begun offering a mobile class on the "mysteries of the pyramids," but instead of a typical PC's display of text, images, sound, and video, the mobile version offers a streaming Power Point presentation on the topic. The university -- 71-percent of which is owned by Softbank, a mobile service provider -- has 1,850 students, and offers almost 100 courses, though only one is available for phones. Sakuji Yoshimura, head of Cyber University, says that the technology will allow those with jobs or who have disabilities greater access to education. "Our duty as educators is to respond to the needs of people who want to learn," he said -- then went on to add, "Even if the course is interrupted by an SMS."

Toshiba

Philips' Brilliance iCT sure had a nice run, but no sooner than it hit the spotlight, Toshiba has arrived fashionably late to steal a little thunder. The outfit's $2.5 million AquilionONE outdoes Philips' iteration by doing 320-slices instead of "just" 256, enabling doctors to see the entire heart while making patients hold their breath for merely "a second or two." Put simply, the machine should allow for heart disease to be spotted in its earliest stages without putting individuals through a lengthy tribulation, and the ultra high resolution 3D images it produces will allow medical personnel to quickly determine if there are any problems that need to be dealt with. Currently, the system is being tested at Toronto General's Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, but word on the street has the unit being readily available next summer.

Micron

Check it -- we've got a new entrant in the ever-expanding solid state disc market, and it goes by the name Micron. The firm's first SSD lineup (dubbed RealSSD) will feature a native SATA II interface, a rugged, lightweight plastic casing, and suck down less than two-watts of power while active. Furthermore, the units will come in both 1.8- and 2.5-inch iterations, with a 32GB and 64GB flavor to be available in each size. The newly launched family is expected to slip into mass production in Q1 of next year, and on a related note, the 1GB to 8GB RealSSD Embedded USB range -- which is slated to ship en masse next month -- was also introduced. We know, you've hung around this long just to get the low down on pricing, but unfortunately, Micron has yet to dole out that oh-so-crucial information.

TIVO

TiVo has just announced an agreement with multimedia software provider Nero AG that will bring its familiar interface and feature set to the PC. According to the joint announcement made today, Nero will embed the TiVo experience in its next generation of software, allowing the millions of us who rely on USB dongles for our TV to finally join the exclusive realm of Series1, 2, and 3 owners. Plus, as Zatz Not Funny! points out, Nero's international presence should help spread TiVo to the far corners of the Earth like some digital Happy Meal. Hopefully this new PC timeshifting solution -- release window: unknown -- will also convince other purveyors of home theater-only hardware-based services to finally bring their wares to the desktop. Yes, we're looking at you, Sling.

Vista

Word on the street (er, internet) is that Microsoft's oft-ignored Vista component, SideShow, could be making its official way to your favorite Windows Mobile-flavored device before long. If you'll recall, SideShow acts as a kind of mini-OS which is distributed to devices separate from a PC, such as remotes or external displays on laptops, and can be used to access information like contacts, maps, calendar appointments, and e-mail messages in a low-power, always-on state. Apparently, in a new SDK beta which the SideShow team "showed" off recently, features like a UI designed for portrait QVGA displays, a universal driver that supports USB and Bluetooth communication, and new Bluetooth menu commands have led some folks to speculate that the system could be coming to mobile devices sometime soon. Of course, this all unconfirmed rumor at this point, so don't feel compelled to believe it.

Valeswood

Listen -- we know you want to do your part for the environment, but you don't have to wear jean shorts while doing it. By all means, take a gander at the Valeswood Pearl hydrogen-fueled, power-assisted bicycle, which motors up to 15 MPH and takes you about 80 miles before you need to juice the batteries. When you're finished with all the hard labor of pedaling, the bike folds up neatly and can be tucked away in the trunk of your 9 MPG SUV. If you're the eco-centric cat or kitten that we think you are, you're not going to be too miffed about that $4000 price tag, and we're sure the only kind of short you'll be rocking will be of the organic hemp variety. We wish we could say the same for the chap in the photo.

