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B&O's $40k speakers look surprisingly normal
Bang & Olufsen (B&O) has announced its latest aural offering, the BeoLab 50, which is available for an eye-watering $39,170 (£22,930) per pair. It's billed as the company's first 'loudspeaker', although this is simply the term B&O use to describe any speaker that's larger than its usual fare, such as the BeoSound 1 or BeoLab 3.
Technology helped me through the emotional roller coaster of CES
Humans love to control how they feel. Booze and coffee have been perking us up and lubricating social situations for millennia. Mood-enhancing technology, on the other hand, usually tries to emulate a cup of joe or a glass of wine but without the need for rinsing your liver. I'm generally OK with pumping chemicals into my body, but with a few mood-changing gadgets catching my eye in the run-up to this year's CES, I thought I'd give some a go. The hope was that I could avoid the usual uppers-and-downers routine that a week in Vegas demands.
Engadget Podcast Ep 21: Ooh Las Vegas
Associate editor Billy Steele, senior editor Nicole Lee and deputy managing editor James Trew join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about the early trends emerging from CES. It's only the first day of the show, but there's already been plenty of announcements, press conferences and lots of lost sleep. One of the most immediate things you'll notice on the show floor is that everything has voice control this year, even garbage cans. And tons of companies are rushing to integrate Alexa into cars, washing machines and refrigerators. The panel will also talk about the best and worst things they've seen so far.
B&O Play speakers get Google Cast multiroom support
In its battle to cover consumers' homes with connected speakers, B&O recently began outfitting its gear with Google Cast functionality. Operating like a Chromecast does on your TV, the company's speakers can directly pull music from the streaming service you're using instead of either your smartphone or tablet. That's on top of its existing AirPlay, DNLA and Bluetooth support. After initially allowing owners to Cast their music to individual speakers, B&O confirmed today that the technology has been opened up to work seamlessly with the other B&O speakers in their multiroom setup.
Play-i meets million dollar stretch goal for its educational robots and adds smartphone mount to all pre-orders
We recently covered Play-i, a company building learning robots designed to teach children as young as 5 the basics of programming in a fun, interactive way. Using a touchscreen device, children can program the bots to play, talk and interact with the world. With just a little over one day left in its initial crowdfunding drive, the company now has the project funded at 470 percent of its original goal, raising more than US$1 million. Given it started with a goal of $250,000, those numbers are incredible. To celebrate meeting the $1 million dollar mark, the company has unlocked a new stretch goal reward for funders that gives Bo, the robot that can move, an extra addition to its already versatile bag of tricks. Everyone who has already ordered a Play-i robot will be getting a smartphone mount for Bo that gives the robot another level of functionality and programming potential. With the smartphone mount, Bo can be programed to recognize faces, record or stream video while it rolls around, identify objects to better play games and more. Users can connect their phones to the robot using Bluetooth Low Energy. While the privacy implication for parents may be troubling (though less from hackers than from spying children), this step takes the already impressive Play-i robots to another level. It will be interesting to see if any functionality will be added for the dock in regards to Yana, the immobile robot in the line, but this opens up a new world of possibilities for playing with these bots. Bo and Yana will be available for purchase in the summer of 2014. If you would like to pre-order the bots and receive the smartphone mount free with your order, act fast. The crowdfunding preorder is almost over.
