Thin Speaker, Small iPod, BIG Sound

Altec Lansing, the sound specialists, today announced the launch of the new inMotion iM500, the company’s most compact portable audio system to-date. Light in weight and superbly thin for maximum portability, the iM500 speaker system perfectly partners the iPod Nano; slim, sleek and portable and with an output that defies it’s size.

The iM500 features an ingenious foldaway design and packs quite a punch in both sound volume and quality, making it perfect for sharing music on the move. Super thin, the iM500 is a tiny 21.5cms (8.5”) wide, 1.8cms (0.7”) deep and 1.2cms (5”) high. Weighing in at only 340grams (12 ounces), the compact speaker system is similar in thickness to a DVD case and perfectly compliments the ipod nano.

Philips LFH 7890-MKII Memo Recorder

The new Philips LFH 7890–MKII is now available. This multimedia memo recorder features the world’s biggest capacity for as many as 576 hours of digital voice recording. Ergonomically and stylishly designed, it is easy to carry with you, weighs just 50 grams and slips into any bag or pocket.

It’s a memo recorder, but also a MP3 music device. In these modern times, we can’t stand to be without noise, can we?

The Philips LFH 7890-MKII marks a new phase in crystal clear digital stereo voice recording for anyone wanting to make and store spoken digital notes anywhere, anytime. Users can select from various quality levels for recording. On-the-move listening to music and radio news on the built-in FM stereo radio, recording (programmed) and listening to it in high quality MP3 are among the unique possibilities of this multifunctional companion. It’s not really noise the Philips makes, after all.

Apart from listening to the radio and playing music through earphones or the built-in loudspeaker, you can also use the LFH 7890-MKII for storing data. A USB flash memory of up to 1 Gigabyte allows you to take digital files, such as Word documents, PowerPoint, XLS or photos with you anywhere. Ideal for the traveller on the move is the clock and built-in alarm with timer. Simple to set, the alarm plays back a pre-set voice message.

Dymo DiscPainter, Finally a Direct-to-Disc Printer that Works

Dymo is known for its labelling products, but recently, the company has added an oddball to its product range: a direct-to-disc inkjet printer. The new contraption is called DiscPainter and resembles an inkjet like my foot. DiscPainter rotates the disc while printing --euh, sorry: painting. When I first saw it, and read the mumbo-jumbo on Dymo’s web site, I thought to have discovered yet on of those hypes that is as short lived as a white rat in a pharmaceutical lab.

But when I got the chance of reviewing the DiscPainter, I was quickly enchanted with the DiscPainter’s performance and features. If you want to read the review, visit the DiscPainter review on IT Enquirer.

On Gadget Weekly, we don’t do reviews. We casually talk about stuff that has the looks and functionality to become hypes all by themselves. Well, the Dymo DiscPainter may look strange at first, but it has all the characteristics to become an overnight success.

Especially its sparing usage of ink is something to embrace.

Verbatim Launches New Stylish (YES!) 2"5 Portable Drives

Mobility and elegance are the hallmarks of the new External 2.5” Hard Drive from Verbatim --but especially elegance, as you can see from the photo. With storage space for up to 320 GB, the new Verbatim portable drives are perfect for sharing data securely and quickly with friends and business colleagues.

The slim-line hard drives weigh just 150 grams, fit comfortably into the palm of the hand and offer unbeatable convenience for life on the move. They can be carried around with the utmost ease, pop one into the inside pocket of jacket or drop it into a handbag.

When it comes to design, Verbatim has stayed true to the idea that slim and stylish is beautiful. The new hard drives shine in their fine black and silver case, harmonizing perfectly with the design of the latest laptops. Verbatim’s mobile hard drives are also compatible with the latest operating systems - Vista (Windows) and Leopard (Mac). Depending on customer needs, the drives offer storage capacities of 120GB, 160GB, 250GB or 320GB and are priced at between £49.99 and £119.99 (RRP).

VS2421, PC Sound on a Budget

Altec Lansing says the VS2421 delivers powerful, full spectrum sound from custom-engineered, dual 2.5” satellite speakers and a slim 5.4” subwoofer which has been designed to fit easily under the user’s desk (the system can be wall mounted to maximise desk space).

