Zara is still over in Berlin checking out the gadgets at IFA 2008. Check out the video above where she demonstrates an unusual hybrid device that combines digital photo frames and cameras that can be used as baby monitors or security cameras - ideal if you're a big fan of surveillance society or destroying the civil liberties of your kids.

It certainly looks pretty slick judging by the video - though no word yet on how much it will all cost yet.

You can find lots more IFA stuff here.

Related Posts: Cheapo Agfa digital frame | A frame with an alarm clock

Not content with merely making tonnes of powerful desktop PCs, Medion is trying to muscle in on the tellies and home theatre market with a couple of new devices.

Susan here is impressing her friend with the new Cyber-shot T500, which Sony has just revealed at IFA 2008.

The minuscule snapper boasts a spec-sheet-pleasing 10.1 megapixels, plus the ability to record videos at official HD Ready 1280x720 resolution, in MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format, for proper HD playback on the widescreen TV of your choice - although recording time is limited to 10 minutes per clip. You'll fit a fair few on the supplied 4GB Memory Stick, mind.

There's a very-decent-for-the-size 5x optical zoom in there too, plus you may luxuriate in the joy of having a 3.5" LCD screen round the back for composing your little artistic works properly - and Sony's Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation system will keep things non-blurry if you were on the sauce last night and still a bit shaky. The T500's out in October.

For more IFA coverage live from the showfloor, click here.

(Via Sony)

Related posts: Cyber-shots designation T700 and T77 | Mobile Cyber-shots C905 and S302

I took a look at the Creature II and Spyro speakers from JBL whilst I was in Berlin, including the limited edition shiny siver ones. The Creature II models are available now from £58 whilst the Spyro is yet to be released.

To subscribe to the Shiny Media YouTube channel click here.

IFA has been and gone for another year, and if you've sadly missed the show, I edited to together a little treat for you courtesy of Adobe Premier Elements, so you can feel like you were there. Enjoy.

Remember the Cadbury's Smash robots? Well, you'll soon be able to pick up an iPod speaker system that looks uncannily similar in the form of the Harman Kardon Go + Play, which got an official launch at the IFA.

Apart from its strange looks, the Go + Play has one other stand-out feature - it's been designed for your iPod to lie flat, as opposed to sticking out from the top, which is probably more secure and certainly gives more of a streamlined look. The sound is boosted by a combination of bi-amped digital amplification, DSP (digital sound processing) and Ridge and Atlas transducers, with volume and music selection controlled by remote, which operates up to 30ft away and through walls. It also connects via S-video to your TV if you want to watch your video clips on a bigger screen.

The Harman Kardon Go + Play should be in the shops in time for Christmas, priced around 349 Euros (around £235).

Harman Kardon website

More speaker systems:
Cygnett GrooveBase iPod speaker system
Altec Lansing iM9 iPod speaker system and rucksack

The rush to get us away from the PC continues with the Linksys WIP330 Wi-Fi-connected VoIP phone, which has been announced at IFA.

The WIP330, which features a 2.2-inch, 65,536-colour display, connects to 802.11b and 802.11g wireless hotspots and supports the SIP 2 VoIP standard - which means it's not Skype friendly. Features include caller ID, call forwarding, speed dial, last number redial, a vibration alert, call waiting and conference calling. The battery should be enough for three hours's talk time and 50 hours in standby.

It should be available from  Linksys distributors in the coming weeks, priced around the £270 mark.

Linksys website

Via The Register

More VoIP:
USRobotics introduces USR9630 cordless phone for Skype and domestic calling
Is ROK set to introduce free mobile VoIP?

The Sansa e200 proved itself to be a pretty versatile and reasonably priced MP3 player and it looks like the upcoming c200 will follow suit. But killing the iPod will take more than the player alone; Apple's players are as much about the wide range of avaible accessories as the distinctive design and the iTunes Music Store.

Therefore SanDisk has just revealed its first Sansa accessory, the Sansa Base Station, as well as announcing an agreement with several other manufacturers to start producing Sansa compatible accessories including travel cases, wireless earphones and portable speakers.

The Base Station will support the e200 and c200 players and will act as platform for transferring data to the player or as an audio output (using RCA) so you can play your tunes through your Hi-Fi. It also comes with a remote and will charge your player for you. It has a similarly reasonable retail price of $69.99 (about £36) and should be available in Europe in October.

There aren’t many gadgets coming out these days that don’t come with some kind of movie playing capabilities, no matter how impractical the screen size is. However, actually getting video content on to them is usually a real pain. The SanDisk V-Mate, announced today at IFA, looks like a practical solution to this; it connects to an analogue audio and video output from pretty much any source you like, then records straight to the card. And it has been designed with small portable video players in mind.

It has a maximum recording resolution of 640 x 480, which makes it suitable for small screens, and means you can fit around three and a half hours of footage per gigabyte. The V-Mate is compatible with SD, MMC, MMCplus MMCmobile, SDHC, MiniSDHC, MicroSDHC, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo – that should have all your bases covered then.

