Audio seems to be the main focus of Philips right now with the Fidelio range at the very peak of what the company has to offer.
Philips has added to its Fidelio premium audio line with the X1 headphones which drip with luxury at every turn. Fusing metal and leather, they give you a classic yet contemporary look. They are as wonderful on the eye as they are on the ear: especially the calf leather finish to the headband.
These are substantial headphones, designed for home listening, and are incredibly comfortable.
Apparently benefiting from use with a large amplifier, these 50mm neodymium driver-canns sit alongside the Fidelio L1 and M1 sets brought out by Philips in the last 12 months.
We go hands-on with the new Sony HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer which was showcased here at IFA.
Tthe HMZ-T2 uses stereo OLED panels (one for each eye) to deliver its 3D visuals, eliminating the crosstalk issues other 3D sets suffer from. There’s also virtual surround sound onboard for a personal cinema experience. With the 45° field of vision, you’ll feel completely immersed in a widescreen cinema experience.
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The all-new, totally enhanced cinema and gaming experience–the Personal 3D Viewer
29 August 2012 Sharper display, improved sound and superior comfort with the new HMZ-T2 · Play 2D & 3D movies and games in vivid High Definition · Enjoy smooth, comfortable viewing with bright, clear OLED screens and a lighter, more adjustable headset · Get the full atmosphere with virtual 5.1 surround sound
Totally immersive gaming and movies Now even more light and comfortable, the all-new Personal 3D Viewer from Sony is a head-mounted, High Definition 2D and 3D personal display with virtual 5.1 surround sound. It’s perfect for movies and gaming, with twin OLED screens that display vivid, super-sharp images (with zero cross-talk interference) to absorb you in a truly personal experience.
Clear, smooth, cinematic 3D viewing The Personal 3D Viewer features dedicated, high response Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) screens for each eye, which reproduces deep, vivid colour tones with sharp contrast and no blurring. And with a 45° field of vision, you’ll feel completely immersed in a widescreen cinema experience.
The HMZ-T2 also has a set of detachable and adjustable light shields for greater privacy and total involvement in your viewing experience. These flexible light shields simply clip on or off the Personal 3D Viewer, and are completely unobtrusive to the headset comfort and design.
Viewing perfection for film fans or gamers The Personal 3D Viewer is made for both film enthusiasts and solid gamers. 24p True Cinema mode shows films exactly as the director intended for the big screen, at 24 frames per second. Or, if you’re a keen gamer, select the Clear mode for smooth fast-action sequences. Whatever you select, Auto Colour Temperature adjustment gradually lowers image tone intensity from blue to red hues so that you can watch or play your favourite movies/games comfortably for longer hours.
Lose yourself in 5.1 surround sound With a choice of sound modes, the Personal 3D Viewer features Virtualphones™ technology to create a 360º natural sound field, just as though you’re listening to true 5.1 channel surround sound. There’s also Harmonic Equalizer technology built in, which restores audio compression losses in the digital waveform for a fuller, more spacious sound.
Lighter and more adjustable for wearing comfort Weighing just 330g, the Personal 3D Viewer is 20% lighter than previous models, with greater options for wearing comfort. It has a highly adjustable headband and forehead support for a secure, gentle fit with positional screen lenses for relaxed and clear 3D viewing. You can also use your own favourite wired or wireless headphones or inner-ear phones to enjoy immersive surround sound.
“Everything about the HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer is designed for comfort and total immersion,” says Naoto Yoshioka, Home Audio Video Senior Product Manager at Sony Europe, “so once you’re watching a film or playing a game, you’re totally absorbed in the thrilling action and forget you’re even wearing the headset.”
Notes to editors
HMZ-T2Personal 3D Viewer
Your personal, cinematic home entertainment experience
· Immersive Full HD 2D and 3D – enjoy a 45° full cinematic widescreen picture · Smooth 3D viewing – dedicated, high response OLED screens for each eye smoothly display 2D and 3D images without the blurring of image crosstalk · Virtual 5.1 channel sound – crisp, clear 360º audio with ambient sound, also Harmonic Equalizer audio enhancement and a choice of listening modes · Vivid clarity and high contrast picture – a TruBlack display creates a clear visual experience · Watch comfortably for hours – Auto Colour Temperature adjustment lowers image tone intensity for longer play with less eye fatigue · Adjustable supports for enhanced performance – for optimum comfort, headband and forehead supports are fully adaptable, with adjustable screen lenses for precise 3D viewing · Use your favourite headphones– make it more personal by using your own wired or wireless headphones or inner-ear phones · Detachable light shields etacable lwersg mode you select, you’dset[stipeirnce for different kinds of play. for greater privacy– fully detachable and adjustable light shields for total involvement in your viewing experience · Wireless remote controls– adjust sound and vision, and access the menu wirelessly without breaking from the action · Play while others watch TV – a dual output switcher means other people can watch TV or films while the wearer plays games (or the other way around)
We go hands-on with the Sony Xperia Tablet S which was launched yesterday, here at IFA.