Play-i uses adorable robots to teach children programming, and it might be the future of educational play
This past May we reported about Play-i, a startup by former Google and Apple employees that was seeking to make programmable educational robots for children. The robots would teach children as young as five years old how to code, with a scaling difficulty that would teach kids new programming concepts as they grew older. Play-i is now at the tail end of its crowdsourced funding drive, and with only 16 days left to go they company has already funded its project at 164% of what it was initially looking for. Recently I was able to speak with Play-i's founder and CEO Vikas Gupta about Bo and Yana, the two robots the company sees as the future of teaching programming to children. When I first reported about Play-i back in May I was a little bit cynical about how realistic their goals were -- could you actually teach a child to program using robots? While we haven't been able to spend any hands on time with Bo and Yana -- much to my sadness -- speaking with Gupta and seeing the company's development philosophy has turned my doubts to excitement. Considering there are already child-friendly programming languages out there, why did Play-i feel the need to build robots to teach these concepts? Gupta explained their philosophy and motives to me simply: The focus is on getting very young children to learn programming, and do it in a way that's a lot of fun, and doesn't feel challenging or intimidating to the point where they don't meet their goals. That's why we created robots. All the research we've read shows that tangible products make those concepts of programming accessible to children in a very concrete way. We've also found the Robots, Bo and Yana, are fun for kids to play with, so it engages children in a very different way than other products, like online tutorials, typically do. With Bo we were making a robot that is engaging. Motion is a key aspect of the Bo robot. Bo has a lot of character that is conveyed through its motion and head, which moves independently of the body. Yana lacks motion, but keeps the same emotional expression through its eye ring, lights, and sounds. Each robot comes with its own different sensors and options that help it provide a unique experience for play. Bo is obviously the star of the line, with motorized wheels for movement, a moveable head that can pan and tilt, an eye light-ring for emotions, full color ear lights, a headlight, tail light, speaker, and IR beacons for making itself known to other robots. It also features front and back sensors to detect obstacles, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and IR detectors for communicating with other robots. It even has six attachment points for attaching toys and even musical instruments. All that could easily over shadow Yana, its largely stationary sibling, but don't discount the static bot yet. Yana comes with a eye light-ring for expressing itself, a speaker, and IR beacons for letting other robots know that it's around. In addition it has an accelerometer and a button, with three multi-function attachment points for accessories. The eye light-ring is a special part of what allows the robots to clearly communicate with children. The 16 multicolor LED lights allow Bo and Yana to be programmed to smile, frown, flash red when they're frustrated or blink blue when they solve a problem. It gives the bots a remarkable range of emotion. If a child sees that Yana is upset, it can program the bot to calm down when its motion sensor is petted, turning the eye back to its happy setting. Yana has remarkable awareness that could easily ignite the imaginations of children, even if it can't move like Bo. This is where the genius of the programming idea shines. Children can start small with Yana by coding it to make a simple smile but, as they get more comfortable with the concepts of programming, can eventually teach it more complex emotional responses. The robots present challenges out of the box that encourage kids to get started with programming. Gupta explained to me how the robot's initial lack of knowledge out of the box is designed to teach kids how to code and solve problems. For example, when you first turn on Bo, the robot doesn't know how to avoid walls. When you open Bo it won't know how to avoid walls. So when it encounters a wall it doesn't know to stop or turn, so it just runs into the wall. But it knows when it runs into a wall. So it can be programmed so that when it runs into a wall it backs up, and shakes its head. The next step for the child is to think "we need to train Bo to be good at avoiding walls." Play-i is still fine-tuning the robot's tablet/smartphone interface, but it will work with any Bluetooth enabled device. Regardless of the platform you use, Play-i has an exciting way to introduce programming concepts out of the box to children. The robots come with "Missions" designed to teach children lessons, like the aforementioned "how to avoid walls". The missions are designed to teach children the basics of programming, while still encouraging them to find their own solutions. There isn't one correct way to code Bo to react to running into a wall. One child may want Bo to immediately back up, frown, and shake its head whenever it encounters an obstacle. Another may program it to smile and turn in a circle. What's great is that both approaches are perfectly valid. The company's goal was to have children as young as five be able to learn a programming language. To do this the company built its own visual programming interface that would engage young children. There are child-friendly languages out there, such as Scratch or Blockly, but they aren't intuitive for very young children who can't read yet. The difference in the age groups is cognitive ability. For example at age 5 we've found they're not very good at written or spoken language. They