Proving that plasmas aren’t dead in the water, LG has unveiled four new plasma televisions, with a commitment to have eight new models sometime in 2010. The four models are slimmer and lighter than previous models, with only a depth of around two-inches and are approximately 37 percent thinner – in one case, according to a press release, a 60-inch model was reduced by more than 40 percent.
Dell has announced that it will sell the Mini 3, its smartphone product featuring Google Android, in the United States via AT&T. While the specs have not been revealed, we expect them to be the same as the one seen in Brazil and China – a 3.5-inch 640×320 display with a 3 megapixel camera with flash, a microSD card slot and GPS. It should hit Dell’s online store in the first half of the year.
Last year, they announced that they will partner up with EchoStar to produce a DVR (called the 922 DVR) that will include Slingbox technology. That still has not been released, but that has not stopped Sling Media to release four new Slingbox products – including a brand new remote and screen.
While Apple is rumoured to release a tablet, and rumours of HP and Microsoft creating a rival to that; HP is reminding us that they are the place for tablets – despite not a lot of their laptop portfolio are laptops – by releasing another tablet computer, the TouchSmart tm2.
RUMOUR MILL: A big tablet announcement by Microsoft and HP? That is what the New York Times is reporting on the eve of Microsoft’s big Keynote that happens in CES 2010. Sources tell them that the tablet will be made by HP and could be out during the middle of 2010; and most likely would be a multimedia packed tablet with an e-reader and multitouch functions. However, is this Apple envy? Because Apple is said to be releasing a tablet sometime in the month as well. Will this spark a tablet war?
Since more and more people are opting to get laptops then desktops – many opting to use them for home entertainment (like watching Hulu or ABC iView) – many lack the sound system to play the audio because, frankly, their speakers are sound tinny and crap. Logitech, however, has created the Lapdesk N700 – the first accessory for your laptop that contain stereo speakers, along with a wide padded base so you can put it on your lap without burning your thighs – and it also has a fan to keep it cool.
ASUS has brought out a new Eee PC, and this time it has gotten a more designer feel to it, with the launch of the Karim Rashid Collection. While they come in Hot Pink and Coffee Brown (that one also has gold glitter and features soft-to-touch material); it still features a 10.1-inch display with an Intel Atom processor. It also has 1GB of RAM – that is upgradable, a 250GB (or 320GB) hard drive, a 1.3 megapixel camera and a MMC/SD card reader. The usual ports are also featured.
Want to taste the speed of USB 3.0? Well, Seagate has got you covered with its new “performance kit” for its BlackAmor PS110 USB 3.0 external hard drive. The kit includes a PC express card, power cable and the external hard drive itself – a 500GB 7200RPM 2.5-inch drive. The PC express card houses the USB 3.0 port, so those who aren’t lucky to have it are able to use the external.
Iomega has announced a new HD media player that you simply connect to your home network so you can watch your movies and (pirated) television shows on your plasma or LCD television in the living room. The ScreenPlay Director HD Media Player has a 1TB capacity and playbacks your files in full 1080p – meaning that the files like DivX, H.264 and WMV files that are optimised for HD will be able to look at their very best.
Today Skype announced a remarkable step up in the world of video calling. The latest version of Skype is going to suport HD video calling which can be received at up to 720p, Skype has also announced plans to embed the software into televisions that are ‘internet-ready’. Surprisingly this significant upgrade doesn’t come with much of a cost to the end-user, the new FV TouchCam N1 HD webcamera being available in early Feburary 2010 at just $69 without a microphone and $99 with. Skype estimates that the software will run fine on a computer with atleast a 1.8GHz processor & Skype 4.2 BETA. All webcams will be available to purchase in the Skype Shop shortly after release.
Speaking of smartbooks, Lenovo has announced that it will bring out the Lenovo Skylight. This will feature a 10-inch display, a 20GB flash drive and will be powered by an ARM Snapdragon processor, and will feature Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity – powered by AT&T. It also claims that it will have 10 hours of battery life – which they say it is “enough … to watch two movies or more back to back on the next plane flight” – and we call that a bit bulls**t.
Companies are pushing their products before CES starts; and Viliv has decided to follow in the same footsteps. The Viliv HD5 is a PMP (Portable Media Player) with a 5-inch touchscreen and comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacity, and will have an expandable SD card slot if you feel 32GB isn’t enough to hold your music. It will also have a digital radio tuner – though it will not work in Australia because it is DAB and not DAB+ – and has a HDMI port.
So, we are kind of confused over why you would have a detachable tablet, but it might be useful – and that is what Lenovo is hoping for. This is the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, and will feature a Intel Core 2 Duo processor, with a Windows 7 OS running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon ARM CPU – so basically, a mobile tablet. It has an internal 16GB drive as well – though docked in laptop mode, you have a 128GB SSD to use – along with 4GB of DDR3 RAM and Intel integrated graphics.
Skiff has announced a brand new eBook reader that has been optimised for newspapers and magazine content. The Skiff Reader features a 11.5-inch screen with a touchscreen, and claims to be the thinnest e-reader to date (of the announcement). Plus, because many purchases are done on the go, it will partner with Sprint to provide 3G to the devices and plans are underway to sell it on Sprint stores.
Looks like eBook readers are making a splash at CES, with Interead has announced new models joining its COOL-ER line – the COOL-ER Compact, COOL-ER Classic, COOL-ER Connect and COOL-ER 3G. The COOL-ER connect will feature Wi-Fi and a touchscreen; while the COOL-ER 3G will feature a 3G connection, though that will be out in mid-2010. The Classic is just the renamed product of its original product, while the Compact model will feature a 6-inch E Ink screen and 2GB onboard memory (expandable via SD card).