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Akihabara News: The PM5004 and CD5004 are the latest integrated Amplifier and CD player available on Marantz Japan catalog.
Scheduled to be released in the middle of July on the Japanese market, the PM5004 anyone looking for superb performance without the complexity or cost of a comparable receiver or preamplifier/power amplifier combination. As usual, we have a minimalist but nice design, that give you the impress to have an incredible amplifier.It develops an output power of 40 Watt per Channel at 8 Ohms. It also provides a THD of 0.05% (20Hz – 20kHz, 8 ohms), a frequency response of 10Hz – 50kHz, and a S/N rato of 103dB. It also comes with Analog L&R In (x5), Analog L&R out (x2), Phono input, Headphone out.

Dimensions: 440×370×105mm
Weight: 6.7kg

Regarding the CD5004, the CD player, it has been made to fit the PM5004. It features the same design, and promises CD reproduction without any noise interference. Regarding the Digital / Analog conversion, it’s handled by High performance Cirrus Logic CS4392 D/A converter.
Our little boy is compatible with CD-R/RW / MP3 / WMA, and seems to be well equipped with Independent Gold Plated RCA Analog L&R out, TOSLINK Digital Optical Out, and Gold plated RCA digital Coaxial Out. Lastly, it provides a Dynamic Range of 100dB, Frequency Response of 2Hz – 20000 Hz, a THD 0.002%, and a S/N ratio of 110dB.

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Gizmodo: Hoodies have strings around the neck, right? Have you EVER used those strings? Why you’d want to tighten a noose around your neck, I’ll never know. The HoodieBuddie cleverly replaces the strings with earbuds; the pocket contains a 3.5mm jack.

All you need to do is whack your iPod into that 3.5mm jack, hiding in the front-right pocket, and you can listen to music without your wires getting tangled. Really, I’m surprised this type of innovation costs $44.

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Born Rich: DJ lovers can get the party started anytime, anywhere with the “Pioneer Pro – 1400 FLT” designed by a French design student, Vivier Raphael. The mobile DJ concept offers two configurations, a sober and classic to keep neutral during transport, the other focuses more on the event with LED devices. The DJ table console can house all the DJ equipment to serve your professional requirements, including headphones, CDs, plates and other DJ gear. So, get ready to hit the road along with your mobile disco.

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Techwatch: The arrival of 3D television has been fairly slow and it seems that at the moment there are those consumers that love it and those that hate it. But despite this slow take up and the lack of content available, production of the 240 Hz LCD TV panel, which is essential for 3D TV, is to go into production, as the market anticipates significant sales of 3D Ready TVs this year.

According to a digitimes.com report, the main players in 3D TV technology are expecting big sales for the 240 Hz based TV during this year, with Samsung being the most optimistic with 3.6 million units, Sony 2.2 million, Panasonic 1.1 million and LG 1 million. With half the year gone there is little time left for the market to drastically change.

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iPodNN: Monster Cable showed the first universal 3D glasses on Wednesday with the Monster Vision Max 3D. The shutter-system glasses will purportedly work with any brand of 3D TV and use 2.4GHz RF communication as opposed to the IR common to other 3D glasses. They have interference rejection software and sync correction, and can instantly react electro-chromatically.

At the same time, Monster Cable introduced the Clarity HD Modular in-ear headphones. With solid-metal construction, they will include the company’s signature ear hooks for a solid connection with a wearer’s ear, making them a better pick for runners. To properly block out noise, Monster includes 10 pairs of SuperTip composite foam eartips. An inline remote with a microphone gives iPhone and iPod touch users voice support.

The 3D glasses and a transmitter as a kit is due out in September, priced at $250. An additional set of eyeglasses will cost $170. The headphones are also coming in September in black-and-red and chrome-and-red version, with a $200 price tag.
 

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Engadget: The iPhone 4 is no small thing to review. As most readers of Engadget are well aware, in the gadget world a new piece of Apple hardware is a major event, preceded by rumors, speculation, an over-the-top announcement, and finally days, weeks, or months of anticipation from an ever-widening fan base. The iPhone 4 is certainly no exception — in fact, it may be Apple’s most successful launch yet, despite some bumps on the road. We’ve already seen Apple and AT&T’s servers overloaded on the first day of pre-orders, the ship date for the next set of phones pushed back due to high demand, and die-hard fans in line outside of Apple locations a week before the phone is actually available. It’s a lot to live up to, and the iPhone 4 is doing its best — with features like a super-fast A4 CPU, a new front-facing camera and five megapixel shooter on the back, a completely new industrial design, and that outrageous Retina Display, no one would argue that Apple has been asleep at the wheel. So the question turns to whether or not the iPhone 4 can live up to the intense hype. Can it deliver on the promises Steve Jobs made at WWDC, and can it cement Apple’s position in the marketplace in the face of mounting competition from the likes of Google and Microsoft? We have the answers to those questions — and many more — in our full review, so read on to find out!

