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Consumer Electronics
World’s first commercial application of DSSC solar technology is in the bag
By Jeff Salton
19:54 October 13, 2009 PDT
The first commercial shipment of low-light, ultra thin, solar cell technology called DSSC (dye-sensitized solar cells), created by G24 Innovations, has been sent to Hong Kong-based consumer electronics bag manufacturer, Mascotte Industrial Associates for use in backpacks and bags. Ideal for clothing and portable applications, DSSCs are less than 1mm thick, inexpensive, don’t contain silicon or cadmium and can even operate indoors, making them ideal for powering cell telephones, cameras and portable electronics. The company says DSSCs also can be embedded into tent material to power LED lighting systems for camping. Read More
Miele's hybrid unplugs vacuum cleaning
By Gizmag Team
06:01 September 2, 2009 PDT
The doors to the world's biggest consumer electronics show - IFA 2009 - opened to the press this morning and one of the first companies to showcase its latest wares was home appliance specialist Miele. Among the highlights was this very sensible hybrid compact vacuum cleaner that, like your laptop, provides the flexibility of both mains power supply and a rechargeable battery. This system provides a cord-free solution for quick clean ups and also means that when you inevitably reach the end of your tether and pull the plug out, the vacuum automatically switches to battery mode so you can finish the job uninterrupted. Read More
Tests on reducing glare and fingerprints from touch screen devices
By Jeff Salton
23:04 August 27, 2009 PDT
Big touch screens, like those used on smart phones and portable media devices, are great … unless the sun is out. Then the glare can be a killer, rendering some devices next to useless. Scientists have developed a test for analyzing reflection-resistant coatings to make using touch screen devices easier. The research also includes defining a better smudge-resistant coating to deter ugly fingerprints and scratches from screens and surfaces. Read More
PrimeSense paints future of home-tech interaction
By Paul Lester
19:21 August 17, 2009 PDT
Nintendo certainly created a stir when it introduced motion-sensing controls to the video game industry, but subsequent developments that are no more than a year or two from fruition are already threatening to confine this relatively new technology to the proverbial scrap-heap. The latest of these is PrimeSense, a 3D camera that allows devices like televisions to ‘see a view of the surrounding area’ by scanning a room to determine who is present through a combination of shape recognition and thermal imaging. Read More
Water-tight and ship-shape: the Clarion CMV1 multimedia head-unit
By Gizmag Team
17:41 August 11, 2009 PDT
Fully-featured mobile multimedia is finally moving beyond the automobile with Clarion's addition of a watertight multimedia head-unit to its range of custom marine products. The Clarion CMV1 features a 3.5-inch TFT color display, offers DVD-video, DivX, iPod Video playback and, with rear panel AV inputs and outputs, it is capable of driving additional display screens. It cleverly has a one-year back-up memory so radio presets are not lost if your boat is in seasonal storage. The unit delivers a comprehensive on-board entertainment experience that was previously reserved for in-car and can now be fully appreciated in the unique and relaxing environment offered by watercraft. Read More
Putting the squeeze on crystals could see an end to computer boot stages
By Darren Quick
01:36 May 15, 2009 PDT
Nobody likes staring at a screen while they wait for their computer to boot up. Sure, you can spend those few minutes making a cup of coffee or ferreting the dirt out from under your fingernails, but if you’re raring to go those few minutes can be a frustrating waste of time. This could soon be a thing of the past however, thanks to a clever materials science technique that may allow a new class of electronic devices that remember their last state, even after power is turned off. Read More
China launches rival to Blu-ray
By Paul Best
19:23 April 29, 2009 PDT
Chinese electronics manufacturers TCL and Shinco have launched the first generation of players for China’s own newly developed high-definition video format, China Blue High Definition (CBHD), which is set to rival the existing Blu-ray disc (BD) technology and galvanize the local market. While CBHD and BD have features in common – both use a blue-violet laser to read 12cm high-capacity optical discs – the main difference is centered on price. In China, CBHD players are expected to retail for up to 40 percent less than the cost of BD players. Read More
Samsung N120 joins Samsung’s mini notebook lineup
By Darren Quick
22:26 April 23, 2009 PDT
