about-electronics.eu

Yahoo: Motorola Inc., the world’s second-largest mobile phone maker, announced 3,500 job cuts after reporting a sharp fall in earnings due to an industry price war.The US company’s revenues surged by 17 percent to a record 11.8 billion dollars (9.11 billion euro) in the fourth quarter through December, thanks to robust worldwide demand for the latest cellphones. Motorola shipped a record 65.7 million handsets in the three-month period, up 47 percent from the same quarter of 2005.

But its net profits slumped 48 percent to 624 million dollars (482 million euro), as the company was forced to slash prices to keep up with competition for share of a market that is dominated by Finland’s Nokia.

read more

Crave: OK, so it may not be the “iKaraoke,” but we like this iPod microphone anyway. Mostly, we admit, because of the way the “Micro Memo” looks–it reminds us of a beefeater guarding Buckingham Palace*. The mic can record up to 51 hours (in low mode) on an 8GB Nano, but Newlaunches warns that the audio is saved in large WAV formats. Its movable arm can be positioned appropriately when needed, before returning to stand at attention.

* Note by AE: Apparently, the author is confusing Beefeaters with Guards

read more

TG Daily: Dolby promises to automatically control the volume of your TV. 

Dolby Volume technology will first be built into flat-panel television sets and will process digital audio signals to dynamically raise and lower levels, the company said. Incoming PCM audio is processed “psycho-acoustically” and PCM audio is exported.

According to Dolby engineers, Dolby Volume will work with all audio signals and won’t care about bitrates or sampling rates. In addition, the processing does not impact the audio signal.

read more

BornRich:Suzuki has unveiled its XL7 Flix concept car which is meant for movie-buffs. The concept offers ultimate mobile movie experience with an in-vehicle movie system.

The roadster features a clamshell roof which opens up to reveal a maximum-size moonroof that serves as a 40-inch movie screen. The car’s front roof panel vents, gives way to a high-density digital projection system to display a movie of your choice, anytime, anywhere from the side of a building, onto a billboard or almost any wall.

The Flix concept is also equipped with a next-generation, high-definition DVD player with integrated hard drive for maximum AV storage, a professional THX/SDS-theater quality sound system, pivoting quarter window speakers and red door/floor strip lighting to complete a professional theater like experience. The interiors of the car are equally fascinating with four individual bucket seats that pivot 180 degrees to view the elevated giant screen.

read more

Gizmodo: BusinessWeek put up a good slideshow depicting the creation of plasma sets, from cutting the glass sheets to sitting in your living room.

Have a look here.

read more

TVPredictions.com Hackers say they have discovered how to make illegal copies of Blu-ray HDTV DVDs.

The same group that earlier this month published copies of HD-DVDs online say they have been able to decrypt and play a Blu-ray media file as well.

If true, the current anti-copying software in both high-def discs will apparently not prevent pirates from making illegal copies and distributing them online and the black market. And this could discourage film studios from releasing a larger number of titles in the new high-def DVD format.

read more

Reuters: Video gamers who’d rather battle virtual villains than fight the flab can take heart. Use of the new Nintendo Wii can lead to weight loss. After six weeks and 21 hours of total game play on Nintendo’s new game console, Philadelphia resident Mickey DeLorenzo is nine pounds (4 kgs) lighter and making a splash with his new svelte self. (…) DeLorenzo, 25, came up with the idea for his experiment after he and his fiancée ended up breathless and glistening with sweat after virtually pummeling each other in the “Wii Sports” boxing game. DeLorenzo chronicled his progress on his blog at Wiinintendo.net, which includes weight-loss charts and “before” and “after” pictures (…)

read more

AV zombie: Makers of flatpanel TVs who have invested billions in panel production facilities will take little comfort from the latest market data coming from Japan.

According to information released by market analyst BCN, sales in the Japanese market of plasma screens jumped 75.3 percent during December, compared to the same period the year before while LCD TVs sales rose 37.1 percent year on year.
However rapidly falling prices meant that both screen types posted only a 30 percent rise in actual revenue.

read more

Eyes are on the adult entertainment industry for its choice in format for good reason. The existence of adult films on VHS is credited as one of the main reasons for the format’s victory over Betamax. While the influence of adult content is undeniable, to declare one format the clear winner over the other would at this point be premature…

Dailytech: Reports came in last week from Heise claiming that the adult entertainment industry has chosen HD DVD as the format of choice. The aforementioned report, however, conflicted with a DailyTech interview with Vivid Entertainment Group founder Steven Hirsch where the exec stated his company plans on backing both high-definition formats.

