Creative Launch Affordable Wireless Speaker

Speakers don't always have to be large, cumbersome, and boring to look at. Creative Technology Ltd seems to have taken note of this as they announced the D80 Bluetooth wireless one-piece portable speaker, which comes in four colours.

This speaker can play from any stereo Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR source compatible with A2DP/AVRCP profile such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phones, tablet computers, and laptops. The Bluetooth Connect button present on the speaker lets you instantly it with the source without any hassle, and you can use the same to toggle between pre-paired sources. Support for AVRCP profile means that you can control speaker volume through compatible source devices. There is also an auxiliary input to connect other audio devices. With no obstructions such as walls, the speaker can be placed at a distance of up to 10 m from the source. It has two 3" full range drivers, which claim to produce full, dynamic audio.  The D80 weighs just 1.06 kg and has dimensions 32.5x10x10 cm.

Ernest Sim, Regional Sales Manager for Indian Subcontinent at Creative said, "Most people today store their music in portable Bluetooth enabled devices like the iPhone, Android phone, Blackberry or tablet computers like the iPad or Creative ZiiO, and the Creative D80 is designed to be the perfect compact Bluetooth speaker to go with these wireless devices. The Creative D80 speaker is so compact that it can easily be carried anywhere throughout the home or almost everywhere in a backpack, and it s priced for everyone".

Available in white with a pink, blue, or green grille or black with a black grille, the Creative D80 will be available across the country by the end of July at an MRP of Rs 2,699.

  

Source : Creative Launch Affordable Wireless Speaker

Nokia Unveils N9 Smartphone

Nokia unveiled Tuesday its new N9 smartphone that runs the MeeGo operating system, and is being marketed as a "pure touch screen" device without buttons.The N9 will launch later this year, and the company will release later the device's pricing and availability in various markets, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said at a company event in Singapore. 

Nokia said in February that it would establish a future smartphone strategy around Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, to help the company compete against Apple's iPhone and handsets using Google's Android operating system. 

The company said it would still put out during the year a smartphone with MeeGo, a Linux-based OS developed in collaboration with Intel.The Windows-based product is scheduled to ship later this year, Elop said. Nokia had earlier said the product would ship by the fourth quarter.

Nokia also restated its commitment to the Symbian operating system at the event. The company said it will start shipping Nokia N8s, E7s, C7s and C6-01s with the new Symbian Anna software update in July. By the end of August, existing owners of these devices can also download Symbian Anna. Over the next 12 months Nokia plans to bring up to 10 new Symbian-based smartphones to market.

Nokia designed the N9 as an "all screen" phone with a 3.9 inch display that covers most of the front side of the device. No home button is built on to it. Instead, users navigate back to the home view by simply swiping across the edge of the phone's screen. 

People want more screen on their phone, and want to be able to use their phones when on the move, said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's senior vice president for design. That requires the phone to offer better one-handed use, and the ability to view all information at a glance of the phone, he added.

The N9 features an 8-megapixel camera. It also uses near-field communication technology. During Tuesday's demo Ahtisaari showed that the device can easily synchronize with a Bluetooth headset, simply by having the phone touch the earphones.The phone will come in three colors: black, cyan and magenta. There will be two versions available with storage at 16GB and 64GB.

Source : Nokia Unveils N9 Smartphone

Angry Birds Comes to Windows - No Browser Required

Rovio's quest to bring its über-popular Angry Birds to every computing platform known to humankind shows no signs of letting up.

Just three weeks ago, a browser-based beta version of the game debuted in Google's Chrome Web Store. And Roku yesterday announced plans to bring three versions of Angry Birds to its video-streaming set-top boxes this summer.

Well, it appears the Birds have migrated to Windows PCs too, and no browser is necessary. Rovio is selling two flavors of Angry Birds--the original and Rio versions--for Windows. Each is $4.95, or you can download a free demo version to check it out.

The games run on Windows XP SP2 or a newer version of Microsoft's OS. Rovio plans to release a third Windows edition, Angry Birds Seasons, sometime in the future, but hasn't announced an exact date.

Angry Birds debuted as an Apple iPhone app in December 2009. Users have downloaded the game more than 200 million times, Rovio says.

With Angry Birds flying everywhere, I wonder which platform they'll invade next. And will these avian dive-bombers have staying power, or become the next Guitar Hero?

 

Source : Angry Birds Comes to Windows - No Browser Required