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iPodNN: The European Commission on Monday set volume limits for MP3 players in all European Union member states.

Similar to existing rules for maximum volume exposure anywhere, the limits should prevent devices from outputting sound louder than 80 decibels under their default settings. Officials argue the limits are necessary as many devices can play music at levels loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage but without warning listeners.

“It’s easy to push up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport,” Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said. “And the evidence is that particularly young people — who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week — have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk. It can take years for the hearing damage to show, and then it is simply too late.”

The EU mandate will still let users override the settings as long as they’re told of the possible consequences, including the use of headphones that can exceed the safe limits without having to change settings on the player.

Companies in Europe have already introduced volume limits to respond to requests from individual member states, but the new conditions will require firmware updates for much of the continent. Apple has had iPod volume caps since March 2006.

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TWICE: Consumer confidence in technology and consumer electronics jumped, while confidence in the overall economy fell slightly in September, according to the latest figures from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and CNET.

The CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE) climbed more than 6 percent this month. The ICTE reached 83, bringing it near its level from the same period last year.

The ICTE, which has climbed in five of the past six months, shows that expectations for buying CE products and services and spending more on these purchases both went up in September.

“The disposition of consumers towards spending on technology is improving at the right time for retailers and manufacturers with the holiday shopping season approaching,” said Shawn DuBravac, CEA’s economist and research director. The CEA-CNET Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE) fell 1.7 percent to 169.3 in September.

The ICE, which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, is down 2.7 points from this time last year, but has climbed in three of the last five months.

“The overall mood appears mixed in September, as many consumers are still guarded in their optimism about the overall economy and their future economic health,” said DuBravac. “Concerns over personal employment jumped significantly in September, driving the overall index lower.” The CEA-CNET indexes are comprised of the ICE and the ICTE, both of which are updated on a monthly basis through consumer surveys.

New data is released on the fourth Tuesday of each month. CEA and CNET have been tracking index data since January 2007. Current and past indexes, charts, methodology and future release dates are available at http://www.ceacnetindexes.org.

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Reuters: Japanese consumer electronics makers Pioneer Corp and Sharp Corp said on Monday that they would delay the merger of their optical disc operations as anti-trust reviews continue overseas.

The two companies reached an agreement for the merger earlier in the year and were scheduled to start the joint venture on Oct 1, in a bid to establish a leading position in the Blu-ray disc market.

Pioneer also said it is still in talks with investors to raise money to shore up its finances. The struggling company has said it aims to raise 40 billion yen ($448.7 million) from investors including Honda Motor Co Ltd, which plans to invest 2.5 billion yen. The automaker procures car navigation systems from Pioneer.

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TWICE: The ratio of purchases of so-called small TVs (those measuring up to 37 inches) compared to large-screen size sets (those measuring 37 to 50 inches) has shifted to 3:2 this year compared to 1:1 a year ago, according to a new study released by market research firm Retrevo Pulse.

The analyst cited possible reasons for the shift as the following:

• The digital TV transition
• More households are now adding multiple HDTV sets for various rooms in the house.
• More HDTV programming through terrestrial broadcasts, cable, satellite and Internet TV is now available, stoking consumer demand for sets on which to view it.

For this reason, Retrevo said it now forecasts manufacturers and resellers of HDTVs to have “an especially good year for smaller-screen TVs,” this year. Retrevo Pulse provides publicly available indices that map daily price and demand trends in the consumer electronics industry across 40 categories and more than 4,000 products.

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Engadget: Don’t get us wrong — we love subwoofers — but honestly we’ve been pretty satisfied with the formula that combines a driver, strong box and large amplifier into a more or less (we prefer less) inconspicuous cube.

Changing the physical design always looks kind of strange, even when the results are great. Horses for courses, however, as KEF has introduced its HTB2SE-W subwoofer that has us thinking of one George Jetson.

That impression is only enhanced by the wireless connection (hey, it was futuristic a few years ago) that promises “CD-quality sound,” which is probably more than sufficient for even lossless LFE tracks. If you don’t like the flying saucer look, simply put the HTB2SE-W on its side — the 10-inch driver and 250-Watt amp promise to deliver bass so non-directional that you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Available next month for $1,200 (€820).

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NewLaunches: The Alpine iXA-W407 features fully supported iPod/iPhone playback (there’s no CD drive), large 7-inch QVGA touch screen display, built-in Bluetooth and more.

The iXA-W407 is available as an all-in-one audio/video/navigation system package that includes the NVE-M300 GPS Navigation Drive.

