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CES 2008: CES - It's a Wrap

Well, another CES has come and gone and I'm still recovering. The early numbers show the attendance was down from about 150,000 last year to about 140,000 this year. Really? I didn't notice, the show seemed more crowded and bigger than ever, covering over 8 football fields! There was so much to see and no matter how long you're there, it's still tough to see and touch everything. There really wasn't much this year that stood out and grabbed me. Yes, I laughed at Bill Gates final Keynote address, drooled over Panasonic's 150" Plasma TV that would require a crane to lift it into place, Kid Rock and the new Corvette ZR1, Comcast's new FREE VOD website Fancast, XStreamHD, Logitech's SqueezeBox Duet...actually, there was some cool stuff to see this year.

Here's some more great CES 2008 Wrap Ups:

About.com
Best of CES 2008

CNET CES 2008 Wrap Up
Home Audio Wrap Up
Home Video Wrap Up
HDTV Wrap Up
Computers Wrap Up
Emerging Technologies Wrap Up
Car Tech Wrap Up
Portable Wrap Up
Cell Phone & Smart Phone Wrap Up

DigitalCameraReview.com
CES 2008 Wrap-Up

Earth2Tech
CES Green Gadget Wrap Up

Engadget
CES 2008: Everything you must see
The Best of Crapgadget

Engadget HD
CES 2008: The Best and worst of HD
CES 2008: The Best of Set Top Boxes
CES 2008: The Best of LCD TV HDTVs
CES 2008: The Best of Plasma HDTVs
CES 2008: The Best of Blu-ray Players

GearLog
Best of CES 2008

Gizmodo
Best of CES 2008

Mahalo
Everything CES 2008
CES 2008 Videos

PC Magazine
Best of CES 2008

popgadget
CES - It's a wrap

Tech Digest
CES 2008: The 50 Hottest Products

CES 2008: CNET's Best of CES Awards

CNET has posted it's annual Best of CES Award winners. The winners range from a green eco friendly TV to DIY gadgets. Check it out...

Over 10,000 CNET members also voted on the People's Voice Award winners in each CE category.

You can also watch a video of the awards here.

Review: Digital Lifestyle Outfitters iPod HomeDock Deluxe

PC Magazine has reviewed Digital Lifestyle Outfitters' new HomeDock Deluxe for the iPod.

Technorati Tags: ipod, review, pc magazine

Bose SoundDock Now Available in Black

Bose has introduced the black version of the SoundDock which is the competition for Apple's iPod HiFi. The Bose SoundDock is now available in black or white at around $299 USD.

 

 

 

 

[via Gear Live]

Technorati Tags: apple, bose, home audio, ipod

Review: JVC SU-DH1 5.1 Headphone Surround Sound Adaptor

Digital Trends has posted a review of the new JVC SU-DH1 Surround Sound Headphone Adaptor

Summary:

Dolby Surround Sound is an incredible experience for those with a great home theater system. However, not everyone can afford top-of-the-line equipment for every single room in their home, so in comes JVC with an answer: the SU-DH1 Surround Sound Headphone Adaptor. This little black device allows you to use any pair of 2-channel headphones to emulate Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound. You can use it with your laptop, MP3 player, PMP, or anything else with a 3.5mm headphone output. Come check out a convenient and easy way to get 5.1 Surround Sound anytime, anywhere for a price that is very affordable. Read Review...

Technorati Tags: headphones, jvc, surround sound, review

MovieLink Teams with Microsoft for Premium Content on UMPCs

Now that Microsoft has unveiled it's Origami Ultra-Mobile PC Device (UMPC), you knew that the content would have to follow and it has. Sean Besser, Director of Business Development for MovieLink, announced a partnership with Microsoft to become the premier brand and provider of Hollywood movies and other premium video content for the UMPC.

“Since the Internet has proven to be ideally suited for portability and a significant amount of Movielink’s downloads are already for portable use in notebooks, we believe the new UMPC platform will be a catalyst for portable video consumption,” said Sean Besser, Director, Business Development, Movielink. “We’re excited to be part of this new platform, as we are committed to offering consumers as much flexibility as possible to legally access movie content anytime, anywhere, and on the device of their choice.”

About MovieLink

Movielink (www.movielink.com) is an online movie download service offering U.S. broadband customers an extensive selection of recently released films and classic movies covering every genre, from action, comedy, drama, family and romance to sci-fi, horror and thrillers. The service is owned and operated by Movielink, LLC, a joint venture of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Movielink content offerings are drawn from the current releases and vast libraries of those studios as well as from those of Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox and leading independent studios.

