According to Stuart Farmer, president of Open Air Cinema, “The 16-foot screen is the largest screen available for backyard use on the market. This new size truly converts your backyard into a huge cinematic experience. With the included blower fan, it takes just a few seconds to inflate. And even though it is the biggest screen we recommend for home use, it is still easy to set up, use and take down.”

Not only is the 16ft x 9ft Open Air Home Screen practical for backyard use, it is also easily transportable, capable of transforming just about any venue into a big outdoor theater. Of course, that would mean having to install some sort of insect repelling devices in the vicinity since you wouldn’t want your guests to get bitten by bugs while watching the latest blockbuster, would you? Sounds like the perfect set up if you’re holding a poolside party or hosting a BBQ by the beach. Features of the inflatable 16ft x 9ft Open Air Home Screen include :-

• 220″ Diagonal Projection Surface
• Matte white, wrinkle-resistant ripstop nylon projection surface
• Black-backed projection surface blocks lights from behind, improves contrast ratio
• Ultra lightweight — weighs less than 20 pounds when deflated and fits inside a duffel bag
• Air blower provides constant inflation
• Heavy duty PVC carrying bag for screen, air blower, ropes, stakes etc.
• 20 MPH wind rating

You can pick it up for $999, but if your budget doesn’t permit, there is always the 12ft x 7ft version which is going for $599 while the 9-foot version will retail for at $449.

Press Release

The Sharp PG-F255W WXGA projector will come with a high brightness of 2500 ANSI Lumens and 2,200:1 contrast ratio that is able to conjure a clear picture in virtually all lighting conditions. Let’s face it - this is not going to be used for outdoor presentations, right, unless you’re trying to have a garden wedding or something, but where boardrooms and classrooms are concerned, even the person sitting at the back row won’t have to suffer from a blurred image due to the lack of brightness or washed out color. Sharp’s very own BrilliantColor technology is able to offer up to a 50% increase in mid tones and expands the color palette beyond red/green/blue to include yellow, white, magenta and cyan for more realistic and lifelike color reproduction.

No matter how hot a projector works, it ought to run quietly as well so as not to interrupt the train of thought of the audience. Good thing the PG-F255W features ultra-quiet cooling fans that helps reduce the amount of distraction to an almost unnoticeable level. In addition, its filter-free DLP sealed system prevents dust, dirt and smoke from entering core parts of the optics, helping reduce the cost of ownership in the long run. You will be able to pick up the Sharp PG-F255W WXGA projector from authorized dealers and resellers this month for a yet undisclosed price.

Press Release

Well they’ve outdone themselves this week with a bargain 10% discount on the iRiver SPINN (pics below) - a very well-featured media player, and now even cheaper!

Specifications:

• Sleek SPINN System (Analog Toggle Wheel)
• 3.3” QVGA AMOLED(480 x 272)
• BLUETOOTH 2.0 / Touch Screen
• Plays up to 25 hours(Music), 5 hours(Video)
• Supports music file of MP3, WMA, OGG, APE, FLAC
• Supports video file of MPEG4 SP, WMV9 SP, XVID SP
• Flash Lite 2.1 & 3D acceleration chip
• Displays album information of the song currently playing
• FM radio and recording
• Voice recording / Text Viewer
• Photo album + Slide show*4
• Movie player / FLASH player + Game
• UCI (User Create Interface) Function
• Alarm with real-time clock
• PodCasting and Audiobook Support
• SRS WOW HD Support
• USB 2.0, Ultra fast data transfer
• Firmware Upgradeable
• MSC/MTP conversion support, PFD support

Very nice, I’m sure you’ll agree - as the discount code is only for newsletter subscribers, I guess you’ll have to sign up to get it (or email them to ask), but hey, a discount is a discount, right? And even without it, the prices are very keen anyway!

I should note there are two versions, 4GB and 8GB - so make sure you click the right link below to see more on each player.

iRiver SPINN 4GB

iRiver SPINN 8GB

[Via: Advanced MP3 Players]

Related News from IntoMobile:

• iRiver preparing to launch its own handset; Shows some very “familiar interface” on CES
• Listen to internet radio on your Nokia!
• Nokia N70 Music Edition recently released
• Nokia N72: the stylish multimedia computer
• Fake Chinese iPhone - C-002 is the REAL iPhone killer

Joey Roth, creator of the excellent Sorapot tea-brewing tube, is hosting a design contest.

Sorapot has been out for half a year now, and many of my customers are designers, artists, engineers, and other creative people. You’ve given me extremely valuable feedback on my design, but I’ve always been curious to see your thoughts expressed the way you usually express them: visually. With the holidays here, a Sorapot Art Contest seemed like the only way to go. To enter: create an image inspired by Sorapot.

Your image can be a sketch, a painting, a photo collage, a rendering- anything that can be reproduced as a 1024 x 768 JPEG.

The only rule: your image must visually represent Sorapot in some way- the teapot doesn’t have to be front and center, nor does it have to be photo-realistic, but it must be there.

Email your image to contest@sorapot.com by Sunday, December 14th. I’ll post all images in a gallery here after the judges choose a winner.

International entries are welcome! I will ship the winner’s Sorapot anywhere in the world, and make sure that it arrives before Christmas

I will supplement the winner's reward with $10 cash if that winner's entry could be reasonably given the caption, "Challenged by Klingons, Nigel realized his Sorapot would make a splendid Baat'leth"

Design contest [Sorapot.com]

It is no secret that many companies are working to reveal their own version of Android phone. However, one Aussie company beats everyone with their Kogan Agora phone, making it the second official Android phone. The phone will come in two variants – Basic and Pro which more or less looks like a design mixture of Samsung’s Blackjack and Motorola Q.

