Olive and Thiel team up for a high end, high priced audio server

Call us crazy, but we think this is an idea that just might work. Olive, known for high-end music servers, and Thiel, who we’ve seen in this space purveying high-end speakers and IP-based audio solutions, have joined forces to rock your condo, trendy loft space, or dentist’s office. Built around the Olive 4HD (with its 2TB storage, 24-bit / 192kHz sound, gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WiFi, and an iPhone / iPod touch remote control app), the Olive+Thiel can rock up to four pairs of Thiel’s SCS4D IP-based self-powered speakers with 6.5 Inch Coaxial/Coincident driver and 200W Class D Power Amp. In addition to the server functionality, this bad boy can rock you out via its analog and USB digital audio inputs — trust us, Butterfly by Crazy Town has never sounded this sweet! (OK, maybe its never sounded that sweet to begin with.) Available this month for $7,900. PR after the break.

Continue reading Olive and Thiel team up for a high end, high priced audio server

Olive and Thiel team up for a high end, high priced audio server originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leica S2-P unboxed on video, produces sample shots

Ladies and gentlemen, please disengage your budget conscience for this post, as hearing things like “the Leica S2 seems to be quite the happy medium” when discussing a camera that costs north of $31,000 (body only!) will never make much sense otherwise. Matthew Harrison, aka The Leica Guy, has gotten his hands on what he calls the first commercially available S2-P and performed a loving unboxing and preview of the luxurious shooter. With a 56 percent larger sensor than the stellar Canon 5D Mark II (stretching all the way to 37 megapixels), fully weather-sealed casing, sapphire glass monitor screen, and Platinum Service for the discerning photographer, the S2 certainly has a spec sheet to match its price. Matthew’s impressions only confirm the supremacy of this beast, and you can hit up his site below for sample pictures. Don’t forget the video unboxing after the break, which includes (at 3:53) something that might cause real distress to bona fide DSLR junkies — you’ve been warned.

Continue reading Leica S2-P unboxed on video, produces sample shots

Leica S2-P unboxed on video, produces sample shots originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Leica Rumors  |  sourceThe Leica Guy  | Email this | Comments

Refreshed CyberPower Black Mamba gaming rig: downright awesome (for rich people)

One might expect a smallish outfit like CyberPower to start the new year off with merely a fizzle, but the “bang” is firmly in place with this one. The company has just announced its refaced (and re-energized) Black Mamba gaming PC, complete with Intel’s freshest Core i7 Extreme CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, twin 64GB Kingston SSDs, 2TB of SATA II storage space, a pair of watercooled ATI Radeon 5870 GPUs, a 4x Lite-On Blu-ray drive and a 12-in-1 media reader for good measure. You’ll also get a tweaked BIOS that gives you more flexibility when it comes to overclocking, and the bundled Razer input peripherals ensure that even your mouse and keyboard needs are addressed. Best of all, this pristine piece of gaming goodness can be ordered up right now — problem is, you’ll need a bare minimum of $3,800 to cover the cost of acquisition. But hey, that 2009 tax refund should cover that in just a few months, right?

Refreshed CyberPower Black Mamba gaming rig: downright awesome (for rich people) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hermès × Tokujin Yoshioka make digital retail magic

I need to go and see this!

hermes-tokujin-yoshioka

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Tokujin Yoshioka in his home/studio in Daikanyama during one of our client Trend Tours in 2007, and it still ranks in our top five best creative sit-downs ever.

via Core77

Xperia Pureness available now – includes concierge service, avarice

Great news for the disposable income crowd: The Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness is finally available online through Saks Fifth Avenue — and it can be yours for a mere $990. According to some seriously high-minded PR, the sleek and feature-poor handset “represents an alternative approach to life in the complex, digital age by refining the mobile phone to its most essentials functions.” You see, this bad boy “is not simply about a phone; it is about opening a debate about people’s relationship with technology in a complex world.” Got that? In case you’re still not sold, did we mention that the purchase price includes a concierge service? Although we don’t know for sure, it’s probably not a leap to assume that this “concierge” is a help desk employee somewhere who could feed his village for a month with the grand you dropped on a cell phone. PR after the break.

