touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons. The iPhone's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player ("iPod"), in addition to text messaging and visual voicemail. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. It is a quad-band mobile phone that uses the GSM standard, hence has international capability. It supports the Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology for higher speed and reliability.
Following the success of iPod, Apple first introduced the iPhone on June 29, 2007 in the United States with much media frenzy. The introduction was preceded by month-long rumors and speculations. It was named Time magazine's "Invention Of the Year" in 2007.
The genesis of the iPhone began with Apple CEO Steve Jobs's direction that Apple engineers investigate touch-screens. At the time he had been considering having Apple work on tablet PCs.
Comments made by Jobs in April 2003 at the "D: All Things Digital" executive conference expressed his belief that tablet PCs and traditional PDAs were not good choices as high-demand markets for Apple to enter, despite many requests made to him that Apple create another PDA. He did believe that cell phones were going to become important devices for portable information access.
On January 9, 2007, Jobs announced the iPhone at the Macworld convention, receiving substantial media attention, and on June 11, 2007 announced at the Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference that the iPhone would support third-party applications using the Safari engine on the device. Third-parties would create the Web 2.0 applications and users would access them via the Internet. On October 17, 2007 Apple announced that an iPhone software development kit would be made available in February 2008.
Spanish mobile operator Telef?nica announced on their technology blog that they expect to be shipping 3G iPhones by May 2008.
The iPhone normally prevents access to its media player and web features unless it has also been activated as a phone with an authorized carrier. On July 3, 2007, Jon Lech Johansen reported on his blog that he had successfully bypassed this requirement and unlocked the iPhone's other features with a combination of custom software and modification of the iTunes binary. He published the software and offsets for others to use.
On November 21, 2007, T-Mobile announced that in Germany, it will sell the phone "unlocked" and without a T-Mobile contract for 999 (US$1,478) at its stores. This is due to litigation commenced against T-Mobile by their competitor Vodafone, which resulted in a preliminary injunction preventing T-Mobile from locking the SIM card to itself in Germany. The sale of the iPhone in this configuration will last until the court renders a decision.
Apple announced in their 2007 Q3 sales report and conference call that they sold 270,000 iPhones in the first 30 hours on launch weekend. AT&T reported 146,000 iPhones activated in the same time period. Apple anticipated selling their millionth iPhone in the first full quarter of availability, and 10 million by the end of fiscal 2008. On September 10, 2007, Apple announced sales of 1 million iPhones. This was followed by Apple's Q4 announcement on October 22, 2007 which put total iPhone sales at 1.39 million (Apple having sold 1.12 million in their 4th Quarter).
The iPhone allows conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, and integration with other cellular network features and iPhone functions. For example, a playing song fades out when the user receives a call. Once the call is ended the music fades back in. Voice dialing is not supported by the iPhone.
The iPhone includes a Visual Voicemail feature allowing users to view a list of current voicemail messages on-screen without having to call into their voicemail. Unlike most other systems, messages can be listened to and deleted in a non-chronological order by choosing any message from an on-screen list. AT&T modified their voicemail infrastructure to accommodate this new feature designed by Apple.
A ringtone feature, introduced in the United States on September 5, 2007, but not yet available in all countries where the iPhone has been released, allows users to create custom ringtones from their purchased iTunes music for an additional fee, the same price of a song. The ringtones can be from 3 to 30 seconds in length of any part of a song, can include fading in and out, can pause from half a second to five seconds when looped, and never expire. All customizing can be done in iTunes, and the synced ringtones can also be used for alarms on the iPhone.
Apple has released a video explaining many of iPhone's features through a series of demonstrations.
The iPod nano is a mid-range iPod portable media player designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was first introduced on September 7, 2005, and combines features of both the iPod shuffle and iPod classic. It was intended to replace the iPod mini, which was discontinued on the same day. The replacement of the mini took Apple-related websites and the press completely by surprise since, although there were rumors about a new flash memory-based iPod, there was no prior notice of the popular mini being discontinued.
Development work on the design of the iPod nano started only nine months before its launch date. The nano uses flash memory, like the shuffle, but with a miniaturized version of the color screen and click wheel found on the iPod classic. The screen also has the same resolution as the classic. The battery and other internal parts were also reduced in size from the mini.
Instead of the hard disk used in the iPod classic, the nano uses flash memory. This means there are no moving parts, making the iPod nano immune to skipping.
The iPod nano works with iTunes on Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows (third-party software is available for platforms that Apple does not support). It connects through the same proprietary dock connector as the third-generation iPod, the fourth-generation iPod, and the iPod mini, using a USB 2.0 port on the user's computer. Although it uses the same connection as Apple's FireWire iPod Cable and can charge its battery over FireWire, the iPod nano does not support synchronizing over a FireWire connection. The iPod nano includes a stop watch and a multiple time zone clock function. There is also a combination lock feature that makes use of the click wheel to lock the iPod, and serves to secure the user's calendar and contact information. It was also the first iPod to include a new lyrics screen, modifiable using iTunes.
Unlike previous iPods, the iPod nano does not synchronize or connect over FireWire. Also, the lack of the remote connector found on the top of many previous models means that a number of third-party accessories do not work with the iPod nano. However, manufacturers have adapted and now primarily utilize the dock connector port. The first generation iPod nano did not support voice recording, although the second generation functions with third-party recording attachments. It did not function with either Apple's iPod Camera Connector or other camera connectors from third-party manufacturers, but the third generation added this feature.
Advertising emphasized the iPod nano's small size: it is 1.6 in (40 mm) wide, 3.5 in (90 mm) long, 0.27 in (6.9 mm) thick and weighs 1.5 ounces (42 grams). Its stated battery life is up to 14 hours. The screen is 176x132 pixels, 1.5 in (38 mm) diagonal, and can display 65,536 colors (16-bit color).
