Coming soon to the small screen: TV in 3D

Osaka, (Japan): You've seen movies in 3D. Now, how about your favourite TV series? Panasonic Corp unveiled on Monday a 50 inch (127 cm) high-definition 3D plasma TV and glasses that make images appear like you can touch them.

At a demonstration at Panasonic's head office in Osaka, F1 race cars roared right by viewers and gymnasts barrelled down a runway, hitting vaulting horse and flipping towards the audience.

"We've introduced concrete plans to deliver the first 3D into people's homes. It won't disappoint," said Yoshiiku Miyata, Panasonic managing executive officer in charge of audio visual products.

He declined to comment on an exact release date or price tag, stating that the company hopes the new TVs will hit shelves sometime in 2010.

The technology works by tricking the brain into seeing 3D as high-speed shutters in the glasses work in sync with the TV to deliver a double layered image at twice the speed of normal TV.

"When the TV is showing the left image, the shutter closes the right eye so people can see only the left image," explained Keisuke Suetsugi, manager in charge of high quality AV development.

"And the next moment, when the TV is showing the right image, the shutter glass is covering the left." The company hopes the smaller, more living room friendly 50 inch model will become a popular choice for home theatres than a 103 inch big brother that debuted last October.

The new model will go on display to the public at the CEATEC Japan tech show on October 6-10.

Panasonic announced in August it will team up with Twentieth Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment in the making of Oscar-winning director James Cameron's new 3D film Avatar, set to open in theatres worldwide this December.

Chief rival electronics maker Sony Corp announced earlier this month it also plans to launch 3D TVs by 2010.

Nokia Unveils The 5800 XpressMusic

The 5800 XpressMusic introduces the 'Media Bar', a drop down menu that provides direct access to music and entertainment, including favourite tracks, videos and photos. The Media Bar also offers a direct link to the web and to online sharing. The phone supports Flash content and offers all the music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory for up to 6000 tracks and support for all main digital music formats, a 3.5mm jack and built-in surround sound stereo speakers.

"With the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, we set out to connect people through the one thing we all feel a universal connection to - music," said Jo Harlow, Vice President, Nokia. "The way in which people enjoy music is different around the world. With that in mind, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic gives people the freedom to experience music they love in the way they prefer."


Ensuring a seamless music experience, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also provides easy access to browse and purchase tracks from the Nokia Music Store, where applicable, while the newly updated Nokia Music PC software allows for easy drag-and-drop transfer of songs and management of any music collection.



The 'Contacts Bar' lets consumers highlight four favorite contacts on their home-screen and, through a single touch, track a digital history of recent text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates.

"As Nokia's first mass-market device with a touch screen, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic turns a 'user interface' into a 'human interface' by truly putting people first. For example, we've introduced the Nokia Contacts Bar, which is like a digital RSS feed on your life," said Harlow. "By adding the benefits of touch screen technology to S60, the world's leading smartphone interface, Nokia is taking the familiar and giving it a human touch. We have used touch technology where it really adds value such as the Contacts Bar, Media Bar and clever shortcuts from the homescreen to menu items such as calendar, profiles and clock."

The phone features a 3.2-inch widescreen display, a 16 by 9 aspect ratio and 30 frames-per-second playback and recording.

Equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, the phone allows images or videos to be shared via online communities, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook. Music playlist song titles can also be shared through Bluetooth, MMS or online sharing.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports 60 languages worldwide and offers a variety of input methods including a virtual alphanumeric keypad, a virtual computer-style QWERTY keyboard, a pen stylus - and for music enthusiasts, a plectrum.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available worldwide beginning in the fourth quarter of 2008 for an estimated retail price of 279 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic featuring Comes With Music will be available early next year. Pricing is unavailable at the moment.

