CNET News.com has an article on Microsoft's new iPOD killer that is slated to be released soon. I'm not really interested in the hardware (for this entry), it's the download approach Microsoft is attempting that I like... for as little as $10 a month, you could download hundreds of thousands of songs, instead of paying $.99 for each song at the iTunes Music Store. I think this model is the best way to combat all the illegal downloads for both audio and video. Make it cheap and accessible enough so it doesn't make sense download the assets illegally. [CNET - Microsoft's iPod killer?]
They don't call themselves the the Bass Authorities for nothing, the SVS PB2-Plus subwoofer measures in at a huge 18" wide, 25" tall and 28" deep. How heavy is this sub? A hefty 120 pounds... imagine how much air this thing can move in your home theater. You'd expect to pay over $4k for a subwoofer like this, but SVS has done it for a little under $1200. It's proudly made in the U.S.A. and its twin 12" custom TC-Sounds high capacity woofers are powered by an all digital 900 watt BASH switching amp. These guys really know bass... selectable 16Hz, 20Hz or 25Hz tuning with included port plugs, makes this sub a perfect match to any home theater speaker system.
Sony has unveilved the S700, it uses an innovative swivel-open design that allows use of the phone in three ways... photo shoot, browse, and talk, or text and email. The back side of the phone looks like a traditional Sony digital camera, its 1.3 megapixel CDD with 8x digital zoom is nothing close to what you get with a dedicated digital camera, but good enough for a phone. Images can be stored on a Memory Stick Duo, making transfers to a computer easy. The S700 can also stream and capture video clips... seems like Sony is also taking PMP (Portable Media Player) seriously, since this device can playback video files off the Memory Stick as well, it's limited (only MPEG-4), but a sign of what will be coming. Bluetooth and IR is still standard and an updated polyphonic ringtone system now has up to 74 voices. A couple more notable features are the 2.3" touchscreen and MP3 audio playback. The only thing I don't see mentioned for this model is a FM tuner. No pricing information yet, but this phone is expected sometime in Q4 of 2004.
