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Brando's iPad 2 telescope is perfect for watching the next Apple keynote
If you're like us, you've spent entirely too much time wondering how the movie Rear Window might have played out differently, had someone just handed Jimmy Stewart's character an iPad to play with. With the introduction of the Super Gear Telescope, it seems that the plot would've been mostly the same, just as soon as he finished beating Angry Birds. The Brando add-on brings 6x zoom to the iPad 2 and generally looks far less awkward than its iPhone predecessor. All in all, $26 seems like a small price to pay to see what the neighbors are looking at on their own iPads.
Pioneer's 12x BDR-205 Blu-ray burner is so fast it's ahead of its time
We're still not sure if that many people are interested in buying Blu-ray burners yet, but Pioneer just unveiled the first 12x capable drive (up from 8x, and with an 8x read speed that gives us a great idea for the next PlayStation 3 revision) the BDR-205. Initially rolling out to OEMs this month, this drive couldn't wait for 12x certified discs to exist, though its full speed has been tested on Panasonic and Sony 6x BD-R blanks, "12x writing on all media cannot be guaranteed." Minus that caveat, expect to see these popping up on Newegg and the like any second now, the only price mentioned is for the full retail package BD-2205 coming Q1 2010 for $249.
Verbatim releasing the first 6x LTH BD-R discs this fall
Blu-ray discs aren't getting bigger just yet, but cheaper & faster we might be able to help you with now that Verbatim/MKM is ready to deliver 6x BD-R LTH (low to high) recordable discs. A manufacturing process more similar to CD-R and DVD-R discs makes them easier to produce and this upgrade brings the max speed up from the current 2x LTH discs. Expect them to launch this fall along with compatible drives, so if you have something that needs 25GB/50GB of optical storage and don't like waiting, be on the lookout.
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Sony Japan unveils latest Blu-ray recorders with CREAS upscaling
Japan has only a few weeks to prepare for the latest Sony 6X Blu-ray recorders, ready to hit the streets in a wide array of sizes and features. All pack BD-Live support as well as the company's latest "CREAS" upscaling technology -- Resolution+ vs. CREAS, fight! -- promising 14-bit "HD Reality enhancement" and "Super Bit Mapping for video" with only high end X series models seen fit to include DRC-MFv3 image processing already seen in the latest BRAVIA LCDs, plus the ability to transcode and transfer video to PSP / phone / walkman. From the high end BDZ-X100 (1 TB, ¥280,000, $2,574 U.S., September 27, pictured) to the bottom BDZ-T55 (320GB, ¥110,000, $1,011 U.S., October 10) there's a DVR to fit your 15 h.264 HD channels in here somewhere. wondering about a U.S. release? Don't hold your breath.
ILY Enterprise unveils "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator
ILY Enterprise is totally playing word games here with its "world's first" 6x SATA Blu-ray duplicator, but we suspect it actually is a tad quicker than Vinpower Digital's comparable unit. As the company states, this unit boasts a controller that is "specifically designed and built for a SATA connection to reduce the cost and work more reliably than IDE-converted-SATA units," though we can't say if you'll actually notice the difference in speed without a stopwatch. Whatever the case, those interested in firing up their own piracy farm movie production company can acquire one now (from 1 to 11 targets) for a presumably lofty price. Oh, and judging by those logos, we reckon these drives could be used to play back some of your old HD DVDs during off-hours -- talk about a nice perk.
MCE offers 6x Blu-ray burner for Mac Pro and Power Mac G5
MCE is at it again providing the wares that Apple simply won't. After offering up a 2x Blu-ray burner for the Mac Pro and Power Mac G5 last year, the company is keeping up with the industry by introducing a 6x variant for the very same machines. You'll also find compatibility with BD-RE (2x), DVD±R (16x), DVD±RW (6x - 8x), DVD±RW DL (4x), CD-R (40x) and CD-RW (24x). The drive itself is available as we speak for $499, while a bundle with Roxio Toast 9 Titanium goes for $599 and an external version runs $749.[Via The Mac Observer]
Japan gets 6x BD-R media, US has 6x burners: someday the two shall meet
So, you picked up a 6x Blu-ray burner earlier this month did you? Too bad there isn't any media available to cope with that write speed. Oh sure, TDK has been kicking a 6x disc around trade shows for years, but Panasonic will apparently be the first to market when its 25GB and 50GB 6x BD-R discs hit Japan on July 10th. Unfortunately for our Japanese brethren, Panasonic says that, "Blu-ray disc drives compatible with 6X write-once Blu-ray discs are planned to be commercialized in Japan by the end of September 2008." Funny, with those 6x BD-R burners from LG already released in the US, could it be that US (and Korean) Blu-ray interests have finally jumped ahead of Japan's -- the birthplace of Blu? Perhaps, but Panasonic hasn't provided a date for its Stateside 6x media release... yet.
Sharp plans 8x+ Blu-ray burners by 2010
Sharp is continuing to move the bar in blue laser technology, recently unveiling a higher power (250mW) 6x Blu-ray recording laser, but more importantly tipped its hand regarding plans for 8x blue laser diodes by 2009. Those lasers will be able to output 300mW, followed by 400mW varieties capable of up to 12x speeds by 2010. Looks like blue laser shortages are a thing of the past, now we'll see how quickly speed -- and possibly multilayer discs -- can ramp up.[Via afterdawn]
Sharp's laser to enable 6x, dual-layer Blu-ray laptop recording
Sharp just introduced their latest, itty bitty blue laser. While maintaining the same 3.3-mm diameter of their previous package, Sharp's new GH04P25A4G semiconductor laser manages to boost the power to 250mW. That little trick should make 6x recording speeds to dual-layer BD media in laptops a reality. They've also announced a similarly speced 5.6-mm (GH04P25A2G) jobbie for desktops. Both are shipping now in ¥50,000 sample quantities with mass production set to begin in April. That translates to about 462 US dollars -- not that the US manufactures CE equipment anymore. [Via Impress]
TDK shows off 6x BD-R discs
We don't even have 4x Blu-ray burners yet, but that didn't stop TDK from showing off 6x speed recordable media recently in Japan at the 8th Data Storage Expo. They also showed off a quad-layer 100GB Blu-ray disc, although it was only a prototype, they do expect to ship 4x discs before the end of this year. We're looking forward to burning 25-50GB at a time, we're not looking forward to waiting an hour for it to finish. These high speed discs need to get here and fast, HD DVD-Rs need to get their speed up to compete (actually, they need to become available at all but thats just splitting hairs).
