Platforms

Apple Updates iPod Mini and iPod Photo, Now Direct Camera Upload
Apple has updated its iPod photo line-up with a new slim 30GB model, holding up to 7,500 songs, for just £249 ($475, e360) and a new 60GB model, holding up to 15,000 songs, for £309 ($590, e446)
Designed for content-hungry consumers who can’t bear to be parted from their music and photo libraries, both iPod photo models feature a high-resolution colour screen for displaying photos and (ahem) “enhancing the entire iPod music experience” (we think this translates to having some pictures and album art to look at while you’re playing songs).
Both models hold up to 25,000 digital photos and will feature the ability to import photos from your digital camera via the new iPod Camera Connector for “instant viewing and slide show playback “.
“The new slim 30GB iPod photo at just £249 lets music lovers enjoy their iPod in full colour, including album artwork along with their personal photo library,” enthused Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “And now you can import photos from your digital camera directly into iPod photo with the optional iPod Camera Connector.”
We welcome this enhancment, meaning that holiday won’t involve lugging a laptop around just for image downloads. Sadly, the iPod Camera Connector is not built in: it’s an optional extra that will set consumers back £19 ($36, e27.5) – and it isn’t available until March 2005.
Although the iPod remains one of the finest MP3 players on the planet, we’re not convinced that the iPod Photo is quite there yet as a photo wallet.
Unlike some rival units, there’s no built in card reader or Bluetooth support and we haven’t been able to work out if the iPhoto will be able to import – and view – RAW format files, something that would definitely create enthusiasm amongst the photographic cognoscenti. It would appear strange if they didn’t given, the impressive support that Apple’s iPhoto software has for the RAW format.
The truth is that the iPod photo seems to be far better as a versatile MP3 player and photo presentation unit rather than something for serious photographers to use for direct-to-camera storage.
However, the aggressive price cuts (rumoured to be in response to rumoured poor sales of the original iPod photo) will no doubt be warmly welcomed by consumers and ratchet up the fierce competition with main rivals iRiver and Creative Technology.
The 4GB and 6GB models of iPod mini for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of £139 ($265, €200) and £169 ($322, €244) respectively, in a choice of silver, pink, blue or green.
“At this breakthrough price point, and with more than twice the battery life, the new iPod mini should appeal to even more music lovers,” said Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs.
Both iPod mini models feature increased battery life of up to 18 hours, USB charging and the same lightweight design.
All these new iPod models work with the Apple iTunes software and store, and are compatible with either Mac OS or Windows based PC, connecting via firewire or USB 2.0.
Apple
iPod photo
iRiver
Creative Technology.
24 February, 2005
Sonus-1XT: Talking DAB Radio from Pure
PURE Digital has announced its new PURE SONUS-1XT DAB digital radio, an enhanced alarm radio with unique iVOX voice feedback technology.
As well as the usual groovy DAB radio alarm features – two independent alarms, Volume Equalisation Technology (VETTM) and ‘XT’ audio quality via a custom designed speaker and active filters – the unit uses iVOX technology to tell listeners the available DAB stations as they scroll through them.
Usefully, time, alarm and setting up instructions, can also be spoken by the unit. We’ve pestered Pure for audio examples of both the female, and male voices that are available. We’re really impressed with them, as they don’t sound automated or generated, and appear to be samples that have been seamlessly joined. Below are a few MP3 format examples
The time is 3:06pm (Female)
Alarm 2 is set for 3:15 pm on weekdays only (Male)
Alarm 1 is set for 7 am on weekdays only (Female)
Preset 1 empty, press and hold to assign preset (Female)
The radio sports PURE’s enhanced SnoozeHandle technology which tells the time with a single tap – great for hungover consumers unable to lift their head off the pillow. To check alarm settings users simply tap the SnoozeHandle twice to have them spoken.
The handle also doubles up a ‘snooze’ button, and giving it a slap in the middle of the night will light up a full-screen clock.