The flood of mini notebooks and netbooks that threatens to bury us shows no sign of abating, with Samsung announcing another addition to its mini notebook lineup. Joining the recently featured N110 is the N120, which includes most of the features found on the N110 in a slightly larger form factor. Read More
Homeowners getting the energy conservation message
By Darren Quick
04:00 April 17, 2009 PDT
When it comes to buying consumer electronics, we are factoring energy efficiency into our choices in a bid to cut our household energy consumption, a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has found. Read More
SanDisk & Toshiba Flash memory advances
By Darren Quick
22:22 February 11, 2009 PST
The cooperative relationship between SanDisk and Toshiba in the development and manufacturing of advanced Flash memory is producing results with the companies announcing key technology advances at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco, California. The advances include the production of a 32-gigabit (Gb) 3-bits-per-cell (X3) memory chip that is expected to quickly enable greater capacities and reduce manufacturing costs for products ranging from memory cards to Solid State Drives (SSD). The companies also announced the fabrication of the world’s first 64Gb chip that applies 4-bit-per-cell (X4) technology without an increase in chip size, while achieving a write speed performance of 7.8MB/s. Read More
Tough new compact among Panasonic's 2009 camcorder offerings
21:04 January 26, 2009 PST
Designed to keep up when your weekend exploits get a little rough, Panasonic's new SDR-SW21 compact camcorder is dustproof, waterproof up to 6.5 feet (in both fresh and salt water) and shockproof enough to sustain a 4-foot drop. Due for release in April at a price of around the USD$400 mark, the SDR-SW21 records to SD/SDHC Memory Cards and includes a 0.6 second quick-start recording feature. Read More
Load video and MP3s while charging your Electric Car
By Paul Evans
14:43 January 2, 2009 PST
Panasonic plans to unveil a networking system that can exchange data between an electric car and home devices via electrical wiring at January's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The electric car networking prototype allows people and devices inside the home to check on an electric vehicle while it is being recharged. It will be one of several research developments on show at the HD-PLC Alliance stand in the Las Vegas Convention Center's South Hall, Panasonic says. Other prototypes will include an HD-PLC adapter for a security camera and an electrical monitoring system. Read More
Purelight UV sterilizer targets household germs
By Emily Clark
04:04 December 17, 2008 PST
ENPUTECH has announced plans to unveil its new UV sterilizer at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in January. Purelight is an environmentally-friendly device designed to sterilize germs and other bacteria in mattresses, blankets, carpets, toothbrushes, toilets and kitchen utensils. Read More
Half-Terabyte 2.5-inch HDD from Toshiba
By Darren Quick
17:54 November 23, 2008 PST
Toshiba has announced a new series of energy efficient 2.5-inch hard disk drives targeted for integration into notebook PCs, sub-notebooks, small form factor and energy star PCs, game consoles, external storage devices and consumer electronics products. Read More
Sony's BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player reaches mass market price
23:00 October 20, 2008 PDT
It seems that high-definition, 1080p viewing has well and truly entered the mainstream - at least when it comes to the players themselves. Our question is this: if you can pick-up a Sony BDP-S300 for under USD$250, why does it still cost $40 for a movie to feed it with? Read More
Samsung launches recycling program for unwanted electronics
By Emily Clark
21:36 October 1, 2008 PDT
Samsung Electronics America has launched a "Recycling Direct program" dedicated to the take-back and recycling of its consumer electronics across all product lines. Effective immediately, the public can take their Samsung electronic goods sold in the United States to one of 174 fixed drop-off locations across the country and have them recycled free of charge. Read More
Gearing up for the 2008 IFA
07:10 August 27, 2008 PDT
One of the world's biggest consumer electronics fests gets underway in Berlin this Friday and IFA organizers promise an even bigger event this year - 122,000 square meters of display space and 1,245 exhibitors including 807 from 63 countries abroad (almost twice the number of countries represented last year) and more gear on display including for the first time, domestic home appliances. Gizmag will again be there to bring you the best of the show - stay tuned in coming days. Read More
Radio 5.1: DAB Surround broadcast first at IFA
By Kyle Sherer
10:28 August 24, 2008 PDT
