about-electronics.eu

Electronista: DVR maker TiVo and UK-based cable provider Virgin Media on Tuesday said they have agreed on a partnership that will see TiVo develop Virgin’s next-generation TV platform.

TiVo will use its expertise to create a custom interface for Virgin’s upcoming HD boxes. In return, Virgin will be the exclusive distributor of TiVo service and hardware in the UK.

Virgin Media uses a fibre optic network throughout the UK, which would offer high speeds when interacting with the video-on-demand service.

Thus far, TiVo is available in the US, Canada and Australia. TiVo will power Virgin’s DVR and non-DVR set-top boxes, with the first co-branded product expected to debut sometime in 2010.

read more

Engadget: One could argue that the Motorola Droid is in fact the first-ever Android-based in-car navigation solution, but we’re surmising that ArcherMind would disagree.

Over at the Embedded Technology 2009 trade show in Yokohama, the outfit has demonstrated an Android-laden navigation system that could actually be inserted as a factory option; curiously enough, it looks an awful lot like the AutoLinQ initiative that hit our radar back in June.

The outfit is reportedly shopping the system — which includes a 7-inch, 800 x 480 display — to a variety of Chinese automakers, and given that it can browse the web via WiFi or 3G, connect with music players and phones over Bluetooth and even play back audio files stored on the HDD or SD slot, we can’t imagine it being a tough sell.

read more

BornRich: There are some good speakers, some great speakers and then there’s the “Grand Master” of all the speakers.

Hansen Audio has created a 10 driver, 3 way, floor standing speaker for audio resurrection.

Engineered to perfection by the Hansen Audio, the “Grand Master” has four woofers and four mid band drivers to perfectly match the two high precision tweeters.

Hansen Audio is overachiever with respect to driver technology with their use of exotic multi-layer composite sandwich cones.

Finished in piano black, the “Grand Master” stands at 650 pounds with over six feet in height to instantly catch eye, wherever it sits in your home. Priced at $239,000 (€158,500), the loudspeakers will be official unveiled at CES in January.

read more

Electronista: TomTom on Wednesday introduced a special edition of its TomTom XXL 540S navigator, the World Traveler Edition.

The main difference of the new product is the inclusion of maps of the US, Canada and Europe thanks to 4GB of total memory, whereas the standard XXL 540S contains full maps of Canada, the US and about a third of Mexican maps.

Otherwise, there is the same 5-inch touchscreen and TomTom’s routing technology. This includes the company’s IQ Routes, which calculates routes based on historical speed measurements for the time of day users are travelling and the type of road they’re travelling on.

Using Map Share, users can modify street names, street direction, points of interest and more on their own device, or download changes made by other TomTom users. TomTom XXL 540S World Traveler Edition will cost $350 (€232) when it is released in early December.

read more

NewLaunches: Maxell (Hitachi) has announced the MXSP-D240 iPod dock.

The drum shape emits the sound more efficiently while delivering extra bass.

The 53mm wide speakers are powered by a digital amplifier which delivers an output of 2.5W×2ch and a playback frequency of 60Hz – 20kHz.

The iPod dock connector sits on top of the unit and is compatible with all the fourth generation iPods. Available in black and white the dock will sell for around €73.

read more

Electronista: The California Energy Commission has approved a new set of efficiency standards aimed at regulating televisions sold in the state, according to CNET News.

The rules apply to displays 58-inches or smaller, requiring retailers to stock TVs with 33 percent less energy consumption by 2011.

The terms increase once again for 2013, with mandatory reductions in consumption by an average of 49 percent.

The Commission claims the mandate will reduce electricity costs by up to $8.1 billion. The group also expects the rules to eliminate the need for building a natural gas power plant of 615 MW capacity.

The Consumer Electronics Association has opposed the bill, arguing that the regulations will effectively kill the plasma TV market in California.

The Commission, however, claims that CNET and Energy Star test data shows that plasma screens utilizing new phosphors with enhanced gas mixtures will be able to meet the 2011 and 2013 standards, especially if the technology is paired with automatic brightness control.

read more

Bloomberg: Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer forecast 3D movies, pictures and games will be the electronics maker’s next $10 billion business, challenging investors and analysts who say the technology isn’t ready to become mainstream.The maker of Bravia televisions and PlayStation 3 game consoles said yesterday 3D-related products, excluding content, will generate more than 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) in the 12 months ending March 2013. The Tokyo-based company will begin offering TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles that adopt the technology starting next fiscal year, it said.

