Consumer Electronics
Half-Terabyte 2.5-inch HDD from Toshiba
Toshiba has announced a new series of energy efficient 2.5-inch hard disk drives targeted for integration into notebook PCs, sub-notebooks, small form factor and energy star PCs, game consoles, external storage devices and consumer electronics products. Read More
Sony's BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player reaches mass market price
It seems that high-definition, 1080p viewing has well and truly entered the mainstream - at least when it comes to the players themselves. Our question is this: if you can pick-up a Sony BDP-S300 for under USD$250, why does it still cost $40 for a movie to feed it with? Read More
Samsung launches recycling program for unwanted electronics
Samsung Electronics America has launched a "Recycling Direct program" dedicated to the take-back and recycling of its consumer electronics across all product lines. Effective immediately, the public can take their Samsung electronic goods sold in the United States to one of 174 fixed drop-off locations across the country and have them recycled free of charge. Read More
Gearing up for the 2008 IFA
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One of the world's biggest consumer electronics fests gets underway in Berlin this Friday and IFA organizers promise an even bigger event this year - 122,000 square meters of display space and 1,245 exhibitors including 807 from 63 countries abroad (almost twice the number of countries represented last year) and more gear on display including for the first time, domestic home appliances. Gizmag will again be there to bring you the best of the show - stay tuned in coming days. Read More
Radio 5.1: DAB Surround broadcast first at IFA
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The Fraunhofer stand at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin will achieve a world first by broadcasting a radio station in DAB Surround and MP3 Surround Internet radio. ROCK ANTENNE will be transmitted in the MPEG Surround standard, which compresses the six channels of a surround music track to the extent that they require no more memory than a compressed stereo signal. Read More
Hitachi announces updated Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder
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Hitachi's new has Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder can record onto either Blu-ray Disc, Hard Drive or SDHC format and promises a number of notable improvements from its predecessor such as a seven megapixel CMOS image sensor, face detection, image stabilization and longer recording time. Read More
Apple Core release aTV Flash hack for the Apple TV
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July 29, 2008 Apple Core have released an updated version of their Apple TV hack, dubbed aTV Flash. The unofficial update addresses many of the Apple TV's shortcomings including underwhelming format support, turning it into the device it should have been from the start. Read More
Mobile revolution drives US$700 Billion Global CE sales
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July 22, 2008 The mobile revolution sweeping the world and changing the way it does business is unfolding rapidly despite the economic uncertainties surrounding the American dollar. Worldwide revenue for consumer electronics (CE) will grow US$42 billion (around ten percent), hitting the US$700 billion mark in 2009. The compelling benefits of unwired access to information and person-to-person communication are driving the biggest societal transformation in history – global unit sales of mobile products will top a staggering 1.5 billion units in 2008 – roughly one mobile device for every four people on the planet THIS YEAR, be it a portable navigation devices (worldwide revenue growth of nearly 20 percent in 2008), laptop computer (up 15 percent) or smartphone (up 14 percent). Read More
Sony’s HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System features golf ball size speakers
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July 22, 2008 No, that’s not a giant strawberry in the accompanying picture – it’s a mini speaker. The Sony HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System is a 5.1 channel system delivering 450 watts (RMS) of power through a subwoofer with integrated 32-bit S-Master digital amplifier and five incredibly small speakers roughly the size of a golf ball. Designing the system at people who don’t want their home theater system to overpower their décor Sony says the “HT-IS100 packs all the power of a conventional home theater system in five discrete speakers that practically disappear in your living room.” Read More
ZN9 Dual Alarm Clock Radio
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July 21, 2008 With all the third party devices released for the all conquering iPod it can be easy to forget that there are actually other digital media players on the market. Like Logitech’s iPod Pure-Fi Dream and Altec Lansing’s iM600, the new ZN9 Dual-Alarm Stereo Clock Radio from iHome turns a digital music player, this time Microsoft's Zune, into a clock radio so you can wake to the sounds of your music library. Read More
Kodak’s Theatre HD Player with gyroscopic remote
