Bang & Olufsen BeoCom 5 Gallery

When “docked” on the speaker (or its second, smaller charger), the phone is held in place via magnets. And adding to the metallic chic, is an aluminium scroll wheel control.

It’s also very elegant and European, but no word on the price yet. But it’s B&O, so it won’t be cheap. [Bang and Olufsen]

Tied to the broader range of Beo home theatre product, the BeoTime is a bit minimalist, even by B&O’s standards—it’s basically a stylised aluminium stick. But, as I’m sure the salesmen will be eager to tell you, it does so much more than an aluminium stick! On top of telling time, it can wireless switch B&O audio and video products on and off with alarms or sleep timers. Menus are navigated with the large centre button, the snooze switch is the device’s accelerometer, which triggers when the device is moved, and the alarm can be totally disabled by depressing the metal plunger protruding from the device’s end. Time, alarm time and alarm source info are displayed on a set of low-res panels.It’s a bit disappointing to find out that a $US375 single-function device is powered by AA batteries (included!), but Bang and Olufsen says each set will last a year. Besides, if you’re wealthy enough to own the full battery of B&O equipment necessary to fully take advantage of the BeoTime, you’ve probably got some manner of battery-changing servant. Available in August. [Bang and Olufsen]

Besides the fact it’s from the B&O, when you turn the monster on, it comes alive, the stand elevating itself to your viewing level as the ten-inch loudspeaker emerges from the bottom the of the frame. It turns and tilts too. Also, every 120 hours it re-calibrates itself. Now that is luxury.

Hoarding your money only makes the recession worse, so as long as you’re not an AIG executive, what are you waiting for? Oh yeah, July, when it goes on sale. [Flat Panels HD via CE Pro]

The Samsung BeatDJ and BeatDisc are just mobile phones, but they promise “deep rich bass and crystal clear treble” through stereo speakers featuring B&O’s ICEpower amplifier. We’re ever so sceptical.

Otherwise, the DJ has a 2.8″ AMOLED touchscreen and MicroSD slot for storage while the Disc features an slightly smaller screen but adds a numeric touchpad. Full details:

Samsung BEATDJ (M7600) Product Specification

Network
HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900Mhz)

Display
2.8″ 16M Full Touch WQVGA AMOLED (240 x 400)

Camera
3 Megapixel CMOS
Auto-Focus / Geo-tagging / Smile Shot / Face Detection

Audio
Full Touch Music Evolution: DISC UI, Spin Wheel Touch, BEAT DJ application
– DISC UI : Advanced Music Play UI
– BEAT DJ (DJing): Music Filters, Scratch, DJ Mix (Effect Sounds, Recording)
Poly 72 / SP-Midi / MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WMA
Powerful Stereo Speaker / 3.5Φ Ear Jack / Motion Sensor
Audio by B&O ICEpower Technology / SRS Virtual surround sound 5.1ch / DNSe™
Find Similar, Find Music (Music Recognition), Find Tag
FM Radio with RDS, FM Radio Recording
Bluetooth Stereo Headset Profile

Video
MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / DivX / XviD
Video Recording (VGA 15fps )
Video Editing (Trim video / Image capture)
Value-added Features
GPS and Geo Tagging, My Location Find
New PC Studio v1.0 / Mobile widget / SharePix (Mobile Blog )

Connectivity
Bluetooth v2.1 / USB 2.0 (microUSB) HS

Memory
50MB + External Memory : microSD (up to 16GB)

Size
112 x 51 x 13.9 mm

Battery
960 mAh

Samsung BEAT DISC (M6710) Product Specification

Network
HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900Mhz)

Display
16M Half Touch WQVGA TFT LCD (2.6″, 240 x 400)

Camera
3 Megapixel CMOS

Audio
Half Touch Music Evolution: DISC UI
DISC UI : Advanced Music Play UI
Poly 72 / SP-Midi / MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WMA
Powerful Stereo Speaker / 3.5Φ Ear Jack / Motion Sensor
Audio by B&O ICEpower Technology / SRS Virtual surround sound 5.1ch / DNSe™
Find Similar, Find Music (Music Recognition), Find Tag
FM Radio with RDS, FM Radio Recording
Bluetooth Stereo Headset Profile

Video
MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264
Video Recording (QVGA 15fps )

Connectivity
Bluetooth v2.1 / USB 2.0 (microUSB) HS

Memory
80MB + External Memory slot : microSD (up to 16GB)

