The amps are aimed for use off the stage for practicing apparently and both have stereo sound. The circuitry inside models tubes for warm sound and the have VCM effects. The effects mimic five different amp types along with various pedal effects, and the THR10 has a tuner built-in.

The devices will run off either AA batteries of or AC power. There is no indication of how much these will cost, but they aren’t going to be cheap. Both of the models will launch in January. I wonder if we will see them at CES.

[via Wired]

The test broadcast worked with a special iPhone app [iTunes link] that could convert the high-pitched audio into webpage URLs. Yamaha expect the technology to be used to distribute web information from broadcast TV or radio, as well as in museums for visitor guides around various exhibits, and in distributing coupons and other discount vouchers.

While Infosound’s range and bandwidth is low – at most 10m from the speaker, Yamaha suggests – it’s nonetheless enough for short bursts of text like URLs, product codes or other links. Meanwhile, by comparing the various volume levels of multiple Infosound transmissions, a device could also work out its location.

[via AV Watch]

Some users of the iPhone 4 started to report that their handsets were getting very hot. Some even reported that their device was locking itself due to overheating. Sony issued the new PS3 3.40 firmware Tuesday. The firmware added PlayStation Plus, Facebook, and more to the console.

iSuppli tore down the new iPhone 4 early in the week to see what was inside. The teardown artists figure the iPhone 4 costs about $187.51 to build for the 16GB version. With all the complaints and issues for users of the iPhone 4 it was little surprise to hear talk of class action suits spring up. The issues with poor reception are the reason for the class action talk.

Corsair announced early in the week that a security glitch with its Padlock 2 flash drive had been discovered. The glitch allowed the password to be removed without affecting the data leaving it vulnerable. Another new potential issue with the iPhone 4 surfaced this week with proximity sensor issues being reported. The sensors are said to randomly activate the screen during a call making it easy to hang up or mute the call you are on accidentally.

Hulu Plus was officially announced this week with more shows and in HD quality. The shows will stream to the iPhone, iPad, and various TVs. Tuesday we posted up our official iPhone 4 review. In the end, we say the new device is a worthwhile upgrade for any user of an older iPhone.

Wednesday brought a rumor that Verizon was set to launch LTE in several test markets in November and then offer LTE handsets in those markets on Black Friday. This would be an earlier launch for its LTE networks than previously expected. Street legal Tron lightcycles hit eBay for auction in the middle of the week. Every geek that likes Tron was drooling for one of the $35K beasts.

Dell was accused of trying to cover up sales of defective computers in 2003-2005. The machines allegedly had mainboards that would fail at a significant rate. Sony announced that some of its Vaio notebooks were overheating to the point of warping the plastic cases this week. The machines were under a recall issued and a new firmware was offered to fix the overheat problem.

Details of Android 3.0 codenamed Gingerbread surfaced midweek. Notable improvements included 720p displays and fragmentation. Amazon unveiled a new Kindle DX this week with a graphite color and a new screen. The screen offers 50% better contrast than the original for $379.

Microsoft officially killed off the Kin feature phones after sales were abysmal for the devices. Hopefully carriers and hardware makers get the point that questionable hardware with a high-priced data plan will not fly with consumers. Lucasfilm told Wicked Lasers to stop selling that sweet Pro Arctic Laser that we saw a week or so ago. The laser looks too much like a lightsaber for Lucasfilm’s comfort.

Apple PR announced that the emails allegedly from Steve Jobs telling a user that the iPhone 4 was “just a phone” were fake. Someone sent the emails as a hoax. That talk of a class action suit over the issues with the iPhone 4 came true. The first class action suit was filed in a Maryland court Wednesday.

Dell officially announced that it did not knowingly sell defective computers on Friday. This was in response to the allegations that Dell tried to cover up defective computers made earlier in the week. Friday we learned that the issues with signal strength on the iPhone 4 when held just right came down to an incorrect formula for calculating signal strength. A new firmware update is coming to fix the issue. Thanks for reading and have a safe holiday weekend!

Bizarrely, Leigh went on to say that the Android tablet “might not be an actual tablet”, though there was no explanation of exactly what that means; potentially HTC could be positioning whatever the device turns out to be as a supersized smartphone instead.  Specifications are similarly unknown, though the device is expected to have a large range of wireless connectivity options.

