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Media Centre in 2005, What’s Apple cooking for 2006: Teenage Tech Roundup
Digital-Lifestyles is pleased to have Lawrence Dudley writing for us. All too often articles about the things teenagers are interested in are written by people old enough to be their parents. What teenagers are thinking isn’t represented. Lawrence will give you a point of view that you won’t find in other publications. You see Lawrence _is_ a teenager.
Happy New Year!!Since the New Year has just begun, a piece focusing on last year, the one that has just begun and the developments suspected to emerge during it seemed justified.
It’s strange in many ways, to look back on a space of time as long as a year in tech history. Technology evolves so rapidly that a time span of even as little as a week can seem like a month.
2005 was hailed by many as ‘The Year Of HD’: More and more High Definition TVs and displays have become available, and the recently launched Xbox 360 supports HD out of the box. HD promises us richer colours, and most importantly a resolution higher than the abysmal 500×300 or so resolution offered by a lot of standard definition televisions.
The price of HD equipment also dropped by a huge amount. A year ago, I remember seeing prices that one just couldn’t justify for a TV, with £3,000 not being an unusual sum of money to see for a HD television.
Walking into UK Electronics retailer, Dixons, the other day, I came across a set that cost a ‘mere’ £1,000. While a thousand pounds is still a lot of money, it’s a much more realistic price for a television than the three grand of a year ago. As far as I am concerned then, the ‘Year of HD’ was certainly a raging success.
I know a lot of people in technology make all sorts of predictions, and a lot of them turn out to be false, but there is one prediction I am fairly confident in making: 2006 will be THE year of the home entertainment computer.
You might wonder why I am so confident in this prediction: Afterall, Microsoft has been pushing out Windows Media Center for a good few years now, and they still haven’t gained dominance. The deciding factor for this year, I believe, will be the fact that Apple is now in the market.
On 12th October last year, Apple unveiled their first media-oriented computer, the iMac G5 which featured a remote control and accompanying software for watching DVDs, slideshows, playing music and movies. While the product’s reception was great, and the media loved it, nothing much has been heard of it since.
A nice gimmick, sure, but nothing more. It wasn’t about to replace the box under the TV, or indeed the TV itself because it missed one important feature: The ability to watch actual live television with it.
There were of course enhancements that could be purchased which made this possible, but they are awkward and use a different remote control. Never mind having different remote controls for different boxes, this was a case of two remote controls for the same one, and I for one know how frustrating it is to lose a remote. Having two of them increases the chance of losing one. Apart from this it wasn’t a polished affair, and the software to facilitate a media centre-like experience wasn’t mature enough.
What makes me think this will change? One word: Macworld in San Francisco next week. Apple are poised to do to video what they did to music, and I am confident they will pull it off with a rush of brushed aluminum and cool white plastic, accompanied with their usual style.
In the past, Apple haven’t briefed journalists in advance. There were of course all the usual rumour sites, and their fan base has always been prominent on the Web.
However, this has always been on quite specific Mac-related Websites, and not in main stream media.
Over the past few days however, the rumours have increased to such a level that popular news site Digg.com had almost one out of every two stories it carried relating to Apple in one way or another. I got a familiar buzz from this – something must be going on. Imagine my surprise then when I opened the newspaper this morning, only to find a nice big picture of Steve Jobs on the front cover of one of the inserts.
One thing’s for sure, San Francisco 2006 is going to be BIG. Along with a slew of expected Intel Apple Macs (yes, Apple are moving to the Intel architecture), a product is expected that, if released, could transform the way we consume media.
Think of it as an iPod for your living room. It downloads music, videos and films, can display and record television, radio and any other input source and can pipe audio to any room in the house, wirelessly, thanks to the existing Airtunes technology. Whether this is a dream that will soon become reality or not, will be revealed in the next few days.
It may of course be that Apple ship this wonder product later than this, but I have a feeling, only a feeling mind, that it will be at Macworld San Francisco.
So what about competitors? What are Microsoft doing about all this? It seems that Windows Vista will ship with a media center module built-in, meaning that it isn’t necessary to buy a separate Windows Media Center machine to run it on. However, not many details exist about this, and the release date isn’t certain yet, although it is scheduled for sometime in 2006.
There’s not much else to say until it becomes apparent what is released during the year, but I shall be doing a special piece covering the developments from Mac World San Francisco on or around the 12th of January. Here’s to a good year in media and technology!