Size
106.8 x 50.9 x 14.7 mm

Battery
880 mAh

- 2.8″ AMOLED touchscreen (not sure if it’s capacitive or resistive, hoping for the former)
– 3 MP camera
– DivX support
– HSDPA and GPS

The M7600 is rumoured to hit European shores this coming May, with no hint as yet of a US release. It’s not out of the question that the device might pack some quad-band 3G, but until we hear some rumbling, we wouldn’t bet on it. [Boy Genius Report]

The control unit is as stunning as the early, blurry pics had implied. With a sharp 1024×768 screen, a brushed aluminium control knob and an attractive, minimalist interface it would be a treat to use as a home media controller. Unfortunately, if predictably, it is only compatible with one product, which is, you guessed it, a Bang & Olufsen server. Called the 500GB BeoMaster 5, the box is a largely unchanged followup to the company’s $US2700 BeoMedia media centre PC.

In other words, the BeoSound controller is just that — a gutless remote. Without the BeoMaster, which it connects to via DVI, it’s just a screen with a pretty dial. B&O haven’t given any clues as to the price of the unit yet, but the BeoSound and BeoMaster will be, shall we say, luxury items. They’re set for sale in May, you can find more detailed info at the B&O forums, or glance the presser below. [Bang & Olufsen via Acquire]

The BeoSound 5 are two components which make up the new audio master media player which was launched on 11th November 2008 The Beomaster 5 is intended as the a replacement for the Beomedia 1 and subsequent to the launch the Beomedia 1 will be discontinued.

The Beosound 5 has the following Key Features and Spec:-

* Graphical User Interface which provides the user the ability to navigate their entire music collection
* The users music files now resided on the 500GB hard drive located in the Beomaster 5 unit which has a physical size and appearance of the Beomedia 1
* When the music comes to an end, BeoSound 5 will continue to play ‘More Of The Same’ (MOTS) – that is, it will find other music on your system that complements what you’ve already been listening too.
* There’s an aluminium wheel that enables you to scroll smoothly and quickly through tracks and a 10.4″ LCD with 1024 x 768 screen resolution that displays crisp graphics and album covers. You have your entire digital music collection plus thousands of internet radio stations available to you
* Mount it flat on a wall; or on a wall bracket with stand so you can tilt and angle it; or simply place it on a pedestal on an aluminium floor stand
* Designed by Anders Hermansen
* Cabinet finish is Aluminum/black
* Dimensions and weight is 12″ x 7″ x 3″ and 5.8 lbs (31cm x 19cm x 8cm and 2.65 kg)
* Connections are via three which go to the BeoMaster 5 (DVI, Power, USB)
* An Aluminium and black wall bracket is included with the Beosound 5 and as an option you can have an extended wall bracket, a table stand in black and a floor stand in aluminum

Beosound 5 Overview

The BeoMaster 5 uses a VIA 2.0 Ghz processor made by VIA Technologies Inc with 1GB of random access memory and a 500GB hard drive and runs an embedded Microsoft Windows XP SP2.

The unit has DVI-I, S-Video and YPbPr for TV along with Masterlink, two Powerlink sockets, two USB sockets and a 10/100 Mbit/second ethernet.

BeoMaster 5 provides power to the Beosound 5 as well as infra-Red and USB mini. Display resolution via DVI-I is 1920×1200 and supports HD 1920×1080p

Once the TV has that information, it adjusts its settings accordingly to make sure you have the best picture (that B&O engineers deem) possible. The 50-inch model will cost you US$7500, and the 65-inch model will be US$13500. Maybe you should just learn to calibrate your own TV? Even hiring some guy to do it for you would be less than this. [Reg Hardware]

There’s nothing subtle about Bang and Olufsen. They go out of their way to grab your attention, sometimes by outlandish or inspired design, other times by a price tag that would make James Packer whistle.

So it’s no surprise that their recently renovated flagship store on Oxford Street in Paddington is the same. From the speakers outside playing the latest music to passersby to the bright red wall which catches the light reflecting off cars headlights and therefore people’s attention, everything is meant to stand out, loud and proud. Like Beckham. Or a Big Brother Housemate.

Inside, there’s all the latest B&O products, from their new entry model LCD TVs (for a paltry $4K) to their incredible new Serenata phone, which looks and feels like sex in circuitry form. But the main attraction in the store is what Bang and Olufsen calls “BeoLiving”.