Digital Tech News - Digital Technology & Consumer Electronics

Akai MPC Fly for iPad 2 Music Production Controller

Akai has come up with a cool way to use your Apple iPad 2 as an MPC music production controller with this new Akai MPC Fly for iPad 2. The unit comprises a 16-pad controller that comes in a laptop-like protective case, which also holds the iPad 2 tablet. An Akai app for the iPad 2 provides the software for sequencing up to four tracks simultaneously. The Akai MPC Fly set-up provides you with real MPC pads, MPC Note Repeat and MPC Swing functions so you can produce tracks anywhere.

Sharp announces 2012 Large-Screen LED TV Line-up

Sharp recently announced its 2012 large-screen LED TV line-up with some 20 large screen 60-inch plus class AQUOS LED TVs featuring new technologies like SmartCentral, AQUOS Advantage LIVE, Quad Pixel Plus II, and full-array LED backlighting with local dimming.  Sharp also announced an April 2012 release date for its first Quattron 80-inch Class 3D LED TV. The 80-inch LC-80LE844U model features a newly developed 240Hz AQUOS LCD, built-in WiFi, 4 HDMI inputs and the new SmartCentral user interface.

AT&T releases Pantech Element Tablet and Pantech Burst Smartphone deal

AT&T has announced a new deal for customers which bundles two new Android devices, the Pantech Element tablet and the Pantech Burst 4G LTE smartphone.  AT&T’s customers can now buy the Pantech Element for $249.99 and recieve the Burst phone for free. That's a savings of about $100 if you bought these devices separately.

The Pantech Element is unique in that it is a waterproof tablet device, so you can whip it out in the rain if need be. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, runs Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) and it features an 8-inch HD screen, front and rear-facing cameras.

Pantech Element features include:

• Vivid 8” HD capacitive touch screen, 4:3 display ratio
• Android 3.2 Honeycomb
• 4G LTE capability (700/AWS)
• Waterproof (IP57 rated) – submergible for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes (with all ports tightly closed)
• 1.5 GHz dual core processor
• 5 MP rear-facing camera with flash and 4x digital zoom
• 2 MP front-facing camera for video chat over Wi-Fi®
• 16GB internal memory
• Expandable memory slot for microSD™ card supporting up to 32 GB
• Bluetooth® v2.1+EDR
• Tabbed browsing, Adobe® Flash® support Vivid HD Video record and playback with a micro HDMI output (cable not included)

Acer Aspire A0722 11.6-inch 4G Netbook now on sale at AT&T

AT&T is now selling the Acer Aspire A0722 11.6 inch Netbook online to enterprise users and consumers. The netbook will run on AT&T's HSPA+ network, their version of 4G, which offers up to 4x faster data transmission.  The Aspire AO722 is an ultra portable netbook PC with a full-size keyboard, and it packs a 250 GB hard drive, 2 GB of RAM, three USB ports, a VGA out connector, an Ethernet Jack, headphone jack, HDMI-out port, and a 6-cell battery.

The Acer Aspire A0722 is priced at $449.99 without an annual contract, but AT&T customers can also purchase the A0722 at the discounted price of $39.99 if they sign-up for a two-year agreement with a 3GB monthly data plan.

Sony Micro Vault MACH SuperSpeed USB 3.0

Sony has announced the new Micro Vault MACH USB 3.0 flash memory drive with SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology, which will be available in 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB sizes.

The Micro Vault MACH offers data speeds up to 120 MB/s (read) and 90 MB/s (write) for speedy sharing and uploading of music, photos, HD video and media-rich documents. The Micro Vault MACH USB 3.0 is backward-compatible with USB 2.0.  The device is expected to ship later this month, but pricing was not announced.

 

James Bond 50th Anniversary Blu-Ray Collection

In celebration of the 50^th anniversary of James Bond, MGM Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment are releasing the BOND 50 Blu-ray Disc box-set which features all 22 James Bond films in high definition.

