Samsung has announced a new 16X DVD Rewritable burner called the SH-W162L. The drive offers LightScribe technology which provides users with the ability to engrave labels, photos, and designs right onto the CD or DVD discs - no more worries about labels falling off or ink disappearing off the disc. The drive also features 8X Dual Layer recording - 13 minutes for 8.5GB of data folks! Spec wise, the drive supports 16X burning for both DVD+R and DVD-R media. You’ll also get 8X burning for DVD+RW and double layer DVD+R. The drive is now available for around $70 bucks.

 

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JVC has announced new additions to the Everio G series of hard drive based camcorders for 2006. The new camcorders feature several new innovations including direct DVD burning without the need for a PC using a new JVC DVD burner or JVC recommended burners from other manufacturers. Some of the new features include higher transfer speeds, 32x optical zoom lens, 2.7 inch widescreen displays, and an F1.2 lens.

In short, JVC is introducing two new 20GB models and two new 30GB models. The new 20 GB models are the GZ-MG21 and GZ-MG27. The two new 30GB models are the GZ-MG37 and the GZ-MG77. All four camcorders feature 16:9 video mode and widescreen mode, PictBridge compatibility, SD card slot, USB mass storage compability, Data Battery, remote control, and Power Linked operations. The top three models - the GZ-MG27, GZ-MG37 and GZ-MG77 - offer built in DVD burner control which allows them to connect and burn to DVD burners directly. These models also feature 680k resolution CCDs, 32x optical zoom lens, 640 x 480 digital stills, and 2.5″ - 2.7″ LCD displays. The GZ-MG77 is a 30GB model featuring a 10x optical zoom lens, 1632 x 1224 digital still pics, and a 2.7 inch LCD display.

Here’s a list of the models and how much they cost and when they’re coming out:

GZ-MG21  $600  February

GZ-MG27  $700  February

GZ-MG37  $800  February

GZ-MG77  TBD  March

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Ubergizmo is reporting that Verizon Wireless will begin testing the Motorola Q device starting next week. The Q should be coming out sometime in April and if it’s actually decent, I would consider switching to it from the 700w.

 

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Since I’ve been lagging on writing posts recently, I’ve failed to comment on the heavily rumored Microsoft Origami project. The product teaser website is already up and running but it doesn’t say much of anything of course.. except to tell you to wait until March 2nd, 2006. In the meantime, there are already videos out on the net showcasing the Origami project.

So what exactly is the Origami you might ask? It’s somewhere between a Pocket PC and a full fledged Tablet PC system - at least that’s what it sounds like from several News.com articles on the subject. It’s supposed to basically be a sub 1 pound device with an all day battery life and a cost of between $500 to $800. Bill Gates first mentioned that Microsoft would be interested in designing such a device back at last year’s WinHEC conference.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Microsoft will be able to hit these features with the first release of Origami devices (is that surprising?). It’s more likely that the new device will have at most a four hour battery life and price of around $800 dollars. Microsoft will probably not be manufacturing the devices either - just creating the software platform for other OEM manufacturers. You can check out the project page here:

You should definitely check out the videos of the new device that have popped up all over the net. They showcase the Origami device performing very typical laptop activities like browsing the web, reading email and listening to music. It’s clear that there’s supposed to be WiFi support built inside as well as media player support. It also looks like the box can connect to Media Center PC’s for remote control.

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In the face of increased competition, TiVo is considering giving away their set top boxes in favor of slightly higher subscription rates. Tom Rogers, the Chief Executive of TiVo, announced that TiVo was close to offering a range of pricing options - including a plan that would include a free set top box. TiVo currently has approximately four million subscribers with a whopping 2/3rds coming from DirecTV. As many of you know, DirecTV has begun offering their own DVR products and TiVo is faced with the reality that they could very well lose a large portion of their subscription audience as a result.

 

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Here’s a cool new announcement - Microtune has announced a new 3-in-1 TV tuner chip which combines analog, digital, and cable tuners into a single chip that’s smaller than the size of a thumbtack. The new chip is called the MT2131 and it slashes BOM costs by sixty percent. This chip breaks through the $3.00 barrier which means companies can now pop in high performance TV tuners in all sorts of devices and model sizes. Some of the features on the MT2131 include:

• Variable Gain Low Noise Amplifier
• Closed-Loop AGC RF Gain Control
• Integrated Broadband Power Detectors
• Variable Gain IF Amplifier
• Microtune’s ClearTune Filter, and
• FDC Path for DCR applications

 

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MPIO has announced the introduction of a new 8GB MP3 player called the MPIO Solid (HD 400). It actually uses a small one inch hard drive for storage space and features a 262k color QCIF display. The player supports:

• MPEG4 video files
• Integrated FM tuner
• Supports Windows Media Player 10 - including DRM support
• Integrated Text Viewer
• USB connectivity
• Measures 52 x 93 x 15 mm
• Weighs 108.5 grams
• 176 x 220 pixel 1.8 inch color display
• 9 preset equalizer
• Supports MP3, WMA v9, Ogg

 

[Check it out via MobileKorea]

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Quixel Research has announced that Westinghouse Digital has made it to their top five list of U.S. top sellers in LCD Television sets. Westinghouse actually had two LCD TV’s make the list at numbers 4 and 5 - bumping Samsung’s 23 inch and 32 inch models off the list. The number 4 television set was the Westinghouse LTV-32w1, while the number five LCD TV was the Westinghouse LTV-27w2. Overall, Westinghouse is the fourth top selling LCD TV brand in North America - behind Sharp, Sony, and Samsung.

So how did Westinghouse manage to get this high you might ask? Cost and Quality. Their LCD TV’s are both inexpensive and good in quality. Here’s a review of the 32 inch model at PC Magazine.

 

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This is probably old news to most of you but Cingular is now offering the 8125 Pocket PC phone on their website. This phone is very similar to the Sprint PPC-6700 as it has a side sliding QWERTY keyboard - however, it doesn’t have the antenna sticking out like the PPC-6700. Features include:

• 1.3 megapixel digital camera
• Windows Mobile 5.0 OS
• Full sliding QWERTY keyboard
• Bluetooth Wireless Synchronization
• Hands free speakerphone
• Windows Media Player and MP3 support
• 2.8 inch QVGA color touch screen
• WiFi, IrDA, S/MIME, Mini-USB, and Mini-SD support
• AOL, Yahoo, and ICQ IM
• Quad band GSM phone
• Built in 3D surround speakers with external stereo jack

 

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Howard Chui.com has posted a review of the Qtek 8310 Windows Mobile Smartphone here on his website. The 8310 is similar to the i-mate SP5M or the T-Mobile SDA except it doesn’t have the dedicated media player buttons right on the front of the boddy. It is a quad band GSM phone with a bright 240 x 320 color display measuring 2.2 inches. The phone measures 109 x 47 x 20mm and weighs only 121 grams. Other features include Bluetooth support, EDGE support, and WiFi support… SWEET. Here’s the ultimate verdict on this phone:

The 8310 is an amazingly connected device with support for EDGE, Quadband GSM, Bluetooth, Infrared and even WiFi on it’s resume. Compared with the Qtek 8300 I’d give the 8310 a higher score simply because the lack of media buttons makes the 8310 so much more useable since they’re no longer too cramped and short. I’d give the 8310 4 out of 5 howies.

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