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I hate to say I told you so, but today’s PriceGrabber.com gadget report on Black Friday sales, once again proves my opinion that this Christmas will be a “black” Blu-ray Christmas! My opinion goes against conventional wisdom that Blu-ray won’t succeed, and that streaming HD using Roku/Netflix, and cable providers offering HD content is now closing the window of opportunity for Blu-ray. I’m not buying that theory. Additionally, several other articles, including CRN’s Consumers Not Planning a Blu-Ray Christmas article and Register Hardware’s ‘A Blu-ray Christmas? Don’t bank on it’ don′t believe my opinion that it will be a Blu-ray Christmas.

The most popular products on Black Friday - specifically look at #3, the Blu-ray player:

1. Nintendo Wii Console
2. Ugg Australia ‘Classic Short’ Boot (how about that!)
3. Sony BDP-𔖖 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player
4. Samsung LN52𐁲 52″ LCD TV
5. Nintendo Wii Fit
6. Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42″ Plasma TV
7. Sennheiser HD 555 Headphones
8. Canon EOS Rebel XSi Black SLR Digital Camera Kit
9. Acer Aspire One AOA110-1295 Notebook
10. Canon PowerShot A590 IS Black Digital Camera

Out of all the possible gadgets in the world, a Blu-ray player ranks #3.

Also, as previously blogged, here are the Top 10 categories and percent growth over Black Friday 2007. Once again look at #3, which sports a 147% increase!

1. Women’s Boots - 203%
2. Watches - 202%
3. Blu-ray/HD-DVD Players - 147%
4. Women’s Sleep & Lounge Wear - 415%
5. Games & Puzzles - 151%
6. Women’s Jackets - 110%
7. Music - 96%
8. Headphones - 103%
9. Women’s Dresses - 107%
10. Women’s Casual Shoes - 143%

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m l keeping my eye on Amazon for any Blu-ray specials. (see: Amazon Blu-ray player special prices). Today, I see a Sony BDP-S350 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player for just $198! I might just get my brother-in-law a nice Blu-ray player after all!

Tags: 1080p, Blu-ray Christmas, Blu-ray Disc Player, blu-ray player, gadgets, Sony BDP-𔖖

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

The snom 820, snom’s high-end IP phone, today will debut for the North American enterprise and small and medium-sized business (SMB) markets. I remarked on the snom 820’s sleek design, large high-resolution TFT color display, and wideband codec support when the product first launched last month.

The snom 820 is now generally available today in the US, Canada, and Mexico through snom’s network of North American distributors and resellers and has an MSRP of US $419.

I have an 820 that I’m currently testing. Below is a couple photos I took. Full-fledged review coming soon!

Tags: ip phone, snom, snom 820, voip

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

In case you haven’t heard, some hackers hacked into Governor Sarah Palin’s Yahoo! email account. Some of the emails were posted to Wikileaks.org, a site that posts leaked information. Well, apparently the popularity of Sarah Palin must have brought down Wikileaks, since I can’t get to their website.

I’m guessing all the media coverage and pointing to the Wikileaks site must have overwhelmed their website with too much traffic. The Palin Phenomenon continues! Whether you love or hate Sarah, there is no doubt that she has changed the political landscape for this election cycle and perhaps forever. It’s quite apparent that conservative women can now also make the national spotlight previously held only by moderate to liberal women (aka Democrats).

here’s the URL if you want to be a voyeur and read Sarah’s emails. (when the site comes back up that is)

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin_Yahoo_account_2008

Of course, if you’re a conspiracy theorist then President George Bush, the CIA, or the FBI shut down Wikileaks.

