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News: iPhone Picks Up Business

Posted on February 9th, 2010

Apple has finally broken through to businesses, with the company announcing its iPhone is now being regularly used or currently tested by over 70 per cent of fortune 100 companies.
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News: Sony to Convert Catalogue into 3D

Posted on February 9th, 2010

Sony will begin re-releasing its back-catalogue in 3D within a year, with the company planning to convert its archive for …full story

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News: Sony Still Down on PS3

Sony is losing six cents on every US dollar of Playstation 3 hardware sales, according to a financial analysis by the Wall Street Journal.

Despite lifting sales for the console, outselling competitors for the first time last year, and a strong financial outlook for the company overall, the WSK estimates the company loses about $US18 on every unit.

While it’s not uncommon for games companies to sell consoles at a loss, the PS3 has been reportedly not turned a profit since its release, with iSuppli estimating the machine cost $US805 to build. However, iSuppli also believe that the $18 per unit loss is something of an improvement, as it estimated Sony was down $US37 previously.

Posted by Tone on February 8th, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , , , ,
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News: Sega to Release Sonic 4

In a triumph for nostalgia, Sega has announced its plans to rejig its ailing Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, releasing a follow-up to the last 2D platformer, which launched in 1994.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode One (not-so-cryptically referred to by Sega as Project Needlemouse until now) will return to 2D gaming, unlike recent outings by the blue rodent. According to CNET, the game will support motion control on both Wii and PlayStation 3, and will run in full 1080p on Xbox and PS3 platforms.

At this stage it appears that Sonic 4 will only be available via online download, with no exact price or release date. But for those waiting 16 years for this release (or not), a couple of months more can’t hurt.

Posted by Tone on February 8th, 2010 in News, Videos |
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News: ISP Trumps Hollywood in Copyright Case

A landmark decision by the Australian Federal Court is likely to shake up online copyright laws the world over, with the major film studios losing a case against local internet service provider, iiNet.

The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), a consortium which includes Village Roadshow, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Disney and the Seven Network, claimed iiNet was authorising its users to illegally download movies via BitTorrent.

Justice Dennis Cowdrey found that although the ISP was aware of the downloading habits and did nothing to stop them, iiNet was not liable for the downloading habits of its customers.

As it’s the first ruling of its kind anywhere in the world, the case attracted widespread attention internationally, and was the first Australian court case to be followed on Twitter.

AFACT said the decision was a setback for the 50,000 Australians employed by the film industry, and is considering whether it will appeal.

Posted by Tone on February 5th, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , , ,
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News: Seven New CD Receivers from JVC

JVC is launching seven new CD receivers for car audio today, using a range of new technologies, including two full-featured Double-DIN receivers.

The double-DIN KW-XR816 and the single-DIN KD-R816 CD Receiver both feature front and rear dual USB 2.0, Bluetooth, and an external mode which allows users stream music and audio from their iPhone Apps through USB connection.

The KD-R716 CD Receiver also features USB connectivity and external mode and a MOS-FET 50W x 4 and a 3-band iEQ.

The double-DIN KW-XR616 and the single-DIN KD-R616 CD Receivers are equipped with HS-IVi tuner, 5 Volt Preout and MP3/WMA playback capability.  Both also feature MOS-FET 50 watts x 4, 3-band iEQ, separated variable-colour illumination display.

Similar connectivity is offered in the KD-R416, which includes front auxiliary input, wireless remote, HS-IVi tuner, MOSFET 50 watts x 4, and 3-band iEQ.  The KD-R416 also features 5 Volt Preout with Subwoofer Control and is MP3/WMA compatible.

Finally, JVC is releasing the more affordable KD-R316 CD Receiver which features front auxiliary input, wireless remote, HS-IVi tuner, MOSFET 50 watts x 4, and 3-band iEQ.

The units vary in price from $179 to $539, and will begin rolling out within ...full story

Posted by Tone on February 4th, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , ,
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News: Google Hassles iPad

Google looks like it’s going to give Apple a run for its money, with the search engine releasing mock-up images of how its Chromium mobile OS might look on say…an iPad?

Interface designer at Google, Glen Murphy, published a selection of images of this hypothetical system on his blog, along with a video detailing its potential use on an unnamed tablet device.

The system would feature a multi-touch interface and uses similar gestural commands to Apple’s device for navigating and resizing.