Leigh also suggested that HTC were planning to add 1080p Full HD video recording to their phones, potentially by Q2 2011, while Yamaha 5.1 surround sound capabilities may appear even sooner.  Meanwhile HSPA+ 14.4Mbps data speeds on HTC devices are tipped to arrive in Q3 2010.

[via Android Community]

If you are wondering exactly what the Tenor-On is it’s some sort of light sequencer that takes music and adds a visual representation to it. The difference between the new version and the old version is that the new Tenori device lacks the original’s battery power capability and the 256 orange LEDs can only be seen from one side whereas the original is dual sided.

The new device has an 8 x 8 inch square board with a matrix of orange LEDs measuring 16 vertical and 16 horizontal rows of LED buttons. The buttons blink on and off to provide visual structure for the music. The buttons can be touched to create music using the device without any special training. The buttons are designed to be pressed with the thumbs.

There’s no shortage of sound format support, either, with the YSP-5100 content with dts-HD, dts ES and Dolby TruHD/Digital Plus/Digital/ Digital EX/Pro Logic and Pro LogicⅡ/x.  You’ll get pseudo-7.1 surround sound and there are apparently a total of 42 individual speakers hiding behind that grill (forty 2W speakers and two 20W speakers) plus a separate subwoofer output.

The YSP-5100 will also play nicely with your iPod, and if you have the Yamaha YIT-W10 wireless transmitter you can stream audio directly from the Apple PMP to the speakerbar.  It’s expected to land in Japan by the end of 2009, priced at the equivalent of $2,280.

[via CrunchGear]

The smallish little bike was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show and is designed for riders of all ages and experience levels. I would assume that to mean it is small, slow, and relatively robust to survive the inevitable drops. The EC-f has a lightweight aluminum frame and runs on a lithium ion battery.

Power for the little bike comes from a 0.6kWh electric motor. The battery pack is recharged from a standard AC outlet. Exactly how far the EC-f can travel on a single charge is unknown. I can see the Shriners of the future riding something like this in figure eights during parades.

The TSX-70 is the more basic of the two and has an old school design that looks like something out of the 1950′s to me. The dock is compact and designed to sit at the bedside. It will be offered in white, brown, and blue colors and has an integrated subwoofer. The device has 4W of power for each satellite and 8W for the sub along with an integrated AM/FM tuner and more.

The TSX-W80 is the most interesting of the pair and has a wireless dock that can stream music from your iPod to the speaker dock allowing you to keep the iPhone close to view album art. Other than the wireless dock the specs are pretty much the same as the TSX-70 with an AM/FM tuner and alarm functions. A wireless sub is available for both units. Pricing is unknown as is availability outside of Japan.

The PSG-01S is a personal speakerphone with high quality speakers and microphones inside. The device is designed for more than Skype calls though and can be used to record and playback audio via a PC. The PJP-25URS is a Skype phone that is aimed at use in the conference room for multiple users.

Both of the devices share many of the same features including echo cancellation. Neither device needs an AC adapter, getting all required power from the USB port. Dedicated buttons for controlling Skype are integrated in the system and the device has dual speakers for stereo playback. The PSG-01S has acceleration sensors built-in that allow it to change modes depending on how it is placed on a surface. Position the device vertically and its set for Skype, place it horizontally its ready for music playback. Pricing and availability are unknown at this time.

Both Media Controllers have three HDMI inputs, Dolby TrueHD support and offer control of up to six AV components.  Yamaha are also offering a full system, the neoHD System 2.1 YMC-S21, which includes the (non-WiFi) YMC-500, stereo speakers and an active subwoofer.

The Yamaha neoHD Media Controllers, the YMC-500 and YMC-700, are priced at $599.95 and $799.95 respectively; the neoHD System 2.1 YMC-S21 is priced at $799.95.  All three are available now.

[via Home Theater in a Box Review]

The whole system uses WiFi b/g to communicate and stream, and can access both music stored locally – on a NAS, PC or MAC, USB stick, Bluetooth device or shared network folder – or streaming from Rhapsody and other internet radio services.  As well as the 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, the Commander remote control has a trackpad and offers independent or joined control over up to 32 different zones.

