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RCA unveils 4GB / 8GB Lyra Slider PMP
Whoa, wait up. You're telling us Audiovox hasn't abandoned the RCA Lyra moniker entirely? Storming back from the grave the unknown is the Lyra Slider, a PMP that could definitely go for $29.99 on contract from any major carrier with just a dial-pad and a CDMA radio. As it stands, this media player arrives with 4GB or 8GB of capacity and plays back audio, video, FM radio and photo slideshows. Furthermore, you'll find an integrated voice / media recorder, USB 2.0 port and a rechargeable battery good for up to 50 hours of music playback or 8 hours of video playback. Look for this to show up later in the fall for $79.99 (4GB) / $99.99 (8GB).
RCA introduces $60 ANT1500 flat OTA antenna
Nah, this isn't yet another digital-to-analog converter, just a tried-and-true OTA antenna for those looking to ditch their pay-TV provider and live off the fat of the land (or whatever HD locals you can fetch, same difference). The RCA ANT1500 Flat Indoor Antenna is a 10.5-inch square that checks in at just under one-inch thick, and its design supposedly helps it minimize the "cliff effect." RCA notes that this device is just the first of seven new RCA antenna products created with digital TV reception in mind that will be announced this year, and those satisfied with numero uno can find it around right now for $59.99 (or less if scouring the streets).
Three more DTV converter boxes get reviewed, compared
Even though we just know you'll disregard this information until the last possible moment, we'd like to point out that three more digital-to-analog converter boxes have been reviewed over at Sound & Vision. The $60 Zenith DTT900 -- one of the very first DTV boxes to get outed -- was pit against the $50 RCA DTA800 and the $60 Digital Stream DTX9900. Believe it or not, reviewers actually found quite a bit of difference in the three units ranging from looks (clearly) to on-screen interfaces. If you're one to care about the minutiae (and admit it, you are), head on over to see which of these three most deserve your $40 voucher.
RCA intros three new Small Wonder budget camcorders
We've got your summer crapcamcorders right 'ere -- three new RCA Small Wonder cams to make your Flips flop. Check 'em out: Small Wonder MyLife, EZ200 (black) - 1.5-inch flip-out display, microSDHC with 1GB microSD that does up to 30 / 60 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $89 and due this summer Small Wonder Pocket, EZ205 (white) - 1.5-inch flip-out display, microSDHC slot with 1GB microSD that does up to 30 / 120 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $100 and due this summer Small Wonder Traveler, EZ210 (green) - 2.4-inch QVGA display, SDHC with 2GB SD card that does up to 60 / 240 minutes in high quality and web quality modes, $150 and due this summer
Rural wireless carriers file FCC petition opposing handset exclusivity
If you thought you were annoyed when one of the big wireless carriers locked up a phone you were after, you have no idea how frustrated small and rural wireless carriers are -- they've just filed a petition with FCC seeking to ban the practice. The 80 companies in the Rural Cellular Association serve small markets not well-covered by the big guys, like parts of New Mexico, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming, and they say that carrier exclusivity deals not affect their bottom line, but also deprive consumers of desirable phones like the iPhone and upcoming Blackberry Bold. They've actually got a pretty good point: lots of rural customers can't purchase and use an iPhone without technically breaking the AT&T service agreement. We'll see how this one goes -- although we'd love nothing more than to use any phone we wanted on any carrier, there are plenty of reasons it won't happen, and exclusivity is the easiest way for carriers to differentiate themselves to consumers.
Poll: Is your Wal-Mart scaling back its HD DVD player lineup?
Rest assured, this certainly isn't the first time we've heard stories of certain Wal-Marts trimming down its HD DVD lineup, but a new report from TG Daily asserts that "industry sources" have informed the site that the mega-corp will be "phasing out the RCA HDV5000 as well as the Venturer SHD7000 models." If you'll recall, the latter unit has only been available at Wally World for two months (and change), but apparently, both devices are being heavily discounted and won't be restocked once inventory is depleted. By now, we've learned to see all of these "reports" through the eyes of a skeptic, so we're putting it to you to see just how widespread these supposed firesales are. Have you noticed any unusual price cutting or disappearing acts in your local Wal-Mart? %Poll-9506%
3 teams up with Royal College of Art for phones of the future
When the mobile industry turns to college programs for design guidance, the results can be... shall we say, unusual. British carrier 3 recently enlisted the help of the Royal College of Art for a look at what phones of the future might look like and do, and needless to say, the results span the full gamut from mild to wild; on the mild side, for example, is the MÜ slider (pictured) that takes social networking to an extreme by showing all of the user's networks as points on a sphere -- totally realistic, totally believable, and probably destined for reality in the not-too-distant future. Moving to the wild end of the spectrum, the Auxo actually changes shape based on your profile. We don't see that one hitting shelves any time soon, but hey, keep on dreaming, guys.[Via Shiny Shiny]
Audiovox launches Lyra "by RCA" A6008 8GB slider DAP
There might be few that mourned the virtual death of the RCA brand, but Audiovox was quick to point it out as the brand that "started the MP3 revolution." We're not really expecting this Lyra A6008 DAP to start another, but it's an interesting device nonetheless given the B-team efforts RCA historically put into its players. The A6008 features 8GB of storage and a 2.4-inch LCD for the quite reasonable pricetag of $200. The slider function unveils a scroll wheel, which we're guessing gives the unit a bit of unnecessary heft, but obviously allows for more player face dedicated to that screen -- it's always a give and take. No word on when exactly this'll hit.