Stringer’s bet that 3D will spread from the movie theater to the living room highlights part of his strategy to revive a company that’s forecasting its first back-to-back annual losses in half a century. The move may signal a shift in focus as the Welsh-born executive nears his target of cutting 330 billion yen in costs by eliminating 20,000 jobs and shutting 10 factories.

“I doubt 3D will become a hit,” said Naoki Fujiwara, who helps oversee $4 billion as chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “Investors want to see how the company will make money.”

Sony shares fell 2.4 percent to close at 2,410 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, narrowing its gain this year to 25 percent. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average’s slid 0.5 percent today.

E-Book Readers, Car Batteries

Stringer also plans to drive sales growth by offering electronic-book readers and an online service that can be accessed from Sony’s TVs, music players, game machines and other mobile products, a business the company projects will generate 300 billion yen in the year ending March 2013.

The company plans to invest 100 billion yen to research and develop lithium-ion batteries including those used for electric cars, Hiroshi Yoshioka, head of the Consumer Products and Devices division, said yesterday.

Sony is not alone in pushing 3D. Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corp. and Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. also aim to introduce 3D TVs by as early as next year as Japanese electronics makers seek to compete against South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.

Kyung-Soo Ahn, the executive vice president in charge of Sony’s business products unit, said this week sales of projectors, cameras and other equipment capable of producing 3D images are expanding faster than expected. Sony received orders for more than 11,000 3D projectors in the U.S. as movie-theater companies such as Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. adopt the technology, the company said yesterday.

‘End-to-End Filming’

Stringer, 67, said Sony’s reach in the entertainment industry puts the company in position to lead the 3D market. The company’s movie unit, producer of “2012” and “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” is Hollywood’s third-largest studio, generating $1.3 billion in ticket sales this year through Nov. 15, according to researcher Box Office Mojo.

“Sony is the only company with end-to-end filming production, 3D conversion, home delivery and home display of 3D content,” Stringer said in briefing in Tokyo yesterday. “This is another example of how the breadth of Sony’s operations gives us a significant advantage versus the competition.”

While Sony hasn’t disclosed prices of its 3D TV models, Fumiyuki Nakanishi, a strategist at Tokyo-based SMBC Friend Securities Co., said such sets will probably be too expensive initially to attract a mass audience.

‘Bold Statement’

“These 3D products will no doubt be pricier and it will take years for them to penetrate the market,” said Nakanishi. “Sony often makes bold statements to shore up its share price and I see its 3D plan as being one of those announcements.”

Not all analysts are skeptical. Because its operations span hardware to content, Sony will be able to expand 3D-related products without “huge” investments, said Yoshiharu Izumi, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo.

“It may not be so hard for the company to attain the 1- trillion-yen goal,” Izumi said.

The company is projecting sales to fall 5.6 percent this fiscal year as Sony seeks to weather the global recession, which led Sony to cut jobs, shut plants, outsource production and reduce its number of suppliers.

Pushing Back Targets

Sony yesterday pushed back its key profitability targets — a 10 percent return on equity and a 5 percent operating margin – - by two years to the 12 months ending March 2013. The company is forecasting a net loss of 95 billion yen this fiscal year after losing 98.9 billion yen the previous year.

The company had an average of return on equity of 4.4 percent in the five years ended March 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That compares with Samsung’s 19 percent and Panasonic’s 1.4 percent, according to the data.

“Before dreaming about 3D, the company needs to achieve real profits,” said Masahiro Mitsui, a Tokyo-based investment analyst at Federated Advisory Services Co. “The technology requires users to wear special glasses and it may work with games, but not for sports and documentaries.”

read more

BBC: A manufacturer of hi-fi systems has sounded what it said could be the death knell of the compact disc player.

Linn Products has become the first manufacturer to announce it will give up on CDs from the start of next year.

Instead, the niche company, based in East Renfrewshire, will focus on producing digital streaming equipment.

The firm, which makes systems costing from £2,500 to more than £100,000, said discerning customers recognised the superior quality of digital streaming. Yet it continues to make turntables for vinyl records, as there remains a demand for the quality of sound compression offered by older record technology.

