Hi-tech Frontier

Helms SoundBuddy II K999B iPod sound system In the vast, treacherous world of me-too iPod sound systems, Helms' SoundBuddy II K999B Mini 2.1 Digital Audio System does a commendable job of standing out. What it doesn't do so well, however, is sound good. Unfortunately for it, the music side of things is pretty darn important when it comes to deciding on an audio setup. iLounge recently got ahold of this here unit, and while the styling was definitely unique and highly lauded, some of the design aspects -- including the actual docking apparatus and the speaker location -- were understandably questioned. Furthermore, critics found the sound quality to be borderline laughable given the steep $140 price of entry.

Panasonic DMC-TZ7 This is a great time to be shopping for a high-end pocketable digital camera -- assuming you're the sort who doesn't get overwhelmed when faced with plenty of options. With recent offerings like Fuji's F200EXR, Ricoh's CX1, and Casio's EC-FX100, it's a busy market, and now the arrival of Panasonic's DMC-TZ7 makes it even more so. Reviewed by Photography Blog, the 10 megapixel cam was found to offer great image quality at both ends of its 12x, 25 - 300mm Leica lens, functional image stabilization, and minimal noise up to ISO 400 (though it does go all the way to 1600). Even the 720p video recording impressed, which you can see for yourself in the sample vid embedded below. At the end it nabs a perfect rating, which might make it perfect for your pocket -- if you don't mind that $400 MSRP.

Mimo USB monitors Sometimes interesting news comes from unexpected places, and this morning that place is a UK car customization shop called Carcomputer. They've posted up info and pics for what appears to be the next generation of Nanovision's USB-driven Mimo monitor. The specs seem to be the same, with a 7-inch, 800 x 480 LED-backlit screen, but it's the new case design that's notable. Gone is the chunky, cheap looking shiny plastic, replaced by a slender matte black and silver design that not only holds the display in landscape or portrait mode but also allows it to be collapsed and thrown in a bag without scratching that panel. Right now that's all we know, but hopefully we'll be bringing more news soon -- along with pics of a set of these installed into headrests of our custom '64 Impala.

Maingear unloads BD / SSD-equipped mX-L 13.3-inch laptop Look out, world -- a relative no-name has just showed up with a new ultraportable, and it's darn tough to not pay attention with a specs sheet like this. The Maingear mX-L arrives with a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1,280 x 800), a Core 2 Duo CPU, GMA X4500HD graphics, 8GB of DDR2 RAM, 160GB Intel X25-M SSD (or a 500GB HDD for those without the cheddar), a dual-layer Blu-ray reader, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets and a custom etched top that's totally take-it-or-leave-it. The unit weighs in at 4.4 pounds and gets going at $1,099.99, but don't expect that measly four-cell Li-ion to last you through a whole transcontinental flight.

Sony mylo 2 Sony's mylo 2 -- wait, you do remember what this thing is, right? -- could be headed for the grave... as if it wasn't already there in the minds of most. After Sony hacked a hundred bucks from the asking price during the run-up to Holiday Season 2008, we heard absolutely nothing further until now. Today, the very same order page shows that no new models are available to purchase, leaving prospective buyers with two clear-cut options: 1) walk away or 2) snag a refurb model in black or white for $149.99. So, is this the end for Sony's own Internet Device? Or is this just the calm before the sure-to-be-ferocious mylo 3 storm?

PhotoFast intros 256GB to 1TB G-Monster PCIe SSD We Americans have Fusion-io's ioDrive and OCZ's Z Drive to look forward to when it comes to slamming down a PCIe-based SSD solution in our lightning fast rigs, but what about the savvy Japanese? Enter PhotoFast, who has just revealed a luscious PCIe SSD of its own, ranging from 256GB to one whole terabyte in size. The unit includes a couple of SSDs hooked together in a RAID0 setup in order to provide up to 750MB/sec read rates and 700MB/sec write rates. As with most SSDs, this unit also boasts a 1.5 million hour MTBF and should work perfectly within Windows XP and Vista machines. Those in and around Osaka can expect these to land around mid-April for about the cost of a new TV -- seriously.

