about-electronics.eu

Engadget: Hope you’re ready to see the make believe world in a new dimension ’cause Samsung’s first Full HD 3D set is now shipping Stateside. Amazon shows a pair of 55-inch UN55C7000 TVs with 3D 240Hz motion technology in stock with a $3,299.99 price tag and free delivery.

Yeah, that’s a day earlier than expected but we doubt anyone’s complaining. Remember, you’ll still have to drop another $150 or so on the shutter glasses if you ever plan to flip the switch from 2D to 3D mode; something you might want to do when actual 3D content starts to arrive.

Update: Looks like Sears is shipping now as well, including the 46-inch UN46C7000 little brother for $2,600.

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What Hi-Fi: The Chord Company’s Crimson interconnect has long been a budget favourite around these parts – now the company is upgrading the cable with the arrival of CrimsonPlus.

Starting at £40 for a 1m stereo pair, the new cable features improved shielding – not only is each conductor in the twisted-pair configuration individually shielded, but there’s now an additional heavy-gauge foil shield over the whole assembly. A hard PVC layer provides the final outer protection.

The additional shielding is said to significantly reduce the noise floor, and also makes the cable even more suitable for use in long runs, for example between an amplifier and a subwoofer.

The cable is fitted with Chord’s own RCA plugs, hand-soldered in place, and uses the company’s pseudo-balanced configuration, in which matched conductors are used rather than a single main conductor with the shield providing the return.

The cable is available in a range of lengths, both with standard RCA plugs and DINs, and custom configurations can be made to order.

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Pioneer invite you to the Sound Sessions, to surround your senses, take hold of your emotions and shatter your expectations.
Pioneer Sound Sessions give you the opportunity to explore the very best in home entertainment, encouraging personal interaction with the products and offerdemonstrations with the specialist Pioneer Home Product Team. Our team will explain how to create your optimum sound set up and help you appreciate sound as the artist intended.

Please bring personal music and audio content to your event for live testing and demonstration.

Dates and locations here.

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Stereophile: Almost every assumption you might make about Vienna Acoustics’ Klimt The Kiss loudspeaker by looking at it would be wrong. It is not a stand-mounted two-way loudspeaker. It’s a three-way, with a coincident tweeter-midrange. And that ain’t no stand—it’s an integral part of the speaker. It does not have a conventional cabinet—there are two separate enclosures, complete with micrometer control of both vertical and horizontal axes. And those sure aren’t plain-vanilla drive-units—they’re about as unique as they come.

When I say you, of course, I mean I. When I first saw The Kiss ($16,000/pair), when Vienna Acoustics debuted its newest addition to their Klimt series at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, I misidentified every one of those characteristics. Then I listened to the speakers—and that drew me in for a far more thorough examination.

Impressed by its performance before I was intrigued by its potential—it proved a fitting prelude to a Kiss.

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Naim today confirmed that the HDX app to control the Naim HDX Hard Disk Player is available from the Apple iTunes app store.

The HDX app, was designed and coded in-house by Naim’s software team.

The HDX app, which also controls the primary output of NaimNet Music Servers, was developed following customer feedback provided via Naim’s long-running and influential forum.

Naim’s HDX App allows you to control your HDX hard disk player remotely. With your music library at your fingertips, you can now sit back and take control. Browse and play any of the music stored on your HDX with the easy-to-use app.

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What Hi-Fi: Fatman has added two new valve amps to its roster. The iTube 202 and iTube 302 will each come with a FatDock (and receiver) and will retail at £899 and £1149 respectively.

The FatDock enables wireless streaming from an iPod or iPhone to the amp, while the latter can of course also be used as part of a standard hi-fi system.

The 302′s Class AB Push Pull design releases 30 watts per channel, while the Class A Single Ended 202 (pictured) fires 20 watts per speaker.

Round the back of the FatDock you’ll find a 3.5mm input and a USB output, alongside the standard Apple docking connection, while a receiver, for connecting to your amp, and a remote are included, too.

The iTubes themselves have three pairs of RCA inputs, another 3.5mm input and a subwoofer out connection.

The Fatman iTube 202 and iTube 302 go on sale in the UK and Europe from April 2010 and will have suggested retail prices of £899 and £1149 respectively.

The above prices include the FatDock and a three year warranty.

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Akihabara News: Latest in-ear phones from Pioneer Japan come in designs reminiscent of Cherry (the SE-CL23) and of miniature leatherbelt (the SE-CL23).

“Cherry” in-ear phones are available in 4 fruity colors: Peach Pink, Cherry Red, Berry Red, Pear White. The “leatherbelt” line also comes in 4 colors with rather formal names: Brown, Black, Camel (yellow) and Navy (Blue).

