Sony has released a nice and shiny looking new media package: the DAV-X1. The set looks like it's aimed at the more casual home cinema viewer, boasting an easy setup routine with no complicated wiring to figure out. The package includes a DVD player, Super Audio CD player and 2.1 speaker set. While the 2.1 speaker set may look disappointing for 5.1 enthusiasts, the speakers are looking pretty high quality and come packing Sony's S-force front surround digital processor as well as S-master digital amplifier. The DVD player also comes with Sony's Precision Cinema Progressive Technology, which cuts down on motion blur. All in all, quite a nice litttle package.

The set is available now, going for around £700.

Five slivers of technology news hewn from the biggest blogs stateside.

Saitek's A-250 and A-200 on the go speakers (Engadget): Saitek's designers try a promising new style of products.

Savitmicro NTP-25 plays lotsa movies (DAPReview): Screenless PMP that is still looks the business.

Tux iPod Stand (Gizmodo): Make your iPod stand into an altar to worship at.

More Viliv P1 goodness (DAPReview): Is it an iPod? Is it a PSP? No it's a bloody good looking PMP.

Dmobo M900 Mickey Mouse Phone (Gizmodo): Um... Yikes.

Dolby, DTS, THX, 2.1, 5.1, Hi-Fi, Wi-Fi, MP3 and DVD... ever wanted a system to just make home entertainment into something a bit more straight forward? Something that can play your music and films without requiring you to battle to the death with 60 feet of copper plated wiring, something simple and that sounds good perhaps? With this in mind, Denon has put together the Smart-Life S-101, designed for those who want sound quality without the hassle. Although essentially consisting of an amp integrated with a DVD player, the systems most useful feature is the iPod connection, also compatible with iPod Mini and Photo. This has got to tip the balance from many buyers as it makes the system into not just a smart home cinema but a handy docking station for the renowned MP3 epitome of style. An on-screen virtual iPod will link into your stored music so that you can use the remote to flick through your track selection. Smart.

Last week we brought news of the Bush PSDAB2004 personal DAB costing less than £60 and now it looks as though the budget digital radio price race might be on. Now we have the Perstel Bluenote, also retailing at £59.99 which makes for a good contest of features and functionality. The Bluenote's biggest advantage over the Bush model is that it has a separate, telescopic aerial which means that you aren't lumbered with it integrated to a substandard pair of earphones. The Bluenote has dimensions of 60 x 84 x 24 mm and it will provide about 6 hours battery life from 2xAA batteries, information is displayed on a backlit LCD display. The Bluenote's blue finish and unexciting design won't make it a winner over the PSDAB2004's slick looks, but I have a feeling the less stylish option might prove a little more versatile and reliable in areas of patchy reception. The Perstel Bluenote is available now from Nevada.

JVC has unveiled two entry level all-in-one recordable DVD packages, the TH-R1 and TH-R3, sporting 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound and quick setup. The new 'hand-clap' system will automatically calculate levels and delays for you so that hopefully you won't be fiddling around with the settings 6 months later. The main difference between the two systems is that the TH-R3 comes with floor standing speakers rather than smaller bookshelf ones. Though they are supposed to look sophisticated, I can't imagine these will be to everyone's taste; luckily there's little difference between the two options in terms of specs though.

Many of the projectors we get a look at are designed to be lugged around seminars and workshops in all the far flung business parks of Britain. However, I reckon these Sony VPL models, the CX20 and CS20 have to be the slimmest we've seen yet standing just 52mm tall and weighing only 1.9kg plus they look pretty slick to boot. The VPL-CX20 is the snazzier model as it is capable of 1028 x 768 resolution; the CS20 will manage 800 x 600 which is still adequate for slideshows and the like. Each produces an impressive 2000 ANSI lumens from the Sony 3LCD technology and will suit the projectors to a wide range of environments. The Auto Focus means that you can leave them to set themselves up, generating a 300" viewing area. Short focus also means that this can be done even in a small room. So, they're probably quite pricey but you aren't going to get much better performance from a smaller device than these. 

