The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple, for the first time ever, plans on attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January of 2010. It’s an interesting turn of events considering Apple decided to shun MacWorld in favor of announcing products and initiatives through their websites and their own events.

With Apple coming to CES, the real question now is – will Steve Jobs headline CES with a keynote speech? No one knows as Jobs isn’t returning phone calls to Gary Shapiro, the chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association which runs CES.

However, you can probably be sure that if Jobs does make a keynote appearance at CES, the first few days will surely be buzzing.

It’s the end of July and we’re all looking forward to next year’s CES. Amazing!

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Apple, CES 2010

Registration is now open for CES 2010 over at http://www.cesweb.org/. Registration is free to industry professionals only through Sept. 30th. Starting on October 1st, the registration fee will be $100 dollars. This will increase to $200 dollars on January 2nd.  Yes.. we’ll be at CES 2010 again! Can’t wait!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: CES 2010

Another WWDC has arrived and no.. we’re not at it at all this year. However, thanks to Macrumorslive.com, we feel like we are! Here’s what we know so far (and we’ll update in batches as we read them from Macrumorslive.. but if you must have the real time nature of it all – just go ahead and read it live yourself over there.

Apple starts things off with new updates to their portable line. The company introduces a new version of their 15 inch MacBook Pro. The unit features a new battery, up to 7 hour battery life, now as an SD card slot amd 60% more color gamut than before. You can order the 15 inch MacBook Pro with up to a whopping 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and up to 500GB 7200RPM HDD or 256GB SSD. Prices range from $1699 to $2299.

The 17 inch MacBook Pro gets an update also – you’ll get up to a 2.8GHz processor, 500GB HDD, and the ExpressCard slot.

Oh but wait.. the low end gets an update too.. in fact, the 13 inch MacBook is now called the 13 inch MacBook Pro also! Why? Well.. there really was no difference between the low end and the high end these days.

The new updated 13 inch also gets the updated display, the SD card slot, the nicer battery, backlit keyboard, and of course FireWire 800. Prices range from $1199 to $1499.

All of these models are available as of today.

On the super low end, there is of course the white plastic MacBook still available.

Finally, remember the light Air? Well the unit gets a mild upgrade today with Apple announcing a new 2.13 GHz processor with prices ranging from $1499 to $1799.

OK.. looks like they’re done with the portable notebook front. Now onto the software and Snow Leopard. Here are the important details:

• Optimized/refined over 90 percent of the core OS
• Rewrote the Finder in Cocoa
• Expose in the dock.
• 45 percent faster install
• Recover 6GB of disk space after upgrading to Snow Leopard
• Preview is up to 2x faster
• Better text selection in PDF
• Mail is now up to 2.3x faster
• Final version of Safari now available for all platforms
• Safari is 7.8x faster at Javascript than IE8. Completely passes the Acid3 test
• Faster Quicktime (now known as Quicktime X)– hardware accelerated, new streaming technologies
• Quicktime player has a new interface

Apple now demoing the new features of Snow Leopard. Looks like Apple went back and really optimized the hell out of OS X. Hey. wait.. that’s exactly what Windows 7 was all about too for Microsoft. Ha.. I just had to throw that in there.

Apple introduces “Grand Central Dispatch” to take advantage of the new hardware technologies that have sprung up over the years – 64 bit processors, access to loads of ran, multi-core processor, etc.

On the graphics front, there’s now OpenCL – where the C stands for Computing. Basically, it’s a new language that will help leverage the power of the GPU – extending the GPU to things other than graphics related applications.

Apple Mail, iCal, and Address Book now have support for Microsoft Exchange.

Snow Leopard will be available for all Intel-based Macs. Price will be $129 (or $29 dollars for existing Leopard users). Family pack will be available for $49 dollars. Snow Leopard will be due out in September. New final developer preview will be available today.

Now onto the iPhone:

Apple is introducing over 100 new features in iPhone 3.0. Some of the features include:

• Cut, copy, and paste
• Undo support
• MMS support (though AT&T will not support this till later this summer)
• Landscape mode in Mail, Notes, Messages
• Spotlight – Search across multiple apps including mail, calendar, media, notes etc
• Rent and purchase content directly from your iPhone (movies, TV shows, music etc)

Apple brings tethering to the iPhone. However, it appears there’s a gotcha – it requires carrier support and GUESS WHAT FOLKS – AT&T was NOT on the list of supported carriers at launch time (although 22 other nice carriers were). Go figure.. Another reason to hate AT&T.