DailyTech decided to clear the smoke surrounding the format war issue by speaking with Steven Hirsch on his plans for both high-definition formats.

DailyTech was originally told that Vivid plans on supporting both formats, with the company’s first Blu-ray and HD DVD release on March 28, 2006 to be Debbie Does Dallas…Again, which conflicted with the original Heise report.

When asked if there would be any content or quality differences between the releases, we were told that “the quality of the two releases should be the same. We believe, however, that Vivid is not only the first to offer a movie in both HD DVD and Blu-ray formats, but also the first to offer in these formats with multiple angle options.”

However, not all of what Heise printed is invalid.  Hirsch did note that Vivid has encountered hurdles while producing adult entertainment for Blu-ray more so than HD DVD.

“Sony is not giving any assistance in the authoring or replication of adult content on Blu-ray,” said Hirsch. “Sony is somehow trying to keep away such material from the format, which I think is a mistake.”

Without Sony’s help, Vivid had to find authoring and replication facilities on its own. Hirsch added that Sony puts restrictions on all Blu-ray manufacturing facilities that produce Disney titles disallowing them from making adult content. By comparison, the manufacturing process for Vivid’s HD DVD adult titles is much easier as it is able to make use of existing facilities.

Adult content on Blu-ray Disc format may appear in greater numbers once there are more production facilities available. “Part of the problem [with Blu-ray] is that it’s a new format,” Hirsch said. “There are very few replicators right now.”

While other adult video companies such as Digital Playground have decided to go ahead with HD DVD first, Hirsch expressed optimism for the Blu-ray format. “It seems to me that Blu-ray has the momentum right now, due to the release of the PlayStation 3 adding a lot more players to the market,” he figured, though Vivid plans to offer all its high-definition films in both formats.

A comment to Gizmodo from Marty Gordon, Vice Chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association, reinforces our findings of adult content on Blu-ray. “There is not a prohibition against adult content,” said Gordon. “The BDA is an open organization that welcomes the participation of all companies interested in using and supporting the format, including those that represent the full spectrum of genres in the content industry.”

Although North America may still be waiting for adult movies on Blu-ray, Japan has been enjoying mature content on the new optical format since late 2006. Blog site WesleyTech found that Japanese adult films studio GLAY’z released one if its first Blu-ray titles last December.

read more

Crave: If you like to rock out in your car, but don’t want to turn your ride into a mobile guitar amp, then this might be the answer: an in-car audio system jointly designed by Panasonic and Fender. The iconic guitar maker has teamed up with Panasonic to “create customized products for the global automotive industry.”The collaboration is an attempt to cash in on Fender’s brand name and expertise in the musical instruments industry, and it’s another effort by Panasonic to name-drop its way into the in-car audio market. Panasonic already supplies the likes of Acura with its ELS Surround in-car system that it developed with Grammy-award winning record producer Elliot Scheiner.

read more

T3: If you’re looking for a “budget” Hi-Def  projector, this should be top of your audition list. It’s a winner before you even turn it on; where most projectors have all the chic style and chiselled good looks of your average technology journalist, this one is cloaked in purest black and features a strikingly muscular design.

This is HD-ready, with a native 720p resolution – it can also downscale 1080i and 1080p images – and produces really gorgeous-looking video.

Even better, you don’t need to have a living room that’s suitable for parking aircraft in to use this. It has both vertical and horizontal lens shift, controlled using a pair of dials rather than the usual, more fiddly, joysticks. That means dead straight projection, even when it’s sitting off-centre from the screen, while the short-throw lens produces massive images when it’s sitting relatively close to it.

(more…)

read more

Newlaunches: Apart from gaming the Wiimote has had some practical uses also like controlling Google Earth, a remote controlled car or an entire smarthome. Here is an addition to the list: DJing, and apparently you can make some good music using the Wiimote. Even the DS is put to use this time with a VJ throwing up some real cool effects. Looks like Japan, doesnt it?

read more