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Posts with tag berlin

IFA Berlin: yeah, we're here


Come now, you didn't think we'd let something like IFA pass by without shipping a few editors off to Berlin did you? We're on the ground and taking names in the best ninja gear we could sew with $5 worth of felt and tin foil. But hey, it's not the costume that keeps you coming back, it's the content. So stay tuned.

Enormous digital clock spotted at Hamburger Bahnhof Museum


We've no idea if this here is actually the "world's largest" clock, but it's quite sizable, indeed. Recently spotted at the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum in Berlin, Germany, this art installation reportedly does an outstanding job of telling time, running on pneumatics and breaking the silence every minute with an eerie hiss. If we didn't know any better, we'd say Coldplay got ahold of this thing when it toured in 2005, but then again, we know better.

Steve Jobs in Berlin tomorrow, France on Thursday?


Now, we know how hot-under-the collar you guys get when we note El-Jobso's movements in Europe, but news is news, people. Just as speculated yesterday, it appears that the Apple honcho is working his way across Europe, moving nation-to-nation to spread the good word of iPhone wherever his New Balance touch ground. Not content with just launching the device in London for the O2 network, the company is taking this show on the road, traveling to Berlin on Wednesday where Jobs and his turtleneck will supposedly announce a partnership for the iPhone with T-Mobile. Expect EDGE, lots of screen touching, and Steve saying, "OH-, eine weitere Sache." Then, as we hear, it's off to France for some sightseeing. Just kidding... about the sightseeing.

[Thanks, Floris]

Berlin's Tesla gallery hosts ghostly techno-art


Do you like art? Do you like mystery? Do you like technology? We get the impression that at least some of you are either nodding in agreement, or mouthing the words, "Yes I do," over and over. If you're one of those lucky few, here's some information you might enjoy. Two artists at the Tesla gallery in Berlin have created fairly interesting works which also happen to have connections with technology and our perception of technology. The first is called Digit, wherein a writer sits at a table and runs his hand over a blank piece of paper; as his hand moves down the page, words appears as if by magic, though no mechanism for writing is visible to an observer. In the second piece, artist Martin Riches has created a random number generator, a complex system of wood and string which allows a steel ball to propel through the machine, eventually playing one of three instruments when its journey comes to an end. Interesting stuff, surely... but can it play Doom?

Philips announces new TiVo-like DVRs at IFA


Word on the street is that Philips has decided to dip its collective toes into the DVR world with a new line of products that appear, at least ostensibly, to compete with TiVo. Like the "TiVo Suggestions" feature that the recorder-company offers, Philips' new devices tout user preference tracking, which will "learn" different user's likes and dislikes, and create custom sets of programming geared towards those tastes. The new line will also be able to access and download YouTube and other internet video, as well as podcast content. Advertising on the new boxes will also follow user's watching habits, thus ensuring a steady flow of laser-targeted ads beamed directly at your face. Apparently the new products will begin their lifecycle as software for PCs, but will eventually become set-top boxes for the living room. What's really interesting here is that Philips used to manufacture TiVo hardware, which increases the chances of cross-pollination (and lawsuits) oh... about tenfold.

Hands-on with the Navigon 2100 at IFA


Engadget hit the GPS section of IFA in a major way today, scoring some serious face time with Navigon's new bargain-basement 2100 GPS. Our thoughts? For the price, this is a pretty tight little package. While the screen isn't quite as big as some of the competition, the interface and build quality put this in a class that you would think would break slightly more bank... but no. Check the gallery for a vast and varied selection of photos.

Hands-on with the TomTom GO 920


If you've used a TomTom device recently, these photos will look shockingly familiar to you. Like a crime scene in a 1980's Charles Bronson flick, there's nothing to see here, folks. You're looking at the TomTom GO 920, sure, but there are pretty much no differences between this and the GO 720, save for a feature which the company refers to as "Enhanced Positioning Technology" (which uses an accelerometer to maintain your course, even out of satellite range). Regardless, we snapped some pics of the little dude, and we'd be hurt if you didn't at least take a peak.

