PANASONIC INTRODUCES FOURTH GENERATION

Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal U.S. subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC), introduced two new Blu-ray players – the DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 -- to CEDIA Convention attendees today. Both new models feature cutting edge technologies focused on producing the ultimate movie-viewing experience.

True-To-Life Colors

The DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 feature technology that reproduces movies with colors that are exceptionally faithful to the original. This advanced technology, incorporated in the PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus video processor, was developed after more than 15 years of collaboration between Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory and professional cinema studios in Hollywood. With PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus, users viewing co

ntent on Blu-ray DiscsTM enjoy crisp, vivid colors that are extremely close to the original. A high-precision 4:4:4 function creates video signals in which each pixel of the signal from the Blu-ray Disc is color-compensated, so when the BD35/55 is connected to a Panasonic VIERA HDTV, the colors are even sharper and more vivid.

Life-Like Surround Effects

The DMP-BD35/55 also excels in sound quality. Both models feature an HD Audio Decoder (Dolby® TrueHD, Dolby® Digital Plus and DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential), which supports the 7.1-channel surround sound newly adopted in Blu-ray Discs. Users can enjoy 7.1-channel surround even with systems that do not support HD Audio -- as long as the DMP-BD35/55 is connected to a 7.1-channel receiver equipped with an HDMI terminal.

The Panasonic BD55 goes a step further with a high-end audio design and components. Thanks to a 192kHz 24bit audio digital-analog converter and high quality insulators, electrolytic capacitors, copper-foil film capacitors and ultra-low-impedance electrolytic capacitors, the DMP-BD55 delivers the same kind of exciting surround effect and lifelike ambience as today's finest cinemas. The DMP-BD55 can also output analog signals for 7.1-channel sound, so even receivers that are not compatible with HDMI can produce the newest 7.1-channel surround sound by simply connecting to the DMP-BD55.

Versatile Networking

Both the BD35 and BD55 feature BD-Live compatibility which enables users to connect to the Internet to download images, subtitles and other data, and take part in interactive activities and multi-player games linked to bonus cinema content found on Blu-ray Discs.

Both models are equipped with an SD Memory Card slot that makes it easy to transfer images from an HD camcorder or digital still camera that uses SD Memory Cards. Simply insert the SD card into the DMP-BD35/55 and it plays AVCHD-format video images or JPEG stills in full 1920 x 1080 resolution on your flat panel HDTV. The DMP-BD35/55 can also play slide shows, complete with background music.

The DMP-BD35/55 models are also compatible with Panasonic’s VIERA Link function so they can be operated by the VIERA HDTV remote control.

“Panasonic is proud to be leading the charge in bringing the ultimate in Blu-ray technology to consumers,” said Alex Fried, Panasonic, National Marketing Manager, Entertainment Group. “Panasonic was the first to market with a Blu-ray player with Bonus View (Final Standard Profile 1.1) and the first to bring a stand alone BD-Live player to market. The introduction of our new DMP-BD35 and BD355 Blu-ray players continues Panasonic’s industry leadership with the inclusion of BD-Live in all our models.

Google launching new web browser

Google, creator of the world's most popular internet search engine, has developed its own web browser in a challenge to Microsoft's dominant Internet Explorer.

A test version of the new software, named Google Chrome, is to be available for download in more than 100 countries on Tuesday, Google announced on its corporate blog.

The company said its aim was to deliver a faster, more user-friendly and safer browser.
Web browsers are programs that allow computer users to navigate the internet. If Chrome is well-received, Google - which is already the top earner from online advertising and also offers programs and services from email to office software to virtually the entire globe - would further solidify its position in the industry.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft holds a virtual monopoly in operating systems, but their importance in the computing landscape is diminishing as Web-based programs become the starting point for many users.

Chrome will be an open-source product, meaning anyone can modify the software code and add features.

Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch called the browser market "highly competitive" and said he remained confident that consumers would stick with Microsoft's product.

Google executives have expressed concern over the years that Microsoft could use its dominant browser to route consumers to its own search engine, which has sputtered despite years of effort and billions of dollars in investment.

Explorer 8 enables a user to surf the Web without the sites he or she visits being tracked. Google and other Internet companies -- including Microsoft -- use such information to finely target the ads they display. People who use Chrome could give Google even more information about their online habits.

Launching a browser war with Microsoft is a bold move for Google because Microsoft controls nearly 75% of the market. It also could cause trouble for Firefox, a free browser that is gaining popularity but still trails far behind Explorer.

