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Newstips Electronic Editorial Bulletin Issue # 2007-12b
As predicted, Nostradamus birthday week news
FIRST LOOKS SOON ON PC/MAC I-TORNADO
They call it the iTornado - it's the new, slightly slimmer
version of the Tornado file transfer gizmo that will be able to
work with both PCs & Macs. They'll be qualifying prototypes in
the next couple of weeks & be able to spare a few first-looks
units by early January; ask Clint. Contact: Clint Hughes, DATA
DRIVE THRU (Dallas, TX) 972-897-7057
mailto:chughes@datadrivethru.com http://TheTornado.com
HIGH TECH PET CARRIER MAINTAINS THERMAL COMFORT
Welcome Komfort Pets with one of the most amazing pet products
you've seen: a pet carrier that uses thermostat-controlled solid
state Peltier devices to heat or cool the carrier into a pet's
comfort zone even when surrounding conditions might be decidedly
uncomfortable. Right now, only the pioneer edition small carrier
($300) is available; it's the right size for a cat (but maybe not
for the largest breeds like Maine Coon Cat or Norwegian Forest
Cat). Early next year, look for a full range of sizes (small,
medium & large) with even more features & a lower price point.
Bob can get you a small one now for your last-minute holiday
items; he can get info & photos on the second generation models
to those of you with longer lead times & he's ready to take names
& shipping info for those of you who want to be among the first
to cover the second generation products when they emerge. If you
talk, ask him where 10% of the money goes. Contact: Bob Inello,
KOMFORT PETS (Revere, MA) 781-485-0077
mailto:rinello@komfortpets.com http://KomfortPets.com
SINGLE BAND CELL BOOSTERS COST $100 LESS
Last time, we talked about the dual-band WiEx cell signal booster
($400) that taps the strongest available signal at any wall to
create a good-size indoor bubble of really strong signal
coverage. If you're in a place where people need to connect over
both Verizon & Sprint, for example, this is the right answer. If
you only need one or the other, single band PCS (1900MHz) or CEL
(800MHz) models are also available ($300 each). But there's more,
like even less expensive personal models & a car model. Call now
to figure out what you want to get now for review & make a point
of haunting them at CES to learn about the rest (plus some
surprises). Contact: Sharon Cuppett, WI-EX INC. (Norcross, GA)
770-239-5475x6380 mailto:scuppett@wi-ex.com http://wi-ex.com
AGENCY CONTACT: Deanna Anderson 404-759-1890
mailto:danderson@comcast.net
JVC AT CES: TV GOES ALMOST 2D
We have to hold back the details for now, but we'll be happy to
let slip the appeal: JVC will preview a new generation of TV sets
that will make your room seem bigger. Make a point of seeing them
in the JVC new product showroom at Caesar's, either by
appointment or right after their annual press breakfast briefing
(8-9AM Tuesday, 1/8). Contact: Chelsea Vander Groef, JVC COMPANY
OF AMERICA (Wayne, NJ) 973-317-5000x5312
mailto:cvandergroef@jvc.com http://jvc.com
FROM FRANKINCENSE TO FRANKFURTERS
While a frankincense aroma is associated with the holidays, the
aroma of a game day frankfurter makes any day seem like summer.
So for the holidays or for fun in the New Year, you'll get a kick
out of the Home Pride Ballpark Hot Dog Rotisserie Griller with
Bun Warmer ($50 in white, silver, black or red). Just like at the
stadium, rotisserie rollers (these are non-stick Teflon-coated 6"
rollers) rotate the wieners (up to 4 at a time, regular or jumbo,
or pair up as many as 8 smaller breakfast links) for incomparably
even cooking. Stand up the buns on heated stainless steel spikes
to toast them from the inside. It's a hot gadget; dog Greg to
review it. Contact: Greg Schwartz, GADGET UNIVERSE (Sylmar, CA)
818-833-4860x371 mailto:gregs@gadgetuniverse.com
http://GadgetUniverse.com
VIRGIN DOESN'T NEED LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS
Right now, anybody can buy $20 worth of air time from Virgin
Mobile & get a phone free; they can buy prepaid air time by the
minute or by the month with no long-term commitments. There's a
choice of a dozen phones, the fanciest still under $100. The cost
to quit is zero. Among the bottom lines here: the safety &
security of a cell phone & service for people who can't afford
the pricing & commitment arrogance of other carriers, the ability
to economically provide that to your kids or parents or even just
the idea of having an emergency backup cell phone where & when
the weather can knock out land lines. We love how this approach
makes the practices at the other carriers look so, well, greedy.
