News Archive for 07/06/12
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Specialty house Projectiondesign has unveiled a record-setting entry into its Action! home cinema projectors. The DLP-based M25 manages the full 1080p resolution needed for HD while measuring under 11 inches wide and 4 inches tall. It also makes few if any other sacrifices, the producer claims. Texas Instruments' most recent image processor helps boost secondary colors, a frequent problem for DLP projectors; the unit is also one of the few to include HDMI 1.3, guaranteeing deeper color for some Blu-Ray and HD DVD sources. The 1,000-lumen brightness is strong for living rooms and other home theaters.
Continuing its series of announcements today, Toshiba has launched a new projector bringing Wi-Fi and other technologies to a relatively affordable level. The TW355U integrates 802.11g wireless to let nearby notebooks send presentations to a larger screen without carrying otherwise necessary (but supported) video or Ethernet cables. Those wanting to bypass a computer altogether can slot in PC Cards with built-in storage and have access to a USB port. DVI and VGA input for computers are braced by individual RCA and S-video input jacks.
Toshiba's shipping numbers for HD DVD will be scaled back, the company's digital consumer head Yoshihide Fujii has revealed. Having first planned to sell 1.8 million movie players to Canada and the US by the end of 2007, the company now says it has reduced the forecast to just 1 million -- a 44 percent drop, a second senior manager said. The cut has been attributed to low existing sales, which would make it difficult to recover in the second half of the year. No explanation has been given for the sub-par results, but the drop will likely be reflected in other regions as well, Fujii says.
Samsung on Tuesday launched a trio of new sets in its Blue Light line of LCD TVs, named after their signature lighting underneath their built-in speakers. The 40-, 46-, and 52-inch M92 series models all depend on an enhanced version of Samsung's dynamic image adjustment to deliver a 17,000:1 contrast ratio, an increase from the 15,000:1 displays already available in North America. Each of the 1080p sets also includes three HDMI 1.3 inputs for richer colors and ACAP support for basic data during sports matches. USB 2.0 provides a convenient hook for music and photo playback.
Toshiba today announced a new type of flash memory that it claims will deliver a dramatic increase in capacity without requiring a major change in today's technology. Where current techniques simply stack multiple layers on top of each other, the new process inserts silicon columns through the layers that themselves can hold extra memory at the joints. The process is much easier than before and has the important benefit of increasing the amount of storage in a given flash chip without significantly adding to its physical size, allowing companies to add storage with little effort.
The iPhone requires an iTunes Store account, according to a new e-mail circulating to those who signed up for notifications from Apple. The message, which admonishes its recipients to "get ready for iPhone," asks users to specifically launch iTunes and register for a new account if one doesn't already exist. No mention is made of why the registration is required or why users demands more than a standard Apple ID used for the company's web-based shop, with the bulk of the e-mail summarizing the phone's well-known features.
Online phone shop Pure Mobile plans to offer an unlocked iPhone, according to PodTech VP Robert Scoble. The store claims it will de-restrict both 4GB and 8GB versions to allow their use on GSM phone networks beyond its official AT&T home, including the carrier's rival T-Mobile as well as Canadian providers such as Fido and Rogers. No mention has been made of pricing or availability, but demand for the unlocked Apple device is already said to be extremely high -- more so than any phone sold through the store in the past, says Pure Mobile. The company accordingly expects supplies to be very tight during the initial launch.
WiebeTech today unveiled RTX storage utilizing TrayFree technology, enabling users to insert bare 3.5-inch SATA hard drives at capacities up to 1TB each without trays or screws. The company promises to offer enclosures as well as interface options in multiple RAID or JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) configurations, while single-bay internal SATA enclosures ($40-$230 empty) are already shipping alongside 4- and 6-bay iSCSI RAID ($2,560 and $2,700 empty, respectively) and SCSI Ultra320 RAID ($2,600 and $2,700 empty, respectively) configurations. WiebeTech is also shipping 4-bay InfiniBand JBOD ($850 empty) and 4-bay SteelVine eSATA JBOD ($930 empty) setups.