This is a compact external drive that is installed somewhere hidden and the location services include regular GPS data, solid-state gyro sensor technology, and accelerometer technology to gauge the vehicle’s speed for even more accurate navigation.

It obviously does voice guided directions which are played through the audio system. The Alpine iXA-W407 features a 7-inch QVGA display, an AM/FM tuner and a high-speed USB input for optimal iPod/iPhone connection.

You can also connect USB memory devices and MTP-based MP3 players via the USB input. The two devices (iXA-W407 and NVE-M300) can be purchased separately in which case it would cost $800 (€546) and $450 (€307) respectively.

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EngadgetHD: This is an older report by Gartner that just caught our eye, but we just found the news so refreshing — and predictable — that we couldn’t pass it up. The long and the short of the $500 report is that H.264 has finally won the codec competition and that in the next few years everything will be encoded with it.

Although this makes sense to standardize on a codec going forward, it is hard for us to imagine over-the-air broadcast TV changing from MPEG-2 in the next four years.

While it is true that H.264 has been part of the ATSC spec for a few years now, with all that equipment out in the field already it is hard to imagine much of it getting replaced again in the next 10 years, never the less the next four.

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EngadgetHD: Just in case there was any doubt, Toshiba has confirmed plans to launch its halo product, the Cell (for Cell Broadband engine, similar to the one in the PS3) TV, with all the LED backlit 3D GUI, 3840×2160 resolution, and DLNA streaming capabilities one could want, in Japan by the end of the year.

Thanks to the company’s new religion, it will also feature a Blu-ray recorder to go along with the 1TB hard drive, though we can bet that will be axed before making its way stateside in 2010.

Of course we’re still looking forward to the Media Center Extender packing display expected here some time soon, but when an executive promises the “ultimate entertainment machine” we can’t help but wonder what’s in store. More detailed specifications and any pricing info other than “it will be fairly expensive” are still unavailable.

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Engadget: Intel just announced that both BMW and Mercedes-Benz will be shipping Atom-based infotainment systems designed by Harman-Becker in 2012.

BMW will make the system available in the 7-series, while MB will put it in S- and C-class vehicles.

According to Paul Otellini, these are just the first Atom-based in-vehicle entertainment systems to be announced, and automakers are coming around to “consistent and persistent platforms,” so we’d expect this is the start of a very welcome trend. Sadly there was no demo, but we’ll be on the lookout here at IDF.

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Electronista: Sony Ericsson this morning claimed a minor industry first through the MH907. The in-ear buds have built-in capacitive motion sensing that automatically start or stop audio on a phone based on their contact with the wearer’s ears.

Putting both earbuds in place will either start music or answer an incoming call; taking one earbud out will pause music or end a call. Accordingly, the set has an in-line mic to take calls but doesn’t need a remote for control.

The earbuds are limited to Sony Ericsson’s proprietary phone port but should come in either black or yellow colors. They should be made available later this week in Europe first for €39.

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NaviGadget: According to WSJ TomTom and Sanyo are joining their forces to sell their devices to car makers.

Japanese Sanyo announced yesterday that it will team up with Dutch TomTom to grab more market share in North America and Europe where the auto industry is supposedly picking up.

The collaboration between Sanyo and TomTom will supply auto makers with customized in-dash GPS navigation systems as early as 2010.

Sanyo has been making GPS navigation systems in Japan since 1993 where factory fitted sat nav system are more common place. On the other hand North Americans and Europeans are more into after market, windshield mounted, unsightly, portable systems.

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Engadget: You heard it here first, folks: SuperSpeed USB is a reality. After waiting around for what feels like ages, USB 3.0 can now say it has its first certified product in NEC’s xHCI host controller.

We know this may not be the most exciting first product to get the all-important seal of approval, but you’ve got to start somewhere. And hey, for those who know a thing or two about building a product to spec, having a legitimate host controller could sure come in handy.

We spoke to Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of the USB-IF (the group that oversees certification and the like), and he stated that (officially) the group is still anticipating end products to hit shelves in early 2010.

That said, this here host controller is available now in the open market, and he did confess that a number of manufacturers would likely try to get USB 3.0-equipped wares onto store shelves before that magical day in December.

He also noted that a smattering of companies would be showcasing USB 3.0 gear at upcoming trade shows, with a Buffalo external hard drive, an ExpressCard-to-USB 3.0 adapter and even a full-on laptop with a functioning USB 3.0 port making a stop at IDF later this week.

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