The nano was launched in two colors (black and white) with two available sizes: 2 GB (roughly 500 songs) for US$199 and 4 GB (1000 songs) for US$249. On February 7, 2006, Apple updated the lineup with the 1 GB model (240 songs) sold at US$149. Apple also released some accessories, including armbands and silicone "tubes" designed to bring color to the nano and protect it from scratches, as well as a combination lanyard-earphone accessory that hangs around the neck, and avoids the problem of tangling earphone cords.
Testing by technology-enthusiast website Ars Technica has shown that even after being sat on, dropped by a jogger, dropped four times from a car moving at various speeds, then being driven over twice by the car, and finally dropped from nine feet onto concrete, the unit's screen was damaged but it could still play music. The unit finally stopped playing music after being thrown 40 feet into the air and landing on concrete.
The iPod nano uses general-purpose integrated circuits (IC) instead of smaller, low cost custom developed chips, possibly to reduce time-to-market. This design, however, increases the number of electronic components and increases the cost. Japanese engineers estimated the component cost of the 2 GB nano as between JP?22000 and JP?27000 (US$185-US$227), which was high compared to the retail price of JP?21800 (US$183) at the time. The cost of 2 GB NAND flash memory was about JP?14000 (US$118). Apple also opted for the 0603 (1.6x0.8 mm) surface mount technology which was just beginning widespread use in mobile phones in 2005. The iPod nano uses a PortalPlayer PP5021C "system on a chip" with dual embedded 80 MHz ARM 7TDMI processors.
Vudu, Inc. is a media technology company responsible for the development of the Vudu box, which is an interactive media device used to distribute full length movies to any television, using peer-to-peer TV technology.
Vudu was founded by Tony Miranz and Alain Rossmann (the creator of WAP). The Vudu box had been secretly in development since 2004, but on April 29th, 2007, The New York Times revealed that Vudu had signed deals with many movie studios and independent distributors to deliver access to the over 5,000 films currently in the company's collection. Unlike other movie download services, like Apple TV, Vudu does not require a computer or cable box, but only to have access to a broadband internet connection.
The product team is made up of technology veterans from TiVo, WebTV, Openwave, 2Wire, Slim Devices, OpenTV, and Danger, Inc.. Vudu has received $21 million in VC funding from Greylock Partners and Benchmark Capital. Before the New York Times article, little was known about the company, which operates within a non-descript building in Santa Clara, CA.
Movies are streamed over a broadband ethernet connection in MPEG-4 format, but are then upscaled to high definition (HD).
The term P2PTV refers to peer-to-peer (P2P) software applications designed to redistribute video streams in real time on a P2P network; the distributed video streams are typically TV channels from all over the world but may also come from other sources. The draw to these applications is significant because they have the potential to make any TV channel globally available.
In a P2PTV system, each user, while downloading a video stream, is simultaneously also uploading that stream to other users, thus contributing to the overall available bandwidth. The arriving streams are typically a few minutes time-delayed compared to the original sources. The video quality of the channels usually depends on how many users are watching; the video quality is better if there are more users. The architecture of many P2PTV networks can be thought of as real-time versions of BitTorrent: if a user wishes to view a certain channel, the P2PTV software contacts a "tracker server" for that channel in order to obtain addresses of peers who distribute that channel; it then contacts these peers to receive the feed. The tracker records the user's address, so that it can be given to other users who wish to view the same channel. In effect, this creates an overlay network on top of the regular internet for the distribution of real-time video content.
Some applications allow users to broadcast their own streams, whether self-produced, obtained from a video file, or through a TV tuner card or video capture card.
Many of the commercial P2PTV applications were developed in China (TVants, TVUPlayer, PPLive, PPStream, SopCast). The majority of available applications broadcast mainly Asian TV stations, with the exception of TVUPlayer, which carries a number of North American stations including CBS, Spike TV, and Fox News. Some applications distribute TV channels without a proper license to do so; this utilization of P2P technology is particularly popular to view channels that are either not available locally, or only available by paid subscription, as is the case for some sports channels.
The Wii (pronounced as the English pronoun we, IPA: /wi?/) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. The console is the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, but it competes with both as part of the seventh generation of gaming systems.
A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect acceleration in three dimensions. Another is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.
Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show. At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards. By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets. During the week of September 12, 2007, the Financial Times declared that the Wii was the current sales leader of its generation.
The console was conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first seeing release. According to an interview with Nintendo's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction. "The consensus was that power isn't everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can't coexist. It's like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction."
Two years later, engineers and designers were brought together to develop the concept further. By 2005, the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year's E3 was withdrawn. Miyamoto stated that, "We had some troubleshooting to do. So, we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console." Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show.
The Nintendo DS is stated to have influenced the Wii design. Designer Ken'ichiro Ashida noted, "We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We thought about copying the DS's touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype." The idea was eventually rejected, with the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also expressed that: "If the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board."
The console was known by the code name of "Revolution" until April 27, 2006, immediately prior to E3. According to the Nintendo Style Guide, the name "is simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii." This means it is the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside of Japan without the company name featured in its trademark. While "Wiis" is a commonly used pluralization of the console, Nintendo has stated that the official plural form is "Wii systems" or "Wii consoles." Nintendo spells "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together, as well as to represent the console's controllers. The company has given many reasons for this choice of name since the announcement; however, the best known is: Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.
Despite Nintendo's justification for the name, some game developers and members of the press initially reacted negatively towards the change. They preferred "Revolution" over "Wii" and expressed fear "that the name would convey a continued sense of 'kidiness'[sic] to the console." The BBC reported the day after the name was announced that "a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name," had appeared on the Internet. CriminalBrief.com suggested it contained a sly reference to World War II.
Nintendo of America's president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change: Revolution as a name is not ideal; it's long, and in some cultures, it's hard to pronounce. So we wanted something that was short, to the point, easy to pronounce, and distinctive. That's how 'Wii,' as a console name, was created.
Nintendo defended its choice of "Wii" over "Revolution" and responded to critics of the name by stating: "live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it."
