Non-jagged little pill: Beats Electronics’ Beats Pill wireless speaker showcases smooth styling

Beats Electronics' Beats Pill hopes to bring a dose of value to the Bluetooth speaker game. For $200, you get a pill-shaped, aptX-enabled speaker that also bears the distinction of being the first tap-to-touch NFC speaker on the market. Specs such as driver size and power rating are scant, but its safe to say we can expect the Pill to carry on the Beats sound signature tradition.

Yesterday, Beats Electronics released their Beats Pill wireless speaker. The new offering features the company’s Beats Audio technology delivered through a four-speaker system, and this time around, Beats isn’t just courting music enthusiasts; it’s also catering to the conference calling set. The speaker handles all call functions, has a built-in mic for conferencing, and echo cancellation to maintain call clarity.

The Bluetooth-enabled model is, according to Beats, the first wireless speaker in stores that boasts both tap-to-pair NFC (Near Field Communications) and apt-X technology, but other than that, the audio specs aren’t available in detail. That leaves us with some questions. For instance, we know there are four drivers, but what size are they?  How about a power rating? #audiophileproblems. We acknowledge that Beats products typically do a good job of appealing to their target audience, but hearing is believing.

The Beats Pill’s versatility is part & parcel with a new objective of Beats Electronics: transitioning into a freestanding consumer electronics company. Though Beats is unlikely to stray too far from its Producer/President Dr. Dre’s musical roots, it’s clear that the company is aiming to throw its hat into a few more rings.

The Beats Pill retails for $200 and is available today at The Beats Store and other authorized locations.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

First impressions of the Windows 8 Acer Iconia W700 tablet

Acer announces its latest tablet, the Iconia W700, complete with a cradle dock, Bluetooth keyboard, and of course, Windows 8 compatibility.

As Acer continues to roll out its announcements on its latest Windows 8 lineup, we give you more hands-on impressions of the fresh new products right off the presses. Today, Acer unveils the Iconia W700 tablet complete with an 11.6-inch display in full 1080p high definition at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The Iconia W700 will come in your choice of Intel Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor, and of course, the 10-point touch capacitive feature that will allow you to make the most out of Windows 8′s Metro UI.

One of the first things we noticed about the Iconia W700 is how modular the system is. The full set comes with a standing dock and a separate Bluetooth keyboard, both of which will allow you to use it like a PC at home or in your office. You can tilt the cradle dock up from 20 degrees to 70 degrees, depending on your viewing preference. Of course, you can also adjust the dock to stand vertically or horizontally.

Take it out of its cradle and you’ve got a tablet that’s approximately half an inch thich and weighs 2.3 pounds — not too much lighter than the Acer Aspire S7 ultrabook announced two days prior. However, the Iconia W700′s got a few more integrations that make it more of a mobile device than the Aspire S7. Case in point, the built-in G-Sensor, E-Compass, and Gyro-Meter — all of which are meant to help with location-based apps so you can check into a Foursquare joint, find your friends on Google Latitude, search nearby restaurants on Yelp, or the like, in as small amount of time as possible.

Spec-wise, you’ve got your choice of 64GB or 128GB SSD with 4GB of memory, a back-facing 5 megapixel camera that can record 1080p HD videos, and a 1-megapixel front facer that can capture 720p videos. The tablet also has a MicroHDMI and a VGA adapter if you want to hook it up to a projector. One of my personal favorite components of the set is that it comes with its own leatherette case that can pack up the dock, keyboard, and tablet all in a neat place. This makes it perfect for travel, and it’s nice to not have to spend extra on a decent case that can store all the little components and accessories.

The Acer Iconia W700 will be available on October 26 starting at $800.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Hidden’s gem: Kickstarter-funded Hidden touts its HiddenRadio speaker as a revolution in design

Intuitive and clever, HIDDEN's HiddenRadio hopes its simple design will be groundbreaking as well.

Earlier this week, consumer electronics manufacturer Hidden, made its HiddenRadio Bluetooth speaker available for pre-order on its website. The compact, minimalistic speaker doubles as an FM radio and purports to be powerful, despite its diminutive size. Its sleek structure was crafted by award-winning industrial designers John Van Den Nieuwenhuizen and Vitor Santa Maria and it was originally launched on Kickstarter, an online social funding platform for creative projects.

In addressing HiddenRadio,  Tim Bajarin, president and analyst at Creative Strategies, said, “as innovators like Apple have shown, occasionally a product comes along that just makes ‘sense’ in its design that it changes the way we think about an entire category.”

Whether you’re all about a chic aesthetic, or you’re partial to power under-the-hood, it’s difficult to deny that HiddenRadio is a truly unique product.

Its barely-there visual impact is the reason for the name,  but HiddenRadio, touts advancements in functionality as well. Its interactive cap serves as both power button and volume knob. The more you lift the cap, the more of the underlying speaker is exposed, and the more speaker you expose, the higher the volume goes. Press the cap all the way down and you’ll shut it off. It’s simple, but revolutionary from a design perspective.

HiddenRadio is available via the Hidden website and comes in metallic silver, graphite black, or pure white. Pre-orders are available at a discounted price of $150 and will ship free of charge to the United States, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. This price point will be unavailable after September 30, 2012.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com