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Kodak’s new Theatre HD Player is a Wi-Fi-enabled set top box that connects to your HDTV. Kodak describes the unit as, "An interactive device displaying personal content - pictures, video, podcasts, music - and Web-based content on a HDTV, while wirelessly connecting to a household's private Wi-Fi network.” The Wi-Fi connection allows the unit to connect to websites such as Kodak Gallery and Flickr for photos, YouTube for video content, and RadioTime for streaming audio. Jumping on the Wii bandwagon the Theatre HD Player also includes a gyroscopic remote, which allows users to navigate the on screen menus with a wave of the hand. Read More
Sony’s DVDirect DVD Recorder
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The Sony VRDMC3 DVDirect DVD Recorder does just what its name suggests – it records to DVDs directly from other sources, and it does so without the need for a PC. The VRDMC3 can record from just about any source such as camcorders, DVDs or VCRs, thanks to the provided USB, Firewire, S-Video and composite inputs. In addition to video, still images can be copied directly from memory card to DVD as a slideshow or for photo storage by using the built-in 5-in-1 card reader. PictBridge compatibility allows the unit to interface directly with a printer and images can be previewed using the 2.5-inch colour LCD that sits on top of the unit. Once selections have been made they can be copied to disc using the large "record" located just below the screen. Read More
The Neo FreeRunner open source mobile phone
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While Android, the open mobile platform developed by an alliance of some of the mobile phone and computing world’s biggest names, has attracted a lot of interest and support since it was announced late last year, it wasn’t actually the first open mobile computing platform. That title goes to Openmoko – a project founded by Taiwanese computer and components manufacturer First International Computer, Inc. (FIC), with the combined aims of developing an open source Linux based operating system designed for mobile phones and hardware devices on which the operating system, called Openmoko Linux, runs. The first smartphone released that supported the Openmoko Linux platform was the Neo 1973, which was released in July, 2007 but suffered from supplier shortages. Now Openmoko has announced their follow up – the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner – a mobile device that the company says will help to enable ubiquitous computing in the 21st century. Read More
TrueTouch touchscreen solution
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Cypress Semiconductor Corp. has launched the TrueTouch touchscreen, a single-chip model that can interpret up to 10 inputs from all areas of the screen simultaneously. The “multi-touch all point” feature could be used for inputting multiple locations into a GPS, gaming, keyboard implementations, or the efficient adjustment of sound and video settings. Read More
Eye-Fi wireless SD memory card range
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The makers of the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras have complemented the original offering with two additional devices tailored to meet specific user needs. The original Eye-Fi (now called Eye-Fi Share) is joined by the Eye-Fi Explore, which adds geographic location tags to each photo, and the Eye-Fi Home, which is aimed specifically at home users. Read More
82-inch, ultra-HD display heads Samsung's SID line-up
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May 20, 2008 Samsung has showcased an ultra-high definition, (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), 82-inch LCD panel for 120Hz television sets at the Society for Information Display (SID) 2008 International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition which is running from May 18 to 23 in Las Vegas. The world’s largest LCD panel supplier said the panel uses a red/green/blue LED backlight, which has been added to raise true color saturation to 150 percent, based on the NISC standard of 100 percent. It displays ultra-definition (UD) resolution at 120 frames per second, minimizing the blurring that is sometimes experienced at 60Hz. Read More
QPC Lasers demonstrates ultra-compact portable projector technology
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May 19, 2008 The miniaturization of technology has brought unprecedented portability to increasingly powerful mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones, but the trade off has been the corresponding reduction in screen sizes to an often impractical level. One solution is miniature projectors which let users carry the equivalent of a big screen TV in their pocket. High power semiconductor laser designer and manufacturer QPC Lasers, Inc. is hosting private demonstrations of their high power miniature prototype BrightLase Red-Green-Blue “RGB” laser, which is designed for high resolution miniature projectors in the 100 lumens output region for portable handheld consumer electronics. Read More
Versatile HYmini wind and solar portable charger
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April 8, 2008 HYmini is a handheld portable electronics charging unit that uses renewable wind and solar sources to top up its power. The device can recharge most 5V appliances, including mobile phones, MP3 players, iPods, PDAs, and digital cameras. Read More