6 January, 2006
FinePix V10 Zoom With Added (ahem) ‘Fun’ Games
Fujifilm have rolled out their new 5.1 million pixel FinePix V10 Zoom, which they’re billing as a “next-generation digital compact camera with distinctive looks and an extra dose of fun.”
The “dose of fun” comes in the shape of some retro arcade-style games installed on the camera.
These include a shooting game, blockbuster and a maze puzzle, played via the camera’s controls which have been positioned like a console for extra playability.
In a rather nice touch, captured images can also be incorporated into the games, although we’ve no idea how sophisticated this process will be.
Although we’ve never felt the urge to play a shoot ’em up on our digital cameras, the rest of the camera seems to shape up pretty well, with the FinePix V10 Zoom sporting a large three inch, 230,000 pixels LCD screen in a pocketable design.
Like its well reviewed near-namesake, the Fujifilm F10, the FinePix V10 Zoom is speedy in operation, with a nippy 0.01 second shutter lag and a 1.5 second start-up time.
Optics come in the form of a reasonably fast (F2.8 – F5.5) 3.4x optical zoom, giving a zoom range comparable to 38 – 130mm on a 35mm camera, and there’s VGA movie capture mode capable of grabbing 30 frames per second with sound.
The camera boasts Fujifilm’s excellent Super CCD HR sensor, with their Real Photo Technology offering a huge range of sensitivity from ISO64 to ISO1600, making the camera suitable for low light, ‘natural’ photography.
A novel ‘Natural Light & with Flash’ mode captures two images in quick succession, with and without flash, letting the user decide which one looks best. We like that idea.
Sadly, Fujifilm are sticking with their rather obscure xD-Picture Card, which means that most photographers switching brands will have to invest in a new memory card format.
Overall, this looks to be an interesting and fun point’n’shoot snapper with the Super CCD HR sensor offering a compelling advantage over many of its rivals.
We’re not so convinced of the wisdom of bolting on arcade games on to a camera though – not only does it seem an unconvincing example of digital convergence, it’s also likely to result in a dead camera battery.
The FinePix V10 Zoom will be available from UK retailers in March 2006, with pricing to be announced nearer to the launch date.
Fujifilm.
6 January, 2006
Sandisk Announce Sansa Flash MP3 Players
Sandisk have whipped out two iPod nano-style flash-based music players at CES 2006.
Their new Sandisk Sansa e200 series players offer up to 6BG storage and are expected to ship in the US and Europe this March
Sharing a similar styling and size to the hugely successful Apple iPod nano range, the Sansa e200 players have eaten a few more pies with a depth of 0.5-inches (1.3cm) compared to the nano’s slimline 0.27-inches.
Both models sport a 1.8-inch colour screen (slightly bigger than the nano’s 1.5-inch screen), with the 2GB e250 model costing $199 (~€163 ~£112), the 4GB model $249 (~€204 ~£140) and the top of the range 6GB player costing $299 (~€245 ~£168).
Not content with being ‘inspired’ by the nano, Sandisk also announced a line of petite flash memory music players to challenge the Apple iPod shuffle, although the Sansa c100 series players ship with colour screens.
Pricing is $119 (1GB) (~€97 ~£67) or $169 (2GB) (~€138 ~£95).
Sandisk
6 January, 2006
Dell New Concepts Introduced At CES 2006
Clearly suffering from an overdose on the hyperbole intake, Michael Dell has been getting all lyrical about Dell’s new ideas, unveiled at CES 2006.
On a dedicated CES site loaded with the kind of preposterous guff that would keep Private Eye’s Pseuds Corner stocked with stories for months ahead, the bonkers blurb blathers on about ‘The power of creation being aligned along elemental paths,’ before introducing its new products range.
First up is the new Dell XPS 600 Renegade, a powerful, high-end gaming PC described as a (here we go again) ‘manifestation of power so pure it can only be described as supernatural.’
Yes, Michael. Whatever you say.
Mind you, the machine looks pretty damn good, with an, err, adventurous fire’n’brimstone finish and a feast of high end components inside, including dual 1GB NVIDIA 7800 SLI graphic cards, Intel dual core 955W CPU over-clocked to 4.25Ghz and 2GB dual channel RAM.
Release is set for Spring, although there’s no mention of the no-doubt stratospheric price.
Next up on the site is Dell’s new 30″ UltraSharp widescreen monitor, a desirable looking piece of kit, described as being, “as stunning as the vision that inspired it”, whatever that means.