VIA TECH2

Google G1 mobile phone versus Apple iPhone

Price:

G1 = free on contract with T-Mobile, contracts likely to start from about £ 30 per month
iPhone = free on some contracts with O2, monthly tariffs start from £ 30 per month

Weight:
G1 = 158g
iPhone = 133g

Battery life:
G1 = 5 hours talk time, 130 hours standby
iPhone = 5 hours talk time, 300 hours standby

Screen size:
G1 = 3.2in
iPhone = 3.5in

Camera:
G1 = 3-megapixel
iPhone = 2-megapixel

Capacity:
G1 = 2GB, expandable to 8GB
iPhone = 8GB or 16GB

Key features:
G1 = touchscreen, Qwerty keyboard, internet access via 3G and Wi-Fi, additional downloadable content, one-click access to Google search services, built-in GPS and compass for easy navigation, push Google email, instant messaging.
iPhone = touchscreen, virtual keyboard, multi-touch gesture support, web access via 3G and Wi-Fi, additonal downloadable applications, GPS and Google Maps, push-email, full web browsing.

Extra applications:
G1 = extra software downloadable from Android Market. Includes games, such as Pac-Man, and useful software, such as Shop Savvy, which allows users to take photographs of a product barcode, send it to Google, and then retrieve price comparison results.
iPhone = extra programs and software downloadable from Apple App Store, including games such as Super Monkey Ball, and other applications, such as language dictionaries, travel guides, restaurant recommendations.

Entertainment:
G1 = one-touch music downloads from Amazon MP3 store, 2GB integrated storage, expandable to 8GB.
iPhone = one-touch music downloads from iTunes music store, choose from 8GB or 16GB storage.

Via Telegraph

Have a look of G1 http://www.t-mobileg1.com/

Microsoft confirms new Zunes UPDATE

With most of its news already leaked out there, Microsoft on Monday confirmed the details of its fall Zune lineup.

On the hardware side, Microsoft will beef up Zune's capacity, expanding the hard drive-based model to 120GB and the flash-based player to 16GB.

More significant are the software and service improvements. Most notably, as is the case with the iPod Touch, Zune owners will now be able to use the device's built-in Wi-Fi to download songs.

Also new, the updated Zune will make recommendations based on the songs someone is listening to and there will also be new Zune "channels" programmed by experts and along themes like "work-out" music.

Zune will also come with two games--Hexic and Texas Hold 'em--and adds support for audio books in the Audible format.

Of course, this all comes a day ahead of an Apple event, at which the market leader is expected to announce changes to its iPod line.

In any case, I'm going to get a firsthand look at the Zune line later Monday and talk strategy with some Microsoft executives. So I should have more to say on the Zune front in short order.

Update: As for pricing, Microsoft plans to charge $249 for the 120GB model, $199 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 8GB flash model. It also plans to chop prices on some of the remaining older devices in the channel.

Via CNET

BenQ V2400W: The slimmest 24-inch LCD monitor

We've got our hands on the BenQ V2400W; their latest 24-inch LCD monitor which is also one of the slimmest 24-inchers available in the market today. The design is elegant and very Minority Report-ish. The V2400W has 24-inch WUXGA panel and supports a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 pixels and thus supports FullHD video content.


It has a 2ms response time, a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a max brightness level of 500 cd/m2. With D-Sub, DVI-D and HDMI connectivity options a the back, the V2400W can be connected to three different sources at the same time.

The OSD buttons are lined at the bottom of the panel and are touch sensitive. Apart from that, it features common BenQ technologies like AMA and Senseye+Photo Image Technology.

The specifications look good and so does the monitor itself. I think this time the designers at BenQ have outperformed themselves and it's a great job indeed. But I think it's toon soon to pass a verdict so you'll need to wait till we run it through our line of tests and put up a review soon enough.

iPhone costliest in India

India as we all know being a developing country, some calling it 'third' world should have services and goods at a cheaper price. You could not be more wrong. A live example in front of you being the new 3G iPhone.