N810

Look, we're right there with you -- wishin', hopin', gettin' down on our knees and begging like crazy for someone to take pity on us and pop for the N810 this holiday season. Well, at least one lucky gentleman has already had the pleasure of cracking open the sweet stuff -- AKA, Nokia's latest and greatest internet tablet -- and has put all sorts of nasty pictures on the internet (we suspect in an attempt to make us insane with jealousy). The post also has some useful and interesting info in regards to the software and functionality of the device, so you can get informed while ogling the photos.

NVIDIA

NVIDIA's recently rolled out GeForce 8800M GTX has already made its way into a laptop, specifically Rock's Xtreme 770, specially updated to integrate the new chip. The 770 features a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, a 7200RPM 200GB HDD, 2GB of RAM, a 17-inch 1920x1200 display, and that all important GeForce 8800M GTX graphics card. The new card is certainly no disappointment, kicking the 8700M by a factor of two in most gaming benchmarks (although that also says a lot about the 8700M's lackluster performance.) The bottom line with the 8800M GTX is that it enables acceptable performance in Crysis at reasonable resolutions, which is more than can be said of most desktops. However, you might want to hold off until the GPU reaches lappies other than the Rock Extreme 770, which costs £2,199: that's over $4,500 at the current exchange rate.

SPRIT

It's not like you didn't know this day was coming, but Sprint users eagerly awaiting the actual release of Motorola's Q9c / i335 or the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 can quit sitting on their hands. That right folks, as of now, all three of the aforementioned handsets are available on Sprint, and while we're sure you're up to speed on all the specs, here's the down low on prices. After a two-year agreement and mail-in rebate, the i335 will run you $49.99, while the Q9c demands $149.99 and the Pearl 8130 rings up at $199.99. Take your pick -- the trio is on sale now online and in Sprint stores everywhere.

Eizo

Eizo's back with a new 24-inch Flexscan SX2461W-U monitor for the colorblind color-weak chromatically sight challenged interpeoples. It chews the same CUD (Color Universal Design) technology of their 19-incher which uses shapes, positions, patterns, and so on to communicate color information back to the user. The monitor itself is capable of 92% color reproduction on a 1,920 x 1200 panel with 850:1 contrast and 300cd/m2 brightness. It will source input from a pair of HDCP-enabled DVI jacks while passing USB back to your PC with a pair of USB 2.0 ports. Available in Japan starting December 6 for ¥136,000 or about $1,047 of the green stuff, or blue stuff, depending.

TeacHDR1

Scouting a 1U, rackmountable two-channel audio recorder? What about a solid state version? If you just so happened to answer yes to the previous questions, Teac's got you covered. The outfit's HD-R1 Recorder relies on CompactFlash cards to store up to 24-bit / 48kHz PCM or MP3 files and can be controlled remotely via LAN or RS-232C. Additionally, the unit touts a USB port, mic preamps, phantom power, RCA, XLR, Euroblock and S/PDIF inputs, and the blue-backlit display is a nice touch, too. Teac has apparently been busy showing its new toy off at Inter BEE 2007, but those tempted by the above specs can secure their own for around $1,100.



This is how you charge your
Ipod when your Ipod battery runs low, it only takes an Onion and Gatorade to Power up your Ipod.

Watch the video....

Lars

We've no qualms with a manufacturer thinking outside of the box in order to differentiate its iPod docking station from the myriad competitors, but Lars & Ivan's PA-40Ti takes it one step beyond customization. This Hybrid power amplifier / iPod dock sports a design that SNL's Nuni and Noony are sure to adore, and features a total output of 40-watts RMS, a frequency response of 22Hz - 22kHz, signal-to-noise ratio of 67dB, four-channel input selector (phono / CD / aux / iPod), a headphone jack and a dedicated subwoofer output. Additionally, this thing includes video out and a remote control, and while it will run you a stiff €233 ($341), your collection of industrial metal will be totally in love.