The attractive monitor offers WQXGA resolution (that’s 2560×1600 pixels to normal people), fast 11ms grey-to-grey response time, 700:1 contrast ratio and an integrated 9-in-2 memory card reader.
More info here: Dell US
Finally, the site showcases the Dell XPS Mobile Concept, a weird looking laptop-meets-DVD entertainment combo, introduced with a flamboyant salvo of onscreen Hammer Horror lightning strikes.
Billed as ‘coming soon’, this concept design sports a 20.1″ widescreen display, built in 1.3 megapixel camera, ‘high end array microphones’ (say what?) and a total of eight integrated speakers and subwoofer.
We’re not sure what a ‘portfolio’ design is, but this thing’s sure got it, along with ‘anodized articulating hinges’ and a detachable wireless keyboard and mouse.
“wait ’til you see where it takes you”, says the site.
We’d rather wait to see if the laptop gets past the concept stage first, thanks.
Dell CES 2006 Website
6 January, 2006
AJAX Alert: Opera Browser With AJAX To Sigma CE Chip Range
Web browser company Opera today announce they’re bring their Web browser with AJAX support to chips for use in Consumer Electronics (CE) applications.
It’s not long back that Opera made the decision to give their Web browser away after a long period of charging for it. A very brave and noble act many though – not a bad way to raise your profile we thought.
They’ve been putting their browsers on different platforms for a while, like the mini-browser for mobile phones they brought out back in August 05.
The reasoning behind the give-away move becomes clearer today as they announce that they’ve been working with US chip company Sigma Designs to bring their browser software to embedded hardware via Sigma’s SMP8630 family of chipsets.
Clearly looking to tread on Intel’s toes, Sigma say the SMP8630 family of chipsets can be used in digital media adapters, IPTV set-top boxes and networked DVD players that OEM’s may want to build.
To get to use the browser and the oh-so-desirable AJAX, OEM’s will need to get in touch with Opera to license their Software Development Kit (SDK). Once familiar with it they should be able to create some snazzy application.
So what’s so exciting about embedded Web browsing software? Their supports the darling of the hour buzzword – AJAX.
We’re sure you, dear reader, know what AJAX is, but just incase – it stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. This translates to being able to use a Web browser more like a computer-based application.
The most notable difference from a ‘normal’ Web app is information and updates can be carried out without needing reload the Web page each time. It’s an intergral part of the Web 2.0 landscape.
The most often cited example is Google’s Gmail.
We at Digital-Lifestyles see the rise of AJAX as the event that broke Microsoft’s domination of computers. So pretty significant really.
Expect this news to generate great excitement in the Blog-world.
Opera
Sigma
Opera-related stories on Digital-Lifestyles
5 January, 2006
Motorola Ditches iTunes With ROKR E2 Release
Motorola says adieu to Apple and bonjour to Linux as it unveiled its shiny new ROKR E2 phone at the Consumer Electronics Show today.
Adding unlimited song support, a VGA camera and a web browser, the new phone fixes many of the well documented problems of the ROKR E1, the first iTunes phone, jettisoning Apple in the process.
The new phone looks pretty similar to the original E1 phone, but offers several notable improvements including nippy USB 2.0 song transfer rates compared to the sluggish USB 1.1 of its predecessor and the removal of the artificial 100-song limit, with the Secure Digital slot supporting memory cards up to 2 GB.
Running on a new Linux-based operating system, the Motorola ROKR E2 also includes a high-res 320×240 screen, a 1.3 megapixel camera with video recording, a built-in FM radio, Opera Web browser Bluetooth (supporting wireless music streaming to stereo Bluetooth headphones), and joy-of-joys – a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and not one of those ruddy annoying mini sockets that are incompatible with normal headphones.
Competing directly with the likes of the Sony Ericsson W600i and Samsung MM-A900, the new E2 lets users create and manage playlists on the device itself and offers dedicated music control keys placed on the front and side of the handset.
The phone can play “a variety” of music formats (no more info yet), with drag and drop song transfer from PCs.
Motorola’s decision to shun iTunes certainly represents a gamble. The tight integration with Apple’s jukebox service gave the phone a huge lead over its rivals, but Motorola’s well documented tiffs with Apple look to have permanently soured the relationship.
In the absence of iTunes, Motorola intends to push their iRadio Music Service, a subscription music service that uses mobile handsets as the base platform.