Safari enhancements on iPhone include better performance, HTTP streaming audio and video, Auti-fill, and support for HTML 5.

Apple announces additional language support for the iPhone (support includes Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Korean, and Thai).

Apple announces a new “Find My iPhone” feature for MobileMe customers. Login into MobileMe from any browser and see where your phone is located via Google Maps. You can send the phone a message which will result in a special alert sound – regardless if the phone is mute or not. More importantly, if the phone is lost or stolen, you can send it a remote wipe command to delete all the data.

Other cool developer features:

• 100+ new API calls
• Peer to peer connectivity over Bluetooth
• H/W accessories can now talk to the software
• Accessories can work via the Dock Connector or via Bluetooth
• Google Maps can be embedded easily into their applications along with turn by turn support
• Push notifications can include popup alerts, sounds, icon badges

iPhone OS 3.0 will be available free to all iPhone users, $9.99 for iPod touch users. It will be available worldwide starting on June 17th. The GM seed is available today for all paid developers.

Additional iPhone marketing fluff…

• iPhone makes up 65% of all mobile web usage today
• 50,000 apps for the iPhone (compared to 4900 for Android, 1088 for Nokia, 1030 for BlackBerry, 18 for Palm

And now.. the next generation iPhone – the iPhone 3GS. The S stands for Speed. The outside looks the same but the insides are all new. Here’s what you need to know about the new 3GS:

• 2.1x faster to launch Messages
• 2.4x faster to load SimCity
• 3.6x faster to load an Excel spreadsheet
• 2.9x faster to load large websites
• Supports OpenGL/ES 2.0 which is ideal for games
• Supports 7.2 Mbps HSPDA networking
• New 3 megapixel auto-focus camera
• Tap-to-focus feature for camera – basically tap on the desired object and the camera will automatically focus on the object
• Video recording finally
• New switch to swap between still photo and video mode.
• Shoot at VGA resolution at 30 fps. Supports auto-focus, auto white balance, auto exposure
• Edit videos on the iPhone and share it from iPhone directly to YouTube, MobileMe, MMS, and email
• New video API too
• Voice activated dialing (it’s actually a part of a new collection of voice-controlled functionality called VoiceOver) finally comes to iPhone 3GS. Hold down the home button for a second and a new voice controlled UI comes up. Say things like “Call blah” and it will call blah. You can also say “Play artist” to play some songs.
• Built-in digital compass shows your current orientation. Integrate directly with Google Maps.
• VoiceOver control for content and controls
• Encrypted iTunes backup
• Support for Nike+
• Improved battery life. Here are the numbers: 9 hours of Internet surfing. 10 hours of video. 30 hours of audio. 12 hours of 2G talk time . 5 hours of 3G talk time.
• AND yes.. it’s a green phone. Arsenic-free glass. BRF-free, mercury-free LCD display
• The 16GB model does come down to the former 8GB pricing. 16GB is now available for $199 while the 32GB is available for $299.
• AND here is where it gets interesting. 8GB iPhone 3G will still be available for $99 dollars!

As for when? The new iPhone 3GS will be available starting on June 19th. Countries getting into then will be the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, UK with 6 more countries getting it a week later.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Worldwide Developers Conference, WWDC 2009

For anyone that still cares (OK.. I’m sure there’s a lot of you that still do) – next year’s Macworld Expo dates have changed. IDC World Expo announced today that Macworld 2010 will take place from Feb. 9th till Feb 13th – no longer to be held in January when people are just coming back from the holiday break and also attending CES in Vegas. Another shift from the past, Macworld will also include a Saturday (just like CES had a Sat this past year). This provides attendees with a bit more flexibility when it comes to planning and of course traveling. Sessions will take place from Tuesday Feb 9th till Sat. Feb 13th. Now remember – Apple will no longer be attending Macworld so don’t expect some awesome keynote speech from an Apple exec in 2010 .

[Check it out]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and French

Technorati Tags: Macworld 2010, Apple

Sony’s new 11 inch OLED TV (XEL-1) is now available for purchase at the SonyStyle website. Things you need to know about the new “Organic Panel” TV – it measures 11 inches diagonally; it’s incredibly beautiful; and.. it’s incredibly expensive at $2499.99. Yes.. you read me correct – $2499.99.

