Nov/090
Wii TV coming soon
Not only are we still waiting for the TV Guide Channel that Japanese Wii users have been indulging in for the better part of two years, but now Variety is reporting that Nintendo has teamed up with a dozen corporate partners to tease us with a Japanese pay-per-view service for the console. Premiering last Saturday, Wii no Ma (Wii’s Room) currently has 120 titles, including episodes of Sesame Street and Pocket Monsters, available for prices ranging from ¥30 – ¥500 ($.35 – $5.63). According to Variety, titles can also be viewed on your Nintendo DSi handheld, a device known for its sonority and large, appealing display. No word yet on when we can enjoy a Stateside version, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear something. In the meantime, there’s always PlayOn.
Nov/090
Cloud Engines Updating Offer with Second Generation Pogoplug
Cloud Engines Incorporated, just unveiled today the second generation of the company’s so-called award winning Pogoplug multimedia sharing device, providing consumers with more flexibility in storing personal content safely in their home and access, manage and share it from anywhere an internet connection is available.
“The reaction to the Pogoplug has been incredible. By listening to user feedback and following our own product roadmap, we are bringing a great second-generation product that gives our customers access to a host of new features that both improve the function of the Pogoplug, and add to the fun of using it as well.” said Daniel Putterman, CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc. “We are committed to giving our customers the best way to access their data from anywhere in the world, pushing the envelope with both product quality and design aesthetic. The result is what you see here today.”
Sporting a new design, as well as boasting multiple USB ports supporting up to four external drives, the new Pogoplug also offers users an improved sharing capability, an easy drag and drop interface to create engaging multimedia slide shows, seamless media playback, and even enhanced sharing with their friends via Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
The device acts quite like a gateway, enabling you to smoothly access, share and even stream your personal digital media directly to anybody, anywhere in the world, but with your content always remaining physically in your home or office, making it as secure as possible, also convenient and available at your will. The Pogoplug is the perfect solution for those of you that have increasingly mobile lifestyles, and even small businesses that require a simple, inexpensive mobile data access solution. The suggested retail price for this is $129.
Nov/090
HDTVs energy efficiency improvements by 2011
That new HDTV of yours? It may be thin and light and lovely, but it ain’t saving you any money. The state of California knows this and has created new energy efficiency standards applying to any sets sold after January of 2011. The initial regs state a maximum of 1 watt of consumption when “off” and, when on, a maximum of .2 watts per inch of screen area plus an arbitrary 32 watts. Two years later, in 2013, things get even tougher, that formula dropping to .12 per inch with a 25 watt base modifier. There are plenty of TVs that already meet the 2013 criteria, most of them smallish LCDs, so it’s not an impossible dream. The bad news? An inability to sell non-compliant sets in CA could result in lost tax revenue. The good news? Reduced energy bills and a smaller hit to our fragile environment. The really good news? Any set greater than 58-inches is exempt, so go big, broheim.
Nov/090
Samsung Taking Out the CLX-8540ND MFP
Samsung Electronics America Incorporated, one of the subsidiaries of Samsung Electronics Corporation, proudly announced the introduction of its latest color laser multifunction printer (MFP), the multiXpress CLX-8540ND. This comes as the company’s premier color laser multifunction printer, and is available now at Samsung’s network of Service Dealers and OA Distributors.
The CLX-8540ND is our flagship hybrid printer designed as a printer-copier solution for workgroups in large corporate environments and for copy-intensive small-to-mid size businesses,” said Doug Albregts, vice president, Information Technology Division, Samsung Electronics America Inc. “Along with being one of the fastest digital color printers on the market, the CLX-8540ND also bridges the gap between Letter/Legal verses Ledger printers by including advanced printer and copier features usually only found on larger machines. What we’ve done is simplify the selection process for IT managers who are looking for a truly multifunctional printer.”
One of the fastest color MFPs on the market, the CLX-8540ND is capable of complementing or even replacing bulkier Ledger MFPs. Easily meeting the high volume of printing and copying required by large workgroups, like government offices or university centers, the CLX-8540ND has a quick startup time, and can speed out up to 40 pages per minute, while the monthly duty cycle is rated at up to 100,000 sheets.
Hardware specifications include an 800 MHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 150GB hard drive, so it will provide processing for multiple jobs at the same time, ensuring a smooth workflow in the office that results in print jobs and high resolution scans that are processed, stored and handled quickly and easily. As for backing up large print jobs without interruption, the optional paper tray capacity can be expanded to 2,720 sheets. The CLX-8540ND has an MSRP of $8,249.
