About Electronics

Gizmodo: AirPlay arrived this week, perhaps not quite as ass-kickingly as we had hoped. Here’s a clip of Air Video, the excellent stream-any-video-you-want-to-your-iPad app rigged up to beam video to an Apple TV. Basically, this is how AirPlay should work.

And hopefully will, once Apple sorts out the relevant APIs. This demo was done with private ones, so the functionality won’t be in the App Store’s Air Video anytime soon. In this case, the workflow is admittedly circuitous—the video’s being streamed from a computer to the iPad, encoded on the fly, and beamed from the iPad to the Apple TV—and it’s not clear if the iPad has quite what it takes in terms of processing power to do the on-the-fly conversion itself, say with an app like VLC, and then stream that video to the ATV. But it all comes back to what we really want here, and hopefully what Apple will let developers implement, once they iron things out a bit more: use AirPlay to send any video we’re watching on our mobile devices, in any app, to our big screens. Here’s to hoping.

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Akihabara News: Onkyo released a new all in one AREO Sound System in Japan with the CBX-500. Sold at around 35,000 Yen, the CBX-500 comes with the support of iPhone 3G/3GS and 4, allowing you to use your iPhone as a primary audio source and use Onkyo high-quality DAC to deliver flawless sound to its pair of 10W 8” OMF (Onkyo Micro Fiber) speakers. The CBX-500 also comes with a CD player and AM-FM Radio tuner.

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Engadget: The possibilities teased in 2009 by Wi-Fi Direct have probably kept Bluetooth up at night, and we’re sure the commencement of device certification last month hasn’t helped, either. Now the LG BD960 has emerged as the first Blu-ray player on the Wi-Fi Direct certification list, hinting direct P2P communication in our home theaters among WiFi devices (without the need for a routing middleman) could soon go from fiction to fact. Unfortunately, mum’s still the word on shipping and pricing. The mere chance however that the player could stream content to any other WiFi-equipped device — Direct certified or not — is a big enough deal to give our dedicated media streamers Defarge-like glances already. Particularly, if the BD960 comes packed with features similar its suspected predecessor the LG-BD390, which can stream both Netflix, Vudu, and DLNA network content, as well as play DivX HD 1080p content. Until more details surface though, we’ll simply have to keep reminding our poor Galaxy S that it isn’t destined to be alone in this cold, cruel world forever.

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Gizmag: There’s no denying that the Zeppelin and Mini from Bowers & Wilkins are handsome and powerful ways to dock your iPhone. While the Koostik dock can’t hope to compete in the amplification stakes, there’s something about the simple design and natural wood finish that makes it just as pleasing to the eye – and more than a little cheaper, too.

To project the sound from an iPhone placed in the central cradle to any assembled admirers, the Koostik dock channels the output from the smartphone’s own speakers into left and right hollowed out, hemispherical sound chambers. This is said to acoustically amplify the audio by up to four times, the effect likened to the sonic difference between playing a solid-bodied and a hollow-body guitar acoustically.

The upside to being a completely acoustic delivery system is that there’s no power requirement. That being the case of course, the Koostik dock won’t be able to charge an iPhone while it pumps out the tunes. In fact, there’s no hole cut out for a charger’s cable either, as this would interfere with the channeling of the audio to the sound holes.

The designers do point out that the 8.5 x 3.5 x 2-inch (215.9 x 88.9 x 50.8mm) Koostik dock wasn’t designed to compete with the amplified power of electrified systems (so if you like loud heavy rock then this probably won’t be for you) but “if you like intimate vocals and instrumentals in relaxed settings, Koostik will blow you away (gently of course).”

The wonderfully lo-tech Koostik acoustic iPhone dock is hand-made in six different solid wood combinations – Cherry face and body, Walnut face and body, Cherry face and Walnut body and Walnut face and Cherry body for US$85, with a couple of Birdseye Maple fronted versions being a little more expensive at US$90.

Those at Koostik say that whatever finish you choose, the sound produced should be about the same, so your choice is entirely down to which version you find most aesthetically pleasing.

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Electronista: The Libratone Beat is a wireless speaker tailored to Apple users and has a unique prism-like design that puts out sound in a 360-degree arc, theoretically removing the need to sit in a given area for the best sound. The systems are also draped in cashmere wool and non-traditional speaker colors like blood orange to fit into the middle of a room without disruption. (more…)

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iPodNN: Urbanears today brought out its limited-edition Tanto headphones at the Wired Pop Up Store in New York City. The retro styled over-the-ear headphones are assembled with parts of random colors, including the headband, earpads, cord, remote, jack and speaker. An inline remote and microphone are integrated into the cord of the headphones, which ends in a 3.5mm audio jack.

Like the regular Tanto headphones, they sport 40mm handmade drivers with a frequency response of 20-20kHz, a sensitivity of 112dB and an impedance of 32 Ohms. Their max input power is 40mW. The multi-colored Tanto headphones cost $45 at the Wired Pop Up Store and online for a limited time, though exactly for how long is unknown.