ASUS Eee PC 1002H Till now, the only N280-packin' Eee PC of any stature was the amazingly long-lasting 1000HE. Thankfully for everyone who appreciates minute improvements in speed, ASUS has just pushed out another with the mildly quicker chip: the Eee PC 1002H. Not the 1002HA, mind you -- just the 1002H. Outside of the new CPU, however, most everything remains exactly the same from the 'HA' edition, including a 10-inch LED-backlit WSVGA display, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB hard drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam, inbuilt stereo speakers, a multicard reader, VGA out, three USB 2.0 sockets and audio in / out jacks. There's no mention of a price or release date, but it should arrive in Pearl White, Pink and Black whenever launch day comes.

8.9-inch Acer Aspire One It looks like any 8.9-inch Aspire One owners out there may want to refrain from playing music full blast through the netbook's speakers for the time being, as some users have found that it can have the unfortunate side effect of completely trashing the hard drive. According to reports on the HardwareCult forum, the problem only affects Aspire One netbooks with standard hard drives, not SSDs, and it arises when the right speaker causes enough vibration and / or magnetic interference to throw the hard drive into a tizzy, leading to a whole host of errors and even some potential data loss. Apparently, the problem was first discovered when someone played U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" at maximum volume, which has since conveniently proven to be an effective tool for reproducing the problem -- not recommended, of course. No word if the new album has any effect.

Ben Heck Xbox 360 Controller Monitor Ben Heck's latest device isn't gonna help you take your next-gen gaming on the go, nor will it let you play with one hand. Instead, the Xbox 360 Controller Monitor is designed to test gamepad latency using a data cable hooked up directly to each button and fed into a 8 x 8 inch display board. Each action lights up the corresponding indicator, and it includes three levels of sensitivity for each cardinal direction of the joysticks and shoulder triggers. At $600 (controller and AA batteries included), it's not exactly something for the hobbyists out there, but already this thing's got some major gaming street cred: it's currently being used for playtesting on Mass Effect 2, the new Wolfenstein, and the just announced Modern Warfare 2.

Samsung SGH-a877 We already had plenty of reason to believe that Samsung's QWERTY-packin', landscape-layin' SGH-a877 was headed to AT&T, but now it's pretty much a lock. phonescoop has dug up a few more pertinent details about the so-called Impression, confirming the 3.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen and adding that the handset will include an accelerometer and built-in Bluetooth. If this one has your eye, we'd wager that it won't be long before it goes on sale for real -- maybe all's that is left is a formal CTIA unveiling?

Panasonic DMC-GH1 Micro Four Thirds shooter with 1080p video While we patiently wait for the Micro Four Thirds format DMC-GH1 with 1080p video to pop for purchase, we have to feed on whatever retail crumbs we can grub off Panasonic. As usual, our Japanese camera overlords will have first dibs on this ¥150,000 (less than $1,500 when it arrives Stateside) bundle that includes a 14-140mm lens starting April 24th. Think about it; we've gone from zero to four HD-capable video DSLRs in six months. Ok, ok, three-plus actually, since Micro Four Thirds cams are technically not DSLRs due to the lack of an internal mirror and prism -- just humor us with with GH1's interchangeable lens mount, DSLR-sized sensor, and bevy of manual controls ok? Geesh.

Kohjinsha offers up colorful line of ML6 netbooks You could guess the specifications with your eyes closed -- a 1.6GHz Intel Atom, 1,024 x 600 resolution panel, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive, WiFi, Windows XP and a battery good for around 4.7 hours -- but at least Kohjinsha busted out the paint gun on its ML6 netbook. The 8.9-inch Japanese rig is available in a whole slew of colors including black, white, gold, blue, pink and a few other hues that only Crayola experts could explain, and the inclusion of audio in / out sockets and an ExpressCard slot adds just a wee bit of personality. Of course, we're none too impressed with the ¥38,900 ($393) price tag, but we guess that's the premium you pay for such a wide variety of color options.