Says Kevin Dale, president, PURE Digital: “SONUS-1XT builds on the success of our DAB digital radio alarm system with iVOX, a natural speech technology that adds a new dimension to radio listening. The combination of iVOX and our SnoozeHandle technology takes DAB digital radio to the next level in interaction.”
PURE uses its Volume Equalisation Technology to constantly monitor the audio levels of every station to ensure consistent volume when switching stations.
All the handy benefits of DAB digital radio are there, including station select by name; scrolling track info display, news and sports results; and greater station choice.
The radio also offers a nine-event timed record function for use with MiniDisc or other recording devices, a USB connector for downloading software upgrades from an Internet-connected PC, a headphone socket and stereo line-out for recording.
A custom designed 3″ drive unit and active-filters provide a full sound with an option to upgrade the unit to stereo via a matching XT-1 add-on speaker,
It looks reasonable too, kitted out in smart maple wood casework with a pearlescent white front fronted with a silver grille and control panel with scrolling blue LCD text display.
SONUS-1XT is expected to be available on the high street at around £119.99 (€173, $230)
PURE Digital
24 February, 2005
EFF Release Cookbook: Build an HD PVR
Digital civil liberties organisation, The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has announced the next stage in its ongoing challenge to the US Federal Communications Commission’s “Broadcast Flag” technology mandate (first mentioned by us in Nov.03).
The organisation has released a step-by-step guide called “HD PVR Cookbook” which teaches people how to build a high-definition digital television (HDTV) recorder, unaffected by the technological constraints of the Broadcast Flag.
The EFF is also encouraging people to protest against the FCC rule by holding Build-Ins. These are gatherings around the country to build unfettered HDTV recorders and experience first-hand the kind of innovation stifled by the government mandate.
The Broadcast Flag is an application that places copy controls on DTV Signals in an attempt to stop people making digitally perfect copies of television shows and redistributing them.
It comes in two parts: The first is a tiny bit of data (the flag) that is inserted into a station’s digital stream. It doesn’t actually do anything to the video signal itself. It’s simply there, to tell digital receivers about the protection level of the content.
The second part of the technology comes into play from July 1st when all new devices will be required to protect marked content with an “authorised technology”.
This has the aim of limiting one’s ability to distribute the content via the Internet or other mass methods while simultaneously allowing the consumer unfettered access to his or her content.
Now that sounds pretty reasonable, but as engadget points out, this technology may end up preventing consumers from making perfectly legitimate personal copies of broadcasts.
Moreover, it may outlaw the manufacture and importing of a whole host of TiVo-like devices that send DTV signals into a computer for backup, editing, and playback.
The EFF is inviting individuals to fight back by hosting a Build-In before the Broadcast Flag goes into effect on July 1, 2005.
EFF held the first Build-In at its offices in late January, inviting a number of local programmers, TV fans, and bloggers to try out their ‘Cookbook’ and ‘test-bake’ their own HDTV recorders using standard computers equipped with HD tuner cards.
The results were impressive: the dozen attendees created five working PVRs over the course of the day, using the KnoppMyth distribution of the open-source MythTV software package.
Groups who want to host their own Build-Ins can contact EFF for a “Throw Your Own Build-In” kit, which includes a hard copy of the HD PVR Cookbook, a KnoppMyth CD-ROM, and (of course!) free EFF t-shirts and stickers.
EFF releases its technological challenge to the Broadcast Flag on the same day that the organisation and other civil liberties groups challenge the FCC in the courtroom. In ALA v. FCC, the groups – including the American Library Association and Public Knowledge – argue that the FCC has overstepped its authority in mandating the Broadcast Flag and that the rule should be struck down.
