PHILIPS has come up with a programmable Universal remote control, Prestigo SRT9320. Not everyone has an All-in-One Home theater system that can manage its full-feature within a single remote control. Thanks to a programmable Universal remote control, you will be able to operate multiple electronic consumer devices using a single controller device on your component shelf, regardless of the brand. If you are in the process to eliminate the need of multiple remote control units, Philips has refreshed their Prestigo Universal remote line-up with SRT 9320 with a 2.8-inch touchscreen LCD screen mixed with hard buttons.

The SRT9320 can control up to 20 devices and is completely programmable to enable multi-devices macro and learning modes. Though it come equipped with a USB port for software update, the device can be programmed directly without the need of the software apps. The touchscreen LCD can display your favorite channel line-up and customized commands.

Unlike their flagship Pronto series remote control, the Prestigo doesn’t has a cradle or charger docking station (doesn’t use rechargeable battery) and it lacks the much-advanced RF capabilities.

Philips’ Prestigo SRT9320 is Priced at $249, and set to see the day of light in the first quarter of 2009.

Sony Electronics has launched Sony AD-7220S /A powerful 22x speed DVD. The Sony AD-7220S /A Series offers a fast recording speed of 22x when it comes to writing a single layer DVD + /-R disc. The latest technologies in this device are the vibration reduction system and method of heat dissipation. It also features automatic adjustment CD-DA/VCD/DVD data extraction for ease of reading. The Sony AD-7220S / A series is a professional with high reliability and provides top-line performance.

“We are excited to announce the launch of one of the fastest DVD-RW writers available in the market today. As the size of data is increasing day by day, higher speed has become the need of the hour. This is exactly where this new Sony DVD writer fits in. I am confident that this product will raise the bar for 22X DVD-RW drives”, said Mr. Rajesh Goenka, VP-Sales & Marketing, Rashi Peripherals Pvt.Ltd.

The Sony AD-7220S/A series is a professional device with high reliability and provides top-of-the line performance. It is available in Serial ATA or Parallel ATA Interface in Bulk Packing.

Furthermore, it features several key technologies such as vibration reduction system and heat dissipation method. Automatically adjusting CD-DA/VCD/DVD data extraction for smooth reading, the Sony AD-7220S/A also features buffer under run protection and optimized writing quality by automatically adjusting writing strategy, which provides optimal user experience.

The Sony AD-7220S/A is compatible with DVD+/-R, DVD+/-R DL, DVD+/-RW and DVD-RAM as well as CDs, and offers the choice of Serial-ATA interface and Parallel-ATA interface. It supports DVDROM, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-ROM (mode 1), CD-ROM/XA (mode 2, form 1 and form 2), Photo CD, CD Extra, CD-TEXT, CD-I, VIDEO CD, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD-DA, Enhance CD, UDF (fixed/variable Packet mode) and DVD-Audio.

Technical specifications:

• Buffer memory capacity of 2 MB
• Access Time: DVD: 160ms; CD: 140ms
• Dimensions: 146mm × 41.3mm × 170mm
• Weight: 600g

Sony AD-7220S/A series is currently available withn a price tag of INR 1300 and comes with a 1 year warranty.

Here comes an innovative graphics USB–DVI cable, ViBook, the simplest way to add additional displays to any computer system, desktop or laptop. It does not matter if you use a Mac or a PC, or both; or if you run Win 2000, XP or Vista on your PC, ViBook is still your multiple display solution. Whenever you have USB ports, you can drive one or more extra screens. Several monitors can be connected using more ViBooks, even through a hub. ViBook plugs directly into your display DVI port or nicely sits in its cradle on the back of the display, contributing to a clutter free working desk.

ViBook also has very low power consumption, well below USB specifications, making it a very compatible and reliable product. Combining this with an unique heat dissipating design allows to extend the standard warranty to 3 full years of reliable operation.