Linn, which has its own small record label, foresees a move to what it calls Studio Master Quality material, available for download.

The shift from CD players to digital music streamers has been very recent. It was only during 2009 that the digital players outsold Linn’s CD players. The newer technology allows digital streaming through other operating systems, including home computers and networking throughout homes.

Gilad Tiefenbrun, managing director of Linn Products, said: “Our customers have fast recognised the limitations of CD players and in the age of home networking, people now want better control of their music and the ability to enjoy it in any room of their home.

 ”CD players no longer belong in the specialist domain.”

The company reckons that the CD format will continue to be useful as a way of recording and storing music. It claims that a CD recorded onto a hard disk can achieve a higher quality than one played on a CD player.

Compact discs began commercial music sales in 1982, replacing the cassette tape as well as vinyl records.

The shift from compact discs to digital downloading is again changing the music market. BPI, representing the British recorded music industry, announced last month that 2009 had already broken last year’s record number of legally downloaded single and individual track sales.

Of 117 million sales, nearly 99% were digital downloads. But there is a different market for album sales.

CD sales continue to dominate, but their share of the market is sliding. In 2006, there were 154 million album sales, of which CDs accounted for 151m, and digital for 2.7m. In 2007, with 138m sales, 131m were CDs and 6.2m were digital.

In 2008, there were 137m album sales, with 123m CDs and 10.3m digital downloads. Vinyl records, cassettes and other formats accounted for around 300,000.

read more

Electronista: YouTube has announced that it will allow users to upload 1080p HD video content without limiting playback to a lower resolution.

The web-based interface will provide a choice between the current maximum, 720p, and full 1080p.

The change brings YouTube up to speed with the limited number of video portals, such as SmugMug, that support the higher resolution.

“As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content,” said YouTube software engineer Billy Biggs on the company’s blog.

Users can submit 1080p videos to be considered for an upcoming spotlight on the YouTube homepage. The expanded service is expected to go live in the next few weeks.

Content that was previously uploaded in 1080p resolution will be automatically re-encoded, eliminating the need to resubmit the videos.

read more

iPodNN: Yamaha late yesterday introduced two new mini audio systems built for iPhones and iPods, the MCR-140 and MCR-040. The former is unique in that it can play back music from an iPod wirelessly through Yamaha’s proprietary yAired standard.

The MCR-040 lacks this feature, but both systems otherwise sport a CD player, a front panel USB port, an FM radio and auxiliary audio jack inputs.

Their docks also charge iPods and iPhones and will automatically power the system up when attached. The MCR-140′s wireless transmitter allows full control of the source device.

It’s claimed that yAired has no delays and better quality than audio delivered over the Bluetooth sometimes used for wireless audio systems.

Both systems have two 4-inch, detachable drivers rated at 15W each, though an optional wireless subwoofer kit for the MCR-140 allows for better bass delivery.

It and the MCR-040 are available in orange, dark blue, light blue, white, red, dark green, brown, light gray, dark gray and pink for $400 (€320) and $280 (€187), respectively.

read more

Engadget: Your USB-based DJ-ing options aren’t exactly all that limited these days, but there’s few rigs out there quite as eye-catching as this new Spin controller developed by Vestax and Algoriddim.

Designed for Mac users only, this one packs two touch sensitive jog wheels front and center, along with a full multi-channel audio system complete with the requisite sliders, mic input (and included microphone), audio output, and of course that USB connection, which also eliminates the need for a power adapter.

On the software side of things you’ll get Algoriddim’s djay 3 mixing application, plus some out-of-the-box integration with iTunes to let you easily pull tracks for your mix.

Sold? Then you can snag this one right now for $250 (€167).

read more

TradingMarkets.com: Pioneer Corp. said Monday it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission claiming that Garmin International Inc. is infringing upon the Japanese manufacturer’s patents involving navigation technology.

In October, Pioneer lodged a similar complaint against the U.S. maker of information appliances with the German District Court of Dusseldorf.

Pioneer says it has been negotiating with Garmin to license its patents but that the U.S. company did not evaluate the patents “fairly.”

Consequently, the Japanese firm has taken the legal steps to protect its intellectual property, according to the statement.

read more