Read – Eye-Fi getting 2x faster
Read – Eye-Fi going international
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Just in time for CEDIA, IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA Kit has received passing marks from the USB Implementer’s Forum, so you can rest assured that the $230 kit will play nicely with any other USB gear you have now or may get in the future. You can expect to see the wireless duo on shelves in October, so Windows XP and Vista users with a free USB port can cut the cord, clean up the rat’s nest of cabling and start beaming 720p signals around the living room or conference room — just mind the 30-foot limit. Full release after the break.

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USB Implementers Forum Certifies IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA Kit

IOGEAR to showcase its wireless video streaming solution at CEDIA EXPO

Denver, Colorado — CEDIA EXPO — September 3, 2008 — IOGEAR, a leading connectivity manufacturer, today announced it has achieved Wireless USB certification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) for its Wireless USB to VGA Kit. IOGEAR will demonstrate the product in booth #468 at CEDIA EXPO in Denver, Colorado, September 3-6, 2008.

IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA Kit is based on Wireless USB chips from Realtek Semiconductor Corp., and a USB-to-VGA solution from DisplayLink. The product enables data transmission up to 30 feet away between a PC and an in-room
VGA display.

“Among the first vendors to bring certified Wireless USB to end users, we are pleased to see IOGEAR develop another solution that implements such an exciting technology,” said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president. “The Wireless USB to VGA Kit will help bridge the gap between the PC and the TV by delivering video content wirelessly to an in-room display.”

IOGEAR was one of the first to introduce certified USB 2.0 to consumers in 2001, and was also among the first to ship a certified Wireless USB end-user product, its Wireless USB Hub & Adapter Kit, in 2007. Today’s certification of IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA Kit further exemplifies the company’s commitment to making new, innovative technologies available to the public.

“IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA kit provides consumers with new, flexible and convenient ways of using and sharing multimedia content,” said Frederic Battaglia, director of marketing at Realtek Semiconductor Corp. “The product wirelessly connects any PC to a VGA display by leveraging Wireless USB, the standards-based extension of the ubiquitous wired USB connection.”

“With this product, IOGEAR takes the performance and simplicity that users associate with wired networked displays and extends them to wireless operation,” said Jason Slaughter, director of marketing at DisplayLink. “Consumers can now enhance their multimedia experiences by sharing any PC application with family, friends and co-workers with complete ease-of-use.”

“We are excited to introduce another innovative certified Wireless USB solution,” said Miranda Su, executive vice president of IOGEAR. “Our Wireless USB to VGA Kit will enable users to eliminate cable clutter in the home or the office, further simplifying complicated set-ups that typically entail multiple wires and connections.”

The Wireless USB to VGA Kit will be available in October 2008 for $229.95 (MSRP) from all major catalog and online resellers, as well as select retail outlets.

From engadget

Gallery: Eye-Fi launches Eye-Fi Home, Share, and geotagging Explore

   

Being that music lovers everywhere are scrambling to find bona fide replacements to their suddenly antiquated compact disc players, it follows logic for Olive Media to give us one more option besides the OPUS Nº5. The OPUS Nº4 is a high-end digital music server which features between 320GB and 1TB of internal storage space, an integrated CD burner, 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen, gigabit Ethernet / 802.11g WiFi, a USB 2.0 port, a slew of audio outputs and native support for WAV, FLAC and MP3 files. As for the iPod-friendly MELODY Nº2 companion, it enables various rooms of the home to access tunes stored on the OPUS Nº4 as well as songs on any networked Mac, PC or NAS drive. If you couldn’t guess, both units are aimed squarely at the affluent sect, which probably explains the $1,499 to $1,799 (OPUS Nº4) / $599 (MELODY Nº2) price tags. Check the gallery on Engadget HD.

[Via Macworld]
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Perpetual HD media streaming and online deathmatches got your current router in a bind? D-Link’s looking to solve said quandary by introducing the Quadband DIR-855 Wireless N Router, which quite simply “supports true concurrent 802.11n transmission over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels at the same time.” Granted, you’ll need a wireless chipset capable of detecting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels or either the company’s own DWA-160 USB adapter to take advantage, but we suppose that’s the price you pay for being able to “segregate your network by application.” You’ll also find 5 gigabit Ethernet ports for those times when only wires will suffice, and the OLED display up top keeps things flashy, too. Expect this one to land in May for a stiff £169.99 ($337).

[Via TrustedReviews]
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We certainly haven’t been starved for media streamers of late, and if you reckoned the feature-packed EZfetch Wireless HD Digital Media Player would be priced right out of your league, guess again. This multifaceted unit, which appeared just days ago on the FCC’s website, is now officially available to anyone interested — and for $249, no less. Yep, for the price of a (likely sold-out) Wii, users can pick up a snazzy streaming box that pulls in content from Nokia N-series mobiles, PCs, NAS drives and a slew of WiFi-enabled devices in order to light up your living room TV. Furthermore, the gizmo plays nice with more formats than you can shake a stick at, and it’s shipping now to those who simply can’t resist.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]
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Fabrik hit us up with a double dose of news today, so we’ll get right to it. First up is the firm’s new line of SimpleTech Pro / Duo Pro Drives ($229.99 to $799.99), which are aimed at digital media enthusiasts, prosumers and business users and come equipped with up to 2TB of storage space, eSATA and USB 2.0 connections. Next we’re looking at the outfit’s Ultimate Backup, which is hailed as “a simple, affordable and secure way to protect your most coveted content both offsite and online.” For under five bucks a month, the service provides users with “unlimited capacity to securely store important files and media collections remotely and automatically,” and moreover, all files are “encrypted with 128-bit SSL encryption while in transit, with an option for a private encryption key, to the company’s remote 448-bit Blowfish encrypted servers (in other words, it’s secure).” For more details, be sure and give the read links below a gander.