Hardware

Perhaps the most notable change with the new iPhone is the drastic industrial design overhaul — Apple seems to have completely rethought its strategy on how the phone should look and feel, and the results are nothing if not striking.

Industrial design

In his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs likened the design of the iPhone 4 to that of a “beautiful, old Leica camera,” and as we’ve said before, he wasn’t off the mark. Instead of hewing to the curved, plasticky, silver-bezeled look of the iPhone 3G and 3GS, the company has turned the casing and face of the device into something decidedly more detailed and sophisticated. From the design aesthetic through to the actual build process, Jony Ive and his team have reset what we expect in an iPhone, coming up with something that clearly harkens back to the retro-future Braun designs of Dieter Rams. The iPhone 4 is made up of three basic parts: two pieces of smooth, strengthened glass, and a stainless steel band which wraps around the sides, top, and bottom of the phone. The effect is clean but not simple, and Apple has added little details, like altered volume buttons (what used to be a rocker is now separated into circular clickers labeled + and -), and notches in that metal band which serve to improve radio connections (more on that in a minute). The phone is noticeably thinner than the 3GS at .37 inches compared to .48 inches, but it weighs the same 4.8 ounces, making the whole package seem tighter and denser. It feels great in your hand, with good heft, although it might take a little time to get used to the lack of a rounded back if you’re coming from the 3G or 3GS.

We can’t overstate how high-end the design of the iPhone 4 is. The 3GS now feels cheap and chubby by comparison, and even a phone like the HTC Droid Incredible — which just came out — seems last-generation.

As we said, there are three main pieces of the phone, which together create an effect not wildly dissimilar to that of an ice cream sandwich. You know, but far pricier… and not edible. The face of the device is made up of extremely strong glass which Jony Ive says is “comparable in strength to sapphire crystal, but about 30 times harder than plastic.” A small slit for the earpiece and the front-facing camera are embedded in the glass above the display, with the familiar home button towards the bottom — a button we should note feels much clickier than on our 3GS. On the left side of the phone you’ve got the new volume buttons, a redesigned mute switch, and a small notch towards the base of the unit. On the right side is the Micro SIM slot and another notch in the band at the bottom, and up top there’s the power / sleep button, headphone jack, another notch, and new noise-canceling microphone. Along the bottom is a speaker, microphone, and the 30-pin dock connector port. The backside of the phone is made from the same kind of ultra-strong glass as the front, interrupted only by the new five megapixel camera, its LED flash companion and, of course, the Apple logo.

Overall, the iPhone 4 outclasses pretty much every smartphone on the market in terms of industrial design. It just comes off like a far more expensive device, like a Mobiado or Vertu — but better designed. And it’s not just the way the phone looks; the materials feel good — premium — in your hands. The first few days we had our test unit, we were definitely freaked out about dropping or losing the phone, and some of that had to do with the fact that it’s just a really beautiful device to use and hold.

Internals

It’s not just the face of the phone that’s undergone a transformation — the iPhone 4 is all new inside as well. For starters, Apple has moved on from the Samsung-built ARM Cortex-A8-based CPU used in the 3GS to its custom A4 chip used in the iPad, which funnily enough… is an ARM Cortex-A8-based CPU. While the company hasn’t yet said what the clock speed of the processor is, we’re guessing it’s something below the 1GHz touted for its tablet cousin. The phone is definitely snappier than the 3GS, so we’re not about to volley complaints just yet — in particular, graphics seemed to render faster, and overall responsiveness was slightly higher, though admittedly, it wasn’t blowing the doors off the joint. It’s certainly faster, but the 3GS wasn’t hurting on speed to our eyes, so it’s not as wildly noticeable a leap as the 3G to the 3GS.