The tablet features a 9.4-inch IPS screen with a 1,280×800-pixel resolution and uses Sony’s TruBlack panel, which the company says provides more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and minimal screen reflections. Measuring 241×8.8x174mm, the Sony Xperia Tablet S is thinner and lighter than the original Sony Tablet S, has a 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and runs the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system (OS). The tablet houses 1GB of RAM, comes in either 16GB/32GB/64GB storage sizes; and has 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 3.0, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer.
While the world is ablaze with all the IFA goodness, Sennheiser has launched new headphones and earbuds. Momentum, a pair of chrome and leather headphones with a 3.5mm stereo lead and optional smart remote. CX 890i earphones Sennheiser says they have a “glass-like” finish that offers “outsanding” passive noise cancelling.
Both go on sale in UK from September, with the Momentums cost £260 and the CX 890i cost £120.
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Experience sound with all your senses – MOMENTUM, the new headphones from Sennheiser
Perfect sound can be heard, felt and seen: the new MOMENTUM from Sennheiser’s Style Selection combines an excellent sound experience with high-quality material and minimalist style. The new headphones are the perfect choice for anyone unwilling to compromise on sound quality and style.
The MOMENTUM’s minimalist design resolutely cuts out anything superfluous, making the headphones appear understated and stylish.
The high-quality, predominantly natural materials emphasise the headphones’ pure aesthetics. Design and luxurious textures combined to create headphones that are the ultimate in comfort and feel. The headband and earpads are worked from soft and supple leather of the finest quality from traditional English tannery Pittards and are complemented by a headband slider crafted of premium stainless steel.
Pure sound experience
The MOMENTUM’s sound is like its design: pure and unadulterated. Sennheiser made use of established technologies from the high-end headphone sector to ensure a clear stereo sound with excellent detail.
A 3.5mm stereo plug means the MOMENTUM can be connected to all current media players. For Apple products such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod there is an additional cable with integrated smart remote and microphone. Buttons set into the elegant metal casing allow you to adjust the volume, select music titles, take phone calls and activate voice control or personal assistant features. And the full size ear cups mean you can relax and enjoy your favourite sounds wherever and whenever you like.
“Our passion for perfection is apparent not only in the outstanding technology used in the MOMENTUM but also in its modern, distinctive design and selected premium materials,” says Dominic Feeney, product manager at Sennheiser UK. “With striking yet minimalistic design, it makes the MOMENTUM the perfect accessory for those keen to display a passion for quality audio with a discreet and stylish authority.”
The MOMENTUM can first be seen at this year’s IFA. It will be available from selected Sennheiser sales partners including John Lewis and HMV from September at an RRP of £259.99.
Perfect sound never looked so good – Introducing the new CX 890i from Sennheiser
Sennheiser has announced the launch of a brand new premium headset, the CX 890i. Bringing together renowned Sennheiser technology, innovative materials and revolutionary design, the new CX 890i ear-canal headset features a glass-like finish with metal detailing to create a distinctive, minimalistic style.
The headset comes in two colour variants – black and white – with a matching cable for each colour. To make sure that the headphones are ready for use at any time, they have been fitted with a 3.5mm stereo jack, and the nominal impedance has been reduced for optimum connection to mobile players.
“The new Sennheiser CX 890i earphones are a perfect combination of top-quality sound and sophisticated design,” explained Dominic Feeney Product Manager at Sennheiser UK. “They deliver sound to the renowned Sennheiser quality standards. High-performance dynamic transducers produce a true-to-nature sound with a highly detailed resolution.
“The glassy material creates an unusually smooth surface and domed appearance. Ear adapters in various sizes and fitting colours are also provided with the headset.”