“Even as we’re suing the FCC to stop this interference with technological innovation, we’re also helping television watchers to get off the couch and build their own fully capable PVRs,” said EFF Special Projects Coordinator Wendy Seltzer, who organized the Build-In. “Every MythTV built helps demonstrate the creative development that may be cut off by bad regulation.”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
HD PVR Cookbook
Photos of the EFF Build-In (EFF)
Will the Broadcast Flag Break Your TiVo? (Slate Mag)
Federal Communications Commission
23 February, 2005
Robert Clark Photo Trip Sponsored by Sony Ericcson: PR Own Goal?
We know that camera phones are getting better and that the Ericsson S710a Camera Phone has a better one than most, but this over-excited PR bonanza from Sony has rubbed us up the wrong way.
Here’s the story: Sony have waved enough bags of gold at award-winning photographer Robert Clark to entice him to trudge across North America capturing “spontaneous” pictures through the viewfinder of a Sony Ericsson S710a camera.
Now, you may think getting a top photographer to go around taking pictures and then slapping them up on a Web site is fairly unspectacular stuff, but Sony’s press department clearly doesn’t agree.
“A New Era of Digital Photography Begins Today” screams their hyperbolic announcement, “Join Robert Clark as He Travels Across North America, Spontaneously Discovering Life as It Happens”.
We’re not quite sure what ‘Spontaneously Discovering Life as It Happens’ entails. Maybe he’ll be stumbling across new life forms with every step or be in a constant state of astonished delight as wonderful creatures ‘spontaneously’ appear before his eyes.
Mind you, this Clark fella appears equally keen to join in the mutual PR lathering:
“It is truly exciting to have the opportunity to undertake such a prolific journey across North America, and have the opportunity to capture the people, places and things that make this country unique,” purred Robert Clark.
“The camera phone is revolutionising how we see the world, allowing us to capture intimate moments more spontaneously than ever before. This tour aims to be a defining moment in the era of digital photography – elements of American life all captured with a high performance Sony Ericsson camera phone.”
Quick as a flash, Sony’s Vice President of Marketing for Sony Ericsson, Frances Britchford, was on hand to further inflate the wild claims being made for this blatant publicity stunt:
“The Image America tour, and our partnership with the very talented Robert Clark, provides a unique opportunity to capture the essence of the United States and Canada through something that most of us now consider essential to our lives – the cell phone”.
And just when you thought he couldn’t get any further carried away, he rolls out this spectacular piece of convoluted PR guff:
“For experienced photographers or true photo novices, the S710a is the perfect tool to capture life’s moments as they happen.”
Now we like the Sony Ericsson S710a phone. It’s a great phone.
In fact, it’s a nicely designed, well specified, fully featured smart-phone with an above average camera that is fine for taking holiday snaps and photographs of your mates getting drunk. And that’s about it.
It is not – and never will be – “the perfect tool for professional photographers”.
With a resolution of just 1.3 megapixels it sits near the bottom of the pile of even the cheapest digital cameras, so the only professional photographers likely to be using this camera are the ones being sponsored by Sony.
Despite the ludicrous blurb, it’s a fairly safe bet that Clark will produce a fine set of pictures that will put almost all camera phone photographers to shame.
No doubt his years of experience producing work for esteemed magazines like National Geographic and Sports Illustrated will get the very best out of the Sony phone and the ‘commemorative book’ he’s knocking out at the end of his tour will be a fine looking thing (although the cynical amongst us wonder how much pre-publishing Photoshoppery will go on behind the scenes).
For consumers looking for a handy camera/phone combination capable of producing reasonable quality 6″ x 4″ prints, the Sony Ericsson S710a is a fine choice. Professional photographers should, however, look elsewhere.
Sony Ericsson S710a photos
Robert Clark at American PHOTO
Sony Ericsson Image America
Sony Ericsson
23 February, 2005
GZ-MC500: 3-CCD Hard-Drive Camcorder from JVC Everio
The diminutive JVC GZ-MC500 comes with three 1/4.5-inch CCD that records high-quality MPEG-2 video onto CompactFlash microdrives, with a 4 gig card, capable of storing up to an hour of “DVD-quality” video.
