Filed under: Home Entertainment

Not content with sneaking a dedicated Blu-ray player into CEDIA, Cambridge Audio has just taken the plastic off of two new HiFi systems in Milan. The Sonata, aimed squarely at audio junkies, consists of a 2.1-channel DAB receiver (£299; $547), which offers 40-watts of amplification per channel and your choice of an upscaling 1080p DVD player or a Wolfson-DAC-loaded CD unit for another £179 ($327). The all-in-one Fusion (£300; $549) includes 30-watts per channel, an integrated CD player, DAB / FM tuner, USB port, an SD slot and a customized iPod dock (which is also bundled with the aforementioned Sonata). Both units are slated to hit the UK in silver and black, though the November-bound Fusion will get a jump on the Sonata, which hits in February 2009.

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We tried and we tried but we just couldn’t get COWON to show us its new S9 Curve at IFA — they weren’t meeting with the press, only business partners. At least we have a ship date and full specs in consolation. Germany at least will get its hands on the 3.3-inch, 480 x 272-pixel, 16 million color, capacitive touchscreen, AMOLED player at the end of October. The 57.08 x 105.75 x 12.7-mm player (a bit shorter and narrower than the 8-mm thick iPod touch with 4.3-inch display) will initially ship with 8GB / 16GB of storage before getting bumped to 32GB sometime down the road. A 3.5-hour charge off the mains (5.5-hours off USB) will deliver up to 8-hours of video (MPEG-4 SP, WMV9 SP, H.264 BP codecs) or 40 hours of audio (MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV formats). Integrated Bluetooth is of the more power hungry 2.0 (not 2.1) variety with support for A2DP stereo and AVRCP remote control profiles. The S9 for Europe supports FM recording and dictation buts lacks the integrated DMB television tuner of its Korean cousin. Line-in recording and DAB radio is also in the works.

[Thanks, Vesal]

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

We tried and we tried but we just couldn’t get COWON to show us its new S9 Curve at IFA — they weren’t meeting with the press, only business partners. At least we have a ship date and full specs in consolation. Germany at least will get its hands on the 3.3-inch, 480 x 272-pixel, 16 million color, capacitive touchscreen, AMOLED player at the end of October. The 57.08 x 105.75 x 12.7-mm player (a bit shorter and narrower than the 8-mm thick iPod touch with 4.3-inch display) will initially ship with 8GB / 16GB of storage before getting bumped to 32GB sometime down the road. A 3.5-hour charge off the mains (5.5-hours off USB) will deliver up to 8-hours of video (MPEG-4 SP, WMV9 SP, H.264 BP codecs) or 40 hours of audio (MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, WAV formats). Integrated Bluetooth is of the more power hungry 2.0 (not 2.1) variety with support for A2DP stereo and AVRCP remote control profiles. The S9 for Europe supports FM recording and dictation buts lacks the integrated DMB television tuner of its Korean cousin. Line-in recording and DAB radio is also in the works.

[Thanks, Vesal]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Next up is iriver’s latest take on the Unit2, the UNIT2-S, a simpler multimedia communications device for the home. Remember, it’s just a concept, but as envisioned, the working prototype functions as a video phone, digital photo frame, web browser, FM radio, flash gaming rig, SMS/MMS receiver, and audio / video player with DMB television tuner. The specs list a 4.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, 30GB hard drive and 2GB of flash (presumably in the base unit and handset, respectively), mic, stereo speaker, and Li-Polymer battery all packed into a 185.4 x 117 x 19.8-mm tower.

Last up is the R1 DAB radio concept (pictured bottom). Again, the prototype is fully functional and capable of playing back internet, DAB, and FM radio or audio streaming from PC or local storage through a pair of 2W stereo speakers. They also included an alarm clock to remind you that these concepts are just part of an iriver dream — for now.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

Man, talk about quick reflexes. Not even a fortnight after Radiopaq announced its WiFi radio-enabled Rp5, along comes Pure Digital to keep things competitive. The stylish-in-its-own-way EVOKE Flow not only taps into the intarwebz for streaming music, but it also includes FM / DAB tuners and support for DAB+. Expect it to hit British tables next month for £150 ($279).

[Thanks, Joe]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

DAB… DAB… that’s that digital radio thing, right? But it’s not from a satellite, huh? Well, whatever. Revo’s new PICO hybrid radio packs some internet radio over WiFi, so you don’t have to move to some crummy country like the UK just to listen to predictably-programmed 80’s music and cloying chatter. Revo’s little unit is portable, gets 12 hours to a charge, and works with DAB, DAB+, FM and WiFi. It’ll be available in September for £169.95 (about $3,180,000 USD).

