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ViewSonic outs 27-inch VX2703mh-LED monitor with 1080p, SRS Premium Sound
Some would say monitors aren't anywhere nearly as exciting as something like, say, a shiny new Galaxy S III or Google's novel slate, the popularly priced Nexus 7 -- but, you know, sometimes you just need to get some actual work done. And for those of you who are crazy about relatively large monitors, ViewSonic's unveiled its 27-inch VX2703mh-LED offering. Priced at $299, the ClearMotiv II display boasts a decent 1920 x 1080 resolution with a 10,000,000:1 MEGA Dynamic Contrast Ratio, built-in SRS Premium Sound speakers, as well as DVI, VGA and HDMI ports. Equally important, the outfit's touting the screen's eco-friendly features, with a mercury-free LED backlighting, an ECO-Mode setting and, naturally, a power-saving feature to help keep that monthly electricity bill to a minimum. The VX2703mh-LED is expected to hit North American shelves later this month; in the meantime, you can check the gallery after the break to gaze at it from mostly every angle. %Gallery-160445%
DTS and SRS Labs to combine into one big happy family
You've probably heard of both DTS and SRS Labs or seen their logos, but you might not be able to explain exactly what these companies do. To put it simply: both enhance the sound from our electronics, and now, they'll be doing it together. In a cash-and-stock deal worth just under $10 a share DTS will acquire SRS Labs, giving the new company over a thousand audio related patents (what else?) and trademarks. The deal is valued at about $148 million and expected to be accretive to DTS by 2013. It's hard to predict what this might mean for us consumers, but we're sure both hope that when two great companies get together they find new ways to make better products. Of course,, that isn't always how these deals turn out.
Lenovo's IdeaTab S2109 unveiled on YouTube, shows off 8.9mm-thick unibody shell
About a month after we spotted the IdeaTab S2109's FCC document, Lenovo's quietly launched a YouTube video for its 9.7-inch (1,024 x 768 IPS LCD) slate over the weekend. Why so shy? No idea, but what we do know is that on top of the deets we obtained last time, this Android 4.0 device comes in an 8.9mm-thick, gunmetal-finish unibody shell that packs a 1.3-megapixel front camera (yet no back camera), microSD slot, micro-HDMI, micro-USB and 10 hours worth of battery juice. Alas, there's no confirmation on the specific TI OMAP chipset used here, nor does the video indicate when or where we can get hold of this quad-SRS-speaker tablet; but at least it looks like we won't have to deal with any UI customization from Lenovo. For now, enjoy said video clip after the break.
Daily iPhone App: MyTunes Pro makes your music sound better
MyTunes has been on the App Store for a little while. It's developed by SRS that uses that company's patented sound enhancement algorithms to make music sound "better." It's not completely clear what the algorithm does (as SRS wants to keep it secret), but basically, the tech boosts and lowers certain qualities in audio to make it clearer and more listenable. MyTunes Pro is the new version of MyTunes. I saw it in action at CES earlier this year, and it's now available for the iPhone and the iPad (here's the HD version). The biggest update is that you can use AirPlay directly with the app. This lets you push your iTunes library through MyTunes Pro's enhancer, and then kick it out to an AirPlay system. You'll also find new controls for a system called "TruSpeed," which will speed up or slow down your audio without changing the pitch (so you can listen to more podcasts in less time). A new "workout mode" lets you gather songs by tempo (BPS). The interface of the app has been updated as well. Unfortunately, it's still pretty laggy (and doesn't really feel like a native interface), but it is a little easier to navigate and use than earlier versions. MyTunes Pro is free to try, so if you just want to hear what it does to your music, you can download it and give it a try (you get 10 minutes a day, unless you pay an in-app purchase of US$6.99). It's an app that's of somewhat limited use, because you can only listen to music in your iTunes library. iOS doesn't let audio from services like Pandora or Slacker get processed. Still, if you listen to music coming off of your iOS device all day, and would like it to sound even better (or just want to have a really capable EQ to use on it), MyTunes Pro should do exactly that.
Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 teased by FCC, launching with 9.7-inch display this month?
Lenovo's been hard at work with various Android phones and tablets so far this year, and here's yet another one that's just popped up in FCC's database. Dubbed the IdeaTab S2109 (or S2109A-F, to be specific), we're told by a reliable source that 'tis an Ice Cream Sandwich tablet assembled by Foxconn, and it'll come with a 9.7-inch, 4:3 IPS display (supplied by Chi Mei), a TI OMAP chip and four powerful SRS-ready speakers as featured on the beefy K2010. The above diagram suggests said slate has a microSD slot accessible from the outside, and if you take a closer look at the product label, you'll see that the device requires a whooping 2.5A input at 5V, which means it'll come with a 12.5W adapter -- a lot higher than many tablets' maximum consumption at 10W (including the new iPad) or below. Here's hoping that this is an indication for a faster charge time.As for availability, we heard that this S2109 will launch at some point this month, though our shy friend didn't specify which market it'll debut in -- the FCC document lists Germany, Canada, US, India, Russia, Turkmenistan, Mexico, Chile, Japan and China. If Android on a 4:3 screen sounds like your cup of tea then stay tuned for more news.
SRS takes the iWow universal at Macworld | iWorld 2012
SRS Labs hosted a booth at Macworld | iWorld 2012 last week for two main reasons. First, the company wanted to show off the iPad version of MyTunes, its music player app that incorporates the company's patented sound enhancement algorithm. Second, it wanted to introduce an update to the iWow hardware itself, called the iWowU, that allows listeners to plug in to any source at all, from anywhere, straight through the headphone port. MyTunes has been out on iPhone for a while, but SRS showed me the iPad version, which is pretty slick as an "outside of iTunes" music player. Not only can you play all of the audio in your iTunes library, you can use SRS' iWow processing on it. MyTunes has a few different equalizers to play around with, including a 10-band, a 3-band, and a series of music genre settings. There are also a few transition options, an option to raise or lower a recording's speed without changing the pitch (handy for listening to lots of podcasts as quickly as you can), and a "TruVolume" setting which keeps all of the music in your library at the same volume. The SRS rep said the company's biggest issue with the app is that because of Apple's API limits, they can't apply the iWow processing to anything but the music in your iTunes library. Unfortunately that means MyTunes won't improve the sound coming out of streaming services like Pandora or Slacker. But the app seems like a solid alternative to iTunes, with the added bonus of all of SRS' technology. It should be available in about two weeks for free, with all features unlocked as a US$4.99 purchase. The new iWowU is a little unit that plugs into the headphone adapter on your iDevice -- or any headphone adapter anywhere, as it will also work on a PC, Mac, or any music player with a headphone plug. Your headphones plug into the other end (the iPhone's white mic cord will work), and the iWow processing is sent along through the cable. Older models had to use the iPhone and iPod touch's dock connector to power the iWow unit, but the iWowU actually charges up with a microUSB cable, so it'll process the music wherever you want for about 5-6 hours before needing charging again. SRS didn't have a price for the unit yet, but they said it'll be "similar to the current iWow," which is available for $59.99. The smaller size is nice, and the adapter for just a common headphone jack should mean listeners will have the chance to hear the iWow processing in all kinds of new places. The iWowU is due out later this year.
Apple sued over Disk Utility patent
The words "Apple" and "lawsuit" have nearly become synonymous lately, as companies crawl out of the woodworks to sue the Cupertino company. On August 17, 2011, Software Restore Solutions filed a complaint against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The company claims Apple's Disk Utility feature violates a portion of its network manager patent from 1998. SRS claims Apple was aware of the violation and ignored it. The company is asking for triple damages because this case allegedly involves knowing and willful infringement on Apple's part. Software Restore Solutions filed a lawsuit against Citrix, Nuance, Activision, Adobe, IBM, Skype and more in a case filed June 11, 2011. Apple is listed as one of 26 defendants in this earlier case as well.