Read – SimpleTech drives
Read – Ultimate Backup service
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Evidently, loosing the DSM-750 Extender for Windows Media Center just wasn’t enough for D-Link, as the firm seemingly felt the need to give loyal (and to-be) owners of the DSM-520 Wireless HD Media Player a nice bonus. Starting today, buyers of the aforementioned digital media adapter will have access to “more than 200 online channels,” as the unit can now take advantage of active-TV technology. The service reportedly “allows easy access to internet video and entertainment sites with a remote control,” and it also uses a “content aggregator developed by MediaMall Technologies.” Some notable channels include Comedy Central, CinemaNow, Google Video, Movielink, ROOtv Music Videos, Akimbo, MTV, Musicmatch, Napster, VH1, ESPN and FOX Sports, and there’s also international content out there for those willing to branch out. The expanded DSM-520 should be shipping momentarily for $249.99, and existing owners can snag the update gratis on October 4th.

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For those scouting a simple way to broadcast content from your PC onto a TV sans wires (and regardless of format), Addlogix is demanding your attention. The firm’s InternetVue 2020 Wireless PC2TV Receiver enables users to “mirror what is on their computer screen on projectors or TVs,” and it also features composite / component inputs and 802.11b/g compatibility. Reportedly, any content (read: pictures, movie clips, presentations, live streaming sporting events, etc.) can be passed on from your machine to your television without worrying over formats or codecs, and it’s said to be shipping out as we speak for $249.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]
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Want to spring out of your Windows Media Center situation, but don’t have any good options? Well, you’re luck, because the good folks over at Linksys have whipped up a couple of wireless Media Center Extenders which might just do the trick… or wreck your home life. Feast your eyes on the DMA 2100 and DMA 2200 (pictured), two new offerings from the router-maker sure to please some of the people some of the time. Specs are thin right now, but what we do know is that the DMA 2200 sports an upscaling DVD player, both units have a “learning” remote, and the Extenders will be available sometime in November. For now, enjoy the photos, and your wild dreams of “sharing photos, music and movies” with friends and family.

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D-Link and friends have been cashing in on “Xtreme” gamers and their lust for hardware for quite a few years now, and all that 802.11n floating around just means another shot at dipping into those pockets with aggressively styled hardware that works about as well as your mom’s router does. Luckily the D-Link DGL-4500 Gaming Router breaks that mold slightly, offering a convenient OLED display to for checking out the status of your network — a feature only found in a select few routers at the moment — alongside the usual “Xtreme N” hyperbole. There’s a USB port in back for sharing your flash drive with the network, along with “GameFuel engine” tech for improving gaming network performance, and some assorted security and range enhancements. Unfortunately, the DGL-4500 hasn’t been announced just yet, but with an FCC approval under its belt, store shelves shouldn’t be far off. And just in time for the holidays, imagine that. Check out an OLED closeup and a picture of the back after the break.

from engadget

Intel’s announced USB 3.0 specification could push throughput beyond 4Gbps (300MBps) at the application level while introducing Quality of Service in support of HD video streams. Besides supplanting Firewire once and for all, a clear goal of the new “SuperSpeed USB” is to keep up with the transfer speeds of flash chips. “We don’t want to be the bottleneck in the system,” says Intel’s Jeff Ravencraft who is overseeing the 3.0 initiative. Intel, HP, Microsoft, NEC, NXP, and TI will present the initial spec for a design review in November with first silicon to be stamped in “early 2009.” While the new interconnect (pictured) will remain backward compatible with USB 2.0 and prior devices, new cables laced with an optical link and a max length of 2-meters will be required to take advantage of those high speeds according to a senior engineering manager with NEC. Meanwhile, a 1Gbps throughput is being targeted with Ravencraft’s other baby: Wireless USB 1.1. Sounds great, but with existing 480Mbps Wireless USB silicon only achieving about 40Mbps in practice, Intel would be wise to focus on efficiency, not theory. Of course, it’s all just a lot of smack-talk ’til they deliver, but with Apple running Intel inside now, Sony putting USB in their camcorders, and eSATA proliferating for external disks… well, Firewire’s days sure seem numbered.

[Via EETimes and The Inquirer]
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It’s been nearly a year since we’ve heard from Sangean, but the company is hitting back with a swank new WiFi internet radio that’s shaped a good deal like its past units. The WFR-20 offers up “direct access to over 6,000 Internet Radio stations (and 21,242 on-demand streams) in 250 locations from 60 genres,” and you can organize your favorites in the My Stations folder. Additionally, it’s designed to operate with or without a PC, and if you have a networked computer nearby with Windows Media Player, you can have “full access to your digital media library using the UPnP Server.” Furthermore, you’ll find a three-line display, four alarms, an aux input, dual five-watt speakers, and a wireless remote to boot, but there’s no word on a price or release date just yet.

[Thanks, Larry]
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Leave it to Motorola to unleash yet another completely corny prefix to label its newest two-way radios. Yes, we wish we were kidding about the “TLKR” part, but sadly, it’s very real. Nevertheless, the TLKR T3 touts eight channels, up to 20-hours of battery life, around five-kilometers of range, a sleep mode, channel scan / monitor, an LCD screen, and comes in blue, orange and red colors schemes. As for the T5, it boasts a six-kilometer range, a backlit LCD, handsfree functionality, five call tones, slightly worse battery life, and arrives in red, blue, or black. Currently, pricing details haven’t been nailed down, but you can snap these up (if you can get over the name) next month.

[Via Pocket-Lint]
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