GADGET REVIEWS Just another GADGET NEWS

This week, Sony launched the first commercial 400mW blueviolet laser diode for Blu-ray. The higher-power lasers can perform triple or even quadruple-layer recording at 8X-12X speeds, storing up to 128GB on a single disc.

Sony’s blue-violet laser diode, called the SLD3237VF, will cost about $12. Until the Blu-ray Super-Sized to 128GB, Requires New Player“>multi-layer BDXL spec is supported by players that can read the higher-storage discs, Sony says the new laser will allow a greater range of lenses and prisms to be used in constructing Blu-Ray devices, freeing up some of the restrictions on current hardware. Devices with the more powerful lasers already in place will be easier to upgrade later.

A year ago, Sharp announced a similar technical breakthrough with a 500mW blue-violet laser, with plans to ship in late 2010. Sharp representatives did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

In laboratory experiments, Sony’s Advanced Materials Laboratories and their research partners at Tohoku University have developed blue-violet ultra-fast pulsed semiconductor lasers that can generate as much as 100W. In addition to industrial and nanotech applications, Sony is already experimenting using these lasers to create next-generation optical storage of even higher capacities.

Image above of 100W Experimental Laser by Sony via Semiconductor Today.

Source:wired.com

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Image via SonyStyle.com

Are you intrigued by touchscreen, tablet-style media players, but don’t want to give up anything — and I mean anything — from your desktop PC? The refreshed high-end Sony Vaio L is pricey and heavy, but it’s packed to the gills.

Yesterday, Sony announced its holiday-season refresh of the Vaio line of notebook computers (barring the 8″ notebook-not-a-netbook Vaio P, which was updated in May).

The 24″ let’s-call-it-an-all-in-one-notebook-’cause-even-my-lap-isn’t-that-big Vaio L is packing a quad-core Intel processor, a 2TB hard drive, a capacitative touchscreen with true HD resolution, a webcam (well, yeah), an NVidia graphics card with 1GB video-dedicated RAM (on top of the 8GB of regular memory), and (most significantly) a Blu-ray read/write drive.

It’s got Sony’s own touch-friendly media management and editing suite, and also comes with Windows 7 Home Premium, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a remote control. The whole thing costs $2200 (already on backorder), and the part with the screen weighs 27.6 lbs — about the same as an old 24″ iMac.

So it’s a portable computer, in the sense that you can pick it up and move it from one part of the house to another, but you can’t exactly hold it in your hands. But if your complaint about Apple, Android, or Windows 7 touchscreen tablets has been that “they don’t even have ____,” this Sony is your answer.

If you don’t want all that, you can also get an entry-level Vaio L with “only” a half-TB of storage and no Blu-Ray on clearance for less than $1300. But that might feel a little like driving a Lexus without power windows.

Source:wired.com

Posted under Gadget Reviews

Scrolling through the Google Shopping results for “Blu-ray burner” brings us to $200 before we find a device that will actually author the high-capacity disks. And that’s the cheapest online price: The same Light-On unit is also listed for $380, So the new “Portable Blu-ray Super Multi Drive” from Amex looks like good value at $290.

What’s more, it looks great. The sleek slot-loader will read and write Blu-ray, CD and DVD disks, hooks up to a USB 2.0 port and will even run on the power provided by that same port (there’s a 5v DC adapter in the box if you need it).

With Blu-ray being the “Bag of hurt ” it is, we’d certainly steer towards the external option rather than opting for a built-in laptop drive, especially as, once Blu-ray dies a quiet death, you’ll still be left with a serviceable DVD and CD burner.

BBG and the Giz]

Posted under Gadget Reviews