About Electronics

PMP Today: The latest addition to LG’s portable range is the DP271 portable DVD player. This model has a swiveling 7-inch LCD with a resolution of 480×234, and supports WMA, MP3, JPEG, DivX and MPEG4 files, and DVD Video, DVD-R/+R, DVD-RW/+RW, DVD-R/+R DL, CD, CD-R, CD-RW and Video CD.It is equipped with a USB port, stereo speakers and twin headphone sockets. It comes with a remote control and a car adapter, and even has a built-in TV tuner with a removable antenna. The model is now available in the UK for £130

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Engadget: Hey, it’s no shocker that Apple’s iPod is a coveted item even for those who acquire their wares in less than legal manners, but a recent patent application from Apple shows that someone at Cupertino cares about you rightful owners out there. Essentially, the technology would invoke a “guardian” recharge circuit, which would disable any further charging if the computer (or “other recharger”) it was paired with was of the unauthorized variety.

According to Apple, this type of limitation would “serve as a deterrent to theft,” and while we can only assume that it would be applied first to the iPhone and iPod, the application does insinuate that other handheld, rechargeable devices could eventually benefit from the invention.

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Akihabaranews: The SGH-G800 is the last known Samsung rumor that has somewhat come to fruition.

The SGH-G800 is rumored to be a compact camera with 5-megapixel lens, 3x optical zoom and a Xenon flash. Besides the aforementioned specs, the G800 will sport a microSD slot, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2.4-inch 320 x 240 screen.

So far this is only the rumor, but one can only hope it’s as nice as the SGH-G600.

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Absolute Gadget: If you have got a PSP then you should soon be able to watch Lost and 24 episodes on the handheld console. Sony has teamed up with Sky to deliver video-on-demand content to console owners in the UK and Ireland.The joint venture will see the new video download service being made available to 2.3 million PSP users in the British Isles. The two companies are already in discussions with entertainment content providers across Europe to roll out the service to European PSP owners.

PSP owners should be able to download Sky programmes and films though the console’s Wi-Fi connection or by transferring content from a PC to the console via USB. Either way, the service will take advantage of the console’s screen.

The news comes only a couple of weeks after Sony announced a new slimline PSP.

Sony will give out more details on the service at Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany on Wednesday 22nd August. Hopefully the company will also spell out details on a cut in price on the PS3.

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BBC News: The BBC’s flagship online TV service is being launched, offering viewers the chance to download their favourite programmes from the last seven days.
For director general Mark Thompson, the launch of iPlayer is as big a milestone as the arrival of colour TV.

But others have questioned how technically reliable it will be and whether it is late to a crowded market.

At launch, a fixed number of people will be able to sign up, with the numbers increasing throughout the year.

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PC Advisor: Microsoft is cutting the price of the HD DVD player it offers as an add-on to Xbox 360 game consoles in the US and will give away five free HD DVD movies with player purchases, a sign the battle between the HD DVD and the Blu-ray Disc high definition formats is heating up.

The HD DVD player will sell for $179 in the US from August 1, down from $199. Between August 1 and September 30 buyers will receive five free HD DVD movies chosen from a selection of 15, Microsoft said. The company indicated the free HD DVD movie offer was the same as that offered by Toshiba, which is offering titles including Apollo 13, Seabiscuit, Constantine, Casablanca, We Were Soldiers, U-571, Blazing Saddles, and more.

Microsoft will also offer the movie ’300′ on its online service Xbox Live on demand starting August 14.

The price reduction of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player may be aimed at Sony. Sony, which is championing Blu-ray Disc technology against HD DVD, reduced the price of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) in the US by $100 in anticipation of the launch of a newer version of the game console.

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The Register: Apple will unleash its iPhone into the European market during the fourth quarter of 2007. But, it seems not all European consumers will be granted access to the so-called must-have gadget this side of Christmas.

The handset, which launched in the US on 29 June, will initially appear in a few “major” European countries, but the company hasn’t named which countries these will be, leaving lusting customers to simply guess over when and where it will first appear.

Apple’s iPhone sales strategy, with as yet unnamed European partners, will also be annouced later in the fourth quarter. However, Asia and those European countries not deemed “major” by it will not officially receive the handset until 2008 .

The long awaited European announcement was made by Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer yesterday during a conference call to discuss its third quarter financial results.

