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Hands-on with LG's X110 netbook: HSDPA, GPS and a price to match


A USB shuffle here, a logo swap there and here's what you get, the MSI, uh hem, LG X110. Sporting a fairly obvious MSI Wind base, LG's X110 is making its first appearance in Berlin. Prices will range from €399 to €499 (about $590 to $738) which takes home an 8.9-inch display, 120GB disk (6GB SSD option), 1GB of RAM, and choice of built-in 3G HSDPA and GPS modules. Yes, XP running atop a 1.6GHz Atom processor, too. On sale in Europe at the end of September.

Panasonic IFA 2008 plasma prototypes: super thin, super green, super big


Panasonic's welcoming you to the future of plasma HDTV, starting along with the stunning 150-inch 4K plasma, that is, surprisingly enough bigger than its old 103-inch model (shocking, we know) leading to the debut of three "super thin" plasma prototypes measuring 24.7mm deep in 50-inch and, for what it claims is the first time, 58- and 65-inch sizes that also include Wireless HD. One-fourth the thickness of current Panasonic models and one-half the weight combined with no wires leads Panasonic to believe we'll be able to reorganize the living room shortly, without silly mounting issues and need to run cables. If that fails to inspire, how about a 42-inch prototype that claims twice the luminance efficiency and the same brightness as its current 42-inch 1080p model while only sipping half the power -- if that's a concern. Check out more pics after the break.

Panasonic DMP-BD35 & DMP-BD55 Blu-ray players officially official, still unpriced


Say hello to the successors of the short-lived Panasonic DMP-BD50, the new DMP-BD35 (above) and DMP-BD55 (after the break) check off every feature we can think of for a new Blu-ray player, complete with a slim profile (49mm high on the BD35) and hopefully low, low price thanks to a 45nm 3rd-generation UniPhier processor. Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD MA audio support, with internal decoding or bitstreamed output in full 7.1 (plus 7.1 analog audio outs on the DMP-BD55) on top of fully BD-Live / Profile 2.0 compatible hardware finally promise no-compromise hardware for Blu-ray buyers. Release dates and pricing information? Your guess is as good as ours, for now.

Navigon brings gratis real-time traffic updates to entire product line

In a move that we can only hope signals a trend, GPS maker Navigon has announced that real-time traffic updates will now be free for all users of its wares. For awhile now, the outfit has offered gratis traffic updates on its higher-end models, but now, it's taking the Free Real-Time Traffic Updates for Life program to each navigation system it produces. There's no extra hardware to buy, no hidden fees -- just good, clean, free traffic updates. What's not to love?

Dell's Inspirion 910 netbook limps a bit closer to release


You're looking at official Dell pics of its upcoming Inspiron 910 netbook nabbed from their on-line support docs. These images match the others we've seen down to the key (look, no dedicated function keys) which pretty much confirms the mini laptop's final appearance. Now if Dell could just hit one of the rumored release dates we could all get back to pillaging market share from standard sized laptops.

[Thanks, Mike and Hao]

Read -- keyboard
Read -- external optical DVD/CD drive
Read -- status LEDs

Sony's 1,000,000:1 contrast BRAVIAs launch in Japan this October


Sony's XBR6 / XBR7 / XBR8 models are still waiting in the wings for their U.S. debut, but along with HDTVs that push the extremes in thin and fast, the company announced these more conventional models it's deemed "the highest quality BRAVIA HDTVs in history." The XR1 (read: XBR8) series will feature a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (3,000:1 static) courtesy of those new TRILUMINOS three-color LEDs, 10-bit BRAVIA Engine 2 processing and Motionflow 120Hz technology. If you can live without 240Hz or WHDI, the 1080p 55-inch edition runs ¥750,000 ($6,489 U.S.) with a 46-inch for ¥600,000 ($5,479 U.S.). The next level down is the X1 (read: XBR6 / XBR7) series, based on old school CCFL backlights limited to a 3,000:1 contrast rating, ranging in size from 40- to 52- inches and in price from ¥530,000 ($4,866 U.S.) to ¥320,000 ($2,922 U.S.) when they go on sale October 10. Digital Media Extender support, DLNA connectivity and all the other high end feature's make their expected appearance across the lineup. With fears of watered down technology effectively quelled, Sony wouldn't make us wait until October to find out when we can buy an HDTV in the U.S. or Europe from this lineup -- somehow we doubt it.

Sony's shrouded BRAVIA Z4500 LCD with 200Hz Motionflow


We're super short on info here, but it looks like Sony is about to intro a new Z4500 LCD TV with a "world's first" of 200Hz Motionflow -- yeah, you could've gleaned all that from reading the headline, but it's just so much more awesome down here. Stay tuned.

