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2007-12B

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.

                # # #

Newstips Bulletin [Novelty, OH] +1.440.338.8400 http://Newstips.com

(c) Copyright 2007 Martin Winston and TwandaCorp - all rights reserved.

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