Epsons

Those fortunate enough to traverse the halls of Embedded Technology 2007 could've seen Seiko Epson's latest wonder up close and in person, but for the rest of us, we'll have to settle for the above picture and a drool-worthy description. The prototype e-paper terminal measures in at just 3-millimeters thick and weighs only 57-grams, and it's even equipped with a USB port. Furthermore, it features a 6.7-inch display with a lucious 1,600 x 1,200 resolution, but the unit on display could only handle greyscale imagery. Also of note, the entire unit was powered by a single button cell battery, which enabled the screen to be redrawn upwards of 1,400 times (at 0.7-seconds per redraw) before running out of juice. Details surrounding its eventual commercialization were pretty much par for the course, meaning your guess is as good as ours at this point.

Iriver

No details were provided, just this, a new splash image on iriver's Korean home page. That "D" in the model number, however, likely stands for dictionary like the D5 before it. We're also expecting a QWERTY beneath that hinged surface. Color up, contents up? WiFi, HSDPA... who knows. Really, who knows?

Dells

Shortly after being leaked, revealed, unclothed and paraded around in public, Dell's 20-inch XPS ONE is finally available to the masses. Up now on company's webstore are four pre-configured systems, with the high-ender rocking a Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, Bluetooth 2.0, an 8-in-1 multicard reader, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO graphics set, and a 500GB 7,200 RPM SATA hard drive. Additionally, you can snag a built-in Blu-ray burner and a hybrid analog / digital TV tuner to keep the TV / film buffs happy, but expect to throw down between $1,499 and $2,399 depending on options.

Lantic

We've no particular issues with superfluousness, but we're just hard pressed to believe that anyone could find value in a $30,000 remote control. Granted, we'd certainly have a change of heart if said remote could grant a trio of wishes, create a clone to handle our 9-to-5 and serenade us on command, but unfortunately, Lantic Systems' RC 1 does none of the above. The discuss-shaped device only offers up control of one's DVD player, TV, CCTV / security setup, audio system, lights, curtains, HVAC and any other standard AV component, all of which can be taken care of for a Toyota or so less. Interestingly, the outfit doesn't even mention how much gold you're really getting here, but considering that those signed on to bring one home likely posses more money than sense, that tidbit probably isn't a dealbreaker.

Optimus

Notice anything peculiar about that QWERTY? No, it's not a ClipArt frenzy. Rather, each key has been replaced with a specific Photoshop function. That's the magic of the Optimus Maximus. Oh sure, any designer worth his salt has already mastered the Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N, but a single key press (instead of three) sure sounds nice. Worth $1,536? Doubtful, but what if Artimus threw in a children's layout too? Russian, Japanese? We know, it's a hard sell.

LG

Here they are, the product waifs, which can only mean one thing: the LG VX10000 QWERTY Voyager and LG VX8800, AKA Venus, slider are official. The dual-display Venus (2-inch main on top and 1.49-inch haptic VibeTouch touchscreen below for navigation) is up and dancing on Verizon this morning for immediate availability. Same $200 fee after online discount and 2 years of your life inked in blood that we already saw on pre-order. The Voyager with its 2.8-inch VibetTouch, external touchscreen (and 2.8-inch internal) is still on track for its 21st launch for $300 plus 2 year contract.

WifiRadios

Though not ubiquitous, portable WiFi radios are certainly still longed for, and Cambridge Consultants is hoping to stir up even more demand by offering up a low cost, customizable platform for theses devices to utilize. Shown originally as the Iona WiFi radio at CES, the platform has been renamed RadioPro, and it boasts a manufacturable eBOM of just $15. Furthermore, it supports over 10,000 radio stations, wireless upgrades and a flexible architecture that allows "full customization of the user interface and menus through a dedicated software development kit (SDK)." As if that weren't enough, the design also touts up to 25-hours of active streaming time on a 1500mAh battery, and if all goes to plan, we should see devices that rely on CSR's latest technology hit shelves before 2007 comes to a close.