General Dynamics has quickly followed up on its earlier VR-2 with a new ultra-mobile PC, the GoBook MR-1. Labeled as one of the most compact fully rugged PCs to date, the 5.6-inch widescreen is small but still meets military-grade standards for extreme temperatures, shocks, and vibrations; it also meets separate tests for dust and water resistance. Its size still allows for the company's DynaVue touchscreen technology that cuts out on unwanted glare in broad daylight without consuming extra power or dulling the touch input.
Brother today introduced its new MFC-9000 series color laser multi-function centers, a collection of printers that utilize the same internally developed single-pass laser printing technology found in the company's HL-4000 color laser printer series. Brother's MFC-9000 series includes the network-ready MFC-9440CN and the MFC-9840CDW, both of which feature up to 21 pages per minute print speed for both color and monochrome printing. Both models produce 2400x600-dpi output, and each MFC offers built-in Ethernet connectivity alongside a USB 2.0 interface. The MFC-9440CN and MFC-9840CDW also includes PCL6 and BR-Script3 (PostScript 3) emulations, as well as USB Direct interface that enables compatibility with PictBridge-capable cameras and USB flash storage. The MFC-9440CN is priced at $700 and is slated for shipment this month, while the MFC-9840CDW is priced at $850 and is expected to ship this September.
Technology columnist Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal yesterday received an iPhone from Apple to review during the days leading up to the phone's launch on June 29th. Mossberg offered his first impressions of the handset to college leaders durin ga speech at The Chronicle of Higher Education's Presidents Forum. "I don’t know whether I’ll give it a good review or not," Mossberg said, adding that he will use the device over the next couple of weeks before writing a review. "I can already see some things I don’t like about it. I see some other things that I do like a lot about it." A vital point to distinguish, according to the columnist, is whether the iPhone's touch-screen keyboard at least matches the performance of keyboards on other smartphones.
The recently developed Wibree wireless standard will now be considered an extension of Bluetooth, its creator Nokia announced today. Initially designed as an alternative, the low-power format will now be merged into the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and become an option for anyone developing Bluetooth devices, letting them use the technology more readily than before. The deal was struck in part because many that already use Bluetooth were looking for a more efficient alternative, Nokia says: Wibree has the same fundamentals but uses only a small fraction of the energy, making it viable for watches and other devices where Bluetooth 1.0 or 2.0 would use too much power.
Toshiba started its Tuesday by introducing the Vardia A600. This upgrade to the company's digital video recorders is the first to include an HD DVD burner to accompany its storage; the set-top box can record video to the larger capacity discs, including HD footage from unprotected sources such as the dual digital TV tuners that can record one show while playing another. A total of 600GB of hard drive space holds enough room for 78 hours of HD video, by Toshiba's estimates. Standard-definition TV can be captured through an analog tuner and burnt to the more ubiquitous DVD format.
Hoping to offer controllers that work both on the desktop and for notebooks, Kensington on Tuesday rolled out its Ci Lifestyle set of mice, including a desktop combo pack. Each set includes new mouse designs that are between 25 and 35 percent thinner than comparable mice to help them fit in a travel bag while still providing a comfortable fit for those who use them daily. The titanium-colored Ci70 and stylized red Ci70LE three-button scroll mouses connect wirelessly through an RF adapter and are designed primarily for desktops, including an automatic sleep mode to prevent the battery running down while the wireless adapter is plugged in. A special combo, the Ci70 Wireless Desktop Set, includes a keyboard 40 percent smaller than everyday keyboards and with a dock to stow the included mouse outside of normal use.
Kodak today released a sweeping change to its EasyShare digital cameras, including a completely new line. The EasyShare M-Series is designed to bring an element of style to photographers with tighter budgets and ships in a mix of colors such as copper (pictured) or espresso. Each of the four models being introduced today also claims a 3X optical zoom lens. The M753 and M853 are 7- and 8-megapixel cameras respectively with the most essential features and a 2.5-inch LCD; the 8-megapixel M873 and M883 models gain a full metal design as well as a larger 3-inch LCD. The M883 also includes face detection for simpler portrait shots.
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