Live coverage from Audiovox's press event
8:00AM - We're front row for Audiovox's 2008 CES press conference, ready to bring you all the exciting news from the world of the 'Vox and friends (Jensen and RCA). Stay tuned as we wait for presenters to take the podium.8:08AM - Ok, we're getting started. Tom Malone, President of Audiovox, is on stage, talking about the RCA A/V Group acquisition. Gets into the eight CES Innovations awards that the company's products have won.Keep reading after the break for the rest of the liveblog...
RCA's S2501 Jet Stream gets reviewed
Although we already had a chance to briefly try out RCA's Jet Stream DAP / wireless earbud setup at CES, the folks over at PCMag were able to get ahold of a finalized product and put it through paces of their own. Interestingly, they found a lot less to love when using 'em for more than a few moments on a crowded show floor, and while they did admit that gym rats could possibly fall in love, the average joe / jane probably won't. On the upside, the DAP proved durable and the wireless headphones exhibited strong reception, but reviewers found that they didn't fit well enough to really show off their talents. Additionally, the menu navigation was deemed "terrible," and they weren't exactly keen on plopping down over $130 for just 1GB of storage. 'Course, we're sure those who spend the bulk of their listening time on the track (listening to just a few CDs on repeat) could find room to argue, but for the rest of us, it was suggested that we wait for "a better implementation of Kleer's wireless technology to come along" before buying in.
Thomson leaves consumer electronics altogether
It's a sad day indeed for Thomson fanboys worldwide, as the storied French corporation has announced plans to exit the consumer electronics industry altogether in an effort to refocus its resources on B2B digital video services. Following completion of the sale of its remaining non-European AV businesses to Audiovox on December 31st (which, as you'll recall, already bought the RCA brand and accessories division), Thomson will no longer have a presence on domestic or foreign retail shelves, and will also be short €30 million ($42.5 million) as a result of yesterday's announcement to shutter its AVA Europe operations. So here's to you, Thomson: we can't honestly say that we ever got into any of your various products, but as with any other departing member of our loving CE family, you'll be missed.Update: After speaking with a Thomson rep, it seems inaccurate to state that the company is getting out of consumer electronics altogether, when in fact they do continue to sell home telephones. Therefore, please note that this is just an exit from the company's various A / V businesses.[Via generationmp3]
JD Power ratings put BRAVIA LCD, Pioneer plasma, and Samsung DLP on top
JD Power and Associates has released the findings of their 2007 Large Screen HDTV Usage and Satisfaction Survey, and there are some very familiar names in the winners of the three categories. As judged on overall satisfaction, picture and sound performance, ease of use, features and styling, the HDTVs were then divided into 37- to 49-inch, 50- to 65-inch and rear projection 50- 72-inch ranges. Sony's BRAVIA LCD line took the smaller category with a five out of five rating in every area, but lost out to Pioneer's plasmas when competition went over 50-inches. Samsung's DLPs won the rear projection award, despite having a lower picture and sound rating than Sony, JVC, and Toshiba. Take a look at the overall results and then let us know how you think your HDTV measures up.