The MacBook is a line of Macintosh notebook computers by Apple Inc. that replaced the iBook G4 series and the 12" PowerBook G4. The original MacBook was built around the Intel Core Duo chip and released on May 16, 2006. The latest update to the MacBook line occurred on November 1, 2007. The chip was updated to an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, and the computer now runs on Mac OS X Leopard.
Each generation has been available in three base configurations. The current base configuration features a 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, an 80 GB hard drive and a Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive), while the upgraded models feature a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo, a 120 GB, 160 GB or optional 250 GB hard drive and a 8x Double Layer SuperDrive (DVDR DL/DVDRW/CD-RW). All models have 1 GB of memory, upgradable to 4 GB and feature Intel's GM965 chipset, which includes an 800 MHz front-side bus and Intel's X3100 integrated graphics .
The MacBook features a widescreen 13.3" glossy LCD display, with a 1280x800 resolution with a built-in iSight webcam. The MacBook closes with a magnetic latch mechanism. Sound capabilities include built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, and combined optical digital audio output/headphone out. Further it includes a mini-DVI, built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme, two USB 2.0 ports, one Firewire 400 port, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR, Sudden Motion Sensor and a Scrolling TrackPad. Packaged with the MacBook is an Apple Remote and the MagSafe power connector. The hardware operates in dual channel memory mode when memory is installed in each slot (called asymmetric dual channel). Using exact pairs (e.g. 2x1 GB) is called interleaved dual channel, and theoretically results in higher performance. It also includes a Trusted platform module chip.
The MacBook is pre-loaded with Mac OS X v10.5, which includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row and Xcode Developer Tools. Further it comes with iLife '08, which includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand. There is a 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac included as well.
The MacBook's appearance is loosely based on that of its predecessor, the iBook G4. In addition to the classic white case, Apple is offering a premium black case option; both cases are made of polycarbonate, the thermoplastic Apple is known for using in many of its products. The two-color decision has received some criticism because the base black model had originally cost US$150 more than a white model with the same hardware configuration. With the latest price revision, this has been reduced to US$125.
The MacBook was the first Apple portable to feature a glossy display. The different reflective properties of glossy displays are said to increase color saturation when compared with anti-glare displays. The display has a narrower viewing angle than the anti-glare displays and may glare in bright or fluorescent lighting. Apple's approach with the new glossy display is similar to that of other PC manufacturers such as Sony with its XBRITE displays, Dell's TrueLife, or Toshiba's TruBrite.
The MacBook also features a new sunken keyboard design. Unlike the iBook, PowerBook G3, and Titanium PowerBook's keyboards, it is not removable; instead, each key is individually integrated into the casing with about 1.5 mm between neighboring keys. This is ostensibly intended to give the keyboard a sturdier feel and to avoid keyboard contact with the screen when closed. As of the most recent revision, it also closely mirrors the keyboards that ship with the iMac, and includes the same hotkeys. The color scheme for keys and labels is white with grey letters for the white model, and black with white letters for the black model.
The MacBook uses an Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics processor. Intel's integrated graphics chipsets have been criticized in the past for being unable to handle graphically-intensive tasks such as complex 3D gaming and other heavily GPU-dependent processes. However, the GMA X3100 is capable of playing many popular games and rendering the Aero GUI when running Windows Vista.
Apple most likely used integrated Intel graphics as a cost-cutting measure, as the Intel GMA chipset is cheaper than most discrete GPU solutions from ATI and nVidia. While the Intel GMA x3100 lacks dedicated video memory, it is highly optimized for video playback and requires less power to operate than most ATI and nVidia chipsets.
Furthermore, looking at the benchmarks between the MacBook and MacBook Pro, it's likely that a dedicated video solution would have placed the performance of the "consumer" oriented line close to the performance of the more expensive "professional" line.
The Slingbox is a TV streaming device that enables consumers to remotely view their cable, satellite, or personal video recorder (PVR) programming from an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection. It is produced by Sling Media of San Mateo, California.
A Slingbox can redirect up to four live Audio/Video signals from a cable box, satellite receiver, DVR, or other Audio/Video source to the viewer's PC located anywhere nearby, such as in home or office, or, when using a broadband Internet connection, anywhere in the world. For copyright reasons, only one user can access the stream from a Slingbox at a time. This way of accessing content is known as placeshifting. However, unlike Sony's LocationFree Player, the Slingbox user is not required to obtain or pay for a new license, in order to stream to another computer.
A Slingbox connects a TV source (via coaxial cable, composite cables, component cables, or S-video cable) to an existing Internet connection. Digital video recorders and cable or satellite set top boxes can be controlled through a separate infrared (IR) cable that lets users change channels from the remote location. Software on a user's computer or mobile device connects to the Slingbox and provides the user interface for viewing the video stream and changing channels. Onscreen virtual remote controls are provided for controlling almost all connected device. Note that all control inputs are done in the slingplayer window via computer mouse. There is no provision for use of hardware IR remote control units while watching slingplayer even if the PC has an IR receiver. This may be fine while watching on a laptop, but if you connect your PC running slingplayer to a TV, you must access the PC every time you want to change channel or skip your DVR.
The Slingbox utilizes Sling Media's proprietary SlingPlayer to display audio and video on Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh running Mac OS X, and select mobile devices. SlingPlayer is not available for Linux, BSD or other open source systems. The latest SlingPlayer version for Windows is version 1.5 (technically 1.5.0.322). This version adds or improves support for specific audio/video devices.
Sling Media released a Windows Mobile version of their player on April 26, 2006 which allows users to stream their video over Pocket PCs and smartphones. A high-definition-compatible version of the Slingbox was announced in September 2006.
