31
May
2007
Gizmodo: A new iPod connector from SendStation makes it easier to hook up your iPod to your home theatre.
It works with any dock connector-equipped iPod, charging it via USB, hooking up with S-Video or composite video, and also audio channels left and right with one handy bundled cable. And look at this, you can also use it to connect your PowerBook to a TV set.
31
May
2007
GPS Review: Garmin has announced a new developer API to communicate with their GPS devices. Using an API from Garmin, programmers could write their own software to interact with Garmin devices.
API stands for Application Programming Interface, which allows other people and companies to write programs to interact with their programs and devices.
A good current example of this is Garmin’s own MotionBased site. This site can read data from your GPS about your recent travels and then process that data by providing maps of your travel history, workout information, etc.
The new API will make it possible for everyone else to more readily develop tools to incorporate data from Garmin GPS devices.
For example if you wanted to develop software to process data stored on GPS from your delivery drivers, that should now be easier to accomplish. Or if you wanted to build a website to take information from your GPS about where you’ve driven in the past week while on vacation and geocode that information into time-stamped photos, that might be easier to accomplish now. An early example of this is reportedly to be icons you can click on the Geocaching website to automatically exchange cache information with a Garmin GPS device.
Information about the API will be accessible from a new Garmin Developer Website. This should pan out to be a good move for Garmin, allowing more people to do more interesting things with the data the hardware collects.
31
May
2007
Ubergizmo: Here is the new Microsoft Surface Computer, which is actually a tabletop system that enables users to interact with digital media using their fingers, resizing and interacting with photos and videos, and even “digitizing” real-life events.
Certain real world objects can also be recognized by the Surface Computer to produce an on-screen version.
Businesses look set to benefit from this, and no longer do your office clients have to wait in the lounge thumbing through outdated business magazines as they can keep themselves occupied with the Surface Computer.
31
May
2007
AVZombie: Nintendo will increase monthly production of its Wii games console to at least 1.75 million units this year.
So says Michael Pachter, a video game analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities. “Nintendo can own the Christmas holiday period this year,” he says, provided it can meeet demand. “It would be horrible for Wiis to be out of stock (again).”
Demand for the innovative system is expected to grow, effectively setting a new record for the amount of games hardware sold worldwide during a festive period.
Pachter says Nintendo could shift 4 million units providing it can get them to retail. The iconic Japanese brand believes it has changed the way people view and use video games. According to America President Reggie Fils-Aimes less than half of Japanese families kept a Gamecube console in the living room. But with the Wii, more than 75% the system in the living room.
31
May
2007
Techlogg: Chip vendor Intel has moved another step forward in its bid to grab some of the lucrative consumer electronics market for digital TV devices with the release of its first dual digital TV demodulator chip.
The chip can extract audio and video data from two digital TV channels at the same time and is expect to see use in a range of devices from personal video recorders (PVRs) through to integrated digital televisions as well as PC-based TV tuner cards.
It will enable users to watch one digital TV channel while recording another. The integration of two demodulators onto the one chip means consumer electronics device manufacturers will be able to make smaller products and due to the new chips’ low power consumption, portable handheld devices are not out of the question.
The CE 6250 dual-channel demodulator and the higher-performance CE 6251 diversity-enabled dual-channel demodulator chips consume less than 280-milliwatts (280mW) of power during standard operation. The CE 6251’s diversity function allows it to use two antennas to better pick out the broadcast signal from a digital TV station.
31
May
2007
DailyTech: Samsung is no stranger to flash memory technology and the company has announced numerous advances over the past year.
Yesterday, the company announced that it has developed a new 4GB multi-chip package (MCP) destined for mobile phones.
“We’ve now perfected a memory chip that allows handset manufacturers to significantly reduce development time while deploying an extremely robust design that will result in higher performance for smaller phones, with higher storage capacities,” said Samsung’s Jim Elliott.
Since its hip to put a brand on new products, Samsung call its new chip package “moviMCP” and the NAND flash memory included within the package is referred to as “moviNAND”.
31
May
2007
Engadget: If you’re inclined to go big and multi-room with audio and video, Sony has unveiled some distribution products for you, with two sets of high-definition video distribution products — one for new construction, and one using existing Cat5 cabling.
The NHS-3040 rack system is for new homes, and combines various Sony products for a whole-house distribution network: a home theater, XM Radio tuner, Blu-ray player, 400-disc DVD changer, and 80GB music storage and management server, along with support for 13 different audio/video zones.
The NHS-2040 model drops you down to six zones, while the NHS-1040 removes the changer as well.
For existing wiring, Sony offers up the CAV-CVS12ES HD switching system, which uses a single Cat5e per zone to route your video into up to 12 zones, and supports eight 1080p-capable component inputs.