Tags: conservatives, Democrats, email, hacked, liberals, Palin Phenomenon, Sarah Palin, Wikileaks

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Copyright VoIP & Gadgets Blog

Original post by nafiz

Yes, I know, more Star Wars gadgets but then, it’s unlikely that we’ll ever see an end to them so it’s time to make your peace. This time out it’s the Star Wars MP3 player boasting a big photo of His Darkness himself, Darth Vader. There’s another with him posing all dangerous-like with his flapping cloak and lightsaber too. If that’s stoked your inner Force in the right way, then prepared to have it doused with some of the most pathetic specs in the MP3 player universe. Apart from the fact that it’s ugly, big and has a really dodgy looking display, it comes with just 512Mb of memory. That’s enough for 120 MP3s. Whoa, steady on! Thankfully, it also boasts an in-built radio but no, there are no cool lightsaber or blaster sounds when you switch it on an off. And at £40, it’s stretching the fan factor just a bit too far. Due out at the end of the month.-Martin Lynch [Forbidden Planet via Geekalerts] MP3 music star wars

Original post by nafiz

Creative do a nice line in little media players. The Zen Stone and the speaker-enabled Zen Stone Plus are decent alternatives to the wee iPods but Creative has slipped out a new player in Hong Kong called ‘Krystal’, which looks like its targeted at the sporting set. For those that like to jog and tune out simultaneously, the 4GB Krystal may interest you. Looking like a slightly shinier Zen Stone, the Krystal sports a stopwatch and a pedometer that record your time, running speed, distance covered and the all important calories nuked. It also has a clock, radio and 10-hour battery life for those back-to-back marathons. And, even though it features a weeny 0.7in 64×64 pixel monochrome display, it’s listed as have having some games in there too. No mention of a bundled magnifying glass though. It does come with a pouch, wristband, earbuds and USB cable for sure. Price to come, once Creative decides to officially launch it to the rest of the world.-Martin Lynch [Anythingbutipod] MP3 music creative zen

Original post by nafiz

Another day, another bastardisation of the letter ‘i’, the term ‘wii’ or in this case, a mixture of the two. The mi Shake is a new touchscreen based media player the offers a new twist (should that be shake) on operation and usability with its Shocktronix motion sensor. Aside from using the touchscreen itself you can shake the player to perform actions such as changing tracks, photos, videos or flipping the pages of an e-Book. It also offers some motion-centric extras such as a digital spirit level, pedometer and some virtual dice, in case you’re too lazy to throw a real set. We′ll admit it sounds pretty gimmicky thus far, but features such as support for AVI (along with MP4) video that can be dragged and dropped onto the device for instant playback, a large 2.4″ display and extras like an FM radio and voice recorder suggest that it could be a bit of a hit. There’s 4GB of internal memory for your media and a microSD card slot, though for some reason this only supports cards up to 2GB capacity. ElectroBox has developed the unit for release in the UK and spends quite a bit of time banging on about how great the video and audio quality is through the supplied bud earphones, so if it has managed to tick the right boxes in this area as well we′d be very keen to give one a go. The player is available for £119.95, which is very reasonable when you consider the usual markup on touchscreen devices or anything that offers something a bit unique. It’s available from the official website, where you can also try the features out for yourself on a virtual miShake or play an online game to enter a competition to win one for free. - Paul Lester [Mi Shake] media player touchscreen electrobox

Original post by nafiz

Apple has cleverly side-stepped an important issue recently by delaying any return on its promise to standardise the cost of iTunes downloads in the UK with the rest of Europe. British downloaders were hopeful that the price of songs would drop in this country, if only so that we wouldn′t feel so much like we’re being ripped off all the time, but by delaying any moves Apple has found that the economy has done the job for it.Songs costs 79p in the UK, but the rest of Europe benefited from paying just 0.99 Euros per track, which used to equate to 74p. Unfortunately exchange rates now show that this now equals as close as damnit to 79p anyway, allowing the company to sidestep the issue with a snigger and an innocent look on its face. An Apple spokesman took a break from fashioning a giant dollar sign from beluga caviar to issue the following statement: “The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries. This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us.” Total cop out if you ask us, and the question of what would happen if the exchange rate changed again was effectively met with “No comment”. No doubt it would announce that it’ll seek to equalize prices within the next six months and the process would start over. When you consider that the US still pays the equivalent of 49p per song it becomes even more frustrating, and we think one of the biggest reasons why piracy of this sort of content is still so rife. - Paul Lester [BBC] Apple iTunes digital music