The 3G iPhone will be priced at 31,000 rupees, a whopping $750 for the 8GB version. The 16 GB one will sell for Rs. 36,100 that is about $850. These prices are simply too high we believe for the iPhone to be a success in India. The phone will definitely make good sales in the first couple of weeks to the cream of the crowd, but this is simply fizzle out sooner than you can think.

To add more misery, 3G services are not even offered in India at the moment and will not be so till late 2009. The user will just be paying for the design and looks of the iPhone and nothing more!

160GB PS3 and PSP coming in October

Details on the new PlayStation 3 have been revealed officially by Sony today. Among the announcements was the crucial release date of 31st October 2008. This launch date is for Europe only, it will hit the streets in the US in November. We could see the new 160GB PS3 coming to India only in 2009.

The new technology in the PS3 includes the wireless keypad which enables you to type on it.

On the other hand the new PlayStationPortable will come with a built-in microphone and an anti-reflective screen.

"Consumers also are utilising PS3 as an entertainment hub for their digital media, placing content such as their entire music collection on the hard drive," said Jack Tretton who is the head of the America Sony gaming division.

The 160 GB PS3 will cost about 450 Euros, and close to $500 in the USA. The PSP will be launched at an introductory price of $200.

120GB Zune coming to a store near you

A reader was casually perusing the aisles of his local Fry's Electronics today hoping to buy an 80GB Zune. To Joe's surprise, he found the only-recently-confirmed 120GB Zune there, right below the Product Red 80GB version.




There were "about six" of the 120GB versions that he could see, but no new signage advertising it.He paid $250 for the device.A Microsoft spokesman confirmed that this is "just the beginning" of the rollout of the newest Zune, and more retailers in other regions will start offering the device over the next few weeks.

Sony Rolly

The Sony Rolly is a robotic MP3 player with two built-in 20mm active speakers that rolls around the room in step, if that is the right word, with the music. Its lights also change color in sync. It has 1GB of internal storage and also plays ATRAC and AAC files.



Additionally, you can wireless stream music to Rolly using Bluetooth A2DP/AVRCP, for instance from your A2DP-enabled phone (eg., Nokia N95) or PC.
The Sony Rolly is fully compatible with the English version of Sonic Stage for transferring music files to the device. However, the Motion Editor application used to create custom movements is only available in Japanese at this time.

New Zune MP3 players

Product Page

Sony Launches 70 inch Bravia LCD TV

There's a new Sony Bravia in town, the X3000 and the X3500. The Series includes 40-inch, 46-inch, 52-inch and 70-inch models, all capable of 1080p Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080p). The 70-inch TV is claimed to be the largest LCD TV in the market and is also Sony's new flagship model.

The X3500/X3000-Series uses multiple technologies together to enhance every aspect of the viewing experience. It has 400% more colors, due to 10 bit processing and more fluid-like motion scenes, due to it's proprietary Sony Motion flow aspect.The 70-inch KDL-70X3500 consists of a feature called Triluminos LED backlighting system. By using arrays of red, green and blue LEDs to illuminate the screen rather than the conventional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (CCFL), the range of colors this model can display is boosted to higher levels.

The upcoming Bravia models will retail for Yen 2,70,000 (Rs 96,784 approx) for the 40-inch model, and Yen 4 Million (Rs 1,435,350 approx) for the 70-inch model, among others.In the US, the KDL-70XBR3 is priced at $32,999.99 (Rs 1,350,981.35 approx).

Toshiba Releases Regza 'Z' series LCD

Toshiba's most technologically advanced collection of LCD TV panels to date has advanced a bit more with the introduction of the Regza Z series, which will be their new high end LCD offering.

Available from September 2007, the REGZA Z series arrives with high specifications. In addition to Full 1080p HD display, which comes as a standard feature across the entire range, each Z series panel also comes equipped with Toshiba’s acclaimed Active Vision M100HD 100Hz Picture processing. Complementing the 1080p image clarity by inserting an intermediate image between frames and doubling the overall image refresh rate, Active Vision M100H makes it the ideal TV for fans of fast-moving sports action.