• ViBook is possibly the smallest USB graphics solution currently on the market
• Any display up to 22” supported:
• 1680×1050 wide
• 1600×1200
• DVI or VGA (using the supplied high quality DVI-VGA cable accessory)
• Compatible with Windows and Macintosh systems
• Supports Hot Plug and Sleep/Hibernation 

The compact size of ViBook allows users to directly plug to DVI displays using the supplied custom made adapter. Plug in ViBook USB-DVI cable and enjoy just a thin cable to connect your system. Turn DVI displays into convenient USB devices and connect them to virtually any system
 
Connects VGA displays with the provided DVI-VGA high quality cable. Once a display is turned into an USB enabled screen, you can plug it in any time you feel out of space as a productivity booster for the most complex activities. Use it as a dedicated screen to keep monitoring your stock trade markets or staying in touch with your Facebook network.

Ultimate Ears has come up with the most spectacular earphones, the Triple.fi 10vi. The Triple.fi 10vi is the sonic equivalent of sitting in the world’s best recording studios. Imagine your favorite artists performing a private concert just for you. There is an integrated voice functionality that is specifically designed for use with the iPhone and 3.5mm Blackberry. This allows for hands free phone calls. The Triple.fi 10vi also features a multi-function button that answers/ends phone calls and controls music/video.

The triple.fi 10vi has the same sonic signature as their custom personal monitors. It is the perfect backup set for touring musicians or for consumers who demand the best-of-the-best. Housed within the universal body are three individual speakers and an integrated passive crossover circuit board that directs the low-end frequencies to a dedicated speaker for bass, the mid-range frequencies to a speaker for the vocals and the high frequencies to a speaker dedicated for treble. A miniature high performance microphone allows for hands free phone calls, while an in-line multi-function button answers and ends calls and controls music/video on iPhone. The changeable ear tips provide 26dB of isolation and passive noise cancellation.

Despite their large size, the Triple.fi 10 earphones offer a splash of style. Each earphone is encased in a shimmery blue housing (Ultimate Ears calls it “Gun Metal Blue”). The Y-cable is all black and seems reasonably durable. It measures 46 inches and features a slider at the Y junction to help prevent tangles. Ultimate Ears also includes a nice metal hard case for keeping the wires knot free during storage as well as protecting the ear pieces. Rounding out the accessories are an airplane adapter, a 24-inch extender cable, a quarter-inch plug adapter, and a cleaning tool.

The triple.fi 10vi comes with a Warranty of 1 Year and costs around $400 a pair.

Kwangjo Lee’s new Affordable Computer Speaker looks awesome on computer desk. Strange for Kwangjo Lee to call his creation the Affordable Computer Speakers. They take on an unorthodox design, looking more like blown up screws but good thing is you won’t need a giant Philips head screwdriver to get these going. Audio output is purportedly above average, and you can hook up other portable media players to it as well. Lee follows Ikea’s principle in keeping things flat, which is why all four mini speakers and woofer in the set can be stacked atop each other for easy transportation. Too bad this is but a concept, as it would be nice to see it made into an actual product with a large screwdriver included to adjust the volume.

Auzentech introduced its new audio card,  X-Fi™ Forte PCI-Express. By using the latest Creative native PCI express chipset, the Auzentech X-Fi™ Forte provides high performance audio processing on-board while freeing system resources for other tasks. With 64MB X-Ram, it processes complicated 3D sound effects with ease. The X-Fi™ Forte includes two rear panel brackets, a Standard bracket and a Low Profile bracket. Use the appropriate bracket for your PC.

The PCI-Express can connect to external DAC, AV Receiver, and Decoder through a 75Ω Coaxial cable or optical mini cable. Can play S/PDIF Stereo PCM and Dolby Digital AC-3, DTS bit-stream content. It includes an independent Headphone amp and can activate an impedance 16Ω ~ 600Ω headphone or earphone. Also, can be used, when configuring a Stereo system, not using the Analog I/O cable, as an Front Line Output. With a D/A converter of 120dB level, high end audio components, and an analog design tuned for peak performance, the X-Fi™ Forte is designed to provide the best audio possible for Music, Games and Movies. End-users can further tune the audio via the replaceable OPAMP for the front audio (L/R).

