09
May
2011
HotHardware: Creative is on a serious roll this week. First, the D80 Bluetooth speaker, and now a line of new BT headphones. The new WP series is comprised of the 450, 350, and 250, ANC all three feature support for Bluetooth calling and music listening. (more…)
06
May
2011
Akihabaranews: With the release of AirPlay in Apple’s latest iOS software, companies have been rushing to release speakers which will work with Apple’s new technology.
The Zeppelin Air is Bowers & Wilkins’ latest AirPlay compatible speaker system. Built almost exactly like its predecessor, the Zeppelin Air boasts improved speakers and AirPlay compatibility. The speaker system incorporates, “a fully active 2.1 design which means that all five units are individually driven by dedicated audiophile amplifiers, which are designed by Bowers & Wilkins.”
The Zeppelin also features the Bower and Wilkins Flowport technology and advanced Digital Signal Processing in the form of Dynamic EQ. The DACs have also been upgraded to 24bit-96KHz capability.
I was granted the opportunity of hearing this new speaker system at the Gadget Show Live Press Event back in April and it gave off a lovely warm sound with a good amount of bass that really brought the music being played to life.
The Zeppelin Air will be available from March 2011 and will be priced around £499.
05
May
2011
Engadget: It’s been a few years but iriver just released an updated version of its NV GPS navigator with SPINN UI. Wa… wait a second, that’s a Samsung logo. Sorry, this is the Samsung SENS-240, a hybrid car navigation system / tablet that plays nice with your Android-powered Samsung smartphone or, uh, tablet. According to Akihabara News, the SENS-240 uses Bluetooth to take over your voice, data, voice search, and even “video features” from your smartphone when driving. You can then control the SENS-240 using your smarpthone or tablet as an “advanced” remote when idle. The details behind how this works, or why you’d want to do it, is a mystery. We do know that the SENS-240 comes packing 256MB of RAM, USB-host mode, and an SD slot in addition to a 1.43GHz processor (of unknown origins) said to be powerful enough to handle 3D maps, video, or DMB TV on that 7-inch, 800 x 480 pixel display. Oh, and it’s Korea-only for now.
05
May
2011
Electronista: Jaguar’s flagship sedan, the 2012 XJ, will come with a smartphone dock that will show the phone’s screen on the car’s built-in navigation screen, Pocket-Lint learned. Demonstrated at BlackBerry World in Orlando this week with a BlackBerry Torch, users will have the ability to control the phones with the car’s interface and not the phone’s. This includes contact info, music, GPS and more, but browsing the web will be locked out for safety reasons.
Multiple popular phones will be supported, which likely means iPhones and Android devices will be compatible.
The Jaguar engineer in charge of the project also suggested users could use the car’s Dual View screen to allow the driver and passenger to see different things, though multitasking would have to be supported by the phone itself. The Dual View feature allows passengers to view movies from a car’s entertainment system, while the driver can see the navigation screen or other images on the screen. Passengers may also be able to connect their own phone in addition or instead of the driver’s.
Whether the dock will be standard equipment or an option isn’t being revealed. What, if any other Jaguars will also get the dock remains to be seen.
05
May
2011
Engadget: Harman Kardon has departed from its austere design language on occasion and come up with some questionable aesthetic results, but its latest compact stereo system sports the clean and classic lines for which H/K is famed. Of course, looks aren’t everything, so the MAS 102 slings songs at your skull using a two-channel 65W amp, five-inch mid bass drivers, and one-inch waveguided dome tweeters. The MAS 102 also has dual USB ports for accessing digital music and a phono input for those who prefer sourcing tunes from an old school turntable. It’s not all sonic bliss, however, as an optional dock (sold separately) is needed to hook up the iDevice of your choosing. That’s a glaring omission for a stereo that costs just under a grand — but forgiving that flaw should be easy for the form-over-function crowd.
05
May
2011
Bornrich: When you are spending some good bucks on a piece of passé technology like a turntable, you undoubtedly want it to be the best. For all those individuals yearning for exclusivity and for a stylish reflection of personal panache, Audio Consulting’s new entry-level turntable R-evolution Minima seems to be a great option. The elegant turntable boasts the same highly optimized direct drive setup and axe assembly as with the R-evolution Stealth. The turntable uses only 2 watts of power during operation.
Smaller and simpler than the Stealth model, the R-evolution Minima turntable has its platter made of wood, which accounts for optimum sound performance. Since it runs on battery, there is no problem of perturbations caused by the main supply. Other features include a leather mat and oiled wooden frame.
The Audio Consulting’s R-evolution Minima turntable sells for CHF 24,500 (about $28,400).
04
May
2011
Dvice: A year and a half ago, AIDA was a friendly robotic head from MIT and Volkswagen that lived in your dashboard and gave you driving directions. AIDA 2.0 does away with the robot, but turns everything the driver can see into one giant navigation and information display. Good luck paying attention to the road now.
The idea behind AIDA 2.0 is to take all of the information that a driver could possibly want, and make it easily accessible directly on your dashboard. Your entire dashboard, plus the console, instrument panel, and even your wing mirrors outside the car… All of it becomes one giant virtual display that updates itself as you move:
Notice how AIDA knows your schedule, where you like to eat, activities that you’re interested in, and more. As you’re driving, it’s constantly searching and filtering through local information to pick out things that it thinks you might care about. The more you use it, the more the system learns about you, and the more effective it becomes at just giving you the info you need, when you need it.
With all of this relevant information being displayed right in front of your nose, it seems like it would be hard to spare much concentration for the mildly important task of not smashing in to the guy in front of you. So, we might need to go with a system that’s a little less distracting in the immediate future, at least until we all get ourselves those long-overdue robot cars.
03
May
2011
Techfavor: Open your new experience and enjoy your new imagine of the power of Samsung 3D Home Theater. Comes with a 13.1 x 16.9 x 2.4 inches of dimension, 1330-watt SamsungHT-D6730W Home Theater System, built-in WiFi means you’re ready to connect right away.
Including with the amazing 7.1-channel, 1330-watt SamsungHT-D6730W Home Theater System. Treat your eyes to captivating 3D depth and clarity – even upconvert existing 2D titles to 3D. Advanced “3D audio depth” technology lets you experience the sounds that accompany the sights. Advanced Vertical Surround adds an extra level of sonic bliss.
Samsung Smart TV also puts the power of the entire internet at your finger tips: browse websites, search content online and on yourTV, and access Samsung TV apps.
02
May
2011
Engadget: That stretchy, coiled headphone cord might be cool for the club, but sometimes you need to straighten up, fly right, and answer a few phone calls. Enter Pioneer’s HDJ-500T-K DJ headphones. These cans are effectively a standard re-issue of the regular HDJ-500 series, but adding a new swappable straight cord with a microphone and answer button. DJ with the (also included) extendable coiled leash, or enjoy leisure listening and hands-free calling with the straight cord. Pretty simple. Look for these in May for $145, and hit the break for the full press release.