Apple is the king of rumour mongering and the Apple iTV currently carries the rumour crown. Schtum until the last minute, as Forest Gump would suggest, Apple is like a box of chocolates: you never know what your gonna get.

So with Apple television set rumours, things remain very much the same. Who knows what sort of treats Cupertino’s labs are currently cooking up? We can’t wait to find out, that’s for sure. In the meantime why not speculate like mad, heck it helps relieve some of the stress of waiting at least. This is by no means what the finished iTV might end up looking like, more just everything the internet currently predicts it to be. What follows is an amalgamation of absolutely everything currently circulating the web on Apple's supposed iTV product.?

Apple iTV release date

There have been very few murmurs whatsoever of the hardware’s definite arrival time. Virtually nothing has been mentioned and no one really knows when it is going to turn up. The best way to approach this question then is to look at the way Apple traditionally unveils hardware.

Any iPhone or iPad launch is scheduled with a big enough distance between that they don’t clash and detract from each other's hype. The iPhone 4S arrived in mid October, the iPad 2 at the end of March. That leaves quite a tasty gap in between during the summer months. If Apple were to follow the same release schedule as last year, the iTV might well arrive in summer.

Walther Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs, released in October, explained that Jobs had made the iTV his last big project and that as he put it, had “cracked” connected television. This, at least, means it exists and had been worked on by Jobs just before he died. This would put it towards the end of its R&D cycle and make a summer launch even more likely.?

A supply chain leak reported by Digitimes in December 2011 did reveal something of a possible release time and appears to agree with Isaacson's biography of Jobs. Materials for the sets are supposedly being prepared in Q1 this year with aims to release the hardware to market in Q3. Do take this with a slight pinch of salt though, as Digitimes doesn't have a spotless record for accurate rumour reporting.?

Apple iTV display

This is where rumours surrounding the iTV get a bit more exciting. First up is that the iTV is going to appear in multiple sizes, according to a story on smarthouse.com.au published in December 2011; logical when you think about how people approach a television purchase.

We are expecting the standard 32-inch model going all the way up to 55-inch. How do we know this? Well rumours coming in from Japan point to Sharp as the panel manufacturer for the brand new Apple sets. The same report in allthingsd.com also suggests that the panels are going to be LCD, not OLED which may be reserved for future variants of the television. Doubtless the public will be extremely happy if they see a 32-inch version of the screen used on the iMac. Apple has always done a good job with its panels and so expect whatever turns up in the iTV to be of decent quality.

Further rumours surrounding Sharp’s work on the iTV also say the company has completely retooled its Sakai production plant just for putting together the displays. We already know that the company will likely be working on OLED screens for future iPhone and iPads, but whether they release an iTV with similar display tech remains to be seen. The Digitimes supply leak in December doesn't mention anything of the sort, it does however suggest just a 32 and 37-inch panel available at the television's launch.

In all likelihood the cost will keep things LCD focused for the first generation at least. What no Apple iTV rumour reports have pointed to, as yet, are whether or not the displays will use IPS, be LED-backlit or of Retina Display pixel density.

Apple iTV remote control

A quote from Jobs in Isaacson’s book suggests we might see Siri make an appearance in the new iTV set as opposed to conventional controls.?

"I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine."

It would make sense, given the success of systems like Kinect and its Xbox voice control, and would certainly tie in with the idea of cutting down on remote controls but it's equally possible that the quote refers to using another iDevice as a remote or indeed Apple iTV coming with something universal of its own.

There is also - as reported in December of 2011 by the Wall Street Journal?-?the possibility of gesture controls. Apple has been gesture obsessed since it launched the trackpad for Mac, so it would certainly make sense.

Apple iTV operating system

Apple already has a highly formidable operating system in iOS. The failings of the current Apple TV and its alternative software approach make it even more likely that it's the iPhone and iPad interface that will appear on the new iTV. It's hard to see Apple going any other way than with its hugely popular and well-established iOS with its vast app infrastructure but, until we receive reports on the matter either way, it's not possible to say for sure.

Apple iTV hardware

On top of the display rumours in the allthingsd.com report, there have been more details on the innards and outtards of the iTV coming as dropped in a survey conducted by?Best Buy?in February 2012. These specifications have been debunked by the store itself, but its still worth taking a look at what the consumer electronics megastore had in mind.