The GZ-MC500 is slightly larger than the previous two Everio models, and the increased size makes it easier for users to access advanced features such as a focus ring, manual shutter speed control, manual aperture control, real time histogram display, auto bracketing and manual white balance control.
There’s also the usual Program AE dial on the side of the unit, offering a range of exposure options including Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Twilight, Sports, Snow, Portrait, and Auto/Manual modes.
In keeping with its prosumer aspirations, the camera features a rotating grip and is kitted out with a matt black finish of a fairly rugged construction, although the small LCD screen (1.8 in) and weird omission of a microphone input may deter prospective customers.
The camcorder’s zoom is a bit weedy as well, measuring in at only 10x optical zoom (8x for stills).
The Everio offers four recording quality levels for the MPEG-2 video, with the highest quality setting providing 60 minutes of video recording time on a 4 gig card, with the lowest quality setting stretching it out to pixellated-tastic 300 minutes (JVC says that models with six or eight gigabyte hard disks will be available later in the year).
JVC includes the PowerProducer DVD authoring software with the GZ-MC500 so users can export their video to different medium/formats.
For capturing high quality still images, new camcorder sports an interpolation technique called “pixel-shift” which JVC claims is capable of doubling the amount of information horizontally and vertically via “prism optics and filterless 3-CCD pixel shift technology”.
Translated into a language approaching English, this means that the camera is able to produce thumping great 5-megapixel with a resolution of 2560 x 1920 pixels still shots. This is second only to Samsung’s latest Duocam camcorder.
With consumers warming to hard disk based recorders, this compact combination of camcorder and camera, could prove enticing to enthusiasts keen to start fiddling about with all those exposure options and consumers looking for auto-everything recorder.
The JVC Everio GZ-MC500 will be available in March for $1,799.95 (£950, €1,400)
JVC
CCD
22 February, 2005
DR-DX7S Leads JVC DVD/HDD Recorder Line Up
JVC have wheeled out a veritable cavalcade of new, full-featured multi-format DVD recorders, including a series of combination units that combine DVD recording with hard disk drive (HDD), VHS and Mini DV recording.
Stuffed full of technical innovations and user-friendly features, JVC hopes that their range will delight DVD dubbers and enrapture home recorders.
At the heart of the new JVC DVD recorder line is the DR-M100S, which records in the DVD-RAM and DVD-RW/-R formats. Also in the 2005 line up is the DR-MH300S DVD/HDD unit with 160GB hard disk drive, as well as the DR-MV5S DVD/VHS recorder, which features JVC’s exclusive VHS Progressive Scan for superior VHS mode playback.
Interestingly, JVC is also offering a new three-way combination unit – the DR-DX7S -combining a Mini DV deck with DVD and hard disk drive recording.
“The growth of the DVD recorder market over the last year shows that consumers are looking for more versatility in how they watch television and movies,” said Dave Owen, General Manager, Consumer Video, JVC Company of America. “Our new DVD recorder line is designed to meet the needs of virtually every customer. We’re providing advanced recorders that offer an unprecedented merger of innovation and utility.”Let’s take a closer look at some of the new models offered in JVCs line up.
Available in March 2005 for around $349.95 (€268, £185) the DR-M100S DVD recorder allows up to 16 hours of recording time (when using a dual sided disc) and shares all of its features with the line’s combo models. It can record in DVD-RAM and DVD-RW/-R formats and play back DVD-RAM, DVD-RW/-R formats, as well as CD, CD-R/RW, VCD, SVCD, JPEG and MP3 files.
The DR-MV5S makes it easy for consumers wishing to archive their collection of VHS recordings onto DVD. Combining a DVD recorder with a VHS VCR the one-touch intelligent dubbing system offers auto record speed optimiser which calculates total recording time on VHS tape then automatically selects the most suitable recording speed for dubbing to DVD.
