Should someone stage an intervention at Logitech? The company has unveiled yet more new mice, and while we realize that a healthy stream of peripherals is the bread & butter of their business, the recent flood seems to be getting a tad extreme. Still, today’s new wireless pointers – the Logitech Performance Mouse MX and the Anywhere Mouse MX – do at least bring something nifty to the table: “Darkfield Laser Tracking“.
Video demo after the cut
Sony announced today a joint-venture with mega-retailer Best Buy, showcasing a new line of streaming audio products, affectionately called “Altus.” There’s four products being released out of the gate, and Best Buy is getting the first crack at them. Of course, this makes sense considering Best Buy lended a helping hand in their development. There’s quite a bit to go on, so we’ll just get right down to it.
Verizon Wireless is on the road to improvement, especially in the network department. They’ve announced today that they’ve just completed the first initial tests for LTE. Utilizing end-to-end data calls, they are approximate calculations of real world usage. The initial tests in Seattle actually occured back on July 15, but in Boston it went down today. This kept with Verizon’s initial estimations of testing on the 700MHz spectrum.
Sony’s upcoming Reader team press conference has left us wondering what the company has left in its ebook reader bag to announce, but according to a report in the New York Times there’ll be changes in both file format and hardware line-up. The paper is suggesting that Sony will scrap their proprietary ebook format, BeBB, in favor of the open ePub standard; as well as that, they’ll reveal plans for a wirelessly-enabled ebook reader for release later in the year.
Update: Sony have confirmed the switch to ePub; press release after the cut.
Leyio are adding iPod synchronization support to their eponymous “personal sharing device“, with an upcoming firmware update expected in September. The Leyio uses an ultrawideband connection to transfer virtual business cards, images, music and video with other Leyio owners; this new update seems to add the ability to wirelessly transfer AAC files too.
Video demo after the cut
Logitech have outed another desktop keyboard and mouse combo, and this time they’re claiming good old fashioned comfort and productivity rather than bizarre ergonomics. The Logitech Wireless Desktop MK700 consists of a low-profile keyboard with integrated LCD status display, and a wireless mouse with frictionless scroll-wheel.
In an announcement made today by Microsoft Hardware, the Wireless Comfort Keyboard 5000 made its debut, touting Microsoft’s BlueTrack technology and an ergonomic layout with a six-degree curvature that promotes natural wrist positioning, which should make all those long nights on the keyboard a little less painful.
Logitech have unveiled their latest universal remote, the Harmony 900, an RF unit that – with the three bundled IR blasters – can control devices in other rooms or enclosed in cabinets. The Harmony 900 remote has a full-color touchcreen as well as numerous backlit hardware buttons, and can be set up via an online wizard; Logitech claim battery life of up to a week.
Reports are coming in that the anticipated next installment of the Tony Hawk skateboarding series has been set for November 17 here in the States, which we’re hoping means all three console-based variations will be hitting shelves on that day.
Logitech have announced a pair of new wireless presenter remote controls, the Presenter R400 and Presenter R800. Each offers a laser-pointer and presentation control keys; the R800 adds an LCD display with timer and a vibrating alert which can warn you when you have five, two, and zero minutes left on-stage.
JP
