BBC News reports here: The world’s biggest online retailer of independent music has opened a European store offering unrestricted downloads. eMusic is the second most successful download site in the US after Apple’s iTunes Music Store, and will sell tracks from 8,500 independent labels. The subscription-based site will offer MP3 recordings that work on all digital music players, including Apple’s iPod.
BBC News reports here: A supernatural film has topped the North American box office, but with the lowest takings for a number one in three years, studio estimates suggest. The Covenant, which sees pupils trying to destroy each other at an exclusive boarding school, earned $9m (£4.8m). You can find many top rated movies on DVD here in our online store.
North America Top Ten at the Box Office are:
1. The Covenant
2. Hollywoodland (pictured)
3. Invincible
4. The Protector
5. Crank
6. The Illusionist
7. Little Miss Sunshine
8. The Wicker Man
9. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
10. Barnyard: The Original Party Animals
ZDNet UK reports here: A newly published Apple patent application has reignited rumours of the almost mythical "iPhone", on the eve of a press event in San Francisco. A device combining features of a phone and iPod has been expected for years, by rivals such as Motorola as well as supporters, and the rumours have been regularly fed by patents and trademarks filed by Apple.
The Nike+iPod Sport Kit lets you tailor your running experience for the ultimate workout. Just put the sensor into a special pocket in the Nike+ midsole, then plug a receiver into the Dock connector on your iPod Nano. The sensor & receiver give you instant feedback on your performance, through the iPod and its screen. You’ll be able to track distance, time, pace and calories burned. You can also set up PowerSongs — access teh tunes that get you pumped instantly. It’s everything you need to manage your workout AND enjoy it more. For more info and some customer reviews on the Nike + iPod Sport Kit see this page here in our online store.
The 10.1 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 features a powerful f2.8 Leica DC lens with 12x optical zoom. The lens focal length is equivalent to 35-420mm on a 35mm film camera and is enhanced by Mega Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) system. The FZ50 has been reviewed and given high notes at Dpreview.com, you can find the Panasonic DMC-FZ50 review here. For more info and pricing see this page here Panasonic DMC-FZ50K 10.1MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom .
BBC News reports here: Online shopping giant Amazon.com has launched a digital TV and film download service in the US called Amazon Unbox. Backed by top Hollywood studios and TV channels, including Warner Brothers and CBS, Amazon Unbox will offer programmes and films direct to users’ computers.
ZDNet reports: With the BlackBerry Pearl 8100, RIM has attempted to square the circle. The aim was to make a device small enough to be a covetable phone, that operates as a smartphone, and is still a real BlackBerry. You can see a first look at the 8100 Pearl here at the ZDNet UK’s Reviews channel.
BBC News reports here: The launch of Sony’s long-awaited PlayStation 3 games console in Europe has been delayed until March 2007. Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony’s global computer entertainment division, said the machine would still be launched in November in the US and in Japan.
Press Release from Samsung: Samsung announced today the development of an intelligent mobile display driver IC (DDI), which enables the displays on handheld devices to deliver clearer images in broad daylight.
Until now, mobile DDIs have been designed simply to drive the LCD panels mounted on mobile devices. Now, Samsung has developed an intelligent version that will reduce display power consumption and improve image quality on mobile displays.
Samsung’s new DDI device automatically measures the brightness of ambient light and determines the optimal image output. While enhancing the visibility of on-screen images outdoors, this DDI device can reduce the power consumption of the display module by nearly 30 percent by lowering the backlight brightness in an indoor environment.
The photo-sensor and associated processing scheme in the intelligent mobile DDI divides the detected light into thirty-two levels. The device is designed to select the most appropriate image enhancement algorithm for each of these levels, making the colors more lifelike. This new mobile image enhancement algorithm was jointly developed with Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT).
The enhancement algorithm within the DDI analyzes color data of each pixel and reconfigures it to an optimally recognizable condition by adjusting brightness and saturation for crisper visibility. With the primary colors intensified, the LCD images remain bright even when the display is exposed to direct sunlight.
“With the development of the intelligent mobile DDI, significant image enhancement on displays can be controlled directly by the driver IC,” said Myunghee Lee, vice president of the advanced DDI design team at Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business. “As a broader variety of mobile handheld devices adopt mobile TV features, the intelligent mobile DDI provides optimum performance and efficiencies especially when supporting use in the outdoors.”
Demand for mobile DDI continues to expand, from mobile phones to MP3 players, personal medial players and other product segments. Samsung expects the global DDI market for mobile color display to increase from 1.6 billion units in 2006 to 2.3 billion units in 2009. Samsung plans to begin mass production of its new intelligent mobile DDI by the end of 2006.
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