The survey talks about a 42-inch 1080p television that runs iOS and can access the app store - two things that ring true with other reports of the Apple iTV system.

What is slightly puzzling about the whole Best Buy survey is the use of an iSight camera for Skype. iSight is no longer how Apple refers to its built-in cameras and FaceTime would be far more likely to come as standard than Skype.

Apple iTV iCloud integration

Steve Jobs himself gives mention to the uses of iCloud in the Apple iTV set.

"I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud." Jobs told Isaacson in his biography.

There is no reason why Apple wouldn't be taking advantage of the vastly expensive infrastructure they have created with iCloud. Wireless content syncing across devices? iTunes Match on your telly? Yes please.?

Apple iTV channels

Analysts say Apple is working on custom channels for its new iTV.?Shaw Wu and?Sterne Agee told AppleInsider in December 2011 that, if Apple's service were to take on the likes of Sky and Virgin Media, it would offer paid-for internet TV subscription packages.

All TV programming would be streamed over the internet which would mean, theoretically, that viewers could create their own custom channels. We already know from the December rumour story that Apple approached CBS in the US for TV licensing deals. Sure, they were turned away but it means that the big A is at least planning something.?

There are also murmurs that Apple iTV could kick off Premier League coverage, or at least gain access to it following the normal Apple TV set top box. The Daily Mail explained that the Cupertino giant was looking into the Premiership to bolster its selection of programming, something that could appear on the iTV, should they gain access to the rights.?

Bloomberg also reported in July 2011 that Apple was considering purchasing Hulu?which would mean access to even more programming for the iTV.?

Apple iTV price

Again, there is very little to go on here. Best Buy suggested a hefty $1499 cost for the set. This is entirely possible given the current price premium placed on Apple's products.

To put it in perspective, a 27-inch Thunderbolt display is ?899. Add in all the complex internals needed for television programming and the extra screen size to hit 32-inches and you have lots of cost on top. It seems unlikely, given the price of Thunderbolt displays, that the smallest iTV will cost less than ?1000.?

Apple iTV review

Expect plenty more coverage as we get closer to the release date and full and thorough Apple iTV review once we've had a chance to get Apple's television into the Pocket-lint labs.

Tags: Televisions Apple Apple iTV Sharp Features ios Apple TV

Apple iTV: Review of rumours, features, pictures and specs originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Toshiba doesn't actually manufacture the panels and tech inside its TVs, but this 40-incher provides yet more proof of why – as a brand – it continues to be one of the most popular around. One word: value. There's no sniff of absolute top quality here, but nor is there anything remotely tacky about this Edge LED-lit effort; it’s a mid-range TV that will suit living rooms after an affordable flatscreen.

Even the plastic frame manages to make a decent effort at looking faintly metallic (the new vogue in flat telly land), though it's the super-slim bezel that's the 40RL858’s key design flourish; it's barely a centimetre in thickness, quite something for such a low-priced set.

Add a Freeview HD tuner, almost total digital file support from its USB slot, and a BBC iPlayer app, and the 40RL858 is so far looking every bit the every-man TV. There are, however, some significant problems that take this telly down a few notches in the flatpanel pecking order.

Wi-Fi, USB & digital file support

A big problem is Wi-Fi, or lack thereof. A TV that can access web content only via wired connection is hardly cutting-edge; we'd argue that a Wi-Fi dongle is crucial - one is available for a paltry ?30, happily. Secondly, the 40RL858’s ins and outs are a tad restrictive. Most alarmingly there is only one USB slot, leaving us wondering whether to install that dongle or dock a USB stick full of DivX files. Choices, choices. We're also put out by the three HDMI inputs - hardly generous.

Also note that this USB slot cannot indulge in any kind of recording, pausing or rewinding of live digital TV, which although something of a relative oversight on a TV of this price, is hardly a deal breaker – a dedicated PVR does a far, far better job in any case.

In terms of file support we’re impressed by the 40RL858; it plays everything, including MKV video and Apple Lossless M4A music. If USB slots are a tad too manual for your tastes, know that the 40RL858 also indulges in DLNA networking, though here MKV isn't supported.

Smart TV hub

Our main complaint about Toshiba Places is its drab European-ness. We've nothing against our continental cousins, but do we need to read Euronews or France 24? Unfortunately, that's all that's on offer in the News Places area. We would much prefer local services, after all isn't that supposed to be the beauty of web-connected devices that know your IP address and location?.