Both the SE-CL 23 and SE–CL24 offer frequency response of 20Hz – 20,000Hz, an output sound pressure level of 100dB, an impedance of 16 Ohms, as well as 9 mm drivers.

They will be available in Japan as of mid-March for 2,500 yen (approx. 21 euros).

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Tech-on: Toshiba Corp developed a headphone that is equipped with a brain-wave sensor and designed for consumer use.

The company exhibited the headphone at a press conference of the Continua Health Alliance, of which Toshiba is a member, Feb 17, 2010. The company expects the headphone to be used in the field of healthcare as a “device to visualize brain waves,” it said.

The headphone has a built-in Bluetooth unit and can be connected to a PC equipped with the Bluetooth dongle that comes with the headphone. By using accompanying software, “Brain-wave Visualizer,” measured data can be visualized. Specifically, it shows a diagram of brain waves and meters of a brain-wave level, concentration level and meditation level.

With the software, it is possible to check the user’s brain waves in real time and record them while he or she is listening music or watching video as well as to play a game by using brain waves. Read more…

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CNet Crave: Qualcomm and Audi are bringing the information superhighway to the actual highway. The chipmaker has developed a 3G Web connection for the carmaker’s Mobile Media Interface Plus in-car navigation and entertainment system, supercharging your sat-nav with the power of the Web. We took it for a spin.

Well, we sat in it and pressed some buttons, as the demo car was parked on the Qualcomm stand at Mobile World Congress. The system is being shown off at MWC in an A5 Cabriolet, but it will be available in shops on the A8. We got in and went “Brrrrrmmmm” until someone from Qualcomm agreed to talk us through the technology. Read more…

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Bornrich.org: The sari denotes traditional Indian wear and has generated interest since it lends distinctive radiance, vigor and variety to the costume. However, the Swaramadhuri is one unique silk sari which is all set to stir lots of interest and curiosity among the sari buyers. Called a “singing” sari, the Swaramadhuri has a built-in iPod and eight microspeakers embedded in its borders, and it can play as many as 200 songs continuously for four hours. A 2GB memory chip is hidden somewhere in the sari to support the connected peripherals. Sure, in this age of wearable technology where music and rhythm get imbued with fabric, the sari is no exception.

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CNet: There was once a time when pretty girls mocked us because our cars didn’t have CD players. These days it looks as if we’re finally getting our own back, as Pioneer has just released the MVH-8200 — a car stereo without a CD drive.

How’dya like us now, Brenda?! Instead of relying on old-skool plastic discs crammed with a dozen or so songs, the MVH-8200 gives you access to an almost unlimited supply of digital music via its integrated SD card reader, front-facing USB port or 3.5mm auxiliary jack.

A separate cable enables you to connect your iPhone. All you need to do is copy your songs across from a PC before you set off. Are you reading this, Claire?! In other news that’s sure to have Becky wishing she’d gotten with us, the MVH-8200 has a 76mm (3-inch) colour TFT display that lets you watch films and view photos of the infinitely hotter girls you’ve been out with since the acne cleared up.

The system supports DivX, JPEG, MP3, WMA and AAC, though you’ll have to ensure your audio tracks are of the DRM-free (iTunes Plus, Amazon MP3) variety. The MVH-8200 has a built-in 50W amplifier, which will send plenty of grunt to four separate speakers — front and rear. Those who want to be truly deafened can connect an external amp and subwoofer via its RCA pre-out, or use Pioneer’s Direct Sub Drive feature.

The latter allows users to send two 50W power channels to a couple of front speakers, and send 70W of the stereo’s remaining power to a subwoofer at the rear. It’s perfect for bass lovers who can’t be bothered with — or can’t afford — a separate amplifier. Pioneer is also selling a second version of the MVH-8200, known as the MVH-8200BT.

This unit comes with integrated Bluetooth from Parrot, meaning users can pull up to the bus stop their ex is standing at and have loud conversations with super-hot, anti-CD nerds over their car’s speakers. A bundled external microphone is included for extra clarity. The MHV-8200 is available now for around £279, while the MVH-8200BT will set you back somewhere in the region of £310. Buy one and show your ex who’s boss.

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Engadget: LG isn’t dishing out many details about this one just yet, but company exec KW Kim (head of LG’s Middle East and Africa Operations) has told Emirates Business that LG will soon be launching a product — “maybe by April” — that “will compete with Apple and Amazon.”

And, well, that’s about it. As you may recall, however, LG has been showing off various bits of technology for e-book readers over the past little while, including a solar-powered system designed specifically for e-readers and, of course, some flexible e-paper displays that have already turned up in the Skiff Reader. In other LG news, Kim also dropped word that the company is talking with Etisalat about a new line of “notebooks” (possibly netbooks) that would use “Google’s operating system,” although it’s not clear if he was referring to Chrome or Android.

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