HTC Sensation review
A hotly anticipated smartphone with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a "Super" 4.3-inch screen, and a manufacturer-skinned version of Android 2.3 -- we must be talking about the Samsung Galaxy S II, right? Not on this occasion, squire. Today we're taking a gander at HTC's Sensation, a handset that's just begun shipping in Europe under a short-term Vodafone exclusive and which should be making its way to T-Mobile in the USA early next month. By beating its stablemate the EVO 3D and Moto's Droid X2 to the market, the Sensation becomes the world's first 4.3-inch smartphone with qHD resolution, while also serving as the debut phone for HTC's Watch movie streaming service and Sense 3.0 UI customizations. That leaves us with an abundance of newness to review, so what are we waiting for? %Gallery-124367%
SRS iWow 3D really improves the sound of any iPod or iOS device
I've been a fan of the SRS iWow audio adapter for my iPod Classic for a number of years. What this dongle did is make iTunes audio sound dramatically better. It tightened the bass, improved the treble and added a good deal of presence to my music with the largest difference being heard in acoustic or orchestral tracks. It also punched up the audio of videos to an extent. This wasn't done by just increasing the volume, which would be the easy way. Instead, it added proprietary post processing to improve the sound. The downsides were that there were no settings outside of on or off, it was rather big and clunky, and it reduced iPod battery life by 26 percent. At Macworld 2011, I met with Shawn Kamal, an engineer turned product marketing manager, who introduced me to the next generation -- now made smaller, totally redone and retitled the SRS iWow 3D (US $59.95). The product is now shipping in black, and there is also a bundle for $79.95 that adds four snap on color face plates -- the colors used are those of the majority of iPhone cases -- and a pair of ear buds that are nothing special. Comparing the old and the new I was very interested to compare the older iWow with the iWow 3D and hear if it was worth buying again, since there will be no special upgrade price for the new unit. The answer is an unqualified yes. The bass is tighter, the treble clearer, and the soundfield is much wider -- usually sounding like it's a few feet to the left and right of your head. The 3D effect is less than precise, but it is there and does make a big difference, particularly when listening to sound coming from a video -- especially an action movie. I couldn't hear specific sounds behind me, but the holographic effect was dramatic. In fact, I'd go so far as saying that it will make your headphones or speakers plugged into the iWow 3D sound twice as good as they do now. %Gallery-116456%
SRS Labs iWow for iDevices: now with 3D!
SRS Labs pushed out the iWow adapter a couple of years ago to give your iDevice more sonorous tones, and now is has released a new product: the iWow 3D, for your audial enjoyment. SRS's latest offering still promises to "effectively and naturally restore the audio cues that are buried" in your music -- which seems a bit like a Rumplestiltzkin proposition to us -- through an included dongle and the free iWow app. The company provides little information on how the attachment spins sound straw into aural gold, but the idea of better bass response and richer sound from Apple's iPod may be suitable enough for us. Plus, the device is just $49.99 ($30 less than the OG version), or you can step up to the iWow 3D Combo package that adds five colored faceplates and earbuds for $69.99. No word on when it will go on sale (coming soon, according to SRS), so it looks as if you'll have to endure your drab, two dimensional music just a bit longer.
SRS Labs wants us to forget about our speakers
SRS Labs' suite was sportin' a number a devices showcasing Surround Everywhere, technology that lets you enjoy surround sound anywhere you go, laptops, phones, so yeah, anywhere. But the coolest thing we came away with was their vision of how surround sound should be mastered. Many in the industry are strungling with the transition from 5.1 to 7.1 and let's face it, about the time the studios get their arms around 7.1, we'll be asking for 9.1. So this new idea is to record where the audio is supposed to come from, instead of which speaker it should be played on. This way a movie would never need its audio remastered again, because the fact that the plane coming in at 2 O'Clock wouldn't change no matter how many speakers you had, it wouldn't even matter if you had a speaker placed precisely at 2 O'Clock. So basically your AVR would render the audio on the fly based on the number of speakers, and where you placed those speakers by using the recorded sounds and the data about those sounds. Kinda blew your mind right? The problem of course is at this point its just a cool idea and until content is created this way, there's no chance we'll actually be able to realize the benifits of this dream. Either way, we do commend SRS Labs for dreaming.
