News Archive for 09/01/06
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Sony's VAIO P has been spotted in its entirety today ahead of its expected debut at Sony's press conference on Wednesday. Displays seen by Engadget at the CES setup confirm an extremely wide, shallow design which drops the traditional trackpad in favor of a pointer. The views confirm few technical details but do reveal a built-in webcam to the side of the display as well as Memory Stick and SD card readers.
Epson has recently introduced a new flagship home theater projector, the PowerLite Home Cinema 6500 UB, which sports a native 1920x1080 resolution and a significantly improved 75,000:1 contrast ratio along with 1,600 lumens of brightness. To achieve these numbers, Epson used its 3LCD Crystal Clear Fine D7 chip that includes an HQV processor and a PW390 scaler for creating sharp images. Aimed at home theater aficionados, the 6500UB includes HDMI 1.3a connections for integration into existing setups.
LaCie on Tuesday announced the introduction of the 2big Quadra storage device with a quad interface that includes a fast 3Gbps eSATA port, FireWire 800 and 400 as well as USB 2.0. The dual-bay device can hold as much as 3TB, has a maximum transfer speed of 165MBps and has four RAID modes for enhanced data security. Like the earlier 4Big Quadra, the 2Big features a design penned by Neil Poulton and its drive bays are hot-swappable for no interruptions.
Imation on Tuesday announced the addition of its Wireless Projection Link, allowing wireless control of digital projectors, along with M-Class and S-Class SSD drives and a complete SSD upgrade kits. Presenters can speed up their initial setup with the Wireless Projection Link, which consists of a USB dongle and base with antenna and is compatible with the majority of projection systems on the market.
Digital photo frame maker Pandigital on Tuesday announced the upcoming release of a pair of new digital photo frames, the 7- and 8-inch PanTouch Clear with a 'floating' LCD display and touchscreen user interface. The 800x600 resolution displays in either frame appear to be floating as they are surrounded by a thin strip of glass, with the effect enhanced by a clear stand. The touchscreen interface produces icons on fingerprint-resistant glass instead of the LCD panel itself, like in many current frames that use the capacitive-touch technology.
D-Link's lineup at CES has been introduced today and focuses on a pair of 802.11n Wi-Fi routers. The Xtreme N 450 is one of few if any wireless routers to crack the 300Mbps theoretical peak and potentially transfers data as quickly as its namesake 450Mbps over the local network. While not providing real-world speeds, the 50 percent increase is expected to translate into practical performance gains. The device is also a true dual-band router and can run one 2.4GHz and one 5GHz network simultaneously regardless of the particular format used.
Wisair has announced its latest USB Display Adapter Set featuring the WSR601 wireless USB single chip, and designed to wirelessly transfer PC content to TVs, monitors, and projectors. Each adapter set offers CGA and HDMI connection options that enable the transferring of HD movies and supports up to a 1400x1050 resolution. The WSR601 is a single-die CMOS chip with integrated WUSB/MAC hardware accelerators and a 32-bit ARM subsystem for mostly control functions.
3M today based its CES unveilings around an update to its MPro pocket projector hardware. The MM200 is a new variant built to be integrated into other devices rather than operating separately. While it can be used in a dedicated projector, the new liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) unit can be built into a cellphone, camera or other handheld and generates a 640x480 image at up to 50 feet away. Using LEDs helps keep power consumption down to one watt.
Eos Wireless took advantage of both Macworld and CES to launch the Converge. The multi-device system is designed to automate piping audio wirelessly to speakers within a maximum 150 feet of a core transmitter. Each receiver includes its own controls and lets owners pause and skip tracks without needing a separate controller. Setup is also fully automated, Eos says.
Toshiba on Tuesday afternoon said it would use CES to demonstrate a new technique that allows 3D images on a mobile device's display without glasses. A new optical compensation film over top the display lets the company create small or medium-sized displays that automatically produce a stereoscopic effect and simulates the added depth. Because the addition is just a simple layer, it can not only be viewed with the naked eye but doesn't degrade the image or prevent a mix of 2D and 3D in the same picture.
Kensington on Tuesday announced a range of new products, including a hands-free car kit for use with Bluetooth cellphones, its SlimBlade TrackBall mouse and a pair of two space- and energy-efficient notebook chargers. The Bluetooth speaker clips onto vehicle's sun visors and can pair up with three different cellphones and holds three frequently-called phone numbers for each handset. Swapping between the three handsets or dialing any of the pre-programmed numbers is done via pressing a single button. Kensington has integrated noise-cancelling technology for the device that makes calls loud and clear. Two battery packs are included, providing users with 10 hours of talk time.
Apple at Macworld introduced a new version of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. The new model uses the same unibody aluminum construction of the 15-inch version and is just 0.98 inches thick -- enough to make it the thinnest 17-inch notebook ever, the company boasts. It now revolves around a 17-inch, LED-backlit 1920x1200 standard display that is much more accurate than in the previous generation: it claims a 60 percent larger color gamut, a clearer 700:1 contrast ratio and wider 140-degree horizontal and 120-degree vertical viewing angles.
