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.

volume volume levels

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.

consumer confidence

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.

pioneer sharp

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.

dtv tv

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).

KEF sub subwoofer

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.

alpine