This compact 2.1 speaker trio is said to deliver rich sound and features an innovative built-in microphone that makes the VS2421 perfect for VoIP and interactive gaming. This voice capability allows the user to make phone calls over the internet without the need for a handset, headset or extra cables. An automatic feedback cancellation feature is included as standard. Hmm, I’m sure that works well, but I’ll stick to my Ipevo handset if you don’t mind…

The VS2421’s innovative control pod, which is part and parcel of the new sound system, has a true plug-and-play AUX input for alternative sound sources, such as iPod, MP3 or CD player, and has a conveniently located headphone jack for private listening. The control pod allows fingertip command of volume, tone and mute functions.

The system’s innovative tri-ported design provides three system ports in the satellites and subwoofer to extend the lower frequency response. Additionally, the black design with dark red detail lifts the new speakers above current mass market offerings.

An integrated power supply, eliminating the clumsy brick plug common with other PC speakers in this price category adds a further advantage to the design and ergonomics of the VS2421. The Altec Lansing VS2421 sound system is now available with an RRP of 49.99 euros.

iPhone Calling Altec Lansing T612

Altec Lansing debuts the T612 digital audio system for the iPhone and new iPod family of products. The T612 provides crisp sound for music and multimedia, while also featuring iPhone incoming call support.

iPhone In-Call Support

The T612 complements key features of the iPhone, including support for incoming calls. If a call comes in while music is playing, the iPhone gives priority to the call by pausing the music. Once the call is completed, the iPhone is re-docked in the T612 and the music resumes playing the same song in the same place.

The T612 also supports internal GSM shielding to keep its speakers from picking up potential intermittent noises emitted by the iPhone or other mobile devices.
Designed after Altec Lansing’s successful M602 digital audio player, the T612 features powerful neodymium speakers and XdB bass-enhancement technology for exceptionally rich audio reproduction and solid bass response for a desktop system of its size.

The T612 sports Apple’s Universal Dock to play and charge all iPhone and new-generation iPod models. In addition, the rear of the T612 provides a standard auxiliary-in jack for connection for MP3 players and audio devices.

The T612 utilizes Apple’s Class 5 authentication chip, giving additional control features for both the iPhone and iPod via the wireless remote. Users can now shuffle songs, access the menu as well as Track Back, Track Forward, Play/Pause, control the Bass, and Treble, Power On/Off and control the Volume.

Available in Springtime 2008, the Altec Lansing T612 system will be sold at leading CE retailers and is priced in the region of £139 (inc VAT)/ €199 (inc VAT).

Altec Lansing SoundBlade

Altec Lansing, the Sound Specialists, today launched their first Bluetooth stereo speaker - the SoundBlade. Designed to release the music of Bluetooth stereo enabled devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players and laptops, the SoundBlade is essential for music loving users on the move.

The SoundBlade stereo Bluetooth speaker system has a stylish look. It sounds as good as it looks; the sound panel features dual 2 inch full-range high output drivers, SRS TruBass and full stereo Bluetooth v.2 for wireless connectivity with most stereo Bluetooth mobile phones and laptops.

Equipped with AVRCP, a mobile handset can be used as the remote control, giving two-way remote volume, mute and track forward/back. The “blade-like” design, carried over from the successful iM500 iPod speaker, measures 6.125” H x 11.125” W x 1.0” D (15.6 CMSS X 28.3 CMS X 2.54CMS) for easy portability. Supporting both AC and battery power, the SoundBlade delivers up to 24 hours of continious playback on 6AA batteries.

“The trend is clear, people love to listen to their music on the move, with their phones, on their MP3 players and laptops” says Luc Ackaert, the European Marketing Director for Altec Lansing. “Our goal is to give consumers what they need to enjoy and share their mobile entertainment lifestyle with easy, portable and powerful speakers.The SoundBlade is perfect for people who listen to music on the go, super thin and lightweight with fantastic sound.”

Weighing only 455g and only 1 inch thick, the SoundBlade is ideal for business travellers who demand great quality sound from a speaker that can easily fit into any laptop luggage. With a built-in echo-canceling microphone the SoundBlade also converts to a wireless speakerphone, ideal for conference calling.  The SoundBlade will be avalable in stores from March and will costs in the region of €119.99 / £89.99 inc VAT.

Memorex Ultra Travel Drive

Memorex sent me one of their Ultra Travel Drives. Apparently, after everybody else had a shot at these disks with replaceable “armour” I was the one who was going to write a swell review of their Ultra Travel Drive. In a world where disk drives have been become a commodity if ever there was one, the Memorex drive tries to discern itself from the others by offering coloured “shells” that you can replace yourself.

