Although considering the new colours won’t hit shelves until September 24, I guess if you do rush down the shops today, you’re an even bigger fool. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t, I guess…

That’s right – for $45, you can have an in-ear headphone system that not only has a frequency range of 6Hz-23kHz, a gold-plated plug, and different sized silicon earpieces, but also a metallic black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red, silver or yellow colour.

Huzzah!

[Panasonic]

What you are seeing in this image is a mobile phone that has changed its colour from purple to blue at the touch of a button. It can actually change to eight colours using an electric current, but it doesn’t need power to stay in that colour. Once it is changed, it remains that way.

This prototype uses a technology called cholesteric liquid crystal display (chLCD,) but treated in a special way to adapt its shape to any kind of surface. Using heat, three red, green, and blue layers of chLCD are shaped around whatever object you want. In between those layers there is a resin that seals the substrate, protecting the chLCD and making sure it doesn’t break.

The company that makes it—Kent Displays—says that there’s no practical limit to the pixel resolution of this kind of displays, and points out that, in the next version, it will be possible to display pixels in up to 4,000 different colours. Rainbow-colored iPod nano, here we come. [Nikkei via Ubergizmo]

Classic Controllers, Nunchucks, Wiimotes and even the Wiimote gloves will all be available in the new colour, which was one of 4 alternative colours proposed when Nintendo launched the console back in 2006. The black Wii will be available on August 1 at the same price (25,000 Yen). Be sure to check out more images over on [Kotaku].

JVC has taken a curious marketing strategy for their Xiview LT-42WX70, touting it as the first HDTV that “targets digital imaging professionals.” The TV can display 96% of the Adobe RGB colour space, and boasts an absurd number of colour adjustment parameters. (55!) JVC even goes so far as to occasionally refer to it as a “monitor,” which is weird, because it’s not.

That expanded colour space is core to their pitch, and more accurate colour reproduction is obviously a good thing, especially when editing photos; what isn’t clear, though, is why “imaging professionals” would want to use a 1080p 42-inch HDTV as their primary display, rather than a desk-appropriate monitor with a higher resolution? (Note: Some readers—”digital imaging professionals,” even—have explained how such a display could be useful for displaying images to customers, or as a secondary review display. Fair!)

In any case, it’s available now for $US2,400. Full release below. [JVC]

JVC LAUNCHES NEW FULL HD LCD MONITOR THAT TARGETS DIGITAL SLR USERS

With wider colour space, 42-inch class super slim, lightweight Full HD monitor faithfully reproduces the colours, detail and texture of high resolution still photos made by digital SLR cameras.

WAYNE, NJ, May 26, 2009 – Establishing a new category in flat panel TV design, JVC today announced the availability of a super slim LCD TV monitor that features a colour space that is wider than a typical HDTV’s.

The new JVC Xiview LT-42WX70 is a 42-inch class (42.02 inches diagonal) 120Hz 1080p LCD TV monitor that targets digital imaging professionals and enthusiasts using high-end digital SLR cameras, allowing them for the first time to see the subtle colours, details and textures of their images faithfully reproduced.

The monitor features expanded colour space capacity encompassing 100 percent of HDTV broadcasting’s (sRGB.904) colour space and a coverage rate of 96 percent for Adobe RGB – a colour space for still photographs taken on high-definition digital SLR cameras – to provide accurate reproduction of both video and still photographs. The LT-42WX70 also features 52 picture-quality adjustment properties for tweaking both still and video images source-by-source to the exact colours and tones the user prefers. In addition, JVC’s GENESSA Picture Engine produces video images without blur, colour bleed or noise for clear images with smooth movement.

In addition to its advanced display technology, the LT-42WX70 offers JVC’s groundbreaking design. The super slim monitor measures just 1-5/8 inches deep and is supported by an elegant, curved pedestal-style stand and the rear of the monitor is finished in metallic silver without any visible vents or assembly screws, making it ideal for settings where the rear of the set is visible.

Flexible High Technology from JVC
Depending on the source signal – video or stills – the user selects a colour mode from among Wide (the TV’s colour space), Normal (ITU-R BT.709; HDTV standards), x.v.Color (xvYCC extended gamut), sRGB (same primaries as HDTV) and Adobe RGB. sRGB and Adobe RGB colour spaces are exclusive for viewing digital still images. Digital photos taken using the Adobe RGB colours space and displayed on the LT-42WX70 in the Adobe RGB mode will be reproduced with colours faithful to the original.

The monitor encompasses 100 percent of the sRGB (which is equivalent to HDTV for video signals) colour space and a coverage rate of 96 percent for Adobe RGB, allowing the LT-42WX70 to fully reproduce the deeper reds and bluish greens that are a characteristic of Adobe RGB color.

