Sony brings 1080p BRAVIA VPL-VW80 SXRD projector to Europe

While we were just able to take a look at Sony's BRAVIA VPL-VW70 SXRD at CEDIA, it appears that the company is showing Europe a little love with the awfully similar VPL-VW80. The Full HD beamer includes High Frame Rate SXRD panels, a 100Hz Motionflow Dark Frame Insertion system, the BRAVIA ENGINE 2 processing tech and a 2.5-millisecond response time. You'll also find a 60,000:1 contrast ratio, Advanced Iris 2, electronic panel alignment, two HDMI connectors and a 1.6x motorized zoom lens. Unfortunately, there's no mention of a price and / or release date, but we'll go way out on a limb here and suggest you start saving up immediately.

Scan Toaster puts the power of 'miracle toast' into the hands of mere mortals

Industrial designer Sung Bae Chang has finally given us mortals the ability to do that which was once considered a bona-fide miracle. Using the "Scan Toaster," anyone with a PC and a USB cable can burn the likeness of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or any image or text that you wish) onto a slice of bread. The toaster utilizes a network of toasting "modules" -- hot wires that rotate within a 30 degree radius -- that burn the image or text you have selected onto the delicious slice of your choice. The peripheral is a finalist in a design competition run by the appliance manufacturer Electrolux, so as-of-yet there aren't any plans to manufacture it on a mass scale. We're guessing that Mr. Sun Bae Chang probably wants to keep the awesome power of the Scan Toaster for himself anyway.

Sony DCR-SR55E | best Camcorder Review

Handycam Station

Sony’s Handycam Station (included) makes it easy to quickly view your images on a connected TV or PC via the analogue and Hi-Speed USB connectors. The station also charges the SR55E whilst you are enjoying your footage. The handy One-Touch Disc Burn function can record an hour’s worth of video onto DVD via a connected PC in around 20 minutes, so you can swiftly share and save your videos.

The High Capacity 40GB Sony SR55E HDD Handycam

Shoot and store up to 27 hours of high quality video and still images directly onto the 40GB high capacity hard disk drive, without worrying about carrying tapes or discs.

Limited time only: Random HD DVD player for sale.

Just got my Buy.com "Weekly Deals" email blast and noticed that there's a promotion for a $59.99 HD DVD player with two free movies. The DVD player is some no-name job--the Venturer SHD7000--that I've never heard of, and no specs are available. Not sure who would buy this (HD DVD is dead, in case you've just emerged from a coma), but I suppose if you had a large HD DVD collection and are in need of back-up player you might be tempted.

Anybody still buying HD DVD players or movies out there? No surprise, discs are running pretty cheap--both used and new--on Amazon and EBay.

Pet's Eye View Digital Camera

Sometimes we come across gadgets that really get us excited! However after we read the specs of said gadgets more closely our little gadget balloons get deflated. Case in point, the Pet's Eye View Digital Camera. This compact digital camera attaches to your your pet's collar and is made of ultra durable water-resistant ABS plastic. Photos are shot at 640x480 resolution at intervals of either 1, 5, or 15 minutes. Sounds great, so what's the catch? According to the product description there's only enough internal memory to hold roughly 35 photos, which means at best you're only going to capture a little over eight hours in the life of your pet before you'll run out of space. (No mention of a memory card slot to add extra memory either, bummer.)

Cedia 2008 - Microsoft Windows Media Center

Infinity Classia home theater speaker system

The C336s have a neutral sound, with outstanding transparency in the mid to high frequencies. This yields the kind of treble that doesn’t sound at all bright, yet is all there: clear, quick, and extended, and not in the least bit forward or sparkly. Voices were unfailingly even, balanced, and, well, neutral. Most speakers, even high-end ones, “romance” the vocal range with a subtle extra helping of warmth in the 100- to 200-Hz octave, but not the Classias. This occasionally made them sound a little “cool,” but it also encouraged close, high-resolution listening — the kind of sound you hear in a good recording-studio control room.

CEDIA 2008

Mitsubishi's 65-inch

Mitsubishi has been trickling out details for its mysterious LaserVue HDTV for months now, but at long last, we finally know the most pertinent piece. Reportedly, the 65-inch set -- which was seen lookin' mighty fine on the CEDIA floor, by the way -- will retail for $6,999 when it ships to Select Diamond retailers at the end of this month. The forthcoming 73-inch version doesn't have a price / release date just yet, but given the way we've found things out about its smaller sibling, we can't say we're shocked in the least.

Nokia N96 starts shipping, it was about time already if not even too late

The highly anticipated Nokia N96 was announced back in February 2008 when it looked all shiny and high tech. However, now seven months later when it finally starts its way to the stores, it's no longer deemed worthy of the hype. In addition the hefty price tag certainly makes it sound like a raw deal.

The Nokia N96 packs digital TV, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, turn-by-turn voice GPS navigation, Wi-Fi, 16GB of internal memory that can be increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card, N-Gage gaming and a large 2.8-inch TFT displayNokia N96 starts shipping, it was about time already if not even too late

Following on the N81 design, which we can't say we like, the Nokia N96 is packed with many modern technology goodies but doesn't seem to be as cutting edge as a portfolio flagship should be.

The only feature that sets it apart from the competition is probably the DVB-H digital TV tuner - a thing that doesn't seem to attract too much attention from the fans worldwide.

But time will tell, as we like to say. The first shipments of the Nokia N96 have already started and it will be available with an estimated retail price of EUR 550 before taxes and subsidies.

Crestron's home automation iPhone app demoed at CEDIA

Make no mistake about it, the iPhone (and the App Store in particular) has made the lives of many home owners much, much easier. As it stands, there are already a few apps out there that interface with Crestron gear, but to date, there's no official Crestron app to fiddle with. But give it 60 days or so and there will be -- at least, that's the good word over at the company's booth today at CEDIA. Said application will be 100% free to download, and as you can see in the gallery over at Engadget HD, it elegantly enables wired home owners to control lighting, temperature and all sorts of other things via WiFi or 3G, at home or anywhere else in the world. Users can even program in settings for multiple houses, enabling them to turn the AC on in Orlando while blasting the heat in Jackson Hole. So let's see, all you need now is an iPhone, a couple properties, a few dozen grand to blow on Crestron HA gear and a tiny bit of patience.

next-gen Xbox?

Quite honestly, there's absolutely zero proof that Intel and Microsoft are yapping it up in regard to Larrabee, but considering just how logical it sounds, we couldn't help but pass along the latest whispers surrounding the two. According to those fabled "industry insiders," The Inquirer has it that Intel is currently on bended knee asking Microsoft to integrate Larrabee into the next-generation Xbox. If it were to land such a deal, developers would -- in essence -- be forced to develop for Larrabee given the need for console titles, which could then make things all the easier for Intel on the PC side. Like we said, this is all speculatory for now, but so long as the dots continue to connect, we'll at least give this one a fighting chance at materializing.