LaCie is best known as a maker of very cool storage devices but the company has long been a supplier of high-end and expensive displays. It’s latest 24in beauty seems set to continue the trend.
Considering the LaCie 324 LCD will cost almost £600 when it ships this month, you’d probably need to be a creative professional to justify the outlay. That, or the most dedicated and well-heeled gamer in the UK. You get a lot for your cash though.
Apart from supporting Full HD 1080p video content, it boasts a 10-bit Gamma Correction system that minimises banding, supports picture-in-picture, has a built-in 3-port USB hub and a headphone/speaker port. There’s embedded Faroudja DCDi and TrueLife video technologies inside – also used by many decent projectors and upscaling home cinema devices - to improve video playback. And let’s not forget the connectivity. The 324 can be connected to up to four devices simultaneously via its twin HDMI ports, DVI and VGA inputs.
Sweet, but well out of my financial league.-Martin Lynch
[LaCie]
display monitor HD lacie
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The good news is that Sony has confirmed the arrival of Skype functionality to the PSP along with a new headset. The bad news is that it’s only going to work with the newer PSP Slim, which kinda screws most of the PSP population – including me.
For PSP Slim owners, they’ll be able to make free Skype calls to other PSP [not Fat PSP] users and those on PCs and laptops with a Skype account. For a fee they’ll be able to use the PSP for making cheap calls to other phones. The PSP is on a roll these days, most recently getting Internet radio.
A new PSP firmware update with the Skype application is due next month. Users will also need the add-on PSP microphone and ear-buds, or, the less clunky Skype headset pictured here.
Not exactly discreet but hey, you want free phone calls don’t you? -Martin Lynch
PSP sony handheld skype
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If CES 2008 is anything to go by, then this is the year when Flash memory storage starts replacing hard disk drives in a large number of portable devices.
Last year we saw quite a few first generation solid state drives (SSDs) in 16GB and 32GB capacities, with some 64GB versions, but this year will see the mass arrival of 64GB drives and, thanks to Samsung, some whopping 128GB SSDs.
The memory giant unveiled the 128GB SSD running in a notebook at CES, which will land later this year in 2.5in and 3.5in models for notebooks and PCs, respectively. The drive boasts a blistering write speed of 70MB per second and a read speed of 100MB per second. Samsung also unveiled a 1.8in SSD for ultraportable drives that’s just 5mm thick.
Intel took the wraps off a similar SSD, yet even thinner at 1.8mm, called the Z-P140 PATA SSD. Weighing in at just 0.6g, it’s the size of a penny [pictured] and will arrive in capacities of 2GB and 4GB to start and then up to 16GB.
On the storage card front, Panasonic unveiled a prototype of the first 32GB SDHC card for digital cameras and HD camcorders. This happened at the same time Sony finally managed to unveil the first 16GB Memory Stick Duo card.
The 32GB SDHC Flash memory card, with a Class 6 speed, can record up to 8 hours of 1440 x 1080i HD video and approximately 5 hours and 20 minutes of 1920 x 1080i Full HD video. Data transfer speed is rated at 20MB per second.-Martin Lynch
storage flash memory SSD
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Boston Acoustics is entering the increasingly populated DAB radio space with its first offering, the deliberately modern-looking Solo XT.
The company has said the Solo XT wants nothing to do with the retro trend in DAB radio design, with a ‘soft touch’ cabinet, moulded rubber controls, perforated metal grille and variable blue backlighting that adjusts to the lighting conditions.
The radio sports some ‘unique’ features, including a three knob user interface that can be rotated around. Why? Because then you can stand the radio horizontally or vertically and still read the controls. There’s even something called an active Snooze Ring that allows you to knock the damn alarm off in the morning by hitting the radio anywhere around the front panel.
The Solo XT costs £150 and comes in black or creamy white but there are 8 grille colours to choose from including: Glacier, Rosebud, Onyx, Pearl Gray, Caramel, Chocolat, Silver, and Chili Pepper.-Martin Lynch
radio DAB music
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Cooler Master knows a thing or too about customised PCs but this VW Bus PC chassis was its stand-out offering at the CES 2008 show.
I’m not saying that the ones with aliens, flames and desperado skeletons weren’t cool but this immaculate VW Bus paint-job manages to make your PC look more ‘Style Icon’ than scary teen fantasy.
The paint-job is by Smooth Creations and you can expect something like this - part of Cooler Master’s CSX range – to run you anywhere between £450 and £650.-Martin Lynch
[Bornrich]
PC gadget design
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Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
