Sound Screen, Mac Mini, Nokia

CONSUMABLES
Sound screen

 

The Logitech Z205 speaker is meant to be clipped onto the screen, to save space. Two full-range neodymium drivers output stereo audio, a metallic front grill protects the drivers from external damage, the top of the device has buttons for adjusting the volume and powering the device on/off, and two connections at the rear (mini USB port for connecting to a laptop and line input for a cell phone or MP3 player). That’s it. It’s that minimalist.

It has its own USB audio device so it will work even on laptops or computers that don’t have any built-in audio. It nicely replaces the low-powered speakers in most laptops with loud, clear sound. The stereo drivers handle the mids exceptionally well. Of course, you can’t expect pounding bass in such a device, but there’s reasonable response in the low-end too. More importantly, it is loud  enough to fill up a small room while maintaining fidelity. The carry-case provided makes the speaker portable as well. If you aren’t content with your laptop’s built-in speakers, the Z205 is an excellent replacement that’s well-designed, cost-effective and pleasant-sounding!

Rs. 2,195, logitech.co.in


RETURN OF THE MAC MINI

 

Scaled-down and slimlined, the runt of the Apple litter is slimmed down, toned up and its stylish, anodised aluminium case is now just 3.6cm high. It packs in an HDMI socket, 1TB of storage, 4GB of RAM, a competent, 2.66GHz dual core processor and Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics. That combination says “media server” loud and clear to us, with the HDMI — a first on an Apple device — plugging it into your TV or multichannel audio system. The cheaper model also does HDMI but with a 2.4GHz dual core, 320GB hard drive, 2MB of RAM and a DVD writer.

Rs. 44,900-64,900, apple.co.in


Nokia strikes back?

 
Nokia will be hoping to regain lost ground in Indian around the end of September with the launch of the N8, and the new Symbian^3 operating system (multi-touch interface and other bells and whistles). It will have a 12-megapixel camera (Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon Flash, a sensor large enough for a compact digital camera), 16GB storage (expandable via microSD cards), FM receiver and transmitter, social networking widgets, and more. Rumour puts the price tag just north of Rs. 25,000. Online buzz is positive so far; perhaps Nokia isn’t quite a thing of the past just yet!

LOUD & CLEAR

 

If you covet a Bluetooth headset that can truly block din, take a look at Jabra BT530. The first to feature Noise Blackout tech, Audio Shock Protection and intelligent volume control, it pairs with even your PC using the Jabra A330 USB Bluetooth adapter for internet calling.

Rs. 6,000, jabra.com

INNOVATION
Box set

The Bloom Energy Server (or the Bloom Box, as its popularly known) could well be the device that India needs even more than our government’s ever-pending $100 laptop. While it’s not quite pocket-sized, it has already begin changing the world.

It is an electricity generator that emits no sound or smell; it doesn’t even vibrate. Bloom Energy (bloomenergy.com ), a start up founded by NASA-scientist turned entrepreneur K.R. Sridhar, says it’s reliable, cleaner, and cheaper than grid power.

Sridhar got the idea when he was working in NASA, where his team, working on Mars missions, built “a device capable of producing air and fuel from electricity, and/or electricity from air and fuel.” It struck them that it could work rather well on Earth. Basically, it uses fuel cell technology, converting air and another fuel source (ranging from fossil to bio fuels) into electricity through an electrochemical process. About the size of a large industrial refrigerator, the box provides 100 kW of electricity, enough to power 100 US homes (or 200 European or 400 Asian homes) or a small office building. Each box currently costs $75,000, and the company is working on reducing the price significantly. Existing customers include Google, eBay, Staples and Coca Cola.

Want a home-sized version? hang on. Bloom is working on smaller versions which, we hear, will cost around $3,000.

HOME
Soak it in

 

If your idea of lotus-eating is catching your favourite soap opera while enjoying a good soak, check out Cera’s Cleopatra, a whirlpool with integrated water-proof LCD television. Add chromotherapy, adjustable air and water jets for hydro-massage, an automatically timed jet function and a fully programmable FM radio with memory function, and you’ll have a hard time getting out of the bath. If all this comfort makes you nod off while the water’s still running, Cleopatra has a sensor that automatically stops the inflow of water when its level reaches a certain height.

Rs. 3,10,050


ENTERTAINMENT
A Night at the Opera

 

For lovers of western classical music in Mumbai, the NCPA has good news. The home of the Symphony Orchestra of India will be launching its 2010 Celebrity Season, from September 21-30: A chamber music concert, two performances of the opera Tosca, and two featuring the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, with excerpts from Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard and Evita. Anna Randine Øverby will be the SOI’s first woman guest conductor for the Tosca and Webber shows.

Hesitant about all this classical stuff? Get up to speed before the event, with the NCPA’s Chalk Talk series of lecture/demonstrations conducted by experts, that will attempt to demystify the less well-known arts. The series starts with ‘Understanding Opera’ (with special focus on Tosca), by Zane Dalal, Conductor-in-Residence, SOI, at Crossword, Kemps Corner, Mumbai on September 17.

Details at ncpamumbai.com

Sound Screen, Loud & Clear: text and pictures courtesy T3. Soak It In: text and picture courtesy Better Interiors. Box Set: by N.S. Ramnath