Vuzix

While it's typically far too easy to bash on a new head-mounted display due to its unsightly design, we'll restrain ourselves when talking about the LV920. Vuzix, which veterans may remember as Icuiti, has introduced a new HMD that is tailored specifically for individuals with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and other low vision problems. Apparently, preclinical trials have shown promising results, and the firm is aiming to ship 'em out en masse sometime this quarter. Vuzix claims that the eyewear will improve vision when reading and boost color perception, but we'd be tempted to wait for a third party confirmation (or denial) before throwing down on something like this.

LG52

Life's just too good to only unveil one new television in a sitting, right LG? Apparently the firm is in total agreement, as it has decided to also shed a little (and we stress little) light on its (similarly designed) forthcoming 52-incher. The 52LG71 LCD TV claims to be the "world's first 1080p LCD with an integrated 802.11 Wireless System," and while we've certainly seen a few sets doin' the WiFi thing before (yes, even an LCD TV), you won't find us kvetching about newfound competition. Interestingly, we're not told what flavor(s) of 802.11 this thing supports, but considering that it can supposedly handle HD streams without a single hiccup, our bets are on 802.11n. Nevertheless, we'll hopefully be finding out the specifics soon enough, but for now, let this serve as motivation to start packing away any extra pennies as you wait for this to grace store shelves.

Alpine

Alpine's already shown us (however briefly) one of its newfangled in-car audio accessories, and now it's time for numero dos. The eX-10 is a stylish iPod controller / Bluetooth adapter that includes a dash-mountable, full-color 2.4-inch display unit to clearly show what's spinnin' on your iPod. It also comes bundled with a remote to keep you marginally less distracted when flipping through playlists, and it saves you the trouble of hard wiring anything by operating on a spare FM slot. Granted, FM transmitters are always hit 'n (mostly) miss, but this unit allows users to hook things up via a 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack if their head unit accepts such an input. Look for this one to start shipping at any moment for $199.99.

Mediapool

Interact-TV really hasn't made a lot of noise since it unveiled the MyTellyHD Linux-based media server way back in January, but it's cranking things back to 11 with the MediaPool Home Entertainment Server. This bad boy comes stocked with 3.75TB of configurable storage space -- enough for around 750 DVDs -- and was designed to play nice with the firm's TellyVizionHD in order to create a swank PVR setup with near limitless room for content. Packed within the fanless MediaPool are five 750GB Seagate DB35-series HDDs, and all that open space can be linked up to your HTPC of choice via eSATA. The 3Gbps connection ensures that storing HD content won't be an issue, and the blue backlit-display on the device's front panel conveniently includes temperature readouts along with an overheat warning. Now, just as soon as we figure out how to sufficiently fill up nearly 4TB of HDD space with flicks, shows and tunes, we may consider picking one up -- if it hasn't been discontinued by then, that is.

Eclipse

Just in case you haven't had your fill of in-car audio news tonight, Eclipse is hitting us up with a brand spankin' new head unit of its own. The CD7200 mk II should slide right into any single-DIN gap, and it comes HD Radio / SAT radio-ready in case you grow tired of listening to those MP3 / WMA discs of yours. Additionally, this unit features a built-in USB port, eight-volt pre-amp, E-iSERV technology, iPod support and SRS Circle Surround to boot. Your guess is as good as ours when it comes to a price and release date, though, but we'd bet this one won't remain in the shadows for too much longer.

Asus

All we have is this picture for now and the promise of more around CES in January, but that's Asus' R50A right there. It's listed as a UMPC and said to "redefine mobile" with full PC and GPS functionality. Funny, we thought that's what those gen one UMPCs were supposed to do 1.5 years ago. Anyway, this looks to be the R3 we've already peeped sporting a 4.8-inch display with abiggie1024 x 600 resolution.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

PocketSurfer 2

Pocketsurfer

We haven't heard much about DataWind's PocketSurfer 2 lately, but it looks like MobilePlanet may have gotten a bit more information on a possible release for the device, as its now has the handheld up for pre-order for $310. What's more, the site also says that a T-Mobile data plan is required for the device to function but, unlike the free GPRS for a year plan in the UK (up to 20 hours a month), those in the US will apparently have to drop $30 per month to get their web browsing done on the device. For those yet to be acquainted with the the device, be sure to check out Pocketables at the link below for a couple of better pics of it than we've seen before, and hit up the read link if you want to take a chance with that pre-order.

