23
Jul
2008
AV Review: Panasonic has launched a new set of ear canal headphones to meet the rise in the number of people using portable music players in noisy environments.
The RP-HJE100 in-ear phones feature a 9.3mm driver unit with 16ohm impedance, 99dB/mW sensitivity, 50mW power handling capacity and 20Hz-20kHz frequency response.
Available from September, they’ll arrive in black, white, orange, blue and pink, with three silicone ear tip sizes to fit even the biggest lugholes.
23
Jul
2008
Spong: Following a lacklustre E3, Electronic Arts’ CEO, John Riccitiello has said that something needs to change. He has been joined in his criticism by Acclaim’s Dave Perry. Ubisoft and SEGA of America have also piled in.
Speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, Riccitiello said, “I hate E3 like this. Either we need to go back to the old E3, or we’ll have to have our own private events.”
Perry states that, “I’ve got to agree with the comment by John about E3. If there aren’t dramatic changes to the format and staff, I’m never going again.”
His comments were echoed by Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America. “E3 this year is terrible,” he said. “The world used to come to E3. Now it’s like a pipe-fitters’ show in the basement.”
Sega of America’s president, Simon Jeffery, was a tad less scathing. He said that the event needs to do something to bring back retailers.
23
Jul
2008
Register Hardware: Roberts has released a radio that it can power itself purely by the light of the sun.
Firstly, let’s look at the other functions on the radio, which are pretty good. There’s the detachable aerial, for instance. This can be clipped into a recess on the back of the radio to fully protect it. It’s a nice feature, but we couldn’t help thinking that if the radio was frequently used outside, the aerial could very easily get mislaid. However, once clipped into its little hidey-hole, the aerial is hard to dislodge. So as long as you remember to stow it away, you should be fine.
Once installed, the aerial is a good size and, although not directional, provides the first link in what is a pretty robust signal-to-output path.
Indeed, the sound quality is better than we’d have expected for a single, small 80mm speaker with just 1W of power to call upon. Clarity of speech for talk radio is good, and any type of music played through the device is delivered in a well-balanced manner.
22
Jul
2008
Electronista: Sony Ericsson announced a new entry Walkman phone and a trio of speakers.
The W302 is labeled the most affordable Walkman phone to date but still comes with a 2-megapixel camera, a 512MB Memory Stick Micro, Bluetooth with stereo sound, and FM radio.
It’s also relatively slim at about 0.4 inches thick and better-built than some phones in the category with an aluminum front. The phone supports GSM calls and EDGE data and will be ready by the fall.
Matching the phone are two Bluetooth speaker systems.
The two-piece, stereo MBS-400 and its one-piece MBS-200 equivalent put out calls and music from any cellphone or other device that supports a Bluetooth audio profile and will auto-switch for incoming calls.
With those devices that support full Bluetooth music, an OLED display on one of the speakers shows the current track name. Both ship in the fall.
22
Jul
2008
Engadget: For the acronym-challenged, Audi is getting serious about its Multi Media Interface.
The automaker’s present system is widely regarded as the best of the best already, but it’s staying one step ahead of itself with the revamped version prepped for the A8 luxury sedan.
Within the whip, you’ll find a 7-inch LCD with an 800 x 480 resolution alongside a DVD drive, 40GB internal hard drive, Dolby Digital 5.1 support, optional analog / digital TV tuner, Bluetooth, twin CPUs (800MHz and 500MHz), NVIDIA graphics for “genuine 3D maps” and an optional Audi Music Interface for connecting your favorite PMP.
22
Jul
2008
Mobile Today: LG’s net profit has risen 84% after the company sold more than seven million touchscreen mobile phones.
LG said in a press release that it sold a record 27.7 million mobile phone handsets during the second quarter, led by its high-end Secret and Viewty models.
The company said it had sold seven million touchscreen mobile phones by the end of the second quarter, just five quarters after LG launched its first full touchscreen handset, the Prada Phone.
The Viewty is the company’s top seller, surpassing two million units.
Dr Skott Ahn, president of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company said: ‘We were a true pioneer in touchscreen phones, applying for a total of 49 patents while developing the Prada Phone by LG.’