Better is the Social Places section, which comprises Facebook, My Photos (Flickr-hosted) and My Videos (DailyMotion), while Games Places contains just Funspot, a tiny collection of slightly fiddly remote control-powered games including chess and Sudoku.

Music Places is virtually empty (iConcerts & Aupeo), and though Video Places (Viewster, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Dailymotion, BoxOffice 365, Woomi, Cartoon Network, HiT Entertainment & Acetrax) is acceptably full, it’s got few must-have attractions. Toshiba Places is also rather slow to load and to navigate using the remote.

Graphical user interface

Although the general GUI is rather lacklustre, it does at least build-in some excellent shortcuts. For instance, the Media Player menu, accessed via a dedicated button on the remote, gives one-touch access to the application tab of the main onscreen menu; cue links to core services such as Toshiba Places, BBC iPlayer, YouTube, that USB media player and the network media player.

The quick controls shortcuts cover the same ground, but add a sleep timer, a roster of various picture presets, and some aspect ratio choices.

However, the Freeview HD electronic programme guide is ugly, slow and lacks basic functions; it's not a patch on the likes of Samsung and Sony TVs.

Picture & sound quality

With our test disc Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy engaged, it’s obvious straight from the off that the 40RL858 has some issues with light leakage. Although it’s most obvious with a blank screen, the dingy corridors aren't just lined with secrets; around the edges an uneven amount of blotchy light blights the picture’s darker elements. If watching on dynamic mode in a brightly lit room, it's not the huge problem it may at first appear to be, though even with the lights turned down low and some panel brightness sacrificed, it’s still noticeable.

Let's not pretend this is a reference level TV, but we spotted some shadow detailing within blocks of convincing darker colours. Colours are actually where this TV excels, showing off its nuanced palette that can deal with well saturated reds and greens as well as paler and more subtle, natural tones.

There is some motion blur, but again, it's not a serious problem if you engage the 100Hz mode. There's plenty of detail and sharpness in images; certainly enough to add to our impression of the 40RL858 as a tremendously good value screen for hosting Blu-ray images. It’s worth exploring the myriad picture presets, which include two Hollywood settings that are about as close as this TV get to a cinematic look, and also take some of the picture noise from non-HD sources.

If you’re careful, the 40RL858 is a jack-of-all-trades picture-wise – and that’s actually quite rare at this price.

Audio is via a set of stereo speakers on the 40RL858’s undercarriage, both of which are rated at 10W. Results are fairly poor, with a distinct lack of detail and low frequency in the basic soundstage that’s really only good enough for watching news programmes and the like.

Verdict:

It may lack the pizzazz and must-have appeal of higher-end brands, but an extraordinarily thin bezel and good-value pictures make this a decent budget buy.

Granted, there’s no slinky user experience, top-quality pictures or acceptable audio, but at this price we didn't expect there to be; Toshiba has come up with another budget winner that will get many living rooms a first taste of smart TV.

Tags: Televisions Home Cinema Toshiba Toshiba 40RL858

Toshiba 40RL858 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:19:00 +0000

Can a telly that lacks Freeview HD, 3D and any semblance of a 'smart' platform really be considered suitable for modern living? That depends on what you're after, but we're sure Hannspree's latest bargain basement edge LED-backlit LCD TV has enough to suit a lot of living rooms.

If you want the best online IPTV services around and an app-strewn user interface, it's worth paying top dollar for sets from Sony or Samsung. The rest make a slight hash of it all in any case, so Hannspree - primarily known to us as the maker of budget-busting gadgets - is rather astute to completely swerve the whole ‘smart’ idea.

If a few quid has been knocked from the price already, another couple of tenners are saved through the lack of 3D compatibility, though plenty of homes are being perfectly well entertained without gimmicky children's movies to get distracted by, so we'll forgive that one, too.

Even the lack of a Freeview HD tuner makes sense at this price. We could go on forever about how we expect all new TVs to have a DVB-T2 tuner, but despite it being such a hit in 2010 that it's now become a social faux pas to leave it out, the fact remains that homes with a Sky or Virgin Media set-top box - that's about 15 million of us - just don't need it. So why pay for it? Cable and satellite subscribers are often on the hunt for a back-to-basics telly capable of displaying hi-def signals with skill. Hanspree’s SE40LMNB could be that screen.

