EXPERIENCEBLU With the arrival of the DMP-BD10 Blu-ray (BD) disc player, With Blu-ray, you can: Panasonic is proud to bring you the first in a family of Blu-ray products designed to enhance your entertainment Watch video in full High Definition experience. (1080p) quality in the new, superior MPEG-4 video codecs High Definition Blu-ray discs come in the same form factor as existing CDs and video looks crisper, the colour definition DVDs but allow for greater storage – up to 50GB on a dual-layer BD and detail far better than that offered on disc, or five/ten times as much as a regular DVD. The extra capacity DVD discs. makes BD discs perfect for High Definition video playback. Listen to DVD-Audio quality sound and take advantage of next-generation That means the best picture and sound formats like Dolby Digital Plus. sound quality to be offered in Connect a Blu-ray player via HDMI cable the home yet and huge flexibility to an AV system to allow 7.1 channel when it comes to storing your surround sound. own video and audio material Store more video, audio and digital and digital photos in the pictures on a single disc than ever near future. before. With a single-layer BD disc storing 25GB of data, it holds five times Panasonic is the first of a large group of consumer electronics as much as a DVD, 35 times as much as makers releasing Blu-ray products and the entertainment industry’s a CD. Dual-layer BD discs double the support of Blu-ray means it will be the dominant format of the future capacity again. for movies, music and video games. Connect the components of your home theatre system to take full advantage of Blu-ray’s power lies in its ability to store and process more the superior sound and image quality information, many times faster than the previous generation of DVD Blu-ray offers. Panasonic’s TVs, players, players and recorders. AV receivers and speakers are Blu-ray compatible and support HDAVI, for one blu-ray.co.nz button control of all your components. panasonic.co.nz Interact with BD disc features that extend the menu functions of the regular DVD. The extra capacity of BD discs means the potential for interactive services to be provided with movies, music and games is almost endless. contents edit... Looks great too. Steve Hart – Editor Television is about to enter a whole new era as high defi nition TVs are just beginning to become a real option. But as Richard Thorne outlines in our cover story, it is a case of buyer beware at the moment. There is lots to consider before buying an HD TV as there are subtle differences in terminology to remember. That said, HDTV is the way of the future — all we need now is for broadcasters to join the revolution so we can benefi t from a better TV experience beyond that supplied by the new generation of DVD players and games consoles. Also in this edition, Peter Griffi n jumps in with a review of mobile phones, his choice of hi-tec stocking fi llers and headphones. Vikki Bland explains how most anyone can get free phone calls with their computer and a Skype account, and Simon Hendery takes a look at photo quality printers. All this and more is inside. All the best for a super Christmas and New Year. 05 MOBILE PHONES The best offerings from Vodafone and Telecom 06 PHOTOGRAPHY All you need to know about digital photographs. 09 HEADPHONES Peter Griffi n gives his verdict on the best headphones on the market. 09 SUMMER SOUNDS Check out the best music of the season courtesy of C Scott. 13 WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY COVER STORY All you need to know about Leap into a brave new world working without wires 10 of high defi nition television 15 PRINTERS Want to print your own photos? Get the lowdown on the best printers on the market 18 GAME ON Compare the best offerings from games giants Playstation2 and XBox TIMEX IRONMAN THE WRITERS Sleek 50 Lap Peter Griffi n, Vikki Bland, Simon Hendery, T5H381 rrp $169 C Scott, Wayne Lorimer, Richard Thorne. INSIDE SERIES Editor: Steve Hart 50 lap memory recall, 100 hour chronograph, on the Designer: James Russell. Justine Sarbutt fly recall of lap, multiple workout storage, synchro Sales manager: Kerri Tait timer, two interval timers, interval repitition counter, Sales rep: Bianca Lawton Making Skype simple: Project coordinator: Emily Hancox Get free phone calls stainless steel top ring, INDIGLO night light with Published by APN NZ 14 night mode, three alarms, two time zones and 100m The Inside series is free with the water resistant. Looks great too. New Zealand Herald. The next edition of Inside