All Peripherals Feeds

Creative unveils Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium range

Patrick Goss — 1210932600

Creative has announced the latest version of its popular X-Fi Sound Blaster sound cards – with the PCI Express Titianium.

Creative is producing two different models – the Champion and the Professional series, with the former offering an external I/O drive for easier headphone connection through the front drive bays.

The PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty range features Dolby Digital live encoding for single cable connection to home theatre systems, accelerated audio for a top gaming experience, EAX 5.0 effects and 3D positional audio.

“Audio plays a huge factor in professional gaming, where every competitive advantage can make the difference between winning and losing,” said Jonathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, the legendary gamer whose name adorns the range.

“The Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty edition sound cards significantly enhance any professional gaming rig, enabling us to hear what we can’t see and perform at our highest level.”

Features:

Creative X-Fi processor specifically designed for high-speed PCI Express slots in modern PCs
X-Fi Crystalizer technology, which leverages audio algorithms to intelligently and selectively determine how to restore the highs and lows from sound effects, instruments and vocals and voices that were damaged or diminished during the MP3, AAC, game audio or other compression processes
X-Fi CMSS-3D technology, to create virtual surround sound through speakers or headphones in games or music. In games, you hear your opponents in their exact location. With music, the sound expands so it completely surrounds you.
Dolby Digital support for compelling 5.1 surround sound through a home theatre system
Creative ALchemy to restore EAX and surround sound in DirectSound game titles running under Vista
Certified UAA compliance for maximum Windows Vista compatibility
X-RAM dedicated audio memory to boost performance in select games
THX Certified surround sound for cinematic movie audio playback
PowerDVD software with DTS-ES and Dolby Digital-EX decoding
24-bit audio quality and 109db SNR audio clarity
ASIO recording support with latency as low as one millisecond with minimal CPU load

First look: Samsung's 7-inch add-on display

Dan Grabham — 1210917742

We checked out Samsung’s new monitor gimmick at its HQ in Suwon City, South Korea. It’s a 22-inch display connected to a secondary 7-inch display for keeping something constantly in sight as you work away on the big screen.

The two-panel 2263DX bundle will be available later this month through PC World for under £300.

The smaller screen is, explained Ami Randhawa, Samsung’s UK Product Marketing Manager for displays, designed for those who want to keep a window, such as IM software, always visible while you work on Office apps on the main screen. Perhaps it could be used for keeping an eye on a webcam or even football scores while you work.

It works using Samsung’s UbiSync multiple display tech. That means you won’t need to drive the second display off your graphics card, instead using a USB cable to connect the two. This tech works well for this kind of device, though questions have been raised about its suitability when driving larger monitors – Samsung has previously deployed the tech for other displays.

The extra display can be positioned in various locations using an arm on the back of the main monitor or even completely removed. If you want to use the display in portrait, you will need to alter the orientation in the software that comes with the bundle though.

We think it’s an interesting idea, though quite whether you’d want to have an extra display for such a purpose is another thing. Mind you, if you’re in the market for a new display anyway, it could be something to consider.

HANNSG announces low-cost 1080p monitor

Marc Chacksfield — 1210761780

HANNSG, the Taiwanese panel manufacturer, has just announced its latest 1080p monitor, the HG281DJ.

Boasting 1920 x 1200 WUXGA true 1080p resolution, the 28in monitor is ideal for all your HD viewing needs.

Predominately aimed at videomakers, designers and photographers – i.e. those looking for the utmost clarity in their images – the HG281DJ is both PC and Mac compatible. However, as the HG281DJ is kitted out with a 3ms response time, gamers may well want to give the panel a look as well.

Stay connected

Inputs on the monitor are as standard. You get the obligatory HDMI port (with HDCP support), VGA, audio and component.

The only thing that lets the monitor down is its contrast ratio. At just 800:1 we would have expected better. At least the panel is equipped with anti-glare technology and a clean viewing angle of 160 degrees.

The price is right

At £400, this latest HANNSG release is one of the cheapest 28in 1080p HD monitors around. In fact, if we were a filmmaker, at that price we would probably buy two and have a rather nice twin-monitor HD setup.

The HG281DJ is available now from www.misco.uk and comes with a three-year warranty.

The Creative way to give your PC better audio

Marc Chacksfield — 1210693260

Creative’s new addition to its X-Fi range, the Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, is the first of its type that allows you to upgrade your PCs basic, built-in audio system to 5.1 surround sound.

The device comes in black and simply plugs into a USB2.0 port to give your computer advanced audio capabilities - ideal for those who are afraid to open up your PCs to see what lurks inside.

Located on the Sound Blaster are gold-plated RCA ports and mini-jack outputs, while there’s also an optical-out for connecting to surround sound systems. A rather stylish remote control is also supplied.

