Posted Tue Aug 14, 2018 at 10:15 AM PDT by Steven Cohen
We've compiled the latest gear news, including the launch of Samsung's new Galaxy tablet, Onkyo's acquisition of TEAC product distribution, and more.
From product announcements and streaming app updates to general industry news and recent gear trends, keeping up with the latest tech news can be a daunting task. With that in mind, we're here to offer you a roundup of some of the latest gear and consumer electronics news that you may have missed.
For this edition, we're covering the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Tab S4 tablet, Onkyo's acquisition of TEAC product distribution in the US, and the integration of Dirac Live into miniDSP's new Streaming HD devices.
So, without further ado, here's a rundown of some of the latest gear and tech news:
Samsung has announced the launch of its latest Galaxy tablet. The Galaxy Tab S4 is now available for an MSRP of $650.
"At Samsung, we believe tablets play an increasingly important role in making lives easier and improving the mobile experience for everyone," said DJ Koh, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics. "With the Galaxy Tab S4, we’re introducing a premium tablet, equipped with Samsung DeX that helps consumers perform their absolute best wherever they go. We look forward to providing our customers with a sense of leisure and comfort knowing that this new addition to our ecosystem of connected devices is also packed with features to help them stay entertained."
The tablet features a 10.5” WQXGA Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560x1600, 287 pixels per inch (PPI), and a 16:10 aspect ratio. Under the hood, the device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Octa Core (2.35GHz + 1.9GHz) CPU, 4G RAM, and a 7,300mAh Fast Charging battery, all running Android 8.1. 13MP AF rear camera and an 8.0MP front camera are integrated as well. In addition, the unit includes four speakers tuned by AKG, along with Dolby Atmos immersive sound technology.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab S4 also offers support for an optional Book Cover Keyboard, allowing customers to switch to the Samsung DeX desktop experience. Likewise, users can connect the tablet to an external monitor with a compatible HDMI to USB-C multi-port adapter. Finally, the unit comes with Samsung's S Pen for note-taking and other productivity tasks.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is now available in 64GB ($650) and 256GB ($750) models in gray or black.
Source: Samsung
Onkyo USA has announced the acquisition of exclusive distribution rights for TEAC home entertainment products in the US and Latin America.
"TEAC is a world-renowned brand with high-quality offerings across a variety of price points that give the line retail flexibility as well as access to a wide audience – from the professional recording studio right down to the casual listener," said Jason Sausto, CEO of Onkyo USA. "Onkyo USA has built its reputation on excellent customer service and channel expertise, and TEAC’s newly refreshed and diverse lineup should benefit from both."
The first TEAC products set to be distributed by Onkyo include:
TEAC now joins Onkyo USA's existing portfolio of consumer electronics brands, including Onkyo, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Integra, and Esoteric.
Source: Onkyo
Dirac Research has announced the inclusion of its Dirac Live room correction platform into miniDSP’s new Streaming HD (SHD) series stereo processor.
"Few in the industry are as passionate about audio as those at miniDSP, which is why our years of extensive collaboration have yielded such astounding results," stated Niklas Thorin, Dirac's GM of High Performance. "The Streaming HD series is the ideal product to introduce Dirac Live to the streaming market, as it truly captures the full potential of our room correction capabilities. With this SHD series introduction, the bar has now been raised for high definition audio streaming."
Dirac Live is a patented room correction technology that uses multiple measurement and mixed phase correction to fix the frequency response and impulse response of a room's speaker setup, resulting in a more natural and realistic sound. The miniDSP SHD series implements this tech into a powerful stereo processor and streamer. The device features a floating point processor, 32bit converters, quad core ARM streamer, multichannel USB audio, and Volumio network audio support. The embedded Volumio network audio music player allows for streamed audio to be controlled through a user's smartphone, tablet, or desktop-based app.
The SHD series will include two versions: the SHD full rack mount unit, which is an analog and digital All-In-One-Does-It-All unit; and the SHD Studio, which is a compact, all-digital solution better suited for buyers who already own a DAC.
"Regardless of hardware design and sophistication, certain external variables are always going to negatively impact audio quality – that is unless you implement a digital room correction solution like Dirac Live," stated Antoine Rouget, CEO at miniDSP. "Dirac Live reduces these variables and equips our products with the degree of performance consistency necessary to satisfy the discerning ears of the miniDSP community. We're excited to work yet again with Dirac to introduce its Dirac Live room correction solution to the streaming processor market."
Source: Dirac Research, miniDSP
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.