Sharp 2013 audio line-up

By Brandon Widder Published August 17, 2017

A prototype 85-inch 8K TV isn’t the only thing Sharp brings to the table at CES this year. The Japanese company unveiled its new audio lineup of speaker docks, sound bars, and CD players before the show even officially started. It’s hard to say how they will live up to high-end audio options currently on the market, but they make quite a first impression. The HT-SB60 for example, showcases some impressive sound via its 2.1 channel arrangement and wireless subwoofer — not to mention it’s the only soundbar system on the market designed exclusively for 60-inch TVs and bigger. The sleek GX-M10, a modern spin on the classic ghetto blaster from the 80s, also made an appearance. Touting a scuba tank-esque exterior, the portable speaker system includes a built-in CD player, docking stations for all your favorite Apple devices, and a microphone and guitar input to take your show on the road. Hello, coffee shop world tour.

Brandon Widder

Former Senior Editor, Living Articles

Brandon Widder is a multimedia journalist and a staff writer for Digital Trends where he covers technology news, how-to…

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I desperately want a new classic Walkman, but Sony probably can’t give me one

Tech minimalism is begging for a new Walkman. Though rebuilding it may be close to impossible

Every few months, another piece of tech that seems obsolete crawls out of a drawer and becomes cool again. The age of minimalism has revived the popularity of iPods among younger buyers. Dumbphones have become an escape hatch from endless notifications. Similarly, digital cameras are dangling from bags again. Physical media keeps attracting people who want something they can actually hold instead of another frustrating subscription.

All of this makes it the perfect time for Sony to bring back the classic Walkman, which was a phenomenon during the 80s and 90s. I would love one. Give me a compact cassette player, physical buttons, and wired headphones. Keep the apps, notifications, and algorithms that shape your taste of music. No more AI assistants or personalzied feeds, just you and your Walkman. There is only one problem though. Recreating the Walkman that people love and remember, would be far harder than putting an old design back into production.

Audio / Video

Proton reveals how smart TVs track you and the escape situation is pretty grim

Modern smart TVs fingerprint your screen content at the chipset level.

Google TV applications on the Sony A95K TV.

Your smart TV may know far more about your viewing habits than you realize, even if you rarely use its smart features. In a new privacy explainer, Proton warns that many modern TVs quietly collect data about everything displayed on the screen and share it with manufacturers, advertisers, and analytics companies.

The worrying part is that escaping this tracking is becoming increasingly difficult because many privacy controls are buried deep in settings or enabled by default. Proton argues that buying a smart TV today often means accepting a level of surveillance that most people never knowingly signed up for.

Audio / Video

LG is cracking down on smart TV apps that quietly turn your TV into a secret proxy

If you own an LG smart TV, there's a chance one of your harmless-looking apps has been moonlighting as an internet relay for someone else's traffic. According to a report from KrebsOnSecurity, LG says it's finally stepping in to stop this menace. This week, the company confirmed it plans to suspend any webOS app that turns a TV into what's called a residential proxy node.

The move follows a report from security firm Spur, which found that more than 42 percent of apps on LG's webOS store include SDKs that quietly reroute internet traffic through your TV, indefinitely. Samsung isn't spared either, with over a quarter of Tizen apps carrying similar code.