Gigabytes

I don't want you to get your hopes all sky high for nothin', so I'll preface this by noting that Gigabyte's Visuals only operates with the firm's Odin GT-series of power supplies. For those still with me, this monitor-mountable gizmo enables users to keep a close eye on the temperature, power and fan speed of their PSU, and it gets all the juice / information it needs via USB. Granted, it's probably overkill for all but the most hardcore of overclockers, but no one here ever said that extravagance was necessarily a bad thing. Look for this one to land anytime for a currently undisclosed price, and hey, maybe next year Gigabyte will open up the compatibility list a bit, eh?

Toshiba

Apparently you don't have to be a weakly-premised NBC show to go green this week: Toshiba's joining in on the fun with its "industry's most eco-friendly" toilet. Of course, this is Japan, so that means bidet action, and Toshiba's new model can instantaneously heat up water for that purpose, instead of running continuously to keep a stash of water warm. The seat, which is of course heated as well, is also designed to prevent heat loss, and Toshiba claims 55% overall energy savings over competing products. If that wasn't enough, the lid automatically opens and closes when a sensor is tripped, and there's even a remote control so you can do your business touch-free. While we'd applaud Toshiba for its commitment to sustainability and innovation, we're really just too busy being jealous of how awesome Japanese toilets are.

WolfClaw

It looks like those that prefer their keyboards as unconventional as possible could soon have a new option to consider from Wolf King, which has just seen its latest less-than-ergonomic wonder pass through the FCC. From the looks of it, this one boasts a good deal of similarities to the Wolf Claw keyboard we saw a while back, minus the full-size QWERTY keyboard. That gets replaced by a jumble of keys that could probably be used to actually type something in a pinch, although we're guessing you'll want to have another keyboard as a backup. According to the manual, you can also expect a pair of extra USB ports, seven customizable hotkeys and, of course, some blue backlighting to really make it stand out on your desk. No word on a price or release but, as you can see above, it sure looks about ready to roll out the door.

Asus

I first got to know the Asus R300 and R700 GPS units back in September, but now Asus is finally ready to spill the rest of the sordid details on its well-specced R700 model. The Asus R700 runs a 4.3-inch touchscreen, with RDS / TMC traffic info, a hands-free Bluetooth kit, microSD port and all the trimmings inherent in Windows CE 5.0 -- including a lovable collection of media playback codecs. There's text-to-speech built in for reading street names, but the real twist comes from the ability to vocalize your text messages over Bluetooth. This model will be hitting Europe in December with a set of 3D maps and iGO 8 software for 400-500 Euro ($586-$732 US).

Eclipse

I am not exactly sure what's up with the chewing gum-inspired names here, but apparently, Packard Bell thinks they're pretty "original." All laughs aside, the 1GB / 2GB Fresh DAP (shown after the jump) could easily be a distant cousin to the FunKey Town, and it weighs in at just 23.5-grams, plays back MP3s, sports a blue backlit screen and should last around half a day on a single AAA cell. As for the Eclipse (available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB), it's reportedly the very first media player from the firm that handles video, and more specifically, it's designed to understand MP4, WMV, XviD, MP3, WMA and WAV file formats; additionally, it sports a 2.2-inch color display, a rechargeable Li-ion, USB 2.0 connectivity and six equalizer presets. If you're wondering how much loot it'd take to snag one of these European-bound units, word on the street has the Fresh landing for €30 ($43) / €40 ($59), or you could opt for the much more versatile Eclipse if you're cool with unknown pricetags.