ATI's 1GB FirePro V7750 GPU pushes serious pixels for pros Earlier this month, AMD popped out a 512MB ATI FirePro 2450 quad-display card, but if that's just not pro enough for your professional needs, have a gander at the company's FirePro V7750. Sporting 1GB of GDDR3 frame-buffer memory, a 30-bit display pipeline and twin DisplayPort connectors + one dual-link DVI socket, this workstation powerhouse also features High Dynamic Range (HDR) rendering with 8-bit, 10-bit and 16-bit-per-RGB color component support. You'll also get 320 stream processing units, full Shader Model 4.1 support for vertex and pixel shaders and a unified video decoder for H.264, AVC, VC-1 and MPEG-2 video formats. Show your CAD who's boss for just $899.

SAL pocket video camera As Pure Digital's Flip cameras have amply demonstrated, there's plenty of folks looking for nothing more than a dead simple digital video camera, and it looks like Japan's Amadana is now looking to peel off a bit of that user base with its new SAL pocket camera. Somewhat notably, this one will let you connect it directly to another SAL camera to transfer videos without a computer, but it's otherwise a bit on the lackluster side, with it packing just 2GB of internal memory and not able to capture anything higher than basic VGA video at 30 fps. The $200 price tag and two hours of battery life don't exactly help things either, but if camera-to-camera video sharing is your top priority, you can look for this one to be available in Japan on May 22nd.

Acer Veriton X270 business desktop With a name like Veriton X270, it just has to be good, right? Um, not entirely. While the label may give off the impression that Acer's latest desktop is destined for gamers, the actual component list proves otherwise. Indeed, this rig was tailor made for suits in corner offices, though it does offer an impressive list of Excel-crunching hardware. We're talking a Core 2 Duo CPU, NVIDIA's GeForce 7100 graphics, up to 4GB of DDR2 memory, a 500GB SATA HDD, a DVD writer, gigabit Ethernet, Windows Vista Business and support for 5.1-channel audio. Said machine is available for ordering today in North America with a starting tag of $399.

LG Lollipop Mobile Phone Getting back to the candy theme, are we, LG? Unlike the Chocolate series, though, LG's Lollipop is targeted exclusively at a lower-cost, younger audience with its relatively meager 3 megapixel autofocus primary cam (plus a 1.3 megapixel front cam for video calling), 400 x 240 display, and wild array of some 220 LEDs up front that can light up the thing like a Christmas tree if you're so inclined. Other features include HSDPA (naturally), microSD expansion, and a lovely selection of colors: blue, pink, and titanium. It'll be available this month on major South Korean carriers for around 500,000 won ($369).

Ulysse Nardin Chairman "hybrid smart phone" unveiled Yeah, we'd seen those fine mechanical workings from the back, but Ulysse Nardin has just taken the wraps of its entire Chairman handset, which they bill as a "hybrid smart phone" -- and actually seem to mean it. Ulysse Nardin surprisingly hasn't skimped on specs here, with a 2.8-inch multitouch screen, finger print reader for phone unlock, 5 megapixel camera, WiFi and the inclusion of an email app and a browser. There's also that fancy kinetic rotor system for passive charging of the phone, but no word on how much battery life that will actually get you. Ulysse Nardin is currently showing off the phone in Rose Gold, Rose Gold & Blue, Rose Gold & Steel, Stealth Black and Steel & Blue trims, so there should be plenty of options to set you apart from your other billionaire friends. The device is currently on display at BASELWORLD; no word on price, but if you have to ask...

Samsung S8000 touchscreen handset It's hard to say if this elusive new touchscreen handset will indeed be slotted between a few of Samsung's other UltraTouch phones, but either way, we're digging it. We get the feeling this so-called S8000 was already shown to us in that now-famous slide of Sammy's upcoming lineup, but the whole "blur factor" kept us from really keying in on it. At any rate, we're really feeling the style presented here, and despite the fact that we know absolutely nothing about its specifications (save for the flash-equipped 5MP camera), we definitely want to hold one.