have weak motor skills. They can't write very well. But their cognitive ability to grasp programming concepts is actually quite advanced. So we've developed these interfaces thinking about what is developmentally appropriate for a child at this age. Play-i's interface for 5 to 8 year olds uses a mix of music, story telling, and animation to teach young children how to tweak the code of their robots. For 8 to 12 year olds the interface becomes more complicated, using Scratch and Blockly to program the robots with the help of included tutorials. For children 12 and up, the Play-i app aims to teach how to write actual code, with the goal of teaching kids how to build iOS and Android apps using the company's API. In the meantime, kids are using their now advanced coding skills to make the robot even more fun to play with. The company is planning to release an online sharing program to allow users to upload their own code and help other users learn. If you want to teach Yana to dance you'll be able to look online and see how other users coded their robot to dance. By giving children the ability to share their programming with other kids, Play-i is providing a layer of support beyond their helpful age-appropriate interfaces. Peer support and interaction is an important part of play and creativity, and it helps children to see how their peers have succeeded in overcoming the challenges that are currently frustrating them. As of press time, Bo and Yana are expected to start shipping in Summer of 2014. Shipping is free in the United States, and there's a charge of $20 for international shipping to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU. Bo and Yana are priced at $149 and $49 respectively during the funding campaign, reduced from the retail price of $199 and $69. The company has already met its first stretch goal for the fundraising campaign, allowing pre-orderers to add an accessories pack to their purchase. The pack comes with a pusher bar and tow hook for Bo, and bunny ears and a tail for whichever robot you feels needs to be more adorable. If the company passes its goal of $500K, it will make attachments that allow children to connect their pre-existing building block toys (think Legos) to their robots. At $700K the company will release a custom-designed Xylophone for Bo, complete with a full programming stack for making him play sweet, sweet music. Play-i has come a long way since May, and the results are incredible. While it will still be awhile before the robots hit your doorstep, the discounted price of early ordering should make this an easy choice for interested parents or 20-something tech bloggers. You can watch Play-i's demo video below. We simply can't wait to try these robots out. Head over to Play-i for more information and to pre-order if you're enchanted.
Bang & Olufsen intros Beolab 14 surround speakers, considered 'entry-level' at $3,995
Bang & Olufsen has been known to occasionally lower the price floor on its line of A/V gear. Continuing in that direction, the company just unveiled its Beolab 14 surround sound speakers, an entry-level offering starting at $3,995 for a 4.1 setup. The rig centers around a petite cylindrical tower that houses a 280-watt amp for its eight-inch down-firing bass driver and connections for up to five individually powered (140 watts) and equalized 2.5-inch satellite speakers. The circular drivers can be wall-mounted or set on stands, and those aluminum enclosures act as heat sinks (in addition to looking dapper). While B&0 anticipates that the soundbars on its existing TVs will act as a center channel, a 5.1 setup will be available for $4,395 if you need an independent middle speaker instead. The Beolab 14 will come in black or white when it launches in June and additional grille clothes will be an extra $99 per set, should you want to change the colors. You can find more details in the press release after the break while you start saving up.
B&O Play H3, H6 headphones debut stateside: danish design, premium prices
It was just last month that Bang & Olufsen unveiled the H3 and H6 headphones under its cheaper-to-enter B&0 Play brand for the EU. Today, B&O introduced these two dapper additions stateside, announcing them at its SoHo NY shop. If you'll recall, the aluminum-clad H3 in-ears pack 10.3mm drivers aided by mini bass ports, while the H6 over-ears feature 40mm drivers and a healthy heaping of leather-wrapped memory foam padding. Both have an iOS-friendly inline remote and straight 3.5mm-capped cabling. We spent some time with the H6 and we're surprised at how light it is -- which also made for an extremely comfortable first impression when it was placed around this editor's ears. The sound from the H6's drivers is crispy and light with a fairly flat voicing that's free of any noticeable sibilance. A 3.5mm input resides on each of its earcups, which allows for daisy-chaining so you can listen with a buddy. We're told the H3 intra-aurals should sound similar (we couldn't get a clean pair to jam in our ears). %Gallery-187820% Expect to pay $250 for the H3 and $400 for the H6 come July, which is a bit pricier than the likes of B&W's P3 and P5 headphones. We'll have to get back to you about whether the prices match the products, but grab a look in the gallery for now.
The Engadget Interview: Vertu CEO Perry Oosting talks specs and rationale
Vertu CEO Perry Oosting talks about the rationale for buying luxury goods.
Lumigon T2 hands-on at MWC 2012 (video)
We've been waiting for Lumigon to get around to launching its Android opus for a while now. Fortunately, MWC is precisely the right kind of place for a new company to catch the eye of the mobile press. With Ice Cream Sandwich and Bang and Olufsen involvement, we had to take a look at the Lumigon T2 for ourselves. First impressions are after the break, with a video run-through of the stainless-steel lined phone thrown in for good measure.
