Best Gadgets World

We have seen our fair share of LP conversion devices in the past, but the LP 2 CD this time round takes a different route by converting all your old records into CD format directly, all without the need for a PC.

Step up, the LP 2 CD: a one-stop-shop for popping your 33, 45 and 78 rpm records direct to compact disc, with zero bother. And because it doesn’t need to run through a computer, you can hook it up to a pair of speakers to use like a regular stereo for records and compact discs. The LP 2 CD cuts out the middleman by incorporating a flash memory and CD burner, so you never need to connect to a PC or Mac at all; it’s all right in one place with no cables for the mice to nibble through. Just whack your old vinyl platters on to the turntable, start playing the record and press the record button on the control panel. Your grooves will be automatically transformed into digital sound files as they play and stored on an inbuilt flash memory that can handle up to 80 minutes of music at once. A nifty track recognition mode senses the gaps between songs and splits the track listing up for you so you don’t end up with one long recording.

The entire LP 2 CD package will ship in a solid metal casing, featuring a high-quality belt-drive, premium tone arm and cartridge. It might retail for a rather pricey £299.95, but think of the benefits of transferring your LP collection (or your grandfather’s) over to the CD format. Time to move on with the times, man, never mind the warm tones that pro-LP folk always tout.

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On many of the online shows that I am prone to watch on my typical work day, I have been seeing ads for the “Mojave Experiment”. At first I thought it was a reference to the Area 51/Roswell incident, but Roswell is actually nowhere near the Mojave desert.

The Mojave experiment is actually an ad campaign by Microsoft for Windows Vista that is more of a response to the negative criticism that Vista has been receiving.

The ad features some random people responding to some questions about Windows Vista. Microsoft asks them questions like “Why haven’t you upgraded yet?” They usually say that they have heard about all the problems. Oddly enough, they don’t show the responses where people say, “I couldn’t afford it”.

These people are then introduced to a new version of Windows called Windows Mojave. The people respond favorably, and then Microsoft tells them that Windows Mojave is actually Windows Vista. (Surprise!) The ad then shows the footage of the people wanting to get Windows Vista.

I usually don’t like ending an article with a question that isn’t rhetorical, but I want to open up the floor for comments. Is Microsoft manipulating this little experiment to purposely produce favorable results about Windows Vista? If so, then this isn’t an experiment, is it?

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When we first saw the Zeppelin ipod speaker system from Bowers & Wilkins at CES, we weren’t sure if it was a piece of art or functional technology. We were happy to report it sounds as good as it looks, as you’d expect from the British company which started out by making studio-quality speakers. (Abbey Road still features their 800 series speakers.)

There’s a sound reason (pun intended) for the shape - one of the reasons the tweeters are so small is that they disperse the tiny high-frequency waves over a wider area than larger drivers, so the size of the enclosure housing the tweeter also affects this dispersion, and that’s why Zeppelin’s body narrows as the drivers get smaller.

While still out of most people’s price range ($599), you can now buy the Zep at Apple stores worldwide.

Arkon will be making available premium upgrade aftermarket car mount bundles for both the Mio Moov and Navman S-Series GPS, and each of these mount bundles comprise of a custom cradle adapter as well as a location specific pedestal that is meant for use in the vehicle itself only.

Users can choose from a variety of different mounts that attach to the windshield, dash, cup holder opening, lighter socket, sun visor, and air vent locations. Arkon offers the most extensive lineup of car mounting solutions for use with Mio, Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, and other leading GPS makers.

If you’ve grown extremely attached to your GPS navigation system and can’t live (drive) without one, then I would suggest investing a small sum of money (anywhere from $17.95 to $29.95) on one of these puppies.

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Product: Jabra SP700.
Price and Availability: $99 out now
Pros: Doesn’t make you look like a tool.  Easily answer calls in your car.  Makes not upgrading to the expensive new cars “tech package” a lot easier to live with.  Sound is great, surround sound through speakers is even better.
Cons: no air of superiority that comes with a headset (wait, maybe that should be in the Pros?)
Overall: I’ve already ordered two for my cars.  I give it 10/10

If you are like me, you’ll go to almost any length no to wear your bluetooth headset.  An incoming call when I am in the car sends me fumbling around my front seats for the tiny headset, the awkward install into my ear and then my eyes are back on the road.  Surely that is safer than just answer the phone?

This is my new solution: the Jabra SP 700.  I love this darn thing.  I had my doubts this would work for me, as despite my feelings on the look and overriding “tool-i-ness” of a bluetooth headset, there is something almost fun about being plugged in like that.  But this Jabra piece changed my mind.

Form
Almost hiding on my visor, the unit looks good as its buttons are hidden on the sides.  A sexy almost Scandinavian voice announces settings like “power on” or “connected” keeping my eyes on the road.  I’ve not tired of her yet, but I am sure that is coming.  Set up, as with most bluetooth devices, is super simple.

Better yet, the unit comes with a built in FM transmitter that pumps your callers voice through your cars sound system.  It creates a very warm environment that is more like talking in person than on a call.  I really dig it.  Jabra can also send music on your phone to the cars.  The SP700 will even search for the best frequency for you to transmit over, very cool.

Function
The sound quality is indistinguishable from just using the phone.  Callers sounded clear to me and me to them.  Road noise was swept away and people were amazed I was driving around, much less on a dirt road.  Jabra says the SP700 has echo cancellation and noise reduction all aimed at making your conversation as natural as possible.

