Looks like the boys at Toshiba have been busy creating a whole new range of eleven HDTVs for us to drool over. First up with 5 screen size variations is the REGZA Z3500 range, apart from the screen diagonal, 37 inch through to a whopping 57, other specs are the same for each unit
3 HDMI inputs
3 Ethernet jacks - browser built in
2 USB ports - add an external drive and you’ve got an instant DVR
1080p
120 Hz panel
Also launched are the RF350 and C3500 ranges. The RF350 sports 40 and 46 inch models with a 60 Hz panel and a couple of HDMI inputs, whilst in the C3500 range you have two 1080p models at 37 and 42 inches and two 720p at 26 and 32 inches.
Whilst any of these puppies would no doubt look awesome hanging off your lounge wall, how much of a dent will they make in your wallet? The super-cool Z3500s start at US$3,153 for the 37 inch and go all the way up to $5,254 for the 57 inch big boy. The other ranges whilst less sexy have a lower price range from $1,314 for the 26 inch 720p up to $3,415 for the 46 inch RF350. All units will become available in Japan throughout the remainder of the year with US versions of the Z3500 available towards the end of 2007 with lower price tags too.
I’m always on the look out for weird and wonderful designs in the tech world and the UNI from Richard Choi certainly fits the bill.
The modules compartmentalise your PC into its different functional areas, STORE for storage, THINK for CPU etc. This allows easy and convenient removal and upgrade of each area without having to hack into your PC box. Data transmission between the modules is provided by the Network HomePlug technology (200 Mbps) and wireless USB (480 Mbps).
I must admit the concept is excellent and the design stylish however I have noticed a change in the way desktops are built these days. Not so long ago warnings of warranty invalidation were slapped all over the outside of your box in case you were tempted to whip out a screwdriver and delve inside. But my latest desktop has no labels and in fact the insides are definitely designed with ‘user upgrade’ in mind. So I think Richard may have missed the boat with the UNI concept, 10 out of 10 for style Richard but 0 for timing.
You’ve probably all realised by now that something is up at Skype. Since 2pm GMT on Thursday there have been numerous reports of Skype users inability to login to the VOIP system and Skype posted the following message on their heartbeat blog
Some of you may be having problems logging into Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it’s a software issue. We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours. Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Needless to say, the doomsayers are out in force blaming the outage on amongst other things, Russian hackers, Homeland Security and the limitations of p2p. The truth will out as they say, but for now I’m sticking with Skype’s official line
The Skype system has not crashed or been victim of a cyber attack. We love our customers too much to let that happen. This problem occurred because of a deficiency in an algorithm within Skype networking software. This controls the interaction between the user’s own Skype client and the rest of the Skype network.
Unfortunately whatever the reason for the outage, it will obviously reflect badly on Skype (and eBay?). By producing such a popular product Skype have opened themselves up to be shot down at the slightest hint of a problem, and a 24 hour plus outage is more than a hint. I feel for the guys at Skype they’ve come up with a great product that has enabled people to come closer together (for free!) and has indeed made the world a smaller place. I’m not sure how this will affect Skype in the future, I know their icon will still be displayed in my system tray, but then I’m happy to accept the rough with the smooth. People who rely on Skype as part of their business may see it differently.
By the way for those people out there who are whinging about how this is damaging their business, and they do exist - here and here - I have a couple of phrases for you, ‘Risk Management’ and ‘Contingency Plan’, phrases which are quite obviously lacking in your business plans.
Skype, I look forward to seeing you back online soon. Good luck guys.
Having been labelled as ‘unbelievably arrogant’ by European operators, rumour now has it that Apple have influenced AT&T, their iPhone carrier in the US, to downgrade the functionality of the ‘rival’ Blackberry 8820. The downgrade would limit the GPS functionality of the 8820 to the subscription only service TeleNav and with the iPhone boasting the Google Maps functionality the belief is the iPhone would appear ’superior’ and more appealing to the consumer.
As pointed out on several blogs the iPhone and 8820 are aimed at different market sectors, yet AT&T seem oblivious to this fact in promoting the iPhone over its other products.
Of course this is all rumour and there is no indication that Apple have asked AT&T to impose the downgrade of the 8820, but given Apple’s ‘arrogant’ labelling by some European carriers, it would be no surprise if this move was Apple instigated.
Personally, I’m neither a big Blackberry fan nor iPhone zealot, but the real concern here is that AT&T or Apple are forcing their will on RIM. Ultimately the loser in this is YOU not RIM, these kind of corporate moves directly affect the consumer through lack of choice and inflated prices. It is this kind of corporate greed that is repulsive and abhorrent in my opinion, the downside of capitalism no less - anyone else want to weigh in with their thoughts?
With the NFL season and the Rugby World Cup just around the corner, Sharp has just provided the sports fan with the ultimate excuse for purchasing a new HD TV. Their latest range of 1080p LCD TVs, the D64U not only boast a contrast ratio of 10,000:1, a 4 ms response time and a 176 degree viewing angle but
a body that is approximately 25% slimmer than previous AQUOS models and about 20% lighter than previous models. The D64 series also features a thinner bezel, and tight fit stealth speakers, giving consumers the ability to fit larger screens in smaller spaces
Yep, that’s right, you can throw out last year’s that ancient bulky LCD TV and buy one with a bigger screen but takes up less space. How can your better half say no?
Even the price tags seem reasonable - 42 inches at US$2,100, 46 at $2,700 and 52 at $3,800. So go on guys give the AQUOS a whirl, should be delivered just in time for kickoff ;)
I hate bills, I hate receiving them, opening them and most of all paying them. Boy am I glad I didn’t get an iPhone then - check out this lass’s video on her first AT&T iPhone bill, bloody scary.
Now you know why your AT&T contract for the iPhone is so expensive, the cost of the packaging alone for all those bills must have cost a bomb. Way to go AT&T.
From the man who brought you the wind-up radio back in the 90s, comes the EMP-MX71 an eco-friendly MP3 player. That’s right, no more sucking the planet’s resources dry whilst you listen to your favourite tunes, with a little bit of elbow grease you can be checking out your sounds all night long without a power point in sight.
The EMP-MX71 does more than play tunes too, check out this list of bells and whistles
2 GB memory with SD memory card slot
FM tuner
Voice recorder
1.8 inch screen for photo viewing
Built in mono speaker
Plays MPEG4 videos
For those of us too knackered/lazy to wind this sucker up, it will charge up when connected to the USB port of your PC. Whilst there it shows up as an external drive allowing drag and drop functionality for your media files. For the more eco-friendly of us, one minute of winding action should provide it with enough juice for 40 minutes of playback.
The price tag is 170 sterling which is about US$340 which is not bad given the unit comes with a free self-satisfying smugness that you are saving the planet whilst checking out the latest tunes.
Kudos to Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio, electric shoes and now wind-up media player.
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You’ve probably all realised by now that something is up at Skype. Since 2pm GMT on Thursday there have been numerous reports of Skype users inability to login to the VOIP system and Skype posted the following message on their heartbeat blog
