Gadgets Blog

Yamaha is a noted name when it comes to music instruments (yes, they don’t just make kick as motorcycles, you know), and their latest efforts result in the new “AvantGrand” line, a piano that merges the mechanism of a grand piano with other electronics technologies. The AvantGrand N3 resembles a grand piano from the outside and will be unveiled to the world on the 15th of next month, while the N2 will arrive in Japan this July 15th, featuring a depth of 51.3cm. Departments within Yamaha that specialized in acoustic and electronic pianos jointly launched the project with the final goal of commercializing these products, and it sure as heck looks as though they’ve succeeded their goals and beyond.

Yamaha aims to simulate the touch of a grand piano to make the experience as close as possible, and they have done so by developing a special keyboard operation mechanism. Each key will be equipped with a couple of sensors that will be able to contactlessly detect a key stroke and its respective strength when producing sound. One of these sensors will be hooked to a key, whereas the other is placed on a component that will take over the hammer’s place in a standard grand piano.

Yamaha’s new hybrid pianos will feature pedals that can be used just like those found on a grand piano, where the mechanism has been tuned to perfection, making the players feel as though they were dancing their fingers across a grand piano instead of a hybrid. Sound produced on the AvantGrand range is based on the sound sampled from four locations, which are the left, right, center and rear, of a grand piano. Not only that, all of the high-, middle- and low-range speakers will come with a dedicated amplifier in order to avoid interference in each range while offering more subtle nuances in the sound.

Source: Tech On

Nikon is at the top of its game with the latest DSLR from the company, the highly vaunted D5000 that looks set to blow the rest of the competition in its class away. Why do we say so? It comes with a robust feature set as well as simple operability that is backed by Nikon’s superlative technology, making it the perfect choice for folks who are about to enter the DSLR game for the first time as well as those who want to upgrade and purchase a digital SLR which matches their experience level in order to reach greater heights of photographic expression whenever they press the shutter button. Check out the impressive list of specifications and features right after the jump.

The D5000 first of all comes with a versatile Vari-angle LCD display which can be viewed from a standard position flush against the camera back, but depending on the situation you’re in, you can opt to have it swing out or rotated/tilted to suit you and your subject. This unequalled freedom of movement will be able to further increase the type of angles you can make in your shots. When not in use though, this monitor can be stowed away with the LCD panel facing the camera’s back to protect it from any accidental knocks. It measures 2.7″ across diagonally and comes with a 230k pixel resolution.

Other features include a 12.3 effective megapixel CMOS sensor, Nikon’s very own EXPEED image processing system, a wide range of compatibility with a comprehensive selection of NIKKOR lenses, smooth tonal gradation, outstanding color reproduction, and low noise courtesy of a wide ISO sensitivity range. In addition, the help of Scene Recognition System with Face Detection and Active D-Lighting will reproduce even more vibrant images. Would you pick this up as your next DSLR upgrade, or will you choose something else?

Press Release

Sanyo does not want to be left behind in Samsung’s wake with the latter recently announcing eight more new projectors that will hit the market shortly, and hence have come up with a solitary defense - a front projector that is touted to throw an amazing 100″ image from just 63cm away. As for this front projector’s color reproducibility, it currently stands at 170% of the NTSC standard so you can be assured that there is a high standard of quality we’re talking about here. This projector is able to perform as it does thanks to the use of ultra-short focus projection technology that merges both projector lenses and concave mirrors, projecting light from the upper surface of the device with laser as a light source.

Sanyo’s latest will also come with a brightness of 7,000lm, where Sanyo is willing to stake its claim of this being “the world’s highest brightness among laser projectors.” As mentioned earlier, it boasts a color reproduction range that is “about twice as wide as that of general LCD TVs”, although we’re not too sure whether this is able to compare to what the best plasma TVs and LCD TVs have to offer. After all, no point making a comparison with average/general products from a rival range, right? You might as well learn to pit it against the best for merit.

The Sanyo DLP projector will come with a trio of 0.95″ DMDs (digital mirror devices), and is capable of handling full High Definition video flawlessly with a pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080. You will be able to choose from a variety of screen sizes that range from 100″ to 150″, and even at its maximum size, the projection distance is a mere 94cm, making this useful for presentations when you don’t want folks crossing right in front of your display to distract the rest of the audience. Other features include a throw ratio of 0.28 which is also better than the industry average. Commercialization of this projector will commence in 2012.

Source: Tech On

Samsung seems to be a company that has its fingers dipped into just about every piece of consumer electronics possible, you name it, they’ve got it - from flat screen TVs to slim displays, notebooks and netbooks, MP3 players and portable media players to even projectors. This time round, we’re going to concentrate on what the Korean consumer electronics giant has in store for us where the world of projectors is concerned. The company has made a huge push by rolling out a whopping eight projectors that are designed for virtually any and every situation, including a portable model, a couple of classrom units as well as an equal number or large venue models to accompany a trio of home theater projectors. We’ll take a closer look at all of these right after the jump.