Auzentech X-Fi™ Forte PCI-Express features:

• Low Profile Audio Card
• Developed around Creative X-Fi Native PCI Express audio processor
• Support for Dolby Digital Live for Windows XP and Vista
• Support for DTS Neo:PC & DTS Interactive for Vista
• Low-profile and standard-profile brackets included.

Minimum System Requirements:

• Intel® Pentium® 4 1.6 GHz or AMD® Athlon XP 2000+ processor (Pentium 4 2.2 GHz, AMD AthlonTM XP 2400+ processor or faster recommended)
• Intel, AMD or 100% compatible motherboard
• Microsoft® Windows Vista® 64-bit with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Vista 32-bit with SP1, Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005 or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 [Support for XP will be under a Phase 2 schedule]
• 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM for Windows Vista)
• 600 MB of free hard disk space
• CD or DVD ROM

The PCI-Express independent data transfer structure provides secure performance, important because audio requires continuous-secure data processing.

You remember how liberated you felt when you got rid of your old desktop PC and switched over to your first laptop/notebook PC? While you are able to use notebook anywhere in the home, you must have realized that you cannot sit in as many positions as you like. The Logitech Comfort Lapdesk is THE answer! This product is developed to protect the body from laptop heat and to provide additional posture comfort (thanks to its design and wide base, which provides stability when on your lap). The Comfort Lapdesk holds the notebook still in almost any position so you can enjoy even more flexibility of movement. It also raises the notebook screen closer to your eye-level for more comfort.

Logitech lapdesk features:

• Thin, streamlined profile: This compact solution will look good in any room in your home and can be stored neatly near your bed or couch.
• Four-layer heat-shielding design: Protect your body from unwanted heat from your notebook so you can work or play comfortably with your notebook on your lap.
• Twelve-degree angled riser: Position your notebook to a viewing angle that’s more comfortable for your neck and legs (when used in a seated position).
• Stable, lightweight design: Use your notebook comfortably just about anywhere—on your sofa, bed, or even the floor.
• Soft, air-mesh fabric: The underside of the Comfort Lapdesk feels great on your legs.

Slated for this February, lapdesk carries a price tag of $40.

Audioengine W2 (AW2) Premium Wireless Adapter for iPod – Send music wirelessly from your iPod to to any music system. AW2 provides CD quality stereo sound with no reduction in audio quality. Unwire your iPod with the Ultimate Wireless Adapter!

Go mobile with the ipod – Plug the digital Sender into your iPod and connect the included receiver to your stereo and you’ll have complete control of your music from your iPod. No need to learn how to work a separate remote and the AW2 is super-easy to hook up, with no batteries needed. And since you control everything right from your iPod you’ll never have to lose another remote in the couch or go to a base station to change volume or songs.

The Audioengine W2 works as a “dockless dock”. With a rock-solid wireless connection that beats Bluetooth, FM, and even other 2.4MHz systems, the AW2 is pre-configured out of the box so there are no buttons to push and no software to configure. Your iPod and all its controls are right there with you and you can also add extra receivers to other audio systems around the house and “hop” between each. The AW2 Receiver is unobtrusive and easily fits on the back of any stereo system so you can finally get rid of that clunky dock.

Audioengine W2 features:

• Use your iPod for total wireless music control
• Quick setup, receiver included
• Super-compact size, no batteries needed
• No separate remote or base station needed
• Uncompressed CD-quality digital transmission
• No dropouts, static or interference
• Hand-built cabinets with high-gloss finish
• Wi-Fi technology beats Bluetooth and FM
• No DRM restrictions, plays all your music
• HOP feature works with up to 8 receivers

whats in the box?