As usual, Apple isn’t fessing up about the RAM situation, though we have on very good authority that the iPhone 4 has 512MB onboard, a big step up from the 256MB in the previous model and the iPad. We would have liked to see it futureproofed with something like 1GB, but then again, Apple’s got to sell a new phone in a year. As far as internal storage goes, you can buy the new iPhone in either 16GB ($199 on contract) or 32GB ($299 on contract) capacity — fine for now, but since the company has just introduced 30FPS 720p video recording, you could find yourself outgrowing that number pretty quickly. It’s a little odd, in fact, that the company didn’t double down here and bump the capacity to 64GB, as it’s recently done with the iPod touch. In terms of wireless, the iPhone 4 is packed with an 802.11n WiFi radio, as well as a quad-band HSUPA chip and Bluetooth 2.1.

The redesigned housing allows for a much larger lithium-ion battery on the inside, providing improved numbers for Apple’s life ratings (more on that in a moment), though it’s still not easily replaceable. Additionally, the new phone has those two new cameras (VGA up front, five megapixels with LED flash around back), a new second microphone used to combat background noise while on calls (similar to the Nexus One), a gyroscope in addition to the standard accelerometer, a light sensor, and a proximity sensor. As with the 3GS, an AGPS chip and compass are bundled somewhere in that tiny frame as well.

Of course, the big internal story is what has become external: namely, the UMTS, GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth antennas. Apple has made the stainless band around the phone essentially a couple of big antennae, and they seem to be doing a pretty good job at hanging onto radio signals. The big question is obviously whether or not this fixes or helps with the constant dropped calls iPhone users on AT&T’s network have gotten used to. Well in our testing, we had far, far fewer dropped calls than we experienced on our 3GS. Let’s just say that again: yes, the iPhone 4 does seem to alleviate the dropped call issue. It wasn’t perfect, and we had some connection issues in downtown New York City in particular, though it’s tough to say if it was the fault of our phone, the cluster of buildings we were near, or the person we were speaking to, who was on a 3GS in the same location.

Display

By now you should know that iPhone 4 has an all-new display, as well. Apple is calling the LED backlit, 960 x 640 IPS screen the “Retina Display” due to its high resolution and pixel density. At the same 3.5-inches as the older screens, the new display manages an insane 326ppi pixel density along with an 800:1 contrast ratio. Steve made a huge point about the science behind this technology during his keynote, claiming that the resolution of the screen essentially tops what is perceivable by the human eye. There have been some debates as to whether or not this argument holds water, but we can tell you this: to our eyes, there has never been a more detailed, clear, or viewable screen on any mobile device.

Not only are the colors and blacks deep and rich, but you simply cannot see pixels on the screen. Okay, if you take some macro camera shots or get right up in there you can make them out, but in general use, the screen is free of jaggies of any type, unless you’re looking at a last-gen app that hasn’t had its artwork updated. Text rendering is incredibly clear and clean — webpages that would be line after line of pixelated content when zoomed out on a 3GS (say, Engadget or the New York Times) are completely readable on the iPhone 4, though the text is beyond microscopic. It’s impressive, and doubly impressive when you look at higher-res graphics or watch 720p video on the phone — the detail in moving images is particularly striking. What’s nice is that most apps with text in them will benefit from this tech whether or not they’ve been updated, as long as they’re using Apple’s font rendering. Text in the Engadget app, for instance, looks cleaner, clearer, and much easier to read on the new iPhone.

Because Apple is using IPS and LED technology for its screen, the iPhone 4 is mercifully visible in full sunlight, and performance in low light and at extreme viewing angles are favorable. Overall, you simply won’t find a better display on a phone, and that’s not just lip service.

Cameras

The cameras on the new iPhone are going to be a topic of much debate, since this has been an area where Apple has been slow to innovate. The 3GS sported a measly three megapixel shooter with few bells and whistles (and no flash), and while it was fine for quick snaps, it wasn’t an artist’s tool by any means. The company finally seems to be listening to a public that’s interested in leaving the point-and-shoot at home in favor of a phone with a capable camera, by adding a five megapixel shooter to the backside of the iPhone 4 and a VGA camera up front.