Movielink is available to U.S. Internet users with broadband connections. Consumers can easily browse Movielink's user-friendly site and view trailers of available titles without charge. Once customers are ready to rent a title, they register with Movielink and pay for their rental via credit card. Downloads range between $1.99 and $4.99. Movielink’s Movies in MinutesTM feature let’s customers begin watching titles within 2-10 minutes, or store them for up to 30 days and experience unlimited viewing for any 24 hour period. Customers can also use Movielink’s MultiPlay ™ feature to re-rent titles for additional 24-hour viewing periods for up to 30 days after the initial rental.

TiVo Does Mobile Scheduling via Cell Phones

TiVo announced a partnership today with Verizon Wireless that will allow subscribers to schedule TiVo recordings from their "Get it Now" equipped cell phone. The service will go live this summer. According to Engadget, Zatz Not Funny and others,the service is expected to cost $5.00 per month with Verizon to have an exclusive for 60 days before it's offered to other carriers.

TiVo Press Release:

03/07/2006

VERIZON WIRELESS, TIVO PARTNER TO TAKE TIVO TO MOBILE PHONES

TiVo Subscribers Will Be Able To Schedule Recordings "On the Go" Exclusively from Verizon Wireless Mobile Handsets

Alviso, CA. — March 7, 2006 — TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), and Verizon Wireless, owner of the nation's most reliable network, announced today an agreement that will allow Verizon Wireless to debut TiVo Mobile, a new downloadable application that lets TiVo® service subscribers schedule recordings on their TiVo device directly from their Get It Now equipped Verizon Wireless handset.

"This arrangement will allow the growing base of TiVo subscribers to integrate control of their TV life with the most widespread piece of consumer electronics, the wireless phone," said Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo.

TiVo Mobile is a new innovation that will allow TiVo subscribers to schedule DVR recordings and access related entertainment information from the convenience of their mobile handsets. Viewers will be able to schedule recordings on the go via the same user interface that makes TiVo the best-in-class DVR experience.

Starting in summer 2006, in an exclusive arrangement with Verizon Wireless, users will be able to download the application from the Verizon Wireless Get It Now suite of services onto applicable handsets. Verizon Wireless and TiVo will also collaborate on a joint marketing campaign to promote availability of the new TiVo Mobile feature.

"TiVo Mobile will add yet another unique benefit to the Verizon Wireless Get It Now service by allowing our subscribers to be the first mobile users anywhere to schedule television recordings on TiVo using their mobile handset," said John Stratton, Verizon Wireless chief marketing officer. "As a powerful consumer entertainment brand, TiVo has the ability to help us attract consumers who value the leading multimedia capabilities Verizon Wireless offers."

Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Pope got an iPod!

I read this and thought it was really a sign of the times, the digital age!

Pope Benedict XVI got an iPod on Friday, thanks to a group of workers at Vatican Radio.

According to a Catholic News Service story, the pontiff got a 2GB white Nano, loaded with, among other things, the radio station's programming in English, Italian and German, as well as classical tunes from Mozart, Chopin and Stravinsky.

The Nano was given to the Pope following a visit to Vatican Radio, CNS reported.

[via CNET News]

The iPod goes Hi-Fi

There's already been much written today about the Steve Jobs keynote, "Fun New Products" today but I thought this was worth sharing. CNET News has posted a video of Steve introducing the new iPod Hi-Fi, which brings you, in his words "home stereo quality" to your iPod.

The iPod Hi-Fi is a $349, portable speaker box with a built in amplifier and power supply. It can also run on 6 'D' batteries and charges your iPod through the dock connector. The built in iPod universal dock is compatible with any iPod with a dock connector and includes all the universal dock adapters you would need. The Hi-Fi also has a combined, analog 3.5mm and S/PDIF optical digital miniplug input on the back so it can accomodate the iPod Shuffle or any other MP3 player for that matter.

 

 

I've scoured Apple's web site but can't find any power output ratings for the built-in class D amplifier although they continue to mention the audiophile quality sound. The marketing copy reads very much like Bose.

In the Box

• iPod Hi-Fi and removable grille
• Apple Remote
• 10 iPod Universal Dock Adapters
• AC power cord
• Product documentation and user guide

Apple iPod Hi-Fi

How-To: Load your iPod with DVDs

Here's a short, easy and, maybe legal or maybe not legal guide to "backing up" your DVD collection to your iPod...Putting Your DVDs on a Video iPod

[via Wired via Lifehacker]