Yet another company is joining the race to get every home using Skype. This is USRobotics’ Skype compatible USR9630 cordless phone. It has one obvious flaw already – other companies, such as Philips, are cutting out the middle man and making DECT Skype phones that work independent of a PC. Unfortunately the USR9630 will still need to be tethered to your home computer to work with Skype.

The system will support up to four handsets and will let you make and receive ordinary and VoIP calls from the one handset.

Launch dates and price are still a bit tentative – it looks like a September launch in the US with a price tag amounting to something around £60. Additional handsets, USR9631s, will follow a month later.

Via Pocket Lint

It looks like Philips’ amBX vision for gamers doesn’t solely consist of an Ambilight monitor. Instead, a whole range of accessories will be launching over the course of next year aimed at extending the immersive aspects of gaming. Philips explains that this will consist of the following:

• A series of LED based multi-colour lights that engage the eyes and increase realism

• A powerful 2.1 speaker sound system providing booming audio that gives authenticity to the rumble of thunder or the blast of a gunshot

• Several fans that bathe gamers in air movement and wind effects

• A vibration unit that conveys the action and excitement completely in sync with the game situation

Ashley looks at Philips Blu-ray DVD players/recorders - the Media Center PC, the MCP9480i, and the  Blu-ray player - the BDP9000. For more info, check this link.

Ashley looks at the Philips WACS7000 wireless music system, which was announced today at IFA. For further details, click here.

  Another sleek little black number from Samsung and unveiled at IFA - the SDC-MS61 digital camera.

The looks and small size are obvious selling points as a a fashion camera, with the six megapixel sensor coming in lower than most of the recent new models. However, it does have a few interesting features, including an impressive 3-inch LCD screen, which has a 16:9 aspect ratio, MP3 recording and playback, MPEG4 recording (which you can shoot in widescreen) and the ability to use it as a live webcam, when connected to your PC.

No price or availability details - expect something in the run up to Christmas.

Samsung website

More cameras:
Ricoh Caplio 500SE Model W digital camera with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Olympus mju:1000: 10 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, compact digital camera

With some of the HSDPA networks in place already and the rest to follow in the next few months, it's no suprise to see the super 3G phones making their mark at IFA, including the U830 from LG.

It's a slimline clamshell phone that may ship under LG's "Chocolate" banner, though this isn't as yet comfirmed. What is confirmed is that the phone will be available on the 3 network and it will feature a two megapixel camera, an impressive 200MB of storage space, Bluetooth connectivity and support for various audio formats, including  MP3, AAC and WMA.

No news on price or specific release date - more when we have it.

LG website

More HSDPA:
Orange announces SPV M3100 with HSDPA connectivity
T-Mobile launches MDA Vario II with HSDPA connectivity

Samsung has revealed more details about the launch of its debut Blu-Ray disc player, the BD-P1000. Available from mid-October, the BD-P1000 - which went on sale in the US in July - plays content at native 720p, 1080i or 1080p video resolutions. Additional features include DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD-R compatibility, 10 in 2 memory card reader, Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound.

More from Samsung at the IFA, this time with the unveiling of the BD-P1000 Blu-ray player - the first Blu-ray player to be available commercially in Europe

The BD-P1000 plays content at native 720p, 1080i or 1080p video resolutions, with full 1080p output via HDMI. The player features one pickup with two lenses, which allows it to also play standard DVDs and CDs in addition to Blu-ray discs. The supported DVD formats include DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD-R. There's also up-conversion for improving the picture of standard DVDs. Additional features include memory card reader, full audio format support, pop-up and always-on menu options, a full colour high-definition animated button and improved bitmap and text subtitles.

We gave you a peak of Samsung's new K5 touch screen music player last month - now it's had an official launch at this year's IFA.

It's a very stylish - and small - device with one particularly eye-catching feature - sliding stereo speakers that hide away when not in use. According to Samsung, they also deliver sounds beyond their size - "no distortion, great volume, and a defined deep bass". Upping the style factor still further is the touch screen OLED screen, which can be used both horizontally and vertically - and of course, is only visible when the player's powered up.

Our roving reporter, Susi, has all the latest information on Sharp's latest range of LCD TVs.

Blu Ray took another step closer to becoming the next high definition disc format ahead of rival HD-DVD with most of the major movie studios lining up at IFA to announce Blu Ray titles from this November.

Despite the very public split between Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures, Mission Impossible 3 will be one of Paramount Pictures' first Blu Ray titles when it launches at the end of November. Meanwhile Warner Home Video ("we have been late coming into the Blu Ray fold, admitted Stephen Nickerson, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Warner Home Video) announced it will launch titles in several European countries including UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Austria.

"We will have at least ten core titles in each European country before Christmas," said Nickerson. These will include latest releases such as Harrison Ford's Firewall and George Clooney's Syriana as well as vintage titles such as Full Metal Jacket and Space Cowboys.