New Sony Walkmans surface at IFA booth


Sony's IFA press event isn't for another couple of hours, but we managed to sneak these shots of Sony's minor refresh to its Walkman lineup. Everything is looking nice and sleek, and the screens on the S-series players we saw that were on looked sharp and bright, but we're still waiting to see the fruit of Stringer's talk last year about not suffering at the hands of Apple as badly in portable video as they did with portable audio -- these Walkmans just aren't doing it. Stand by for official news as we get it.

iPhone 3G vs. Sony's 40-inch ZX1 LCD television... Fight!


We knew Sony's new 40-inch Bravia Edge LED ZX1 was thin, 9.9-mm thin in fact (at least at the top section). But man, we didn't expect it to make the iPhone 3G slipping around the insides of our pockets look like such a chubster. Plenty more to see in the gallery below.

Brando unites external iPhone battery with speaker at long last


Nothing says "I'm mad as hell about my iPhone 3G's battery life and I'm not going to take it anymore" better than blasting it out of a loudspeaker. Bonus points for that loudspeaker being integrated with a battery pack, which in turn connects to your -- you guess it -- iPhone 3G (or original iPhone, if that's how you roll). Well, $44 to the folks at Brando will buy you that very opportunity, it turns out. Who knew?

Sony delivers the first 240Hz LCDs November 10


Sure Samsung had 240Hz (and wavier hair) first, but with its TVs stuck in development until 2011, Sony's back with another first / best of the night in the W1 series display, packing four times the speed of previous LCD HDTVs, and double that of the new 120Hz your best friend just picked up. Allegedly smoother than Billy Dee Williams cracking open a Colt 45 in Cloud City, the KDL-46W1 and KDL-40W1 bring 1080p with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, BRAVIA Engine 2 image processing, 24p support and an assortment of hookups from modem to HDMI. Stop by your nearest Japanese electronics shop November 10 to get a peep at these and their slim, sexy sister, but bring ¥400,000 ($3,652 U.S.) for the 46-inch or ¥290,0000 ($2,648 U.S.) for the 40-inch -- you could try showing up without it, but why take chances?

Sony unveils world's thinnest LCD HDTV - 9.9mm KDL-40ZX1


Sony's taken the crown in the race for thinnest LCD HDTV. At just 9.9mm thick the KDL-40ZX1 nearly halves the depth of Hitachi's former champ (likely throwing up in the bathroom right now) and comes within a whisper of Pioneer's ultra thin concept. Featuring a LED backlighting, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz MotionFlow tech, x.v.Color and BRAVIA Engine 2 image processing this is about as close to a 40-inch window on your wall as is likely to arrive soon. Only one HDMI in is directly on the screen itself, all unnecessary HDMI / USB / component inputs are relegated to a base station, with the option for wired or -- possibly WHDI based? -- 5Ghz wireless (unfortunately limited to 1080i max resolution for now). We'd mention the XMB GUI, AcTVila video on-demand and DLNA support, but at some point it's just piling on. A mere 490,000 yen ($4,474 U.S.) puts the ZX1 on your wall, due at your local Japanese retailer November 10. See you there?

[Via AV Watch]

Physicists develop microlens with earth-shatteringly short focal length

It's hard to say when we, the consumers, will actually see any real benefit from the latest noteworthy discovery from Northeastern University, but we can only imagine that Srinivas Sridhar and team aren't wasting any time moving things forward. Said crew has recently created a "new microlens that focuses infrared light at telecommunication frequencies," and if you're looking for specifics, it can focus an infrared beam to a spot just 12-micrometers away from the surface. The science behind the discovery is probably only digestible by those that understand rocket science, but the long of short of it is this: the "research shows that it is possible to create smaller, ultra-compact infrared optical components that can be integrated into existing semiconductor technologies while not sacrificing image quality." Now that's something even the layman can appreciate.

[Via Physorg]

Logitech Squeezebox Boom hits the stage


It's been a month since we first caught a glimpse of the sharp-looking Logitech Squeezebox Boom, but the wireless network speakers are official today, coming in at a list price of $299. Yeah, it's basically a standard-issue Squeezebox with a built-in amp and speakers, but that's a pretty solid idea, especially since we're guessing the 24-bit Burr Brown D/A converter and bi-amped 3-inch woofers and 3/4-inch tweeters will offer up some decent sound. Everything else is regular Squeezebox kit -- 802.11g WiFi, SqueezeNetwork, optical and S/PDIF out, VFD display, 10/100Base-T Ethernet -- so if you're looking to expand your system, this is probably a pretty solid way of getting it done. Expect to see this one on shelves next month. One more pic after the break.

SanDisk Extreme III SDHC cards hit 30MB/s

SanDisk's pushed both Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo and regular SD cards to 30MB/s transfer rates before, and now it's SDHC's turn with the new Extreme III series. Yep, it's a really fast memory card for DSLRs, and it'll cost you: 4GB will be $65, 8GB $110 and 16GB will set you back whopping $180 when these hit in October.

[Via Digital Camera Info]



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