The Fraunhofer stand at the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin will achieve a world first by broadcasting a radio station in DAB Surround and MP3 Surround Internet radio. ROCK ANTENNE will be transmitted in the MPEG Surround standard, which compresses the six channels of a surround music track to the extent that they require no more memory than a compressed stereo signal. Read More
Hitachi announces updated Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder
By Emily Clark
11:21 August 12, 2008 PDT
Hitachi's new has Blu-ray Disc Hybrid Camcorder can record onto either Blu-ray Disc, Hard Drive or SDHC format and promises a number of notable improvements from its predecessor such as a seven megapixel CMOS image sensor, face detection, image stabilization and longer recording time. Read More
Apple Core release aTV Flash hack for the Apple TV
By Darren Quick
01:13 July 29, 2008 PDT
July 29, 2008 Apple Core have released an updated version of their Apple TV hack, dubbed aTV Flash. The unofficial update addresses many of the Apple TV's shortcomings including underwhelming format support, turning it into the device it should have been from the start. Read More
Mobile revolution drives US$700 Billion Global CE sales
By Jack Martin
00:14 July 22, 2008 PDT
July 22, 2008 The mobile revolution sweeping the world and changing the way it does business is unfolding rapidly despite the economic uncertainties surrounding the American dollar. Worldwide revenue for consumer electronics (CE) will grow US$42 billion (around ten percent), hitting the US$700 billion mark in 2009. The compelling benefits of unwired access to information and person-to-person communication are driving the biggest societal transformation in history – global unit sales of mobile products will top a staggering 1.5 billion units in 2008 – roughly one mobile device for every four people on the planet THIS YEAR, be it a portable navigation devices (worldwide revenue growth of nearly 20 percent in 2008), laptop computer (up 15 percent) or smartphone (up 14 percent). Read More
Sony’s HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System features golf ball size speakers
By Darren Quick
22:01 July 21, 2008 PDT
July 22, 2008 No, that’s not a giant strawberry in the accompanying picture – it’s a mini speaker. The Sony HT-IS100 BRAVIA Theatre Micro System is a 5.1 channel system delivering 450 watts (RMS) of power through a subwoofer with integrated 32-bit S-Master digital amplifier and five incredibly small speakers roughly the size of a golf ball. Designing the system at people who don’t want their home theater system to overpower their décor Sony says the “HT-IS100 packs all the power of a conventional home theater system in five discrete speakers that practically disappear in your living room.” Read More
ZN9 Dual Alarm Clock Radio
By Darren Quick
05:23 July 21, 2008 PDT
July 21, 2008 With all the third party devices released for the all conquering iPod it can be easy to forget that there are actually other digital media players on the market. Like Logitech’s iPod Pure-Fi Dream and Altec Lansing’s iM600, the new ZN9 Dual-Alarm Stereo Clock Radio from iHome turns a digital music player, this time Microsoft's Zune, into a clock radio so you can wake to the sounds of your music library. Read More
Kodak’s Theatre HD Player with gyroscopic remote
By Darren Quick
13:11 July 16, 2008 PDT
Kodak’s new Theatre HD Player is a Wi-Fi-enabled set top box that connects to your HDTV. Kodak describes the unit as, "An interactive device displaying personal content - pictures, video, podcasts, music - and Web-based content on a HDTV, while wirelessly connecting to a household's private Wi-Fi network.” The Wi-Fi connection allows the unit to connect to websites such as Kodak Gallery and Flickr for photos, YouTube for video content, and RadioTime for streaming audio. Jumping on the Wii bandwagon the Theatre HD Player also includes a gyroscopic remote, which allows users to navigate the on screen menus with a wave of the hand. Read More
Sony’s DVDirect DVD Recorder
By Darren Quick
18:01 July 9, 2008 PDT
The Sony VRDMC3 DVDirect DVD Recorder does just what its name suggests – it records to DVDs directly from other sources, and it does so without the need for a PC. The VRDMC3 can record from just about any source such as camcorders, DVDs or VCRs, thanks to the provided USB, Firewire, S-Video and composite inputs. In addition to video, still images can be copied directly from memory card to DVD as a slideshow or for photo storage by using the built-in 5-in-1 card reader. PictBridge compatibility allows the unit to interface directly with a printer and images can be previewed using the 2.5-inch colour LCD that sits on top of the unit. Once selections have been made they can be copied to disc using the large "record" located just below the screen. Read More
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- November 21, 2009 @ 03:30 UTC