Edge

I've got a strange feeling that digiframes are going to be relatively hot this holiday season, but maybe the sudden rash of offerings are just coincidentally launching weeks before Black Friday. Regardless of the reasons, EDGE Tech is hitting us up with a 12-inch version of its own, which features a decent 800 x 600 resolution, USB connectivity, support for AVI, BMP, JPEG, MPEG1/2/4, WAV and WMA files, and flash card inputs that play nice with SD, MMC, Memory Stick, MS Pro, CompactFlash and Microdrive. It shouldn't shock you to hear that this piece also handles automatic slideshows and can even sing back via the integrated stereo speakers, and while there's no option for WiFi here, it'll only run you $129.95 after rebate.

Friday, November 9, 2007

NEC intros e-mailing fax / phone combo

NEC

It's not often we see advancements in the still-kicking fax machine, but NEC looks to have found a smidgen of room for improvement, with its new SP-NA640 model boasting at least one notable and still relatively uncommon feature. Namely, the ability to take any document and send it straight to a computer or cellphone via email as a regular image file. On the somewhat less productive front, the machine can also apparently take incoming email and print them out on the fly and, of course, it can be used as a plain old fax machine for those of you still clinging to the past. If that's enough to convince you to upgrade, you'll be able to grab one of these in Japan later this month for a yet to be specified price.

buffalo

No interest in a shiny new NAS from Buffalo? No worries, as the firm is hoping to play on your AV emotions too with a new duo of HD media streamers. Part of the tight-knit LinkTheater family, the LT-H90LAN and LT-H90WN each feature USB 2.0 connectivity, an Ethernet jack, analog / digital audio outputs and HDMI / composite connectors. Furthermore, the pair plays nice with a slew of files including AAC, MPEG2/3, WMA, JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, VOB, WMV, ASF, AVI and H.264, but unfortunately, DivX / XviD weren't invited to the party. Nevertheless, those who still think this would fit the bill can snap up the wired-only LT-H90LAN for ¥21,000 ($184) or the 802.11a/b/g/n-enabled LT-H90WN for ¥31,700 ($277) later this month.

Philips

If you've ever wanted to pop up Dashboard outside of the desktop, this is probably as close as you can get. Phillips' multi-purpose clock radio / photo frame comes across like a swipe from the widget world, with its pleasant blue backdrop, "Polaroid" photo section, and cutesy little calendar page. If we didn't know better, we'd swear someone from Yahoo! Widgets was behind this. But alas, it's a bona fide Phillips nightstand-sitter, complete with a built in FM tuner, audio player (MP3 / WMA), USB, SD and MMC connectivity, dual alarm times, and soothing nature sounds. Sure, it won't tell you the weather, notify you of new emails, or play Sudoku... but it only costs a $129.99.

Asus

Hike up that skirt boy, Asus' is hoping for a diddle of your effeminate side. The lowly 2GB entry-level "2G Surf" Eee PC will hail for $299 when it finally makes its rumored January 2008 pastel appearance.

Vaio

Sounds like Sony really took that whole Greenpeace finger-wagging to heart -- it can't be fun to be named the absolute least green of all major consumer electronics manufacturers in the midst of a global environmental movement. So with great gusto today Sony launches some, ahem, "eco-cool" Vaio FZ Graphic Splash Eco Edition laptops with a number of "eco-conscious" features (many of which are completely reaching for it, like "Slim design for minimum use of natural resources," and "Packaging comprised primarily of recyclable materials") and four obnoxiously naturalist and out of touch lid designs including -- wait for it -- an ironic-on-too-many-levels Leopard-skin pattern. The specs and "eco-friendly features":

  • Prices start at about $1400 for the VGN-FZ290EGS - Spotted Life; VGN-FZ290EGE - "Clay Earth"; VGN-FZ290EGC - "Caribbean"; VGN-FZ290EGB - "Bloom"
  • Machines feature a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 15.4-inch display Vista Home Premium, and the rest of the usual FZ specs
  • All are RoHS compliant; use "Slim design for minimum use of natural resources," "Easy-to-recycle materials for resource conservation," "Packaging comprised primarily of recyclable materials"
  • Laptop and battery are eligible for future recycling under last year's trade-in program (and this year's recycling network)
  • A small percent of sales to the aptly named charity 1% For the Planet. Seriously.
  • Available in limited edition starting in November
You know, Sony, there's doing it, and then there's overdoing it -- which tends to lead folks like us to think you just slapped some lids on your FZs, committed 1% of sales to charity, and greenwashed the whole thing so you could put that nasty Greenpeace debacle behind you.

