Want to get connected, be entertained, or maybe just find a good route and stay on course? Check out some of the coolest new gadgets for the car from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
TIPPING THE SCALER The absolute best that high-def video can look is the en vogue 1080p format, which floods your screen with more than 2 million pixels as often as every sixtieth of a second (assuming you have a 1080p-resolution TV).
($499 for 4 gigabytes, $599 for 8 GB; apple.com) With hip-hooray and ballyhoo, Apple CEO Steve Jobs previewed the much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld convention. Combining a 3.5-inch widescreen iPod, a Wi-Fi-enabled "Internet communications device," and, oh yes, a cellphone, it also includes a 2-megapixel camera.
As convenient as it is to have music and video on things like iPods and cell phones, there are always times when you want some seriously big sound. That's where the Zvox Mini portable speaker ($200) can help.
GOING DOWN Are you tired of budget home theater speaker systems with dinky "subwoofers" that aren't even worthy of the name? Cast your eyes on the PB10-NSD sub that comes with SVS's SBS-01 system - a 10-inch driver and a 300-watt amp fill out its nearly 2-foot-deep chassis. Ready to go boom?
Last night we got a chance to check out the first product offerings from AudioXperts, a new lifestyle audio brand from a bunch of industry veterans, led by Eli Harary, formerly of Boston Acoustics and Infinity. The systems we heard were voiced by John Fischbach, Grammy-winning producer of projects from Stevie Wonder, Carole King, and Cassandra Wilson, to name just a few. Safe to say that the consumers AudioXperts has in mind should be well served on both the business and sonic fronts.
Even though Sony's one of the top brands in several audio categories, the company hasn't made much of a push with its audio products in the last few years. That all changed at an event today in Los Angeles, where Sony showed off a new A/V receiver and a new soundbar, and also announced new HTiB (home theater in a box) systems.
ULTRA COOL If you think it's hard to believe an in-ceiling speaker could sound top-notch, THX would like a word with you. Polk's RTS100 is the first in-ceiling model to earn THX Ultra2 status, thanks in part to its driver array.
We seem to be going through a mini-renaissance in the hallowed tradition of the American hi-fi show, what with this year's burgeoning crop of existing shows and welcome upstarts. Yet Southern California audiophiles, despite living in what some would consider the nexus of the audio industry, haven't been treated to a good show for years.
Panasonic With portable music players, the question is, how small can you get? About 1 5/8 x 1 3/4 x 5/8 inch, according to Panasonic, whose SV-SD80 digital audio player, shown larger-than-life below, weighs less than an ounce. It uses postage-stamp-size Secure Digital (SD) memory cards and can play music encoded in the MP3, WMA, and AAC formats.
Can't we all just get along? Up to 12 of your home entertainment devices can do just that, thanks to Logitech's Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for Xbox 360 ($130). Simple setup has you connect the remote to your computer, enter the model numbers of your A/V gear, and answer some easy questions.
A NEW LIGHT So you think you know the big benefit of NuVision's 52LEDLP TV just from the name, do you? Well, yeah, having an LED "illuminator" instead of a regular lamp will get you better contrast, but did you know you also get a much longer life, full brightness as soon as you turn it on, and less power consumption?