Technology & Innovation will be out on April 7, 2007. ADVERTISE Contact Bianca Lawton on (09) 3736400 extension 8671 Email: [email protected] COMING UP Look out for other issues of the Inside series Available at selected Jewellers and specialty including Inside Family Health & Nutrition and Inside Freedom & Lifestyle out in March 2007. retailers. Phone 0508 566 300 for more information. The must have gadgets www.timex.com COVER SHOT this Christmas Getty Images 17 3752r2 Simplicity is accessing your music everywhere in your home. Philips Streamium Wireless Music System gives you the freedom to create a wireless network throughout your home – without a PC. All you need is a Wireless Music Center. Add on up to 5 Wireless Music Stations, and each member of your family can enjoy their own tunes – in their own rooms! The Wireless Music Center stores your entire music collection in a single device, and streams it – wirelessly – anywhere in your home. Plug and play up to 5 Wireless Music Stations – complete with high-quality integrated flat speakers – to access up to 1500 different tunes. Hear more, play more, enjoy more – visit www.philips.com/streamium > TALK TALK 5 Text, talk, communicate Peter Griffi n rounds up the best mobile devices and says you’ll be spoilt for choice this Christmas You’ll be spoilt for choice if you’re looking to give the gift of a mobile THE BEST OF TELECOM phone this Christmas. Digital camera, music player and high speed data downloads are now standard features on mid-range mobiles and there’s SANYO DIVA plenty of choice. While Vodafone has the upper hand with its extensive The slim and competitively priced Sanyo 6600 has been range, some new additions by Telecom are worth considering. refreshed in pale pink to appeal to women. Little else is different about this new version of the phone that boasts a digital camera, Bluetooth and WAP browser. PRICE: $499 THE BEST OF VODAFONE PROS: STYLISH AND LIGHTWEIGHT CONS: ONLY 5MB OF ONBOARD MEMORY SONY ERICSSON V630I An amalgam of previous Sony Ericsson phones, the V630i is nevertheless a nicely designed phone that will appeal to those who want to use their phone as a music player. There are TREO 700WX dedicated music buttons and the V630i supports The fi rst Palm Treo available on the Telecom A2DP Bluetooth for wireless audio streaming to network to feature Win-edows will go down compatible headphones. The Memory Stick well. The 700wx is packed with software Micro card allows you to load up on music. features and has generous memory for storing PRICE: $499 fi les. There’s Windows Media Player, a QWERTY PROS: GOOD MUSIC PHONE keyboard and a touch screen for easy data CONS: AVERAGE CAMERA QUALITY entry. Accesses Telecom’s high-speed data network. PRICE: $999 PROS: GOOD FEATURES, FAST CONNECTIVITY NOKIA 6234 CONS: EXTERNAL ANTENNA ADDS TO BULK A classic candy bar mobile with simple design, big keys and a bright screen. The 6234 isn’t a fl ashy phone but will appeal to those who want quick access to phone SAMSUNG BLADE features but the added convenience of A solid performer for Telecom, the Blade is ultra-thin, packed a two megapixel camera. There’s with features, such as music player and camera and also expandable memory to use allows high-speed data downloads. It’s profi le and clamshell the 6234 as a music player. design makes it ideal for carrying around and an external PRICE: $399 screen tells you who is calling or which music track is playing. PROS: AFFORDABLE, NICE DESIGN PRICE: $699 CONS: LIGHT ON FEATURES PROS: THIN AND LIGHTWEIGHT, GOOD FEATURES CONS: LIMITED ONBOARD MEMORY, MENU SYSTEM MOTOROLA V1100 MOBILE BUYING TIPS An exclusive to Vodafone worldwide, the V1100 has the characters of the hugely popular Motorola RAZR • If planning to use a phone as a music player, make sure with one signifi cant difference – the V1100 supports there’s an expansion slot to add extra memory. A 256MB HSDPA, Vodafone’s high-speed data network. That memory card will hold about a hour’s worth or music. makes it a sturdy workhorse for those wanting to • Not all Bluetooth headphones work with every Bluetooth-capable phone. send emails and surf the web quickly. There’s a 1.3 • Don’t be seduced by services like TV on your mobile. Try these out in the store megapixel camera built into a solid yet slim case. fi rst. Don’t be left with a pricy phone you use only to make calls on and send text PRICE: $699 messages with. PROS: HIGH-SPEED DATA • Choose a phone that has a logical, easy to navigate menu. CONS: A LITTLE TOO LIKE MOTOROLA’S • Buy a phone with good battery life.