But it doesn’t just stop with good looks. The CX 890i combines the signature Sennheiser sound with a frequency response between 17 and 23,000 hertz, plus an integrated smart remote control and microphone – especially for iPad, iPhone and iPod users. This can be used not only to adjust the volume and select tracks, but also to take phone calls and activate the voice control or personal assistant features. Simultaneously, outstanding passive noise attenuation guarantees undisturbed listening whatever your environment.
The new CX 890i earphones are available from September through selected Sennheiser sales partners including Dixon and HMV at an RRP of £119.99.
Samsung today alongside many other products, announced the new Galaxy Note 2. The newer highly hyped Smartphone-tablet hybrid was introduced into the world at an event held by Samsung at IFA 2012.
The Note 2 has a lot of new interesting features :
A newer 5.5 inch HD Super AMOLED display at 1,280 x 720. The note is now 9.4mm thick, has a larger 3,100mAh battery and a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz. In terms of design it follows along the Galaxy S3 while retaining the feel of the original Note. Samsung has been smart enough to launch the phone with Jelly Bean and their new Touchwiz UI.
The S-Pen now has a rubber nib, which Samsung claims “will offer an experience closer to pen and paper”. Users can add “Quick Commands” to their stylus gestures, while “Air View” allows you to peruse galleries and folders by floating the stylus just above the screen.
The S Pen functionality has been added to the calendar (S Planner) and the native email app. The S Pen is further integrated so will notify the owner if left behind.
Check out the images, and the Video and stay tuned for more magic.
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Be Creative, Be Expressive with the GALAXY Note II
The most powerful smartphone sparks everyone’s creative inspirations
BERLIN, Germany-29 August 2012- At the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event held today at IFA, in Berlin, Samsung introduced the GALAXY Note II, a whole new level of innovation for the GALAXY Note category. The new Samsung GALAXY Note II enables unique experiences in personalized and expressive content creation, making it the ultimate smartphone for on-the-go creativity.
“Last year at IFA, we launched the GALAXY Note, which opened a new category of smart mobile devices. This year, again at IFA, I am proud to announce the GALAXY Note II, which will encourage users to ‘unleash their inner creativity.’ With a perfect viewing experience and unique and differentiated features, users can discover information and capture their ideas faster, express thoughts freely and manage tasks more efficiently. For anyone who wants to be creative, expressive and unique, the Samsung GALAXY Note II will be the ideal device, allowing users to live a life extraordinary,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics.
Since the first introduction of the GALAXY Note category, Samsung has continued to enhance and expand the GALAXY Note product experiences. In May 2012, Samsung introduced ‘Premium Suite,’ a software upgrade which provided enhanced user experiences. With the Ice Cream Sandwich OS upgrade, Samsung offered innovative new features such as Shape Match and Formula Match, providing a new way for organizing and expressing ideas in their personal and professional life. Also in August, Samsung expanded the category further with the GALAXY Note 10.1, which has a 10.1-inch large screen, a Multiscreen feature for the ultimate multitasking, and enhanced features for users’ productivity, creativity and learning abilities. With further enhancements, Samsung GALAXY Note II will help users unleash their inner creativity by letting them discover information faster, capture ideas, and express them in a more organized and efficient manner.
Perfect viewing experience
The GALAXY Note II features a 5.5″ (140.9mm) HD Super AMOLED screen, providing breathtaking visuals and crystal clear detail. Its 16:9 screen ratio ensures an immersive and enriched cinema-like video viewing experience, perfect for watching HD videos on-the-go. Its larger screen allows users to see content clearly and vividly, with much enhanced readability. In addition to the stunning content consumption experiences on a larger screen, users will also be able to accomplish more tasks efficiently and create content freely on-the-go, as the GALAXY Note II comes with a thinner and portable body.
Easy multitasking
Air View allows users to hover with the S Pen over an email, S Planner, image gallery, or video to preview the content without having to open it. This feature enables users to quickly search and see more information in one view without screen transitions.
Thanks to the breadth of the GALAXY Note II’s amazing viewing experience, a feature called Popup Note extends the concept of Popup Play, which lets users open an S Note instantly as a pop-up window anywhere on the screen. For example, when a user pulls out the S Pen during a phone call, the S Note application automatically pops up on the screen, allowing users to jot down a quick note.
In addition, the device’s new gesture pad feature, called Quick Command, lets users quickly activate frequently used apps with the S Pen. The command pad appears when a user just swipes upward on the screen with the S Pen button pressed. Users can quickly send an email, make a call, or search a location as they draw pre-registered marks on the command pad or register a unique mark to allow for quick and easy access.
