Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Friday, September 19, 2008

Acoustic Research doles out ARNC01 noise-canceling earbuds

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396661158/

Audiovox's extravaganza is closing up with the introduction of the Acoustic Research ARNC01 ($59.99) earbuds, which promise to use whiz-bang active processing to reduce noise for airline addicts and those with a crib full of rambunctious youngsters. The circuitry is housed in an in-line module with an On / Off button and a compartment for a single AAAA (yes, AAAA) battery, which should last you around 50 hours. You know, plenty of time to head off to Akihabara and back for a few new Japanese exclusives.

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RCA unveils 4GB / 8GB Lyra Slider PMP

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396661162/

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

Whoa, wait up. You're telling us Audiovox hasn't abandoned the RCA Lyra moniker entirely? Storming back from ~~the grave~~ the unknown is the Lyra Slider, a PMP that could definitely go for $29.99 on contract from any major carrier with just a dial-pad and a CDMA radio. As it stands, this media player arrives with 4GB or 8GB of capacity and plays back audio, video, FM radio and photo slideshows. Furthermore, you'll find an integrated voice / media recorder, USB 2.0 port and a rechargeable battery good for up to 50 hours of music playback or 8 hours of video playback. Look for this to show up later in the fall for $79.99 (4GB) / $99.99 (8GB).

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RCA takes EZ300HD Small Wonder camcorder to 720p

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396661163/

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV

We won't front -- we weren't, how do you say, blown away with RCA's Small Wonder trio announced earlier this year, but we'll give this one a fighting chance. The EZ300HD can capture clips at 720p on the 2GB of internal storage or on any spare SD card you've laying around. You'll also find a 2.4-inch LCD, a low-res YouTube recording mode and a sure-to-be-awesome 4x digital zoom. Operation is supposedly dead-simple, and there's a USB port and video output just in case you feel like blowin' it up on the big screen. Grab it real soon for $159.99.

Gallery: RCA takes EZ300HD Small Wonder camcorder to 720p

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ASUS AiGuru SV1 Skype videophone hands-on

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396834494/

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

Sure, it's frumpy, overpriced and rather pointless for anyone who owns a computer with a webcam and knows how to use it, but ASUS and Skype are after the grandma / grandpa / computerphobic set with this here AiGuru SV1 videophone, and aren't doing horrible job of it. The screen is great, the icons are ginormous, and operation couldn't be much simpler. Unfortunately, the video quality is pretty inexcusable for a dedicated box like this: the VGA image is crap, and the framerate is totally weak -- it could've been a problem with the network we were on, but it looked like a straight-up wired router to us. What gives, ASUS?

Gallery: ASUS AiGuru SV1 Skype videophone hands-on

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Lenovo X200t swivel tablet hands-on

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/396854130/

Filed under: Tablet PCs

We're torn. Lenovo kicks ass in the tablet space, and the X200t is no exception to that rule, but we were hoping for a little more "X200" and a little less traditional Lenovo tablet action. Compared to its straight-up X200 namesake, the X200t is mega heavy, due to a different battery, screen and internals. It's not that it's bad, it's just a letdown compared to the insanely great engineering that Lenovo poured into the X300 and X200. We're also a little miffed that Lenovo hasn't worked out a capacitive touch option yet, though they claim that the X200t's dual-purpose touchscreen has been improved, including a method for switching off touch automatically when the pen is in close proximity to the screen, to allow for some palm resting. They were just showing pen-only units this evening, so we didn't get to test that out. Everything else is traditional love-it-or-hate-it ThinkPad design, quality and touchpad-freeness.

Gallery: Lenovo X200t swivel tablet hands-on