To fine-tune the colour for different sources, the LT-42WX70 features 52 on-screen image-quality adjustment properties that allow fine-tuning of colours, tint, gamma, and more, which can be memorized per source for future use. For example, individual colour management settings of red, yellow, green, cyan tints and colours, as well as skin tone tint can be adjusted on-screen using the supplied remote controller.

JVC’s Individual Gamma Adjust System calibrates each panel’s grayscale tones to gamma 2.2 to ensure displaying consistent and faithful colours regardless of the set or manufactured lot. This extra effort is put in because colour consistency between the source and display are essential when reproducing photos that are taken on digital SLR cameras or video from different sources.

Breaking new ground in performance for both moving as well as still images
To further ensure the best possible video quality, the set uses JVC’s new high-quality GENESSA Picture Engine with 12-bit (x RGB = 36-bit) for truly accurate and natural colours. The Real Bit Driver processes in 12-bit, and so up-converts 8-bit HD broadcasting and DVD signals or 10-bit Blu-ray signals into 12-bit Deep Colour signals, regardless of the quality of the source signal, to achieve videos with smoother gradation.

To compensate for colour bleed and colour drift caused by the gap in the source colour format and the LCD’s colour space, the Chromaticity Point Conversion Circuit in the engine matches the colours so they are deep, natural and accurate.

120HzClear Motion Drive III (100Hz for PAL video signals) in the engine reduces blurring on LCD TV, helping to make images with rapid movement clearer and smoother using a high-precision interpolation algorithm. The 3D real time, motion-estimated Hadamard noise reduction is applied to eliminate noise while suppressing blur. Picture signal frequencies are also divided into 16 sections and noise reduction performed per section to produce images without noise while maintaining the realism and sharpness of the original picture.

Slim and lightweight at just 1-5/8 inches deep, the LT-42WX70 features a stylish black leather-like texture on its slim bezel that also helps to reduce glare. The flat rear panel is completely finished in metallic silver without any visible assembly screws or vents, providing a clean, attractive design and allowing for greater placement flexibility. To support the monitor, the supplied stand has a centre pillar that curves toward the front of the panel. The stand features a three-step height adjustment to further broaden installation possibilities and the TV can be easily removed from the stand for hanging from a ceiling or wall. In addition, the monitor comes equipped with a slim detachable stereo speaker module that runs along the bottom of the panel. If an external sound source is to be used, the speaker module can be removed, giving the monitor an even sleeker, cleaner appearance.

An intuitive graphical on-screen display is easy to use via the included remote, and touch-panel operation makes essential operations available at the front panel. The remote can control other devices connected to the display via HDMI CEC.

The ENERGY STAR 3.0 compliant LT-42WX70 features an array of connectors for video and still image viewing, including three HDMI CEC terminals, D-Sub 15pin with component video, and an audio input jack. This allows the user to easily perform various operations such as checking images by connecting directly to an SLR camera compatible with HDMI or component connector, editing stills on the large 42-inch screen by connecting it to a PC via a D-sub 15-pin, or even do a round of on-screen checks in accurate colours prior to outputting images to a high-resolution digital photo printer and thus save on expenses.

The monitor measures 39 x 28-1/4 x 1-5/8 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 26.4 pounds. Mounted on its stand, the total weight is 41.8 pounds and depth is 6-3/4 inches.

The JVC LT-42WX70 is available now and is priced at $2,399.95.

They reckon that there are over 50 million different customisation possibilities, which would mean that you should be able to create a completely unique set of clubs.

And in case you were wondering, the picture above is of the company’s Z.4 putter, which is also customisable and apparently offers the perfect weight balance for putting or something.

You can check it all out at the Lind Golf website.

[Lind Golf]

Remind me again why DSLRs are almost always black or silver? Pentax, whose cookies ‘n’ cream white K2000 dazzled in December (or this month in Australia – NB), doesn’t seem to know either, and now they’re releasing a limited-edition green version.

The assumption that DSLR buyers won’t want multiple colours for their hardware is a flawed one, as wider demographics are wooed by cheaper hardware like the K2000, the Nikon D40, the Sony A200, et al. Plenty of people are using DSLRs like—and in lieu of—point-and-shoots, so companies should really start playing to that in their products, most obviously with new colours.

This model is functionally identical to the $US800 K-m (or K2000), and will only see a limited run. It’s only on sale in Japan for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it make its way over here before too long. [Akihabara]

Any model in the pictured spectrum can be yours for $US129, or a $US50 premium over the stock iPod shuffle. But there are other options as well, such as copper, rose gold and platinum, that can push the price up to $US200.

Of course, Apple will probably get around to releasing the shuffle in a wide array of colours. But you know the drill—they generally wait until you’ve already bought one. [Computer Choppers via technabob]