Sling Media announced a Mac OS X port of the SlingPlayer at the January 2006 Macworld Conference and Expo with a promised release date of Q2 2006. The release was later delayed to Q3 2006, and then again to Q4 2006, leading to allegations that Sling Media was promoting vaporware. In September 2006, Sling Media began selling new Slingbox hardware in packages that had the official Mac OS X logo on the outside, indicating support for the Macintosh platform even though the Mac OS X port of the player software was still not available. Sling Media released the first public beta of their player for Mac OS X on October 31, 2006. A completed version was released in early 2007. Version 1.0 works on both PowerPC and Intel Macs as long as it runs at least OSX 10.3.9. Official Version Page
A Palm OS client Beta has also been released .
Players for Nokia N73, Nokia E65 and Nokia N95 and unlimited (up to 10GB per month), free access are available as part of the X-Series from 3 in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Australia and Hong Kong.
During the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show the company announced a future feature known as Clip+Sling that allows users to share clips of their favorite TV shows with each other through a hosted Web service. The announcement was made during Les Moonves' keynote.
Applian Technologies released a PC-based recording program for Slingbox in 2006 called At-Large Recorder 1.0. Following that event, Sling Media added an encrypted protocol to the communication between Sling Player and Slingbox, rendering At-Large Recorder 1.0 useless with newer firmware. In October 2007, Applian Technologies released At-Large Recorder 2, which is once again able to capture and record Slingbox streams on a Windows PC. At-Large Recorder 2 includes a circular recording feature for use in continuously capturing feeds from security cameras or media monitoring.
In 2007, Sling Media announced the launch of the SlingCatcher, a hardware device similar to a set top box, which would enable users to watch their television remotely, without the need for a computer.
Slingbox customers have requested help configuring their Slingboxes on the SlingCommunity web site . SlingCommunity is an interactive community dedicated solely to Sling Media's Slingbox Personal Broadcaster. The configuration of a SlingBox requires several technical steps including configuring the consumer's firewall and setting WAN mode of the device. Help is available at Sling Media's support site . Configuring a SlingBox is often difficult for users who are not experienced with router configuration or port forwarding.
The SlingBox has found an unexpected niche in television broadcasting. Broadcast engineers at several TV stations have installed them at remote locations to observe traffic and weather conditions. KPIX-TV in San Francisco has several connected with wireless networking, using EV-DO via a cellular network (mobile phone) provider. This costs only a few hundred dollars for each site, versus well over ten thousand for a setup with a remote pickup unit and auxiliary broadcast licenses. However, the system is not yet reliable or broadband enough to handle live remote broadcasts. Cable TV providers are also using it to provide proof of performance for companies that run TV ads on their systems.
At E3 2007, Sony released information about a slimmer and lighter version of the PlayStation Portable, similar to the Nintendo DS Lite. It is currently packaged in the PAL territories as PSP Slim & Lite. The new PSP is 33% lighter (reduced to 189 grams from 280 grams) and 19% slimmer than the original PSP system. The model numbers have changed to PSP-2000, following the previous region-based numbering scheme (cf. the PSP-1000 numbering scheme of the "old" PSP model).
It was released on September 5 in Europe, on September 6, 2007 in US and the day after the US launch in Korea.
The PSP Slim & Lite offers a 33% lighter and 5mm (19%) thinner system. Internal changes to achieve this include the removal of a metal chassis (used to reduce damage in the event of sudden trauma to the system resulting from the user dropping the system on a hard surface), improved WLAN modules and Micro-controller, and a thinner and much lighter LCD display.
Although dubbed "PSP Slim and Lite", the PSP-2000 offers several other tweaks and improvements from the older generation. To target the original PSP generation's poor load times for UMD games, the internal memory (RAM and FlashROM) was doubled to 64 MB to improve load times and accommodate for an improvement in the web browser's performance. PSP Slim Memory Stick PRO Duo Slot
To make the PSP slimmer, the capacity of the battery was reduced by about 1/3. Due to more efficient power usage, the runtime of the PSP is still the same as the older model. Older model batteries will still work with the PSP Slim & Lite which extends the amount of playing time on the PSP Slim & Lite. However, the battery cover on the newer model does not fit over the older battery due to its bulkier size.
The PSP Slim & Lite has a new enamel coated finish to prevent scratches and smudges. The serial port was also modified in order to accommodate a new video-out feature (while rendering older PSP remote controls incompatible). Also of note is that PSP games will only output to external monitors or TVs in progressive scan mode, so televisions incapable of supporting progressive scan will not display PSP games. Other PSP video features output fine in either progressive or interlaced mode. USB charging was made possible (The PSP will only charge while it is in "USB mode". You cannot charge via USB when playing a game.). The D-Pad was raised in response to complaints of poor performance, while buttons offer improved responsiveness, confirmed in the GameSpot "hands-on" review: "several GameSpot editors have noticed that the d-pad and buttons on the new PSP provide a little more tactile feedback for a better overall feel.".
A new UMD loading tray design was introduced to be more efficient in terms of size, while the Wi-Fi switch was moved to the top of the console and the Memory Stick slot moved to the upper left. The speakers were repositioned on the front of the PSP near the top of the screen. The rather obsoleted infra-red port was also removed - which offered no use to the original PSP generation other than in homebrew applications. The analog stick was also redesigned to be more flexible.
A "1Seg" tuner (model PSP-S310) peripheral, designed specifically for the PSP Slim & Lite model, was released in Japan on September 20, 2007.
The announced price is set at $169.99 for the Core Pack and $199.99 for the newer PSP entertainment packages. The original version of the PSP is also set to be priced at $169.99, until they are sold out, although some stores may lower the price as a clearout sale to try and sell their PSP systems more rapidly. The PSP Slim will sell for $169.99, and the two special limited edition ones cost $199.99. The Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary edition, limited to 77,777 units, is currently on sale in Mexico and online stores for US$399.90. In New Zealand the PSP Slim retails for a price of NZ$299.95. In Australia the PSP Slim retails from $249-$279. In South Africa the PSP Slim retails for a price of R1999.99. In Europe, the PSP Slim will sell for 169. In Singapore, the PSP Slim retails for S$280.In Malaysia,the PSP Slim retails for RM750.In Poland, the PSP Slim retails for 669zl(PLN).
