Archive for the 'General News' Category

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Samsung begins production on edge-lit LED-backlit HDTV panels

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Samsung's being a bit ambiguous with this one, but we won't deny that we're drooling pretty heavily over these new panels. Said outfit has just revealed that mass production has begun on the industry's first "ultra-slim LCD panels suited for large size TVs," and while we're wondering what exactly it means by that, we can't help but appreciate the attributes. We're told that the unique edge-lit LED backlighting offers lighter weight and thinner designs compared to standard direct-lit LED LCDs, and moreover, a 55-inch Samsung HDTV with edge-lit LED backlighting "uses up to 40 percent less power than conventional LCD TVs." The panels measure just 0.42-inches thick and are being produced in 40-, 46- and 55-inch sizes. We're still waiting to hear back from Sammy on whether these are the same ones used in the energy-efficient LCD HDTVs announced at CES or new models altogether, but 'til then, you can feel free to start digging in the couches for spare pennies.

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Samsung begins production on edge-lit LED-backlit HDTV panels originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tesla Model S official shots unofficially unveiled

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Kevin Rose has some Tesla Model S imagery up on his Flickr account, including the first unshrouded pictures of the car, along with a rather wild interior shot. The all-electric sedan is styled beautifully -- if rather predictably -- but things start to get weird on the inside. In what looks to be a concept car mockup of the interior, there appears to be a large touchscreen taking the place of the entire center console, wrapped irregularly by dashboard padding. The instruments panel also appears to be a screen, though it could just be a mockup at this stage. Concept cars typically have rather strange and unlikely interiors compared to their tame street-legal counterparts, but even so, if this indeed isn't some sort of cruel Photoshop trickery, we'd say Tesla really outdid itself here. Besides, who needs safe, tactile ways of adjusting climate and audio settings when you're living life this large?

[Via Autoblog Spanish]

Gallery: Tesla Model S official shots unofficially unveiled

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Tesla Model S official shots unofficially unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mimo making its USB monitors slimmer, sexier?

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Mimo making its USB monitors slimmer, sexier?
Sometimes interesting news comes from unexpected places, and this morning that place is a UK car customization shop called Carcomputer. They've posted up info and pics for what appears to be the next generation of Nanovision's USB-driven Mimo monitor. The specs seem to be the same, with a 7-inch, 800 x 480 LED-backlit screen, but it's the new case design that's notable. Gone is the chunky, cheap looking shiny plastic, replaced by a slender matte black and silver design that not only holds the display in landscape or portrait mode but also allows it to be collapsed and thrown in a bag without scratching that panel. Right now that's all we know, but hopefully we'll be bringing more news soon -- along with pics of a set of these installed into headrests of our custom '64 Impala.

[Thanks, Payam]

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Mimo making its USB monitors slimmer, sexier? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Futaba thinks Field Emission Displays are still the future

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Futaba thinks Field Emission Displays are still the future
Sony may have given up hope on the future of Field Emission Displays (FEDs) -- CRTs that rely on flat electron emitters, ditching the cumbersome tube and the bulk that goes along with it -- but Futaba is still moving forward, demoing a series of displays for Engineering TV in a video embedded for your viewing pleasure below. The company isn't exactly well-known in consumer display circles (head down to your local hobby shop for a schooling on its most famous products), but despite that seems to be no slouch, able to make these things as slim as 4.2mm while delivering the image quality and contrast ratios of a CRT, all at a lower energy consumption. Could this be the future of the car dashboard? Right now we'd just be happy with some more responsive servos for our RC10; we'd be even more of a force to be reckoned with at the local 1:10 scale dirt track.

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Futaba thinks Field Emission Displays are still the future originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Forever Plus finally takes a pico projector to 720p

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Well, would you look at that! It's not 3M, Dell, Toshiba or any other mega-corp taking the totally tired pico projector from lackluster to 720p -- oh no, it's, um, Forever Plus. Said beamer has been around the block a time or two, but given the native 1,280 x 768 native resolution, we couldn't help but take notice. Reportedly, the 0.49- x 0.59- x 0.19-inch box outputs via HDMI and packs a lamp life of 30,000 hours, but we definitely have serious doubts about the quality. And the actual availability, for that matter.