AND.. I’m not kidding when I say this display is beautiful. Actually it’s gorgeous. We saw the displays at CES 2009 and colors absolutely pop out from the display. If they were only cheaper and larger..

Here’s the lowdown on the specs:

• Measures 3mm thin
• 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
• Sony Super Top Emission technology intensifies brightness and efficiency
• 105 percent of the NTSC color space
• Fast response time
• High brightness
• Consumes 40 percent less power than conventional 20 inch LCD panels
• 960 x 540 resolution with the same pixel density as a 40 inch 1080p LCD TV
• Dolby Digital support
• 1 optical audio input, 2 HDMI inputs with support for 1080p/60, 1 RF connector
• Memory Stick media slot

Yup – a very sweet display indeed. However, let’s be real for a second here. Despite the gorgeous screen, we certainly can’t recommend this display to anyone right now – simply because the price is just way too high (unless of course money is no object to you). Give it a few years though. OLED displays will slowly come down to earth as manufacturers figure out how to make larger displays at lower costs.

I’ll end things off with pictures that we took of the display at CES 2009. Again – these stills don’t fully express how beautiful the panels really are. OLEDs are our future!

Here are pictures of larger OLED display from Sony (prototypes of course)

Technorati Tags: Sony, OLED TV, XEL-1, Organic LED, CES 2009

If you’re looking for a truly portable speaker solution for your iPod, iPhone, mobile phone, or MP3 player, then you should definitely check out the new Altec Lansing Orbit MP3 and Orbit M speakers. These tiny wonders can easily be stored away in your pocket, purse, or backpack and then brought out to provide a 360 degree sound field wherever you’re at. The units also come with an integrated cord storage system that allows you to wrap the cord around the speakers for storage and protection. As for the difference between the Orbit MP3 and Orbit M -  the M includes a 2.5 mm adapter for music-enabled mobile phones.

The Orbit speakers run off of three AAA batteries which provide up to 24 hours of power. You can further customize the Orbit speakers by skinning it with designs provided by Skinit.com. Pre-designed skins can be purchased for $14.95 while custom skins can be created for $19.95.  Here are some pictures of skinned Orbit speakers.

The Orbit MP3 and Orbit M can be purchased for $39.95.

Technorati Tags: Altec Lansing, Orbit MP3, Orbit M, portable speakers, iPod, iPhone, MP3 players

I’ll be honest. I’ve always thought of Altec Lansing products to be functionality solid yet a bit dull when it came to styling. Their 2009 product line however, certainly looks to change all of that. Here’s our review of the latest speaker products to come out from Altec Lansing this year.

First up, we have the Altec Lansing Expressionist Bass speakers. These twin desktop speakers have 4 inch subwoofers built right into the base of each of the units as well as 1.5 inch full range speaker drivers. Other features include built-in controls and an auxiliary input jack. The Expressionist Bass is available now in white or black for $129.95.

Looking for an inexpensive 2.1 channel speaker system for your computer system? Then you’ll be interested in the new BXR1221 (pictured below) which features impressive styling and an even more impressive price of $29.95.

Don’t need the subwoofer? You can go for the BXR1220 which has the two speakers minus the subwoofer for a price of $19.95. The speakers connect to your PC via the USB port.

Here we have another 2.0 speaker system in the form of the Expressionist Classic. The Classic features dual 3 inch full-range speakers, power and volume controls, and an auxiliary input jack. This classy looking speaker system can be yours for $79.95.

Altec Lansing has one other new Expressionist speaker system coming out (not pictured here) called the Expressionist Ultra. The Ultra is a 200 watt 2.1 speaker system with trapezoid shaped speakers and a powerful sub. Expect the system (model MX6021) to be available for a price of $199.95. Ubergizmo has a nice picture up of the Ultra here.

Looking for speakers on the go? Altec Lansing has a new full line of stylish inexpensive earphones called the Muzx Series. 

First up,are the MHP111, MHP116, and MHP126. The MHP116 and MHP126 (pictured left and center below) have crystal designs with SnugFit eartips and will be available for $19.95 each. The MHP111 (pictured right below) feature a CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski jeweled design and has a price of $19.95.

Next up, we have the Muzx 216 (below) noise-isolating earphones which has an MSRP of $29.95.

Finally, we have the natural wood earphones (yes wood) – the Muzx 136. These headphones feature a large acoustic chamber and a SnugFit noise-isolating design. Price for these earphones? $29.95.