Nuvo

Those not deterred by the NV-M3 Music Server's rather steep pricetag may be interested in knowing that a hard-wired connection is no longer necessary, making the previously unattractive device a bit more palatable. NuVo's Wireless USB Syncing Device (NV-USBW) enables the NV-M3 (pictured) to be installed without regard for where the user's PC is, as the Wireless-G connection that is provided enables PlaysForSure tunes to be streamed sans cabling anywhere within the home. That being said, we sincerely hope you didn't expect this thing to be cheap -- otherwise, the $399 pricetag for the NV-USBW is likely to be a real stunner.

Mcpersons

There's a select group of red flags that appear when a product is, or is dangerously close to becoming, vaporware, and we've seen just about all of 'em when looking at McPerson's I-TV. Apparently, this so-called do-it-all LCD TV first appeared last year, but now it sports a different look and a flashy website that will make you wish your speakers were inoperative. The set supposedly functions as a home automation controller, DVR, DVD player and Media Center PC, and just in case you doubted its prowess, this thing is somehow Viiv-certified and able to run OS X. Specs wise, you'll find a 37-inch 1080p panel, dual 40-watt speakers (um, right), 7.1-channel audio out, built-in WiFi / Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet and a slew of ports. Considering McPerson threw nearly everything in here save for the proverbial kitchen sink, it's not all that shocking to find a £3,924.49 ($8,235) pricetag floating around the intarweb, and if anyone has any actual proof that this thing exists, feel free to dash our doubts in comments.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Samsung M4650

Samsung

Don't be fooled: Samsung officially calls this the M4650 Multi-Touch, but get this, it doesn't support multi-touch. It does support single touches of its 2.8 inch screen, though, which'll have to do seeing how it lacks either numeric or QWERTY keypads. The Korean company is prepping the Windows Mobile 6-based touchphone for its domestic market, matching a recent trend toward keyless, finger-friendly input that LG, HTC, Apple, and others have adopted in recent months. A customized build of Windows Mobile isn't the only trick up the handset's sleeve, either: haptics give users a little bit of positive feedback when they make contact with the display, and when Office Mobile finally ceases to be entertaining, the terrestrial DMB tuner should come in handy. Ironically, the M4650 will be offered through LG Telecom -- of all carriers -- for something in the range of 500,000 won (about $550) before rebates.

Denon

Denon has a few new audio offerings as of late, with the S-52 iPod speaker dock firing the opening shot. It's also an internet / DAB / FM radio, CD player, and a wireless audio streamer that can stream MP3s, AACs and other formats from a PC. At £500 ($1000+), it's rather expensive, but you get a lot of bang for your buck. Also new is the AT-SP30BLH speaker set, which couples up with the ID-5 iPod dock. $230, and the duo's yours: although at only 6 Watts output, you're probably best looking elsewhere.

NEC

Here you go friends, another 1,024 x 768 projector for your overly populated Powerpoints. Mind you, this isn't any ol' 5,000 lumen projector, no sir. This NEC is one of the few to support the little known Windows Network Projector standard built right into Vista and Windows CE devices. The projector is automatically detected on the network allowing it to feed on your content wirelessly (or tethered) from across the net. Nice.
It also features 5 optional lens combinations and component, S-Video, and DVI inputs with Reon VX HQV video processing. The top end NP3150J is expected to ship in mid-January 2008 for a whopping ¥837,900 (about $7,335). A lesser, 3,700 lumen NP1150J can be had for ¥575,400 (about $5,037). Don't worry, it's corporate money, and they owe you.