For cheap skates like us Voice Over IP has to be the greatest technology ever invented. Basically it means you can phone anywhere in the world for nowt. Well at least that's the theory. In practice you will still need to make/receive phone calls via your landline to speak to less thrifty landline-loving mortals. So it's great news that there's a new dual DECT/VoIP that offers the best of both worlds. Called innovatively enough the Du@lphone (yes they do insist on that stoopid 'at' sign in the middle) it combines Skype's popular VoIP software with standard telephone line features. Because it's wireless you can use it all over the house to make/receive calls though you will need to plug it into the USB port and have the computer switched on for VoIP calls.

JVC's latest digital music players, the XA-MP51 and XA-MP101 will be on sale this week for £99 and £129.99 respectively. The MP51 flash memory-based player offers 512MB, while the MP101 comes with 1GB of storage. They both also feature an integrated FM tuner. They support playback of MP3, WMA and downloaded WMA-DRM files, offer four-line dot matrix backlit displays, and feature voice recording facilities. The models are powered by one AAA battery which will apparently last for 17 hours' playback.

JVC

Here's another roundup of distilled Tech news from the USA.

Lazer Trip Wire (thinkgeek): Ok, it's probably not the most foolproof security system in the world. But it is probably the coolest.

In-ear headphones reviewed (engadget): Those noise cancelling Bose ones look great. If only I had 299 bucks to spare.

Bountiful Router extends wi-fi range up to 1200 feet (engadget):
OK, so maybe you've got a really, really big house.

QZiQ LCD monitor with integrated PC (i4u): Sort of like a Mac on the outside, but with a PC on the inside.

Canon MVX4i Digital Video Camera (Gizmodo): A 4.29 megapixel camera. Niiiice.

Humax has announced that the PVR-9200T, a twin tuner PVR, will be available in the UK from September. Telly fanatics take note, because the PVR-9200T will come packing a 160GB hard drive and will have the ability to record two digital terrestrial TV channels while watching a recorded programme at the same time. The box will also feature the standard live pause and instant rewind that we've come to expect from our PVR boxes. The hard drive means up to 80  hours for programming (that's about four series of 24. Yippee!) and has an 8-day electronic programme guide. No word on pricing yet.

Companies are already beginning to pick sides in the upcoming Sony Blu-ray vs. Toshiba HD-DVD war, and the last couple of days have seen some big names sign up with Blu-ray. Firstly Universal Music Group, the biggest record company in the world, has announced that it  is joining the ranks of the Blu-ray'd ones. In addition to this Lion's Gate entertainment, of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Monster's Ball fame, has announced it's also going to go Blu-ray. So far it looks like Sony's Blu-ray is going to be the format to rule them all.

Here's an interesting little snippet for you: Swedish newspaper Taloussanomat reported on Thursday that the Nokia n91, a 4GB phone previewed earlier on Tech Digest, will apparently be able to run iTunes music store. And although it looks like there's no agreement between Apple and Nokia, the phone is apparently going to be open ended enough to be compatible with lots of programs, iTunes Music Store among them.

While the phone was known to support MP3 and Apple's AAC format, iTunes compatibility was previously thought to be a no-go. The phone is due to hit the shelves sometime before Christmas.

Microsoft has just revealed the pricing of their next gen console, the xBox360, and as many expected, the console will come in two flavours. The basic package, which Microsoft is referring to as the 'core' package, is going to go for £209. The core package will get you the console, a customisable faceplate, Xbox Live Silver membership as well as AV cables. Those willing to spend a little more on their gaming habit will splash out on the £279 edition, which will include the console, a wireless controller,a 20GB detachable hard drive, a wireless xBox live headset, high-def AV cables, an ethernet cable, as well as the xBox Live Silver Membership and customisable faceplate included with the core edition.

Interestingly, Microsoft has stated that you'll need a hard drive for backwards compatibility, so if you're planning on getting the core edition, it looks like you'll have to cough up for the detachable hard drive seperately.

Yet more new digital audio Walkmans from Sony, and there are apparently whispers of a couple of other new releases on their way too. The newbies are called Walkman Beans, well cos they are Bean shaped, and will be landing in the UK very shortly. Aimed at the youth market the NW-E205 £79 and NW-207 £99 feature 512MB and one Gigabyte storage respectively. Both offer playback of MP3 and Sony's ATRAC audio files (though no WMA), feature a one line LED, are available in blue, pink, black and white and include a pop up USB connector for easy docking with PCs. Battery life, from the on board Lithium Ion rechargeable, is rated at around 50 hours and both feature Sony's three hours playback from three minutes quick charge facility. There are apparently different models for different territories.