Samsung is making a big push today as they announce the release of eight new projectors. Samsung has created a wide array of models that are designed for everything including a portable model, two classroom units, two large venue models, and three home theater projectors. Most of these projectors can already be found on the Samsung website. “We’ve taken our expertise in displays and technology offering to give our projectors excellent picture quality. Every aspect of the projector, from the exterior to the AV inputs and sound system, was designed to maximize the viewing experience,” said Tom Grau, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Projectors at Samsung Electronics’ Information Technology Division. “As we expand our line of Data Projectors, we are launching a family of strategic offerings for growing market segments that leverage our brand’s heritage for superior display performance.”

First off we have the P400 projector that is lighter than 5 lbs, making it a snap to store into any travel bag for convenient traveling. In addition, the P400 will feature SVGA (800 x 600) resolution, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1 and a brightness of 150 ANSI lumens, capable of throwing images the size of 80″ from less than 9 feet away. You can pick up the P400 for $699.

The two classroom projectors would be the L220 and L300, where the former features 3LCD display technology and 2200 ANSI lumens brightness, featuring a a VGA and composite port in addition to stereo speakers. As for the L300, it is brighter at 3000 ANSI lumens, boasting a 500:1 contrast ratio and a native XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution. Apart from the connectivity found in the L220, the L300 also has an HDMI port and will retail for $1,099.

As for the D300, this large venue projector has a 3000 ANSI lumens brightness, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, and XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution. Despite targeting big displays, it won’t tip over 10 lbs when on the scale, making this $1,000 projector a highly portable business tool. Double that price and you will get the D400 that comes with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, XGA (1024 x 768) resolution and 4,000 ANSI lumens, complemented by the latest DarkChip4 DLP chipset for clear, crisp images.

Home theater buffs will be pleased to check out the $1,499 A400B that has WXGA (1,280 x 768) resolution a 2,500:1 contrast ratio, and 2,000 ANSI lumens. It comes with a short throw distance to be used in smaller theaters, while the superior A800B projector has a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,000 ANSI lumens, and full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution. Last but not least is the high end A900 that boasts full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution, 1,000 ANSI lumens, and an amazing 12,000:1 contrast ratio.

Press Release

Just as how the Internet and technology has changed the landscale of this world by making it a global village, rendering most borders irrelevant, along comes this timepiece for the home that eschews such idealogy - the borderless clock. This modern-looking clock is made out of MDF, where the entire surface is covered with water-based paint that shrugs water off like a duck’s back. It is powered by a single AA battery and moves silently without that irritating tick-tock noise, featuring a soft plastic pointer that won’t poke anyone’s eyes out. Fancy doing up your home by adding this $38 piece of beauty?

So you love decorating your home’s lawn with garden gnomes and the ilk, but surely you’re not going to let them die of thirst? Hence, the presence of a pond in the middle of your garden to further enhance the overall look of your very own personal space in this big, big world. Why not make it spring to life (literally) with the solar-powered pond fountain?

Cordless solar powered pond fountain harnesses the sun’s natural energy to produce a dramatic fountain in your outdoor pond. Create a focal point in your garden and relax to the sound of cascading water. No hoses or wires required, simply stake separate solar panel in the ground to collect sunlight. No need for costly wiring to any remote locatioin. Environmentally friendly, saves money and reduces energy costs. Choose from two fountain heights.

You will be able to choose from 36″ and 14″ versions which retail for $89.98 and $69.98, respectively.

NEC is once again thrusted into the headlines of technology news with word of its latest release - the new 3.5″ amorphous-silicon transflective thin-film-transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD) module that boasts quarter video graphics array (QVGA) resolution, where it will feature higher reflection properties compared to its predecessors (we demanding consumers wouldn’t expect anything less than that, would we?). This display has been shortlisted by NEC to see action in a variety of small, professional applications including handheld terminals, personal digital assistants (PDA) and portable navigation device (PND) applications.

This new 3.5″ display will see NEC incorporate its latest technologies, including the new super-reflective natural light (SR-NLT) technology, which is a proprietary technology that enhances LCD performance in outdoor lighting environments. About time too, we say, as even until today, the latest and greatest gadgets fail to shine (pardon the pun) under direct sunlight, although they have brightened up considerably when indoors. NEC hopes to change that with their new release, where in the reflective mode, the display module will capitalize on NEC’s optimum LCD panel design so that excellent visibility is provided complete with viewing angle characteristics, regardless of where the user is. Not only that, this module makes reading displayed information a snap with the backlight off in order to further reduce power consumption.

At press time, most portable information display instruments in the market today are powered by either transmissive or transflective LCD modules which work in both transmissive mode (using the light from the backlight) and reflective mode (using the available ambient light). Regardless of which mode is used, the backlight is the biggest culprit, consuming anywhere from 70% to 90% of the displays’ total power consumption. NEC’s response is this 3.5″ messiah of sorts, where it reacts to the environment for maximum battery life, boasting a high reflection ratio of 16% and a contrast ratio of 20:1 in reflective mode. We can’t wait to check out devices that take advantage of this display in the near future.

Press Release