Ask Corinne for info or reviewables. Contact: Corinne Nosal,
VIRGIN MOBILE USA (Warren, NJ) 908-607-4235
mailto:corinne.nosal@virginmobileusa.com
http://virginmobileusa.com
HOW TO ZOOM THROUGH CES
No matter if you write for radio, TV, print or online, in a
grueling environment like CES, a Zoom H2 pocket recording studio
is an invaluable ally. You can control the quality of the
recording, from voice-optimized MP3 compressions that get tons of
hours onto an SD card to lossless multiple-channel broadcast WAV
modes with embedded time-coding. It all writes to an internal SD
card & there's a mini-5 USB plug for speedy transfers to a PC.
Use its built-in mikes or plug in your own. Grab audio of demos
or interviews with a set-up time of about 4 seconds (time to pull
it out of your pocket, turn it on & press the record button). It
isn't too late for Mark to get you one for review & CES is one
heck of a good opportunity for a field test. Contact: Mark
Wilder, SAMSON TECHNOLOGIES (Hauppauge, NY) 631-784-2200x142
mailto:mwilder@samsontech.com http://SamsonTech.com
TIFFEN ADDS INFRARED FLEXIBILITY
Tiffen already makes "hot mirror" (block infrared, pass visible
light) filters, popular with demanding DSLR users because IR can
cause color rendition problems. Now at the movie industry's
request, they're adding infrared neutral density filters for
motion pictures & television; these pass visible light but evenly
limit the amount of IR that can get through; they're the IR
equivalent of gray. If there's enough interest, these will also
appear in smaller ring sizes for consumer cameras & camcorders.
Ask Hilary. Contact: Hilary Araujo, TIFFEN COMPANY (Hauppauge,
NY) 631-273-2500x1216 mailto:haraujo@tiffen.com
http:/.tiffen.com
INVISIBLE LABELS DON'T LABEL YOU A DORK
Back in childhood summer camp excursions, did the other kids call
you a dork because your mom put your name on your underpants?
Putting your name on things that are yours isn't a bad practice,
though being obvious about it isn't always the way to go. So in
another plunge into making the invisible work for you, MaxMax
offers a 3-piece UV marking kit ($35) that includes a UV penlight
& 2 markers that are normally invisible but that appear,
respectively, blue (familiar) or red (pretty rare) under UV
light. While you can use these for your underpants, we're
guessing that these days they might be even more appropriate for
marking currency or expensive goods whenever there's a suspicion
of them leaving in the wrong hands. (For those of you in TV news,
it's a very cool tool for your investigative teams, too). Ask
Dan. Contact: Dan Llewellyn, LDP LLC (Carlstadt NJ) 201-882-0344
mailto:dan@maxmax.com Http://MaxMax.com
NOW GUARDIAN EDGE COVERS EVERY EDGE, EVEN SMART PHONES
Smart phones running Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile or Pocket PC
software can now be as protected as any endpoint in enterprises
with Guardian Edge in place. Part of the protection focuses on
e-mail, part of it in the many kinds of files that can come
across during sync & all of it is centrally managed. None of it
gets in the way of appropriate use of the gear. Ask Eric.