Five morsels of tech news from across the pond.

Olympus MR-100 Reviewed (DAPReview): Some cool dark-side influences going on in this snazzy design.

Hori Sony PSP Memory Stick Video Recorder Pre-Order (I4U): Genius piece of tech that lets you record TV or DVDs to a Memory Stick Duo and be viewed on a PSP.

$50 iBook stampede! (Engadget): Wow, 50 bucks! That has got be worth tussling an old man to the ground for surely?

Nintendo Game Boy Micro in Stores in September (I4U): The littlest console around is soon to make its debut.

Sky IM8500 - Slim and Sassy (Gizmodo): One slick looking mobi.

At quite the opposite end of the projector spectrum to last week's SIM2 C3X comes Sanyo's PLC-U79 portable LCD projector. The intended use of this device is more oriented towards conferences, teaching and presentations rather than obscene home cinema decadence and has the added bonus that it costs under a grand. It weighs in at just 2.4kgs with dimensions of 295 x 70 x 208 mm and has a decently powerful 1500 ANSI brightness level with XGA resolution. It is made a bit more functional by the two data and one video input and it has a capacitor backup which helps cool off those extortionately expensive lamps even if someone yanks the plug out. In that vein there is also an economy setting to add life expectancy to the lamp and lower power consumption. For the added benefit to teaching staff or those who suffer from meddlesome co-workers, it even has a PIN lock secure the controls against wandering hands. Sanyo's PLC-U79 projector will be available from September for £999 + VAT.

This mysterious handheld gaming device has just shown up with as scant a set of details as possible. Pretty much all that can be told about it is from the pics which isn't a hell of a lot. It's nice to see that small companies haven't been intimitated out of the handheld market by the Nintendo and Sony giants. The Gamepark XGP seems to have a fairly novel design especially with the use of the swivel screen technology, it also looks a bit bulkier than either the DS or the PSP but obviously there aren't any dimesions available yet. Gamepark has revealed details of a PVP player before now which promised some impressive performance though there hasn't been much further news since. We'll keep you posted as more news arrives.

via Joystiq

If you happen to be blessed with the ability to not just seek out potentially interesting radio programs but also remember when they are on then this interesting personal analogue radio recorder might be of interest. Even with the heavy focus on DAB and streamed internet radio there is still a decent selection of FM/AM radio stations on air and its worth taking advantage whilst they're still there. The Pogo! YourWay LX can record radio programs to MP3 format to either 128MB internal memory and if that is a little limited it handily has an SD/MMC card expansion slot. It can record from any outside source or the internal mic directly to MP3 format without needing to process through a computer. You can also set up a timer to record a show at a particular time and playback comes through either the included headphones or the built-in speaker.

I wasn't quite sure how to react on reading this strange piece; it transpires that BT has a team of futurologists in its employ whose job is to provide predictions of the future. After my immediate scepticism had cooled off I had a look through the wide range of predicted technological events which happily include the invention of smell-o-vision, faster than light travel, video tattoos and, of course, the enslavement of the human race to a robotic dictator... Uhuh. Apparently BT makes a habit of producing these predictive calendars and the first one it created back in the early 90's sports an 80-90% accuracy rate; I'll wager "Creation of Star Trek's Borg" was in that small percentage outside the margin then. Little mention is made of how these wondrous prophesies are made but I hope it involves casting bones and sheep intestines. You can check out the Technology timeline on the BT website and start planning your future purchases or preparing for the approaching battle against a physically and intelligently superior android race. Fortunately some of the slightly shorter term predictions have more realistic possibilites and ones that might make sense to think seriously about.

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Showing off five highlights of the fast moving world of technology, courtesy of our American blogger pals.

James Bond Spy Camera (Gizmodo): Won't your friends be thrilled to find you've been secretly taking pictures of them!

Google to rock out on iTunes? (Engadget) Apple + Google = The dawn of a corporation ruled post-apocalyptic future? Or maybe just some lame new branding.

NTT Debuts "Lawnmower Man" UI (Gizmodo): Full 3D browsing draws closer.

Coffee Company Tchibo Sells Low-Cost Vacuum Robot (I4U): One has to wonder why a coffee company knows so much about robotics...

Sony Ericsson W800 coming to U.S. (Gizmodo): Enough said.