Need something with a bit more oomph? Altec Lansing also has a new line of “streetwise earphones” called the BackBeat series. Here’s the product breakdown.

On the high end, there’s the BackBeat Titanium earphones (pictured below) with a price of $79.95. Features include:

• Titanium enhanced micro-speakers
• Noise-isolating earphones
• soft-sided carry case
• For iPod/iPhone and MP3 players

Next up is the BackBeat Plus noise-isolating earphones (pictured below) with a price of $49.95. Features include:

• Neodymium micro-speakers with enhanced bass
• Noise-isolating earphones
• Tangle-free cloth cable
• For iPod/iPhone and MP3 players

Moving down the list is the BackBeat Classic noise-isolating earphones (pictured below) for $29.95. Features include:

• Quality micro-speakers
• Noise-isolating earphones
• Tangle-free cloth cable
• For iPod/iPhone and MP3 players

Need some earphones with a built-in microphone? Check out the new BackBeat Plus Mobile and BackBeat Classic Mobile.

The BackBeat Plus Mobile earphones (pictured below) are noise-isolating earphones priced at $59.95 with features such as:

• Enhanced bass
• Balanced highs and mids
• Discreet inline microphone
• Inline call answer end button
• Reduces background noise
• 6 piece fit kit with multiple silicone ear tips
• Supports iPod, MP3 players, and iPhone

Looking for something a tad bit cheaper? There’s the new BackBeat Classic Mobile for $39.95 which features:

• Discreet inline microphone
• Inline call answer end button
• 6 piece fit kit with multiple silicone ear tips
• Compatible with iPod, iPhone, MP3 players

OK..  so what if you’re looking to cut the cord altogether? Altec Lansing has you covered there too with the BackBeat 906 headphones with built-in microphone for $129.95 (pictured below). These headphones come with a Bluetooth adapter for devices lacking Bluetooth transmitters. Features include:

• Dual-mic AudioIQ technology helps separate voice from background noise
• Hear the outside world with a press of the OpenMic button
• Bass-boost feature

BackBeat 903 lacks the Bluetooth adapter and is priced lower at $99.95.

We have a few more Altec Lansing products to discuss but we’ll save that for the next few posts.

Technorati Tags: Altec Lansing, Expressionist Speakers, Computer Speakers, In-ear earphones, earphones, CES 2009

Sharp announced a new line of AQUOS HDTV sets at CES 2009 called the AQUOS E Series. The E series is made up of E77U models and E67U models – each of which have a variety of display sizes. The E77U models include the 65 inch (64 33/64” diagonal) LC-65E77U, 52 inch (52 1/32” diagonal) LC-52E77U, 46 inch (45 63/64”diagonal) LC-46E77U, and 40-inch (40” diagonal) LC-40E77U. The E67U models include the 40 inch (40” diagonal) LC-40E67U  and 32-inch (31
35/64” diagonal) LC-32E67U.

Before we get into the specs, here are the pictures.

LC-65E77U:

LC-52E77U:

LC-46E77U:

LC-40E77U:

LC-40E67U:

LC-32E67U:

You’ll find the following common features across all the AQUOS E series displays:

• Advanced Super View (ASV) Superlucent Panel for “dramatically bright and crisp picture with reduced haze and reflectivity”
• New design with color accents at the bottom of the frame
• New convenient swivel stand

Features of the E77U series include:

• Fine Motion Enhanced Technology for 120Hz Frame Rate Conversion
• 4ms response time
• 10 bit ASV Superlucent panel
• 10 bit processing engine
• Full 1080p picture
• Spectral Contrast Engine XD (Extreme Dark)
• Optical Picture Control (OPC) automatically adjusts luminance to room brightness and lighting conditions
• Brightness Preservation picture processing for energy efficient displays
• Black cabinet with soft champagne gold hue
• Five HDMI 1.3 ports
• Two component video inputs – 1080p compatible

Features of the E67U series include:

• ASV Superlucent panel technology
• Four HDMI with 24p input capability
• Two component video inputs with 1080p support
• Energy saving features with Sharp Optical Picture Control (like the E77U series)
• New design with subtle copper hue at the bottom of the cabinet and swivel
• LC-32E67U comes with advanced gaming features such as Vyper Drive circuit to reduce lag time between game console input and TV display

And now – the pricing and availability
For the E77U series:

