ConsumerIT - For Europe's High Volume PC Retailers, Distributors & Builders

The market window (before digital downloads and VoD overtake movie disc sales and rentals) is rapidly closing. Retail chains will slash prices of Blu-ray players to provoke mass adoption of the hi-def movie format. In USA, entry-level Blu-ray players have already dropped below $230 at major retailers-- including Target, Wal-Mart Best Buy. Some predict a cost below $150 before Christmas.

Go US Retailers Cut Blu-Ray Prices

Sonance developed three new models for the company’s Landscape Series. Two of these UV-resistant speakers, the RK83 and RK63, are outdoor “rock-like” speakers designed to blend into the environment. The RK63 Rock speaker is a 6.5” 2-way, roughly 10 x 11 x 14 inches and is rated for 100w maximum power handling; the 8” 2-way RK83 Rock speaker measures roughly 14 x 15 x 18 inches and is rated for 150W maximum.

The third new product, the SoundHenge Redux is actually an enclosure that looks like a boulder, and is used exclusively with the Sonance Mariner outdoor speakers. The enclosure is available in Granite or Brown finishes and measures 18 x 14 x 13 inches. These can be used with any Sonance Mariner 50 or Mariner 60 range of weather-resistant loudspeakers, in a stereo-pair, or single stereo speaker configuration.

Go Sonance Rocks the Garden

At BETT 2009, 3M will announce its new modular projection system, the SCP716 (has all the attributes as SCP712 modular system plus enhanced features). Features include 2400 lumens brightness, long lamp life of 5000 hours, and DLP BrilliantColour technology

One of the first high-brightness‚ DLP‚ super close projectors to enter the market‚ the SCP717 features DLP Brilliant Color‚ DVI-D connectivity‚ an RJ-45 ethernet connection and an integrated wind tunnel design to minimize heat and fan noise.

The extreme off-axis short throw greatly reduces light in the presenter’s eyes. The integrated connectivity makes it a tabletop media hub too.

Go 3M Short-Throw or see it at BETT 2009

Sure, we’re skeptical about Amazon's Kindle but you can’t judge a book by its cover. An analyst at Citi argues the $350 machine e-book reader is indeed going to be Amazon's iPod. He now thinks Amazon will sell 378,000 units this year, double his initial guess. And he thinks instead of being a $750 million business, the Kindle will in 3 years be a $1.1 billion business and 4% of all Amazon sales.

Unverified sources (because Amazon ain’t talking) say 240K have been sold and the current monthly sales are at 40,000 a month. Amazon has to sell 150,000 units in Q4 -- something that's only going to happen if the Kindle becomes a must-have holiday gift.

Kindle users pay up to $9.99 for a new title. That's much less than a hardcover price. College kids can receive text books almost on demand. So why isn’t Amazon worried that Kindle might be the black hole of books swallowing the business?

Amazon says "Kindle's affect is additive to physical book units. Post the purchase of a Kindle, owners buy 1.6X as many book titles and the same amount of physical books."

There’s a new version coming that is supposed to be significantly thinner with a better screen, more style and better user interface. Some claim Kindle will jump from Generation 1.0 to Generation 4.0 or 5.0.

If you don’t believe the Citi analyst (OK, banks have been wrong about a lot of things lately), then trust the famous Silicon Valley VC John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins. He told Wall Street Journal, Kindle will be a $1 billion business before too long. “I think they did a brilliant job in version 1.0 product, in meeting an unobvious need…I think of it as a seamless and effortless way to get visual content. And honestly, they’ve just begun. They’ll leverage all the same cost curves [that benefit all hardware products]. Imagine what a Kindle will be like five years from now with models in different colors and sizes.”

Go Kindle at Amazon

And Kindle has competitors. See the Display that Could Spell the End of Paper…