Wireless

The name McIntosh Labs has been synonymous with outstanding audio quality for more than 60 years and its iconic MC275 tube amp certainly left its mark on me when I first encountered one many moons ago. Hot on the heels of the MX121 audio/video control center featuring Apple's AirPlay wireless technology released earlier this year, the company has launched the McAire free-standing personal music system that allows a new generation of discriminating consumers to stream audio from an iTunes library on a Mac or PC - or music from an iDevice - over an existing home network.  Read More

Whatever OS tickles your device fancy, you simply can't ignore the fact that a new release of Microsoft's operating system is just around the corner. If you've just invested in a notebook, PC or All-in-One which is distinctly lacking in the touchscreen display department, however, Logitech has launched three new peripherals to help you get the most from Windows 8. The Wireless Rechargeable Touchpad T650, Touch Mouse T620 and Zone Touch Mouse T400 will all be available later this month.  Read More

In a world of complex fitness monitors, the Scosche RHYTHM Armband Pulse Monitor keeps things light and simple. The fitness monitor eliminates the heart rate strap common in other monitors and uses a lightweight interface to keep you focused on the workout, not a complex array of buttons and features.  Read More

The U.S. wireless industry: so good for AT&T and Verizon, yet so bad for everyone else. In some respects, it's the world's leading market. Its LTE rollout has been aggressive and expansive, and it gets the hottest devices first. For customers, though, things aren't always so rosy. The two carriers' virtual duopoly keeps prices high and new policies unfair. The sole hope for increased competition may lie with Sprint. For US$20.1 billion, Japan's SoftBank today acquired a 70 percent stake in the carrier. Though the move could be seen as a sign of desperation for the (distant) third-place Sprint, it could also ultimately invigorate competition and swing some of the power back to customers.  Read More

B&O Play could be described as the hip, contemporary arm of Bang & Olufsen. That ethos is certainly reflected in the company’s soon-to-be-available streaming wireless speaker, the BeoPlay A9. Unlike traditional boxy speakers, it’s flat(ish), it’s round, and it’s designed to be looked at as much as listened to.  Read More

Back around the turn of the century, infrared ports for wireless data transfer over short distances were commonplace on many mobile devices. But it wasn't long before infrared communication technology was kicked to the curb in favor of the more versatile radio-based Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies. Fraunhofer researchers are looking to resurrect infrared wireless data transfer technology with the development of a “multi-gigabit communication module” that can wirelessly transfer data 46 times faster than Wi-Fi and 1,430 times faster than Bluetooth.  Read More

The Outdoor Technology Turtle Shell speaker, which was announced at CES in January, is edging closer to availability. Last week, Outdoor Technology showed the model at the Interbike trade show and launched a Kickstarter campaign designed to get the speaker into cyclists' hands by next month.  Read More

The audiophiles at Bowers & Wilkins have announced two brand new speakers – the A5 and A7 – that are designed to work with Apple's wireless AirPlay technology. This allows them to achieve a cleaner look due to the lack of a dock or protruding auxiliary cables. It also means you can carry your iPhone or iPad around with you and keep the music playing, provided you are within Wi-Fi range of course.  Read More

Many home and business local area networks (LANs) built around the 802.11n standard are starting to buckle under the strain placed on them by an ever-increasing number of wireless devices clamoring for bandwidth. A new technology known as WiGig is looking to clear the bottleneck by offering transfer rates 10 times that of the fastest 802.11n networks. At its Intel Developer Forum (IDF) 2012 in San Francisco, Intel demonstrated WiGig multigigabit wireless docking technology that has the potential to remove almost all wires trailing to and from a computer.  Read More