The Zone

Not to be contended with televisions, singer/songwriter/model/extraordinare Bjork has made up her mind about televisions; the little streets in them look beautiful! Look at how she takes apart her own CRT (and manages to not get shocked by the bunchful of capacitors in there) and explains on how they work! A must-watch.

Last week, Pioneer had a regional launch in Singapore for their upcoming second generation Kuro plasma TVs, which also marks the introduction of their 9th generation Plasmas to the market. We didn't manage to publish this on time for the November issue of HWM, so why not tease you with some of the images from the launch itself? The new Kuro TVs sport even deeper blacks than the previous-gen televisions, and one should certainly see them in action - seeing is believing, its what they say with the Kuro! Although Pioneer did not refresh the smaller 42" market, we saw a new 60" Kuro that boasts some really juicy specs, as below;

Full HD 1920x1080 resolution with 24p capability, Enhanced Optimum Mode - a seperate white balance probe can be purchased for on-the-fly claibration of both room darkness and hue, Five times the darkness as compared to previous Kuro models, a 100000:1 contrast ratio and the capability to blow your mind.

More images after the jump!

For the uninitiated, Logitech does not only make computer peripherals, trick audio systems and de facto standard racing wheels, they also manufactuer cool remotes which literally becomes the One Remote you'll ever need. More after the jump!

Why is this post all about cars? At HWM, we do have our own car nuts who love cars, and being technology lovers ourselves, the invitation to Detroit Electric's electric car introduction today was one of the greater pleasures in life when work meshes with our hobby. More details and videos to come in a later post!Pictures after the jump!

Cool, isn't it? No matter what, you MUST buy it as its made by Norris Labs. Chuck Norris, geddit?

Phew! What a tiring weekend it was at the second PIKOM PC Fair of the year! With more bargains ranging from USB flashdrives to monitors, printers, and even notebooks now, it really is a place to go to if you're needing new tech toys. Here's a photo compilation of what we saw over the weekend! Hit the jump for more images. 

Times are hard on me

There is nothing but a mess

Of TVs and DVDs

LOL

Look out for the review of the Pioneer DVR DVD recorder in next month's HWM!

zerotau posted a picture of his workplace the other day, so I thought I'd do the same myself. :D It's not as messy but what's not pictured are the 10 or so product boxes aptly "boxing" me in my cubicle. I'll spare you the utter cluttersome of my workplace surroundings and just quickly describe what's on my desk.

The New York Times has confirmed that the Nintendo Wii will premiere in the US for USD250 on November 19, which works out to be around RM920 according to current exchange rates. It will come with a copy of Wii Sports, a compilation of sport games designed for the Wii. When it arrives in the retail shops around here, I reckon it'll probably go for around RM1200 - RM1300 after markup.

First-party games (i.e. games developed by Nintendo) will cost USD50 (RM185), though it's unclear how much third-party games will cost. Downloadable classic games for the Wii's Virtual Console will go for USD5 - 10 each. We'll keep you updated as soon as more details come in.

The Japanese press conference which just concluded actually prices the Wii at 25000 yen (RM780), while Nintendo America has yet to announce the retail price for the Wii in the US. What's more, the Japanese launch is confirmed for the 2nd of December, meaning if the New York Times report is accurate, the Wii will launch in the US first. How true is it? Good bets that the report is legit, but we'll know for sure by tonight or tomorrow morning.

If the local price is right, I'll get one at launch. :D Will you be getting one? Shout out here if you are.

The second part of the two page feature is here!

The LG M3200C-BA Flatron monitor - with a USD2199 list price that includes HDMI with HDCP, 1080i-ready, 1600:1 contrast ratio and a three year warranty, its more sensible to own than some newer sets. Don't forget that there's a bulk discount price, too!

Continuing where we left off, the main reason for the increase in exposure of industrial monitors is due to two main reasons - affordability and future-ready. While the general public would be more receptive to finished, sleek products for their homes where they can brag about their latest big-screen TV, there is a percentage of the population who would rather DIY their garages instead of pre-ordering one from ACE or Home Depot. They include the average family man who buys supplies in bulk at Tesco, to the up-and-coming studio executive who needs a large, but affordable screen (or screens), or for art directors and the like in the creative industry to fulfill their display needs. (more after the jump)

Surprise, surprise! When we thought that were were one of the last countries to recieve cool gadgets, Samsung relieves us of our gadget thirst and launched the K5 just about a week ago. Undoubtedly one of the cooler MP3 players to own, it sports touch-sensitive keys, an OLED display, sizes in 2GB and 4GB, super sound quality, and built-in speakers to boot!

More after the jump

Last weekend saw Nokia displaying its full N-Series range to the public at MidValley Megamall at its Centre Court. The extravagant booth, which has two themes in one, showcased the capabilities of each N-Series model, be it in their music, video or data communication capabilities. The public could also check out the music playback capabilities of the N91, as specialized booths were set up for visitors to toy around with the phones.

Other than music playback capabilities, the N-Series also have high-speed data features that allow you to upload your media to web pages like Flickr and even use the mobile for podcasting and other online services such LifeLogger and Yahoo! Go.

More pics after the jump

Last week, we attended Logitech's launch of their latest lineup of desktop and gaming peripherals. Lots of drool-worthy stuff for gamers and PC users were on-display for the media to try out. Check out the pics! (More)

Heya folks. Check out our HWM/GameAxis minion, Fat Cat Lim, holding the PS3. It's not ours, but we're getting one for "reviews". That's right, we're GETTING one.

Don't hate us because we're beautiful.

So, if you're curious to see what we think of the PS3, don't forget to check out the January issue of GameAxis next month.

PS: We might get the Wii and do a double-header hands-on! Woot!