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Microphone

MOTORCYCLES

Scala rider G4 headset lets bikers be heard

By Darren Quick

23:09 February 1, 2010 PST

The scala rider G4 allows up to three separate riders to converse

Making oneself heard over the roar of a motorcycle engine can be difficult at the best of times. But being heard over the roar of a motorcycle engine when tearing down the highway with your head encased in a helmet is downright impossible. Naturally technology has come to the rescue in the form of Bluetooth enabled helmets and helmet-to-helmet communication systems. The latest solution to keep chatty bikers happy is the scala rider G4 bike-to-bike Bluetooth headset that offers group intercom between up to three riders at distances of up to one mile (1.6km). Read More

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Better hearing via your teeth

By Darren Quick

21:36 January 31, 2010 PST

The SoundBite ITM device fits around the upper left or right teeth and is nearly invisible...

Just as people with sight in only one eye have problems with depth perception, those with impaired hearing in one ear, known as unilateral hearing loss (UHL) or single-sided deafness (SSD), face difficulty in localizing sound. Addressing the problem with a hearing aid worn in the mouth might not sound like a logical solution, but that’s just what medical device company Sonitus Medical is doing with SoundBite - a hearing system that transmits sound to the inner ear via the teeth. Read More

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Apple's US$500 iPad - concise details of the announcement

By Gizmag Team

11:40 January 27, 2010 PST

Apple's US$500 iPad

The Apple iPad was announced today. In a nutshell, it’s a bigger iPhone that runs all the same apps on a 9.7 inch touch screen and has a 10 hour battery life and 30 day stand-by. It’s half an inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds, and is powered by Apple’s own custom 1GHz ARM A4chip and can run up to 64 GB of storage. It has all the wireless connectivity of the iphone (802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1), a built-in speaker and microphone, accelerometer and uses the same 30-pin Dock connector as the iPod and iPhone. The first iPads will ship in 60 days, with 3G models taking another month. Pricing starts at US$499 and runs to US$829. Read More

CAMERAS AND IMAGING

Tell both sides of the story with the Ion Twin Video camera

By Alan Brandon

23:19 January 19, 2010 PST

The Ion Twin Video camcorder features front and back cameras plus stereo microphones

Consumer audio electronics maker Ion has announced its new Twin Video, a pocket video cam with a twist. The Twin Video features front and back cameras so you can simultaneously record your subject, and your reaction to it. The Twin Video is designed to let you easily shoot interviews or create dual-POV movies for YouTube, Facebook, and video blogs. In-camera controls allow you to be creative on the fly by swapping video feeds or switching between picture-in-picture and split screen modes. Read More

CAMERAS AND IMAGING

Holophone offers Professional 5.1 Surround Sound at the camera for US$600

By Gizmag Team

20:02 January 17, 2010 PST

Holophone offers Professional 5.1 Surround Sound at the camera for US$600

The vast majority of multi-channel sound (stereo, 5.1, 6.1, etc) is produced post-production, making it difficult to squeeze professional-grade discrete 5.1 audio quality into modest production budgets … until now. The Holophone PortaMic 5.1 and PortaMic Pro surround microphones both sit atop your video camera and offer a cost-effective means of recording surround sound directly to a camera or indeed, any stereo recording device. At US$600 and US$1000 respectively, the microphones permanently offer professional discrete surround recording from a single point source for a once-only price off, with no additional mixing required. Bargain! Read More

SPY GEAR

Invisible Bluetooth Earpiece brings out your inner Secret Service agent

By Darren Quick

16:22 December 1, 2009 PST

The Invisible Bluetooth Earpiece from Brickhouse Security sits inside the ear canal for co...

Brickhouse Security’s Micro Bluetooth Earpiece is so small it actually fits inside the ear canal to allow covert two-way communication via any Bluetooth mobile phone or two-way radio. Its size means that a battery is out of the question, so the tiny device is powered by magnetism, which is also used to remove the earpiece from the ear canal. Read More

WEARABLE ELECTRONICS

I see what you're saying - NEC's ‘Tele Scouter’ retinal-display translation glasses

By Darren Quick

20:13 October 29, 2009 PDT

The Tele Scouter prototype wearable retinal display

The days of a Universal Translator like the one that made chatting between alien species a non-issue in Star Trek might be some way off yet. But a new device from NEC is definitely a step in the right direction for those of us on planet Earth looking for a way to communicate with other language speakers that doesn’t involve a human translator or a well-thumbed phrase book. The prototype device called a “Tele Scouter” is a glasses type display that translates the foreign language being spoken by a partner and projects the translation onto a tiny retinal display. Read More

MUSIC

Video: Laser/smoke microphone promises the world's most accurate sound capture

By Loz Blain

06:41 September 23, 2009 PDT

The hand-made prototype for David Schwartz's laser/smoke microphone.

The quest for ever more realistic sound reproduction seems set to move to a whole new level. Traditional microphones convert sound to electrical signals by measuring the deflections that sound vibrations cause in a diaphragm. But each diaphragm has its own weight, inertia and resistance, which colors the sound that gets recorded. So American digital audio pioneer David Schwartz, who invented the MP3 sound format, has come up with a novel new type of microphone that virtually eliminates the microphone's mechanical interference with the sound. The laser/smoke microphone uses a laser to measure the deflections that sound makes in a steady stream of smoke - which is virtually weightless. Prepare for a new wave of high-fidelity microphone technology. Read More

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

Apple's iPod nano 5G gets a camera

By Darren Quick

22:29 September 9, 2009 PDT

The ipod nano's new video camera

Apple added a number of updates to various iPod models at its Rock and Roll event. The iPod that sported the most obvious changes was undoubtedly the nano, which now includes a built-in video camera, a much anticipated FM radio, and built-in pedometer. The new 5G nano also features a slightly (0.2-inches) larger 2.2-inch display, and built-in microphone and speaker, which means watching those newly recorded videos need not be a solitary affair. Read More

CAMERAS AND IMAGING

Portable stereo recorder meets handycam

By Jeff Salton

20:46 July 22, 2009 PDT

The Q3 Handy Video Recorder records video and stereo sound via two built-in condenser micr...

A portable camcorder that records MPEG-4 SP video format at 30 frames per second - in stereo - has been released by Zoom. The Q3 Handy Video Recorder combines 640 x 480 resolution video recording with studio quality audio through two built-in condenser microphones. Read More

MUSIC

Shure announce PG27USB/PG42USB condenser microphones and X2u XLR-to-USB adapter

By Tim Hanlon

00:06 January 7, 2009 PST

The PG27USB and PG42USB USB condenser microphones

With the democratization of digital music recording and production in full flight thanks to applications like GarageBand, Shure have released three new USB-based products to cater for the ever increasing market of users who need to record audio to their computers, but don't have access to professional pre-amplifiers - the PG27USB and PG42USB USB condenser microphones, and the X2u XLR-to-USB adapter which turns any existing XLR microphone into a plug-and-play USB microphone. Read More

 
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