Joining the flood of tablets hitting the market, LG Electronics has just revealed the Optimus Pad at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. With diverse multimedia and productivity features, the LG Optimus Pad features an 8.9-inch display which promises one-handed portability and uncompromising viewability.

The first generation of 3D TVs released in 2010 display “flicker” alternating images, one for the left and one for the right eye.  Together will synchronized active shutter glasses, the viewer sees a 3D picture.  The flicker of the picture happens so quickly that viewers generally don’t see the picture flickering.

A well know beer company’s slogan in Canada is “I AM CANADIAN”.  Interestingly enough, TubeMagic, a Canadian company, which builds high-end tube audio gear, has seemingly taken this slogan to heart in naming its tube (akin to bottle?) amplifiers.

Tube Magic’s IAM88 $5.200 U.S. is a KT88 40wpc pure class A tube integrated amp using a full preamp section.  

“Sorry, could you repeat that?”  If this is a phrase you find yourself repeating often of late, this ingenious product might be a little too late for you.  But, there’s always friends and family…

US manufacturer Red Wine Audio has been in the business of making purist, battery-powered stereo hi-fi components since 2005, meeting the needs of discriminating audiophiles and avid music lovers since 2005.  The latest product to join its battery-powered line-up is the the Ginevra LFP-V Edition Phonostage.

Harman has just introduced five new JBL Studio models to their new 1 series line.  The speaker collection is promised to incorporate performance-proven technologies and advanced materials to deliver dynamic range, tonal accuracy and spatial transparency.  Each of the Studio models can be purchased separately.  All speakers in the line come in a silver-tinted black vinyl finish and include the following features by model:

Onkyo has just announced their new Onkyo HT-S5400 home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) receiver-and-speaker system.  This system continues with the growing trend of packing a full feature set into an affordable convenient package for consumers.  Me for one, can’t understand how they do it but here it is.

Rega would like you to consider its new DAC in the attempt to maximize the potential of your digital audio.

The days of when advanced networking features can only be found in mid to high-end AV receivers will soon be over thanks to Onkyo.  The company has just announced new entry-level receivers that include advanced networking capabilities and a ‘Made for iPod/iPhone’ USB interface for the first time at such affordable price points. The release includes the 7.2-channel TX-NR609,  the 5.1-channel TX-NR509 and the 5.1-channel TX-SR309. The models designated ‘TX-NR’ are network-capable and all three have front-panel USB connections.

For those of us stuck to our iPods / iPhones, we’re always looking for new ways to use them.  New from Onkyo is their DS-A4 Remote Interactive Dock for iPod/iPhone.  The DS-A4 allows you to link your i-device with your home entertainment system via your AVR.  Video via composite / component video, along with audio via the RCA can be output by the DS-A4. 

The new DTX 300 p headphones from Beyerdynamic would like to be your best travel companion, whether you’re listening to music while commuting to work or watching video apps on a table PC like the iPad.

Thanks to cloud-based storage components and Apple devices such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, music stored at home can now be access anywhere in the world.

The Iridium is the new flagship monoblock amplifier in the Aragon series, from Indy Audio Labs, LLC.  The Iridium features Aragon Art Deco love- it or leave-it styling.  Personally, I dig gear with some edge.  The Iridium is a 400-watt monaural amplifier positioned as the successor to the Aragon Palladium.  The Iridium is somewhat green, with a low 1-watt standby consumption, 60 watts at idle and maxing out at 1500 watts. 

Music Hall is a company well known for its audio products.  A new addition to their line-up of products is their Cruise Control. 

Greek speaker manufacturer Tune Audio has just a gorgeous new speaker called the Marvel.  The Marvel has a two-way design which features a back loaded bass horn combined with a wide range 8-inch driver. A bass horn, built of grade A Baltic birch plywood, fires to the floor. Mid frequencies are radiated directly by the cone while the high frequencies are handled by a proprietary epoxy compound tractrix horn.

Some go by the saying “more is better” but every once in awhile a speaker company takes a different position, going with a single-driver model.  Daber Audio has recently released it’s Transparent 1.8  loudspeaker (T 1.8).  The T 1.8 is a single driver design with a side-car DSP unit.  The driver is a pulp/kevlar hybrid and utilizes a solid copper phase plug. 

Shure is expanding its headphone line with the addition of two new models, the SRH550DJ and the SRH940. Equipped with unique sound signatures, the SRH550DJ is ideal for both DJ and personal listening use, while the SRH940 is optimized for critical listening, studio monitoring, and mastering.