Devices Gadgets

Toshiba have announced the Toshiba Regza ZV series of LCD HDTVs. The Regza ZV range are no normal HDTVs, they have a new feature which Toshiba is very proud of. Featuring the debut technology “Resolution+” which uses a cell processor (as found in PS3), to display standard definition image in near HD quality, with improved edge and textural detail.

By scanning the standard definition input and improving it to near HD quality, it means you can get more out of your existing DVD collecting, or non HD channels. A very useful feature to have, in a time where there are only 20 or so HD channels currently available.

The Toshiba Regza ZV series will be available in two sizes, as the 42-inch Toshiba 42ZV555D, and as the 46-inch Toshiba 46ZV555D. Both have a Full HD / 1080p LCD panel, with 24p Film support, 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and Active Vision M100 HD 100Hz picture processing, which doubles the frame rate to reduce motion blur and image judder.

Other features include a dedicated game mode, high 10-Bit colour processing, and Regza Link. There are three HDMI 1.3 inputs. The Toshiba Regza ZV’s will be available from November 29th in the UK.

Toshiba Regza ZV

• Toshiba 42ZV555D | 42-Inch, £899.99
• Toshiba 46ZV555D | 46-Inch, £1199.99

Most diesel vehicles, particularly trucks, manufactured after Jan 1, 2010 in the US will need to have a urea scrubber built in that will ’scrub’ the nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the exhaust.

The urea-based scrubber will reduce the NOx emissions by as much as 90%, and that in turn can be reduced to near zero levels when used with another filter.

Europe is already ahead of us in this game with already about 500,000 trucks having this technology.

Of course, there is already pushback from trucking companies in particular, but let’s face it - there is going to be some pain as we migrate industries and products to more environmentally-friendly systems.

Posted in Miscellaneous

As many of you would guess, I own a HDTV. What you might not know, is that I watch most of my HD media on my HDTV via my Dell XPS 1530 laptop with an external USB blu-ray drive. The media center combination, along with blu-ray playback at 1080p / 24p via HDMI output is hard to beat for me.

I am currently looking into netbooks, and have found the very impressive 10-inch Asus N10J Netbook, which features HDMI output with 1080p support and audio pass through of AC3/DTS etc. Even though the Asus N10J “only” has a lower power Intel Atom CPU N270 running at 1.6GHz, it also features a NVIDIA GEFORCE 9300M GS (256MB) graphics card, which would normally only been found in a full size highend laptop.

With the help of Nvidea’s PureVideo HD support to provide hardware decoding of HD files (x264) through the graphics card, the tiny Asus N10J netbook is powerful enough to playback HD content. This to me is very appealing, the thought of such a small computer with the decoding power to handle full HD 1080p output.

There is even a youtube video of someone playing back a 1080P H264/x264 MKV file on the Asus N10J, where the video plays flawlessly with CPU load at less than 50%.  Very impressive indeed. To my knowledge, this is the first netbook I have seen with a HDMI output, and a powerful graphics card.

I’m also confident that the Asus N10J would be able to playback blu-ray movies via connecting an external USB Blu-ray drive.  A very tempting Christmas addition!

ComputerWorld reviews the Motorola Motozine ZN5 and writes, “As a camera, I loved the ZN5. I liked the mechanics of it: sliding down the cover to expose both the lens and built-in flash, watching the camera functions come on while deactivating the phone capabilities (something Motorola likes to call ModeShift Technology). Turning the phone on its side moves the dedicated shutter button into position at the top right. The switch that controls the volume in handset mode can then be used for the digital zoom, which, although it displays with poor resolution in the phone’s window, actually offered excellent results.”

Read more about the Motorola Motozine ZN5.

MobileBurn does a hands on review of the Motorola Motozine ZN5 and writes, “The thing that most impressed us, though, were the very large prints that Motorola had on hand. We took a very close look at the 16″ x 20″ photos and found that the image quality coming out of the ZN5’s camera is really top notch. Some over sharpening was evident when viewing the prints, but there was little to no chromatic distortion or purple fringing in high contrast scenes or else anything unpleasant. The ZN5 appears to be a “real” camera, plain and simple. True it lacks a zoom, but this is a camera that can produce keepers when it comes to snapshots.”

Read more about the Motorola Motozine ZN5.

Most people love the convenience of convergence devices these days - for an everyday example, just take out your cell phone. Chances are it doubles up as your secondary digital camera and ipod, since it comes with both music playback capability and a pretty decent lens to capture impromptu moments. As for HDTVs, well, these are still pretty exclusive in terms of functionality although Silicon Mountain Holdings, Inc. hopes to change things by unveiling both a 32″ and 42″ High Definition LCD TV that not only features an integrated Blu-ray/DVD combo player, it also has a full fledged PC running within. Talk about being high powered!