31
May
2007
TVPredicitions.com: Universal’s Ken Graffeo says the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD is good for consumers.
Additionally, he says Universal will continue to support the HD DVD format exclusively, the only studio to do so.
Blu-ray and HD DVD are locked in an intense battle for the new high-def disc audience. Four of the eight major studios are backing Blu-ray exclusively while Universal is behind HD DVD. The others are releasing titles in both formats.
However, many industry officials, particularly retailers, are urging an end to the format war, saying it’s confusing consumers. Consequently, they say, high-def player and title sales are well below what they should be.
But Graffeo tells the Daily News that his studio still believes that HD DVD offers the “better set of mandatory specifications” because every HD DVD player has an Ethernet port and carries the software to support interactive features.
“In Blu-Ray, the interactive specs are still just an option. The only Blu-Ray player now sold with an Ethernet port is the PlayStation 3,” he said.
30
May
2007
Engadget: It’s simple, no-fuss and easy. And althought it’s in the USA, here’s Parrot’s newest Bluetooth carkit. The PMK5800 consists of a single part which plugs directly into your car’s 12V accessory socket or cigarette lighter.
Using a built in FM transmitter, the set will stream tunes via A2DP from your handset or your voice calls to your car’s stereo deck to give you that auto-filling sound you love.
When the phone rings, just hitting the FM preset you configure for the PMK5800 will automatically answer it and mute your music.
While not an embedded kit, it packs all the goodies you would expect like DSP, echo and noise cancellation, full duplex sound, and voice recognition all in something that can go from car to car without effort.
30
May
2007
EarthTimes: Sony is yet again facing a patent lawsuit; this time a Californian company is suing the electronics giant for alleged patent infringement in the development of its Blu-Ray technology, which is used in the company’s PlayStation 3 video game console.
Target Technology has accused Sony of “wilfully and deliberately” making use of their own technology even though it was patented by Target. Target founder Han Nee revealed that his company had filed for the patent in April 2004 and it was granted in March 2006.
The technology is widely used in most of the DVDs out in the market and is very useful in drastically reducing the production costs of the DVDs. Target is pushing for a jury trial to decide the lawsuit and in the meantime wants the court to order a “permanent injunction preventing Sony from violating its patent rights in the future, as well as damages with interest”.
Meanwhile Sony has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
30
May
2007
Kommersant: Russian daily Kommersant reports that at the beginning of July this year, Samsung will begin to manufacture plasma televisions at the Telebalt factory in Kaliningrad, and LG Electronics is expected to launch a similar project in August at the region’s Rolsen plant.
According to the report, Samsung intends to begin to produce “several thousand televisions” per month at the Telebalt factory, which has the capacity to produce around 5 million televisions annually. Meanwhile, a source at the Rolsen plant, which has an annual production capacity of 3 million units, confirmed that the plant will begin to produce plasma televisions for LG Electronics in August.
According to ITResearch, the volume of the Russian market for plasma televisions has reached 240,000 units annually, a trade that is worth around $670 million.
Data from GFK-Russia shows that in 2006 the market grew by 24.2% financially and 66.5% physically. The three market leaders are Panasonic, Philips, and Samsung (ordered alphabetically).
Experts in the Russian market expect the share of sales of plasma televisions (14.3% of total television sales last year) to increase by up to 5% by the end of this year as the beginning of production in Kaliningrad drives prices down by 10-20%.
Manufacturers in Kaliningrad, which is a special Russian economic zone, do not pay customs tariffs on imported components for the assembly of plasma televisions (10%) or VAT (18%). Whether this really will make plasma televisions from Kaliningrad much more affordable than models from Southeast Asia remains to be seen.
30
May
2007
Gamesindustry.biz: Sony’s Sixaxis controller and Viva Piñata for Xbox 360 are both failed attempts to capture the traditional Nintendo customer, according to Nintendo’s George Harrison.
He believes that the two rival companies lack the “DNA” to understand a market that wants more from a gaming experience than just the next version of Halo or Grand Theft Auto.
“So far they haven’t spent a lot of time focused on us. Now that we’re having some success, they probably will,” commented Harrison to Wired.
“We can already see some of the things they’ve tried. For last year’s E3, at the last minute, Sony rushed out their Sixaxis controller as an effort to respond to the Wii remote. We saw Microsoft roll out Viva Piñata as their killer app for the Pokemon set. And neither of those worked really well.”
“Part of this is, I think it’s not in their DNA. They’re really good at reaching a certain customer, and have a real difficulty understanding how we succeed with the customers that we have,” said the senior vice president of marketing and communications.