Tech News and Reviews
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LG’s Magic Remote enables voice control for its smart TVs
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LG was quick to introduce Wii-style motion controls and pointing to its smart TV controllers, but its new Magic Remote also adds voice recognition, allowing you to enter search terms without ever contemplating the alphabet. In a radical move, it also conjures up a scroll wheel — perhaps for no reason other than to spite Samsung’s now dowdy-looking QWERTY rival. The fact that it can control your LG Cinema 3D TV without forcing you to star-jump is a happy bonus. There’s a full PR after the break, although no sign yet of availability or pricing.
LG V300 does multitouch, 3D, all-in-one
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A show as packed to the walls will shiny new technology as Computex could surely benefit from a few space saving devices, like, say, this new all-in-one from LG. With the high-end configuration you’ll get a second generation Intel Core i7 processor, AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics, a 750GB hard drive, 8GB of RAM, and a Blu-ray player all packed inside the system’s slender 1.8-inch thick frame. The V300′s multitouch 23-inch Film-type Patterned Retarder (FPR)-enabled display offers up 3D with the aid of polarized glasses. The AIW is set for a Korean launch in July, followed by trips to Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia. No word on if or when it’ll hit desks in the States, but at least you won’t have to find much room on your desk when it does.
HP trots out Pavilion p7, Pavilion Slimline s5, and HPE h8 desktops
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Lest you think the desktop is an endangered species, HP, at least, begs to differ. The company just unveiled three of ‘em: the Pavilion p7, Slimline s5, and the Pavilion HPE h8 — all festooned with black finishes, rounded edges, sliding port covers, and metallic panels designed to blend in with the electronics already populating your living room. Of the three, the p7 is the most mainstream, with a non-threatening chassis that’s about the size you’d expect a tower to be. The Slimline s5 has a similar look, but is about half the size, making it look more like a media hub. Lastly, there’s the HPE h8, whose red accents and beastlier shape mark it as the power tower it is. For the money, you’ll get discrete graphics, optional Beats Audio, and support for dual displays. The p7 and h8 go on sale May 18, starting at $299 and $599, respectively. For the petite s5, you’ll have to step up to a $329 starting price. Look for it on June 15.
Lenovo’s ultraslim ThinkCentre 91z All-in-One gets official, starts at $699
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Anyone lucid during the past 24 hours won’t be particularly shocked to see the arrival of Lenovo’s slick new all-in-one — though the thing is officially becoming official a day before originally anticipated. Not surprisingly, the company’s really playing up aesthetics with the ThinkCentre Edge 91z, calling it the thinnest AIO, at 2.5 inches — and certainly its thinner than, say, the HP TouchSmart 610. The centerpiece of the system is that glossy 21.5-inch widescreen HD Infinity LED display (1920 x 1200), which is capable of playing back HD video with ease. (more…)
New iMac frees you from the tyranny (and convenience) of servicing your own hard drives
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Letting Apple control most facets of your computing experience is just a fact of life for the Mac faithful, but the company may have gone too far for some with the most recent iMac refresh. Want to swap out that hard drive for a bigger one or replace a dead disk? You’ve got no option but to go straight to Apple thanks to a new proprietary cable and special firmware. The standard 4-pin SATA connector has been replaced with a 7-pin configuration that keeps you from hooking up just any old hard drive, and without that magical firmware the iMac won’t even boot. Remember, this is the company that thinks swapping batteries is best left to the professionals, uses a custom BIOS to keep you from running OS X on non-Apple hardware, and forced a company to put the brakes on an SSD upgrade for the MacBook Air. Really, we’re kinda surprised the iMac doesn’t shock you when you try to pry it open.
Toshiba’s Regza GL1 3DTVs going on sale in Japan tomorrow, no glasses required
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The panacea of glasses-free 3D displays (or content) might not yet be upon us, but Toshiba’s doing its best by putting the two models in its Regza GL1 family up for sale in Japan. Tomorrow marks the debut of the smaller 12GL1, spanning a 12-inch diagonal and offering the unconventional resolution of 466 x 350. That’s expected to be priced at ¥120,000 ($1,431), exactly half of the ¥240,000 ($2,863) asking price of the 20GL1, which will follow it swiftly with retail availability on December 25th. The latter display has the decency to come equipped with a more civilized 720p resolution and 550:1 contrast ratio, although, as you can see above, neither panel can be accused of being unnecessarily thin or space-efficient. Still, this parallax barrier stuff is the best we’ve got for the moment — and as usual the best we’ve got resides in Japan only.
Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that Toshiba is planning larger members of this glasses-free 3D family with a panel of over 40 inches in the cards for the company’s next fiscal year, which begins in April 2011. More to come at CES in January.
Samsung looks to get down with Google TV in 2011
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Sony was the first to shove a Google TV all up in a display with its Internet TV, and now indications are that Samsung will be the second. According to Bloomberg, Sammy is set to announce a new line of HDTVs that will offer integrated Google TV functionality, as was earlier rumored, and while we don’t have any more details than that, the use of Intel (presumably Atom) processors is noted — though that’s hardly a shocker. The report indicates that the announcement will be made in January, which just so happens to be when a little electronics show will be taking place in Las Vegas. Coincidence? You make the call.
Samsung shows off 70-inch ‘Ultra Definition’ 3DTV
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Continuing a fine tradition of large, high resolution prototype displays, Samsung Electronics picked today to show off its latest innovation, in the form of the world’s first 70-inch, “Ultra Definition” 240Hz 3DTV. That UD tag indicates a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels that puts your current HDTV and even larger projection 1080p 3D units to shame. The big deal in this version is the super high speed silicon Samsung has developed to drive all those pixels fast enough to support smooth motion and 3D viewing — glasses still required, of course.
CPT’s Colorful Sunlight Readable screen uses half the power of an LCD (video)
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The last time we heard from CPT it was showing off what looked to be a competitor to Pixel Qi, a super low-power transflective display. Now the company is demonstrating something completely different, new enough to not really have a name but promising to deliver all the quality of a standard LCD at less than half the consumption of a typical backlit display while also working well in direct sunlight. Sadly that’s about all that’s known about it at this point, but you can see a prototype working in the flesh after the break. Well, a video of one in the flesh, anyway.
Viewsonic VX2258wm 22-inch multitouch display hits stores in Europe
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It looks like the folks at Viewsonic never got the memo that people don’t want touchscreen displays on devices that don’t lay flat. (Maybe Steve forgot to CC ‘em?) That, or maybe they just have a rebellious streak — which we can certainly respect. Either way, the company has just announced the VX2258wm, a 22-inch monitor that uses Infrared Optical Imaging to bring Windows-certified multitouch to the table (er, desk). And that, alongside 1080p HD resolution, ClearMotiv II Technology, a 5ms response time, a dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1, and support for HBDP (High Bandwidth Digital Protection) Blu-ray devices, sounds pretty good to us! Available now in Europe for £189 (roughly $300). PR after the break.