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Forever Plus finally takes a pico projector to 720p originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s Field Emission Technologies closing its doors

Thursday, March 26th, 2009
FED's dead, baby -- at least for Sony. The company's spin-off Field Emission Technologies, whose sole purpose was to develop the displays, is now closing its doors. Blame goes to difficulty in raising funds for manufacturing. After years of teasing and an actual demo unit just a few months ago, it's a little sad to the technology's biggest proponent shutter. Goodbye, FET, we hardly knew ye.

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Sony's Field Emission Technologies closing its doors originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vuzix dips toes in augmented reality, makes video eyewear cool again

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Nintendo ain't the only company making waves at the Game Developers Conference this year -- oh no, we've also got Vuzix gettin' down and dirty with a brand new addition to its video eyewear segment. Said outfit has teamed up with metaio in order to showcase a new Augmented Reality Accessory Kit for the VR920 head-mounted display. The bundle will include the CamAR -- a clip-on USB camera that is designed to accurately track objects and the user's position in three-dimensional space -- along with the PhasAR wireless augmented reality input controller. When these are used in unison, users are able to simultaneously see what's going on in the Matrix and in the display. For instance, imagine reading a book that's tied into a program on the VR920; as you read along, images can pop up and complement the text. Far out, right? The full release is after the break, and we've been told that the attachment should sell for around $100 on top of the $399 VR920 when it ships around mid-Summer.

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Vuzix dips toes in augmented reality, makes video eyewear cool again originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GE quietly delays premium HDTV line

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

General Electric came clean with its intentions to delve into the wide world of HDTVs last September... and then the economy, as well as GE itself, fell apart. Earlier this year, we were actually clued in on some of the details surrounding the Tatung-built sets, but now we're hearing that the company is pushing everything back by around three months. GE maintains that the setback is due to "marketing rather than operational or manufacturing issues," though we all know right about now isn't the greatest time to introduce new high-end televisions. We also get the idea that GE may use the time to better implement connected HDTV features given just how prevalent those were at CES, but again, we're really just shooting in the dark here. Oh, we forgot to even ask -- does anyone care that GE's getting back into the TV biz, let alone that its forthcoming sets are delayed?

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GE quietly delays premium HDTV line originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pioneer outlines KURO plasma exit, insinuates that you should buy one now

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Okay, so maybe that harshly translated version of Pioneer's recent KURO-related press release doesn't actually encourage prospective buyers to snag a unit while they still can, but it may as well have. Following up on the outfit's curious decision to abandon a product line that was universally adored, Pioneer has decided that just four of its PDPs will stay in production until April 11th. After 3,000 or so of the KRP-500A, KRP-500M, KRP-600A and KRP-600M units have been produced, the lines will be shut down and we'll all be invited to what will undoubtedly be a tear-filled memorial service. The company has also made clear that warranty service will still be provided for an undisclosed amount of time (at least in Japan), but there has yet to be a statement made specifically regarding the North American market.

[Via Slashgear]

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Pioneer outlines KURO plasma exit, insinuates that you should buy one now originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mentor-branded 5-inch e-reader surfaces alongside PocketBook collection

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Ah, the lovely world of rebadged e-readers. If you'll recall, we saw a nice trio of Astak Mentor e-book readers way back in May of last year, and now we're seeing a smaller, more curvaceous version pictured alongside those very devices. Early assumptions were that this new 5-inch model would also belong to PocketBook, but those rumors have already been laid to rest. What we're left with is a few solid images, a Mentor label and a mind full of mystery. It's almost like reading a Danielle Steel novel, but only in the emotional sense.

[Via MobileRead, thanks Nate]

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Mentor-branded 5-inch e-reader surfaces alongside PocketBook collection originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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