Bluelounge introduces convenient portable electronics charging solution
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April 3, 2008 Most of us have a convenient nook where keys, wallets and other everyday essentials can be stored and located when coming and going from the home or office. These days, mobile phones and portable electronics devices are an important part of this equation, and that's where this simple solution from design studio Bluelounge comes in. The Sanctuary combines a place to throw your loose change with a multi-point charging station for a large range consumer electronics devices so that not only can you find you mobile phone, but it's also on charge. Read More
SlideIt and ThumbKey models offer accelerated typing on PDAs and smartphones
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Dasur’s line of keyboards for touch screen PDAs and smartphones yields potential typing speeds of up to 50 words per minute – matching the average speed of a professional typist. The SlideIt keyboard for stylus users and the ThumbKey model for hand typing both support all versions of Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. Read More
modu: World’s lightest phone underpins new multimedia platform
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March 26, 2008 The diminutive modu has taken the title of "World's lightest mobile phone" with the 40.1 g (1.41 oz) handset's claim made official by the Guinness World Records. Although it's a great talking point, the record is secondary to the innovation offered by the multi-tasking phone that will launch in Q4 this year. As the name suggests, modu is designed as a modular device that will be complemented by a range of "ecosystem partners" - interchangeable add-on enclosures that transform the appearance and user interface of the phone, as well as dedicated consumer electronics devices such as MP4 players, digital photo frames, car stereos and cameras that directly integrate the modu. In other words, modu is a mobile phone that also acts bit like a SIM card with a brain to form the basic building block in a potentially wide ranging personal communications and entertainment system. Read More
myGreenElectronics: website initiative to reduce impact of electronics
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March 18, 2008 Promoting the four R’s of green electronic use (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Rethink), the ‘myGreenElectronics’ website is dedicated to minimizing the impact consumer electronics have on the environment. A simple, clean design, myGreenElectronics provides basic information to help consumers on their path to thinking, buying and acting ‘green’. Read More
Meridian releases MF10 High-Def Projector
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March 17 , 2008 High-end projector specialists Meridian has released its latest high-definition video projector, the MF10, which offers extraordinary black reproduction capability, with 30,000:1 native contrast ratio achieved without the use of a dynamic iris, thus ensuring true black reproduction without loss of brightness. Read More
SpaceStation laptop cable organizer
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February 25, 2008 No matter how sleek your laptop looks, it will inevitably be surrounded by a tangled knot of cables and peripheral devices spread messily around your desktop. The latest solution to come to our attention is Bluelounge’s SpaceStation - a docking port for laptops that manages connections with an internal 4-port USB hub, keeping wires tangle-free and out of sight. The US$79.95 unit provides connections for peripherals where needed, and has an ergonomic slanted surface for keyboards. Read More
Ionhub's six port multi charger
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February 12, 2008 One of the biggest problems for travelers who love their gadgets is carrying around all the chargers to keep their mobile devices powered up. Even many a home desktop is covered with a tangle of cords leading back to an overtaxed power point or power board. Recognizing this IonHub has released the Ionhub multi charger, a charger that can simultaneously charge multiple devices including mobile phones, iPods, iPhones, Sony PSPs, Nintendo DS Lite, Canon and Sony camcorders, PDAs, GPS, digital cameras, Zunes, Sansas, Zens and Blackberries, to name a few. The patent pending Ionhub is a palm sized, multiple output port, multiple output voltage, universal multi charger hub that is capable of simultaneously charging up to six portable electronic devices from a single wall outlet, car or airplane outlet. Similar to the recently reviewed IDAPT, the Ionhub connects to the charging devices using interchangeable and self-locking charger tips called IonTips, which are sold separately. Read More
MWg and Splashpower to deliver wirelessly powered smartphone in 2008
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February 11, 2008 MWg and Splashpower have announced that a new wirelessly powered smartphone will be available in the second half of this year. The MWg devices will be equipped with Splashpower’s technology to enable inductive charging, a process that involves using electromagnetic induction to wirelessly charge the batteries of a handset. Read More