In addition to controlling distributed audio, the MusicCAST2 system can be used as a universal remote control; the Commander has an IR port, and Yamaha offer IR blasters to fit to your existing AV rack.  Supported file types include MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and WAV, though no DRM-encryption is supported (nor lossless files other than FLAC).

As for pricing, you’re looking at $500 for the Commander remote, then around %$400 for the zone players.

Video demo of the trike after the cut

The prototype currently uses a Yamaha YP400 engine and a DIY frame, which add unnecessary length and weight.  Still, it does all that without being as wide as a truck, too; in fact at 58cm the main body of the bike is narrower than many grown-up motorcycles. 

Parked up, the hydraulic tilting system means the 4MC doesn’t require a kick-stand, and at low speeds it can be locked upright so as to avoid the need to put your foot down to prevent falling over.  Schotter is currently looking for someone to license his IP, and it could end up being Yamaha; the company produced a similarly tilting concept back in 2007.

[via Gizmag]

The DVX-70 got what it takes to turn your flat and dull surround sound effect HDTV into a rich and cinema-like audio experience with punchy bass. The unit includes a variety of surround sound modes from Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, DTS Digital Surround, DTS-ES (DTS-ES Matrix 6.1 and DTS-ES Discrete 6.1), DTS Neo:6, DTS 96/24 and an advanced Yamaha’s Air Surround Xtreme technology with 360-degree digital sound field. The built-in amplifier delivers 2×35 watts into a pair of surround speakers, in which each houses a two-way acoustic suspension design with a 2 1/8-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter.

For future expansion, it’s compatible with company’s YDS-10/YDS-11 universal iPod docks and YBA-10 wireless Bluetooth receivers to support A2DP audio streaming. The DVX-700 HTIB has a suggested retail of $1,199.95.

Other features of this Yamaha model include 12-bit Deep Color, 1080p via HDMI and more. You can output 1080p signals at 24fps with this bad boy and audio signals such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus can be sent to the receiver over HDMI alone.

Another cool feature is the ability to view images within the main picture if your Blu-ray disc is compatible. S-Video, composite, HDMI, optical digital, coaxial digital and 5.1 channel analog audio outputs come with it. This player sells for a little under $1,200, so if you want the top of the line, this Blu-ray player might be right up your alley.

[via Gearlog]

The idea, I suppose, is to regularly plug the BODiBEAT back into your computer to update your songs; at the same time, the system also tracks the metrics of your workouts, including distance, time, pace and heart rate.  BODiBEAT can act as a regular MP3 player, or work in three fitness different modes: Free, Fitness and Training. 

In Free mode, BODiBEAT automatically matches the music to the exercise pace; Fitness modes, including Walk Fitness and Jog Fitness, uses the heart rate monitor to select the most appropriate music for aerobic exercise at the user’s fitness level.  Finally, Training mode tells users when to speed up and slow down for ideal results, while playing back matching music.

Admirable as it may be, encouraging exercise by tempting with music, I imagine the $299.95 price is going to put most people off.  Considering $178 gets you a 4GB iPod Nano and Nike+ kit, Yamaha are going to struggle to compete.

Press Release:

Shipping Now: BODiBEAT the World’s First Music Player That Matches Songs to Workout Pace

BUENA PARK, Calif. –(Business Wire)– Aug. 21, 2008 Yamaha’s BODiBEAT is now shipping at http://www.bodibeat.com. The world’s first music player that selects songs to match the pace of the user’s workout, it automatically syncs music selections with the steps of the user’s walk or run. A total workout tracking and personal music solution, BODiBEAT redefines the capabilities of portable music players, and makes exercising more fun than ever before. The unit also includes a heart rate monitor. BODiBEAT has a suggested retail price of $299.99.
“BODiBEAT maximizes fitness activities, adding an unprecedented level of fun and engagement to exercising,” commented David Bergstrom, Director of Business Development, Yamaha Corporation of America. “BODiBEAT provides cutting edge functionality to those who need encouragement to stick with a new exercise regimen, as well as to those who are seasoned fitness buffs.