Furthermore, users will be able to share their experiences with others quickly and easily using Screen Recorder. It allows users to record a whole sequence of actions taken on their screen – a demonstration of how to use an application, for example – and then share it with friends for comment, or just for fun.
Amazing expression tools – Advanced S Pen & S Note
The new S Pen is longer, thicker and ergonomically designed for the perfect grip. Therefore, it provides a more precise, comfortable, and natural writing and drawing experience.
The S Pen’s advanced features also provide enhanced capabilities to capture ideas and inspirations instantly, and to combine handwriting with any digital content directly on the screen. By simply pressing the dedicated S Pen button, the S Pen magically recognizes that users want to clip or edit the selected content on the screen. The Easy Clip feature allows users to instantly outline and crop any content on the screen in any shape to save, share or paste. Once done cropping the image, users can freely edit the cropped content through coloring, shading, or their own personal handwriting. It is quick and easy.
Another amazing expression feature called Idea Visualizer allows users to easily add illustrations by handwriting keywords on the S Note. It provides illustration images that match the handwritten keywords. It’s a fancy illustration match function that will allow users to express, organize and visualize ideas in a more innovative and creative way. Users can even customize and add in their own illustrations library.
Powerful Performance
Powering content creation, sharing and multitasking capabilities, the GALAXY Note II comes with the latest hardware technologies. A mighty 1.6GHz Quad-Core processor and HSPA Plus or 4G LTE connectivity delivers easy multitasking, lightning-fast screen transitions, powerful browser performance, and minimal app load time. The GALAXY Note II is powered by Android™ 4.1, Jelly Bean. This brings stunning graphical capabilities and an upgraded Google Now service, including new features such as contextual search, to the GALAXY Note II. The memory options are 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB with an expandable micro SD memory slot. Thanks to a 3,100mAh battery, users can enjoy multimedia content, always be productive on the go, and capture ideas whenever, wherever without suffering from power limitation.
The GALAXY Note II comes with an 8 megapixel rear-facing and 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera with HD video recording. The camera has great features like Buddy Photo Share, Burst Shot and Best Photo, which were introduced on the GALAXY S III earlier in the year. In addition to that, the GALAXY Note II features a unique camera function called Best Faces. Best Faces allows users to choose the most preferred face or pose of each person from group portrait photos. Users can also personalize photos by leaving handwritten notes on the backside of a photo using the S Pen. Handwritten Photo Notes can be shared with others in jpg format.
Available in Marble White or Titanium Gray color options, the Samsung GALAXY Note II is set to launch in October starting in major European, Asian, and Middle East markets.
The Note II “Phablet” comes with a 5.5″ Super AMOLED Screen, 1,280 x 720 pixels (267ppi), a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor with 2GB RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, an 8MP Camera with 1080p Video Recording and a 1.9MP Front Facing Camera. Internal storage will be 16/32/64GB. It is powered by a 3,100mAh battery.
Sony launched a waterproof tablet under its Xperia brand at the IFA electonics trade show in Berlin today.
The tablet features a 9.4-inch IPS screen with a 1,280×800-pixel resolution and uses Sony’s TruBlack panel, which the company says provides more vibrant colors, deeper blacks, and minimal screen reflections.
Measuring 241×8.8x174mm, the Sony Xperia Tablet S is thinner and lighter than the original Sony Tablet S, has a 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and runs the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system (OS).
The tablet houses 1GB of RAM, comes in either 16GB/32GB/64GB storage sizes; and has 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 3.0, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer.
Sony said the splash-proof Xperia Tablet S is “designed for real-life use around the home and outdoors”, so it can withstand the ineviatable drink spillages, and its screen is purported to respond to touch gestures even with wet hands.
Buyers of the Xperia Tablet S can also command their entire entertainment set-up from one location via Sony’s built-in infrared universal remote control with enhanced macro function that stores a time-saving sequence of commands for instant recall.
Sony pulled the wraps off of three new Android smartphones. Called the Xperia T, Xperia V, and Xperia J, each device will range in capabilities with the T being top dog and the V and J following behind.
The Xperia T was launched earlier this month.
