New Ambilight TVs coming our way

According to Philips, four lines of new flat-panel TVs will be available globally in 2007. They are the 3000, 5000, 7000 and flagship 9000-series. First to reach our Asia shores will be the 7000 lineup with confirmed specifications for dual HDMI, Pixel Plus HD engine and full-HD LCD panels. While details are sketchy at the moment, these will likely be localized models with a scaled-down feature set although their ultra-high 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution remains untouched.

For these new series, slim and chic is the order of the day, centered on a thin piano black LCD frame and streamlined bottom speakers for a refreshing new styling. We also caught wind that some of these will be outfitted with an onboard subwoofer for enhanced audio performance. That's besides the Perfect Pixel HD engine, three HDMI ports and LED Ambilight as reported at January's CES show. Most of these will be featured in its 9000-series though the company is tight-lipped on their availability in Asia.

Here's how to photograph the "curiosity" that killed the cat

This particular item was brought to my attention by a cat-loving friend who does not follow the tech blogs (sacrilege, I know). Behold: The CatCam, a modified digital camera with a time-sequence controller and a furry mode of transportation. The Website features the adventures of one such furball, a tomcat named Mr Lee. This typically curious kitty treks around the great outdoors, and then his owner posts pics from his "trips" online. The images aren't exactly crystal clear, but that adds to the charm--you gotta love the furry chin partially obstructing the view in many of the photos. And the one of Mr Lee taking a drink is awfully cute, despite the blur. (The captions are rather amusing, too.)

The site also offers the CatCam for purchase, and I thought momentarily that I'd like to strap one on to my precious little girl, but seeing as how she's only allowed to wander a city-sized apartment, the photos would be less "oh, how cute!" and more "good Lord, I need to clean my floors". This led me to the conclusion that this gadget is really only useful for outdoor cats. And by "useful" I mean "entertaining"--the CatCam is really just a fun toy, right? If you can think of any other uses, please post 'em in the comments.

Via CNET Crave

Cheaper than a dentist: Photoshop teeth-whitening filter

Austin, Texas-based Image Trends plans to release new Photoshop plug-ins that automate two common tasks for the cosmetic retouching of digital photos: Whitening teeth and removing skin glare.

The company's PearlyWhites and ShineOff plug-ins cost US$49.95 each. The plug-ins work on Windows, but Mac OS X versions will be available later.

The filters can operate in a batch mode, allowing Photoshop users to edit large groups of images in bulk. The PearlyWhites plug-in doesn't need to be told where teeth are located--the often-laborious selection process. Instead, it applies its changes to white areas that it finds surrounded by flesh tones, said Michael Conley, vice president of Marketing and Sales.

The company also plans to release the Mac OS X version of a plug-in called Fisheye-Hemi that converts the distorted view of a fish-eye lens into a perspective more familiar to human eyes. That plug-in costs US$29.95.

Image Trends was formed from the core members of the former Applied Science Fiction Group, now Kodak's Austin Development Center, the company said.

Via CNET Crave

Carpet Alarm Clock

It's no Aladdin's carpet, but this beaut of an alarm clock concept by designers Sofie Colin and Gustav Lanberg effectively gets you out of bed. Designed as a carpet, the only way you're going to turn it off is if you get off your favorite horizontal position and step on it. Or have someone step on it. Of course, this also gives your siblings plenty of opportunity to secret it away some distance from your bed. No word on whether there's a cap to the weight limit before this clock starts sounding a different kind of alarm.

Bigger image here

Via Yanko Design

Price: N.A.
Availability: Concept
Device: Alarm clock
Specs: N.A.

Reinventing the analog phone

This may be an odd proposition but Hong Kong-based Everpeace Technology is advocating a secure telephony system based on the age-old analog technology. Leveraging on its proprietary Frequency Domain Scrambling technique, the company claims a higher degree of anti-tapping deterrence against comparable digital equivalents. The latter are designed using well-documented industrial encryption which may be vulnerable due to their widespread implementation.

This, when coupled with its one-touch call scrambling and 100 million cryptographic codes, is indeed promising in our opinion, though it's hard not to fault the bulky and unassuming design. Other notable features include built-in speakerphone, caller ID and even a calculator function. You will need a pair of these to make a secured call and each set goes for US$240. It's now available in Asia but has to be ordered directly from the company.

More CommunicAsia 2007 coverage here.

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