BODiBEAT comes with BODiBEAT Station, software that automatically categorizes each downloaded song by beats per minute (bpm), and a small heart rate monitor that clips gently onto the user’s ear. Designed to maximize fitness activities such as running, walking and dancing, BODiBEAT also tracks the metrics of these workouts, including distance, time, pace and heart rate. BODiBEAT includes an armband and is ergonomically designed for ease-of-use and exceptional comfort during active pursuits. BODiBEAT features 512 megabytes of skip-free internal flash memory, and offers approximately 12 hours of playback when fully charged. BODiBEAT has four main operating modes: Free, Fitness, Training and Music. In Free mode, BODiBEAT automatically matches the music to the exercise pace, selecting songs that mirror the tempo of the user’s jogging or walking speed. Fitness modes include Walk Fitness and Jog Fitness, each of which works in conjunction with the heart rate monitor to select the most appropriate music for optimal aerobic exercise at the user’s fitness level. Like a personal trainer, Training mode tells users when to speed up and slow down for ideal results, and it does so while playing their favorite music. In Music mode, BODiBEAT functions as a standard portable audio player.

Additionally, BODiBEAT lets exercisers specify times, distances or calorie targets to help structure their sessions. When the target has been reached, the music automatically stops to alert them that the workout is over. For those who like to take a hands-on approach, BODiBEAT also features controls that enable them to manually change the tempo. Once the exercise session is over, a log of the session automatically appears, providing information such as average pace, calories burned and maximum heart rate. The included BODiBEAT Station software enables users to easily and intuitively manage the exercise logs.

Two HDMI inputs and a single output allow for connection to your big-screen, and there are a full 23 separate digital amplifiers to cater for each of the speakers.  Yamaha’s usual trio of Cinema DSP presets – movie, music and sports – are onboard, and there’s a multitude of mock-surround modes: 5-beam, 3-beam, 3-beam plus stereo, 2-channel stereo, My Beam, 5-channel stereo and My Surround.

Add in Yamaha’s optional iPod speaker dock and you can control your Apple PMP with the YSP-3050′s remote and OSD.  There’s also a specific music mode that claims to better reproduce compressed digital music.

The YSP-3050 is available now, priced at $1,399.

Sure, you’ll never have to choose between a boat and a Waverunner again as the latter can now become the former, I am sure that makes some of you really happy. However, if you have a jet ski other than the Yamaha Waverunner, you are currently SOL unless you hack one of these up to make it fit, but there are talks of this boat attachment being made for other models if it catches on.

What are the upsides of using a jet ski as a boat you might ask, first, you can bring more of your friends/drinking buddies with you, second you can use it for angling (fishing for those not in the know), and third, it looks badass. Lastly, I bet the steering is impeccable, just don’t forget you need to hit the gas to turn too “we’re sorry your uncle hit the pier”.

[via geekologie]

The CD player has a TI PCM-1792 DAC in it so you can get the best quality analog signal from your newly purchased Atmosphere album (coming soon, I can’t wait), I mean just imagine hearing Ant’s beats out of this pair with some nice speakers attached. The amp has separate amplifiers and power supply inside so the two don’t combine to create the comparably nasty sound of a shelf stereo or something of that nature.

The amp offers up 190 watts per channel for who knows how many channels, but the sound will be pure and clean. The amp will cost you $1834 and the CD player will run you $1466 and will drop on the Japanese market some time in mid-December.

Yamaha Aims High With CD-S2000 CD Player and A-S2000 Amplifier [via gizmodo]

This is no different, the handle bars fold down, the back wheel folds up, all is good right? Till you get to the part in the imaginary instruction booklet where it tells you that you need your FeliCa enabled phone to start it.

Now, I will go ahead and admit I don’t have the slightest clue what FeliCa is, I get so far that it is more or less proprietary to the country of Japan, maybe the entire oriental region, where they are about 10 years ahead of us in terms of wireless services, but using a phone, to start your slightly-larger-than-a-briefcase electric bike is just plain nuts. Furthermore, there are claims of the bike having access to the Internet, maybe so it can go all Johnny Number 5 on your ass some day in the future.

Yamaha Designs the Stupidest Commuter Prototype Ever [via uberreview]

There is a video below, and that guy is clearly not having his first go at the device. However, it does seem simple enough, and with a low enough learning curve that it would probably be fairly easy to learn to use with some practice.

It is due to be released in September. The price is thus far unknown, but I am assuming it wasn’t cheap to produce, plus the high level of functionality, so I am going to go ahead and guess that it won’t be cheap. I personally can’t wait to see more videos of this thing in action.

Tenori-On Set for September Launch [via gizmodo]