OnLive MicroConsole $66 through Jan. 9, 5.1 audio coming 'early 2011'
Saying it's to celebrate the news of the service being integrated into upcoming VIZIO products, OnLive is offering a CES 2011-centric discount on its MicroConsole hardware through the duration of the show. Up until 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, January 9, you'll be able to order the hardware -- which includes a voucher good for the game of your choice -- for $66, plus shipping, directly from OnLive. Company CEO Steve Perlman also announced in his blog post that SRS 5.1 audio will be coming to the cloud gaming platform (on the MicroConsole, PC and Mac) as an update in "early 2011," as will promised 3D support. Now, in what we hope doesn't become customary fashion, we'll say: That's great, but how about some more games?
Vizio shows off its full 2011 HDTV lineup: ultrawidescreen, 3D, Google TV, widgets & all
No more dribs and drabs of information leaking out as Vizio has finally listed its entire 2011 LCD lineup, again featuring LED back & edge lighting across all models. That includes two ultrawidescreen 21:9 Cinema models in its Theater 3D line in 50- and 58-inch sizes, two VIA Plus TVs with Google TV in the XVT3D476SP and XVT3D556SP, and continuation of its existing Yahoo! Widgets based Vizio Internet Apps features including WiFi and Bluetooth QWERTY remote across TVs sized 22-inches and above. Check the press release after the break for all the models and what they offer, perhaps wisely there's no detailed information about when and for how much they'll be available just yet, so we'll still have to speculate about which models will represent the sub-$300 3D portion of the lineup.
OnLive turns into Vizio VIA Plus app, destined for TVs, tablets and phones
The OnLive MicroConsole is one way to get your streaming game fix, but here comes Vizio with four more -- the bargain television company just revealed that those brand-new VIA Plus HDTVs and Blu-ray players (as well as that VIA Tablet and VIA Phone) will come with OnLive on board. Despite running as an internet app on top of the existing Vizio hardware, we're told the service will support full 1080p resolution, stereoscopic 3D images, and OnLive's low-latency wireless gamepads too -- as Vizio's units will apparently support IEEE 802.15.4. While the jury's still out on when OnLive will actually be playable on touchscreens, CEO Steve Perlman says some games are being adapted to support touch right now, and that tablets that support external game controllers could also use OnLive normally. We've also got more good news for the home theater crowd, as OnLive's signed a deal with SRS, bringing 5.1 surround sound as a free update to all OnLive users early next year. Because there's nothing quite like having ears bombarded from all directions with digital explosions. PR after the break.
Microsoft, SRS team up on surround sound for Silverlight, will this finally bring 5.1 to Netflix?
Of course, this press release from SRS Labs doesn't actually say Netflix will use its technology to enable surround sound audio on Watch Instantly streams, but when you claim your tools add "easy and seamless" surround sound decoding to Silverlight apps then we have an immediate suggestion as to how they could be put to use. Whether you give any credit to (or have even noticed) the SRS stamp on a bevy of media playing software and hardware, its ubiquity certainly means that interested parties (like, say, Netflix) could be sure the audio would be supported across the multitude of platforms they stream video to. Microsoft and SRS have issued the tools for anyone (even Netflix) to support 5.1 streams just by adding this code to their apps and are demonstrating it at IBC 2010 and on a demo website, all we have to do is sit back and wait for the technology to be implemented. If only we knew of somewhere an upgrade to surround sound on streaming video was in high demand...