The nonprofit Mozilla Foundation, which manages Firefox, has benefited from engineering help and money from Google. In 2005, Google hired the lead engineer behind Firefox, who splits his time between Google and Mozilla. Just last week, the two extended their partnership, which makes Google the browser's default search engine, through 2011.

Also potentially vulnerable are Opera and Apple Inc.'s Safari, which have captured much smaller fractions of the user population.

News about Chrome broke Monday after the website Google Blogoscoped reported receiving a comic book from Google that outlined the details of the new browser. A Google blog post later explained that it had inadvertently released the news. "We believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the Web," the post said.

The browser, which Google says was built from scratch, has been in the works for two years. It is intended as a "modern platform for Web pages and applications" that can run faster and be more responsive, the post said.

Firefox has managed to build its market share substantially over the last few years, with most estimates suggesting it has at least 25% of Net users now use it as their main browser. It seems unlikely that it can displace Microsoft's Internet Explorer from the top slot, but the fact that most of the noticeable front-end improvement in IE8 are copied from similar features in Firefox shows the benefits of having a healthy competitor.

Chrome isn't going to help out there. While Google has been a major backer of Firefox, providing funding and coders, and apparently plans to remain so, adding another competitor to the mix isn't going to do much for Firefox market . For casual Internet users who go on brand name and manage to look past IE, who do you think they're going to go with: the familiar Google brand name or something named after a lizard?

Motorola launches MOTOZINE ZN5 in India

Motorola announced the launch of Motozine ZN5 with a high quality 5 MPX camera of Kodak make and icnproating Motorola’s ModeShift Technology and KODAK ‘Imaging Technology’.

This is the first mobile phone which is based on Motorola's ModeShift Technology and KODAK Imaging Technology, Chapman-Banks said, adding phop-sharing would now be easy through mobile phones.

The model will be available in India from mid-September and comes with a 2GB memory card and a TV-out cable for easily viewing pictures on a television set, it added.

The five mega-pixel MOTOZINE or ZN5 is priced below Rs 20,000, Motorola Vice-President and GM (Asia Mobile Devices) Ian Chapman-Banks said in a statement.

Samsung has revealed plans to release more 8-megapixel cameraphones before Christmas.

The mobile phones market has just made a giant leap forward in available technology with the latest release from Samsung, the manufacturer has just launched the Samsung i8510, the first 8 megapixel camera mobile phone to be made available in the UK.

The features for the i8510 don't stop there; HSDPA connectivity and Wi-Fi for super fast web browsing, Bluetooth v2.0, built in GPS receiver for SatNav software, 8GB internal memory and an MP3 player are all included

Aside from the amazing camera resolution, the i8510 has not sacrificed on its looks, with a sleek black outer casing and smooth sliding mechanism the Samsung i8510 does just do the job well, it does it in style.

The Samsung i8510 mobile phone is the FIRST-EVER symbian powered smartphone to have an 8.0-megapixel camera with auto focus to hit our site and it was 3G connectivity.

The 8.0-megapixel camera also has an image stabiliser LED flash autofocus and face smile and blink detection. Combined with the built-in Wi-Fi and a GPS receiver you can geo-tag all your photos allowing information about where you are to be added to your pictures.

Plus you can record slow motion videos use the secondary video call camera play great games including FIFA 2008 and store all your multi-media files with up to 8GB of internal memory.

Take amazing pictures with the built-in 8.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, store all your multimedia fields with the built-in 8GB of internal memory and expand with up to another 8GB with a MicroSD card - available to buy separately click hereUse the latest ‘geo-tagging’ facility to tag information automatically to your pictures.

Plus you can record slow motion videos use the secondary video call camera play great games including FIFA 2008 and store all your multi-media files with up to 8GB of internal memory.

Take amazing pictures with the built-in 8.0-megapixel camera with LED flash, store all your multimedia fields with the built-in 8GB of internal memory and expand with up to another 8GB with a MicroSD card - available to buy separately and use the latest ‘geo-tagging’ facility to tag information automatically to your pictures

Connecting to the internet has never been so quick with Wi-Fi connectivity, you can see who you are calling with the secondary video call camera and be amused for hours with the array of games including FIFA 2008.

The Samsung i8510 has been launched on O2 pay monthly contract deals with a range of line rental discounts and free gifts, other UK network operators are expected to pick up this new phone very soon.