Those with VHS collections chaotically labelled with a load of indecipherable scrawling, may enjoy the auto thumbnail creation feature, which automatically creates video thumbnail chapter references when dubbing to DVD.
The DR-MV5S will be available in April for around $449.95 (€345, £237).
We find the DR-DX7S the most interesting of them all (launching in July for $1,799.95, (€1,378, £958) although it’s not cheap.
By combining a 250GB hard disk drive, a DVD recorder and a Mini DV deck this looks to be a perfect solution for camcorder users who don’t fancy fannying about with a computer.
Users can simply load a Mini DV cassette into the deck to easily edit home videos on the hard disk drive and then dub onto DVD.
Mini DV is recorded onto the hard disk drive in the original Mini DV format, so footage can be dubbed, edited on the hard disk drive and then transferred back to Mini DV without a loss in quality. Nice.
JVC
22 February, 2005
Like Music from Philips Offers Intelligent, Mood Based Music Sequencing
In an increasingly crowded marketplace, heavily dominated by iPod products, rival MP3 manufacturers are constantly foraging around to unearth new Unique Selling Points.
After Apple scored another direct hit with the iPod shuffle – a simple player offering randomised MP3 playback – the boffins at Philips were dispatched to their techie bunker and told not to come out until they’d come up with something Very Special Indeed.
And it seems that they might have come up trumps, with the new Philips HDD093 and HDD095 models.
Although they may not look too revolutionary, sporting the usual feature set (small form factor, 3GB drives, ten hours of battery life, MP3/WMA playback, greyscale and colour screens) the killer stroke comes with an intriguing new feature regaling under the deceptively simple name of ‘Like Music’.
This smarty-pants widget has the ability to ‘thread’ songs based on common attributes, including genre, tempo, and overall mood.
So, if you’re swinging your pants to some crazy punk music, engaging the ‘Like Music’ feature should get your MP3 player to intelligently serve you up 20 more tracks that it thinks sounds similar to what you’re currently listening to.
And it doesn’t just serve up any old stuff either – apparently, the player uses 40 metrics to locate tracks with a familiar beat, instrument line-up, and tempo, so you shouldn’t find a Kylie track wedged between Green Day and the Pistols.
Although we’ve yet to be sent a player to test for ourselves (excuse us while we deliver a loud cough in the direction of Philips), this looks like a really compelling feature, and one that could give Philips an edge over their rivals.
After all, with MP3 players increasingly being stuffed full of thousands of tracks which are often mislabelled or just lumped together in over-flowing folders, mood-based sequencing could prove to be the best way to keep the party going.
The players will debut in the late summer for around £200. Drunk MP3 DJs will love them.
iPod shuffle
Philips
Photo credit: Engadget.
21 February, 2005
Sandisk Announce Clever USB Enabled SD Memory Card
SanDisk today introduced the less-than-snappily entitled SanDisk Ultra(TM) II SD(TM) PLUS, an innovative SD flash memory card with built-in USB connectivity.
The card has a built-in USB connector for instant connectivity – users can flip the card to expose the USB connector and then plug it into any USB port and watch the blinking LED do its thang as the data is transferred.
The neat folding design eliminates the need for an easily-lost cap too.
This dual functionality could prove to be an alluring selling point, as consumers wanting to download images to their computer currently have to invest in external card readers or mess about with a connecting cable.
Travellers will find the twin functionality particularly handy, with the USB connection making it easy to download their holiday snaps onto cyber-café computers and mail them off to jealous chums back home.
The Ultra II SD PLUS is targeted primarily at the professional digital camera and prosumer market where 4 mega-pixel or higher resolution digital cameras are requiring significantly faster flash memory film cards.
It’s quite a nippy card too, offering a respectable write speed of 9-megabytes per second (MB/Sec) and a 10MB/sec read speed.
SanDisk expects the card to initially be available in two capacities with the 512MB card having a suggested retail price of $109.99 (£58, €84) and the 1GB version carrying a suggested price of $149.99 (£79, €115)
Shipping to stores is expected in April. We might even be tempted.
