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Bang & Olufsen caters to the iOS crowd with Apple TV-friendly BeoPlay V1 TV set, A3 iPad speaker dock (update)
If your gadget life centers equally on Apple devices and luxury Danish home theater, Bang & Olufsen now has you officially covered. The BeoPlay V1 TV, which we got a sneak peek at just over a week ago, has a slot to connect your Apple TV without wires spoiling the look of your upscale loft. Both 32- and 40-inch versions have relatively powerful speakers, too, with as many as three 32W amps in the 40-inch version being joined by discrete treble / mid speakers and a bass unit. Either of the 1080p TVs carries a 100Hz refresh rate, five HDMI inputs, and a USB port for your music and photos. Just as new is a BeoPlay A3 speaker dock for the iPad, which nestles your first- or second-generation iPad into what Bang & Olufsen calls a "stable wedge" that not only keeps the iPad comfy but adapts the speakers to get maximum output depending on its orientation. An eight-hour 10-hour battery keeps the speakers completely wireless, although it won't charge your iPad in the process. The company will have the V1 in British shops on May 3rd at a comparatively frugal £1,999 ($3,238) and £2,499 ($4,047) for the respective 32- and 40-inch sizes, while fans of Hamlet's homeland will have to wait until May 23rd to pay £449 ($727) for an A3 dock, a picture of which you can find after the break. Update: As it turns out, the A3 will priced at $550 with it hits the US later this month, not $727 as we previously reported.
Nikon 1 future plans revealed: 4K video, brighter lenses, picture effects
Tetsuya Yamamoto, Nikon's head of development was at CES talking up the future plans of the company's 1 system cameras after strong holiday sales. The 10.1 megapixel sensor inside the 1 body is sufficiently capable of shooting 2 and 4K video and bringing that functionality into the unit is planned for a future edition. There's a need for a set of brighter lenses with faster auto-focusing, although we're not sure how much bigger you can get on that petite body. It's also kicking around the option of letting V1 (i.e. more professional) users get at manual AF control and in-camera RAW editing -- while J1 users can expect plenty of features they won't use much, like in-camera effects. It's exciting stuff, but let's hope these new features don't cause the price to climb any higher, eh?
Nikon J1 and V1 compacts now available for mirror haters everywhere
You heard that Nikon is releasing a couple of mirrorless compacts, right? Well, the ten megapixel J1 and V1 models are both on sale from today, sticking to their schedule despite the terrible flooding in Thailand that has already impacted heavily on Sony's camera production. The metal V1 is priced at $900 including a 10-30mm, f/3.5 max aperture kit lens. Meanwhile, the plastic J1 is going for $650 with the same glass and we've already subjected it to some full review scrutiny.
Nikon 1 J1 review (video)
Pentax Q interchangeable lens camera review Samsung's NX200 camera: 20.3 megapixels, interchangeable lenses, full HD video Two megapixel mini-camera measures in at under a cubic inch, weighs under an ounce So, Nikon finally has a mirrorless camera, after what was quite possibly the most dramatic launch event the company has ever conducted. Sure, competing models from Panasonic, Olympus and Sony have already reached the second, or even third generation before Nikon lifted the veil on its J1, but did last month's long-awaited announcement bring us the ILC to rule all ILCs? Well, no, not at all. Nikon isn't targeting pros or even advanced amateur shooters with its latest addition to the interchangeable lens camera family. Instead, the company is marketing its J1 to soccer moms (and dads), fashion-conscious young folk, and casual shooters who want some of the versatility of a DSLR, but are willing to sacrifice excellent image quality for a more compact design. But what about the rest of us? Will Nikon one day reward our patience with a true class competitor? Perhaps, but that's definitely not what we have here. Nikon built the $650 J1 "from the ground up" -- a reference to its 10.1 megapixel, CX-size sensor with a 2.7x crop factor, along with a handful of quirky features that we probably won't use, but that some of you (or perhaps your family members) may love. Jump past the break to see what we really liked about the camera, and what left us rather unimpressed. And it you're dying to judge its performance for yourself, you can check out a handful of untouched images at the coverage link below the conclusion, along with a variety of sample videos spattered throughout.%Gallery-135514%
Nikon unveils V1 and J1 mirrorless cameras: 10.1MP CMOS, 1080p video, ships in October for $650+ (video)
Rumors of a Nikon mirrorless camera have been floating around the web since the middle of last year, and recent leaks have made us wonder not if the company would release a compact ILC -- only when such an announcement would be made. Well, we finally have our answer. We journeyed to a secret location in midtown Manhattan tonight, with nary a peep from Nikon about what to expect until just before the clock struck midnight -- and only after more than two hours of laptop-free house arrest and live Counting Crows. Only the rumored mirrorless cam seemed worthy of such unusual precautions, so we were relieved to discover that Nikon had managed to justify this late night adventure. The company has finally announced not one, but a pair of compact "1 System" mirrorless cameras, and it seems totally fine with putting the focus speed up against the self-proclaimed champ. Head on past the break for more details! %Gallery-134465%
FaceVsion's TouchCam V1 does SkypeHD at 720p for $69.99
All the cool kids are doing HD video chatting. You want to be a cool kid, don't you? FaceVsion wants you to be, introducing the new TouchCam V1. It's a follow-up to the N1 that we reviewed last year and generally liked, fixing our biggest criticism: cost. That camera launched at $120 while the new V1 will sell for just $69.99. It has the on-board H.264 encoding and 720p sensor that SkypeHD likes, and a simple (if somewhat budgety looking) design that won't look too out of place on a lower-end laptop -- so long as it as a Core 2 Duo processor or the equivalent. Look for it to start shipping sometime in the first quarter.