With a 4.6-inch screen offering an HD resolution and 13MP camera, the Xperia T is definitely meant as Sony’s new flagship handset. The phone is also powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, will connect to LTE 4G and have NFC (Near Field Communication) technology on board. At launch the Xperia T will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Similar to the Xperia T, the Sony Xperia V shares the same 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 13MP camera, Ice Cream Sandwich OS and NFC technology, although it sports a slightly smaller, 4.3-inch screen (720p HD Reality Display) and fatter 10.7mm chassis.
The Sony Xperia J is being pitched as an affordable smartphone with a 4-inch, TFT 480 x 854 display at the heart of things. It also features a 5MP rear camera (with 4x digital zoom and LED flash) and a front-facing VGA snapper for video calls on the Sony Xperia J, along with a 1GHz processor, 4GB of internal storage and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich.
LG today unveiled the LG Optimus L9, a 4.7-inch smartphone running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The L9 packs a 1-GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, an IPS display, and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, as well as a VGA camera on the front. However, it remained silent about the screen resolution of the phone.
The slim device will also come with a pre-loaded bespoke version of the QTranslator app, which uses optical character recognition technologyt to translate from over 40 languages, including those with non-roman literals, into the language of your choice from 64 user languages.
We’ve had plenty of Samsung Galaxy Note 2 rumours of late, with the latest whisperings come from Seoul Newspaper, and mostly reiterate what we’ve been hearing for the past few months.
The newspaper claims that the new Note 2 will have a slightly bigger 5.5-inch Super AMOLED screen. As well as being 16:9, the display will boast a 1,280×720 resolution, perfect for treating your eyeballs to high-definition movies while on the go.
Underneath that slab of a screen the Note 2 is set to be powered by a quad-core 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 processor and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the latest version of Google’s Android software. It also packs an 8-megapixel camera and will offer next-generation data speeds in countries where they have 4G phone networks.
We will be covering the Samsung Mobile Unpacked Event Live from Berlin tomorrow.
Acer has spilled the beans on two phones it will be showcasing at IFA later this month. The Acer Liquid Gallant and Acer Liquid Gallant Duo are exactly the same beast apart from the fact that the latter has dual-Sim capability.
The following specs apply to both devices: 4.3-inch qHD (540×960) touchscreen, 1 GHz processor, 5 MP camera, 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of built-in storage space, all the usual connectivity options, and a 1,500 mAh battery. The OS running the show is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
The upcoming Sony Xperia J was given the hands-on treatment for an extensive preview ahead its supposed announcement later this month.
The Xperia J is one more model in Sony’s onslaught of new devices that it brought forth until now and will continue to until the end of this year. The Xperia J is a lower-midrange offering, with a 4-inch 480×854 touchscreen, 1 GHz single-core processor.
The battery is said to be a 1700mAh unit, which should provide a decent level of battery life given the reduced screen size and the same entry-level processor as the Xperia Tipo. RAM is set at 512MB. There is also a microSD card slot hiding away under the battery on the Xperia J.
The rear camera is a 5MP shooter with an LED flash, but apparently only shoots video at a pretty dreary 640×480. There is also a front facing camera, but nothing is said of it’s specs. Given the rear camera, we’re not expecting a lot from it.
The Xperia J is at least running Android 4.0 out of the box.
Samsung has teased its second generation phablet, the Galaxy Note 2 in an online video that pretty much confirms its launch at IFA in Berlin next week. The video doesn’t show the device in full, or name-check it, but we do see the S-Pen in action.
“When magical moments come alive, everything becomes an inspiration,” says the video. Then the S-Pen is drawn out of the device, and we see it clicking and drawing on the Note 2’s screen.
Before the video closes, a statement reads, “On August 29 Berlin, your magic moments will come alive”.
The Samsung Mobile Unpacked Event will be covered live by iGyaan! Stay Tuned!
Two weeks left for the Galaxy Note 2 Unpacked event, and after a rumoured picture of the “Phablet” came up yesterday, another one, this time a Bezel, has come up today!
In addition to showing us what a small bezel on the Galaxy Note 2 looks like, the image above also seems to confirm the fact that the new phablet’s display will be 0.2-inch longer than its predecessor, just as currently rumored. The use of a smaller bezel is surely a reason for Samsung’s rumored decision to go with a 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2 instead of the regular 5.3-inch panel used by its predecessor.
Stay tuned, for we will be covering IFA 2012 Live from Berlin.
Audio seems to be the main focus of Philips right now with the Fidelio range at the very peak of what the company has to offer.