SanDisk
21 February, 2005
PacketVideo Ships on 17m Mobile Phones in 2004
In their 2005 “State of the Company” address just made public, PacketVideo bigged up their successes in 2004 and mulled about the future of mobile multimedia.
Clearly, 2004 was a time of happiness and joy for PacketVideo, with the company announcing that 17 million phones embedded with PacketVideo media software were shipped by top handset OEMs worldwide in 2004.
PacketVideo also helped launch five 2.5G and 3G multimedia services, including the recent Verizon V CAST video-on-demand (VOD) service in the US, and the OrangeWorld service on Orange Signature phones in 2004 and early 2005.
PacketVideo is the numero uno supplier of embedded multimedia communications software for mobile phones with more than 60 ‘design wins’ and 17 million handsets shipped in 2004.
The company’s software enables mobile phones to take digital pictures, record home movies, play back digital music and videos, and make two-way videophone calls.
PacketVideo specialises in building and ‘commercializing’ (we think that’s American for “selling”) multimedia capabilities such as VOD, music on demand (MOD) and two-way video communication and messaging.
“These much-anticipated multimedia services, made possible by the growing availability of 3G networks, are finally a reality for millions of people around the globe,” trumpeted Dr Jim Brailean, CEO of PacketVideo. He continued, “PacketVideo’s software is at the heart of delivering these new and innovative services that let customers download, play, and share streaming audio, video and live broadcasts on their mobile phones.”
Looking to the future, PacketVideo expects continued growth and technology innovation, and anticipates an increase in both lovely lolly and market share.
“We believe 2005 will be the year of multimedia services such as VOD, MOD (Movies On Demand) and two-way video telephony. We will see the multimedia technologies permeate all levels of handsets, allowing more and more consumers to take advantage of the multimedia capabilities,” enthused Brailean.
PacketVideo
16 February, 2005
Treo650: European Release Delayed
In a move sure to have Palm aficionados blubbering into their PDAs, the European release of the eagerly awaited PalmOne Treo 650 smart phone has been delayed, the company said this week.
Although available to US citizens since October 2004, PalmOne has failed to meet their announced February European delivery date with the handsets now expected to ship here in Q2.
The phone is an update of the hugely popular Treo 600, widely regarded as one of the most successful PDA/smartphones ably backed up by an immense range of software available on the Palm platform.
The 650 offers a higher-resolution 65,000-colour 320 x 320 display, integrated Bluetooth, VGA digicam with 2x digital zoom, a faster, 312MHz Intel XScale processor and 32MB of Flash memory, of which 22MB to 23MB are available to the user.
Running on PalmOS 5.4, aka ‘Garnet’, the device also sports an SD IO slot for expansion, an easier-to-use QWERTY backlit keyboard and call ‘make and break’ buttons.
According to PalmOne, the GSM version of the 650 provides up to six hours talk time and 12 days on stand-by.
So far, only Orange has confirmed that it will be backing the 650 and, as with the Treo 600, the company will be offering its innovative TalkNow push-to-talk service to new users.
As an Orange Signature phone, the phone will also come equipped with Orange-specific applications, such as Orange Backup (which allows customers to automatically back up Contacts, SIM data, Calendar, Tasks, Memos, Mail and images wirelessly on a remote server) and Orange Download (enabling customers to receive updated software from Orange directly to the phone).
There’s a lot riding on this release. Although PalmOne remains the second most popular PDA/smartphone platform worldwide, the unexpected withdrawal of the innovative Sony Clie Palm PDAs last year was a serious blow.
Although many feel that the Treo 650 remains a class leader, increasingly, competition from Nokia/Microsoft PC and Linux devices means that the delayed release could seriously impact on potential sales.
Treocentral
PalmOne (UK)
PalmOne Treo 650
16 February, 2005