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

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Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

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Filed under: Portable Audio

We’ve seen some pretty hot DAB radios make the scene, but consumers just haven’t greeted the tech with any kind of enthusiasm — which is why the UK’s Digital Radio Working Group recently suggested that FM services be shut off starting in 2012, with complete shut-off to occur by 2020. According to the group’s report, only 17.8 percent of radio listening is digital, and the chances of finding a DAB radio in a car (where 20 percent of all UK radio listening is done) is less than 1 in 200. The DRWG says that the switchover to DAB will take three steps: first, a committment to the tech by the government and industry, with radios being made multiplatform and able to receive all the flavors of DAB; second, a massive promotional campaign; and third, switchoff of FM, which is optimisitically scheduled to begin in 2012. That’s certainly one way to get people to buy new radios — but unlike the switch to digital TV, we don’t see anyone being too put out by having to listen to their MP3 players in the car instead of FM radio.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Nothing says sexy like a sleek wood trim, wouldn’t you wholeheartedly agree? Vita Audio obviously does, as it’s £499.99 ($980) R4 integrated music system just screams lavish. The all-in-one unit packs an iPod dock, slot-loading CD / MP3 / WMA-music disc player, USB port, DAB and FM tuner with RDS, front and rear auxiliary ports, built-in display, alarm clock function and the firm’s detachable RotoDial remote. For those not feeling the rich walnut veneer, there’s also a high-gloss white (surprised?) version available for £50 ($97) more. Sadly, the “coming soon” tidbit leaves us clueless as to how long you actually have left to save up for either of the pricey systems.

[Via ShinyShiny]

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Filed under: Portable Audio

This bugger might have been announced a little far in advance, but come this September new nanoDAB users will get a one-two punch of A2DP Bluetooth headset and portable DAB receiver smushed together into one diminutive package. There’s also some integration with visual digital radio services and like mobile apps, but being that the nearest to us DAB signal is a few thousand miles away we’ll let our foreign readers handle the carrier lobbying.

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Looking for something with a hint of style to take up that empty expanse that is your bedside table? Peer no further than Tangent’s Cinque, which offers up DAB, FM and AM radio tuning within a compact (and fairly attractive) package. Besides pulling tunes from thin air, this unit also plays nice with CDs and any ole DAP you’ve got stuffed in your underused gadgets drawer courtesy of the built-in 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack. Furthermore, you can set the alarm to wake you with music, and just in case you’re not really feeling the hue shown above, it’s also available in walnut, black and red for £239.99 ($478).

[Via Tech Digest]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

Nah, Roberts’ RD41 isn’t quite as minuscule as its RD49, but unfortunately, it’s essentially just as ugly. Taking a few notes from tableside radios circa 1990 (and sadly, today as well), Roberts has crafted a fairly well-spec’d DAB iteration that also does FM on the side, can record to an SD card and touts a dozen alarms that can wake even the most notorious slumberer. You’ll also find MP3 / WMA playback from the SD card, rewind and pause functions, scrolling text about the station you’re tuned into and audio in / out sockets to boot. Word on the street pegs this one at £139.99 ($277), but we’d recommend hiding it somewhere good before company shows up.

[Via The Red Ferret Journal]

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Filed under: Home Entertainment

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation

Pure Digital is probably already bringing that DAB goodness to your dwelling, but we know how bad the withdrawals can be once you head out to the car. No worries, though, as the firm is cranking out “the world’s first in-car DAB digital radio that doesn’t require complicated installation,” which is a fancy way of explaining that this unit relies on FM transmission to get DAB signals into your vehicle’s stereo. As expected, the Highway gets its juice from a cigarette lighter adapter, and users simply affix a small DAB antenna on their windshield, find an open FM slot and tune their in-dash radio to match the station. Furthermore, the unit can even be used on-the-go, as it includes a built-in headphone jack and can go for six hours on a pair of AA cells. It even sports an auxiliary input along with Pure’s ReVu technology to pause / rewind live content, and if any new features crop up in the future, owners can update their device via USB. Thrill someone you love (yeah, that can be you) this holiday season when it lands for £69.99 ($146).

[Via Gadgeteer]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

Look, if you absolutely, positively must get some DAB into your iPod lifestyle, then you’ll probably be somewhat interested in the Robi — a new tuner from Roberts Radio which lets you pipe in smooth digital broadcasts via your regular old player. There really aren’t a lot of plusses here; for £49.99 (or $100) you get a DAB tuner that also does double duty as a remote. Does this second function justify the cost? Probably not, considering all those extra cables and unsightly middleman, but if you’ve got a bad desire for digital radio, you could do a lot worse (you could also consider players with built in DAB functionality). Available now, it would appear.

[Via Crave]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio

For some reason DAB radio manufacturers love rocking the retro look, and Vita Audio’s R1 is no exception. Featuring a DAB and FM tuners, the seven-watt single-speaker all-in-one also sports a two-line LCD and Vita’s “RotoDial” controller, while still retaining an certain old-school charm. The unit also sports an 1/8-inch input for MP3 players and analog outputs if you want to add some DAB love to your existing rig, but something tells us the kids who drop £150 ($300) on this thing will want to put it out front and center.

[Via TechDigest]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

You already know what Cath Kidston can do, and it seems the designer is striking back once more by flowering up a Roberts DAB radio. Dubbed the Washed Rose, this retro-inspired device sports a cutesy floral pattern, built-in display, automatic tuning, a carry handle, PausePlus to pause / rewind live programming, and the usual complement of knobs and buttons. Granted, she ain’t cheap at £200 ($402), but that’s the premium you’ll pay for a design such as this, we suppose.

[Via RetroToGo]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!