Original post by nafiz

Just when you thought it was safe to dump your CD collection in a river and wave goodbye to the spinning optical audio disc for good, Japan comes along and moves the goalposts. If you’ve ever wondered whether the equivalent of ‘high definition′ for audio would rear its head, you’re probably a very forward thinking person. Japanese firm Memory-Tech, who manufacturer a third of the countries recordable discs, has announced the arrival of HQCD technology. Apparently it allows audio to be stored far more accurately than conventional methods, offering far cleaner sound and another level of quality to help beat away the insurgence of digital media for a little while longer. It’s only actually confirmed for Japan, though Memory-Tech is making two million HQCDs a month in mind of commercial release in September. There are no details of whether it’ll appear elsewhere but we can′t see it being a particular success, mainly because CDs themselves (or now, high-quality encoded audio) are perfectly adequate for 99% of listeners anyway. You’d have to either be a real audiophile or in the music business to decide that any increase in quality would be worth new equipment and even greater expense. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] CD HQCD audio

Original post by nafiz

Not everyone who owns an Ṃ player is particularly into their music and/or video, and not everyone who listens to or watches digital media is that bothered by performance and quality. If you fit this particular description you could get away with buying a relatively cheap player that still offers a range of functions for far less than the ‘industry standard’ offerings from companies like Apple and Sony.Trekstor is worth a look in this situation, and recently released an addition to its video-oriented M̤ range with the i.Beat Move M̤ player. It’s rather radically styled in neon orange, (but you can bet that the build is fairly cheap and tacky) and is available in three sizes, both in terms of capacity and physical dimensions. The smaller one sports a 1.5″ display and the largest a 2″ but all are fairly slimline and compact. There’s M̤ support of course, along with WMA-DRM9 for video and Ṃ, WMA and WAV for music. There’s also an FM radio built in and microSD slot to increase the capacity. So on to the all-important price-tag - the smallest 2GB player will set you back just £24, with the large 8GB alternative £59, which when you take into account the addition of a microSD card offers great value for money. - Paul Lester [SoftPedia] Trekstor Ṃ player M̤

Original post by nafiz

Last month we reported on some leaked photos of a new video-oriented portable from Creative, and though further information has been coming in dribs and drabs there’s now enough confirmed details to provide you with an update. As suspected, the headline features are Creative’s Xtreme Fidelity X-Fi audio (hence the name) which claims to restore audio quality lost from compression. There’s also built-in Wi-Fi, though it’s worth noting that you’ll need to buy the 16GB or 32GB version (it’s also available as a budget 8GB model) if you want this built in. There’s an FM radio and microphone in each though, and all offer a 2.5″ display on which to view your media. Prices are also confirmed now and seem to be quite reasonable considering the capacity, with the 8, 16 and 32GB players retailing for £109.99, £139.99 and £199.99 respectively. You can expect to pick up a player towards the end of this month, and though we’re not overly enamoured by the layout of the controls on the right of the screen (which takes up valuable real estate in our view, compared to the Archos′ more efficient design) we’re certainly keen to see how effective the audio technology is. - Paul Lester [TechRadar] Creative PMP portable video

Original post by nafiz

Here’s some news that should scare the bejeesus out of just about every Gizmodo reader on the planet: The Telegraph reported recently that the ˎ consortium is pushing to allow airport customs officials to search portable media players for pirated content. It’s another development in a recent series of moves that has also seen Virgin Broadband begin to monitor and warn customers if they’re caught downloading illegal content. With only around half the music on your average youth’s MP3 player being legally purchased it could cause chaos in airports around the world as unsuspecting techies are wrestled to the ground at the check-in desk and dragged to a back room to be interrogated over the validity of their media collection. To make things worse, any measures would include laptops and mobile phones and would form part of an international agreement aimed at stamping out piracy. To be honest we can see this sort of thing actually working, at least in encouraging more people to buy and rip CDs and purchase songs from legal online services. Unfortunately the practicality of such a scheme is laughable, not least because it would cost a fortune in extra security staff, flight delays and legal battles from people who feel they’ve been unfairly treated. Travellers would also need some way to unequivocally prove that the music or video content was legally purchased in some way Let’s hope that this particular brand of nonsense never sees the light of day, though if it does you can expect a significant rise in the UK’s tourism trade as people take more holidays at home. - Paul Lester [The Telegraph] piracy tourism digital media

