Hasta La Gadget!

Business professionals who’ve dreamt of having a portable conference system and Bluetooth speaker combo have just had their wish granted. Harman Kardon’s aluminum and leather-clad Esquire portable speaker features two drivers, a bass port and noise-cancelling conference microphones. Placing the unit upright adjusts its mics for one person, while laying it flat works best for multiple people. The design is relatively clean, but you’ll find physical buttons at its side for power, playback, mute, volume and Bluetooth pairing (NFC-pairing is also an option). An internal battery keeps it juiced for up to ten hours and its wall charger has three USB ports to handle your smartphone and extra gizmos. The Esquire will be available for your business travels later this year in white, black and “camel.”

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Filed under: Portable Audio/Video

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Source: Harman Kardon

Some would argue that soundbars aren’t necessarily a must-have in one’s home entertainment system, but there’s no doubt a good set can certainly take the viewing and listening experience to another level. To wit, Harman Kardon has chosen IFA 2013 as the platform to unveil a couple of new, audiophile-grade soundbars, the Sabre SB 35 and SB 26. For starters, the top-of-the-line SB 35 model carries a cool $999 price tag, bringing with it qualities such as 1.75-inch drivers and 1-inch tweeters, Dolby Digital TrueHD / DTS HD Decoding, plus Bluetooth connectivity and access to three HDMI ports — Harman says that given its mere 1.25-inch in depth, it’s the slimmest multi-channel 8.1 bar on the market.

The SB 26, on the other hand, comes in slightly cheaper at $599 and sports dual-driver, two-way speaker modules that are powered by a pair of 3-inch, “mid-range” drivers and a 1-inch dome tweeter. Naturally, choosing the entry-level model means potential buyers will miss out on SB 35-specific features like Harman’s Wave surround-mode, which utilizes “advanced digital signal processing to deliver a realistic surround-sound.” (There’s also one less HDMI incision, and we all know how important something as ubiquitous as that can be.) The company didn’t say when we can expect these to be up for grabs; in the meantime, though, check out the PR after the break to go over all the audio nitty-gritty before deciding which SB soundbar is the one for you.%Gallery-slideshow79630%

Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, Peripherals, HD

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Source: Harman Kardon

Toshiba is going to release tablet “REGZA Tablet AT703″ on June 21.

“REGZA Tablet AT703″ features Toshiba’s original handwriting notebook application “TruNote”, that enables you to take a maximum of 1 million pages of notes, using any colors or kinds of lines you like, categorize them and keep them in order. Also, those notes can be convertible to the text for emails and Microsoft Office files, etc. easily.

Toshiba says users will definitely enjoy the feel of writing and says that it feels as if you were writing on paper.

With the “TruCapture” app, you can take a photo of a note on a whiteboard with “REGZA Tablet AT703″ after the meeting and digitize the note.

It features a high-resolution WQXGA (2560×1600 dot) 10.1 inch LC display, and famous European audio manufacturer harman/kardon’s stereo speaker to bring powerful sounds.

Price: Open price
Size: 260.7 x 178.9 x 10.5 mm
Weight: 671 g
Platform: Android 4.2
CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor
Memory: 2GB
Communications: IEEE802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE802.11ac (Wi-Fi, WPA/WPA2, WEP, AES, TKIP), Bluetooth Ver.4.0
Interface: USB2.0, HDMI output terminal. 3.5mm mini jack
Charging time: 4.5 hours
Battery life: 9.5h
Accessories: Bluetooth keyboard, Digitizer pen, micro USB cable, AC adapter, Power cord

Harman has joined several other companies in jumping the CES gun, announcing five new products it’s bringing to the show. First up is the JBL Charge, a hardy Bluetooth speaker which promises an impressive 12 hours of tunes on a single charge. If you are willing to sacrifice some of that play time, you can siphon power from the internal battery to other kit via the speaker’s USB port. Expected to start shipping in Q1 2013, you should be able to pick one up for around $149. Joining JBL’s OnBeat range are the Mini and Rumble speaker docks, which are both compatible with Apple’s Lightning connector. The Mini is a fairly standard dock which will play and charge for up five hours on battery power, and should be available this coming March for around $149. The Rumble, however, is a little more equipped, with both Lightning and Bluetooth streaming options, as well as a 4.5-inch, “down-firing subwoofer” for bass junkies. That extra muscle is reflected in the price, though, which is likely to be $399 when it hits stores next spring.

A couple of new Kardon-branded A/V receivers from Harman are also coming along to CES — the AVR 2700 and 3700. Both have multi-zone functionality, are stacked with wireless features including internet radio, AirPlay and DLNA connectivity, and can be controlled using iOS and Android apps. The AVR 2700 has eight HDMI ports and 4K video scaling for when you get round to buying that UHDTV, as well as 7.1-channel audio (at 100 watts per channel). The AVR 3700 adds WiFi connectivity, and has 7.2 channels (at 125 watts per channel) for adding a second woofer to your setup. When they become available to purchase in Q1 2013, expect wallet damage to the tune of $799 for the 2700, or $999 for the 3700. You can get a closer look at all the Harman products in the press shots below (complete with unnecessary reflection), and if you’re into PRs, there are a whole bunch awaiting you after the break.

Continue reading Harman bringing trio of JBL speakers and pair of AV receivers to CES

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals, Wireless, HD

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Welcome to Engadget’s back to school guide! The end of summer vacation isn’t nearly as much fun as the weeks that come before, but a chance to update your tech tools likely helps to ease the pain. Today, we’re taking our audio with us — and you can head to the back to school hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back — at the end of the month we’ll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides — and hit up the hub page right here!

With all of the studying and on-campus traveling you’re about to delve into, sometimes adding a bit of music to your step can spice up those mundane times in your daily routine. That’s why we’ve rounded up a selection of portable speakers and headphones that’ll not only help you rock out whenever the mood strikes, but also go a step further by letting you take phone calls without skipping a beat. It may not be audiophile-grade gear in the official sense, but it won’t matter when you’re enjoying good sound just about anywhere your smartphone-connected life takes you.

Continue reading Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: portable audio

Filed under: Wearables

Engadget’s back to school guide 2012: portable audio originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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