The Allio HDTV/PC can safely claim to be the first product of its kind in North America (who knows, maybe even the world?), where the flagship 42″ model comes with a built-in PVR to help you record all your favorite shows that you cannot afford to miss. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor, the rest of the specifications are equally beefy to help out in its multimedia intensive tasks, including 4GB RAM, a 1TB hard drive to store countless hours of video, as well as the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium to help you get started. The Allio will not only come with analog and digital audio-video inputs found in most HDTVs, it even boasts wireless and wired networking capabilities with a handful of USB 2.0 ports that will further extend the experience to other computers and peripherals in your abode.

Instead of getting two TVs, the Allio’s picture-in-picture and split-screen capabilities enables multiple sources of content to operate simultaneously on a single large screen, so you can continue watching your game on the big screen while your other half catches up on her drama series. Depending on system configuration and screen size, prices start from $1,599.99 upwards, which is pretty darn reasonable considering the sheer amount of entertainment options you have at your fingertips.

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Candles are great for setting the mood and making a room smell a particular way.  However, you get to work and typically you can’t light a candle to mellow yourself out.  It’s just frowned upon in a lot of places to keep an open flame on you desk.  Luckily, several companies release alternative ways to set a warm and inviting environment much in the same way you would with a candle.  They even feature the soft yellow light that you find with a burning candle.

With this diffuser just pick the scent of oils you enjoy and you’ve set your mood.  Hopefully though your nearby coworkers have similar tastes in scents, otherwise, you could easily make them miserable.  These electronic diffusers from USB Brando do their best to simulate the feel of a burning wick to add to the overall affect.  You can run it on either USB power or pop in a couple AA batteries to keep it running.  You can pick them up for $25 a piece.

Source:  Ubergizmo

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Popular science just awarded Pacemaker, a mp3 player that turns anyone into a DJ, as a “Best of what’s new” winner in the gadgets category.  The device is part of a larger platform that encompasses a user community which provides legal uploading and mix sharing as well as a desktop application.

The Pacemaker at its gadget-y heart is a 120GB mp3 player with display and touchpad.  Various inputs allow some crazy stuff, all in a very mobile little unit.  The device features multifunction buttons that allow different inputs on the touchpad.  I am certain it is easier to use than the diagram which outlines all the functionality shows. 

To have the Pacemaker recognized as a breakthrough innovation by a presitgous publication, such as Popular Science, is a tremendous honor,” said Ola Sars, Tonium’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Our goal from day one was to create a platform that gives everyone the ability to interact with their music and share it with anyone who wants to listen. With the help of forward thinking media outlets like Pop Sci, we hope to inspire music fans around the globe to share their musical tastes with world.”

The typo was theirs, in case you are keep score.

The Pacemaker is not cheap, currently offered for $876.  No one ever said being the cool DJ was cheap.

Product page [Tonium]

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We know that coins can be used to play a prank on others by squirting water, but here is something much more serious. It allows you to store precious information within without giving the game away. Do you have a microSD memory card containing risqué images of your weekend that you do not want anyone else to see, ever? Well, store it within the Hollow Spy Coin, of course! You can use it as a form of currency without being detected or charged for fraud, although that wouldn’t make real financial sense since the nickel alone will cost $30.

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AT&T does not want to miss out on the holiday season sales, hence releasing its AT&T Quickfire handset - the last of the four new quick messaging cell phones that were specially designed to cater for those who do plenty of text messaging, albeit allowing them to do so within a much shorter time and easier than ever before. Developed for AT&T by Personal Communications Devices LLC., the Quickfire boasts an interesting form factor, but once you take a look at the specifications, you will realize that this is not a high-end handset due to its feature set (or rather, the lack of it), so if you want a top-of-the-line phone, you’ll have to look out for other candidates.

The AT&T Quickfire comes in a slider form factor, and in addition to the full QWERTY keypad (an essential when it comes to any self-respecting messaging phone), you will also get an interactive touch screen display to help out in navigation of the user interface throughout various stages. The camera is not much to shout about - 1.3 megapixels ought to be enough to capture casual shots, but you can forget about it if you’re planning on using the Quickfire as a replacement for your dedicated digital camera. This 3G world phone allows you to read your messages in either portrait or landscape mode, and with a decent data plan, you are able to download music via AT&T’s 3G network using Napster Mobile and eMusic Mobile. Other features include AT&T Navigator that provides for turn-by-turn directions, although your use of it will be limited to a 30-day free trial, where you are required to fork out more money after that assuming you want to continue using this service.

You can choose from orange or lime and silver colors where the AT&T Quickfire is concerned. It will retail for $99.99 after signing up for a 2-year contract and a mail-in rebate.

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