“Great Stuff!” “What a fantastic idea!” Those are the exclamation marks Memorex marketing people seem to have been thinking of when they designed these drives. Alas, reviewers and potential users with some knowledge of technology tend to be a lot more subdued in their commentaries, especially when the rest of the drive is only average --mediocre so to speak.

Yes, you can replace the the back and front shell, and yes there’s a rubberised edge for robustness. Robust what? The drive inside? Drop the rubberised thing from a couple of metres and we’ll see how well that bumper material protected the mechanism inside. Apart from this snake oil level marketing, the Memorex Ultra Travel Drive needs power --loads of it. It’s only a USB 2.0 drive, but it has both a USB cable for power only and a USB data cable.

If you thought you needed the power cable only when travelling and using the drive with a laptop, forget it. Even when the thing is connected to a fully powered brand new Belkin USB hub, it won’t work without the extra power. Oh, and there is a backup program delivered with the drive, one that you can start by using a button on the drive. Isn’t that great? It would be if the backup program was any good. It might be --on Windows. and so, there you are, with a lacklustre erforming drive that you can backup to snail-wise --at 8MB per second.

Next time Memorex launches a new drive, I’ll pass on reviewing it.

Panasonic Introduces the Blu-ray Disc Player with Final Standard Profile

The DMP-BD30 Blu-ray Disc Player recently introduced by Panasonic combines Blu-ray Disc specifications, which were created to achieve 1920 x 1080 image resolution and high-quality surround sound from advanced formats such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, with the so-called Final Standard Profile to bring entirely new features to Blu-ray disc playback. The DMP-BD30 is the world’s first Blu-ray Disc player to support the Final Standard Profile.

The Final Standard Profile adds a variety of new and enhanced features to Blu-ray disc media produced using BD-ROM Profile 1 Version 1.1. For example, a Picture-in-Picture feature displays a sub-screen, and an Audio Mixing function lets the user switch the playback sound between the main screen and the sub-screen.

The new DMP-BD30 Blu-ray Disc Player maximizes links with other High Definition products such as camcorders and digital still cameras to serve as a vital hub for HD entertainment.
The device is produced in Europe to meet the specific needs of European markets and users.

Panasonic Develops DVD-Recorders with SD Memory Card Slot, USB Terminal and 320GB HDD

For 2008, Panasonic has developed a new line-up of DVD recorders with even higher image quality, smoother operation, and networking abilities that anyone can use with ease. The new VIERA Link function is more advanced. Auto Preset Download does away with the need to make channel and other initial DIGA recorder settings. Direct TV Rec. lets the user start recording the TV program that is currently being watched by simply pressing the VIERA Link button on the VIERA remote and selecting Direct TV Rec. Pause Live TV pauses a TV program with the same ease as pausing a DVD disc. The rest of the program can then be watched at a later time, right from the point where it was paused.

Picture quality is better too. DVB-T Adaptive Noise Reduction detects and removes the block noise that often occurs in digital broadcasts, to produce beautiful images with minimal noise. And the enhanced quality of 1080p Up-Conversion and rich color gradation of Deep Colour compatibility are seen in deeper, higher-resolution images. DIGA is equipped with a USB terminal, and the DMR-EH68 also have an SD card slot, so images from a digital still camera can be easily transferred. A large-capacity hard disk drive lets users store music data and turns DIGA into a virtual jukebox. In short, DIGA goes far beyond the point of easy video entertainment to function as a personal digital media server.

It’s all very well, but I am still recording to good ol’ VHS. From an analogue TV signal. No up-conversion necessary for me. Alas, no good picture quality, either…

Plantronics Voyager 855: Is it Voice, is it Music? It’s Neither

Plantronics launches the new Voyager 855, the industry’s first mono-to-stereo convertible Bluetooth® headset with AudioIQ DSP noise reduction technology for MP3 mobile phones.
The new Plantronics Voyager 855 headset offers a convertible design with immersive sound experience for calls and listening to music on Bluetooth enabled mobile phones with stereo A2DP. The lightest stereo headset available to date, the new Voyager 855 includes intelligent features that offer unparalleled audio clarity --if your Bluetooth signal is working well, that is.

