16
Aug
2006
Press Release: Pioneer announces their winning EISA (European Imaging and Sound Association) products.
Three of their products received the title as Europe’s best:
16
Aug
2006
And here are the best gadgets in Europe – according to the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA).
EISA is Europe’s biggest multimedia press organisation. The winners are voted by Editors of the top leading speacialist magazines from 19 countries.
The competition is tough. If this were the Olympics (or Eurovision, if you like) of the Electronics Business, the winning companies would be ( based on the number single products awarded first place):
All the winners are here.
11
Aug
2006
Manufacturers use superlatives too often. But if one single product deserves the name ‘Pearl‘, it would be this 1080p SXRD projector by Sony: the VPL-VW50.
Specs: full 1920×1080 resolution, 5000:1 contrast ratio, 200 watt lamp, 900 lumens, manual horizontal and vertical lens shift and 2 HDMI inputs.
(source: hometheaterblog.com)
11
Aug
2006
“For less than half the price that my BMW dealer wants to hook my iPod to the 530i’s stereo, you can use Belkin’s TuneBase FM for iPod to hear your music collection through your car’s FM radio.”
That’s Fred Manteghian from Ultimate AV spreading his wisdom. And we’re avid readers. Check the full post.
picture: (c) Fred Manteghian
11
Aug
2006
Hooray, it’s a big success. Alas, it won’t live.
That’s the story of Opera Mini – a web browser that allows you to access the internet on your mobile phone. Since its launch seven months ago, over 5 million people have downloaded it. Most popular are Google, e-mail, community sites and (surprise, surprise) porn.
Eskil Sivertsen of Opera Software is convinced there’s a demand for a free, easy to use, mobile web browser.
A recent research from Hostway however has found that 73% of the people that can access internet services from their mobile phone are not taking advantage of it.
(source: zdnet.be)
10
Aug
2006
Tony Soprano Sr.:
“I hear there’s not as many titles available as on laser.”
Brendan Filone:
“There’s more coming, though.”
Tony Soprano Sr.:
“My internist told me the picture’s not that different from laser either.”
Brendan Filone:
“But the sound, way improved.”
Tony Soprano Sr.
“Good. ‘Cause nothing beats popping up some Orville Redenbachers and listening to Men in Black.”
Honestly, ‘the Sopranos’ were bound to be the first TV series to appear on HD DVD.
10
Aug
2006
We all heard the news: Nokia bought Loudeye. Thus acquiring a music catalogue of about 1,5 million tracks. Finally some serious competition for iTunes – who are still in the lead with their 3 million tracks catalogue however.
09
Aug
2006
We don’t read the Marie Claire very often. But something tells us white is the new black. First, there was the PSP. Now Sony Ericsson (yep, Sony again) will bring out a new device in Bright White: the K618.
Newlaunches: (…) a slim, lightweight 3G phone (…). The UMTS phone is equipped with a 2.0 Megapixel camera with 2.5x digital zoom and Mobile Blogger – an application allowing the user to post (or blog) their images directly to their own blogsite. A seperate VGA res camera is provided for video conferencing. The K618 features Bluetooth streaming which means that full-length music tracks (or video clips) can be sent wirelessly from the phone and listened to on a compatible Bluetooth device. The phone has Memory Stick Micro slot for memory expansion and comes with a 256MB stick.
The Sony Ericsson K618 will hit the markets in Q3. It will also be available in Vibrant Black. Read our lips: in a while black will be the new white.
09
Aug
2006
Was Walt Disney afraid of mice? Are there 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball? Will a Plasma TV Work With My Old VCR? The answer is yes, yes and yes.
And you can read it here.
08
Aug
2006
Suppose you don’t like iPod – for whatever reason. What are your options if you want a flash based cool looking mp3 player with 4GB, and it’s not called Nano?
Anything But iPod presents the Creative Zen Neeon 2:
“Creative has a page up for the forthcoming second release of the Neeon line of players. Unlike some iterations of the Neeon 2 is strictly flash based coming in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB sizes. The player supports MP3, WMA, and WAV on the audio side and an AVI format that will need to be converted by supplied software. Finally, JPEG is supported on the photos side. The small 81 x 42 x 12.5 mm player manages to squeeze in a 1.5” color CSTN (basically less expensive to make LCD) screen with 128 x 128 pixels.
Other than the larger screen the Neeon 2 doesn’t offer too much more than the recently released Zen V and soon to be released Zen V Plus.”
Pricing in Europe hasn’t been communicated yet. US prices are 125$ (1GB), 170$ (2GB) and 190$ (4GB). For more info, please contact your local Creative distributor.
08
Aug
2006
We remember the times when the youngest of the family was a living remote control for the big tube television. “Turn the knob, boy… put it on 3… no, that’s 4… go back… that a boy!” Things have changed – luckily.
Antenna has made way for cable. And now, the tube telly itself is at its last gasp. According to The New York Times, Panasonic will completely withdraw from the CRT market. Sony plans on offering only two tubed TVs to US consumers in 2007.
For our younger readers: here’s how a TV looked like for about 50 years…
(source: AV zombie)
07
Aug
2006
Pioneer announces it has a new sound system that transmits sound through household electricity lines and not conventional speaker wires: the MT-01 Power Line Sound System.
The MT-01 allows you to plug up to six speakers into an electric socket in multiple rooms and hear music played via the Sound Station, plugged into a socket in another room. This means you can enjoy seamless, room-to-room audio throughout your home, without having to add complex speaker cabling.
The system was given a stylish, unobtrusive look, so it can blend into your home interior.
The standard MT-01 package will vary depending on the country you’re in, but at most will include a Sound Station, one large 2 x 25W Network Speaker, a small 5W Network Speaker and a key ring-sized remote control.
The Sound Station has 5 inputs: two USB terminals (type A and B), one front audio input and two analogue inputs. Users can connect their MP3 player, iPod, portable USB/flash memory sticks, PC or even an existing audio system and hear the music in multiple rooms.
The MT-01 will be released at the end of September.
Read the full article at Pioneer. For more information on costs and availability, please contact your local Pioneer office or distributor.