Original post by nafiz

LG has thrown its tuppence worth into the iPod speakers market this month with the new FA163DAB, a micro system that was made possible through a partnership with sound engineer Mark Levinson. Though branded as an ‘iDock’, the fact that you can slot your iPod into the top for access to your collection through the speakers is just one of the features it offers. Elsewhere you’ll find 160W of power, built-in support for DAB radio (for an extra 50 or so stations), a CD player and the ability to rip music directly to an MP3 player via USB. There′s even a tape player here, whatever that is, along with a regular FM tuner and range of equalizer effects and other ways to tweak the performance. The versatile disc player can handle MP3 and WMA files burnt to CD, JPEG photos and Divx video, though there doesn’t appear to be a video output so we′re not quite sure how you’d use the latter. It’s a nice design as well, finished in the high-gloss back that’s distinctive of its Champagne Flute surround speaker array. It’ll be available this month for a not entirely unreasonable £200. - Paul Lester [LG] LG iPod home audio

Original post by nafiz

If you’re into music you probably already know that the best way to get the most from your tunes with a pair of compact headphones is to opt for the in-ear ‘bud variety. There’s no point spending hundreds of pounds on a top of the range model unless you get the fit right though, and to this end there are usually different sizes supplied.These aren’t always built from the best quality materials and can obviously get lost, ripped or simply not fit correctly into your bizarrely shaped lugholes. A solution then could be these Comply foam tips, which are available to fit a range of brands and claim to offer superior comfort, bass response and a personalized fit. The memory foam used in construction is 30 times softer than the silicone rubber you’ll find elsewhere and was originally designed for the military, aviation and industrial communication, so should be quite hard wearing. &pound15 will get you three different sized pairs and while this isn’t cheap, it seems silly to pay a lot for a set of earphones if you’re not going to get the most out of them. Available today from AdvancedMP3Players, there are a range of models available so make sure you check that your brand of earphones is compatible before you buy. - Paul Lester [Advancedmp3players] earphones audio MP3

Original post by nafiz

We’ve had robots doing the whole jazz routine and even Honda’s ASIMO conducting an orchestra but now meet The Trons, a robotic rock band that’s becoming a bit of an Internet sensation. The Trons are Ham (vox and rhythm guitar), Wiggy (single string lead guitar), Swamp (drums) and Fifi (keyboards, one hand working!), and with nearly 900,000 YouTube views, we could be looking at the next Arctic Monkeys. The maker describes them thus: The Trons are a completely self playing robotic junk band! They are made mostly from old computer and mechanical parts and play original songs using an array of old amps and instruments. They now have five gigs under their belt and have just completed Hamilton’s Ignition Fringe Festival. Their influences include The Clean, Stereolab, Velvet Underground and Mikiphone, among others. Personally, I’d gladly sacrifice at least 27 of the Top 30 artists for some robotic rock pop. To be fair, I’d probably sacrifice them anyway. And just think, after the mega success of their first album, there’s no fear of them turning into egotistical tossers and becoming junkies or alcoholics. -Martin Lynch [Telegraph & The Trons] robot robots music youtube

Original post by nafiz

Gear4 added yet another speaker to its range recently with the announcement of the BlackBox Micro, which is USB powered and designed to be compact enough to use on the go. It’s a little different to your average mini speaker though, utilising ‘SFX’ technology to increase the bass impact and sound range available from the mini driver that’s built in. We’ve seen something similar in the past from a company called Nimzy, whose Vibro Blaster and Vibro Max units actually vibrate the surface they’re sitting on to generate sound. The Blackbox doesn’t work in quite the same way but does have a gel-based driver at the bottom that uses a flat solid surface to enhance bass notes. In this case though audio is split between this and the standard speaker to offer well rounded sound. The Nimzy devices worked really well, so if Gear4 has done a decent job of replicating the effect we’d be quite keen to see one in action, particularly as it’s priced so cheaply at just £19.99. There’s a standard line-in port here so it’ll work with any audio player, and you’re supplied with an AC charger and an extra-long USB cable so you’ve got enough room to find a suitable surface nearby. The Blackbox Micro should be available from August, with more details available at the Gear4 website. - Paul Lester [Gear4] speakers mp3 player gear4

Original post by nafiz