The company announced the music service at CES yesterday, with an offering of 435 commercial-free radio channels, which Motorola claims is one of the widest selections of subscription music entertainment available.
Available in black or white, the Motorola ROKR E2 is expected to emerge in mid-2006 with “mid-tier” pricing.
kodakgallery.com/photovoice.
4 January, 2006
Best Cameras of 2005: Our Round Up
Best compact:
Fujifilm F10
You’d be hard pressed to describe this box-like beast as a looker, but it consistently impressed us with its speed of operation, pin-sharp pictures and awesome low light performance.
Featuring a class-leading sensor, the Fuji can keep on delivering usable images right up to 1600 ISO – perfect for candid/low light photography.
Look out for the F11 which adds aperture and shutter priority to the feature set.
More info
Best dSLR
Nikon D50
A tough call this one with so many notable new cameras entering the increasingly competitive consumer end of the digital SLR market, but the Nikon D50 just pipped the Canon EOS 350D on account of its excellent image quality, low noise, excellent handing and, of course, incredible value for money.
This is a perfect first-time camera for amateur photographers keen to move up to a SLR system, and with hundreds of Nikon-fit lenses available, the D50 can handle just about every task you can throw at it.
Nikon D50
Best prosumer camera
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1
Just nudging ahead of the Fujifilm FinePix S9500, the Sony DSC-R1 impressed us with its innovation, build quality and fabulous images.
Dominated by a 24-120mm lens of truly outstanding quality, the DSC-R1 offers a unique viewfinder which can flip and twist through 270 degrees and offer medium format ‘waist level’ shooting.
Although it’s priced hard against more flexible dSLRS, you won’t find a more capable, all in one package than the Sony DSC-R1.
More info
Biggest disappointment:
The Panasonic Lumix LX1
It promised so much, looked fantastic, entranced us with its advanced feature set, high end manual controls, widescreen aspect ratio, image stabilisation, razor sharp Leica lens and fantastic, crystal clear daytime images, but as soon as the sun went down and the ISO ratings went up – disaster!
A horrendously noisy sensor meant that noise crept in to even low ISO images, with pictures at 400 ISO bordering on unusable – not what you expect for £450.
Bring on the LX2 and Panasonic will have a killer camera on their hands!
More info
21 December, 2005
MSP-M/MAP-M: World’s First Dolby Virtual Speaker For TVs
We like “world firsts” so when integrated-circuit providers Micronas announced that they were the planet’s first company to incorporate a Dolby Virtual Speaker into a chipset designed specifically for televisions, we simply had to tell you all about it.
Unfortunately, their announcement was such a dull, techie-tastic affair, our enthusiasm waned somewhat, but after wading through pages of “solutions” and acronyms, we can tell you that they’ve invented a new chip which adds surround sound capability to televisions with only two speakers.
Designed for mid-range to high-end televisions, the chips can be slapped into flat-panel, projection or traditional CRT TVs and are capable of outputting surround sound from any audio source (including stereo and 5.1 channels).
Dolby Virtual Speaker creates the illusion of five speakers by using room modelling techniques. This, apparently, sets it apart from other virtualizers.
“This is the world’s first TV-specific audio solution to feature Dolby Virtual Speaker, which we believe allows the television to perform at a level of real home-cinema quality,” enthused Stefan Hepp, director marketing consumer audio, Micronas.
“This technology offers consumers the illusion of a five speaker surround sound system from just two speakers. However, up until now it has only been available in selected PC software and some A/V and home theater systems,” enthused Tony Spath, vice president, international marketing, Dolby Laboratories.
“Bringing Dolby Virtual Speaker direct to televisions will allow many more consumers to experience the excitement of surround sound, regardless of the source of the content,” he added.
Micronas expects to see their snappily-named MSP-M/MAP-M sound processors being fitted into TVs around the second quarter of 2006.
Micronas
20 December, 2005
MP3 players: Our Festive Selection
Creative Zen Vision:M
Although looking like a near-exact copy of the video iPod, the 30 gig Zen Vision is a fine player in its own right, sporting persuasive features not found on its rival.
Sharing near-identical physical dimensions as the iPod, the Zen manages to add a composite video out connector for playing video content on TVs, an integrated FM radio with 32 presets, voice recording, alarm clock, groovy customisable themes and the ability to synchronise Microsoft Outlook data, such as contacts, calendar and tasks.
