Hasta La Gadget!

It was only last October when we took a close look at Parrot’s new Zikmu Solo (as well as chatting up CEO Henri Seydoux, pictured above), so we were a bit surprised when the company made an announcement for the same Bluetooth speaker at CES. You see, while the original Starck-designed Zikmu was sold in a pair, the slightly smaller Zikmu Solo — powered by a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor no less — was designed with small rooms in mind and is therefore sold singly. However, at some point this year, Parrot will offer a “Duo” option that lets you hook up two Zikmu Solos over WiFi to form a 2 x 100W RMS stereo system, which is conveniently twice as powerful as the Zikmu. Obviously nothing has changed in terms of audio input methods and sources for the high-end Zikmu Solo: iPhone, iPod, PC, Mac, WiFi, Bluetooth mobile phone, Ethernet and more. So, how about a discount when we buy two then, Parrot? $999 times two is quite a lot (insert wink here).

Continue reading Parrot’s Zikmu Solo speaker goes Duo, two make a pair over WiFi

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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You can’t fault Sony for trying. After announcing its renewed focus on mobile back in 2012, the company’s consistently issued thoughtful hardware for the global marketplace. But its collective efforts have yet to spark the “emotional” storm company CEO Kaz Hirai seems to be striving for. Well, if the smiles on our faces are any indication, Sony may have a bonafide hit on its hands with the Xperia ZL. Introduced officially at its CES 2013 event, the 5-inch Android Jelly Bean handset bears nigh identical specs to its larger, more “premium” big brother: the Xperia Z. With a scratch-resistant 1080p TFT Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 13-megapixel rear camera with Exmor RS sensor, the ZL sits comfortably in the high-end range. We spent a bit of time exploring the device and gauging its ability to evoke kando — that Japanese term for an emotional reaction spurred by quality experiences — so join us after the break to see how it fares and meter our level of excitement.

Continue reading Sony Xperia ZL hands-on: an alternate 5-inch 1080p, quad-core take on ‘premium’

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sony

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With Sony’s CES press conference literally just starting, we’re pleased to be able to give you an early look at the latest sound pushers from its Personal Audio Division. The company is still aiming for that classicly subtle retro-futuristic look on these new devices, so you might not be swayed if you’ve never been a fan of the aesthetic in the past. That said, we’re pretty impressed with what’s inside of ’em. To start, there’s a duo of new NFC-packing speaker bars intended for use in and around the house — think of them as wireless replacements for your old docking speaker. Monikered as the not-so catchy SRS-BTX500 and BTX300, both can handle AAC and apt-X streaming over Bluetooth and stay charged for eight and six hours, respectively. Naturally, NFC handles pairing and powering the devices on for seamless tap-to-start playback.

Both systems will house “damperless” drivers, which Sony’s claims reduces vibration and increases clarity. Each also features a USB port that’ll charge your devices and speakerphone capabilities, as these are becoming the norm. While the bars we handled were dummies, we aren’t fond of the fragile kickstand found on the smaller 300. We managed to easily knock the speaker over trying to fiddle with it’s clumsily locking switch. Otherwise, these might make a nice addition around the house if the sound matches up to the $300 (BTX500, in black) and $200 (BTX300, in white or black) price points in March. Beyond those, Sony’s announcing US availability during the same month for its smaller — also NFC and Bluetooth-packing — SRS-BTM8 ($99, in black) and BTM5 ($69, in black, white and pink) speakers. The BTM8 is begging to be taken on your next picnic thanks to its carrying handle, while the BTM5 is palmable orb with one up-firing speaker for when you need a speakerphone in a pinch.

Lastly, the company is highlighting it’s newest Walkman-branded MP3 fitness headphones, the NZW-W270. While the Bluetooth in-ears look similar to previous models, Sony’s made them completely waterproof this time around (previous models were only water resistant). You’ll get 4GB of non-expandable onboard storage, as well as up to eight hours from its internal battery. Better yet, a three-minute quick charge from a dead battery will yield up to an hour of run-time in a pinch. Expect it to hit shelves in black, white, pink and blue this March for 100 bones. Check out the galleries above for a closer look in the meantime — bonus points if you manage to recall the product names after you move on to more of our CES coverage.

Continue reading Sony unveils NFC-enabled Bluetooth speakers, waterproof Walkman MP3 headphones at CES (eyes-on)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, Wearables, Sony

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Just after wrapping up its CES 2013 press conference, Intel showed off two Ultrabooks: one that’s just a concept, and one that you can actually buy. What you see in that photo up there is the NEC LaVie X, the follow-up to last year’s NEC LaVie Z. It’s a 15-inch Ultrabook that measures just 12.8mm thick. We realize you might be desensitized to such specs at this point, so here’s a little context: that’s almost two millimeters thinner than the 15-inch Samsung Series 9, which already seemed impossibly skinny at 14.7mm. Other specs include a 1080p display and Haswell processor, though the machine we saw wasn’t powered on, so we could only play with the keyboard and see what it felt like to hold the laptop in one hand. Unless you’re reading this in Japan, you probably won’t ever have the chance to purchase it, but hopefully this isn’t the last time we see a 14-millimeter-thick laptop on this side of the Pacific.

Filed under: Laptops, Intel

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In addition to checking out the Series 7 Chronos at Samsung’s presser, we got a glimpse of the 13-inch Series 7 Ultra, the first Ultrabook in the Series 7 line. It’s available in Core i5 and i7 configurations, and both come with a very bright, 1080p display. Like the larger Chronos, it’s eminently grippable, thanks to a slightly textured brushed-metal finish and comfortably rounded edges. That’s not to say that this machine even approximates chunky — it’s a mere 17mm thick. That’s especially impressive when you factor in the touchscreen. We have no price or availability to share, but when this system does come out, you’ll have your choice of 128GB or 256GB SSDs and up to a 1GB AMD HD8570M GPU. Take a look at our hands-on pics in the gallery.

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

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