electronics

Sony Dash Hands-On Review

"Can I watch a movie on your little TV?" My daughter asked one night at mealtime. Hey, if it gets her to eat her vegetables, I'm down. She was referring to the Sony Dash that the company generously lent Luxist to try out, and it's much more than a mere video playback device. Small LCD screens are non-news at this point, so what does the Dash do that warrants attention? Well, how's this? I fulfilled my little cherub's request by deftly tapping at the interactive touchscreen for less than a minute. Up popped the requested princess movie via YouTube, and the plate was cleaned. Later, while burning the midnight oil, the Dash set the mood by streaming music from a Pandora station I created.

All of the functions I've described so far are things you can pull off with a laptop, for sure. The difference with the Dash is that it's an affordable $199, and isn't a universal tool like a laptop. Freed from having to cover every possible base, the Dash is optimized for its media delivery role, and consumes a much smaller footprint. With Father's Day coming, you might like to know if it's the right item for your gadget-fan Dad. How does it do? Read on.

Gallery: Sony Dash Review

Tags: apple ipad, chumby, chumby device, electronics, fathers day, fathers day gifts, fathers day presents, gadgets, internet device, sony dash, Sony Dash Internet Viewer, sony dash review

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JVC Wireless Soundbar Provides All of the Sound, None of the Cables

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Men's Style

Things you do love: home theater systems, 5.1 surround sound, megawatt amplifiers, multiple Dolby signal processors, and most of all, simplicity. Things you don't love: acres of exposed cables and the sound of installers drilling holes in your walls. The latest JVC soundbar gives you what you love, not what you don't.

The 3-foot-long, 5-inch high TH-BA3 ($549) brings together a 280-watt amplifier and six speakers. It is the world's first dual wireless system, in that it is supported by a subwoofer and set of rear speakers and zaps the signals to each without any wiring. Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II are supported, and there are two digital optical inputs and one analog in case your Nilsson Schmilsson 8-track still has some good years left in it.

If you must have something even sleeker and you're willing to submit to 4.1 surround, the JVC TH-BS7 ($599) wireless soundbar is broken up into a thinner speaker a practically wafer-thin, 180-watt amplifier. True, it isn't 7.1 surround, but it is peace of mind for the OCD in you.

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Tags: audio, electronics, home theater, HomeTheater, jvc, jvc soundbar, JvcSoundbar, soundbar, stereo, surround sound, SurroundSound

Thermaltake Level 10 PC Chassis by BMW DesignWorks USA

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Thermaltake probably isn't a name you're familiar with. BMW, on the other hand, is a name we figure has found its way into your orbit. When the former, a maker of PC cases, went to BMW's DesignWorks USA to help it create something that would get some attention, DesignWorks returned with the deep black and all-aluminum and glowing-red-LED Level 10. And Thermaltake probably replied, "Yes, that's exactly the thing."

A computer's internals are normally just that: internal. The Level 10, on the other hand, places all of the things that make your computer compute in individual black boxes, and hangs all of those boxes on an aluminum spine that hides the cables. Then it bathes the works in a red, fiber optic glow. We won't bore you with the technical specs -- that's what the Geek Squad is for; all you really need to know is that it will hold everything you could want your computer to have. It can even handle 3 Blu-ray drives for rapid duplication of all those George Seaton-esque moments you'll capture this holiday season.

Well, you should also know that it's big and heavy: more than two feet tall and 47 pounds before you put so much as a motherboard. Speaking of which, the case alone is $850, but if you need an actual computer you'll need to allot a minimum of $2,500. Genteel geeks and posh PC-ers, the ultimate computing machine is here and now shipping.

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Tags: computer, electronics, level 10, Level10, pc, thermaltake, thermaltake level 10, ThermaltakeLevel10

The BeoVision 4 From Bang & Olufsen: Rapture on the "Small" Screen for $112,000

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

The New American Heritage dictionary defines the adjective "superlative" as: "Of the highest order, quality, or degree; superior to all others; 2. Excessive or exaggerated." The third entry should read "The BeoVision 4." The television from Bang & Olufsen presents these credentials: it spans 103 inches; the screen alone weighs 580 pounds, the floor-standing base adds another 600; when the BeoVision 4 isn't being viewed the screen lowers itself to the floor via dual gas shocks and actuators, hiding the center speaker; sixteen years of research have gone into it; oh, and it costs $112,000.