Reminder: Original Xbox games lose Live support tonight at midnight PT
Just a heads up for those who long for Halo 2's embrace: as of midnight PT tonight, Microsoft is pulling the plug on Live support for original titles. As of this publication, you have a little less than seven hours (as of this writing) to get in a few more rounds of Capture the Flag and Oddball with your friends of old, before having to go out and pick up an used copy of Halo 3 -- at least there's 400 MS points in it as a consolation prize.
Saygus VPhone to bring video calls and a bit of chub to Android and Verizon
If you know that your personal happiness lies somewhere in the Verizon / Android abyss but neither the Droid nor the Droid Eris are hitting the spot, you might consider trying something completely out of left field. How "left field" are we talking here? Well, for starters, odds are good that you've never heard of a company called Saygus, and its shiny new QWERTY slider, the VPhone, won't be offered directly from Verizon -- it's a product of the carrier's Open Development initiative. Sure enough, that handset we spied a few days back is real, and the specs are all panning out: 624MHz PXA310 XScale core, 512MB of Flash on board coupled with 256MB of RAM, 3.5-inch capacitive WVGA touchscreen, WiFi, a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, front-facing VGA camera and -- of course -- EV-DO Rev. A support. The current incarnation is running Android 1.6, but it should be running 2.0 by the time of its launch next year, along with getting some Google-certification to let it run the Google apps. Saygus' real thrust here is apparently two-way video calling (good thing they picked Verizon, huh?), though they aren't showing it off just yet. The hardware itself is rather chubby, but it leaves room for an oversized QWERTY keyboard that could very well solve your Droid woes. No word on price or a firm release date.
Saygus VPhone V1 hits the FCC, headed for Verizon next?
We had some indication that Verizon would have a third Android device ready by early 2010 in addition to the DROID and ERIS -- one that may be boosted by the carrier's Open Development program -- and it looks like the FCC may have now given us our first real look at it. While it's obviously still unconfirmed as of yet, this Saygus VPhone V1 phone that recently sailed through the agency certainly seems to fit the bill, and the company has even gone so far as to not so subtly feature an article about a Verizon's mysterious third Android device on its own website. As you can see, however, the phone itself doesn't exactly do too much to stand out from the current crop of Android sliders, but it should hold its own when it comes to specs. That includes a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, a 624MHz Marvell PXA310 processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a second, front-facing camera for video calls, built-in GPS, WiFi, a microSD card slot and even an FM radio, among other standard fare. Still no indication of that rumored WiFi tethering out of the box, unfortunately, but we're guessing this one could win quite a few fans if that pans out -- and, of course, if it's actually the real thing. [Via SlashGear]
OpenChord allows actual guitars to play Guitar Hero, sound atrocious
You've heard that saying "so close, yet so far away," right? This, folks, is why that very quote exists. The obviously brilliant team over at OpenChord has designed a system that enables an honest-to-goodness guitar to sync up with Nintendo's Wii in order to play Guitar Hero. You simply plug the Wiimote into the axe and use the bona fide strings and frets in place of those plastic buttons you're so used to using. The only problem? Guitar Hero wasn't designed for use with six strings and 22 to 24 frets, and man, does it show. Hop on past the break to have a listen, and yes, your dreams of actually taking advantage of this will be shattered. Bet on it.[Via Joystiq]
Fujifilm's FinePix Real 3D W1 camera and Real 3D V1 picture viewer detailed, can do 3D movies as well
Not that it wasn't official when Time featured it early last week,but now Fujifilm's now rolled out the proverbial red carpet for its FinePix Real 3D W1 camera, with a press release providing more details about both it and the Real 3D V1 8-inch picture viewer. Some of more notable features on the W1 -- aside from being the touted "world's first 3D imagine system," of course -- is a 3x optical zoom, a 3D LCD system for on-camera viewing, Dual Capture Shooting Mode for taking two shots simultaneously with different settings, and just to be perfectly clear, the ability to shoot video in three mind-blowing dimensions. Additionally, the two lens can be used for some more creative, but decidedly old-fashioned 2D photography. As for the V1 display, it's got a 3D / 2D LCD panel with 800 x 600 resolution, supports playback of 3D pics and movies, and supports SD / SDHC. No word on what the resolution / card support is for the camera, but for now we're gonna guess it's at parity with the frame. If you're wanting physical 3D prints, Fujifilm says it'll be providing that service, doing the prints in-house and send them your way. Actual printers for purchase will come once a sustainable market exists (assuming that happens). The W1 camera and V1 frame are listed with a September 2009 launch date, as we previously heard -- price is curiously listed as TBA, but since Time already let slip a $600 estimate, take that as your ballpark estimate for the interim.