In North America, the Ice Silver Daxter Entertainment Pack comes in an entertainment packet including the game Daxter, a 1 GB Memory Stick, and the UMD movie, Family Guy Freakin' Sweet Collection. About one month later, Sony released a special Ceramic White Star Wars edition PSP which has a silkscreen picture of Darth Vader on the back. It comes with the game Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron. Both the Ice Silver and Ceramic White PSPs are priced at $199.99. North America will get other colors with the core package in November . Sony released the colors Rose Pink, Lavender Purple, and Felicia Blue in Japan at launch. A special "FINAL FANTASY VII 10th Anniversary" Edition was released for Japan only and, as mentioned above, was limited to 77,777 units. The package includes a silver color unit with Final Fantasy pictures at the back, and an original Final Fantasy sword-shaped strap. (Some shops will also provide a special earphone for pre-orders.)
Europe will receive black, pink, orange, and silver models, as well as the two special limited edition colors available as a bundle: Simpsons-themed yellow bundle and the red and black Spider-Man bundle. In the UK, the Slim & Lite (Piano Black) is retailing at ?129.99, with the Ceramic White models expected on February 26, 2008.
The PSP Slim & Lite was released in Hong Kong on August 30, 2007. In North America the Ice Silver Daxter Pack was released on September 5. In New Zealand the PSP Slim was released on September 14. The Piano Black Core Pack was released on October 5 and the Star Wars Ceramic White on October 4, 2007. For the Japanese market, a special "FINAL FANTASY VII 10th Anniversary" edition was released on September 13 bundled with the release of the game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, limited in quantities to 77,777 units. The normal edition will be released on September 20 in Japan. In September 2007, SCEE announced 2 more Slim PSP editions, a Simpsons PSP, and a Spider-Man PSP. Both will come with their movie games, and the Spider-Man pack will come with Spider-Man 3 movie UMD. The PSP Slim & Lite was also released in Malaysia and Singapore on 10th October. A "Deep Red" PSP will be released in Japan on December 13, 2007.
The image quality of the best flat-panel LCD HDTVs has improved with every generation, and Samsung's 2007 step-up model, the LN-T4665F, is irrefutable proof. To cut to the chase: it delivers one of the best pictures we've seen yet from any LCD, and it compared well against the best plasmas on the market. Of course there's always some impurity in the ointment, and in this case it's the Samsung's shiny screen, which is the main reason why we didn't give the LN-T4665F our Editors' Choice award (update 06-19-07: We've also published a review of the LN-T4661F, which is very similar to this TV except that its screen is matte). But in the end we, too, liked shiny things, because the Samsung LN-T4665F outperformed other LCDs we've tested--including the latest models from Sony and Sharp--in a demanding, darkened home theater environment.
Design The Samsung LN-T4665F is quite simply the shiniest TV we ever reviewed. The company's stylists went for pure, glossy black again this year, and for the first time the reflective gloss extends to the screen itself. The glossy frame is very attractive in its own right--we especially liked the rounded corners, smoothed-out planes, the subtly curved bottom edge, and the sleek, transparent speaker-sound deflectors that extend a quarter of an inch beyond the fuselage to either side. We also appreciated the trim swivel base, which allows the panel to be rotated about 20 degrees to either side.
We don't appreciate the glossy screen, however. We assume the company chose a reflective screen coating, as opposed to the matte screens found on most LCDs, to attract attention in the store when the LN-T4665F is lined up next to the millions of other flat-panel sets. Unfortunately, the screen also attracts reflections from bright objects and lights in the room, which can detract from the picture.
Including the stand, the LN-T4665F measures 43.6x12.8x30.2 inches. Without it, the panel measures 43.6x4.1x23.8 inches.
Samsung's remote is almost the same as last year, and we generally found the slender wand easy to operate. Only the keys for volume, channel, and device control (the universal clicker can command four other pieces of gear) are illuminated, but that's better than most TV remotes, which skip backlighting altogether. All of the buttons are nicely separated and differentiated, with the exception of secondary controls clustered at the clicker's base, which kind of blend together. We'd like to see dedicated buttons for each input, but since the set automatically senses and skips inactive inputs, cycling between sources is less arduous than usual.
Features With a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels--popularly known as "1080p"--the Samsung LN-T4665F has enough pixels to resolve every detail of 1080i and 1080p HDTV sources, although it falls a bit short in real life (see Performance for more). All other sources, including 720p HDTV, DVD, computer and standard-def, are scaled to fit the pixels.
The LN-T4665F is one of the first TVs with HDMI 1.3-compatible inputs, which have higher bandwidth than the older versions. In itself, that fact doesn't mean much, but the addition does enable the LN-T4665F to offer a menu selection labeled "xvYCC," which refers to a wider color space that supposedly comes closer to human vision's capabilities than the current HDTV color space. Of course you'll need an HDMI 1.3-compatible source (the player and disc, for example), and as far as we know there isn't any xvYCC content available. In other words, we classify xvYCC and HDMI 1.3 inputs--at least as implemented on the LN-T4665F--as "no big deal." The set's spec sheet also mentions 10-bit processing, but when we asked Samsung about it, they said that the panel itself doesn't deliver 10-bit color--just that the processing is capable of it. Extra bit depth can result in less false contouring, among other benefits, but like xvYCC color it requires a 10-bit source and display.
As far as features that actually matter today, the LN-T4665F has an excellent selection of picture controls. It offers three picture modes that are each independent for each input, allowing you to customize each source with three different groups of picture settings. Only Movie mode allows full adjustment, however, so we recommend using it for the most demanding viewing conditions. In addition to the standard brightness and contrast sliders, there's a full-fledged backlight control, which is also independent per input.
