Apple Unveils the iPod Touch

Putting an end to all the speculation of these past weeks, Apple Computer yesterday launched its all new iPod, the iPod Touch.

The reported whoops and hollers might go to justify Apple CEO, Steve Jobs' claim that 'the seventh wonder of the world' had just been unveiled. Also dubbed as 'the God machine', the newbie iPod looks a lot like the iPhone -- except that it is no phone.


A sleek looking touch-controlled iPod, the iPod Touch sports a 3.5-inches color screen, built-in WiFi Internet access, and Apple's Safari Internet browser.

The iPod Touch will come in 2 versions: an 8GB version priced at GBP 199; and a 16GB version costing GBP 269.

Both versions are expected to be on the British market this month.




Apart from unveiling the iPod Touch, Apple revamped its iPod line that includes a reworked iPod Nano and the iPod Classic.

The new Nano features 22 hours audio playback and 5 hours video playback. The flip side is the Nano suddenly looks as if it has put on some weight

The 4GB iPod Nano comes in Silver for $149, while the 8GB iPod Nano comes in Silver, Black, Blue, Green, and a special Red edition for $199. Both new Nanos come with 3 fun games, and additional games can be purchased from the iTunes store (www.itunes.com).

Both 4GB and 8GB iPod Nano models for Windows or Mac are immediately available worldwide through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple retail stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Meanwhile, the iPod Classic comes in Silver and Black in 2 versions; 80GB model and 160GB model. The 80GB iPod Classic is priced at $249 and the 160GB iPod Classic costs $349. Both models are immediately available worldwide.

Interestingly, while Apple was making announcements, Microsoft announced a slash in the price of its Zune digital media player by $50 to $199. The software major claimed it had been planning a price cut all this while...





Apple also unveiled the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, offering fans the ability to browse, search, preview, purchase, and download songs and albums from iTunes over a Wi-Fi network directly onto their iPod Touch or iPhone, sans any computer as intermediary.

When owners of the iPod Touch or iPhone connect their gizmos back to their PCs or Macs, the downloaded music would automatically sync back to their iTunes library. In case they have only partially downloaded a song or album onto their Touch or iPhone, the computer would complete the download automatically.

Meanwhile, prices and selection on the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store would remain the same as on the regular iTunes Store. Both the new iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and custom iTunes ringtones for iPhone will be available later this month.

Additionally, Apple announced lowering the price of its iPhone (8GB) from $599 to $399 in the US. The iPhone 4GB model will be sold until supplies last, Apple said.

Microsoft SideWinder Gaming Mouse

Microsoft is again showing its gaming peripherals the light of the day; SideWinder - the gaming brand from Microsoft lives again. They have a mouse which has a 2,000 DPI, a wired critter, and sports a Quick Turn feature which lets users check their perimeter at any angle. It has a weight cartridge system with a variety of feet to get the best gaming comfort.

It also has a cable management system to boot, and on-the-fly DPI adjustment with an LCD to display the current DPI set. Microsoft claims that this is the first gaming mouse to arrive with an LCD built right in, which allows users to "easily keep track of key gaming actions, including their DPI and steps for recording macros." The mouse will be released in October with a price tag of $79.95 (Rs. 3,200).

5 megapixel camera phone from LG Electronics

LG Electronics today announced the LG-KU990 (LG Viewty) mobile phone with a 5.1 megapixel camera.

LG Electronics today announced plans to launch 'LG Viewty' (Model: LG-KU990), its very first professional-level high feature camera phone, destined to steal the spotlight.

LG Mobile, which led design innovation in the mobile handset arena last year, is once again turning the tables on mobile phone trends by expanding their product category to introduce series of high feature phones.

The 'LG Viewty', the first handset representing LG Mobile's new feature-oriented category, combines ultimate functionality with sensational style that one can expect from LG Mobile. The name 'LG Viewty' has been chosen to encapsulate the enjoyment of viewing and sharing high-quality photos. This is made possible through the large LCD screen and extensive functionality of the camera phone.

Users of the 'LG Viewty' will be able to enjoy a complete mobile digital imagery experience. Boasting its 5.1 megapixel camera with manual focus and image stabilizer features, the 'LG Viewty' takes high quality photographs with endless possibilities to allow users to enhance their images through the extensive editing features of the phone.