NEC announced on Tuesday the upcoming launch of its 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV and 30-inch LCD3090W-BK-SV widescreen displays meant for graphics professionals along with the new SpectraViewII Kit, which combines a color measurement sensor with sophisticated software to enhance the color accuracy. The three new products will be displayed at the currently ongoing Macworld Expo.
Shure's presences at CES and Macworld alike today were kicked off with the launch of new in-ear headphones and USB audio peripherals. The SE115 is claimed as a breakthrough that improves bass response in often weak single-driver headphones; a new dynamic unit produces better low-end frequencies without resorting to a smaller driver that itself would cut out much of the intended sound. They also signal a break in style for Shure and now come in blue, pink and red in addition to the conservative black used before.
Harman today said its headphone brand AKG will finally start shipping to the US and provide a new choice for comparatively high-end personal audio. The move should bring a dozen earpieces from the company's current lineup and is headlined by the K142 and K242 semi-open headphones as well as the fully closed K172 and K272; all four have gold-plated connectors and have gimbal suspension that more comfortably adjusts the cups to fit different heads. Most have a minimum 18Hz frequency response (16Hz for the K272). These range between $170 and $270.
Pharos is headlining its CES lineup today with a new Traveler handset. The 137 is the company's first to be ruled almost exclusively by its 3.5-inch touchscreen and embraces the company's focus on GPS navigation. Out of the box, the device includes turn-by-turn navigation with voiced directions and also tries to strike a balance between free but limited apps and subscription services: owners must pay for full use of Pharos' in-house mapping software but can access it by the day, week, month or year instead of having to maintain a flat rate.
Western Digital has launched two new external hard drives, oriented specifically at Mac users: the My Passport for Mac and My Book Mac Edition. Though only supporting USB 2.0 and not FireWire, the drives are pre-formatted for Macs and advertised as supporting Time Machine as well as other Mac backup software. The My Passport is a general-purpose portable drive, set inside a shock-resistant enclosure; 320 and 500GB versions are available.
Docking speaker station maker for iPods and iPhones iHome announced on Tuesday it will debut three new products to its range in 2009 at the CES show due to kick off tomorrow. The company will show off its new flagship product, the iP1 speaker system that support iPods and iPhones and is rated at 100 watts for its twin 4-inch woofers and two 1-inch silk-dome tweeters. The Digital Power Station processor was engineered by Bongiovi Acoustics and iHome claims the product is its most advanced ever.
AMD today fought back against the mounting wave of Intel-based netbooks by introducing the Athlon Neo processor and a matching platform. A compromise between low-power but also slow chips like Intel's Atom and traditional notebook chips, the Neo consumes at most 15W of typical power and measures just under 1.1 inches square but still clocks in at 1.6GHz and with the feature set of a larger notebook chip, such as a 1.6GHz system bus, a 512KB Level 2 cache and 64-bit code support.
Logitech continued its wave of CES news with the release of the Harmony 1100, the sequel to last year's 1000. The update switches to a black anodized aluminum design and now adds customization to the 3.5-inch touchscreen's controls; users can add or remove buttons that appear under certain conditions, such as a software play/pause button after a movie starts. It also brings support for RF-based devices rather than just those using infrared for their normal remotes.
HTC this morning revealed that it will bring out a North American version of its S740 slider. The S743 switches from the previously Europe-only HSPA 3G to a dual-band 850MHz/1,900MHz link suited to AT&T in the US and Rogers in Canada. The phone is otherwise a match for the reference model with a lateral slide-out QWERTY keyboard and hardware keys for directions and numbers in place of the touchscreen fitted to the similarly-styled Touch Pro.
Logitech on Tuesday exploited the run-up to CES to revise its G series gaming peripherals, including the addition of its first Mac-friendly gaming keyboard. The G19 is the company's new flagship keyboard for play and centers on a 320x240, color LCD that can be used to provide information on active games with support for the company's GamePanel software, such as World of Warcraft. It also performs double duty as a VoIP call panel, media viewer and performance tracker; users can switch between many of these without having to leave a currently running app, the company notes.
SanDisk today rolled out its CES lineup with a focus on its USB flash drive range. The Ultra Backup is characterized as the first plug-in USB jump drive to have a button-activated backup feature that automatically syncs information between the host computer and the removable storage. It also lets users lock down longer-lasting information with password protection and AES encryption performed entirely in hardware.
Motorola this morning used the advent of CES to refresh its cellphones, starting with one of its only phones dominated by its touchscreen. The MOTOSURF A3100 is the company's closest analog to the iPhone and relies primarily on its 2.8-inch, 320x240 for the bulk of its input; a new customizable front end provides quick access to calling or Facebook as well as live updates of messaging and weather. A trackball provides input without having to resort to the available stylus. or when a finger is too imprecise.
HP's CES introductions are being headlined today by an entirely new entry to its desktop line. The Firebird 800 is built with help from the Voodoo sub-label and aims to take up the minimal amount of space of a small form factor desktop with the performance of a full tower, thanks to new Intel processors: new set of Core 2 Quad chips consume just 65W of power without losing features over previous 95W versions. A custom liquid cooling setup also cuts back on fan noise from the chip and simultaneously frees up space for accessing RAM and the two drop-in notebook hard drive bays.
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