Nov/090
HDMI logos updated
A response to cable sellers marking hardware v1.4 compliant before a test was even available or just another way for Monster Cable to ratchet up prices, we’re not sure, but HDMI Licensing, LLC has reworked the packaging requirements for all new cables and products. Cable packaging must lose version numbers starting today, while HDMI-equipped components can only use version numbers in conjunction with listing specific features supported, and lose version numbers entirely starting January 1, 2012. The picture above features logos you’ll find on certified hardware going forward, while we can appreciate being tied to supported features and not just version numbers that may or may not fully apply (*cough cough* remember the “HDMI 1.3″ PS3Fat?) there’s no way things get any less confusing when hooking up the new 4K or 3D capable HDTVs.
Nov/090
Transcend Trying to Catch Up with the Market Trend, Barely Taking Out 400X CF Cards
After I told you about two manufacturers that reached compact flash memory card speeds of up to 600x, barely now it looks like it was time for Transcend to do something about it. So, as of recently, the maker, once a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, has announced the expansion of its flash card product line, along with the introduction of high capacity 400x CompactFlash cards with capacities ranging between 16GB and all the way up to 64GB.
That’s exactly why I was saying Transcend used to be a market leader, but it stumbled upon its own pride, probably. Times have changed, and other manufacturers got more reliable as well, rather than the times I remember that I only went to SanDisk or Transcend just because I knew they were reliable, not necessarily cheap or speedy.
If the other companies have already reached 600x, then Transcend barely got to 400x, but this neat manufacturer still has something up its sleeves, like always. These are clearly going to assure a robust, long-life durability, as well as the expected performance, thus they are made using only the most advanced Flash controllers and premium quality NAND flash memory chips available. Even more, each card sports built-in ECC (Error Correction Code) that automatically detects and seamlessly corrects any errors that might occur during data transfer.
Having storage capacities between 16 and 64GB, the 400x Transcend CF cards enable digital photographers to take thousands of pictures, completely skipping the hassle of having to switch memory cards, which is quite critical when it comes to shooting Rally races, or just about any high-speed sport. If you can shoot on the same memory card, why even think about changing it and risking losing that precious frame you hunted all day for?
Nov/090
AMIMON’s WHDI wireless HD for netbooks and laptops
The market leader in wireless High Definition semiconductor solutions(AMIMON), today announced the availability of WHDI™ modules which can be embedded into notebook PCs and netbook PCs. The WHDI modules are available today with a mini-PCI form-factor of 50mm*30mm and will also be offered with a standard Display-Mini card form-factor of 44.4mm*26mm based on the interface defined by the PCI SIG® which uses Displayport™. Additionally, these cards are designed for the WHDI™ (Wireless Home Digital Interface™) standard and are capable of wirelessly delivering full uncompressed 1080p/60Hz HD content throughout the entire home.
The AMIMON WHDI modules’ compact form factor enables seamless integration into PCs. The WHDI modules are also designed for low power consumption suitable for battery-powered devices.
Notebook PCs embedded with the new WHDI modules are expected to be in the market in 2010 offering consumers the ability to connect their notebook wirelessly to any WHDI-enabled HDTV or, through an external WHDI-to-HDMI adaptor, also to any HDTV. The new modules will also enable external wireless PC-to-TV accessories (’dongles’) which connect to the PC and TV via HDMI.
With WHDI consumers can view the entire content of their notebook screen on their TV. Content such as Internet video, flash media, digital photos, PC games can all be viewed and experienced on the TV with a convenient wireless connection.
“PCs are increasingly becoming a source of multimedia entertainment like Hulu, YouTube, etc. Consumers will be able to wirelessly connect their PCs and watch all this cool new content on their big screen TV anywhere in the home,” said Noam Geri, vice president of marketing and business development for AMIMON. “WHDI is gaining momentum with TV OEMs and now also PC OEMs set to offer consumers multiple WHDI enabled products in 2010.”
The WHDI modules are based on the revolutionary video modem technology operating in the 5GHz unlicensed band, pioneered by AMIMON and the backbone of WHDI. WHDI co-exists in the same frequency spectrum with Wi-Fi and uses similar RF building blocks and antennas. The WHDI synergies with Wi-Fi enable a roadmap to integrated WHDI + Wi-Fi semiconductor components which will offer notebook OEMs the prospect of a very low cost WHDI wireless HD link to the TV.