Sony Ericsson announces XPERIA X1 Slider-phone
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February 11, 2008 Headlining an array of new releases from Sony Ericsson, the XPERIA™ X1 marks the launch of a new brand for the company, one which it hopes will gain traction in the brave new world of mobile convergence where the term "phone" just doesn't cut it anymore. Featuring a 3-inch clear wide VGA display, media player and 3.2 mega-pixel camera housed in a metal-finish, slider-design body, the XPERIA X1 offers multiple navigation options from touch screen interaction to a 4-way key, full wide-pitch QWERTY keyboard or optical joystick with seamless switching promised between input modes. Read More
Infinitely Charged built-in cell phone charger
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February 7, 2008 Now here’s a solution that really does have a significant problem to solve. Everyone who owns a cell phone has found themselves somewhere with a low battery without their charger, usually in the least convenient place at the most inconvenient time. In today’s anytime, anywhere communications environment, being without a working cell phone is the equivalent of being technologically naked – it’s not a good look and it can can lead to all manner of collateral problems. Infinitely Charged is a patent-pending design that enables a cell phone to plug directly into a powerpoint. Read More
Lenovo all-in-one laptop and mobile device charger
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February 7, 2008 High-tech travelers often end up with more plugs, cords and cables than they care to carry, just to charge their suite of mobile devices. Lenovo's latest effort aimed at lightening this load is an all-in-one adapter designed to charge laptops and other electronic devices such as cell phones, PDAs and mobile music players.
Intel and Micron unveil world’s fastest NAND Flash memory
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February 6, 2008 Intel Corporation and Micron Technology Inc. have developed a high speed NAND Flash memory technology targeting data-munching consumer electronics applications that's five times faster than conventional NAND. Read More
Cellwatch M500 wrist-watch phone
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February 1, 2008 The wrist watch phone is one of those inventions we thought we would all be wearing by now, but despite the appearance of numerous designs in recent years seeking to make the Dick Tracey style communications device a commercial reality, the idea is still a long way from reaching its potential. The latest example to cross the Gizmag desk, and one of the most impressively designed and specced units we've seen to date is the Cellwatch M500. Billed as the world's smallest mobile watch, the M500 incorporates a 1.5-inch (128x160) color OLED touchscreen, 128 MB Memory, 80 hours standby time, plus web-browsing, Bluetooth, MP3 and video playback capabilities. Read More
Texas Instruments pico-projector technology on show
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Texas Instruments is moving steadily towards commercialization of miniature projection devices with Sypro and Young Optics showing manufacturing prototypes of their pico-projection systems based on TI's Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology at the 2008 CES. The company sees the future for DLP pico-projectors in either a standalone format or as integrated modules in handheld devices. Read More
3M announces micro-projector for mobile devices
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January 22, 2008 Miniature projection modules are seen as the answer to the problem of combining "big-screen" convenience with ever shrinking mobile device platforms and, in the same way that mobile phone cameras seemed to become commonplace almost overnight, consumers can expect highly-effective projection to become standard in phones and other handheld equipment in the not-too-distant future. The latest development from 3M gives a clear indication of where the emerging field is headed. Designed for integration into virtually any mobile platform and now available to manufacturers, the company's LED-illuminated projection engine is capable of throwing a 40-inch or larger VGA image from an ultra-compact module that's less than half an inch thick. Read More
Voxred announce PowerBuddy portable charger
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January 7, 2008 Voxred, the company behind the Turbo Charge, iTurbo and TC2 lines of portable chargers, is launching the PowerBuddy at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. A compact, self contained device which uses lithium ion batteries to charge up to two electronic devices simultaneously, the USD$40 PowerBuddy comes with 11 adapters for cell phones, personal media players, PDAs and portable gaming units.
PS3 gets DivX/XviD playback - we put it to the test
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The PlayStation 3 firmware update 2.10 arrived yesterday, adding Blu-ray Disc Profile 1.1 support, and more importantly, XviD and DivX playback. We recently brought you the low down on XviD/DivX playback on the Xbox 360, and now we've spent another strenuous morning watching videos - here's our report on Sony's implementation.
