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Absolute Gadget: Some iPod hi-fi’s are nothing more than glorified docks with speakers attached. Not this one though. The KEF Picoforte iPod Three Music System is one of the sexiest we’ve seen.Constructed entirely from metal and zinc, the curvaceous Picoforte is both a brute and beauty in one petite package.

KEF’s mantra seems to be, it’s not how big it is, it’s how you use it. Using its Uni-Q technology means a larger area of sound dispersion is possible from the smallest space.

Those not in love with Apple’s music range haven’t been forgotten either, as a 3.5mm audio jack means other MP3 players can be connected.

Everything you need to set the unit up comes straight out of the box. That includes iPod adaptors, connectors, speaker cable and a nifty iPod remote.

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Electronista: Samsung unleashed a bevy of new home entertainment products at the IFA 2007 conference, currently underway in Berlin, Germany, including new HD LCD TVs, a player supporting both HD DVD and Blu-Ray disc playback, and a new line of portable audio players. The new Blu-ray/HD DVD players, the BD-UP5000, shares most functionality with its Blu-ray-only siblings, the BD-P1400 and BD-P2400. The players offer full compatibility with 24 movie frames per second playback and 60Fs for enhanced compatibility with many of today’s HDTVs. The BD-P2400 works with Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD while BD-P1400 works with Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, The duo HD BD-UP5000 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007, the BD-P2400 in October, and the BD-P1400 in September.

The new F9 series TVs (52″, 70″) use LED Smart lighting technology, known as ‘local dimming,’ which senses the TV signal and adjusts the brightness level by turning on and off the right combination of the backlight units to produce a stunning dynamic contrast ratio of 500,000 to 1. The F9 line also comes with Wiselin USB 2.0 for connections to digital cameras and MP3 players, and 3 HDMI connections

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NaviGadget: Mio’s new GPS enabled PDA, Mio P360, is making an appearance at IFA in Berlin this year.

Not a lot of details are revealed but we already know that P360 will run Windows Mobile 6, have Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0, and an embedded GPS antenna.

On the right hand side of the device you can actually see the SD/MMC slot for memory expansion.

The mini-USB connector for syncing your data and charging, and a microphone is on the top of P360.

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The Register: High-definition at home is the big theme at the IFA consumer electronics show this year with a myriad of media players and a titanic turnout of new TVs. Not to be left out, Sony announced two new Blu-ray Disc players: the BDP-S300 and the BDP-S500.

The BDP-S300 is being marketed for the mainstream and will be priced accordingly. The BDP-S500 is a high-end alternative aimed at customers with a bit more mazuma to invest in their definitive HD viewing experience.

Both come with a complimentary copy of the Spider-Man trilogy on Blu-ray disc… after registration of the product and completion of a customer questionnaire online.

Both models support 1080p over HDMI 1.3 and output 7.1-channel Linear PCM and Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. The BDP-S500 also supports Dolby True decoding and Bit Stream Output for DTS-HD1 and Dolby True.

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PMP Today: Sony has officially announced itself as a PMP manufacturer like all other PMP manufacturers by introducing the NWZ-S610 PMP and by announcing the demise of Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC), Sony’s proprietary audio compression.

The S610 is a 1.8-inch QVGA player with MPEG-4 and AVC (aka H.264) playback at 30fps and MP3, WMA (and WMA-DRM), AAC (non-DRM) playback. It’s available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB versions.

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Mobile Magazine: It’s amazing how popular GPS has become in recent years. It used to be such an elitist technology that was either deployed by rich people in their expensive luxury vehicles or by geography buffs who needed the tech for work purposes. Garmin has become the number one personal navigation device seller in the United States and they pushing along for an even bigger market share with the Garmin Edge 705 and Edge 605, both of which designed for cyclists.

Both units get 2.2-inch color displays and standard turn-by-turn directions, as well as detailed street maps, topography of the region (seek out and/or avoid major hills), and the company’s ANT+Sport technology. This last bit is meant to interface with fitness devices like heart monitors. What sets the two devices apart is the fact that the Garmin Edge 705 gets a barometric altimeter. It’s also includes a wireless heart rate monitor that delivers real-time data to the on-screen display

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Engadget: Philips certainly has been on a tear of late, and apparently, the company’s LCD releases are still flowing in from IFA. The latest duo to hit the scene are the ivory-colored 19-inch 19PFL5602D and 32-inch 32PFL7602D FlatTVs, both of which feature an integrated DVB-T tuner and dual HDMI inputs.

The larger of the two includes Pixel Plus 2 HD technology and Digital Natural Motion to tackle those judders, while the smaller sibling doesn’t look to lose much outside of screen real estate. Sadly, mum’s the word on price and availability, but all signs are pointing to a European-only release.

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