Samsung shoots out Betty Boop handset in France We won't lie -- Betty Boop is a curious choice to us, but we will admit that it's entirely more unique than Hello Kitty. At any rate, fans of the lovably lady who just so happen to live in France can apparently pick one up from Bouygues Télécom. Though, we'd recommend you shuffle on down in a hurry, 'cause the limited edition nature could mean that these will be all claimed in the near future. As for the phone itself, you'll find a relatively simple slider design, microSD card slot, up to three hours of talk time, a VGA camera, FM radio and built-in MP3 player. All yours for the low, low price of €129 ($175).

BlackBerry App World to launch April 1 Mark your calendars, BlackBerry fans: BusinessWeek says RIM's going to launch the BlackBerry App World April 1 at CTIA. What's more, the company is apparently planning on going after Apple by courting developers with higher profit margins and the relative sophistication of the average corporate BlackBerry user, which explains that minimum $2.99 paid app price we saw a few weeks ago. An interesting move to position the new service, but we'll see if it takes hold with users -- anyone ready to blow their budget on 'berry software?

LG Arena KM900 in black Just ten days after the LG Arena (or KM900, if you're the proper type) launched officially in Europe, T-Mobile UK has already moved in to snag some thunder with an exclusive color: black. Not like black handsets are hard to find or anything (in fact, we already knew this phone was shipping to someone in black), but we all know how giddy the world gets when something gets labeled as rare. Reportedly, the formal color name will be Titan Black, and outside of the new hue, everything else will remain the same.

3DeeShell autostereoscopic iPhone skin now available to order Intrigued by Wazabee's promise of 3D images on an iPhone without the need for goofy 3D glasses? Then you'll no doubt want to head on over to the company's website post haste, as its 3DeeShell iPhone skin is now finally available to order for the not so low price of $49.99. In addition to adding an extra dimension to a currently limited number of apps (Wazabee provides three itself), the skin also serves a protective shell that you can leave on your iPhone at all times, with the autostereoscopic lens able to slide out to prevent unwanted headaches or hallucinations during non-3D use. Of course, the apps and lens will also work just fine on an iPod touch, just don't expect a very snug fit from the case.

Sony Ericsson T707 --Maria Sharapova's fave phone Sony Ericcson's just officially announced the T707 we caught sight of in a slide not too far back. The clamshell, as expected, has a 2.2-inch, QVGA external display, plus a 1.1-inch internal monochromatic OLED display (128 x 36 resolution), 100MB of internal memory, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It will be available in Mysterious Black (black), Spring Rose (pink), and Lucid Blue (blue) when it's launched in "selected markets" during Q2. No word on pricing yet.

NAD PP-3 digital phono preamp Vinyl holdouts have one less excuse for not making the leap to digital thanks to NAD's PP-3 Digital Phono Preamplifier. Turntables with encoding capabilities are nothing new, but if those decks have been beneath your standards then you've been out of luck. The PP-3, however, lets you supply your own deck -- the audiophile-friendly MC/MM phono preamp is RIAA-equalized and passed through a rumble filter before being output as a soft-clipped digital signal (on a handy USB port) courtesy an onboard A/D converter. The PP-3 also has a line-level input that might come in handy for when you decide to tackle your reel-to-reel tape archives. Available now for $199 -- don't you want to hear this MP3 stuff that all the kids are raving about?

Samsung's 46-inch 460UTn completes that flush, in-wall monitor look Looking for a unique, specialized LCD TV to fit flush in a recessed wall? Would you say "yes" if you could barely see the bezel, adding to that TV-in-the-wall look? Samsung sure hopes so, as it's pushing out its 46-inch 460UTn with an ultrathin bezel that's just 4.3 millimeters thick on the left and 2.4 millimeters on the right. The screen also includes Sammy's ID 2 solution, which enables smooth transitions between screens, resulting in a more "natural look and feel of videos." Specs wise, we're told that the set has a WXGA resolution (1,366 x 768), 700 nits of brightness, a contrast ratio of 3,000:1 and VGA / DVI / BNC / composite / RS-232 inputs. Mum's the word on price, but we're guessing somewhere between "expensive" and "you don't even want to know."