Visenta V1 multitouch wireless keyboard gets the hands-on treatment
It may not exactly boast the HTPC-friendly looks of something like the diNovo Edge, but if you're looking for a basic wireless keyboard with a bit of added multitouch, you may want to keep an eye out for this V1 model from Visenta, which the folks at Engadget Chinese recently managed to get their hands on. This one makes use of the tried-and-true 2.4GHz band to give you a range of up to 20 meters (hence the dongle), and includes ten dedicated Vista Media Center buttons, plus all the usual energy saving measures you'd expect to help you get the most from the required four AAA batteries. What's more, while there's no official word on a release 'round here just yet, it looks like some are already turning up on eBay for $130 (plus shipping from China, naturally). Be sure to hit up the link below for a closer look.
Thermaltake's V1 CPU cooler sure is real purty
Usually the terms "enthusiast cooling equipment" and "sexy, sexy" don't go hand in hand, but Thermaltake has here an exception that proves the rule. This here V1 CPU, which retails for $60, can handle a nice assortment of Core 2 and Athlon processors, but we'd rather just set it up on a table somewhere and stare at the pretty lights. That's a red dot design award well earned.[Via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Asus unleashes Core 2 Duo F2, V1 and R1F portables
The fine folks at Asus are dropping three new portable series to serve professionals with Core 2 Duo speeds and snazzy design. For starters we have the V1 widescreen laptop, with a 15.4-inch display and the full range of Core 2 Duo processors, from the 1.67GHz T5500 to the 2.33GHz T7600. Graphics are provided by ATI's Mobility Radeon X1600, with 256 or 512MB of RAM. Hard drives range from 80 to 120GB, with a dual HDD option, and the V1 features gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 for connectivity. There's also an ExpressCard slot, fingerprint reader, S/PDIF audio and a card reader to round out the 0.98-inch thick, 6 pound laptop. The F2 series is only slightly more modest, with processors from Core Solo all the way to the Core 2 Duo T7400, and a 15-inch XGA or SXGA+ display. There's no digital audio, but the F2 does have TV-out and an optional 1.3 megapixel webcam. Graphics are a Radeon X1400 card running 128MB or 512MB of memory, and specs are otherwise similar to the V1. The R1F Tablet PC keeps the trend going, keeping pace with its siblings on specs for the most part, but featuring a 13.3-inch WXGA LCD and most likely integrated Intel graphics. There's no word on price or availability for any of these models, but we're liking where Asus is headed with 'em so far.[Via Laptoping]
UPnP Forum releases v2 specs
The UPnP Forum has rolled out version two of its UPnP specifications, which promises to make it easier for users to network various devices together, while at the same time keeping companies happy by ensuring that all the content flying around remains protected by DRM. Some of the biggest additions to the v2 specs come in the UPnP AV MediaServer and MediaRenderer device classes, which encompass everything from PCs, DVD players, and PVRs to televisions, stereo systems, and portable media players. The Forum's mostly talking in generalities in their announcement, but it looks like among other things, the new specs define how programs and other digital content is recorded and stored for later viewing. You'll also be pleased to know that the new specs are also fully backwards compatible with the v1 specifications, so your gear's not obsolete just yet -- well it is, but not because of this upgrade.[Via eHomeUpgrade]
