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CES 2014: Audio roundup
Imagine the footsteps of thousands and thousands of people. Now add in hundreds of booths showing loud promo videos, playing music and giving demos over microphones. That is the literal sound of CES. The theoretical sound of CES will come from some of the products you see below. We feel this selection of products gives you a pretty good feel for the trends we're likely to see in 2014. Enjoy.
B&O's Beosound Essence allows wall-mounted music control of your wireless streaming habits (hands-on)
Here at CES 2014, Bang & Olufsen is looking to make access to tunes as soon as you get out of bed "as easy as turning on the lights." To do so, the high-end audio company has announced Beosound Essence: a circular music control dial that can be either wall mounted or fixed to a small metal plate for use around the house. The device features a rotating aluminum ring that doubles as a volume dial with track skipping, play/pause and power touch control on the face. In fact, it'll pick up at the exact point you last listened. That bit of silver alongside minimal graphics and black accents keeps the unit inline with B&O's upscale look. Measuring about two-inches across, the Essence is quite small and only extends a couple of inches off of the wall -- when mounted in that fashion. Up to three of the controls can be used in a single room, if you'd like to spread out multiples. In the event that you need that controller to be a bit more mobile, B&O had accounted for that. The company is calling it a "table-top" mount and it's attached to a metal plate that's about the size of an index card. As you might expect, the add-on keeps with the aesthetic while making the Essence a bit easier to keep track of. In order to connect to that gaggle of speakers -- like the recently announced BeoLab 17, 18 and 19, for example -- there's a separate box that can remain hidden in a cabinet and connects to the controller via low-energy Bluetooth. In terms of compatibility, you can expect AirPlay and DLNA support as well as streaming from Spotify Connect, QPlay and a variety of internet radio providers at launch. It also plays nice with the BeoPlay smartphone app, too. Speaking of its arrival, the Essence will be available this spring for $995 and that so-called table-top option tacks on an additional $200. Despite showing off a smattering of color options for the back plate here in Vegas, we're told only the dark grey option will be available at launch -- which is a bummer, because the wood grain looks really nice. We've already had a look at the device for ourselves, so jump down in the gallery that follows for some snapshots.
Icons & Coffee's Essence: A set of 600 iOS 7-friendly icons
If you're a developer who enjoys spending time coding more than working on design, you may want to check out a new iOS 7 icon glyph set called Essence. The icon set includes 300 icons covering all categories including productivity, lifestyle, weather and food. In addition to the 300 standard icons, Essence also includes a set of matching filled "selected" versions of the icons. Essence is normally US$29.99, but can be purchased now for only $19.99. If you buy the set now, you'll also get additional icons as they are added in the upcoming months. Developers will be happy to hear that Essence is attribution-free for an unlimited number of projects.
Nokia Lumia 610 with NFC hands-on (video)
You never know what's going to be hiding in the deep dark corners of an event, and in our searches during the Windows Phone Developer Summit we came across the Nokia Lumia 610. But this isn't just the standard fare; no, this particular version offers NFC and should soon be making its way to Orange. Yes, by offering Near-Field Communication, the handset will be compatible with Nokia's NFC-enabled accessories like the Essence and Play360. While this elusive device is no stranger to us -- we've seen it shown on video, it's been certified for MasterCard's PayPass service and it's even been blessed by the FCC -- this was the first time we held it in our hands. So what can we expect from this particular flavor of the Tango-running Lumia 610? Frankly, our impressions matched that of its non-NFC predecessor: build and overall feel remain unchanged from the original version. Naturally Nokia needed to find some space to stick the contacts and antenna, and those are inconspicuously found on the back of the device and on the battery cover, respectively. We still haven't seen any pricing surface, but it's been expected to arrive on Orange at the beginning of next quarter -- which frankly means we could well see it available within the next couple weeks, though we couldn't get an official date. Head below to get a good look at the NFC-enabled glory as well as a brief video showing the phone interacting with the Essence. %Gallery-158773%
Nokia Essence promises 99.8 percent noise cancellation, lets you listen to Ke$ha in peace
In-ear headphones that cancel out almost all of the background noise? Yes, please. The Nokia Essence is the latest stereo Bluetooth to hit the market, and it's poised to eliminate as much of the world around you as possible -- 99.8 percent of it, at least. As many earbuds impel the user to turn up the volume level just to hear more bass, the idea with the Essence is to zap out low-frequency background noises (such as traffic) to provide a deeper bass sound without having to crank up the knob to 11. The Essence is also equipped with NFC for easy tap-to-pair functionality. Scroll down below to see a video showing a guy who's getting the most out of his new headphones.
Philips' new Essence, FlatTV and Aurea LCD sets
While our primary drool allotment will be directed at Philips' new 8mm LCD concept, Philips also has some new for-realsies LCDs here at IFA potentially worth your time. Leading off the pack is the LED-backlit 42PFL9803 FlatTV (pictured), a 42-inch set with 128 segments of LED for a purported 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The set runs at 100Hz, has a 17-bit "Color Booster" for a wide gamut, and even does a bit of 2nd gen Ambilight for good measure. Essence (42PES0001) is another 42-inch, 1080p display, but stakes its claim on thinness, measuring 38mm (1.5-inches) deep, and has a single cable running to a connectivity hub which doles out the audio, video and power. 100Hz and wide color gamut are all here. Finally, Philips is doing up a new generation of Aurea sets with new 37-inch and 42-inch 1080p displays, which offer up "Active Frame" transparent frames to reflect the Ambilight surrounding the set. The displays also offer 100Hz, 30,000:1 contrast ratios and 2ms response times. No word on price or availability for any of these, which is starting to sound like the official theme of IFA 2008.%Gallery-30668%
Insider Trader: A disenchanted profession
Insider Trader is your inside line on making, selling, buying and using player-made products.Back in the early days of the Azerothian economy, enchanters performed enchants with their own mats. You didn't sell anything you didn't have all the mats for, with the exception of special items such as Righteous Orbs for exclusive, high-end enchants like Crusader. When you were out of mats, you closed up shop for the day. Players laughed in your face if you asked them to provide their own mats, and anything for sale on the Auction House was overpriced to the nth degree. Enchanters developed relationships with crafters in other professions to create items that disenchanted into useful components. Players who leveled enchanting purely to disenchant items and sell the resulting reagents were frowned upon and hid their identities behind banker alts and mules.Today, it's a disenchanter's market. Disenchanting has become a profitable "gathering" profession in and of itself. Groups expect enchanters to "shard" items on the spot during instance runs so that members can choose a more valuable shard instead of an undesirable BoP drop. Disenchanting is a whole new "profession"! Read on for Insider Trader's look at disenchanting as a money-making venture in its own right.
