Grace Digital Audio has a new micro shelf system with stereo speakers called the Grace Wi-Fi Stereo Micro System (GDI-IRMS300). The system has integrated Ethernet connectivity and supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi as well for wireless streaming. The radio has FM, AM, and HD tuners for tuning normal stations and it has the ability to stream just about anything from the web.

The system supports Pandora, Rhapsody, NPR, Sirius, and a lot more. The system can tune about 50,000 radio stations in total and it has 16W of peak power. Each speaker has a 3.5″ main and a 1″ tweeter. Other features include a dual band EQ, support for all sorts of digital file formats, and a media player that can stream tracks from your computer. The system retails for $249.99 (USD), but you can already find them over at Amazon for under $190.

The main selling point of the BD-P4600 is obviously its unusual looks. CNET summarized Samsung’s design philosophy into three main principles: “rounded corners, translucent red highlights, and a glossy black finish”. It’s a bit too fancy for my tastes, especially if I take into account that all that gloss translates into a more expensive, but not necessarily better, media player. In fact, CNET mentioned that the BD-P4600 uses the exact same video processing chip as its cheaper yet uglier sibling, the BD-P1600.

Like a lot of sexy and modern home entertainment equipment today, the BD-P4600 is thin, wall-mountable, and expensive. How expensive? Try $500 USD. That’s right: the BD-P4600 makes the PS3 look cheap. On the other hand, you can’t mount your PS3 to a wall, can you? The BD-P4600 also comes with a stand for those who aren’t bent on putting stuff on walls. Touch-sensitive controls and a slot-loading design round out the player’s fancy aura.

On the geekier side of things, CNET says that the BD-P4600 did very well both on their benchmark tests (Video Resolution, Film Resolution, and jaggies test) and in actual use; I think it made Ghost Rider almost watchable. Almost. The BD-P4600 also impressed CNET with its loading times: “…it’s the first one we’ve used that feels just as responsive as the PS3, and in some cases it also loads discs faster.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite as good when the reviewers played DVDs on it, failing a couple of jaggies tests and overall had less crisp and clean playback compared to a Panasonic DMP-BD60, another cheaper yet uglier Blu-ray player.

As you can see the BD-P4600 has a standard composite output, an HDMI output and an optical digital audio output, but no composite video output. It also has 2 USB ports. The BD-P4600 is capable of streaming Netflix and Pandora via Ethernet, but it also comes with a Wi-Fi USB dongle for wireless connectivity. It can also stream media from a connected PC. MP3, JPEG and DivX formats are supported, but AAC is not. The player also has 1GB of on-board memory, perfect for downloading and playing BD Live content.

Overall, I think the BD-P4600 has an awkward name for a sexy device. Oh and it’s for people who want more than something that works. You rich fools can get your own BD-P4600 at Best Buy for $500 USD.

[via tv snob]

While the design hasn’t changed dramatically from the original renders, there have been some notable refinements. For starters, the keyboard has improved ergonomics, with rounded edges and better spacing between the keys. Power and volume controls have been moved to opposite ends of the console (presumably to decrease the likelihood of accidental power-offs). Another subtle change is the rounding of square corners on both the display and the case. And yes, the serif font on those keys is just a placeholder, and will probably change before the final production run.

And if you have any doubts that the Pandora is for real, here’s a recent video of a working prototype running Ångström Linux on its sharp 800 x 480 4.3″ LCD touchscreen.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

And here’s another more thorough walkthrough, with Pandora playing some game emulators:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Yeah, it’s all a bit clunky at this stage, but if you’re into game emulation and the homebrew scene, the Pandora is definitely one to watch. All signs point to a first half of 2009 release for the Pandora, but given some false starts back at the end of 2008, there isn’t an official launch date yet. More details can be found on the Pandora website.

[via Open Pandora]

The compact handheld will run a customized Linux distro in firmware, and is targeted to assume the throne from the aging GP2X platform.

The Pandora’s clamshell case will be roughly the size of a Nintendo DS, and will offer a substantial color LCD touchscreen display. To further support its gaming chops, the Pandora will sport dual analog joypads, a digital D-pad, A-B-X-Y buttons and a QWERTY keyboard just for kicks (or if you want to do more than play games).

The CPU under the hood is said to be powerful enough to emulate everything from the NES to the Super Nintendo to the Sony PlayStation all at full speed. Full specs are listed below:

• ARM® Cortex™-A8 CPU running Linux
• 800×480 4.3″ 16.7 million color touchscreen LCD
• OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
• Dual SDHC card slots
• Dual analog and digital gaming controls
• 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
• TV output
• High Speed USB Host

The Pandora development team expects to start releasing developer kit in the next couple of months, with a goal of a full-on consumer launch this Summer. Retail pricing is expected to be around £199 (inc VAT) / $330 USD / €212 (Ex.VAT).

[OpenPandora via Retro Thing]

[Pandora FAQ]