Luxist recently took a trip to Beverly Hills Aston Martin to get a good look at just how much TV you could get for the price of an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. The story is here.

Gallery: Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 4

Tags: bang and olufsen, bang olufsen, BangAndOlufsen, BangOlufsen, beovision, beovision 4, Beovision4, electronics, gadget, gadgets, television

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Electronic Hermès Agenda Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

French industrial designer Alexandre Fourn has come up with an amazing electronic Hermès agenda concept that could herald a new age of luxury goods. The Hermès Contre-Temps employs futuristic flexible OLED touchscreen and e-paper technology to expand from a pocket-sized device to a full-size diary when needed. It features all the bells and whistles of an iPhone including an electronic organizer, photo sharing, email, GPS, an RSS reader and more. It even has signature Hermès saddle-stitched orange leather inserts. Hermès should definitely hire this guy.

Tags: agenda, Alexandre Fourn, AlexandreFourn, concept, electronics, Hermes, industrial design, IndustrialDesign

Diamond MP3 Player For Dogs

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Pets

Here at Luxist we've covered a lot of blinged out mp3 players, but what we haven't covered is a lot of blinged out mp3 players for dogs.

I didn't even know you could get an mp3 player for your pooch, so getting one covered in gold and diamonds obviously never even crossed my mind until I saw this. The music is supposed coordinate with the dog's mood and enhance their health (seriously?), and of course the gold and diamonds are just supposed to help the dog (and you) feel fancy. Priced around $2000.

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Tags: bling, blinged, diamonds, dog, dogs, electronic, electronics, gadget, gadgets, gold, mp3 player, Mp3Player, music, pet, pets

Zyken's Nightcove Alarm Clock

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Waking up is hard to do, but it might be a little easier with Zyken's Nightcove alarm clock. It takes the powers of light, sound, and science and uses them to improve your sleep. All alarm clocks are designed to wake you up, but this one takes sleep-rhythms and naturally occurring light patterns to make it a more pleasant experience. The Nightcove has a darkening amber light at bedtime, followed by pulses of white and blue to wake you up the following morning. It also comes with an assortment of built-in sounds, or you can connect your mp3 player for customized audio. $2,500

Via Book of Joe

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Tags: alarm, clock, electronic, electronics, gadget, gadgets, morning, night cove, NightCove, wake, zyken

Ferguson Hill Horn Loudspeakers

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

If I walked into someone's home and saw these babies hanging out in the corner I really don't know what I'd think, other than making a mental note not to stand too close in case somebody would accidentally hit the power switch on the stereo system. They're Ferguson Hill Horn Loudspeakers, and although their enormous horn shape and clear acrylic construction are definitely impressive from a visual standpoint, sound quality leaves something to be desired for some. I'd take the sites suggestion of getting a demonstration before you buy, especially considering the price tag is a whopping $19,916.

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Tags: bass, electronic, electronics, ferguson, ferguson hill, FergusonHill, gadget, gadgets, horn, loud speaker, loud speakers, LoudSpeaker, LoudSpeakers, music, sound, speaker, speakers

24k Gold Diamond-Encrusted Hearing Aid

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

I doubt my Grandfather would be very keen on wearing this hearing aid even if somebody paid him, but of course there's always somebody out there willing (even if it's only the one person who designed it!). Made by Widex, this digital hearing aid is cast in 24k gold and encrusted with 220 diamonds. And I can't help but notice that Widex gave their logo on the bottom some extra attention, so any admirers will be sure to know where they can get one of their own. Get yours for only $42,590 and let the gawking begin.

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Tags: bling, electronic, electronics, gadget, gadgets, gold, golden, hear, hearing, hearing aid, HearingAid, widex

The $40,000 iPod Shuffle

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

I don't quite get it, but we seem to be seeing the smallest of the iPods, the Shuffle, getting decked out more than any of the others. Now don't get me wrong, the Shuffle is cute as a button and the bling looks good on it, I just can't understand why people would bother to decorate a gadget that costs less than $100 and is the "lowest" member of its own family.

But if you're going to do it then do it all out, right? How about $40,000 worth of 'all out?' Because that's how much this pretty little diamond and gold coated iPod will run you. And for that price no detail is overlooked -- there's even diamonds and gold on the earbuds.