In addition to the five presets for color temperature, there's a full set of detailed color temperature controls. Labeled "White Balance," they offer both gain and offset adjustments for red, green, and blue, allowing slightly more-advanced users to really zero in on the set's grayscale. The "My Color" control, on the other hand, doesn't seem to do much of anything, so we left it in the default positions. The selection of secondary picture controls includes items labeled Black Level, which affects shadow detail; Dynamic Contrast, which adjusts black level on the fly; Gamma, which affects the rate of progression from dark to light; and a selection for Color Gamut, which controls the range of colors the display can reproduce. See Performance for more details.
We appreciated the solid range of aspect ratio controls, which include four choices for HD sources. Just Scan is the mode best suited for 1080i and 1080p sources, because it introduces no overscan and displays the image with no scaling. Standard-def sources allow four choices as well, including two zoom modes you can adjust vertically, to see subtitles or obscure tickers, for example. The set also includes a picture-in-picture feature to display two channels or sources at once.
Like more and more 2007 HDTVs, the Samsung LN-T4665F offers three HDMI inputs as opposed to just two. Two are located on the back, while a third can be found in a recessed bay along the panel's left side. The Samsung's commendable connectivity continues with a pair of component-video inputs, an AV input with S-video, two RF inputs for cable and antenna, and a VGA-style RGB input for computers (maximum resolution 1920x1080). That recessed bay on the side offers an additional AV input with S-video, as well as a USB port that can interface with thumbdrives to display photos (JPEG only) and play music (MP3 only).
Performance Simply put, in a darkened room the Samsung LN-T4665F is one of the best-performing LCD-based HDTVs we've tested yet. We specify "darkened" because of its screen's reflective coating, which according to our nonscientific observation reflects even more light than that of a glass plasma screen. It's basically a dark mirror. If you're setting this TV up in a room where you can't totally control the light that hits the screen, we recommend looking for an LCD with a standard matte screen, or a plasma with proven glare-reducing properties, like Panasonic's TH-PX77U series. If ambient light isn't a concern, then the Samsung LN-T4665F offers picture quality that compares favorably with the best plasmas.
We began our evaluation, as usual, by adjusting the Samsung's picture controls for optimum performance in our completely dark home theater. We really appreciated the set's excellent array of adjustments, including the fine-tuning for color temperature. We were able to improve the default Warm2 color temperature preset significantly (see the Geek Box below), although the final grayscale wasn't quite as accurate as we'd like to see. It varied a bit too widely in darker areas, although it was still much closer to the 6599K ideal than most LCDs we've tested. For our complete picture settings, which result in peak light output of about 40 footlamberts, check out our Tips & Tricks section.
To get an idea of the Samsung's real-world performance, we watched Hulk on HD DVD played from the Toshiba HD-XA2 at 1080i resolution. By way of comparison, we lined the LN-T4665F up next to a trio of like-size flat-panels: the HP LC4776N 1080p LCD, the aforementioned Panasonic TH-50PX77U plasma, and our oft-cited reference display, the Pioneer PRO-FHD1 plasma.
Let's get one thing out of the way now. The only flat-panel LCD sets we've seen that produce a deeper shade of black than the Samsung LN-T4665F are the Sharp LC-52D92U and LC-46D62U, which have other problems of their own. Hulk is a pretty dark film, especially in the beginning, and it served to illustrate the Samsung's black-level performance very well. During the scene when the green monster trashes the office, for example, the darkest shadows, the night sky above the building, and the black paint of the police car were all a bit darker than the other displays. Update 05-22-2007: We originally wrote that the Panasonic beat the Samsung by a hair in terms of procing the deepest black level, but actually the reverse is true. After rea-adjusting the two slightly, the Samsung produced a slightly deeper black level than the Panaosnic, although again the difference would be difficult to discern outside of a side-by-side comparison.
Shadow detail is an area where LCD almost always takes a back seat to plasma, but the LN-T4665F held its own. We set the adjustable gamma control to -3, which preserved all of the detail in shadows and yet provided the shallowest, most realistic rise out of black, meaning that near-black details weren't overly bright. We saw evidence of this when looking closely at the shadowed shape of Hulk as he stands behind the tree outside Jennifer Connelly's cabin; we could barely make out the definition of his muscles in the light, whereas the HP didn't show the same detail and the Panasonic was a bit too bright, with a somewhat unrealistic rise out of black.
Color accuracy on the Samsung was also commendable overall. When Connelly visits Nick Nolte in his shack, for example, the extreme close-ups of her face were rendered quite realistically, and we could see variations in skin coloration from her forehead down to her cheeks and chin. Looking at the Pioneer, our reference for color, revealed slightly less-saturated colors than on the Samsung, but the difference wasn't drastic. Primary colors and color decoding were also quite accurate on the LN-T4665F, and combined with the set's mostly solid grayscale performance they led to the best color we've seen on any flat-panel LCD.
The Samsung also delivered an exceedingly clean image. The twilight sky above Nolte's shack provided a good example -- we saw far more moving motes of noise in those areas than we did on the Panasonic, for example, although the Pioneer was about equal. We complained of false contouring on some Samsung LCDs last year but the LN-T4665F was as good as any other display we've tested in producing smooth gradations between shadows and light.
Screen uniformity was somewhat below that of the best LCDs we've tested, however. The most noticeable issue was the excessive brightness of the left and right sides of the screen compared to the middle, which was most visible in flat fields (45 IRE or lower) especially in the darkest fields. In program material--for example, the shots of Nolte in his shadowy shack--we noticed the edges of the display were a tiny bit brighter than the middle. There were other, irregular and much more subtle brightness variations in dimmer fields, but they weren't as noticeable, even in bright fields like the desert under the speeding helicopters. When seen from off-angle, the Samsung's screen maintained a relatively solid picture, not becoming discolored, and washing out significantly less than other LCDs we've tested. Of course, the darker parts of the Samsung's picture did wash out quite a bit more than those of the plasmas.