The move follows Google’s bypassing Apple to release a browser-based Google Voice app for the iPhone after Apple refused to distribute it through its own online store.

Posted by Tone on February 4th, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , , , ,
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Hi-Fi: Marantz SA7003 SACD Player & PM7003 Integrated Amplifier – 79

Marantz has been creating memorable products since Saul Marantz got his start way back in the early ’50s. While your Tone reviewer doesn’t go back quite that far, he has had the pleasure of owning a Marantz SACD player since 2006, and has yet to hear a better digital source at anything near the price. Can this new mid-range Marantz kit live up to Tone’s admittedly huge expectations?

The amp and player are nicely finished with neat lines and ergonomic layouts, but to get to the chase: sonically, the Marantz delivered.

You can’t mistake this signature if you’re familiar with it. Overall it’s clean and extremely revealing, and if you crave detail and resolution, these components will send you into throes of ecstasy. Every single part of the mix is spotlighted and each instrument proclaims: “Here I am, listen to me”. This is no mellow, opaque, ever-so-safe combination; it’s almost forensic but fear not, the results are enjoyable, allowing you to concentrate on the elements that make up the music yet still flowing together as a cohesive whole. Words like ‘alive’, ‘vibrant’ and ‘dramatic’ come to mind.

The low ...full story

Posted by Tone on February 3rd, 2010 in Hi-Fi, Reviews | | Tags: , , , , ,
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Home Theatre/TV: Panasonic DMR-BW850 Blu-ray Disc Recorder – Review – 79

So here’s the one everyone’s been waiting for, a Blu-ray disc recorder. Well, in theory. Although early adopters have been straining against the shackles of non-availability, there wasn’t much point to it until HD television broadcasting became widespread here.

The arrival of Freeview’s terrestrial HD service was likely the trigger for manufacturers, in this case Panasonic, to ice the business case for introducing a Blu-ray recorder here — even though far from all the stuff that rides the HD superhighway has been recorded to take full advantage of the technology.

Panasonic’s offering has a pair of HD digital tuners and allows extended-time recording of digital broadcasts in up to full-HD quality, so you can simultaneously record two digital broadcasts while watching something else. And yes, the surround sound (Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, or HE-AAC) signal and subtitles that are included in digital broadcasts can be recorded and played back.
Maybe we should think of the BW850 as more of a media centre than a mere recorder as it offers many of a personal video recorder’s features. It records to its 500GB HDD or a dual-layer Blu-ray disc, and ...full story

Posted by Tone on February 3rd, 2010 in Home Theatre/TV, Reviews | | Tags: , , ,
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News: Turn Anything Into Touchscreen

A new polymer film embedded with nanowires has the ability to turn any flat surface into a touchscreen, including plastic, wood or under the surface of glass.

Developed by Portuguese firm Displax, its new touchscreen surface has the ability to recognise both finger-touches and breath. It can detect up to 16 touch points on a 50-inch screen, but will soon be able to process up to 65 fingers, according to Pocket-Lint.

The technology doesn’t even need to be on the surface, but will still work on the other side so long as it isn’t thicker than 15mm. It can also be utilised on curved surfaces, making it possible to use the technology on objects such as globes.

“You can turn a table into a multitouch table,” Miguel Fonseca, chief business officer of Displax told Pocket-Lint.

Displax is reportedly working with some major manufacturers to bring the technology to market – but won’t let the cat out of the bag about just which major manufacturers yet. Exciting stuff.

Posted by Tone on February 3rd, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , ,
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News: JVC Grows HD Video

Another high definition video camera has been added to JVC’s Everio linup for 2010, with the GZ-HM340 featuring 16GB of internal flash memory plus an SD/SDHC card slot.

The new handycam claims to offer better low light performance and image stabilisation capabilities, along with fancy features like ‘auto record,’ which automatically initiates recording when a person or other moving subject enters the picture and the luminance changes.

20x optical zoom is achieved via the GZ-HM340’s Konica Minolta HD lens, one of the world’s slimmest, and uses a 1/5.8” 1.37 Megapixel CMOS Sensor.

No word yet on local release dates, but keep watching TONE for details.

UPDATE – JVC has informed TONE that the GZ-HM340 line will not be available in New Zealand, but the company plans to release its range of local models in the near future.

Posted by Tone on February 3rd, 2010 in News | | Tags: , , , , ,
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