Philips debuts PowerSensor-equipped Brilliance monitor

Energy-saving monitors are hardly anything new, but Philips has taken things a bit farther than most with its new 22-inch Brilliance LCD, which packs a built-in infrared "PowerSensor" that can detect when someone's sitting in front of it. If it finds that it's been left by its lonesome, it'll dial down the brightness and cut power consumption by 50% -- all of which operates independently from the PC, so there's no compatibility issues to worry about. As a monitor, however, things are a bit less exciting, with it boasting a 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio, a 5ms response time, and the usual VGA and DVI inputs. No word on a release 'round here just yet, but it looks like folks in the UK will be able to pick this one up next month for £170, or about $280.

[Via Pocket-lint]

Filed under: Displays

Philips debuts PowerSensor-equipped Brilliance monitor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google City Tours Builds Itineraries for Multi-Day Trips [Travel]

Not one to be outdone by Microsoft's Bing travel site or the myriad other net travel guides, Google today rolls out City Tours for planning and navigating itineraries.

Currently a Google Labs project, City Tours helps "identify points of interest and plan multi-day trips to most major-cities." To build your tour, just enter the destination city, and City Tours automatically maps out a three-day plan with around 10 activity suggestions per day. The site also suggests how long to spend at each place and clocks the walking distance between destinations. You can then manually add and remove sights, and change the date and length of your visit (up to a maximum of five days).

Given its Labs status, City Tours is still very much a work-in-progress. For example, though the site is decent at finding locations for large cities like London, it has a more difficult time doing the same for smaller cities. Also, estimated walking times aren't always accurate, which doesn't help if, say, you're trying to figure out whether to keep walking, pace yourself by grabbing a cab, or might actually need a rental car.

Check out the below link to test out City Tours for yourself, then let us know what else you'd like to see it (or any travel site) help you with.

Google City Tours [via Google Labs]

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Apogee ONE Brings Near-Studio-Quality Recording to the Mac [Audio]

Here's a nice one for Mac-using amateur musicians: Apogee's ONE is a multifunctional handheld device that features a built-in mic, preamp, and dedicated input/output. It works over USB and is designed for Garage Band, Final Cut, and the like.

It's a single input, stereo output device, offering 24-bit audio between 44.1 and 48KHz sample rates in a package around the same size (though thicker) than an iPhone. Apogee's putting emphasis on the built-in mic (they even offer a stand so you can treat the whole thing like a handheld mic), though it's got one input for instruments or your own mic. That input is coupled with a preamp, customizable using the ONE's controls.

The ONE is designed to work with Apple's range of audio software, including iTunes, Garage Band, Logic, and Final Cut, though we don't imagine it would have trouble working with non-Apple software as well. It remains to be seen whether the built-in mic is everything Apogee claims; on such a small device, we're skeptical but remain hopeful. It'll be available sometime in "late July" at a pretty reasonable $250. [Apogee]

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Sony T90 point-and-shoot gets reviewed, liked

In an already overpopulated compact camera market, the Cyber-shot T90 solicits attention with a 16:9 touch-screen LCD and a sliding lens shield. The lads over at PC Mag grabbed one of these Sony shooters for an in-depth prodding and poking session to determine whether the external appeal of the camera is backed up by solid technology under the hood. Praise was meted out for image sharpness and 720p video recording, though battery life was found disappointing. For their full impressions, test results and an exhaustive spec sheet, hit the read link.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Sony T90 point-and-shoot gets reviewed, liked originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lancer's iJector is the $700 projector for your $200 iPhone

For that $700 price quoted above you were probably hoping for some sort of impossibly small and stylish pico projector, able to consume your iPhone, beam its contents onto the nearest flat surface, and make everyone nearby say "Ooh." Sadly the truth is not quite so charming, with Lancer Corporation's iJector looking to be smallish but not particularly svelte -- or stylish, for that matter. It sports the ubiquitous iPod dock on top that will accept a suite of Apple devices ranging from Gen 1 iPod nanos to iPhones running OS 3.0, and also has video input and output so that it can work with non-Apple devices, beaming a maximum 50-inch image at a disappointing 557 x 234 resolution. Did we mention that, at ¥64,800, it's nearly $700? It is, and it's shipping to Japan next month if for some reason you're still interested.

[Via CoolestGadgets]

Filed under: Displays

Lancer's iJector is the $700 projector for your $200 iPhone or! iginally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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