The REGZA Z series also utilizes the latest in image-enhancing technology to propel visual performance. By introducing full 10-Bit color processing, mid-color tones are managed using Dynamic Gamma Curve Correction technology, which ensures a smoother transition of the color tones between black and white, without impacting the appearance of either color. Further image enhancement is taken care of by Dynamic Contrast Ratios ranging from 6,500:1 to 15,000:1. A Wide Color Gamut also takes color palette display capabilities up to 98% of required colors being reproduced, compared to the 85% color reproduction ratio of a standard LCD TV.

ZEN Vision W 4.3" WQVGA

FEATURES


Experience 16:9 widescreen entertainment on the move. Enjoy your favorite blockbuster movies in a superior spectrum of sight and sound. The ZEN Vision W is in a league of its own with powerful multimedia features to support popular formats of movies, music, photos and includes FM radio.

Available in both sleek 30GB and heavy-duty 60GB models, you will never run out of space for the moments you cherish. That's tens of thousands of photos, up to 240 hours of movies1, or even 15,000 songs2 all stored in your pocket. Tune in to the radio, or make personal voice memos. Take a closer look at the ZEN Vision W, and see how it lets you live your life your way.

Product Page

lenartstudios -- Surf Radio

Lenartstudios, a San Francisco based firm headed by Chris Lenart, creates brand-building products for a variety of industries, including sports, lifestyle and medical. They've released a product that will ensure surfers are always connected--whether on land or in the water.

Through radio and GPS technology, the Surf Radio provides surfers an edge no other board can offer. The device works like a walkie-talkie, with a two-way radio system that allows surfers to communicate with each other no matter where they are. Besides this, the Surf Radio's GPS system gives surfers updated information about their location, rip currents, and building swells. If the wave hits too hard, the system can send out an emergency beacon, pinpointing the exact location of injured surfers.

Read More

Cowon iAudio 7 (4GB)

Cowon players are seldom light on features, and the iAudio 7 is no exception. Cowon packed this little dynamo with an audio player, a video player, a photo viewer, an FM radio, a line-input recorder, a voice recorder, a radio recorder, and even a text reader. With support for an exhaustive array of file formats, including MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, and WAV, the iAudio 7's music player is really the crown jewel of this device, especially given its exceptional sound quality (see Performance). While support for purchased and subscription WMA is great, we wish we could have seen format support for Audible.com audiobooks.

Using the included Cowon Media Center software, adding and optimizing photos and videos for the iAudio 7 is mostly painless. We quickly converted AVI, MPEG, and XVID movies for playback on the iAudio 7's small screen without any audio or visual artifacts. You also have the option of adding cover artwork for your music, which displays as a background image during music playback.

The Cowon iAudio 7 has an exhaustive array of customization settings that make it a gadget-tweaker's delight. Beyond the adjustable 5-band EQ, users can also enhance the player's sound by adjusting BBE settings to add clarity, Mach3Bass settings for low end, MP Enhance to compensate for harmonics lost in music compression, and 3D Surround to improve stereo separation. Users with hearing loss will appreciate the iAudio 7's panning control for balancing the volume from one ear to the other.

Full Review - CNET

MOS Releases New MP3 Player

The player is available in two models, 1 GB and 2 GB. Both models are equipped with a 2-inch TFT display.Ministry of Sound Direct has released another mp3 player, again with a rather long name – The MOSMP085 player.Other features the MOSMP085 player comes with include a voice recorder, internal speaker, 6 preset EQ settings, ID3 tagging and a lyrics display function. Acceptable formats are MP3/WAV/WMA/JPEG/DRM 10. Unfortunately it doesn’t have an FM radio so I’m not sure how well it would do, should, with any luck, it be released in India. It does however come with 5 MOS tracks and 2 free downloads.