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Product Reviews Net: Many manufacturers claim their products can indeed fly to the moon and back, but there is a cause for celebration when products really do as they are described to.

The Everglide S-500 Gaming Headphones are a truly magnificent experience, sounding crisp and fine, really making that gaming experience that little bit better. Of course, we would only recommend these to the hardcore gamer and if you’re looking for a pair of headphones for your gaming system, the Everglide S-500 Gaming Headphones really are for you.

Specs, from Everglide:
» Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20,000Hz
» Transducer: Dynamic
» Normal Impendence: 16 Ohm
» Max Sound Pressure (SPL): 102dB
» Max Power Rating: 100mW
» Weight (w/o cable): 360g
» Cable Length: 3.1m (~10.2 ft)
» Available Color: Carbon Black, White

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Camera Core: ASUS prepares the launch of a spectacular “Candy Bar” type phone, that will feature dedicated GPS and a full strength HSDPA, this will add some really impressive speeds, possibly even up to or around the 3.6 M bps while downloading to the phone.

The processor will be a massive ARM 520 Mhz, with 128 MB of RAM and of course no mobile phone will be complete without Windows Mobile 6, this will offer high speed wireless connections, which is exactly what you would expect.

There was an earlier model, which features two Mp cameras, but as that was the older phone, so they just would not do at all, therefore it is expected that this phone will be fitted with a 3.2 MP camera and a simple small font camera.

Also included is an FM radio, you never know when you will need it.

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Akihabaranews: HANNspree, a company unknown for its HDTVs has announced a new set of LCD TVs aimed at the cheap guy in all of us.

The XV set of HDTVs consists of a 32-inch model for €535 and a 37-inch version going for €750. In order to create a nicer picture, the HDTVs will drop many of the extras we have come to expect from our sets.

That said, you will still get an 8-millisecond refresh rate and two HDMI ports.

For a full list of specs for the 37-inch model, check it out below. Unfortunately there is still no word on US availability.

* Screen size: 37-inches
* Native resolution: 1366 x 768 (WXGA)
* Aspect ratio: 16:9
* Brightness: 500 cd/m2
* Contrast ratio: 1200:1
* Display colour: 16.7 million
* Response time: 8 milliseconds
* Viewing angle (horizontal / vertical): 170 degrees / 170 degrees
* Powerful scaling and zooming engine: yes
* De-Interlace image enhancement: yes
* Resolution support: 1080i
* Speakers: built-in, 2x 10W
* Connections: 2x HDMI, 2x Scart, 1x composite video input, 1x S-video input, 1x component video input, 1x VGA input, 1x audio input, 1x PC audio input
* VESA mounting: yes
* Dimensions: 941mm (W) x 726mm (H) x 295mm (D) Weight: 31.2kg

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The Register: Oki has been eyeballing the mobile phone market and witnessed an opportunity for increased security. As a result, it has developed an iris recognition software that may help ensure undesirables are prevented access from our most cherished communications devices.

Although technical details are still somewhat scarce, the Japanese electronics firm’s software prototype is based on its belief that because most mobiles now have built-in cameras, why not harness them to clamp down security on our most beloved communications devices even further. Oki also believes the software could prove useful for PDAs.

Oki’s software package is based on an iris recognition algorithm that it claims fits around your mobile’s camera, without it using up great swathes of your phone’s processing capacity. The software itself requires around 200KB of your phone’s memory, with around a further 200KB memory when in operation.

The software does require a mobile with a camera ability of at least 1-megapixel, and takes around 0.5s to authenticate an iris, but Oki claims faster checks would be possible with a beefier CPU.

The software is compatible with Windows Mobile 2003, XP and Symbian operating systems, the latter of which is commonplace on Nokia handsets including the N70. However, Oki claims it that future compatibility with Linux and Brew may be possible.

Oki expects to begin shipping the software later this month, though availability and pricing is yet to be announced.

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PMP Today: The Sony DVP-FX860DT looks like your run-of-the-mill fold-up DVD player. It supports DVD, VCD, Audio CD and MP3 disc playback and sports an added 1-SEG TV tuner with electronic program guide (EPG). Additionaly JPEG support can be booted up via the USB terminal. The 8-inch screen has an 800 x 480-pixel resolution. The screen rotates to 180-degrees, which reminds you of a run-of-the-mill laptop. Price is a hefty €370.

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