Lumigon's T2 smartphone wants to control your TV, obey your commands
Ever notice how often you lose your TV remote, but how rarely lose track of that social lifeline you call a smartphone? So did the folks at Denmark-based Lumigon, that's why they've put their Scandinavian heads together to build the Lumigon T2, a Android 4.0 smartphone that's also a universal remote control. In addition to this handset's 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 8 megapixel rear facing camera and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower sound, this phone's northern lip can copy commands from remote controls and emulate them using on screen buttons or programmable gestures. Above the T2's 3.8-inch Gorilla glass screen is a dual-action "activity button" that can reportedly be programmed to perform any function the phone has to offer -- like activating an LED flashlight, initiating speed-dial or even turning on and off your TV. Sound pretty sweet? Sure it is -- just don't lose it in the couch. The T2 is scheduled to hit select markets in Europe in Asia later this year, hit the break for the official press release.
Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 12-65 hits North America in March for $11,350
Have you been shoring up funds since you first heard about the Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 12-65 last month? We sure hope so. The company has announced that its 65-inch full HD and 3D compatible plasma TV will hit showrooms in the Canada, Mexico and the US in a matter of days. Featuring an integrated center speaker and a NeoPDP panel, the BeoVision display will carry a hefty price tag of $11,350. If money really is no object, you can spring for the $19,749 package that includes the B&O's BeoSystem 3 'stage manager' for your living room. The 12-65 arrives stateside in March, so you've got a short time to finish getting your finances in order. But for now, hit the eyes-on gallery below for another look before committing.
Bang & Olufsen intros B&O Play brand, showcases $800 Beolit 12 portable AirPlay speaker
We've just met Bang & Olufsen here at CES, sitting through a variety of PowerPoint slides and Venn diagrams, but boy was it worth it. The company revealed its lifestyle-focused brand, dubbed B&O Play, and the first product in the lineup which we already spied passing through the FCC back in November. The Beolit 12 is portable AirPlay speaker for iOS Devices, and although it's basically iPhone-speakerdockapalooza here in Vegas, B&O Play's solution is cut from a unique and elegant mold. Click past the break for our initial impressions.
Bang & Olufsen debuts BeoVision 12-65 plasma TV, BeoLab 12 speakers (update: eyes-on, video)
Bang & Olufsen's TVs aren't exactly for everyone, but those willing to spare no expense to turn a few heads now have yet another impressive model to consider from the company. It's just announced its new BeoVision 12-65, a plasma TV that makes use of a so-called NeoPDP panel and some clever design touches that make the 65-inch set appear as thin as possible. It's also naturally full HD and 3D compatible, and it packs an integrated center channel speaker that can be paired with a surround sound setup. Alongside it, B&O has also debuted its new BeoLab 12 loudspeakers, which pack a total of 480W and once again place a heavy emphasis on style. No word on pricing for either just yet, but the TV will be available this March, with the speakers rolling out in "early spring."
Nevermore: Beyond Oblivion fades off into... oblivion
For Beyond Oblivion, the end (see: tomorrow) is nigh -- the sun is setting on the service, the curtains are drawing close on its operations and that final, flickering flame of funding is about to be extinguished. But there's no need to slug through the five stages of mourning here, this fledgling iTunes competitor never really stood a chance. With a unique business model that paid rights holders for every track played, the company bled more cash than it raked in, ultimately leading to a shuttering of its public beta. So, enjoy that last dance 'round your room rocking out to BO's library of cloud-streamed tunes. And while you're at it, lay out a nice black outfit, will ya?