The player’s a versatile chap too, with the Vision:M outgunning the iPod by supporting a wider range of formats, like MP3, WMA and PlaysForSure audio formats and MPEG1/2/4, DivX and XviD, Motion JPEG and WMV for video.
Battery life is claimed at four hours in video-playback mode (twice as long as the iPod) and fourteen hours for audio.
Expected on the streets now, the Creative Zen Vision:M will sell for around $350 (~£197, ~€291).
Creative Zen Vision:M
Sony NW-A1000
It’s taken Sony a long time to come up with a serious challenge to iPod’s dominance, but the new NW-A1000 could be the one to unseat the Nano.
Resplendent in an unusual organic form factor, the player sports a translucent acrylic clad exterior that reveals a large, bright display lurking below. It looks fantastic, and it’s refreshing to see a radical new design coming through in a market dominated by iPod-alikes.
The palm sized player (88 x 55 x 19 mm) comes with a built in 6GB hard drive and supports MP3 files as well as Sony’s ATRAC3 and ATRAC3+ audio formats. Battery life is claimed at 20 hours (although several reviews have found that figure to be wildly optimistic).
Thankfully, Sony have finally ditched the awful Sonic Stage software needed to transfer files over the USB 2.0 connection, but the new Connect Player software still has some way to go to match the simplicity and ease of use of iTunes.
The player’s already available in Europe and North America, priced around €250 and $250.
Sony
Apple iPod Nano
Introduced in September, Apple’s fabulously designed iPod Nano has already proved an enormous hit, with its teensy-weensy dimensions and stunning looks crushing every flash-based player in sight.
Sure, it’s not perfect – there’s no video support and the thing scratches easier than a Shakin’ Stevens 45 – but it features Apple’s superb Click Wheel user interface and offers a crisp 1.5″ colour screen for viewing photos.
Coming in 2GB and 4GB flavours, the diminutive player (3.3 x 0.98 x 0.33 inches) supports MP3, AAC and Audible 2, 3 and 4 formats and is compatible with the iTunes online store.
Microsoft Outlook calendar and contacts info can be synchronised via iTunes 5, and with the player sporting the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, there should be no shortage of accessories.
There’s a nippy USB 2.0 port onboard and battery life is claimed at a healthy 14 hours.
Starting at €200 (~$240 ~£135), the Nano is available in just black or white for now.
iPod Nano
19 December, 2005
Study: In Ear Headphones Increase Risk Of Hearing Loss
In-ear headphones (“earbuds”) like those sold with the iPod and other music players can increase the risk of hearing loss, according to a US audiologist (a what?!)
Research undertaken by Dean Garstecki of Northwestern University has found that that an increasing number of young people were now experiencing the kind of hearing loss found in aging adults.
According to Garstecki, cheap earbud headphones were more likely to increase the risk of hearing loss than old-school ‘over the ear’ headphones like the Grado SR60.
Garstecki’s studies found that MP3 users often crank the volume up to 110 to 120 decibels – enough to cause hearing loss after about an hour of listening.
The problem is worse for earbud wearers because the sound source is placed directly into the ear, boosting the sound signal by as much as six to nine decibels – the difference in intensity between the sound made by a vacuum cleaner and the sound of a motorcycle engine according to Garstecki.
We can certainly verify that some folks seem oblivious to the risk, blasting their music so high that we can hear the annoying “tssk chk tssk chk” leaking from in-ear phones over the thunderous rattle of a tube train.
The risk is exasperated by the bigger storage capacities and increased battery life of today’s MP3 players, encouraging users to keep on listening for longer periods.
Like a next door neighbour banging on the wall, Garstecki advises MP3 listeners to “turn it down!”, adding, “if music listeners are willing to turn the volume down further still and use different headphones, they can increase the amount of time that they can safely listen.”
Noise-cancelling headphones are also seen as a better choice because they reduce background noise but their added bulk and increased expense is likely to limit adoption.
Garstecki proposes the 60%/60 minute rule as a solution – this involves listening to an MP3 device for no longer than about an hour a day and at levels below 60% of maximum volume.
“If music listeners are willing to turn the volume down further still and use different headphones, they can increase the amount of time that they can safely listen,” commented Garstecki.
While we share Garstecki’s health concerns, we’re not sure how effective a campaign along the lines of, “Turn it down! Play less music!” is likely to have with the wired generation walking about with thousands of songs in their pocket.
Northwestern.edu
19 December, 2005