Coming in September is a new range of plasma HDTVs from Panasonic, namely the PZR900 Viera series. This new range will consist of three models, the 42 inch TH-42PZR900, 46-inch TH-45PZR900 and 50-inch TH-50PZR900. Each model also sports a 1TB HDD for recording up 86 hours worth of your favourite TV shows from the BS digital broadcasting system in Japan. Yes these suckers are currently only lined up for release in Japan, but they may well hit other shores later in the year. Each model sports the following specs

* 1920 x 1080 HD res
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* YouTube compatibility
* 3 HDMI inputs
* Optical digital output

Given a rough currency conversion, the 42 inch will set you back US$3,900, the 46 US$4,400 and US$5,000 will get you the 50 inch big boy. A lot of money for a HD screen, but Panasonic TVs usually match their specs in quality.

It’s also interesting to compare the PZR900 to the PZ850 range. The PZ850s are considerably cheaper yet do not sport the 1TB HDD. The PZR900 50 inch option adds US$1,500 for the extra functionality of the 1TD HDD recorder which seems a touch over the top. So may be a PZ850 unit with a standalone recording option may be a better choice than a similar PZR900 model.

Featured Tags hdtv, panasonic, plasma-tv, pzr900, viera


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These puppies are not for the faint-hearted, so if you’re of a nervous disposition, especially financially, you’d best stop reading now. Lenovo have just unleashed a couple of top end notebooks, namely the W500 and W700 and they come with all the bells and whistles you’d expect from the top end. And so they should with their respective price tags starting at US$1630 and US$2980. Anyway here’s a list of a few of those bells and whistles for the W700

* Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9400, Intel® Core™2 Duo processor T9600, Intel® Core™2 Extreme, Intel® Quad Core Extreme options
* Genuine Windows Vista® Ultimate 32, Genuine Windows Vista® Business 32, Genuine Windows Vista® Business 64 options
* SATA HDD options of 250, 320GB at 5400rpm, 160, 200GB @ 7200rpm
* 64GB SSD option
* Up to 8GB PC3-8500 1066MHz memory
* ThinkVantage® Client Security and optional fingerprint reader
* 410 x 310 x 41 mm
* 3.76 kg
* 17 inch WUXGA display with 1920 X 1200 res
* Optical drive DVD-RPM, CD-RW/DVD-ROM, DVD Burner, Blu-ray
* Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth® 2.0 connectivity
* 5 USB, IEEE1394,VGA, DisplayPort, Dual Link DVI, Microphone/Line In, Headphone/line-out ports
* Multimedia Card Reader (7-in-1) slot

Needless to say your $2980 will only get you the lesser choice of the optional specs but Lenovo have certainly managed to squeeze in a lot of features even if you go for the ‘cheap’ options. According to their marketing blurb

Our most powerful notebooks ever, the ThinkPad W series offers uncompromised performance and cutting-edge technology in the ultimate mobile workstation.

Which may well be true, but are you prepared to spend over three grand to have the ‘ultimate mobile workstation’? If you are then the W700 is probably a great option to go for.

Featured Tags lenovo, lenovo-w500, lenovo-w700


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AT&T have just launched a new 3G phone, the LG Invision aka CB630. Whilst not sporting any great specs the Invision does offer via AT&T’s Mobile TV network CBS Mobile, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile and NBC2GO. So if you like your TV on a small screen and we really do mean a small screen check out the following details on the Invision.

* 3G connectivity
* 4 x 2 x 0.5 inch (approximately)
* 1.3 Mp camera
* Bluetooth connectivity

No great numbers but this phone is squarely aimed at people who like their entertainment ‘on the go’, with the LG Invision sporting features such as downloadable music from eMusic, streaming digital radio from XM Radio Mobile as well as the afore-mentioned TV options. Unfortunately all these features add up to a pretty penny, in fact the max package of Mobile TV plus and XM Radio Mobile will add a neat US$39 a month to your phone charges.