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Born Rich: Olive Media Inc., known for its high-fidelity multi-room music systems, has now taken wraps off its flagship offering, the handcrafted Olive O6HD music server for home stereo systems. An upshot of over five years of design and innovation, the Olive O6HD music server offers an amazing experience that is more than 250 times the resolution of CDs. The top-mounted glass touchscreen is 10.1″ wide and offers 800 x 400 pixel resolution for easy navigation of the music library. The music library has capacity for up to 6,000 CDs in original quality or up to 20,000 high-definition tracks on the O6HD’s internal 2TB hard disk drive.

The O6HD features fully balanced differential DAC, with a matched pair of TI’s 24-bit/192 kHz DAC modules for the inverted and non-inverted signals on each of the right and left channels. The additional premium components include ultra-low jitter master clock, high-performance Sample Rate Converter and dedicated headphone DAC.

Available in black or silver, the new O6HD music server comes complete with remote control and Wi-Fi antenna. The O6HD music server is available in limited quantities directly from Olive for $4,999.

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Newlaunches: Manufacturers just love designing stuff around the iPhone and the lasts comes from Oxygen Audio. Come CES 2011, the company will be showcasing their latest O’Car audio system that allows you to snap your iPhone onto the front docking port and use the corresponding apps to play music, access GPS information or do other stuff. The O’Car audio system also comes with a cantilever that allows the iPhone to be swiveled into portrait or landscape mode. You can pick up an app from the store that will give you control over the system and offers AM/FM/RDS radio and even provides seamless app multi-tasking. The system includes Bluetooth handsfree calling and an audio dimming option for when you’re accessing programs on your phone that also have audio output functionality like getting turn-by-turn directions or on calls.

Now this device isn’t going to be specifically for the iPhone, the aftermarket manufacturer is even developing adapters for Android devices. Sadly the system doesn’t integrate steering wheel controls. Oxygen Audio’s O’Car audio system is priced at $299 and should be out in first quarter of 2011, but word is that Europe just might see it a lot sooner.

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Engadget: Looking for more than just a regular standalone iPad dock? Then you might want to consider Xtreamer’s new iXtreamer system, which is an iPad dock that also doubles as a media streamer. Of course, it will also work with iPhones and iPods, and the “dock” is quite capable all by itself as well — it’ll accommodate a 3.5-inch hard drive and up to two USB hard drives, and it’ll support just about any audio or video content you can throw at it, including content stored on your computer or networked hard drive. Interestingly, Xtreamer also notes that it would like to let you use iOS apps on your TV as well, but it says that’s up to Apple to allow — in other words, don’t bet on it. Head on past the break for a video overview, and look for the device to set you back €175, or roughly $235.

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Electronista: OnLive has launched its MicroConsole first seen in beta form earlier this year. The MicroConsole TV adapter connects to both your wired broadband connection and your TV allowing games to be ‘delivered’ instantly over the internet. The selling point of this console is that it theoretically never needs to be upgraded as the games are run server side, and not locally.

This means that the latest generation can always be delivered, bandwidth permitting with little or no lag. The system runs silently and delivers gaming in 1080p at 60fps over HDMI 1.3. Surround sound capability is expected in a firmware update next month. The update should also bring support for Bluetooth headsets so gamers can do in-gaming chatting.

The concept should also appeal to game developers as it takes out the middleman, prevents piracy and effectively stops games from being resold at the expense of consumers buying and paying for a new game at the full price. Games can be hired for 3-day or 5-day passes. Alternatively, console owners can purchase a Full PlayPass allowing them to have permanent access to the game.

The OnLive website is currently taking pre-orders for the device at $99, which includes a free game. Shipments are expected to start December 2.

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iPodNN: Marshall today finally launched its two inaugural headphone sets with promises of both the outer design as well as their sound. The over-ear Major is designed the most closely to recall Marshall’s amps and uses both the vinyl from its stacks as well as a guitar-like coiled headphone cable. They have an optional quarter-inch plug for amps and stereos and have a collapsible design that folds the ear cups into the headband area.

Each cup has an 0.6-inch moving coil dynamic speaker that can handle a 115dB signal-to-noise ratio and a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz. It costs $99.

The Minor caters to in-ear listeners and has a unique shape designed to keep the earpieces in place without having to go to in-canal designs. They also use fabric anti-tangle cords and have an in-line microphone and remote that supports typical iOS (and some other smartphone) features. Although it puts out less power due to its size, the Minor shares similar speakers to the Major and has the same signal-to-noise and frequency range as its larger sibling.

The Minor comes with an adapter to support devices that don’t properly recognize two-way headphone plugs and costs $59, although it’s currently listed as “sold out.”

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iPodNN: Altec Lansing on Tuesday introduced its first iPad dock, the Octiv Stage. The device will charge the iPad and allows it to be positioned either vertically or horizontally thanks to a rotating arm. The arm also lets users tilt the screen for viewing or more comfortable typing.

A wireless remote is included, allowing users to control the music playback from across the room. The two 50mm neodymium speakers are tuned to provide a more center channel-like performance for better dialogue in addition to stereo audio depending on the source. The dock can also accommodate iPods and iPhones. A 3.5mm auxiliary jack supports non-Apple hardware.

The Octiv Stage is now available in stores and online, priced at $150.

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