USB and digital file support

Despite coming armed with Edge LED backlighting, a panel depth of a mere 50mm and a Full HD resolution, the SE40LMNB does lack a lot of features considered normal on modern TVs. But, in an effort to distract us are some USB-fuelled features, which include digital file playback, pause and rewind live TV features (timeshifiting), and even TV recording.

In practical use all of these features are thoroughly disappointing. For starters, that USB slot is disarmed by some sloppy software that deals with the likes of JPG, MP3 and AVI (DivX) files, but fails with MKV - a very common video format.

Timshifting

ItsTimeshift features, too, are lacklustre - and even nudges being unusable. Although it can be used with a (minimum) 2GB USB thumbdrive, it's too complicated. Pausing live TV takes three button presses and the navigation of two different menus. As if we're going to do that when the guy with the lukewarm pizza turns up. Timeshift is supposed to be about convenience, but here Hannspree made us work far too hard to get some relatively simple tasks accomplished. It's not even possible to set recordings from the EPG.

Was timeshifting added as an afterthought? Possibly – the remote control certainly isn’t equipped to handle such 'advanced' functionality.

Connections

A healthy dose of inputs and outputs give this budget TV a more mature look; three HDMIs meet component video, a PC and an RGB Scart (using an adaptor), while audio enters via phonos or a minijack, and exits through digital optical audio or a headphone socket.

Oddly, that optical slot is towards the top of a side-panel, which at a stroke makes it less enticing for owners of separate AV amplifiers and home cinema systems, though those with set-top boxes won't need to use it.

Graphical user interface

A nicely designed GUI is unexpected and welcome. A subtle design that builds-in a functional Freeview guide complete with thumbnail of the live channel (with audio), and programme information is given for just six channels over two hours, though it's quick to operate using the so-so remote control.

Picture & sound quality

Without much to shout about so far, we're left virtually speechless when Blu-ray graces the SE40LMNB's LCD panel. Detailed, with nicely cinematic colours and a decent stab at producing jet black, consider this a perfectly good set for partnering with a Blu-ray player.

That, however, is where the good stuff comes to a halt; standard Freeview pictures – and there are no other, remember, are covered in picture noise, while motion blur suddenly seems to smear moving objects around the panel. Colours collapse amid a realisation that, yes, expensive TVs with pricey picture processing are indeed much more versatile.

Sound from its twin 8W speakers is nothing to shout about, either, though what flat TV can claim otherwise?

Verdict:

At under ?350 the Hannspree's sterling performance with Blu-rays will make the 40-inch edge LED-backlit LCD TV an attractive proposition for some.

If the lack of Freeview HD, 3D and smart TV apps don't put you off, Hannspree's combination of a good user interface and decent hi-def pictures is initially pleasing, though the shine is taken off by some messy, USB-driven timeshift features and a poor treatment of standard definition TV; in many ways its Full HD resolution works against it in terms of all-round versatility.

Tags: Televisions Home Cinema LCD televisions LCD TVs LED televisions LED TVs

Hannspree SE40LMNB originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:19:47 +0000

CES wouldn't be CES if there weren’t companies out there breaking records. If corporations weren't lauching the biggest, fastest, thinnest or simply the first, then they wouldn't be happy. As it goes, neither would we.

With all the claims and counter claims as press conference follows press conference, it can be rather tricky to work out just who managed to crack and hold onto each accolade as the feats of engineering roll in. So, with our eagle eye, we've looked back down at all of our 214 individual pieces of coverage on the event and, now that the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Centre have finally shut and the counters and recounters have been satisfied, here are the the CES 2012 record breakers according to Pocket-lint.

Laptops

The whole show in Vegas 2012 felt like it was dedicated to laptops this year with every man, woman and dog digging up an Ultrabook to hold aloft to the crowd and swear an oath upon. If you want to take a look at them all, then check out our dedicated Ultrabooks of CES page, otherwise, read on for the ones that count.