Captain's Log: The lower decks
Captain's Log, Stardate 64977.3... Spock, Riker, Kira, Worf, Chakotay, and T'Pol. What do they all have in common? They are the notable men and women who served under their Captains as First Officer. Joret, Sito, Alyssa, Taurik, Sam and Geniveve. What do they all have in common? No one knows who the heck they are. In the world of Star Trek, these "unknowns" are the members of the lower decks, people whose work goes unnoticed, whose accomplishments are unacknowledged, and who are often killed off at the end of the episode when you finally do get to know them. While the ships in Star Trek Online currently seem to be manned only by the Captain, his or her Bridge Officers (BOff), and some random crewmen walking around the ship, this is about to change. In the next couple months, get ready to welcome new members to your ship's lower decks. The Duty Officer (DOff) system will be adding a new form of gameplay to STO and give players even more ways to level characters and become immersed in the universe surrounding them. While there are a ton of random pieces of information about it floating out there, I think that Captain's Log is the perfect place to put it all together and give you a more concise picture of how it will work. Ensign, warp 10! It's time to attend your new favorite class, DOffs 101...
Bang & Olufsen announce chip co-op deal with Intel
Well, along with all the other things that happened this year at CES, Bang & Olufsen announced a new cooperation agreement with Intel. What does that mean to you, the consumer? Not terribly much, on the outside -- B&O products have carried Intel chips in the past, but this marks the first time the two companies have had an official relationship, and should mean we'll be seeing refreshes of B&O products every time Intel brings forth new chips. And that's always great news, isn't it? Hit up the source link for full, flowery quotes from reps at both Intel and Bang & Olfusen. Full press release is after the break.
Bang & Olufsen adds WiFi to Beo6 remote control, doesn't think to mention it
It wasn't easy, but we finally managed to spot a few differences between the old Beo5 remote control and Bang & Olufsen's new Beo6 that just appeared on B&O's pages. To start with, the hyperbolic product page for the controller is a word-for-word copy of the old, only with each instance of a "5" replaced with a "6." The user guide doesn't provide much assistance either stating that the "Beo6 is fully compatible with Beo5" right down to using the exact same menus and controls. So what's new? Well, the new "wireless setup" chapter seems to be a clue indicating that the Beo6 can connect to your WiFi network to enable 2-way control with other Bang & Olufsen products supporting 2-way communication -- naturally, these aren't listed and any configuration of the controller will have to be done by a B&O retailer. We did manage to dig up an old article from BeoWorld claiming that the Beo6 would feature a touch (not pressure like the Beo5) sensitive widescreen display to show information like cover art and tag data just as soon as B&O's BeoSound 4 Encore and BeoSound 5 could support it. While this kind of product perplexity would be a knock against any other mainstream consumer electronic remote, B&O owners can rest easy knowing that their man servant will sort it all out.
Lumigon T1 with ICEpower amplifiers officially unveiled, to arrive 'by the very end of this year'
Just as promised, Denmark-based Lumigon has finally lifted the curtains over its much hyped T1 Android handset. Specs include an 800MHz Freescale i.MX515 chipset with an optional Qualcomm HSDPA modem, along with a 3.5-inch 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen LCD, 5 megapixel autofocus camera, A-GPS, Bluetooth and FM radio. What the Scandinavian company's really selling here, though, is the phone's multimedia features: not only does it have a FM transmitter, a HDMI dock and Bang & Olufsen's renowned ICEpower audio amplifiers, but it also doubles up as an "innovative" universal remote control for your various AV devices -- pretty unique for an Android device, we'll give you that. Interestingly, the press release omits any mention of Froyo, so here's a glimmer of hope that Lumigon will manage to skin whatever the latest version of Android will be in time for the launch -- a few lucky outlets will receive the phones "by the very end of this year," just in time for your Christmas refunds. Oh, and remember the sister handset S1? We're now told that this T9 slider won't be out until Q3 2011. Sometimes it's better to take one step at a time, eh?%Gallery-105684%
ASUS NX90Jq now available... sort of
Remember this classic from way back at CES in January? We had such high hopes for the ASUS NX90 Jq. The 18.4-inch multimedia laptop boasts dual large touchpads and was designed by Bang & Olufsen's chief designer... and that shows. This beauty also has (in case you forgot) B&O ICEpower speakers, a Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 334M graphics, and can house up to 1280GB of storage. Now, we knew this thing wasn't going to be cheap from the first time we touched it -- $2,500. However, we didn't really expect to have to wait quite so long for it to hit retail. Well, if you don't mind purchasing things on the "internet," it looks like you can actually get one at a few retailers now for about that $2,500 price. Hit up the source link if you're ready to put down some cash or if you just like to window shop.