RCA Jet Stream, Kleer wireless headphones hit the FCC
We got a chance to check out RCA's Jet Stream MP3 player and accompanying Kleer wireless headphones way back at CES in January, but it looks like they've both now finally landed in the FCC's hands, which means we should be seeing an actual launch before too long. The player itself is a pretty basic deal, with a tiny OLED screen, 1GB of storage, an FM tuner, and a promised 12 hours of battery life -- not to mention a less than eye-catching design. The real interest is in the headphones (check 'em out after the break), which use Kleer's proprietary technology instead of Bluetooth to wirelessly shoot tunes over a distance of 5 to 6 feet. As we found out for ourselves at CES, the quality turned out to be surprisingly good, with no interference even in a place flooded with RF signals. What's more, assuming nothing has changed in the past few months, you can expect to pay just $129 for the combo. Still no official word on a release date though.Read - RCA Jet Stream FCC filingRead - Kleer headphones FCC filing
RCA's RP5500i clock radio hearts your iPod
An alarm clock blaring in the early AM is typically not a pleasant event, but RCA is attempting to make the experience a bit less frustrating by waking you with your favorite tunes. The RP5500i clock radio joins the already saturated iPod clock market, but throws in those huge LED digits, USB connectivity, an AM / FM tuner, automatic time setting, adjustable brightness, built-in speakers, and best of all, a programmable snooze (huzzah!). $69.99 to make your mornings a tad more endurable.[Via ChipChick]
RCA's EZ201 Small Wonder camcorder now shipping
Keeping its promise to have the EZ201 Small Wonder on store shelves this Spring, RCA has just announced that its flash-based camcorder is available now at Circuit City locations. As expected, this 5.25-ounce video recorder sports a ho hum enclosure, no optical zoom, 512MB of internal memory, a 1.5-inch LCD, MemoryManager software, and a SD expansion slot as well. The device is also compatible with Box.net's online storage / sharing service, touts an EZ Grab feature that allows users to easily snag still shots from live action footage, and can function for two solid hours on a pair of AA cells. Best of all, however, is the price that CC is currently charging for this budget-minded device, as the $119.99 asking price is a full $10 less than we had previously seen, and you'll even get a 1GB SD card thrown in gratis.[Via Physorg]
RCA releases Gem DAPs, leaves out the best part
While we're required to suppress a gag reflex to even look at these things, RCA's Gem DAP lineup is cheap and available, so we thought it was worth a heads up. There's nothing much different from the last time we spotted these, but here's a quick rundown all the same: The RCA Opal (pictured) has 2GB of storage, a 1.5-inch color OLED screen, 15 hours of battery life and sells for $75; the 1GB RCA Pearl has room for microSD, runs for 15 hours on a AAA battery and costs $49; the "rugged" RCA Jet, which also happens to be the only passably good-looking member of the bunch, offers 1GB of storage, a high contrast OLED display and 15 hours of battery for $69. Unfortunately, missing from this lineup is the RCA Jet Stream, our favorite member of the team, which features Kleer Wireless tech for wireless stereo headphones minus the Bluetooth overhead, cost and clunk. RCA promises the Jet Stream -- which is otherwise identical to the RCA Jet -- later this year.
RCA readies DTA800 digital TV adapter
Well it's only been a few days since electronics manufacturers were forced to begin the analog to digital TV transition, and already RCA is on the scene with a digital-to-analog converter for those holdouts who still won't have replaced all their old sets by 2009. Like the flood of similar products we're sure to see in the coming months -- those government coupons go into effect in January 2008 -- the DTA800 pulls in SD and HD ATSC over the air broadcasts and coverts them to the analog format preferred by your old bubble tubes and in-wall RPTVs. Other snazzy features include closed captioning support, parental controls, on-screen program guides, and a so-called SmartAntenna interface that allows compatible antennas to optimize reception in areas of poor coverage. Since there will be some 20 million analog sets still kicking around come February 17th, 2009, according to CEA estimates, it seems that RCA is going to have quite a market for its new box -- and although pricing has yet to be determined, expect most of the cost to get defrayed by good old Uncle Sam. Unfortunately we don't have any harder details on price nor availability, as RCA says that both will be determined by retailer interest and market forces; maybe if we all feign disinterest, they'll have to start letting these go for a loss.
Flat panel friendly OTA antenna - ANT188
File this one away in "If I would have thought of this, I wouldn't be working for the man anymore." Seriously. Hanging flat panels and antennas generally don't get along that well, but RCA as a nice and easy solution. Simply hang the little piece of plastic off the front of the flat panel and a pair of rabbit ears is going to stick out of the back. No word on the performance but we are going to step out on a limb here and say this isn't going to work as well as your Winegard roof-top, but it is going to work a tad better then the current pair of rabbit ears duct taped to the back of your flat panel. The ANT188 is going to carry a price of $14.99 when it hits shelves sometime in April. Note: the other half of the press picture includes flat cables and a wall mount - nothing new.
ATSC/NTSC DVD recorder from RCA
It's not every day that a DVD recorder makes it onto Engadget HD's front page but sure 'nough, this boy has an ATSC tuner built in and can even record from it. Props needs to go out to the techs at RCA for recognizing that the digital transition is only a short two years and two months away and some people will not be able to use their current ATSC-lacking DVD recorders. The DRC8335 should be available in April at a MSRP of $249.99 and features all the standard VCR to DVD functions, plus that ATSC tuner that will pick up local digital broadcasts and even records those digital programs to a DVD. There is no word if you would be able to record 720p/1080i broadcasts onto a DVD but we would have to guess that you can't. But even still, this should be a great digital solution for those folks that still don't understand that a digital video recorder is still the best option.
RCA releasing a slew of new LCDs
RCA, who may not be the most exciting brand at CES, but when a company drops 18 LCD HDTVS, we take notice. Their new sets range in size from 720p to 1080p, 15- to 47- inches with prices at a modest $299 to $2,299. The RCA Scenium 280 Series get the honor of sporting 1080p at both the 42- and 47-inch models along with being equiped with two HDMI, component, composite and USB ports. These sets will hit the shelves come June with stickers of $2,299 for the 47-inch and $1,799 for the 42-inch. Follow the link for the rest of their new LCD HDTVs.