Customizable for either mono or stereo use, the Plantronics Voyager 855 features a detachable stereo cable so consumers can tailor the wearing style to their communication and entertainment preferences. With specially designed, form-fitting earbuds, the Voyager 855 fits snugly and securely to seal out unwanted background distractions.

It’s an innovative idea, for sure, but it remains to be seen if it works well. I have asked Plantronics for a test unit, and so will be able to tell you how well it actually sounds in a week or two. Meanwhile, keep listening to your ordinary headphones.

Deafening Silence

Noise is everywhere, unless you are lucky and live in a rural area in a country with plenty of room. The US, UK, Germany, France… If you’re not that lucky, you live in a crowded city where police helicopters constantly fly above your place, cars and lorries find your street the best to pass through on their way from one motorway to the other, and frustrated mothers come to stroll with their screaming children.

But fear not. If your ears haven’t been exposed to dangerous levels of pounding “music” yet, there’s hope for you. It comes in the form of two small foamy plugs. We like to call them ear plugs. Actually, the polyurethane foam variety can decrease noise with up to 32 dB. My personal favourites are those from Quies, a French company specialised in these little pluggies.

PicoP Projects Your Mobile Phone Images on the Wall

Microvision is working with business partners to enable better viewing experiences for mobile device consumers. Sharing photos, watching movies, and giving presentations using the small screens of today’s devices limits our ability to imagine, entertain, and share. PicoP is an ultra miniature projection module capable of producing full color, high-resolution images but small enough and low power enough to be embedded directly into an accessory pico projector that connects to mobile devices.

The PicoP projector looks like a pack of cigarettes and is about the size of your mobile phone itself. Upon connection, you can show your mobile phone’s or PDA’s image content to friends and family --right on the wall.

An accessory pico projector turns photos, videos, and other content into big viewing experiences that can be shared with others. Projected content is delivered to the accessory projector from common video out connnections on cell phones, personal media players, laptops, digital cameras and other mobile devices.

Accessory projectors leverage Microvision’s PicoP display engine which at its heart, contains Microvision’s patented MEMS scanner. Other technology components include, laser light sources, optics, and electronics. These components are brought to life using Microvision’s proprietary software and expertise.

ROV Barcode Scanner

The ROV scanner from MicroVision is a barcode scanner using innovative MEMS mirror technology. It’s a small laser barcode scanner with a mirror not much bigger than the thickness of a human hair. The scanner is available in both tethered and Bluetooth versions.

What makes the ROV barcode scanner special is not only the MEMS technology, but the Bluetooth option. You can buy a tethered ROV scanner and upgrade later to Bluetooth capabilities simply by ordering a new battery door. It’s the battery door that holds the Bluetooth module and antenna.

Your PC Makes Infra Sound

Infrasound is sound with a frequency too low to be heard by the human ear. Sounds beneath the lowest limits of human hearing (about 16 or 17 hertz) down to 0.001 hertz are called infrasound. The fact that we don’t hear it as humans, doesn’t rule out our bodies to react to it --often without knowing what caused the physical reaction. Elephants have been known to hear infrasound from two and a half miles away. Infrasound created by predators such as the tiger (in their grunts) ‘freezes’ their prey in its tracks.

Infrasound can arouse feelings of anxiety, nausea, and severe bodily spasms --in extreme cases, leading to death. Ventilators can cause infrasound, and some of them can be found in your (Power) Mac or PC. Tests with an older Power Mac G5 --the Power Mac G5 carries the IBM PowerPC, which requires a lot of cooling down-- revealed that the ventilators inside are capable of infrasound, causing all kinds of discomfort.

Luckily Apple these days uses Intel processors, otherwise we could have called this article: “Your Mac makes you want to vomit.” I guess a lot of Windows die-hards would wholeheartedly agree --only some PCs have the same problem. Infrasound “bass boosters” can even be used to disable people from doing much else but try to walk away from it --an idea for the military and for police forces around the globe.

Unfortunately, infrasound attacks the sender as much as the receiver, which makes it pretty much useless in warfare. As for the Power Mac problem, it can easily be remedied. Because the infrasound depends on resonance, locating the machine --or even slightly moving it in a different position-- makes the infrasound harmless.

Logitech MX Air

Logitech seems determined to rule out Mac OS X users and to irritate them until steam comes out of their ears. The Logitech MX Air is a great “mid-air” mouse, i.e. you can move it through 3D space and the cursor will follow your movements. But to make the most of the mouse, you need drivers. On Windows PCs, Logitech’s drivers are OK. They work fine and are continuously updated.