Let’s first take a look at the higher-res main camera. At his WWDC keynote, Jobs said that getting great looking images wasn’t just about upping the camera’s megapixels, but had more to do with grabbing more photons. Increase the photon count, let more light in, and your images will look better, the thought goes. So Apple’s using a newer backside-illuminated sensor that’s more sensitive to light in addition to upping those megapixels — and we must say, pictures on the iPhone 4 look stunning. Our shots looked good right out of the gate, with few problems when it came to focusing or low light. With the flash on, we managed decent if somewhat blown out results (fairly common with smaller LED flashes) though impressively, the iPhone 4 was usually able to take completely useable and even handsome photos in fairly low light without the flash. It seems like that photon situation is definitely in play, because even shots taken in fairly dark lighting came out looking good. Autofocus worked well in most situations, and we were actually able to get some impressive looking macro shots (see the flowers and Penny below). In general, we’d have no trouble using the iPhone 4′s camera as a stand-in for a dedicated camera. Not only did it take beautiful shots, but the A4 and iOS 4 combo have considerably sped up the time it takes to snap pictures — it’s now almost instantaneous. Otherwise, you have options for a 5x digital zoom (which produces results that look like a digital zoom) and basic on / off / auto settings for the flash. It’s pretty bare bones, and we wouldn’t have minded a few basic options like white balance settings — but c’mon, this is Apple we’re talking about. Luckily, the App Store is chock full of applications that improve upon the stock camera app — we expect to see a handful of new ones that take advantage of the new sensor soon.

As far as video goes, we were definitely impressed by the 720p capture, though there are stability issues with the lens and the all-too-familiar “jellyvision” CMOS issues that tend to rear their head if you’re not holding the phone very steady. Still, we can’t see carrying around a Flip HD instead of just keeping this in our pocket (though as we said, we’d like to see a higher storage capacity). Everything we shot looked crisp and mostly artifact-free, and we didn’t see any hiccups in the 30 FPS rate Apple claims, even in lower light. Adding iMovie to the mix for on-the-fly editing is a nice touch too (more on that in the software section).

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Engadget: When it comes to TV reviews, we have to give a nod to CNet and its David Katzmaier for being one of the best around; so when he says it is the best TV he’s ever tested, we officially want one. The new Panasonic VT25 line didn’t rule every category though, and of course there are concerns that the black levels will prematurely degrade like last year’s — CNet intends to continuously test the VT25 to keep Panasonic honest. Now we know you’re wondering about how it compares to the legendary Kuro and while it lit up the light meeter at a crazy low .004 ftl, the PRO-111FD Kuro is still the winner at .001 ftl — interestingly the similarly speced G20 line only managed .007 ftl. Whether this difference is noticeable at home is up for debate, but Kuro still reigns king as far as the light black meter is concerned. Also of note is the fact that while LED backlit LCDs can also get down real far on the meter, the inconsistency across the screen pretty much makes it a moot point. While we’re comparing to LCDs; according to CNet, the 55-inch Samsung C8000 costs about $35 less a year to operate than the 50-inch VT25, and while the anti-glare screen on the Panny is more effective at reducing reflections than the Samsung LCDs, it didn’t preserve the black levels as well. It was also discovered that the 96hz mode, unique to the VT25 line, produced flicker free motion with 24p content, which is a must have for movie buffs. And what about 3D? Well just like Consumer reports and many others, CNet agrees that the VT25 is the best 3DTV yet, and although it does show some signs of ghosting on 3D content, it is noticeably less than Samsung 3DTVs.

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Gizmodo: Not quite a headphone, which sits on top of your ear, and not quite an earbud which burrows into your canal, these Medis ‘phones clip onto your ear in a way you would never guess:

They say they’re still as comfortable as normal earbuds, however I’d love to try a pair out as having something clipped onto the cartilage sounds slightly painful. Nonetheless, UrbanEars includes four differently-sized interchangeable pads, so at least you can work out what’s most comfortable through trial and error.

If you thought they were just fancy earbuds that are the result of UrbanEars’ “thinking outside the box,” then you’ll be pleased to know they also have a mic and mini-remote on the cord, making them compatible with phones.

On sale next month for around $50, they come in 12 different colors—including the “army” green which is pretty thrilling.

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Übergizmo: Harman has rolled out its latest JBL MS-8 integration digital processor that will see action in vehicles, and will target those who already have some kind of in-car entertainment system built-in, although this one will introduce a more modern form factor. The new processor is said to boost the audio capabilities of the existing set up by some distance, making this an essential add-on component if you are always on the lookout to improve your in-car audio capability when traveling. Features of the JBL MS-8 include a graphic equalizer with 31 bands which can also override automatic equalization to suit personal taste, memory that holds calibration settings for up to four seating positions, a digital crossover function allows precise, user-selectable crossover points and crossover slopes for up to eight separate outputs, Logic 7 technology for creating the ideal 5.1- or 7.1-channel surround-sound experience from two-channel source material, a preamplifier controls manage system volume, subwoofer volume, left/right balance, front/rear fader and bass/mid/treble tone controls, and override DSP equalization, time correction and Logic 7 processing. It can be readily purchased from an in-car audio specialist near you for $799.