Samsung PS-42Q91H Plasma TV

Love it or hate it, but plasmas are definitely not phasing out anytime soon. At least until they commercially release another technology that can give you plasma like black levels. Besides, what 42" LCD TV is available at a sub-one lakh price? Reasons like these and testing products like the Samsung PS-42Q91H Plasma TV make me seriously consider getting one of these babies for myself.


Samsung's favorite piano finish is what makes up the front frame of the TV, as in all other flat panel models of theirs. Unlike the Bordeaux series, this one has a pretty simple and flat frame without the stylishly curved edges. Not that it looks bad in anyway, but it does look pretty plain. Luckily in flat panel TV it's the screen quality that counts more than the frame around it. The stand is the regular manual tilt-n'-swivel variety.

As one can expect, a majority of the connectivity options are at the back of the TV, namely 2 HDMI inputs, two component, one composite one VGA and a RF input for antenna. There are also two options for outputting audio, using RCA jacks and Line out.


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Genius Launches New 20 Watt RMS iPod Dock

Genius has recently unveiled it's latest addition to their long list of consumer electronics, the iTempo 800, iPod Dock. This dock incorporates built-in DRD sound effect technology to enhance sound quality. What it essentially does is use true 3D technology to control the bass EQ to try and produce a crisper sound without distorting the middle tone. The iTempo 800 also uses integrated custom-designed 70mm drivers to help provide better sound output from the 20 watt RMS speakers.

The iTempoTM 800 has an embedded iPod dock station and five different cradles for different types of iPods (except iPod shuffle). It also includes an S-Video connector to connect your TV or monitor if you need to transfer a video/photo from your iPod. The USB connector can be used to update your iPod through the dock and charge it as well from the PC. There is also an AUX socket for connecting other devices. The iTempoTM 800 also has a remote to contol the player and the dock. It also includes a universal power adaptor.

Sony Net MD Walkman MZ-NE810 Personal MiniDisc Player

The latest sleek NetMD recorder from Sony Japan. Perhaps "downloader" is a better name for this unit, as that's what it does...makes getting music from your PC to MD as fast and painless as possible! The "download" button on the front of the unit does just what you'd expect (or hope)...it rips & titles any CD in your... More The latest sleek NetMD recorder from Sony Japan. Perhaps "downloader" is a better name for this unit, as that's what it does...makes getting music from your PC to MD as fast and painless as possible! The "download" button on the front of the unit does just what you'd expect (or hope)...it rips & titles any CD in your PC to MD, automatically! This unit also boasts a digital output amp, so you can be sure that your music sounds as good as you'll look rocking this unit on your train ride home.

Samsung LN-T4665F 46-inch 1080p HDTV

Product Description
The Samsung LN-T4665F 46-inch 1080p HDTV has Integrated ATSC Tuner & Full 1080p resolution, but that's just the beginning. The color-saturated 46-inch picture boasts up to 15000:1 dynamic-contrast ratio, displaying rich blacks and capturing subtle nuances. A fast 8ms response time ensures smooth, lifelike motion. SRS TruSurround XT Sound from hidden side speakers is enhanced by the premium audio sound of 2.2 channel dome speakers. Enjoy connectivity to all your other digital devices with 3 HDMI ports and a full complement of inputs. With HDMI-CEC connection, peripheral dvices such as DVD player can be controlled by remote control. The High-Resolution pixel density with built-in image scaler to handle inputs from a variety of digital and analog sources works with up to 15000 dynamic-contrast ratio to achieve new heights in the latest generation of LCD panel. Picture-in-Picture Super clear panel HDMI-CEC allows you to control any HDMI peripheral on the HDMI network connected to the TV Ports - 3 HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface version 1.3 (2 rear/1 side), 2 Component video inputs, 2 S-video inputs (1 side/1 rear), Side and Rear A/V inputs, PC input, USB 2.0 and RF antenna inputs Dimensions - Width 46.3 x Height 30.0 x Depth 12.6 inches with stand / 46.3 x 27.3 x 4.1 inch without stand Weight - 61.7 pounds with stand / 50.0 pounds without stand.