Contact: Eric Lewis, GUARDIAN EDGE (San Francisco CA)
415-683-2299 mailto:elewis@guardianedge.com
http://GuardianEdge.com
LOOKS LIKE A COASTER, FITS A SHIRT, HOLDS A TON
You've seen pocket hard drives before, but not with the capacity
of the Aegis Mini (a Cherry Pick last year). They're now able to
hold up to 120GB (that top end is, as always, about to grow).
They're now available for either USB or Firewire; in either case,
there's an integrated wrap-around connecting cable you can't lose
or forget & it's powered by the bus, so it's all self-contained.
The whole thing is just over 3" by just under 3", about as thick
as your index finger & less than 4 ounces. Think how handy it
would be to use it to shuttle all your trade show info, including
photos & videos & audio recordings, all in your shirt pocket.
Michelle wants you to review it even more than you want to get it
for review; ask her. Contact: Michelle Fischer, APRICORN INC.
(Poway, CA) 858-513-4480 mailto:mfischer@apricorn.com
http://apricorn.com AGENCY CONTACT: Jennifer Olson 415-402-0230
mailto:jennifer@atomicpr.com
GOT COMPONENT, NEED HDMI, SEE ATLONA IN A MONTH
About a month from now, Atlona will debut an amazing zero-latency
component video to HDMI converter priced significantly below
$200. Component video is analog with 3 separate signals each on a
coax cable; HDMI is digital with audio also embedded. As a
technology solution, the ability to make the digitization &
combination happen without latency is noteworthy & at the price
point is amazing; even better, it's useful for people who have
gear with only a component video output available, especially
when it's just one of many sources through an HDMI digital
selector or video processor. A limited number of units for first
looks should be available by late January with full production in
February or March (depending on how few tweaks the early units
require). Ask Chris. Contact: Chris Bundy, ATLONA ELECTRONICS
(San Jose, CA) 408-954-8782x113
mailto:chris@lenexpo-electronics.com http://atlona.com
NEWTON/MOGO AT CES: SIG & SS
You'll have two chances to catch up with Newton & the growing
MoGo Mouse family at CES. One is at the Bluetooth SIG where
they're part of the showcase of how Bluetooth & Bluetooth 2 are
helping cool rule. Also, because cheese is irresistible to mice,
you'll find them among the shrimp, cheese, drinks, comestibles &
exhibitors at Showstoppers. Come & see & try the new X54 MoGo
Mouse products & you may decide that your old mouse bites. Did we
forget to mention the MoGo Go-Go Girls? Contact: Jack Corrao,
NEWTON PERIPHERALS (West Newton, MA) 858-792-0944
mailto:jack.corrao@newtonperipherals.com
http://NewtonPeripherals.com
SPECIAL REPORT: THE TV SET
When we entered the millennium, we had more choices in TV display
technology than ever: CRT (classic "picture tube"), LCD direct
view, plasma, LCD projection, DLP projection & LCoS projection.
