Tech Digest

JVC's headphone selection

JVC has been taking the trouble to show us some of its new gadgets for the coming year. These Gumy earphones weren't the most top spec things on offer, but they certainly look nice and bright and that's good enough for us. The idea behind the soft touch earbuds is that they'll be on point of sale displays in shops so that people will hopefully pick up a pair on a whim. We've got a pair and they do the job nicely. They cost around £6. Also on show were these HA-E63 headphones which will set you back a few quid more.

Bluetooth stereo headset on sale

Shoppers at the the Carphone Warehouse will be able to grab themselves a pair of Bluetooth headphones as of tomorrow (1 March) in the form of BlueShark Systems' Sonorix headset. The headphones, which cost £175, aren't just able to direct music wirelessly from a PC to your ear, they can also play back MP3 music files thanks to the in-built 128MB of flash memory. The Bluetooth audio player also lets you make wireless phone calls, with the side mic picking up your every word. The headset looks reasonably small to us, and the inclusion of a charging dock and a USB Bluetooth dongle for adding wireless to your computer, makes the price far easier to stomach.

Blue Shark

Tatung's Elio iPod Photo alternative

We're trying to wean ourselves off referring to everything as an iPod "killer" since we - and everyone else - have been saying that with alarming regularity for many months, and it's now abundantly clear that the iPod family is far from being killed. But Tatung's elio player at least adds another option to the mix. The 20GB hard disk player is a photo jukebox that will set you back £230. The 2.2-inch screen displays 65,000 colours and the player supports MP3, WMA, and WAV music files and JPEG photos. Considering the 30GB iPod Photo costs just £19 more at £249, this isn't exactly a budget alternative, but it does at least offer direct transfer of images from digital cameras via a USB connection as well as an SD memory card reader.

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World's "smartest" iron

That's smartest as in clever, not as in neat and tidy - although that's what your clothes should be after Laurastar's Magic i-S5 iron has had a go at them. This is apparently the world's most intelligent iron and, coupled with the Steamup iG5 ironing board, it should reduce ironing times by up to 50%. How does it do this? Using the age old magic of steam. As soon as it detects forward motion the iron sends out a blast of twice heated steam. But where it veers from the path of standard ironing is in its dry heat application. As soon as the iron stops or is moved backwards, dry heat is delivered, "setting" the fabric. And it's not just the iron that's got brains. The ironing board comes with a built in ventilation system, allowing the iron to "ride across fabrics on a wave of air" as the press release poetically puts it. Cambridge Consultants is the company to come up with the scheme, creating this new range of ironing systems for Laurastar. The products will be launched in April for between £199 (€269) and £699 (€999).

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Onkyo introduces iPod control

And the award for most fascinating press shot of the week goes to Onkyo. Or then again maybe not. Though it might look a little bit like part of a tube station map this is actually a picture of the company's remote interactive (RI) port. Nothing new in that - it's been on the back of Onkyo systems for about ten years. The big news is that the Japanese company has now got together with Apple to produce an iPod docking station and control unit which uses the IR port.

What this means is that owners of Onkyo AV amps will be able to control their iPod's digital music output via their remote controls - a first for the hi-fi industry. One cable connects from the docking station to the RI port on the Onkyo and two phono cables connect to the Onkyo's tape deck input.

The only downside is that Onkyo amps won't (initially anyway) be able to display the iPod's track lists etc. on the front of the unit or TV screen. This means you will still need to look at the iPod to change album. An upgrade is expected next year.

Pictures and pricing of the iPod docking station have yet to be announced, but it's expected to go on sale mid-2005.

Onkyo

DAB radio that talks to you

Now available from PURE Digital is the world's first speaking DAB radio (why the vast majority of people would want one we're not quite sure though blind people will be very grateful no doubt). Featuring iVOX voice feedback technology, the SONUS-1XT uses recorded speech to provide selectable voice feedback for anything from the time, to your alarm settings, to the full set-up of the radio. Scroll through the selection of available stations and hear them in apparently human (ie. not Stephen Hawking robotic) tones. You can even choose a male or female voice.
PURE SONUS-1XT DAB Digital Radio with... 