Bond 50: The Complete 22 Film Collection in Blu-ray ($199.99) includes great Bond directors like John Glen (five Bond films including For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill), Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough).  More than 130 hours of bonus features along with new and exclusive content are also included in the package.

“With all 22 feature films available on Blu-ray in one collection for the first time this is a great way for fans to catch up on 007’s epic journey before Skyfall hits theaters next Fall,” said Michael Brown, Senior Vice President, MGM Home Entertainment. “Now viewers can enjoy the intense action of the innovative franchise in the most immersive home experience possible.”

Akai MPC Studio Hardware and Software introduced at NAMM 2012

Akai recently announced their new MPC Renaissance Music Production Controller and Software, which will go head-on with Native Instrument's Maschine product line, but Akai has another new tool for all you beat-makers out there. At less than one-inch thin, the new Akai MPC Studio packs classic MPC pads and rotary controls, and it hooks up to a Mac or PC with the included MPC software to provide 64 track sequencing, VST support and more. Pricing was not announced.

 

Toshiba Smart Blu-ray Disc players for 2012

A new 2012 lineup of Smart Blu-ray Disc players were recently announced by Toshiba. The BDX2300 and BDX3300 models are Toshiba’s new 2D Smart Blu-ray Disc players with 1080p full HD playback, BD-Live, Netflix, VUDU and other A/V streaming capabilities to access content online. These players also offer Dolby True HD and DTS HD for 7.1 channel surround, HDMI and USB Video ports.  The Wi-Fi ready BDX2300 will be available in April, while the BDX3300 with built-in Wi-Fi goes on sale in May.

The higher-end BDX4300 and BDX5300 models are Toshiba’s new 3D Smart Blu-ray Disc players, which both include all of the functionality of the 2D models, plus 1080p 3D HD playback. The BDX4300 and BDX5300 will both be available in April. Toshiba has not announced pricing as of yet.

Toshiba Smart Blu-ray Disc players feature: 

Aero Design: Toshiba’s new Blu-ray Disc players share the new Aero family design with Toshiba LED TVs. All models include the silver Aero wing and low profile design. 3D models add a wider 430mm chassis to better match other A/V components.

A/V Streaming: Toshiba’s Smart Blu-ray Disc players include a variety of A/V streaming applications including Netflix™, VUDU™, YouTube™ and more. Toshiba has also included the Vudu Apps aggregation service for access to dozens of additional Internet widgets that offer a wide variety of content options.

MediaShare: MediaShare is a simple DLNA^® interface that allows the Smart Blu-ray Disc players to easily access content from other DLNA-compatible devices. Connecting a Smart Blu-ray Disc player to any TV instantly connects that room to the home network, and allows access to all of one’s stored A/V content.

USB Video: With USB Video, users can enjoy videos, music, photos and more on the big screen right from a USB flash drive.

Sony 2012 BRAVIA LED LCD and 3D television lineup announced

Sony's new 2012 BRAVIA television lineup includes the introducion of three new HDTV series - the entry-level BX LCD HDTV, the step-up EX LED LCD HDTV, and the flagship HX LED LCD HDTV with 3D series.

Casio XW-P1 performance synthesizer and XW-G1 groove synthesizer

Casio America unveiled two new professional Synthesizers at the 2012 Winter NAMM Show this week, the XW-P1 61 key performance synthesizer and the XW-G1 groove synthesizer.  The Casio XW-P1 synth features Casio's exclusive (HPSS) Hybrid Processing Sound Source, virtual analog monophonic leads and basses, drawbar organs, complex layers, stereo pianos, drums and more, as well as real-time control for performing musicians. The Casio XW-G1 groove synthesizer is made for the DJ and club performer, and it features an interactive step sequencer, a 19-second sample looper, and 420 built-in sounds.

Both the XW-P1 and XW-G1 have 4 real-time controller knobs, pitch bend and modulation wheels, and 9 sliders for controlling internal sounds and external devices. Standard MIDI ports and USB port is on board fro controlling other instruments, computer software and iPad based software applications. Expect the XW-P1 to be available in March for $699.00 and the XW-G1 to hit stores in April for $799.00.