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Macworld: Olens Technology has introduced its XPJ Personal Entertainment Projector (PEP), a digital video projector compatible with gaming systems and computers.

The XPJ PEP can project an image from 40 to 70 inches, though it’s limited to 640 x 480 pixel (VGA) resolution. It sports an analog VGA, AV composite and S-Video input, along with built-in stereo speakers. It also includes a wireless remote control and an RCA audio-video cable.

The device can connect to an external stereo if you’d prefer to hear the audio on a home entertainment system.

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iPodNN: Samson released its StudioDock 3i USB studio monitor speakers with a built-in iPod dock. The speakers also have a USB interface on the rear panel that allows other USB devices or computers to play their audio content.

For more traditional sources, the desktop speaker system has an RCA input on the rear, as well as an 3.5mm auxiliary input jack on the front panel, right next to the a headphone output jack.

The system’s output is 30W, divided between the two 3.25-inch copolymer woofers with Santoprene surrounds that is also magnetically shielded. The high frequencies are reproduced thanks to a pair of integrated one-inch silk-dome tweeters with neodymium magnets. Sound quality is further ensured by passive crossovers that use a multi-pole design. All are housed in a damped, vented cabinet made of solid Medium Density Fiberboard.

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SlipperyBrick: Coby Electronics has announced a pair of new HD Radio receivers including the HDR-700 Portable HD Radio System and the HDR-650 Component HD Radio Receiver. The HDR-650 is intended to be integrated into existing component systems in the home.

The HDR-700 is designed to be completely portable and runs on an internal rechargeable battery. Coby says that it is the first ever wireless HD Radio receiver.

The HDR-700 features a compact design and has a splash-proof housing so it can be used outdoors.

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Channel 4: Portable gadgets that keep youngsters occupied in cars are leading to parents getting more restless than their children on long trips, it was disclosed.

As many as 56% of youngsters play with hand-held games consoles on journeys, a survey by More Than car insurance showed.

And 50% of children drown out the sounds of their parents’ “golden oldies” music by listening to their MP3 players.

The survey found that it takes parents just 24 minutes to utter the well-know words “Are we there yet?” on journeys compared with 90 minutes for children.

As many as 10% of the 1,000 parents polled said it took just 10 minutes for the first signs of irritation to creep in, with 10% saying they got nervous before trips because so many arguments ensued.

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Gizmodo: A couple of weeks ago we brought you the shocking news that your LCD HDTV probably contained a nefarious gas called Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3) that was far more harmful to the environment than many other sources, including CO2.

The Linde Group, who manufactures many of the LCD panels used in several popular LCD HDTVs, says that they’ve tweaked their manufacturing operations to use Fluorine instead of Nitrogen Trifluoride, replacing the dangerous gas with a fairly harmless one.

Let’s hope the other manufacturers follow step.

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MarketWatch: Research and Markets has announced the addition of the “Worldwide Digital Photo Frame TFT-LCD Module Forecast, 2008 – 2012″ report to their offering.

Following the market demand surge in the period 2006 – 2007, digital photo frames have become a mainstream product in the consumer electronics market.

In the first half of 2008, nevertheless, channel players began to report inventory buildups on weak shipments of TFT-LCD modules for digital photo frames.

What with the warm reception of digital photo frame features and functions in the European and North American markets and what with the inventory clearance sale about to be launched by branded vendors, shipment volume of TFT-LCD modules for digital photo frames is projected to see further growth in the next few years.

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Techradar.com: Garmin has unveiled the nuvi 500 series of waterproof, multi-use navigators at the British Motor show this week. Nuvi’s 500 series has been specifically designed for driving, cycling, walking or boating, with maps to suit each activity.

The 500 series features NavTeq sophisticated mapping data and the ability to accept different types of mapping including TOPO for outdoor navigation and Blue Chart cartography for marine usage.

The waterproof nüvi 500 series features all the latest Garmin navigation technology including Hotfix, detailed NavTeq mapping, millions of points of interest (POIs), traffic avoidance compatibility and Garmin’s popular “Where am I?” safety feature (immediately giving you your exact latitude and longitude coordinates).

Garmin Connect Photos gives you instant access to millions of geo-located images provided by Google’s Panoramio if you would rather ‘photo-navigate’ on your jaunts.

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ITProPortal: Technology is always an easy target when it comes to finding a culprit for human mistakes; and the Satellite Navigation Systems or Satnavs do not escape from that implacable logic.

A survey carried out by Insurance Provider Directline showed that nearly 300,000 accidents (or near accidents) have been caused directly or indirectly by satellite navigation systems with a further 1.5 million motorists having performed sudden manoeuvres or changing direction due to their Satnav, which could have caused further crashes.

A whopping five million drivers have been sent the wrong end of a one-way street as some are arguing that Satnav could cause untold numbers of dead on UK roads.

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PC Advisor: Apple will continue its iPhone 3G roll-out next month by releasing the touchscreen smartphone in 20 more countries.

The second-generation iPhone launched in 21 countries, including the UK, on July 11, while France became the 22nd country to offer the phone last week. Around 1 million iPhone 3Gs were sold in the first weekend after its release.

Apple hopes that by entering another 20 markets next month, and taking its tally up to 70 countries by the end of the year, it will achieve its goal of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.

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Electronista: Sony Ericsson launched a major upgrade to its Walkman series.

The W902 promises to improve on other music phones with an enhanced stereo field and bass response; the bar phone also comes with premium earphones and an 8GB Memory Stick Micro that lets it hold as much as many portable media players.

It also touts a 5-megapixel camera unusually sharp for the class with 16X digital zoom and basic on-phone image editing.

The W902 supports 3G data in Europe and similar areas; the phone should launch in black, green, and red sometime during the fall.

A slight step down, the W595 slider goes without the sound field enhancement, 2GB of bundled memory, and carries a 3.2-megapixel camera; unique to the W595 is a “share jack” that lets two users listen to the same music over earphones.

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CNet: Toshiba and Matsushita Electric Industrial will jointly manufacture small electroluminescent displays in an effort match the output from Korea-based makers, according to a Japanese report.

The two companies will set up manufacturing lines in the fall of 2009, aiming to produce 1 million “high-quality” 2.5-inch organic EL displays.

This is a first for domestic Japanese production of EL displays on this scale, the report said.

The displays are targeted at cell phones and other small devices.

EL displays are based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology that uses electroluminescent organic materials.

The display panels are extremely thin because they don’t need backlights.

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Telegraph: Shopkeepers are running out of Wii Fit boards, the popular Nintendo video game accessory, and fear they may have none left for Christmas. Waiting lists for the toys are reportedly growing by up to 1,000 people every day.

Websites which track new shipments of the gadgets are getting up to 30,000 visitors every 24 hours.

The Wii Fit game, which includes the board, was launched in April and combines playing a computer game with mild exercise.

Demand for the Wii was high after its launch last year but the popularity of the game Wii Fit this year has amazed even its designers. In its first two weeks, it sold 338,000 units, according to figures from Chart-Track, the official body that monitors computer games sales.

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