The WHDI Modules are designed and manufactured by AMIMON’s ODM Partners. Key features include:
* Based on AMIMON’s AMN 2120/2220 WHDI chipset, designed for the WHDI standard
* Compact form factor
* Support for full high definition resolutions up to 1080p/60Hz
* Practically no latency – less than 1 millisecond
* Hollywood approved HDCP 2.0 copy protection
* Low power consumption modes for portable devices
* Low cost
* 5GHz unlicensed band with support for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
Nov/090
Clarity Aids Seniors Enjoy Conversations Once Again with the D613 Cordless Phone
It is already a wide known fact that one out of three adults over the age of 65 in the US struggles hearing the voice of their close ones, especially when having a phone conversation. Even more, it seems like hearing loss affects almost 36 million Americans and it still remains an overlooked health issue. A division from Plantronics, namely Clarity, that is specialized in building amplified telephones, just introduced a new cordless phone this year, the Clarity D613, which is now available nationwide at RadioShack.
The D613 uses Digital Enhanced Cordless Technology 6.0 and is here to provide seniors with an affordable means and a powerful solution to once again enjoy phone conversations with their beloved ones. What the manufacturer seems to have missed is that by using loud sound, a device can only damage the hearing of one more in time, and knowing that the D613 amplifies sound up to 30dB, I fear wondering what will happen in time.
“This year, more than any year before, we believe people are seeking truly helpful, but also affordable, gifts,” said Carsten Trads, president of Clarity. “For someone with hearing loss, a simple conversation is one of the best gifts possible. With affordability in mind, we created our new DECT phone for people like your parent, grandparent, sister, uncle or friend who are missing out on these conversations. We all love a good holiday sweater, but we want people to know there are life changing products like this available too.”
Anyway, it seems that is the only way to provide seniors with a crisp, clear and interference-free communication. Additionally, the phone comes in an ergonomic design with large, soft touch buttons that make usage a lot easier for people with arthritis, as well as aiding ones with a bad sight thanks to the bold numbers and text. Pricing for this one is at $89.99.
Nov/090
Cooler Master Showing the HAF 932 AMD Edition PC Case
Along with its first introduction to the public, the Cooler Master HAF 932 PC chassis kept winning a slew of awards, as well as users’ appreciation. I really can’t say, but either it is because of the rugged good looks, the outstanding usability or just the superior cooling performance, but it is quite clear that the HAF 932 has become one of those classics in the hardware community, just like we all remember the classic IBM case.
I really wonder how a company can improve one of its products, especially one that is already highly appreciated by the targeted community. In this case (ha!), the manufacturer teamed up with CPU and VGA builder AMD, and became more than proud to announce the introduction of the re-branded HAF 932 AMD Edition. Bringing one inspired and elegant AMD inspired design, and the same award-winning (if they say so) features and performance, the new HAF 932 AMD Edition provides customers with yet another outstanding solution for building their performance PCs around (actually, in).
Starting with the bold racing red color scheme, the HAF 932 AMB Edition is sure that will grab the attention of anyone that might enter in a store that has it exposed. Somehow completed by a see-through acrylic (just like Ferrari has on the back?!) side panel that has engraved nothing else but AMD’s dragon, namely an awe-inspiring figure that certifies the synthesis of power, strength and wisdom. Enough with the outside, let’s get inside. The HAF 932 AMD Edition offers a superior cooling system comprised of two massive 230mm fans, where the one on top of the HAF 932 AMD Edition can be outfitted with up to three 120mm fans for incomparable air exhaustion.
This will even provide for those of you that are planning to add water cooling to their rigs, enjoying that the HAF 932 AMD Edition does not only offer convenient retaining holes, but also makes it very easy to access the liquid coolant fill port. Pricing, however, is a little bit high, at $246.
Nov/090
Netflix on internet ready Sony BRAVIA
Good news for folks who against all odds don’t have a home theater Netflix streaming option yet, and yet inexplicably own an internet-connected Sony BRAVIA TV: Netflix just went live. It just takes applying the latest software update and you’re in business. BRAVIA owners were promised the update back in July, and let us be the first to point and laugh insensitively at PS3 owners who have use a “DVD” to get Netflix working on their Cell-powered supermachines.