Mac users are not so lucky: the latest Logitech drivers I downloaded made several other applications --totally unrelated to mouse drivers-- unstable.

Logitech doesn’t seem to realise Mac OS X is becoming increasingly important in the market of PCs. The Mac market share is slowly but steadily growing. Much of that we owe to Microsoft’s market arrogance, and to Apple’s obsession with design. Logitech doesn’t seem to care. A pity, because devices like the MX Air have great looks and there’s something Sci-Fi about gesticulating with your mouse and see the cursor fly all over the screen.

The Pantone Goe System, A Beautiful Box With Lots of Colours

With more than 2,000 new PANTONE Colors, the PANTONE Goe System has been designed to inspire creativity and fulfil the requirements of the printing industry as well as web designers. PANTONE Goe is more than a single product with exciting new colors; the System includes modern tools and interactive software to drive collaboration and improve versatility in an increasingly global, multimedia environment.

That’s what Pantone says. Some others who know what they’re talking about, say Pantone has it all wrong with this new Goe System. For example, the colour chips read “RGB”, but should read “sRGB”. The expert Eddy Hagen of Flanders measured the chips and found a huge difference in colour rendition between the chip’s colour and the same colour in the Adobe RGB colour space.

Painful as that may be to expert users, the real pain comes from designers who apparently don’t know the first thing about colour management. Read the totally devoid of any criticism piece on Duoh’s site. I look forward to see their pieces of coloured art, relying on what Pantone claims.

Still, the box --Pantone calls it a “Museum Box"-- looks right to me. It’s plastic, but sturdy. It has been made in China, so it has all the credentials (actually, one of Pantone’s VPs told me they had to refuse a complete shipment because of bad quality). If you don’t use the Goe System itself anymore, you can always use the box for storage. But there are good things to say about it, too. If you keep in the back of your head that it’s sRGB and not RGB, the 2,058 new colors in the PANTONE Goe System are arranged in an intuitive, chromatic order. The PANTONE Goe System includes the PANTONE GoeGuide and PANTONE GoeSticks, a two-volume set of adhesive-backed chips, along with intelligent but not-working-right-on-Mac-OS-X software for creating colour palettes that can be imported into applications, shared among coworkers and clients, and archived for future reference.

Technology: LightScribe 1.2 And the Colour Revolution

It has been two years now that LightScribe promised its user base the possibility to print --silkscreen-- onto coloured disc media. A couple of weeks ago Verbatim released the first coloured LightScribe 1.2.x discs. Besides the gold coloured discs, you can now “Lightscribe” onto red, orange, green, yellow and blue-green media.

LightScribe allows you to burn a CD or DVD, and have a label printed onto its label side using a by laser to engrave whatever design you created in the label layer. The LightScribe technology requires a specially designed LightScribe DVD-writer with a laser that is capable of both burning DVDs and engraving at lower power.

If colour is your thing, the LightScribe colour discs won’t cut it. The discs look fine, but their surface has the same sort of silky but dull surface look of the original LightScribe discs. And engraving the disc doesn’t make it much better, as you can only play with contrast, but not with multiple colours.

And just as with the previous versions of LightScribe, it’s the information you etch into the surface that often lacks contrast in order for you to easily see what the disc contains. Some software does allow you to change contrast levels beyond the “Normal” and “Best” settings, but you can never engrave at a higher contrast setting than “Best”.

Well, actually you can --by etching the same design twice-- but then the disc engraving takes double the time of a one-pass etching process. I fail to see why the LightScribe industry group can’t produce a technology that enables discs to be etched with different colours, on shiny discs. I’m pretty sure manufacturers like Verbatim are capable of manufacturing disc surfaces with differently coloured layers so that a really creative LightScribe design would be possible.

But it’s not happening, and I think that I know why: LightScribe is not bad, but when it comes to really creative disc label design, the vibrancy of colour inks sprayed upon a bright white surface can’t be equalled by any silkscreening technology. Perhaps one day, but not now.

Meanwhile, the Verbatim coloured LightScribe media that’s available today are of the same standard and quality as all of Verbatim’s media products. The DVD’s we tested were 16x speed DVD+R media.

Privacy Statement

The link above will take you to the official and formal version, based on the OECD privacy statement generator. The short version: I will never use your personal details or other data you provide for anything else but your navigation and access to this web site.