Let the games begin

The X-Fi Surround 5.1 is not only geared towards those who want to immerse themselves in their DVD collection, it’s ideal for gamers too.

Put a game on and Creative’s EAX Advanced HD effects kick in, giving – in theory – a fantastic 5.1 gaming experience.

The Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 is out now, priced at around £30.

Review: Razer Mako 2.1 PC speakers

James Rivington — 1210678954

Razer worked with THX audio engineers for a year to design, refine and build the Razer Mako 2.1 speakers. And it's a good job they did, because a world with this product in it is a far better place.

You'll not find a better pair of computer speakers anywhere on the planet. A total power output of 300W makes it among the most powerful 2.1 desktop system we've ever tested.

It's also dead sexy, and has a really cool touch-sensitive control puck.

Bang for your buck

Honestly, there's not a person alive who wouldn't be impressed by this system. But there's a catch... the price.

There aren't a huge number of people who would be willing to spend just over £300 on a 2.1 speaker system. Especially as the dollar price of the same set in the US is just 399.

However, if you've got money laying around. And you need some nice new speakers, you owe it to yourself to give these a chance. If you do, your ears will love you for the rest of your life.

Read our full review

Reviewed: Parrot's Bluetooth speakers

James Rivington — 1210079316

When it came to giving the Parrot DS1120 Bluetooth speakers a rating, we found it quite hard. Because as speakers they’re not especially brilliant. But what they do have going for them is connectivity.

You can synchronize any media-playing Bluetooth device with these speakers and they’ll play your music wirelessly; just like a Bluetooth headset but with a lot more punch.

Bluetooth expansion

For £160 you’d expect them to be pretty impressive. Especially considering the fact that with most of us now using Bluetooth-equipped phones, the market for Bluetooth peripherals is expanding.

So what’s the verdict. Are they a must-buy for this summer?

Read our full review to find out

Canon unveils latest portable printer

1208170066

Canon has just released the latest in its Pixma portable photo printer range, the nifty little iP100.

Canon informs us that its new mini-printer is ideal for "business people on the road and style-seeking home users" weighing in at a mere 2kg.

Photos on the move

It will spit out a standard 10 x 15cm borderless photo print in under a minute, or regular documents much faster, and you can plug your camera in directly via USB or wirelessly via Bluetooth.

The enhanced ‘Fine print head’ and new five colour ink system offer improved print quality. The Pixma iP100 will be available from mid-May, priced at £199 (or £249 with a battery pack).

Reviewed: The OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator

James Rivington — 1207830242

If we’d told you in 1998 that in 10 years you'd be able to control video games using just your mind, you’d have looked at us as though we were barmy. But that's exactly what you can now do, using OCZ's ingenious Neural Impulse Actuator.

The NIA interprets signals given off by your brain and the muscles in your face, to input commands into your PC. And that means, with a little practise, you could frag your mates in Call of Duty 4 using only the power of your brain.

We've had a good look at it in the office, and can happily report that it's possibly one of the coolest PC peripherals we've ever encountered.

Read our full review

Inkjet recycling scheme aims for greener times

J Mark Lytle — 1207815104

The piecemeal process of recycling inkjet cartridges may be centralised soon if a trial in Japan involving six industry giants bears fruit.

The clean half dozen, including Dell, Lexmark and HP, this week started a trial that has placed collection boxes for ink cartridges of all six manufacturers in 3,600 post offices across Japan [Japanese link].

Posters encouraging customers to drop off their used cartridges are in place - they also explain that the entire collection is sorted and each piece of plastic is returned to its maker for recycling.

Current rates are low

The current system in Japan and many Western countries relies on individual companies placing collection boxes in electronics shops and supermarkets.

This yields a low 10 per cent recycling rate on all cartridges purchased - a figure the Japanese scheme aims to improve considerably. Given that Japan alone uses 200 million of the disposable ink shots a year, the scope for improvement is clear.

Although the two Tokyo post offices we visited this afternoon had yet to see their first ink deposit, the firms involved all have high hopes, saying they may take the scheme overseas if it works well.

Thanko's USB vacuum mouse really sucks

J Mark Lytle — 1207814346

Take a look around your desk, under the keyboard and behind the monitor - go on; we bet it's filthier than the mind of an F1 boss.

Should we be correct in that rather unpleasant assumption, then feel free to check out the latest daft USB gadget from Thanko Japan - a mouse that doubles up as a desktop vacuum cleaner.

Filth be gone

The USB Cleaner Mouse costs ¥1,980 (£10) and combines an 800dpi optical mouse with a tiny dust buster. The two activities can be toggled with a stitch on the side of the mouse and that's about it really.

Any unpleasant particles are stored in a tiny chamber at the rear of the mouse, which looks like it would need to be emptied every few minutes. And what's wrong with a feather duster anyway, Mr Mosley?