Continue reading Xperia Pureness available now – includes concierge service, avarice

Xperia Pureness available now – includes concierge service, avarice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HDI’s 100-inch, laser-driven 3D HDTV gets $10k to $15k price tag

Thought Mitsubishi’s LaserVue set was pricey? Hah. HDI, the California startup with dreams of producing a 100-inch 3D HDTV that’s driven by lasers, has just released the first hint of a price range, and as predicted, it ain’t cheap. The set — which has already been deemed a favorite by The Woz — has reportedly had its first batch manufactured over in China, and we’re told that a smattering of ’em should be available by May. If all goes well, the HDTV should be in full-scale production mode by Christmas of next year, and we’ve learned that the whole thing will measure around 10-inches thick. Amazingly, it’ll also go relatively easy on the power meter, but the $10,000 to $15,000 price estimate is bound to shock some. Of course, Panasonic’s own 103-inch 3D HDTV is currently pegged at around $75,000, so when you think of it from that perspective, HDI’s offering is a bona fide bargain. And totally worth liquidating your future kid’s college fund for.

HDI’s 100-inch, laser-driven 3D HDTV gets $10k to $15k price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 3D-Display-Info  |  sourceSan Jose Business Journal  | Email this | Comments

Wireworld’s Platinum Starlight HDMI cable is only $1,000, better than your HDMI cable


You idiot. Where did you buy those cables? Walmart? You probably think you’re getting the whole 1080p, don’t you! Boy, you couldn’t be more wrong. What the big box doesn’t want you to know, with their cheap-ass $150 cables is that there are, um, waves and some, uh… electromagnetic spectrats. And they eat your pixels! Yeah, that’s right! Pixel-eating EM spectrats! Not even making this stuff up. How much did you spend on that TV? $1,000? You did buy that $1,800 power cable from Furutech, right? Well, don’t you think you should spend at least that much on the all-important cables that are going to funnel the dynamic 1080p transmissions from your Blu-ray player to your TV? Here, try this Platinum Starlight HDMI cable from Wireworld. It has a patent-pending DNA Helix conductor design formed by the gods themselves out of 24 solid silver conductors. Hell, $1,000 is probably a bargain for one of these one meter cables. Your eyes are worth it, after all. You’re welcome.

Wireworld’s Platinum Starlight HDMI cable is only $1,000, better than your HDMI cable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Harman Kardon’s transparent GLA-55 2.0 speaker set gets glaring $1,000 price tag

Look, we’ve no qualms with Harman Kardon — in fact, we’ve been continually impressed with its wares over the years — but we’re about 99 percent sure we’d never pay a cool grand for a 2.0 speaker set. Yeah, as in a pair of speakers and no subwoofer. Clearly designed for “high-end consumers,” the GLA-55 is a two piece setup meant for fashion-forward desks and bedroom nightstands. The set relies on Atlas AL and CMMD transducers, with the former capable of nearly 1-inch peak-to-peak travel for what we’re told is exceptional bass response. That said, we find it tough to fathom that a pair of speakers such as this could really be worth the $999.99 MSRP, but we’ll be sure to withhold final judgment until Jim Goodnight (or similar) brings over his dog’s set for us to try out.

Harman Kardon’s transparent GLA-55 2.0 speaker set gets glaring $1,000 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monocle offers custom BlackBerry 9700 for the discerning business traveler

Looking for a BlackBerry for yourself or a special someone that’s unique but not in a Colorware sort of way? Then you might just want to consider ponying up for this new limited edition BlackBerry 9700 crafted by the folks at Monocle in partnership with RIM. It’ll cost you a hefty £950 (or just over $1,500), but that will get you the gift of confidence that this is one of just 100, along with some suitably luxurious touches like a custom leather strap, a reminder of its rarity on the back, Monocle’s 25/25 travel guides pre-loaded on the device, a few custom wallpapers, and even a 16GB microSD card thrown in for good measure. Alright, so maybe it’s a bit tough to justify the $1,000+ premium, but those ready to throw caution to the wind can expect their order to ship on December 10th.

Monocle offers custom BlackBerry 9700 for the discerning business traveler originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Acquire  |  sourceMonocle  | Email this | Comments

Olympus Pen E-P1 spoiled by Swarovski

You know how to ruin a luxurious shooter already steeped in fine retro-styling? Slather on the Swarovski crystal, that’s how. This £1,999 CrystalRoc bastardization of Olympus’ E-P1 Micro Four Thirds wundercam more than doubles the price of the de-iced original. So sad… then again, maybe you like it.

Olympus Pen E-P1 spoiled by Swarovski originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePocket-lint  | Email this | Comments