Hands-on with Panasonic's Strada CN-GP50N


We finally wrangled some Panasonic reps around midday, then promptly convinced them to let us take the Strada CN-GP50N GPS navigator for a spin... in our hands. At a glance, the device comes off vaguely like a TomTom high-end model, or similarly-classed device, though we take a little issue with the kinda-sorta fugly UI, which produced violent 1997 flashbacks in the staff. Also, the interface seemed a bit slower than it should, with brief but noticeable pauses every now and again. Our word to Panasonic? Fix it up! Check out the gallery to see what we're lamentin'.

Philips's IFA booth tour


The word was white for Philips' showing at IFA. White, white, and more white. They also managed to throw just a few Aurea televisions up on the walls (to give it that colorful accent). Here's our walk-through of all the money-dripping action (including the off-limits-to-the-public press and dealer section, replete with sit-down cafe). Be sure to note the super-gigantic television, and the odd, colored block game that the company had people playing. Oh, and check out those swinging interpretive dancers showing you what the Philips product line feels like. Hit the gallery and take yourself on a magical journey.

Hands-on with the JVC GZ-HD3 camcorder


We've gotten our hands all over the new JVC GZ-HD3 1080i camcorder, and we thought we'd share the good fortune with you. If you'll recall, the new GZ-HD7 kid-brother rocks a 60GB internal hard drive, allowing for something like five hours of 1440 x 1080, 30Mbps recordings. The camera is light and small for the feature set it packs (although it gets some stiff, stiff competition from the new Sanyo HD-1000), and the design is pretty much the plain-jane basics you've come to expect from JVC. Check the gallery and see for yourself.

Hands-on with the Philips SHD9100 wireless headphones


You can't really do too much hands-on'ing with headphones, since it defies the whole point of the things in the first place, though we've done our best with Philips' new SHD9100 wireless headphones. As you can see, they look just like regular headphones... but without a wire. The full-ear pair also has a handsome charging / transmitting base, which would probably class-up any music fan's domicile. Take a look at the stunning / breathtaking photos and see for yourself.

Hands-on with the Philips PVD1075 portable DVB-T player


If you're in Europe or Asia (or anywhere that has DVB broadcasts, for that matter), and in the market for a portable DVB-T solution, we suppose you could do a lot worse than the Philips PVD1075; a sleek, skinny package which does a whole bunch of media playing. At a glance, the little guy doesn't seem like too much of a heavy hitter, and honestly, the screen didn't blow us away, but if this fits your lifestyle (and we're not sure what that lifestyle is), then perhaps you should take a much, much closer look -- like in our gallery, for instance.

Philips' Power4Life wall adapters spotted at IFA


While Philips didn't have a working model of its new Power4Life modular energy system (including Power2Go and Power2Charge), we did come across this base unit, wall units, and adapters splayed lovingly on a pedestal somewhere deep within the plush company booth. It's not much to see, but supposedly (i.e., according to Philips' press releases) these things are going to change our lives. Take a look at the brief gallery for a taste of things to come.

Hands-on with Hitachi's DZ-BD70E and DZ-BD7HE Blu-ray camcorders


That's right folks -- you've read about them, you've dreamed about them, you've written lengthy, iambic poems to them, and now you get to see our gigantic hands on them. As you may remember, the Hitachi DZ-BD70E and DZ-BD7HE are the first ever Blu-ray camcorder models; the former recording direct to disc, and the latter rocking a hybrid disc or 30GB hard drive situation. Both cameras are largely the same, though the DZ-BD7HE seemed to be slightly larger, which makes sense. They've got a very comfortable feel when you're shooting with one, and we certainly could imagine ourselves filming HD "videos" with either. Check out the gallery for a plethora of exciting photos.

Hands-on with the Philips WAC3500D Streamium home stereo


We're refraining from screaming, "This is WAC!" at the sight of this, but we're not holding back on the photos. We happened across Philips' WiFi-sporting home stereo while we were making our way through the company's luxurious booth (complete with sit-down restaurant and everything), and we thought we'd stop and smell the musical-roses... er, yeah. Not much to write home about here, save for (of course) the built in networking capabilities, though we've got to say the design is a no muss, no fuss affair, which is just fine as far as we're concerned. Take a look at the gallery and form your own opinion.




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