LCD projection & CRT sets have all but disappeared & plasma is a
"de-emphasized" category, as is DLP & LCoS projection. The
industry emphasis is on LCD sets, now that its manufacturing
yields are helping control costs. In TV sets, though, there's no
such thing as a fixed target. Beyond the elementary shifts (like
SD versus 720p versus 1080p), there are new technologies coming
into play. (Caveat scriba: some of these only play in
announcements & demos for now). One that's already appearing is
the 120Hz refresh rate, which is already misleading, not to
mention already being misrepresented in ads. Classic NTSC
signals, as you may know, send each frame of a picture as 2
interleaved fields, the even lines & the odd lines; fields happen
at 60Hz (all these rates are rounded) & frames at 30Hz. The idea
of 120Hz is based on the idea that a 1080i HDTV signal (the "I"
for interleaved) has its fields arriving at 60Hz, which is true
but irrelevant. Here's what really happens: the set grabs &
stores 4 full fields, meaning 2 full frames (consider them the
before & after frames), uses some pretty sophisticated algorithms
to analyze each before & after pixel (also considering thousands
of surrounding pixels) & calculates a synthesized frame that it
will display in between. The picture updates twice as fast,
interposing these synthesized frames between each before & after
pair. The most apparent result is smoother on-screen motion &
perhaps a cure to CNN-crawl headaches. Stores are advertising
these sets as having two attributes, 120Hz & twice the frames per
second, but they're both the same thing. Today, 120Hz sets are
$400-500 more, but expect that to drop. Another already-previewed
feature that should creep into production sets this year is LED
backlighting (instead of cold cathode tubes), which offers more
brightness, lower energy usage, crisper colors & better picture
contrast when properly done. In terms of cosmetics, the trend
lines are to shrink the bezel surrounding the picture area & to
make the panels even thinner. Other trend lines that we'd love to
see are stubbornly refusing to appear; for example, tighter
granularity would allow a more continuous tonality, much more
like film, creating a reason for being for 1080P sets in smaller
screen sizes. 2K, 4K & 8K sets (with multiples of the number of
display pixels per transmitted image pixel, plus their own
advanced image processing to make wonderful use of them) exist in
professional editing & CGI shops & are being deployed for digital
theaters, but are far from ready to come home. And we're still
waiting for a TV set that's polite enough to turn on a night
light when we turn it off so we won't bump into the furniture on
our way to bed.
SPECIAL REPORT BONUS REVIEW: ATI RADEON HD 2600 XT
We love that the battle between ATI & Nvidia never ends. ATI (now
part of AMD) just sent us a blast furnace of a graphics card in
their Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card, capable of supporting dual
displays at up to 2560x1600 each. Its TV-out modes support both
SD & HD (analog & digital to 1080p). While the digital
connections are both DVI-I, ATI includes adapters for VGA & for
HDMI including 5.1 (AC3) surround audio. This is a 16-lane (X16)
PCI Express card with (in the review unit we got) 512MB of GDDR3
RAM. There's no driver distress on Vista or with DirectX 10, so
it can turn Vista into a gonzo gaming platform. We especially
like the hardware acceleration, since it applies very directly to
our ability to work with HD video. Bottom line: not only no
compromises, this is one graphics card that will make you want to
upgrade your displays.
SPECIAL REPORT SECOND BONUS REVIEW: TOOTHBRUSH SANITIZER
Our recent search for ways to sanitize earbud crud brought us to
several UVC (deep ultraviolet) products designed for hearing aids
& a few that, though originally designed for other uses, might be
able to stick an earbud into. Two precautions are necessary when
doing so: the intensity & duration of UV exposure would have to
be limited in order to avoid degrading the plastics & the design
would have to prevent shining the light directly into our eyes,
where it can also cause harm. That set us looking at toothbrush
sanitizers & one that seems a very direct hit is the iTouchless
UV001U UV Toothbrush Sanitizer. It's freestanding, getting all
the power it needs from a pair of AA cells. Push on the power
switch & a blue pilot LED on the front turns on as a UV lamp
inside fires up. When it does, the UV-blocking translucent cap
glows blue until the sanitizing period automatically times out in
6-7 minutes. The plastic cap has sleeves around the toothbrush
holding ports to keep UV from shining through & its removal
engages an electrical interlock that keeps the UV lamp from
firing. The plastic cap unscrews to unlock & a separate drip cup
lifts out for cleaning. If you just use it for toothbrushes,
that's all there is to it. If you want to alternate between
toothbrushes & earbuds (which generally fit down the toothbrush
ports), it's probably a good idea to clean the drip cup first. We
are not equipped to count bacteria or measure Bottom line: it
seems well thought-out, capable & safe & these days, the idea of
having a small sanitizer on hand also seems extra appealing.