Anyways, Kogan is now taking up pre-orders but the phone will be shipped at the end of January next year. Good thing about this phone is that it will be sold unlocked and international buyers could also pre-order it albeit coughing up extra for the shipping charges.

Kogan Agora will sell for AU$299 (US$193) and Agora Pro for AU$399 (US$257).

Full Specifications:

Operating System: Android
Google Mobile Functions: Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Calendar
Display: 2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 262K QVGA (320 X 240 pixel) resolution
Device Control: 5-Way Central Navigation Key
Keyboard: QWERTY keyboard
Keyboard backlighting
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
Audio: Built-in microphone and speaker, Headphone output
Ring tone formats: MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
Video: MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
Mail attachment formats support: JPEG,GIF,WBMP,MIDI,AMR,MP3,WAV
Dimensions (HxWxD): 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm
Weight: 130g
Battery: 1300 mAh Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Talk Time: Up to 400 minutes
Standby Time: Up to 300 hours
Processor: 624 MHz
Memory: 256 MB On-board + 128 MB Flash
microSD card expansion slot
Network: UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Pro Features:
GPS
Wi-Fi b/g
2 megapixel camera

Kogan Agora Basic
Kogan Agora Pro

[Via DVICE]

Nokia’s seriousness with the touchscreen interface is quite evident as we are seeing another power packed touchscreen phone coming from the Finnish giant. The N97, first touchscreen in the Nseries family is a multimedia monster boasting humongous storage capacity, bigger battery, large vivid screen and a physical QWERTY keypad under the screen.

The phone runs on the 5th Edition of S60, has a 3.5-inch bright nHD screen supporting up to 640×360 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Other features are common which you could find in any high-end Nseries device like A-GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus and flash, TV-Out, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP and a whopping up to 48GB of storage (32GB onboard and 16GB microSD). N97 also integrates the support for N-Gage games and a higher capacity battery of 1500 mAh, capable of giving around 6.6 hours of GSM talk time or 5.3 hours under the WCDMA network.

N97 will sell in first half of next year at a price tag of 550 Euros ($704) before taxes.

Specifications & Features:

Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
WCDMA 900/1900/2100
Size: 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm
Weight: 150 grams
OS: S60 5th Edition Symbian v9.4
Display: 3,5“ bright nHD (640 x 360 pixels and 16:9 aspect ratio) TFT color display with resistive touch screen and tactile feedback
Camera: CMOS 5.0 Megapixel, Auto Focus, Carl Zeiss Optics, Flash
Connectivity: EGPRS, HSDPA, WCDMA, Wi-Fi b/g
Input Methods: QWERTY keyboard, Touch Screen
Memory: 32GB onboard, expandable up to 16GB with microSD cards
Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and EDR
Music Player
TV-Out
A-GPS with Nokia Maps support
Flash Lite 3.0
Nokia AV 3.5mm
Talk Time: GSM – 6.6 hours/ WCDMA – 5.3 hours
Standby Time: GSM – 430 hours/ WCDMA – 400 hours

Advertisement: Samsung Hub - Everything Samsung!

Yesterday, you may have read the not so positive review of the Maxon Visimax. This model features 15 ANSI lumens, a 200:1 contrast ratio, and a VGA (640 x 480) resolution. Recently, the writers at Stuff.com released their thoughts on the Visimax. Their first thought was that they couldn’t believe how small it was. About the size of a deck of cards, the Visimax stands at 1.1″ x 3.5″ x 2.3″ (W x H x D) and weighs less than a half pound. They noticed that the projector comes with brick power supply but the writers thought it was only necessary when you wanted to charge the 40 minute battery or use it to tide you over when the battery runs out. One of the problems the writers noticed was that the VGA resolution was not good enough for what most PCs and Notebooks are capable of. Another problem they noticed was that the LED could not deliver the brightness that standard portable projectors can project. In order to show any form of brightness, the Visimax projector needed to be in near blackness. Anything brighter than a fairly dimly lit room would cause a washed out image. The writers concluded their review by stating, “Despite its limitations, the Visimax is the sort of mobile kit that could be very handy. Giving presentations to small groups no longer requires a wheelbarrow of gear.”

[via Stuff.com]

You may have read yesterday’s review of the Acer S1200. Recently Acer announced the release of this home theater projector. The S1200 displays 2500 ANSI lumens, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and a native XGA (1024 x 768) resolution. This model weighs less than 7 lbs, which makes it easy to store when not in use and it makes it capable of traveling on family trips. The S1200 also comes with a 3000 hour lamp life for an extra long run time. In addition to all this, the S1200 comes with wide assortment of input connections including a composite, HDMI, s-video, audio, and a RGB input that can be used as a component. The S1200 is currently available through Acer, and retails for the estimated retail price of £539 (about $800).

[via Tech Digest]

If you are looking for an excellent home theater projector, then you need to check out the newly released Epson EH-TW3000. This model features 1800 ANSI lumens, an 18000:1 contrast ratio, and full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. This projector uses the latest in 3LCD display technology, which results in a more accurate color reproduction and a finer grey scale. Epson is known for providing quick and easy setup and the EH-TW3000 is no exception. This model comes with an extra wide lens shift for flexible image adjustment. The TW3000 also comes with a variety of connection options, including two HDMI inputs as well as the standard s-video, composite, and component connections. Epson also included an RGB connection to allow the user to connect to their computer and display video from there. The EH-TW3000 is currently available through the Epson website and currently retails for about €1,614 ($2070).

[via Irish Dev]