22
Jul
2008
Ars Technica: LCDs still have a lot of room for improvement, as they only transmit 5-10 percent of the total backlight to the user, and can account for up to 30 percent of the total power consumption of a laptop.
In this week’s Nature Photonics, researchers from Microsoft and the University of Washington report a new display technology called “telescopic pixel” that transmits 36 percent of backlight radiation.
The new pixel design is based on a tried-and-true technology: the optical telescope. Each pixel consists of two opposing mirrors where the primary mirror can change shape under an applied voltage. When the pixel is off, the primary and secondary mirrors are parallel and reflect all of the incoming light back into the light source. When the pixel is on, the primary mirror deforms into a parabolic shape that focuses light onto the secondary mirror. The secondary mirror then reflects the light through a hole in the primary mirror and onto the display screen.
Given the substantial performance gains, amenability to current fabrication methods, and Microsoft’s involvement, this report could signal the beginning of a new display technology. These displays have the potential to be faster than LCDs, more scalable than plasma, and cheaper and more energy efficient than both.
22
Jul
2008
HDTV.org: While the TH42PZ80 loses ‘Intelligent Frame Creation’ technology, it retains Panasonic’s take on 100Hz processing, ‘double scan’. Working in tandem with the latest incarnation of Panasonic’s picture processing engine, V-Real Pro 3, ‘double scan’ introduces a screen refresh rate which is up from the usual 50 times a second to 100.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the PZ80 series are Panasonic’s latest generation G11 panels which come with a very fast 0.001 second response time (how long it takes the plasma cells to react after they have been sent an electrical signal). The screens have a claimed 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and no viewing angle limitation.
Testament to Panasonic’s expertise in this area and the rapidly growing reputation of all new entrants to their plasma range, we now expect to be impressed by the black level performance of any new Panasonic.
22
Jul
2008
I4U News: German magazine Focus reports that the iPhone 3G is completely sold out across Europe and that new inventory would not arrive until October.
This would mean that iPhone fans would have to spend the summer without the new iPhone 3G if they did not pick one up yet.
The magazine says that they got the information about the dramatic iPhone 3G shortage from a manager at Apple.
iPhone 3G phones are still available in the U.S., amidst shortage, but it seems Apple is still able to re-stock some of their stores each day.
22
Jul
2008
Financial Times: Kaz Hirai, chief executive of Sony’s PlayStation games console business, has set an ambitious target of reaching nearly 150m in sales for its slow-starting PlayStation 3 console.
Sony’s loss-making games unit into profitability is Mr Hirai’s most pressing task. The massive costs of investing in the games console, which is equipped with a Blu-ray player and the powerful “Cell” chip, means that Sony is still incurring a loss on every PS3 sold.
Mr Hirai, in a Financial Times interview, said his aim was for the PS3 to surpass sales of the PS2 over a similar time period.
22
Jul
2008
Audiophile Audition: Panamax’s latest line of MAX AV products comes with a refined set of features. The MAX 5400-PM is one of their latest power management units. Panamax’s Level 4+ Power Cleaning and Filtration is designed to eliminate common symptoms of contaminated power (including loss of detail, pops, hisses, hums and visual artifacts) often associated with dirty utility power. T
he MAX 5400-PM features Voltage Regulation circuitry that provides a consistent range of voltage to the connected equipment even with the input voltage varying.
The AVM (Automatic Voltage Monitoring) circuits protect equipment against prolonged over/under voltages by disconnecting the power and only reconnecting it when safe power returns. This is particularly important should the input voltage fall out of the correctable range of the MAX 5400-PM.
The front panel of the MAX 5400-PM has a USB connector for providing power to a USB device. A wired LAN connection and an extra power outlet is also available for the user while providing full protection on the interfaces.
22
Jul
2008
Idealo: Grundig’s new top of the range model, the Vision 9, should be out in September. It has an integrated sound projector, Full HD and 100Hz.
This newcomer belongs to the high end of the LCD-TV spectrum with its special feature – the in-built sound projector. The TV set is able to offer true surround sound without the need for additional 5.1 equipment, through its row of speakers with 16 high performing cone speakers.
This means that this LCD TV is one of the first on the market with an in-built sound projector.
The subwoofer is located on the back of the TV, throwing the sound out behind the set. It also uses clever technology which creates a small time delay between the speakers, giving the surround sound effect.