Toshiba

Try not to succumb to that waft of staleness overpowering your senses right now. That's just the latest addition to Toshiba's once proud gigabeat series of DAPs you smell. The newest U-series models include the 1GB U104, 2GB U205, and 2GB U206. Besides sporting a set of cross-hair controls, the U206 bests the U104 by stuffing an FM transmitter and tuner into the player along with a pair of canal-type buds. The U205 shares the controls of the U104 with the specs of the U206. Prices will start at ¥9,980 ($87) before topping out at ¥14,800 ($129) when they pop for retail on the 9th.

Iriver

Get ready for it kiddies, iRiver's P10 appears ready to bust free. According to the forum jockeys frequenting iriverfans, the P10 is set for launch in December. With its biggie, 4.3-inch display and iriver's meticulously applied mechanical and software engineering prowess -- we'll be chomping at the bit for dibs on this mysterious media player.

X600

The red and black WinMo 6 handset isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but it's a solid addition to the Glofiish lineup: 2.8-inch QVGA screen, 2 megapixel cam, quad-band GSM (no 3G, though), GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth. No word on price, but E-TEN says we'll be seeing these hit in mid-November -- just enough time for us to get settled in with the now-shipping X800.

Sierra

Sierra Wireless sure doesn't seem to be skimping when it comes to USB HSUPA modems, with it now following up its recently-released 880U and 881U models with its new and somewhat improved Apex 880 modem. About the biggest addition here is an always useful microSD card slot, which should let you ditch at least one USB thumb drive from your bag. The modem itself is also slightly smaller than the previous models, measuring just 85mm x 37.5mm x 15mm. Otherwise, you'll get the same peak data speeds of 7.2 Mbps on the downlink and 2.0 Mpbs on the uplink as before, and support for tri-band UMTS and quad-band GSM/ EDGE networks to keep you connected at all times. No word on a price just yet, but it'll apparently be available in January.

Cyruslink

UK-based CyrusLink has released a few iPod speaker systems, but we hadn't heard anything about the outfit's latest effort, the LinkMini Two, until the crew at ShinyShiny spotted its nondescript Amazon page. Featuring a 10-watt sub and two five-watt satellites with aluminum cones, the Two probably won't win any design awards any time soon, but Cyrus is known for solid audio and the £61 ($126) pricetag seems fairly reasonable. Available now to our British friends, but there's no word if we'll see this bad boy in the States.

ToshibaHD

Wal-Mart may have been the first to tempt HD-fence-sitters with a $100 HD-A2 player (however limited), but it looks like it's not the only one, with Best Buy now also listing the very same player for the impulse buy-inducing price of $99.99. Of course, it's sold out online, so you may be better off trying your luck at your local store. Not surprisingly, the HD DVD PR folk are keen to talk up this recent spat of price reductions, including the still decent $197 price for the A2 at Circuit City and Amazon, and Sears's Black Friday price of $169 for the newer HD-A3 model, which also comes with two movies bundled in the box (not to mention the five free mail-in movies available with the purchase of any of the players).

Invisio

Wow, we'd darned near forgotten about this thing. Remember the Invisio Q7, Nextlink's hot little bone conduction number from mid '06 that was promised for delivery by the end of the year? Yeah, it never showed up -- until now. It may not be for sale just yet, but at least a few folks at the FCC have had a chance to check it out (ick, we hope they changed earbuds as they passed it around), giving us hope that it'll finally show up in stores in time for the holidays. The $200 price point still puts a sour taste in our mouths, but considering how much smaller it looks than the similarly-spec'd Jawbone, it may end up being worth every penny.

Toshiba

Ready for yet another 22-inch LCD? How 'bout if it was pumping 4 times as many pixels as just about every other monitor in its class? We're talking 3,840 x 2,400 pixels for a WQUXGA display. Unfortunately, the specs fall off quickly (but not too quickly) from there: 235cd/m2 brightness, 300:1 contrast, and a weak-sauce 120-degree top/bottom and 100-degree left/right viewing angle. Of course you'll need a dedicated (dual-channel, presumably) PCI graphics card to drive that resolution over the monitor's single DVI input. Shipping in Japan before summer for an anticipated ¥2,079,000. Right, a staggering $17,500 or about 50 of Dell's 22-inchers.