SPECIAL REPORT THIRD BONUS REVIEW: OTTERBOX FOR PEARL
We love the Blackberry Pearl & agonize whenever we accidentally
miss the belt clip & it drops to the ground, usually meaning the
SOS mode & a detour to the back battery cover to open it up, pull
& reinsert the battery to reset everything. We now have an
alternative with a new Otterbox to fit the Blackberry Pearl. It
has 4 components: an inner thin transparent plastic shield
(redundant for us with Invisible Shield already in place, but a
good idea for others), tough plastic case armor halves, a tough
rubbery silicon surround & a clip to slide it all into. The combo
has cutouts for the main keyboard, screen & camera lens; you can
control the side volume & function buttons through corresponding
bumps in the "rubber" & a waterproof flap covers the USB &
headset ports. The fit to the clip is counter-intuitive, facing
the back (camera lens side) out, but when you think about it,
that does help protect the keyboard & screen. The whole package
does a lot to armor the Pearl, but at the sacrifice of
significant slenderness. We're likely to save it for those times
it's really needed & keep the Pearl light-weight, slender & naked
for day-to-day usage. Bottom line: We think it's an indispensable
protection for the Blackberry when facing risky environments & a
great safeguard for activities that can involve drops, bumps or
other hazards & an option for other times.
SPECIAL REPORT FOURTH BONUS REVIEW: PIONEER DVR-X122
When we got in a Fujitsu notebook sans optical drive, we figured
it was time to get a USB external DVD burner. We picked the
Pioneer DVR-X122; somebody should have a word with them about the
expectations of alphabet soup, since there are absolutely no DVR
attributes to this drive. It runs only in horizontal orientation,
uses an AC adapter block. The package is bigger & heavier than we
expected, about 6 times the volume of the drive itself & 3+
pounds. A cut-out on the floor of the tray means that while this
can work with round media, special cuts (like those optical disc
business card novelties) may fall through the "floor" & jam.
Ultimately, it does what it's supposed to do: plugs into USB,
gets recognized, reads & writes a variety of CD/DVD types &
responds to the eject command. Bottom line: while strangely
conceived, it's adequate to its purpose.
WRITERS' STRIKE RIPPLE EFFECT
We got through most of November with only modest impact
(primarily late-night & soaps) from the writers' strike, but
there's little avoiding that prime time dramas, sitcoms &
scripted series have pretty much run out of new episodes. With
fewer compelling reasons to go watch TV, we anticipate some
negative impact on seasonal TV sales as a result, fortunately for
the industry, sports coverage, which is unaffected, drives more
of those sales than any other single factor. But the impact on CE
sales doesn't end with TV sets. If, as we anticipate, overall
prime time viewership also declines, that suggests that
already-bought commercials for stores & products will have less
impact; whether or not that proves to reduce overall consumer
holiday spending, it's almost certain to shift the balance of
market share for both vendor brands & retailer brands.
Separately, consumers are, of course, already suspicious of toys,
thanks to the lead paint & safety scares; that could produce a
small boost for book & disc sales. We also anticipate, for
behavioral reasons, a shift in favor of buying a few more clothes
& a few less hard goods this season. Into 2008, the influx of
political campaign spending on TV will shore up its revenue needs
in a way that will be somewhat insulated from any viewership
declines (though the value of any specific time slot may prove
unstable); we see some of this spending going to radio &
newspapers but an even bigger (albeit less appropriate) increase
will get spent online. Good luck to us all. What do you think?
Contact: Martin Winston, NEWSTIPS (Novelty, OH) 440-338-8400;
mailto:marty@newstips.com http://Newstips.com
CHERRY PICKS
Cherry Picks is 9-12 Sunday Morning at the Wynn (Lafite
ballrooms). As you face The Wynn, instead of coming in through
the main front doors & snaking through the lobby, walk a few
yards toward The Venetian & come in the Tour Bus Entrance at The
Wynn (we'll try to have a girl there with a sign); it's only a
few yards from there to the ballroom. Breakfast before will be in
the press (stage) area, lunch after in the green room (vendors)
area. We'll have fewer picks than previous years, but some better
ones. And we have some flexibility in seating; if you've attended
before, we'll have room for you again.
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Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com
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