• Wireless Music Sender for iPod
• Wireless Music Receiver
• USB AC Power Adapter
• Mini-jack to RCA Adapter Cable
• Mini-jack (3.5mm) Audio Cable
• Setup Guide

The AW2 uses uncompressed CD-quality transmission technology with no network setup, software, or computer required. The Wi-Fi-based system we use is an all-digital PCM encoded stream sent over a closed network that includes some really clever error correction and very low latency, which means that your music gets to your stereo fast without any lag, loss in sound quality, or interference from other wireless products or microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.. The Sender doesn’t need to be charged and you have full control over your iPod, with no sluggish menus or lack of volume control as is common with other docks, remotes, and wireless iPod adapters. The key features that make AW2 better than most wireless systems currently on the market are the ease of setup, fixed low latency, audio quality, lack of dropouts, and high interference tolerance.

The system used in the AW2 was designed and tested to ensure that interference-free audio quality is preserved while sharing the RF spectrum with other common wireless transmission technologies such as WLAN, Bluetooth, microwave ovens, cordless telephones, and others. The system was tested end-to-end system performance using PEAQ, the latest
perceptual quality measurement standard, to ensure the best resulting overall design.

The Audioengine W2 sets a new level of quality and ease-of-use for wireless audio. Even if you’re not an audio enthusiast, we guarantee you will still hear a difference! Audioengine has created a product with the sound, looks, and overall quality of wireless systems priced much higher. Purchase the Audioengine W2 from their online store and try it out in your home or office. If you’re not completely satisfied with the simple setup and great sound, just return your AW2 wireless adapter in the original packaging in likenew, undamaged condition within 30 days of purchase and they’ll give you a full refund of your purchase price.

Western Digital just released something much robust than just an external storage product: a network-attached storage (NAS) device and named it Sharespace. While the consumer-centric My Book line already has networked devices, the ShareSpace is intended to take WD into the level of something like a NetGear ReadyNas, Buffalo Technology TeraStation, or one of the many other four disk NAS units currently available. These devices appeal to advanced home users as well as the SOHO crowd, so it’s a lot more than just adding extra capacity to your setup–they bring along the security of RAID5, 4TB capacity (out of the box), accessibility from anywhere, and much more.

The metal housing of sharespace is an improvement on the standard plastic cases that we tend to see on external storage, the chassis seems rugged enough to stand up, and the entire unit is well cooled. From a design standpoint, it is not something that you would call good looking, but it’s not exactly an eyesore either, so it will be fine to be stowed away on a shelf or under your desk. The ports are all easy to reach and the front USB port was a nice inclusion for usability reasons. Because the ShareSpace allows push-button data transfers, that front USB slot should definitely come in handy.

The ShareSpace is a 4-bay NAS device that comes populated with 1TB WD GreenPower drives. These are used because they are said to consume 33 percent less power than standard 3.5-inch disks while running quite cool. The disks are interesting, but the star of the show is the enclosure. It’s an all-metal box that is about the size of five (or so) hard cover books stacked on their side (6.3 x 7.8 x 7.7-inches, WHD). It has three USB slots (two in the rear and one up front), Gigabit ethernet, and two buttons, but that’s it as far as external features go. The drives are cold swappable, so it has to be powered down in order to replace them.

Additionally it includes: iTunes server support, email alerts, Microsoft Active Directory support, a download manager, WD AnyWhere network backup software, MioNet remote access, an FTP server, and more. It even has administration options, like permissions, user IDs, quotas, and so on. Storage can be handled in RAID0, RAID1, or RAID5 (default for the 4TB model, leaves you with about 3TB capacity). It is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista as well as OS X.