THINNEST ULTRABOOK IN THE WORLD - Acer Aspire S5

Technically speaking, the Acer Aspire S5 was and still is the thinnest Ultrabook in the world but that's only because Samsung has refused to class the razor thin Samsung Series 9 laptop as an Ultrabook at all. Other than the S5's extremely slimline 15mm profile, there's the usual SSD storage, Intel Core processor and a choice between HDD and SSD in case you fancy defeating the whole purpose of having an Ultrabook. Read more

FIRST ULTRABOOK WITH THUNDERBOLT - Acer Aspire S5

Ok, perhaps not of such major importance and, again, it's only a record by virtue of the fact that Apple has decided not to bother with the Ultrabook title for the MacBook Air. All the same, the Acer Aspire S5 is the first Ultrabook to come with the high speed I/O port that is Intel's Thunderbolt technology. At up to 10Gbps transfer speeds with entire Blu-rays able to shift from A to B in under 30 seconds, it's a rather useful tool to have. Now all you need is something that's compatible at the other end.

THINNEST LAPTOP IN THE WORLD - Samsung Series 9

It might not be an Ultrabook but it's certainly a laptop and a bloody thin one at that. At just 12.9mm thick and with only 1.16kg in ballast to worry about, it's a waif of a machine. Throw in all the RAM, CPU and SSD mod-cons plus a 9.8 seconds boot up time (1.4 seconds from sleep) and a?HD+ SuperBright Plus screen with 160-degree viewing angle, and it just about manages to make laptops sexy again. Read more

TVs

You can normally bet your house on seeing either the biggest TV in the world at CES or the thinnest or, more usually, both. CES 2012 saw neither. So, what records did the AV world set in Vegas this time around?

BIGGEST OLED TV IN THE WORLD - LG 55EM9600?& Samsung OLED

OLED TVs have been around for a while now but commercial availability has been a tricky thing to find. All the same, both LG and Samsung look to have cracked it this year with the arrival of equally world record breaking 55-inch sets that should be up for sale by the end of the December 2012. Naturally, with pictures stunning and panels super thin, you can expect to pay an arm and a leg for them when they do turn up. LG hands-on | Samsung hands-on

BIGGEST ULTRA DEFINITION TV IN THE WORLD - 84-inch LG UDTV

Ultra Definition is the name that looks like will stick when it comes to selling the public the next generation in screen resolution. UDTVs are what's known as 4K2K (3840 x 2160px) and what's rather special about this one is that it works as one of LG's Cinema 3D systems too. In other words, it supports passive 3D with half the resolution coming to each eye. In effect, you end up with full 1080p 3D visuals without having to go with the bother and expense of alternate shutter glasses. Read more

FIRST TRANSPARENT TV - Samsung Smart Window

Imagine a world of see-through monitors, windows that are interactive and car windscreens that relay all the information on the screen rather than the dashboard beneath it.?Now imagine that, rather than the stuff of science fiction movies and pipe dreams, the technology that will allow this to become a possibility is going into production in just 20 days. Sure there are military and industrial versions of this kind of thing but this is the first time we've been inches away from the home of next Tuesday.?Read more

Printers

Hold your horses. Don't you dare skip this section. Yes, printers are the third most dull category of gadgets after fax machines and, worst of all, scanners but we wouldn't be writing a section of world record breaking printers if there wasn't something pretty sexy to say about them, right? Right.

FIRST HOME 3D PRINTER - Cubify

3D printing has been quietly around in the industrial sense for a while but now the ability to turn 3D computer designs into actual models by laying down layer upon layer of printed substrate will become a reality in the home as well. 3D Systems will be selling the Cubify 3D printer for $1,300 by the end of Q1 2012. Pretty soon you'll be able to scan in your own designs too. Read more

Tablets

We didn't see the crazy rush of tablets that we saw at CES 2011 just after Android Honeycomb came out but that doesn't mean that there were no significant moves in this space. When there's tablets involved, there's always records to be set.

FIRST TABLET WITH BUILT-IN JOYSTICKS - Razer Project Fiona

Project Fiona is a PC gaming tablet which is set to make up for all that's bad about flick 'n swipe. It's a?hybrid PC/tablet but with all the meaty titles thanks to the?Intel Core i7 inside. There's a full-screen user interface supporting multi-touch, a?3-axis gyro, a magnetometer, an accelerometer,?Dolby 7.1 surround sound,?Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 but, most importantly of all,?physical control options with integrated dual game controllers and ultra-precise analogue sticks. Read more

Phones

It's normally Mobile World Congress in February where most of the big phones news arrives but there's always one or two manufacturers that simply can't help gushing the goods a month earlier in Vegas. 2012 happened to see quite a few record breakers here too.