Like any 1080p HDTV should, the Samsung handled 1080p sources, both at the standard 60 and the less-common 24 frames per second -- although like most sets it can't change its scan rate, so the benefits of using 1080p/24, if any, will be lost. We also checked the LN-T4665F's ability to resolve a 1080i test pattern from our Sencore VP403, and surprisingly it fell just short (most 1080p LCDs we've seen pass this test with aplomb), although it did resolve every line of the Sencore's 1080p pattern via HDMI. According to HQV on HD DVD and Blu-ray, the Samsung also failed to properly de-interlace 1080i content for display on its 1080p screen. (Update 06-04-2007: For those who want to assure proper de-interlacing of video-based, 1080i/30 material, we found that setting the aspect ratio to "16:9" as opposed to "Just Scan" will cause the Samsung to pass that test). How much do these failings with 1080i matter? Judging from the incredibly sharp image of Hulk, which appeared every bit as detailed as on the Pioneer (which passes all of these tests), not much. Of course, sticklers with access to 1080p content will want to use it with the LN-T4665F.
(Update 6-20-07) Samsung has sent us a firmware update that worked with this set and the LN-T4661F to fix the deinterlacing of video-based, but not film-based, 1080i content and to show every line of a 1080-resolution test pattern. (This update is not reflected in our Geek Box results.) We originally reported here that the firmware update would be available as a download from Samsung's web site. Now we hear from the company that the update may instead only be available to owners who call the Service Center and ask to have it sent. We'll update this section again when we're told more. New TVs equipped with the updated firmware will arrive on store shelves, according to Samsung, by mid- to late July 2007.
We also checked out the Samsung's ability to handle standard-def sources, and the results were mostly mediocre. The set was able to resolve every detail of the DVD format according to the color bars pattern from the HQV disc, but it had trouble smoothing out the jagged edges of rotating diagonal lines, and along the stripes of a waving American flag. The four noise reduction settings did a progressively better job of removing random motes of snowy noise from the disc's low-quality sunsets and shots of skies, but as usual there was a trade-off and details were softened somewhat as we increased NR. The Auto setting didn't really work well to automatically adjust the NR, especially in the "motion-adaptive" scenes with the roller-coaster, so we recommend choosing one of the manual modes when you'd like to fight the noise. The LN-T4665F did engage 2:3 pull-down quickly and accurately.
We also checked out the Samsung's performance as a computer monitor, and like most 1080p flat-panel LCDs, it was very good. Using DisplayMate software via the VGA input--we didn't test compatibility with DVI/HDMI PC sources --the set resolved every line of vertical resolution and nearly every line of horizontal resolution with our video card set to 1920x1080 output. As a result, we detected a slight bit of softness in PC text at font sizes smaller than 10-point, but it certainly wasn't overt. The desktop filled the screen perfectly and overall we think most viewers will be happy with its capabilities as a big computer display.
(Update 5-15-07): Reports about the LN-T4665F's issues with some HDMI devices, namely the Sony PlayStation 3, have surfaced recently, but we experienced no problems with our review sample. We connected a variety of devices to the set via HDMI, including the PS3 (we tried both Blu-ray movies and games), high-def disc players, a DirecTV HR20, a Gefen HDMI distribution amplifier and a Radiient HDMI switch, and didn't experience any issues. We also routed the PS3 and other sources through the amplifier and switcher, and connected those devices to all three of the LN-T4665F's HDMI ports, and in all cases our sample performed as expected.
Join me, if you will, along the slow march toward the obsolescence of tape in video. We've definitely got a long road ahead of us, but it's fun to notice how much camcorders have changed already. On the one hand, tapeless camcorders such as Sony's Handycam HDR-CX7 give product designers the freedom to make smaller, sleeker camcorders. On the other hand, we've yet to see a model that records in the AVCHD format, as this one does, match the quality of the footage we've seen from tape-based models using the HDV format. However, for an AVCHD camcorder, this does produce very nice video, and will likely blow your socks off if you're used to a standard-definition camcorder.
Though it's been on the market in various camcorders for a while now, the AVCHD format has been slow on the uptake in software for editing and playback. Lori Grunin's recent blog post outlines which software titles are compatible and notes whatever glitches she has found when using those programs. Ultimately, the easiest way to watch your HD video is still a direct connection to your HDTV, but there is a modest, and slowly growing, list of software out there if you like to watch on your computer or edit your footage.
Sony's designers definitely made the most of the fact that the HDR-CX7 records its video to MemoryStick Pro Duo cards. The camcorder is little more than a lens and LCD screen in terms of size, though that's both a positive and negative thing. Sure, you can fit the CX7 into almost any bag, and even a large jacket or sweatshirt pocket, but the ergonomics of the grip are a little off. It's certainly more comfortable to hold than Panasonic's SD-based HDC-SD1, but since there's no eye-level viewfinder, I often found myself holding it higher than I would some camcorders, and at a slightly odd angle. Also, since your hand basically covers the right side and top of the CX7, Sony was forced to put a handful of buttons on the left side, behind the LCD screen. That's never a very good move, since you can't readily see that spot when you're shooting, and if you do need to use one of those buttons while capturing video, you'll likely shake the camera horizontally while pressing it. Of the buttons placed there, the backlight compensation button is probably the most worrisome, since it's highly likely you'll use it on the fly, while most of the others would be used before or after shooting.
As usual, the HDR-CX7's main interface is its LCD touch screen. Even though the LCD is 2.7 inches in size, it still felt a bit small as a touch-screen interface. The main virtual buttons are big enough, but ancillary buttons, such as the OK button in the upper-left, or the X (cancel) button in the upper-right of some screens are rather tiny. On more than one occasion, I accidentally hit one of the bigger buttons when trying to hit the tiny ones. Combine that with the fact that the touch screen requires such an extensive tree of submenus, and the thrill of a touch-screen interface starts to wane pretty quickly. Still, some people say they like this kind of interface, so make sure you try it out in a store first to see if you like it before you buy.