If you’re still keen then you’ll be pleased to know that AT&T are flogging these puppies for a mere US$100 with a two year shackle after a rebate. Not bad if indeed you like your entertainment ‘on the go’ and on a screen less than 2 inches by 1.5.

Featured Tags at&t, lg, lg-cb630, lg-invision, mobile-TV


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Wow, Olens have just released their XPJ projector for a snip at US$280. Needless to say this little puppy doesn’t support all the bells and whistles that a more expensive unit has to offer, but if bells and whistles aren’t your cup of tea and a projector is what you’re after than the XPJ may just be the unit for you. Here are the bits and pieces that it does support.

* 640 x 480 VGA resolution
* 50 inch diagonal projection at a distance of 2 metres
* Composite Video, S-Video and VGA ports
* 300 lumens
* Built-in stereo speakers
* Lamp life of 300 hours
* 390 x 200 x 103 mm

The list of missing features is probably longer than those present on the XPJ, but hey at US$280 can you really complain? No, of course not. Anyone looking for a cheap projector, your search is over and anyone looking for a HD projector than can be used on a sunny day, I’m afraid to say you quest continues ….

Source: Olens

Featured Tags olens, projector


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2008 was supposed to be the year of the SSD with prices tumbling enough to challenge HDD units. Whilst during the first half of the year we’ve not seen much movement, may be now OCZ are trying to get things going with their latest offering the Core Series V2 SATA II SSD range. There are four units available with 30, 60, 120 and 250 GB capacities but no price tags yet. The previous 128 GB Core Series SSD unit shipped at US$480. Here are some more details on the V2s

* Read speed of 170 MB/sec
* Write speed of 98 MB/sec
* mini USB port to allow users to apply firmware updates to potentially further speed up the units

Not much else detail is available including those pesky price tags, but at least we can see OCZ leading the way by increasing capacity and speeds. May be this the year of the SSD after all.

Featured Tags OCZ, SSD


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The boys over at Western Digital have taken a 2.5 inch 300 GB spinning at 10,000 rpm and enclosed it in a 3.5 inch form factor case, which, would you believe, cools this little sucker down? Yep, that’s right, you can get your mits on a 300 GB VelociRaptor unit (WD3000HLFS) or a 150 GB version (WD1500HLFS) both of which incorporate a backplane structure which acts as a heatsink for those platters spinning around at 10,000 rpm. Still not impressed? May be you will be after a few more facts and figures

* 300 or 150 GB capacity
* 10,000 rpm
* talks nicely with Macs and PCs
* 3 GBps SATA interface
* 16 MB cache

And, finally, the price tags are US$320 for the 300 GB version with its smaller 150 GB brother weighing in at US$230. Whilst the uses of these puppies are pretty specific, anyone looking for some more performance out of their HDDs may not need to look any further as these VelociRaptors offer twice the capacity and are a third faster than their Raptor predecessors and are also cooler.

Featured Tags 2.5-inch-HDD, backplane, hdd, velociraptor, western-digital


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The Nokia 5610 MusicXpress is a snazzy little slider with external music controls and for T-Mobile customers, you can get your mits on one for a mere US$100 after the usual instant discounts and mail-in rebate. For your $100 you get the following bells and whistles

* music player with external controls
* 3.2 Mp camera
* FM radio
* instant, text and picture messaging
* speaker phone
* EDGE functionality
* email, alarm clock, calculator and calendar
* 1.9 x 3.9 x 0.7 inch
* 3.9 oz
* up to 4 hours talk time
* 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz bands
* 1 GB SD card

The sexy little unit is aggressively priced at US$100 and will definitely gain a lot of attention. However one downer is the non-standard 2.5 mm jack, which may be a showstopper if you have a fav pair of standard 3.5 mm ear plugs. But otherwise T-Mobile and Nokia have got a little winner on their hands with the 5610.

Source: T-Mobile

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