Hasta La Gadget!

[CES 2013] Last year, Bang & Olufsen unveiled Beovision 12, a 65-inch Plasma TV set that featured two elegant mural speakers, the Beolab 12. At CES 2013, the danish brand is launching its complete BeoLab 12 line of digital speakers which uses the same design language.

The lineup is comprised of the BeoLab 12-1, BeoLab 12-2, and BeoLab 12-3 speakers, which can be combined to in a surround sound set up or as a stand-alone pair of speakers. Thanks to its new floor stands, audiophiles will be able to extend the range of placements options as well.

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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Bang & Olufsen built-in sound system – BeoLab 15, BeoLab 16, Nexus Q announced,

Bang & Olufsen has launched its first smart TV, the BeoVision 11, up to 55-inches of media-streaming LCD pleasure clad in the Danish company’s typically minimalistic design. Available in 40-, 46-, and 55-inch sizes, all running at Full HD 1080p resolution, the BeoVision 11 throws in Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter apps, as well as streaming content from various country-specific providers, along with a full web browser.

That works best, B&O suggests, with its free tablet app, BeoRemote: that turns your iPad or Android slate into a trackpad and keyboard. However, the TV works with the included remote too, along with B&O’s Beo4 and Beo6 models, and can be linked in with a whole-house B&O MasterLink system.

There’s DLNA with both WiFi and wired ethernet, along with two USB  ports for hooking up local storage for media playback; you also get six HDMI inputs, and some markets will have an integrated 500GB hard-drive for PVR duties too (paired with twin tuners). In Europe, the BeoVision 11 will support the HbbTV standard, for EPGs, catch-up TV, interactive advertising, personalisation, voting, gaming, and social networking, though exactly what services will be offered will depend on the broadcasters themselves.

3D is supported, with active-shutter glasses, and all of B&O’s usual fancy features are present: a light sensor adjusts the picture according to the ambient conditions of the room; electronic curtains pull apart when you turn the TV on (to add a sense of occasion); and there’s even a nook inside the cabinet which can accommodate an Apple TV. As for audio, there are six integrated speakers in the BeoVision 11, each with a 32W digital amp.

A new motorized wall-mount can be adjusted from the remote – angling the BeoVision 11 at up to 90-degrees in either direction – or there’s a motorized floor stand, a manual wall-mount, or an easel stand. Various colors of speaker grill fabric are available too.

As you might expect, the BeoVision 11 doesn’t come cheap. Expect to pay €5,995 ($7,748) for the 40-inch model.

BeoVision 11 is Bang & Olufsen’s first Smart TV is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

High-end home entertainment kit provider and style trend-setter Bang & Olufsen has outed its latest music system, but though the BeoPlay A9 goes wireless, it’s certainly not discrete. The vast, round speaker system – which reminds us of an archery target, albeit one with touch-sensitive volume controls and a companion smartphone and tablet app – can be wall-mounted or stood on three wooden legs, streaming music around your home via DLNA and AirPlay.

Behind the fabric front there are two 3/4-inch tweeters and two 3-inch midrange units, which each get an 80W class D amp of their own to power them. Bass is taken care of by an 8-inch unit with its own 160W class D amp,  and there’s a bass reflex design to emphasize that.

B&O programs the BeoPlay A9 with three different modes, depending on positioning, whether you’ve got the speaker stood in the corner or freestanding the middle of a room, or wall-mounted. Six fabric cover colors are offered – silver, white, black, red, green, and brown – and three leg finishes, including oak, beech, and teak.

The touch sensor allows you to swipe up or down to change volume, while covering it completely mutes the system. Track selection and playlist management are done via the iPhone, iPad, and Android apps, and there’s a line-in and USB ports underneath.

Unsurprisingly for B&O, none of this comes cheap. The BeoPlay A9 will be priced at a hefty $2,699 when it hits stores in the second half of November.

B&O BeoPlay A9: AirPlay gets outlandish is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ever wondered whether it’s worth shelling out the extra cash for a Bang & Olufsen system rather than cheaper rivals? B&O’s free Lightning upgrade deal for the BeoPlay A8 might convince you; the company has confirmed that all existing and new owners of the eye-catching iPhone and iPod speaker-dock will get a free Lighting adapter that seamlessly switches over with the legacy 30-pin Dock Connector.

Apple’s justification for the new Lightning connector is that it’s significantly smaller than the old port – which dated back to 2003 – and is all-digital. It can also be plugged in both ways around, though that’s probably not so useful for a speaker-dock where you’re more than likely going to want to see the screen.

B&O’s dock section is interchangeable, useful foresight when the A8 itself is a hefty $1,149 to begin with. Alternatively, if you’re living in Apple’s wireless world and don’t want to physically dock your device at all, the connector can be removed altogether.

The A8 Dock Upgrade Program is currently taking pre-registration details, with B&O saying the company will be in touch with owners when it knows more on the dock adapter’s availability. There’s more on the new iPhone 5 here, meanwhile, while we also have hands-on with the 5th-gen iPod touch which has also been upgraded to Lightning, and the 7th-gen iPod nano, which also bears the new port.

B&O offers free iPhone 5 Lighting upgrade for pricy BeoPlay A8 dock is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.