LED-lit Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 monitor hands-on

LED illumination for both TVs and monitors has been gathering pace recently, with Samsung's XL2370 the latest we've seen to make use of the advantages LEDs offer over traditional cathode backlights. Firstly, they're dimmable, which means you get good contrast and secondly, they use much lower power, which means you won't make the polar bears sad.

At 23 inches, the XL2370 is a good size for a PC monitor, and its 16:9 ratio and 1080p resolution mean it's likely to appeal to people who work with video, or those who watch loads of movies.
Read more »

Samsung's first Blu-ray sound bar has landed in Singapore

Here are some facts that you may not know about kelp, unless you've been to the Wikipedia page too: Per 100g, kelp has 0.6g of fat, 1.7g of protein and 40kcal of energy. Kelp is also used to make the speakers found in the Samsung HT-BD8200 Blu-ray speaker bar.


Apparently, kelp is a good material with which to construct speakers because its density is quite high, which means less sound distortion and better clarity. Unless you read the box, which makes a moderate fuss about the speakers' ocean-based origins, you wouldn't know the HT-BD8200 feature a healthy dose of seaweed though.
Read more »

Onkyo Digital Media Transport for iPhones and iPods

You know the score: You bought an iPod or iPhone and you find yourself with all of your music on one device. But how do you listen to it on that expensive home cinema in your lounge? Onkyo, like so many other companies, is keen to be the receptacle for your pod-based device with its Digital Media Transport--a very glamorous name for an iPod dock.

The Digital Media Transport is designed to work with Onkyo equipment and it features its new dock connection. Digital optical and coaxial connectors mean it will work with any suitably endowed audio equipment. A remote control is also supplied, which makes controlling your iPod a little easier too. And like most docks, the Onkyo has the advantage of bypassing the iPod's built-in digital-to-analogue convertor, so you should be able to squeeze a much better sound out of your MP3 player. This will be especially true of lossless music encoded in WAV format or Apple's own lossless AAC system.
Read more »

Android phones to get multitouch in future release?

Multitouch is the elephant in the room on Android phones--elegant proof that the OS lags behind the iPhone in some areas. The HTC Hero is the only phone that currently has the feature, and it's only on certain HTC applications. You're bang out of luck when it comes to maps, for instance, but it works fine in the Web browser. Google has, for its part, denied there will be any multitouch in the near future.

We're seeing rumors, however, that at some stage in the next year we will see the arrival of multitouch. Our marvelously named colleague Taylor Wimberly at CNET.com goes over the full details. The upshot appears to be that despite all the claims from Google, the OS is being prepared for multitouch. One of the foremost Android "hackers" has seen the basic level of kernel support for multitouch--and the Hero proves the hardware can make use of it.
Read more »

Toshiba says Blu-ray adoption just part of its HD agenda

With the announcement yesterday that Toshiba would be supporting Blu-ray with its own hardware this year, we sought some chatting time with the company's very own Olivier van Wynedaele. A senior executive at Toshiba Europe, he's involved with optical storage and we've spoken to him before about Toshiba's DVD upscalers and HD-DVD players. He's certainly a chap who knows his stuff when it comes to optical formats.

Some people have had a bit of a pop at Toshiba since it announced the end of HD-DVD 18 months ago. There are some who think the company should have hopped straight on the Blu-ray wagon. Others think it's a massive climbdown for the company to be producing Blu-ray hardware now. The fact is, when it launched, HD-DVD was a completed format. Blu-ray, on the other hand, was not, and it's only now that we're at the final profile (2.0) that Toshiba is prepared to get involved.

"If we were to make a move [on] optical discs," van Wynedaele told us, "we'd have to back Blu-ray, obviously. We did research and although it's [Blu-ray] a minor part of the market, it's reached the point where we should consider it."

We asked van Wynedaele why Toshiba was joining the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) now, and why it has decided to start making its own hardware. It's not surprising to hear that the answer is simply that Blu-ray is currently the only optical storage format capable of storing large amounts of computer data or HD video. That means if Toshiba wants to serve both computers and home cinema properly, it has to adopt an HD format.
Read more »

Crave is...

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about cool gadgets and other crushworthy stuff.

Drop us an email if you have tips or suggestions.

Crave for...

» Mobile Phones (2230)

» Digital Cameras (983)

» Notebooks (1233)

» PC & Peripherals (1311)

» Handhelds (585)

» Printers (82)

» Home AV (1145)

» Music & Play (893)

» Gadgets (1484)

» Future Tech (394)

» Green Tech (172)

» Lifestyle (157)

» Luxury (22)

» Home Appliances (57)

» Cars (99)

» Games and Gear (247)

» Software (94)

» Web (117)

Previously...

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Hot Topics

Subscribe to
Crave

What's Hot

apple apple inc. apple iphone apple ipod asia battery camera game google inc. iphone microsoft corp. microsoft windows mobile phone photograph singapore smart phone software sony corp. video

Today on CNET |  Reviews |  Crave |  Blogs |  CNET TV |  Digital Living |  Downloads