I let my wife borrow it this morning.  She phoned more from the road after a couple of uses and wanted to let me know she was keeping it.  She was headed into the office to show it to her friends.

All calls are announced by that sexy Scandinavian voice, keeping me focused on the traffic, not searching around for my phone.  Taking the call is as easy as tapping the visor-mounted unit.

Jabra has put out an excellent option for hands free communications in the car.  I highly recommend.

Product page: [Jabra]

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There have been a lot of great Scarlets in the last one hundred years.  Scarlet O’Hara, Scarlet Johansson, Miss Scarlet from Clue.  The new Scarlet from LG is the latest of fine looking Scarlets to burst onto the scene. 

LG has recently unveiled two more great Scarlets with the LG70 and LG80 LCD televisions.  I imagine that these televisions take their namesake from their red frames, and each one has full HD resolution of 1080p, as well as USB connectivity.  The LG70 has a contrast ratio of 50,000:1, while the LG80 has a 30,000:1. 

As for the sound, they both have precisely tuned speakers.  This 3.1 channel Virtual Surround Sound system has two speakers that will automatically turn around when the TV is switched on. 

Now that is one cool feature!  Unfortunately, since these new television sets have just been revealed, there is no word on a price.  A few thousand dollars for each will be my best guess.  I suppose we have to just wait and see, because we also have no word on a release date.

Via [ubergizmo]

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by Joshua Topolsky, posted Aug 28th 2008 at 7:00AM
Remember those new Walkmans we saw recently? Well the folks at Sony have decided to get all fancy and official with them. The electronics-maker is introducing S-, E-, and B-Series PMPs, all featuring MP3 and WMA playback, drag-and-drop file management, and a variety of storage capacities. The 4GB NWZ-S736F and 8GB NWZ-S738F sport Sony’s “Open Platform” which allows AAC, Linear PCM, and other codec support, 40 hours of battery life, in-flight noise cancellation, and SensMe — which creates song shuffles based on user listening habits. The 4GB NWZ-E436F and 8GB NWZ-E438F come in a handful of colors and deliver up to 45 hours of playback, while the low-end 1GB NWZ-B133F and 2GB NWZ-B135F add an FM tuner and voice recording functionality. The players will be available come September, ranging in price from around $45 to $180.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Sony is in full swing at this years IFA and the new Sony KDL-40ZX1 takes the crown as the world’s thinnest LCD HDTV.  The Sony ZX1 will be available as the 40-inch KDL-40ZX1, which quality became one of the most exciting new HDTVs we have seen in a while.  Halving the previous “world’s thinnest” by almost half the Sony KDL-40ZX1 is stunning at just 9.9mm thick.

Sony has achieved this record thinness of the Sony KDL40ZX1 by using a new engineering technology which uses side-mounted LEDs to illuminate the screen rather than a usual backlight array.  This leads to the KDL-40ZX1 being just 9.9mm thick, which is the same as a CD case.

Feature wise the Sony KDL-40ZX1 features 100Hz / 120Hz (Europe / US) MotionFlow with IB reduction (image blur) for 100fps / 120fps high frame rates to keep the image judder and motion blur free with sharp images.  Sony’s latest Bravia Engine 2 image processing is featured to improve image quality frame by frame, boosting contrast, colors and reducing noise.

The Sony KDL-40ZX1 is also the first to feature Bravia 1080 Wireless technology to maintain the amazing simplistic look of the KDL-40ZX1 by eliminating ugly cables.  The two part wireless system uses a super fast connection to wirelessly deliver high quality HD signals from the Media Receiver, which has a MPEG4 AVC HD tuner.

There is a single HDMI input directly on the Sony KDL-40ZX1 and an additional 3x HDMI inputs on the media receiver. Thanks for the RF remote control, the media receiver can be placed anywhere in the room, and out of the way if desired, as the RF remote does not need to be in direct site.

The Sony KDL-40ZX1 aka world’s thinnest HDTV looks very impressive, attractive and feature full. From the Japanese prices, it should cost about $4,470 U.S

by Richard Lawler, posted Aug 28th 2008 at 5:49AM
Panasonic’s welcoming you to the future of plasma HDTV, starting along with the stunning 150-inch 4K plasma, that is, surprisingly enough bigger than its old 103-inch model (shocking, we know) leading to the debut of three “super thin” plasma prototypes measuring 24.7mm deep in 50-inch and, for what it claims is the first time, 58- and 65-inch sizes that also include Wireless HD. One-fourth the thickness of current Panasonic models and one-half the weight combined with no wires leads Panasonic to believe we’ll be able to reorganize the living room shortly, without silly mounting issues and need to run cables. If that fails to inspire, how about a 42-inch prototype that claims twice the luminance efficiency and the same brightness as its current 42-inch 1080p model while only sipping half the power — if that’s a concern. Check out more pics after the break.Panasonic 150- vs. 103-inch plasma HDTV:

42-inch High Luminance PDP:

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Filed under: Displays, HDTV

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 28th 2008 at 3:05AM
Nothing says “I’m mad as hell about my iPhone 3G’s battery life and I’m not going to take it anymore” better than blasting it out of a loudspeaker. Bonus points for that loudspeaker being integrated with a battery pack, which in turn connects to your — you guess it — iphone 3G (or original iPhone, if that’s how you roll). Well, $44 to the folks at Brando will buy you that very opportunity, it turns out. Who knew?

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Filed under: cellphones, Handhelds