Hi-tech Frontier

Acoustic Research Infinite Radio now on sale for $129.99 Remember that ARIR200 WiFi radio from back at CES? If not, you can take comfort in the fact that we're the forgiving type, but Acoustic Research has rung in to inform the world that the so-called Infinite Radio is now on sale. For those with short memories, this radio brings along Slacker support, on-demand weather forecasts from WeatherBug, MP3tunes music locker streaming, an AM / FM radio tuner, USB and Ethernet connections and enough internal memory to hold ten hours of audio. The device is available now at regional chain stores and nationally online for $129.99, and if it's the iPod-friendly ARIR600i you're after, that'll hit the market later in the year for $199.99.

Sigma DP2 up for pre-order, retailing for $649 Amazon and B&H have pre-order pages up for the hotly-anticipated Sigma DP2, and both conveniently list the camera at $649 -- well, convenient for your information gathering needs, not necessarily for your wallet. B&H expects a May availability, while Amazon is going with a typically vague "1-2 months." Maybe they both can be right.

ASUS 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one Good news, pre-orderers. ASUS' 15.6-inch Eee Top all-in-one PC is now shipping from legitimate e-tailers around the web. Just in case you've fogtotten just under six bills buys you a 1.6GHz Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and Windows XP Home. In other words, netbook components tucked within an LCD. Of course, we'd recommend holding off for the much larger, much more HD-friendly ET2203 and ET2003, but it's your loot.

iriver's D50N MID iriver came clean with its D50N e-dictionary / MID back at CES, but it's taken until now for the company to host up a proper teaser site with all the details (in Korean, naturally). The beautiful handheld boasts a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 16GB of internal storage space, 802.11b/g WiFi, support for a whole litany of files, a microSD expansion slot, full QWERTY keyboard and a battery good for up to 16 hours of music playback (or 8 hours of video). Reportedly, the price on this one is pegged at around $370, but we're no closer to finding out when it'll ship to the states.

LG GM200 Dolby's been making a strong push into the mobile market in the past couple years, and the company's licensing tie-up with LG is starting to pay dividends in the form of this little block of plastic, GSM, and grit, the GM200. The black candybar's claim to fame is that you can use the FM radio without headphones plugged in -- most handsets with radios require the factory headset as an external antenna -- and you've got a supposedly-decent set of stereo speakers to blast the tunes. Similar to Motorola's CrystalTalk, the GM200 will automatically regulate earpiece volume depending on ambient noise, a trick feature that LG probably attributes to its work with Dolby. Otherwise, you've got a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, EDGE, and the envy of Dolby fanboys everywhere. Oh, what, don't look around you, you know who you are.

Sony Ericsson T707 Ah, the natural progression of a handset. In the wild spottings? As of now, check! Sony Ericsson's recently outed T707 flip phone has already been acquired and photographed over at DailyMobile, and while there's nothing here out of the ordinary, it's still a must-see for any SE enthusiast. Related posts: Sony Ericsson T707 --Maria Sharapova's fave phone

Emgeton pops out dual-SIM Enzo candybar Can't say we've ever heard of Emgeton, but we're liking what we're seeing here. Admittedly, the Enzo candybar takes a swipe (or two... or three) from Sony Ericsson, but this dual-SIM wonder still packs enough personality to keep things interesting. Said handset reportedly boasts 3G capabilities, a 2.2-inch 320 x 240 resolution display, Bluetooth, 0.3 megapixel camera, a rechargeable Li-ion and a multimedia player. 'Course, only 50MB of internal memory is provided, but the microSD slot does enable users to carry around a few extra LCD Soundsystem tracks should they choose. The only problems? That $388 price tag and the unlikelihood of this thing ever escaping the Czech Republic.

Sony BDZ-A950 / BDZ-A750 Blu-ray recorders By and large, one Blu-ray recorder is just the same as the another. Not so with Sony's latest duo, which both come ready to toast material to blank BD-R media and tap into the wide world of internet video. Both the BDZ-A750 (320GB) and the BDZ-A950 (500GB) are able to stream and download video from Tsutaya TV and acTVila VOD services in Japan, and moreover, they can forward that material to a PSP or other compatible DAP via USB. In case that's not enough, the duo is also DLNA compatible, and the HDMI output ensures crisp, clean 1080p output. So, ready to change your mind on that whole "would you buy a Blu-ray recorder?" question?

Marshall's forthcoming field monitor makes viewfinders weep Picked up a prosumer camcorder, have ye? If you're already sick and tired of peering through that minuscule viewfinder, Marshall Electronics has a solution. The V-LCD651ST-HDA camera-top monitor is a forthcoming field display with a super transflective 1,024 x 768 panel that should shine brightly even in direct sunlight. Other specs include 650 nits of brightness, four user-configurable function buttons, RGB gain and bias control and a 4-pin XLR power jack. The 1.3-pound unit arrives in two major module configurations: 3GSDI (Composite, YPbPr and 3G/HD/SDI) and HDMI (Composite, YPbPr and HDMI). Check it "soon" for $1,899 (with small battery adapter) or $1,999 (V-mount and Anton/Bauer battery adapter).

Neutrik 1080p HD/SDI connector HDMI has certainly taken hold in the consumer AV space and component video connection -- despite its merits and supporters -- is in decline. Looking around at the back of a receiver, you might think that small, high density connectors used for digital signals are just better, right? Not necessarily -- consider the rearTwist BNC connectors Neutrik is bringing to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show for 1080p HD/SDI (serial digital interface) use by pros. That's good-old coax design, specced out to 4.5GHz, with a kind of in-field reliability that our beloved HDMI connectors can only dream of. We're not bashing HDMI -- it's now mature, has lots of nice features and puts great performance within the reach of lots of people. Also, discrete coax connections like these Neutrik connectors are too pricey for consumer gear; but don't be fooled into thinking that the move to HDMI was all about performance, either.

Klipsch HD Theater 500 5.1-channel sound system impressions Klipsch won our hearts over years ago with its ProMedia 4.1 setup, and we're happy to say that the winning formula hasn't been significantly altered in the HD Theater 500. Honestly, the satellites presented here look an awful lot like those bundled in with the ProMedia kit, but these do check in with a bit less bulk and a bit more gloss. Upon unboxing the 5.1 system, we were actually pretty astounded by how light each of the speakers were, with even the subwoofer not being painfully heavy. All the small talk aside, we know you're here to see if these suckers are worth your hard-earned dollars -- follow us on past the break for a breakdown of the pros and cons.