Even with all these features the ShareSpace should be easy to use–they are not trying to replace the ReadyNas NV Pro or something along those lines. Installation, as expected, is painless. You simply have to attach the ShareSpace to your network and then pop a disc in your computer, WD’s tools (discovery/setup application, Anywhere BackUp, and MioNet) do the rest. This part of the setup is as easy as you would expect, and neither MioNet nor AnyWhere BackUp are new so they shouldn’t need much explanation.

The main interface with the NAS will be in your browser which is where you will be able to configure the NAS as well as access your download manager. It has the basic information you would expect (uptime monitor, IP address, percent usage, RAID level) as well as the devices tools. WD’s goal was obviously to make things like permissions, user access, quotas (etc.) as easy to use as possible, and they succeeded. The backend is easy to work with, and simple tasks can be handled without too much clicking around.

When it comes to transfer speeds the ShareSpace did relatively well. It’s not billed as a performance NAS so these weren’t as important as on a SMB model, but if you are moving 3TB or so of data, speed matters. Average transfer speeds varied in the range of 6.5MB/s to 7.91MB/s (that’s 52-63.28Mb/s) which are not incredibly high, but are certainly a good showing. This chart shows speeds of some other 4-bay, Gigabit ethernet devices, though most of which are more expensive than the ShareSpace. We used our own testing methods, but you will be able to get some idea of relative speed.

The ShareSpace retails for $699 with two 1TB disks and for $999 with four 1TB ones.

ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of NVIDIA-based motherboards and graphics cards, unleashed its first Graphics Plus capable mini-ITX motherboard – the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi. Featuring an NVIDIA GeForce 8200 mGPU, the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi delivers NVIDIA unified architecture, NVIDIA CUDA, NVIDIA PureVideo HD and integrated WiFi technologies rolled up into a miniature 170mm x 170mm platform. The ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi with NVIDIA unified architecture is powered by 16 screaming-fast stream processors that are programmable for phenomenal visuals with DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 enabled 3D games and applications or high-speed general computing tasks with NVIDIA CUDA-enabled applications.

ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi features:

• New NVIDIA GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi platform
• NVIDIA GeForce 8200 mGPU
• 16 stream processors
• Microsoft DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 compatible
• NVIDIA CUDA and PhysX ready
• NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology
• DVI with HDCP (w/Audio) and VGA outputs
• HDMI output with dongle (w/Audio)
• Integrated 802.11b/g WiFi
• AMD Phenom, Athlon and Sempron – Socket AM2+ support
• HyperTransport 3.0 compatible
• 2 DDR2 DIMM slots
• DDR2-800/1066 compatible
• Up to 8GB of DDR2 memory
• ZOTAC Extended Warranty

NVIDIA CUDA technology enables the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi to use its integrated graphics processor to accelerate complex mathematical calculations, image processing and video editing tasks. “General purpose computing is the future of graphics processors. The performance gains with NVIDIA CUDA enabled applications are astonishing with GeForce series graphics processors. Our new ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi enables users to take advantage of CUDA technology while maintaining a small system foot print,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. “Although high-definition is the future of multimedia, we can’t neglect users with existing DVD collections. NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology allows us to deliver video processing that’s beneficial to users that have standard and high-definition content with our ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi,” Mr. Berger added.
   
NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology transforms the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi into a multimedia powerhouse. PureVideo HD enables the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi to decode high-definition Blu-ray content using the integrated GeForce 8200 graphics processor for vivid, smooth and lag-free Blu-ray video playback.

NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology also breathes new life into existing DVD movie collections with advanced scaling and de-interlacing algorithms. Using the advanced algorithms, the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi is able to render existing standard-definition DVDs to near-high-definition levels of video quality.

Wireless 802.11b/g technology enables the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi to connect to networks wirelessly, reducing the amount of wiring required to the system. The wireless adapter is integrated into the ZOTAC GeForce 8200-ITX WiFi, allowing wireless network connectivity without large external adapters or internal add-in cards, for easy wireless network connectivity.