The sleek handset, whose size defies its amount of features, introduces world's first 120 fps video recording feature in a mobile camera phone. A single-click connection to YouTube allows users to share their very own film moments with others on the internet.

Dr. Skott Ahn, CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company says "This is a very exciting time for LG Mobile. The LG Black Label Series and our collaboration with PRADA have cemented our position as an innovator in design and style. With the launch of the new 'LG Viewty we are now also proving our commitment to technical enhancement and look forward to taking the feature phone category by storm."

The 'LG Viewty' which will be available for buy from October, will first be revealed during the IFA 2007 in Berlin on August 31, 2007.

Toshiba announces 16 GB & 32 GB SD High Capacity memory cards

Toshiba adds new SD High Capacity (SDHC) cards and microSDHC card to memory card line-up.

Three new cards were announced, including the worlds first 32-gigabyte (GB) memory card in this high density. Alongside the 32GB SDHC card, Toshiba also announced a 16GB SDHC card and an 8GB microSDHC card. All the new cards meet the Class 4 specification in the SD Speed Class, ensuring they deliver the high level performance and functionality essential for advanced mobile phones and other personal digital products.

The 16GB SDHC card will be available worldwide from October, and the 32GB SDHC card and 8GB microSDHC card will be launched worldwide in January next year.

SDHC Memory Cards can be used with devices that support the SD Memory Card Ver. 2.00 standard. They are not backward compatible with standard SD Memory Cards. Toshiba say that they have only been able to produce standard SD cards up to a maximum size of 2GB. In order to meet high-capacity needs, the new SDHC-standard cards was presented. SDHC cards use the FAT32 file system and are high-capacity.

The market for high density memory cards is growing fast, driven by increasing demand for personal digital equipment able to handle motion pictures and high resolution images. Demand for high density microSDHC cards is expected to emerge in the mobile phone market, as on-board cameras advance multi-megapixel capacities, and demand for music and motion pictures are expanding as well.

The expanded new card series will be featured at the IFA 2007, in Berlin, Germany from August 31 to September 5.

Sennheiser RS130

Sennheiser is a world-renowned brand when it comes to manufacturing quality audio products and is known for letting their products do the talking instead of heavy marketing. Today what we have for you is one of their wireless options - RS130.

This headphone works on radio frequency instead of Infra-red, just like most wireless headphones. The RS130 boasts of being a comfortable wireless solution for couch-potatoes, providing quite a good range to cover a really large room. Along with gratifying the the comfort aspect, it also has SRS Surround with enhanced bass for a complete music experience. You'll learn more about this and more ahead, so let's get on with putting this product to test.

Bundle

Base Transmitter

Base Adaptor

RS130 Headphones

6.5mm Audio Jack

2 NiMH AAA batteries

Manual

Specifications

Frequency Range: 18 Hz - 20 KHz

Range: 150m

RF Frequency Range: 863 - 865 MHz / 926 - 928 MHz

Modulation: FM Stereo

Weight: 280 grams

Soundwave's Transforming MP3 Player

Takara Tomy have an MP3 player that is built on the craze of the latest Michael Bay creation - The Transformers. This MP3 player can actually transform into Optimus Prime.

If after the 90 minutes of the action movie you still want to feed your craze, go ahead and pick one of these, and fill it up with the Transformer OST.

Fiire - Linux based Media Center

Having Linux based Media Center doesn't burn a hole in your pocket, but enables you to have a good rig to sizzle your entertainment. Fiire is a company doing just that - it sells media boxes and remotes. Their rig is based on the FiireEngine; it's a $799 (Rs.33, 237) box which packs an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, a 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, RAID support for 6 eSATA drives (that would take the total capacity to 6TB), with a motherboard having an on-board the NViDIA 6200 graphics chipset. The system has DVI, VGA, S-video, but unfortunately no HDMI.





The FiireEngine accesses the company's FiireStation ($499-$899) set-top box to provide entertainment to wall-mount units. The remote provided, FiireChief ($149) controls the media center. You can have a "follow" wherein you can play a video in one room, move to the next room, and continue to watch the same video on a different screen in a different room. How cool is that? But I can see those dollars summing up to a way bigger amount. Well a cool concept with a high price tag, and still no HDMI is degrading.