Based on the Evoke-1, The Sonus-1XT also lets you hear the time, tells you your alarm settings and can talk you through settings or presents. It's available priced at around £119.99

Features list:

Easy to read full-screen graphical display and DAB scrolling text
Two independent alarms to enable different setting for you and your partner for weekdays/weekends – or simply for a backup alarm – all of which can be set to different stations or a simple alarm tone
Touch sensitive Snooze-Handlesnoozes the alarm and indicates time/alarm settings with one or two taps
Sleep button switches off automatically after 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
Alarm setting where you can fall asleep to one station and wake up to another Nine event timed record function for use with MiniDisc or other recording device
Ten station presets – including station select by name, scrolling display which shows track information, news and sports results and more station choice
Clock is automatically updated from the broadcast DAB time signal so you never have to worry about the clocks going back/forward
Volume Equalisation Technology means that your SONUS-1constantly monitors the audio levels of every station and subtly adjusts their relative volume levels over time – keeping to your preferred volume setting – even if you switch between stations
Integrated full-range hi-fi speaker featuring a bass reflex port for enhanced bass performance
USB connector enables you to keep your SONUS-1^XT Up-to-date by downloading software upgrades from an internet connected PC

PURE SONUS-1XT DAB Digital Radio with...

Orange SPV C550

Engadget has totally unconfirmed reports of a successor to Tech Digest's most indispensable phone of the year, the Orange SPV C500. The new SPV C550 has a 1.3 megapixel digital camera, 240 x 320 QVGA resolution screen, a mini SD memory card slot and Bluetooth. Extremely similar to T-Mobile's SDA Music Smartphone, it's built by HTC in Taiwan. More details as and when the rumours are confirmed.

[Via Smartphone Thoughts]

Two new Siemens handsets: A75, AX75

Siemens' two latest entry level handsets are a bit of a change from some of the company's more male-friendly handsets of yore. Not that they're especially feminine either, but they look more like phones that would appeal equally to either gender. The A75 (left) is the more budget friendly of the two (although no prices have been confirmed yet). There aren't any special features to speak of, but it's available in two colours - Atlantic Blue and Polar Silver. In fact, if anything, its lack of features - no camera, only 4K colour screen - are what makes it stand out. Ideal for parents and people who just want a phone that makes calls. The AX75, meanwhile, is a top end entry level handset (if there is such a thing). It boasts a whole 65K colours, and synchronisation with Outlook/Lotus notes via data cable (like the A75, there's no Bluetooth). The A Series handsets go on sale in the late spring.

Product page

Hitachi's 6GB Microdrive goes on sale

Hitachi's 6GB tiny Compact Flash-sized Microdrive is now on sale. The hard disk drive can carry 1500-3000 songs, 6,000 pics or 8 hours of MPEG-4 video. $299 is far below what it was originally expected to retail for, making it are far more appealing prospect. The 4GB version will also be coming out at a reduced price, 60% less, in fact, at $199. The Baby Mikey will be out soon. The 4GB 1-inch Microdrive will be 20% smaller with a capacity of 8-10GB.

Denon DVD-A1XV: nice but pricey

There's no doubt that Denon produces some mighty fine looking home cinema kit. This latest DVD player will set you back a bit - a lot, in fact - at £2499.99, but the picture quality is supposed to be comparable to HDTV grade. The universal disc player is a brand new unit, designed from scratch from the ground up. The company not only claims superb picture quality, but the sound quality is supposed to match that of specialist audio players. More details of the features after the turn.

Denon

Features include:

- UNIQUE DENON Pixel Image Correction (DPIC) for custom picture enhancement
- UNIQUE DENON Advanced AL24 and Denon Link for stunning sound from all sources
- WORLD FIRST Hollywood Quality Video HQV
- from Silicon Optix (from the $60k Teranex box)
- WORLD FIRST DVDO 10 bit Precision Video Scaling™ technology by Anchor Bay Technologies
- Plays virtually ANY DISC. DVD, DVD-A, SACD, MP3, WMA, JPEG, PHOTO CD, DVD / CD -R +R etc
- EVERY OUTPUT. HDMI, DVI, FireWire, Denon Link, Progressive Component, Composite, S-Video, RGB SCART