Hasta La Gadget!

The concept for the Valkee sounds like the worst kind of snake-oil: It’s a little box that combats the dark blues of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with bright lights. Nothing new there, except it shines the lights into your head through your ears.

Winter depression, in the form of SAD, has been treated with bright lights since forever. Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, say t’s not the eyes that need the light, it’s the brain. The ear canal is a convenient hole in the head through which to shine light, so the Valkee uses a pair of earbuds to light up the inside of your head, and stimulate photo-sensitive parts of the gray matter.

That’s the theory at least. Tests run at the University of Oulu confirm its efficacy, offering relief to nine out of 10 subjects with a daily 8- to 12-minute dose for four weeks. And not everyone is as skeptical as me. Valkee has received angel investment from such smart people as Esther Dyson and ex-Nokia boss Anssi Vanjoki.

Proper clinical trials are running now, which further inspires confidence. And for those in northern climes, where the winter months can bring nights that last weeks not hours, this 185-euro light box could prove to be a life saver. Available now.

Valkee product page [Valkee via Oh Gizmo!]

See Also:

• Topic Page for Mood Disorders

Sennheiser has a thing for trotting out titillating new wares at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and this year is proving to be no different in that regard. The audio specialist has just introduced one of the most fully-featured headsets we’ve seen in quite awhile, with the CXC 700 boasting not one, not two, but three levels of noise cancellation. The newfangled NoiseGard /digital technology gives owners a trifecta of noise-cancelling profiles, with each one optimized for something different. In fact, we’ll let Senn do the explaining here:

“Mode 1 absorbs low-frequency noise in particular (100 to 400 Hertz), such as engine noise from trains, buses or small passenger planes. Mode 2 focuses on cancelling noise in the medium frequency range (400 to 3,000 Hertz), which is caused above all by air-conditioning systems in large passenger aircraft or office buildings. Mode 3 has a particularly wide frequency range (100 to 3,000 Hertz), and combines the noise-cancelling effect in the medium and low-frequency ranges. As a result, background noise with different noise components, such as that which occurs at airports, railway stations or underground stations, can be effectively suppressed, although with a slightly lower noise-cancelling performance than in the first two modes.”

In case that’s not enough to convince ya, these offer a frequency response of 20Hz to 21,000Hz, and they’ll function just fine (albeit sans noise cancellation) even if your AAA battery keels over. Controls are embedded in the cabling, and users are able to activate the TalkThrough function if they’d prefer to conduct a conversation with someone without actually removing their earphones. Furthermore, changing between the NoiseGard profiles and activation of the TalkThrough function are indicated by both an acoustic and a visual signal. The company will be shipping these with a 4.5-foot long cable, an in-flight adapter, 6.35mm jack plug adapter, a small carrying case and a diaphragm protector, with sales to start later this month for around $320.

Continue reading Sennheiser’s sophisticated CXC 700 earbuds tout three levels of noise cancellation, TalkThrough functionality

Sennheiser’s sophisticated CXC 700 earbuds tout three levels of noise cancellation, TalkThrough functionality originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic’s blowing it out here at CES, partciularly on the HD front. There’s a boatload of new content to disgest, so we’ll take you through it all step-by-step below:

• For starters, Panasonic is dishing out seven new plasma HDTVs, six new LED LCDs and five new standard LCD HDTVs. For the 2011 model year, Panny’s introducing the VT30 series, GT30 and ST30 lines, and two of the LED LCDs are joining its array of Full HD 3D TVs. Naturally, the biggest addition to the new sets is the Viera Connect system, but the Easy IPTV functionality is another boon.
• For those who’ve got a Viera Cast-enabled BD deck, Panny’s adding Skype voice and video calling. The addition of Skype to Panasonic’s new DMP-BDT310, DMP-BDT210, and DMP-BDT110 VIERA CAST-enabled Blu-ray Disc Players allows consumers to make Skype voice and video calls on virtually any HDTV using a Skype-compatible camera.
• As for new Blu-ray and DVD players? There’s a near-limitless flow of them, with the DMP-B200 (8.9-inch display) and DVD-LS92 (9-inch) portable players serving the road warriors. The DMP-BDT210 3D Blu-ray deck is now holding down the top spot in the company’s at-home range, and if you’re still down with DVD, you’ll find a load of new options with USB ports for loading up additional media.
• The company is also debuting the April-bound SC-HTB520 soundbar, meant to match up with flat-panels that are 42-inches or larger, and it’s also throwing in a wireless, down-firing subwoofer.
• Finally, Panny’s introducing 3D video conferencing (HDVC), which may or may not make your weekly boardroom meetings entirely more tolerable.

Head on down to the source for more, but don’t expect to find much in the way of price and availability.

Panasonic’s CES 2011 HD lineup: Blu-ray players, 3D video conferencing, HDTVs, audio gear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hard to say when (or if) these beauts will ever hit the market, but we’ve all ideas they’d move quite briskly if positioned in a nondescript kind of store that tends to sell fruit, peripherals and things heavily prefixed with “i.” Designed Michael Young has teamed up with EOps to create the Noisezero i+ Eco Edition earbuds, which are constructed with cornstarch (you know, in honor of Ma Earth), equipped with an iPod / iPhone-friendly inline remote and outfitted with a unique design that purportedly makes it easier for these to be inserted into one’s ear canal. We’re told that they’ll eventually be available in charcoal, rustic brown, midnight blue and sage green, and yes, a carrying case would be included. Too bad there’s nary a hint as to where you can actually buy ’em, but the video just below the break will give you a better idea of what to hunt for.

Continue reading EOps Noisezero i+ Eco earbuds get cornstarch construction, finger-friendly design (video)

EOps Noisezero i+ Eco earbuds get cornstarch construction, finger-friendly design (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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