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Tags: apple, bling, diamond, diamonds, electronic, electronics, gadget, gadgets, gold, ipod, mp3, mp3 player, Mp3Player, music, shuffle

Phillips and Swarovski's Active Crystal Collection

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

There's always room for more bling in our lives, sometimes in the most unlikely of places. It's not that I haven't seen decked out USB drives before, but I guess I just figure if you're going to go there then do it right and go all out. The Phillips-Swarovski Active Crystal collection definitely goes there, squeezing as many Swarovski crystals as possible onto some very cute electronic gadgets. For USB drives there's the 1 GB "Heart Beat," a two-piece locket style, and the 1 GB "Lock-Out," and retractable padlock shaped one, both of which will sell for $179.

The collection also includes headphones and earbuds with large crystals embedded in each ear piece. Available in 4 different designs they will range in price from $79-$149. The entire line is scheduled to come out this August.

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Tags: beat, computer, crystal, crystals, earbud, earbuds, electronic, electronics, gadget, gadgets, headphones, heart, heartbeat, lock, lock out, LockOut, mp3, mp3s, music, padlock, swarovski, usb

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$1 Million Grand Enigma Speakers Top the List of Most Expensive

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

Now we're just getting ridiculous. Joining the "$1 million" club is these Grand Enigma speakers by Karma, and there's apparently only 1 pair in existence in a basement somewhere in Belgium. Seeing as how there's only the one set, it really doesn't matter what the features are (it's not like you could get your own), but I'm still really curious! Just what does a set of speakers have to do to be worth that much? They look huge, but other than that I'm skeptical (I don't see any diamond accents...) and it seems feature specifics are hard to come by.

And be sure to check out the rest of HigherFi.com's list of the world's most expensive speakers, with 2nd place going to Wisdom Audio's Infinite Grande at $600,000.

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Tags: 1 million, 1Million, belgium, electronic, electronics, enigma, grand enigma, grand enigma speakers, GrandEnigma, GrandEnigmaSpeakers, karma, million, most expensive, MostExpensive, music, one million, OneMillion, sound, speaker, speakers

Marantz Gold SA-7S1 CD Player

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

With electronics usually sporting black or silver color schemes, this gold SA-&S1 CD player from Marantz is setting itself apart with an appealing gold finish. It's not super shiny and it doesn't look like it's trying too hard, but is still gold, which is interesting. Put that with features like little to no sound-degrading vibrations, protection against electrical interference, and micro-precision metals making for an exceptionally clean data read-out, and it's a nice piece of electronics.

It's a good looking seemingly well-made CD player, but I don't know about paying $10,000 for it? Unless that's real gold used in the finish, then maybe...

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Tags: cd, cd player, CdPlayer, cds, electronic, electronics, gold, japan, japanese, marantz

The Bling Media Player -- Making a statement...

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

"Bling" is right! Complete with artificial jewels running up and down the sides, with a shiny chain and skull, there's definitely some glitz happening here -- although I'll let you decide if it's the good kind or the bad. Surprisingly, though, this decked-out little media player has some nice features on the inside, including a bigger than expected memory, a built-in microphone, and an FM tuner with recording.

And for only $200 the magic can be yours, although it's certainly not for the shy or the insecure! (Or the refined, or the classical...)

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Tags: bling, bling media player, BlingMediaPlayer, electronics, gadget, gadgets, media, media player, MediaPlayer, mp3, music

Digital Video Hits Phones

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets

LG has just released their U900 phone, which is reported to be the first DVB-H phone in the world. DVBH stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld, a slightly smaller version of same technology that works for digital TV. The phone and its digital imaging technology will first be available in Italy, where the carrier Hutchinson, the largest service carrier in Italy, has obtained the exclusive DVB rights to the 2006 World Cup. After the World Cup is complete and an Italian base has been established, the phone will be marketed globally.

The screen is 2.2-inches wide and users can watch for up to three hours on one battery charge. The phone also has a 1.3 mega-pixel VGA digital camera and 58 MB memory. Rumor has it that Samsung Electronics plans to introduce a DVB-H phone to the Italian market this month, as well.

[Image OhMyNews]

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Tags: cell phone, digital TV, digital video, DigitalVideo, DVB-H, electronics, gadget, handheld, italy, lg, mobile phone, samsung, u900, world cup