Ixos Portable iPod Dock February 11, 2008
READ MORE Apple , Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , Hi-fi , MP3 , Music , iPod
Yes, the world doesn't yet have enough iPod docks so IXOS has announced a new portable dock called the Argo.
The shiny £50 dock comes complete with FM radio functionality and 12Watts of output from four speaker drivers, which isn’t bad for a portable dock.
The Argo runs off the mains or, if you have shares in Duracell, 6 x AA batteries, for when you’re taking it out and about for those summer picnics. The FM radio and digital tuner is a nice touch and overall, it’s not a bad looking unit.
It’s designed to handle most iPods – Classics and nanos but not Shuffles – and you can even request a free ‘fat nano3 cartridge’.
There’s a 3.5mm input for headphones and attaching non-Apple MP3 players. The Argo is shipping now from HMV.-Martin Lynch
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Dolby Surround Comes To Mobiles February 11, 2008
READ MORE Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , Mobile Devices , Mobile phones , Movies , Music
Dolby, the well known standard in surround sound, has decided to shrink its expertise and cram it into mobile phones.
At this week’s 2008 Mobile World Congress, the company unveiled Dolby Mobile, a new audio processing technology platform that promises “rich, vibrant surround sound to music, movies, and television programmes on mobile phones and portable media players”. Considering Dolby’s pedigree, this could be a real audio performance jump for mobile entertainment.
Dolby also showed off aacPlus, a high-quality, efficient audio compression format designed for download, streaming, and broadcast apps on mobiles.
"Entertainment can sound better on mobile phones and portable media players," said Francois Modarresse, Vice President of Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "We developed Dolby Mobile to help create products that stir the senses and excite people's imaginations so the industry can deliver on the promise of mobile entertainment."
Great, so who’s using it then? The snag, for now, is that the first two phones using Dolby Mobile are from Sharp and NTT DoCoMo and are available in Japan only. What's new there then?
Still, the company has also inked deals with Symbian, Texas Instruments and ARM, so it’s just a matter of time.
Dolby Mobile has also been integrated with the new RMI Alchemy processor used in portable players from the likes of iRiver and Cowon so keep a sharp lookout for some of the newer PMPs. -Martin Lynch
Nokia N96 Phone With TV Arrives February 11, 2008
READ MORE Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , Mobile Devices , Mobile phones , Movies , Music , Online , Smartphones , Wireless
The N95 is the fat, feature-laden boss at the top of Nokia’s multimedia phone range but now the company has revealed the successor, the N96.
The looks are somewhat more stylish and under the hood there’s a lot of the functionality already found in the N95. Two of the more noticeable differences is the storage bump from 8GB to 16Gb – good for around 40 hours of video - and the inclusion of a DVB-H receiver, the Euro standard for tuning in digital TV. There’s also a microSD card slot for adding another 8GB, if you really need it.
It sports a large 2.8in display and even a handy ‘kickstand’ so that you don’t have to hold it when watching videos. The quad-band phone sports a micro USB 2.0 port, supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HSDPA. Weighing 125g, it measures 103 x 55 mm x 18 mm.
"In 2007, the Nokia N95 became an icon of convergence of Internet and mobility. With over 7 million units sold to date, the N95 has changed the way people use their mobile device. The Nokia N96 we introduced today builds on the success of N95, further enhancing the experience," says Jonas Geust, who oversees Nokia's Explore category.
"Through the power of the Internet, video and TV are becoming even more prevalent in people's lives. With its large, bright screen, and a range of high-speed connectivity options and the enhanced Nokia Video Center, the new Nokia N96 is a personal window to entertainment."
There’s a 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, flash and video light and it can capture ‘DVD-like quality video’ at a respectable 30 frames per second (fps). There’s also the novelty of integrated Assisted GPS, allowing you to 'geotag' your pictures with location data for sharing online. And let's not forget the N-Gage gaming.
The downside is that the N96 will not launch until Q3. It will cost 550 euros (£410) when it does. Full specs after the jump.-Martin Lynch
LG Dials Up DivX Phone February 11, 2008
READ MORE Entertainment , Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , Mobile Devices , Mobile phones , Movies , Smartphones
LG has taken the wraps off the Viewty mobile phone, which is being positioned as the first that can record video in the useful DivX format.
The Viewty [model KU990] is the first phone to be DivX-certified and according to LG, can capture the kind of quality video found on most camcorders. The phone can record 120fps, 640 x 480-pixel DivX video, which makes it very easy to transfer and watch on any number on DivX-capable devices, like PCs, DVD players and consoles.
"Users of the LG Viewty have come to expect innovation and quality," said Dr. Skott Ahn at LG. "The addition of DivX recording capability to the Viewty will open up the media experience and enable our users to do more with the videos they capture, from sharing that content online to playing it back beyond the phone on a wide variety of devices."
"Our goal is to make it easy for consumers to enjoy a high-quality video experience on any kind of device," said Kevin Hell, CEO at DivX. "The LG Viewty is a perfect example of this experience. It allows consumers to capture video on its 3-inch screen and then easily transfer that video to a computer or virtually any kind of consumer electronics device."
LG is pushing the Viewty as a professional-level camera phone with its 5MP camera, manual focus, and image stabiliser. It’s certainly not slinky though at 10.5 x 5.4 x 1.5cm and weighing in at 112g. In its defence it does have a great big 3in touchscreen though, making watching videos a less squinty affair.-Martin Lynch
Yahoo To Reject Microsoft Bid Today February 11, 2008
READ MORE Gizmodo UK , Online , Software , Technology
In breaking news, Yahoo’s board of directors is expected to turn down Microsoft’s takeover bid of $44.6bn later today
A deep throat spilling to the WSJ claimed that the $31 per share offered “massively undervalues’ Yahoo and doesn’t protect Yahoo from the risks it would face by agreeing to a deal that the regulators could block.
The insider claimed that Yahoo will not settle for anything under $40 per share – a whopping jump in the price tag of around $12bn.
He said that Yahoo’s current weak performance [a couple of years now] is being exploited by Microsoft. Yahoo will dig in and wait for a higher bid but it seems unlikely that Yahoo will shut down talks because, frankly, it’s struggling badly by itself.-Martin Lynch
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