Front rendered surround sound is not a gimmick
Yes, we know what you're thinking because it is what we used to; but after some extensive testings with the latest SRS front rendered surround sound technologies, we can't call it a gimmick anymore than any other surround sound we've tried. Now that we've gotten that off our chest, we would like clarify what technologies like SRS TheaterSound and SRS TruSurround HD are; both are sound processing technologies that enhance two speaker systems, and while we won't call them a gimmick, we won't be throwing our rear speakers away just yet. That doesn't mean they don't have a place in any home theater, but if you're interested in knowing where they do fit in, well, you'll just have to click through and read the rest for that tidbit. %Gallery-97873%
SRS TheaterSound featured in new Samsung LCDs and Plasmas
When we think of surround sound we think of lots of speakers, but SRS intends to change that with its front rendered surround sound technologies like SRS TheaterSound. When we first heard of this idea we thought of it as simulated surround sound, but then we realized; hey wait, all surround sound is simulated -- there aren't actually bullets whizzing around our living room. So while the jury is still out on how many speakers are required to make you feel like you're in the middle of the action, we always appreciate steps in the right direction and the new Samsung owners will get the benefits of SRS TheaterSound. In addition to the surround sound part, it also helps tames loud commercial and inaudible dialog. Of course in this case hearing is believing, and this is one we'll have to hear for ourselves. Assuming we can get our hands on one of the latest Samsung LED back-lit LCDs or plasmas to try out.
CES Watch: More tales from the iLounge
Another day at CES 2010, another round of new iPhone, iPod, and Mac-related accessories. We're putting them all together in one post -- it's like you're on the show floor, without the terrible AT&T reception. iLive is introducing a whole slew of new speakers and micro speaker systems. Case-Mate has some cases with charging features, including a pretty slick-looking induction charger panel. iWave's also got four new collections of cases, speakers, and headphones to introduce at the convention. The Cignias NAO Symphony is a nice looking speaker dock with a strange feature: the ability to control the dock with a second iPhone or iPod touch. You can also stream music to it over WiFi or Bluetooth, and the unit will run you a hefty $299. The Phubby will keep your iPhone attached to your wrist, but that looks pretty bad for circulation. Toktumi showed off an app that will supposedly add a second phone number to your iPhone. Engadget went hands-on with the L5 remote dongle that we talked about the other day. SRS is releasing a new iWow adapter -- it's supposed to make music, movies, and TV sound better on your iPhone. And finally, Targus is showing off fingerprint blockers to keep the prints off of your devices. As you can tell, the iLounge pavilion at the show is packed with all kinds of things that connect to your iPhone -- if anyone ever wanted to overpay for an accessory, it's probably there. We'll keep an eye on any other Mac-related releases during the show for you throughout the weekend.
ViewSonic doles out a half dozen LCDs, forgets to make 'em interesting
It's been a hot minute since ViewSonic cranked out any new LCDs, but the drought is officially ending today. The firm has just blessed the universe with a fresh half-dozen, a few of which pack 1080p panels and respectable price points. Both the VT3245 ($649) and VT3745 ($799) feature a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, 4,000:1 contrast ratio and a five millisecond response time, while the latter is somehow tailored for streaming media. Then there's the N4285, which also sports a 1080p LCD and a dynamic 10,000:1 contrast ratio; for whatever reason, this one's priced at $999, so we're guessing it's... um, larger? The VT2042 ($299), VT2342 ($349) and VT2645 ($449) are all scaled back versions with lower resolutions (save for the 2342, which does Full HD), though none of 'em are particularly noteworthy. Peep the read link for ship dates and the like, but good look finding out non-critical information like "panel size" and "available inputs."
SRS TruMedia brings "5.1" surround sound to your cellphone... again
Ah, nothing like preying on the forgetfulness of the human brain. Nearly a full year after SRS Labs outed its SRS CS Headphone technology -- which supposedly takes 2-channel audio and creates the effect of surround sound -- the company is introducing a solution that sounds mighty similar, just with more channels. TruMedia, as it's so affectionately dubbed, is expected to make mobile phones, PMPs, Bluetooth headphones and "gaming consoles" (saywha?) emit "engaging, theater-like 5.1 surround sound" when multichannel video content is viewed. Kind of sounds like drawing blood from a stone to us, but who knows, maybe six bona fide channels of audio really can flow from a single set of earbuds.