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Electronista: Sony in a quiet E3 move said it has developed an add-on audio system for the PS3 that provides surround sound for games, Blu-ray movies, and other stereoscopic 3D content. The ZVS1 soundbar connects to the PS3 by optical digital cable and provides virtual Dolby or DTS surround across a 2.1-channel system. It caters to gamers with a Night Mode to cut down on audio passing through the room but can put out up to 30W of sustained bass and 10W for each stereo channel.

The unit also has an analog input to connect other devices and has its own remote to control volume and settings independently of the PS3 or another host system. Sony expects to ship the device worldwide sometime in fall 2010. The expected US retail price is $199.
 

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Gizmodo: It’s not the first Zune dock (I believe Altec Lansing has the honor there), but this ZN90B one from iHome features an all-important alarm function and fits both Zune and Zune HD models.

The ZN90B dock is available for pre-order now, for $100, and has AM/FM presets, EQ controls and iHome’s “Reson8″ speaker chambers for what they’re calling “astounding clarity, depth and power.” It takes a pair of AA batteries when you’re on the move, otherwise is charged via the AC charger. Available sometime this month, it’d make a nice buy for anyone who wants to charge their Zune while playing music—otherwise, you’re probably better off just plugging the Zune into your existing audio set-up via the 3.5mm jack

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Cnet UK: HDMI has been a part of our life for a few years now. It enables HD video and audio to travel from an HD source, like Blu-ray to our high definition televisions. There have been several revisions, and the latest is known as HDMI 1.4. But what’s the big deal about this version?

The people most likely to care about HDMI 1.4 are those intending to buy a 3D TV and Blu-ray player. The new standard is intended to make 3D TVs a bit more user friendly by allowing televisions to auto-switch to the correct mode when they detect a 3D signal. All 3D TVs and Blu-ray players will support HDMI 1.4 from the outset, so TVs will only fail to auto-switch to 3D when being fed a signal from a Sky+HD or other set-top-box that’s essentially had 3D support added retrospectively.

HDMI 1.4 also features something known as an Audio Return Channel, or ARC. This is very handy for people who want to pass audio received by their TV back to an AV receiver. Normally, this would be accomplished with a coaxial or optical digital cable, or with a stereo RCA cable. Now, the TV can get over-the-air HD broadcasts from Freeview or freesat HD and send that Dolby Digital or LPCM audio back to your audio system.

Also present, is a full 100MB/s data capability, which will allow devices to share data with each other. In theory, this allows devices to share their internet connections with each other. So we might see AV receivers act as the only device in your entertainment system connected to an Ethernet router, and the other devices simply sharing its connection. There are other possibilities too, like devices transferring secure, HD video between each other, while still respecting copy protection.

For 3D and ARC you won’t need a new HDMI cable, although you might have trouble with low quality, cheap cables if they aren’t capable of transmitting enough data –3D is extremely data intensive, so cheap cables, that do 1080p okay, might not be able to cope with 1080p 3D. The networking functionality will definitely need a new cable though.

On the subject of HDMI 1.4 cables, everything does become a lot more confusing. With the new standard comes a total of five possible types of cable. These are standard, standard with Ethernet and standard automotive. Unless you want to connect a camcorder to your car with an HDMI cable, ignore the last one. Standard and standard with Ethernet are designed for video up 1080i, and depending on which you chose, the transmission of data. The chances are, you’ll never see a ‘standard’ cable, because it’s very unlikely to be of use to most people, and manufacturers will want to write “high speed” on their cables.

On the other hand, high speed cables will handle 1080p and up, including new formats like 4K video and 3D. There are two kinds, high speed and high speed with Ethernet. We think you can work out what the difference is.

There is also a new connector type that you may see appear. In addition to full size and mini HDMI there is now a ‘micro’ connector. Aimed at mobile phones and other tiny devices, it’s got all the functionality of its bigger brothers, but can be used where space is at a premium. Honestly, we can’t help but be annoyed that there are now three sizes of connector. This sort of thing is deeply annoying with USB cables, and it’s bound to cause problems with HDMI too.

Don’t panic, you aren’t going to need to rush out and replace all of your current cables and equipment. The advantages of HDMI 1.4 over 1.3 are significant if you’re buying new equipment, but don’t affect anyone with current hardware.

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