Following a recent trend in camcorders, the CX7 doesn't include a minijack microphone input. If you want to add an accessory mic, you have to use one of Sony's in the CX7's Active Interface Shoe (aka proprietary hot shoe), which provides an interface and power for accessories. You have two options to send video to your TV directly from the camcorder. You can either use a mini-to-full-size HDMI cable, or use the composite AV breakout cable included with the CX7. Given that they are rather rare right now, it would've been nice for Sony to include the special HDMI cable, as Canon does with the HG10. A third option is to use the dock, which has the same composite AV out as the camcorder, as well as a component output (also via a breakout cable), and a Mini USB jack to connect to your computer. I was surprised that Sony didn't include a normal-size HDMI jack on the dock. It would've been a really nice touch.
Sony did include some great features though, such as the automatic lens cover, flash for still photos, and a nice complement of manual controls. While it doesn't include the SR7's shutter speed control, the CX7 does have the same exposure shift; manual, indoor, outdoor, and auto white balance; Spot Focus and Spot Metering; Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization; and Super NightShot infrared mode for shooting in the dark. Since the CX7 doesn't include Sony's CAM CTL dial (as the SR7 does), you have to adjust focus on the touch screen, which isn't quite as nice as the dial, but works well nonetheless.
Since the HDR-CX7 records its video to a MemoryStick Pro Duo card, you should plan on buying at least one high-capacity card. On a 4GB Pro Duo card, the HDR-CX7 can fit 32 minutes of best-quality, HD video. Stepping up to an 8GB Pro Duo ups that to a little more than an hour. By contrast, the HDR-SR7 can fit up to eight hours of the same level footage onto its 60GB hard drive.
Footage from the CX7 is very nice. The camcorder's Zeiss T lens is very sharp and Sony's Super SteadyShot does an excellent job of taming hand shake. Its 10X optical zoom might seem tame next to the 30X+ zooms now finding their way into lower-end models, but at a 400mm 35mm-equivalent on the telephoto end (in 16:9 mode), it's got plenty of reach. Plus, by keeping the optical zoom range within reason, you get more reliable stabilization across the entire zoom.
Both the autofocus and metering systems perform quite well, adjusting quickly to changes in subject, lighting, and environment. I was particularly impressed with the autofocus' ability to keep up with changes in zoom and quick changes between near and far subjects. The camcorder's white balance does a very good job. While colors aren't quite as neutral as I've seen in some other models, it's still very close and colors are well saturated and look realistic. Still images are definitely above average for a camcorder. Depending on the shooting conditions, you should be able to get pleasing letter-size or smaller prints.
As long as you don't mind the limited software compatibility and added cost of buying a few high-capacity Pro Duo cards, Sony's Handycam HDR-CX7 is a really nice AVCHD camcorder. As software catches up and flash memory prices continue to drop, it will only become that much more attractive, and the smaller physical size that goes along with a flash-based camcorder will wow your friends and make it more practical to have your camcorder with you when you want it. If Mini-DVDs appeal to you more than flash-memory cards, Sony also makes the HDR-UX7, which can record AVCHD video onto 8cm DVDs and is very similar to this model, though not quite as small in size.
With the majority of us simply looking for a reasonably priced upgrade from the stock earbuds that came with our MP3 players, Shure's SE110 earphones are one of the best values you can find for under $100.
Design When you look at any pair of Shure earphones, it's easy to see the difference in construction quality compared to a budget set of earbuds. Shure's reputation of making professional-grade products for touring musicians is evident in its consumer audio products as well. With the included two-year limited warranty against manufacturing defects, there's a good chance that your Shure SE110 earphones will outlast your MP3 player.
One of the secrets to Shure's earphone longevity is its recognition that the weakest link in consumer earphones is the connection between the cable and the earphone. No matter how expensive your earphones are, if this connection breaks or starts to deteriorate, repairs to the miniature components are nearly impossible. Shure's earphones (including the SE110) hold one of the highest standards we've seen for construction quality. The SE110's cables are three times the thickness of the cables found on earphones like the Etymotic eR6i or Sony MDR-EX71SL and the critical connection between the cable and earphone housing is impressively reinforced with soft rubber. We also found that the thicker cables prevent those inevitable cord tangles from turning into tight knots.
The second-weakest link in consumer earphones is the seal the earphones create in the user's ear. Shure's included "Fit Kit" is one of the best around, offering multiple sizes and types of earphone fittings (foam and rubber) to create what is hopefully a well-sealed and comfortable fit. Without a good seal in the ear, even a $500 pair of earphones will sound thin and tinny, so we're happy Shure didn't skimp with its sub-$100 product. A zip-up carrying case and cleaning tool are also included.
Performance The SE110 earphones take advantage of a single balanced-armature driver designed by Shure specifically for this model. Shure's previous sub-$100 set of earphones, the E2c, used only dynamic drivers, which were incapable of matching the detail produced by balanced armature designs. While the SE110 doesn't offer as much high-frequency clarity or low-end detail as the SE310 model, at less than half the cost, most people will have a hard time spotting the difference. When we compared the two, we noticed the differences mainly in the high-frequency ranges, places where the sparkle and twang of acoustic guitars or the flourishes of orchestral strings live. On the upside, the SE110 earphones do not lack for bass. Hip-hop and electronic music sounds fantastic. We did notice, however, that the more defined low-end sounds of upright bass were hazy compared to the SE310.
Labeled as a "Sound Isolating" earphone, the Shure SE110 earphones do not disappoint when it comes to offering peace and quiet. We were more than happy with the SE110's ability to isolate us from background noise, but again, finding an earphone sleeve that provides a tight, yet comfortable, fit is crucial.
All in all, the Shure SE110 earphones have the highest quality construction of any earphones under $100. Their sound signature leans a little more on bass than high-frequency detail, but in our experience, that's a good thing. Competing products such as the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 or V-moda Vibe also favor bass, but use a dynamic driver technology, instead of a balanced armature technology--giving them a different character.