• LC-65E77U will be available in June for a price of $4,499.99
• LC-52E77U will be available in February for a price of $2,399.99
• LC-46E77U will be available in February for a price of $2,099.99
• LC-40E77U will be available in March for a price of $1,399.99

For the E67U series:

• LC-40E67U will be available in March for a price of $1,199.99
• LC-32E67U will be available in February for a price of $899.99

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS E Series, E77U, E67U, CES 2009

Sharp introduced their first AQUOS LCD TV series with built-in Blu-ray Disc Players at CES 2009. Featuring a full lineup of display sizes, the new lineup includes the 52-inch class (52-1/32” diagonal) LC-52BD80U, 46-inch class (45-63/64” diagonal) LC-46BD80U, 42-inch class (42-1/64” diagonal) LC-42BD80U, 37-inch class (37” diagonal) LC-37BD60U and 32-inch class (31-35/64” diagonal) LC-32BD60U.

Here are pictures of the new models.

LC-52BD80U:

LC-46BD80U:

LC-42BD80U:

LC-37BD60U:

LC-32BD60U:

Common features of these new combo units include:

• Single step operation turns on TV and activates play with Blu-ray disc is inserted
• Advanced Super View (ASV) Superlucent panel for bright/crisp pictures with reduced reflection
• AQUOS Pure Mode for optimized viewing of Blu-ray titles
• AQUOS Blue design – subtle blue accent on the bottom of the frame and swivel stand
• Models LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U and LC-42BD80U feature Fine Motion Enhanced Technology for 120Hz frame rate conversion, 10 bit panel for Deep Color compatibility, and “dejudder” technology for smooth reproduction of film content
• Fast pixel response times
• Spectral Contrast Engine provides deep blacks and high contrast ratios
• 176 degree viewing angles
• LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U and LC-42BD80U have four HDMI inputs
• LC-37BD60U and LC-32BD60U have three HDI inputs

The LC-52BD80U and LC-46BD80U will be available in February. The LC-42BD80U, LC-37BD60U, LC-32BD60U will be available in January.

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS, LC-52BD80U, LC-46BD80U, LC-42BD80U, LC-37BD60U, LC-32BD60U, CES 2009

Our attention now shifts to Sharp’s latest Blu-ray products announced at CES 2009.

First up, we have the Sharp AQUOS BD-HP50U Blu-ray Disc Player. This is a fairly standard player with features such as full HD 1080p playback, support for BD-ROM Profile 1.1, HDMI 1.3 output, and support for the latest advanced lossless surround-sound formats.

Here’s a quick rundown of specs for the BD-HP50U:

• Built-in RS-232C port allows external control systems to manage the player
• IR input allows the unit to be controlled wirelessly through a remote sensor – allows the player to be hidden away
• Supports BD-ROM Profile 1.1
• HDMI 1.3 output including support for x.v.Color
• Lip Sync – automatically adjusts audio and video signal processing times to eliminate lip sync errors
• Support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, Dolby Digital Plus
• Quick Start loads a movie in less than 10 seconds
• JPEG viewing
• Supports 1080p/24p output
• Compatible with BD-ROM/RE/R, DVD Video, DVD-RW/R, DVD+RW/R and audio CDs

The AQUOS BD-HP50U is available now for $449.99.

Next up, Sharp introduces two new third generation Blu-ray players. First, there’s the AQUOS BD-HP22U. Features of this full HD 1080p player include:

• Supports BD-ROM Profile 2.0 (BD-Live)
• Ethernet jack
• Advanced audio decoding including support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus
• AQUOS Pure Mode
• Lower power consumption in both Power On Mode and in standard mode (19 watts power consumption)
• HDMI 1.3  with x.v.Color
• 1080p/24p playback
• Sharp Quick Start feature
• Includes 2GB of memory
• JPEG viewer
• Available in May for $299.99

Finally, we have the AQUOS BD-HP16U which features:

• Advanced audio decoding including support for Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus
• AQUOS Pure Mode
• Lower power consumption in both Power On Mode and in standard mode (19 watts power consumption)
• HDMI 1.3  with x.v.Color
• 1080p/24p playback
• Sharp Quick Start feature
• JPEG viewer
• Available in March for $279.99

Technorati Tags: Sharp, AQUOS BD-HP16U, AQUOS BD-HP22U, AQUOS BD-HP50U, Blu-ray player, CES 2009