FIRST QUAD-CORE PHONE - Fujitsu Tegra 3 phone

With no official name yet, that didn't stop Fujitsu giving the world a taste of the first Nvidia Tegra 3 handset to arrive on the market. Details are light at the moment. We know it's an Android handset running 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, we know it's made by Fujitsu, we know it's got an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor and that's about it. Follow the link for some nice shots of it running RipTide GP. Read more

THINNEST PHONE IN THE WORLD - Huawei Ascend P1 S

For a while, it looked as if Fujitsu had grabbed itself another gong by claiming the prize of the thinnest smartphone in the word with the ES IS12F at just 6.7mm, but the rug was pulled from under it with the arrival of the 6.68mm thick Huawei Ascend P1 S. It runs Android ICS, comes with?Dolby Mobile 3.0 a, 4.3-inch display with a 960x540 resolution, a 1800mAh battery and all sorts of other top line specs. Read more

HIGHEST RESOLUTION CAMERAPHONE IN THE WORLD - HTC Titan II

We'll forego the discussions of how much it actually matters for the moment. The fact remains that a 16-megapixel sensor represents the most pixel-packed there's even been on a smartphone before. Eight has pretty much become the standard on a top notch device but the Windows Phone 7 operating HTC Titan II has blown those out of the water. With a 4.7-inch screen,?1730mAh battery and 4G connectivity, that's not all that's impressive about it either. Read more

FIRST SMARTPHONE WITH OPTICAL ZOOM - Polaroid SC1630

Camera with a phone? Phone with a camera? It doesn't really matter. The fact remains that you can make calls, send texts, browse the web and play games on the Polaroid SC1630. It also happens to house enough space and photographic credentials for a?3x optical zoom lens offering a range of 36-108mm (in 35mm terms). There's also a 16-megapixel CCD sensor doing the work which equals that of the Titan II. Read more

Camcorders

Canon, Sony and Panasonic were probably the three who made the most noise in the camcorder space with their handycams all seeming to pack either Wi-Fi, 3D or both at CES 2012. However, it was someone else who led the pace in Vegas and will forever go down in the record books.

WORLD'S FIRST 4K CAMCORDER - JVC?GY-HMQ10

JVC has been working on a low-cost 4K resolution camera since 2007, and it seems to have finally managed to make it a reality.?The ?3,300 camera boasts an 8.3-megapixel sensor that produces video with a resolution of 3840x2160. That's very slightly less than a full-blown 4K digital cinema camera will shoot but it's over the resolution you'd end up seeing projected, digitally, at your local cinema.?The camera has a non-removable f/2.8 lens, which includes a 10x optical zoom, and you record onto SD card at a rate of 144Mbps. Read more

Gaming

CES isn't E3 but there were still a couple of interesting amusing developments in the gaming world at Vegas in 2012. So were any of them record breaking? Oh yes.

FIRST U.S. ARMY ENDORSED GAMING KIT - From CTA

Quite what the army get out of it is one thing (more recruits, a load of cash?), the point is that you can now strut about your living room putting your foes down the way Uncle Sam intended. The top of the tree has to be the Move-compatible assault rifle but there's also a backpack, on-ear headphones and even a headset with a throat mic to enjoy as well. Read more

MOST STORAGE ON A CHAIR EVER - X Rocker Pocket Chair

Ok, this one's a total guess but we were seriously impressed with the amount of gaming kit you could tuck into this $100 piece of furniture. It's more of a beanbag shaped like an armchair than anything but what's great is you can fit about the same amount of games boxes, discs, gamepads, guitar controllers, drumsticks, drinks and just about anything you could think of into the pockets, zips, holders and compartments on the sides as you can in an entire bookshelf and cupboards. Read more

Tags: Audio Phones Laptops CES2012 Features Tablets Cameras Camcorders Televisions Printers

CES 2012 record breakers originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:45:07 +0000

Is your living room ready for an insect invasion? Hugely expensive and boasting some unique tech, the headline act on this 46-inch 3D LED backlit LCD TV from Philips’ 9000 Series is undoubtedly its Moth Eye filter. The whatnow?

The Moth Eye - a reflection-dampening filter across the screen so-called because it mimics the insect’s optics - is tremendously effective, and helps create extra contrast in bright conditions, but there is so much more to like about this one-of-a-kind telly.

A mere 39mm deep and seemingly hewn from one piece of stainless steel, the 46PFL9706 features Ambilight, that signature Philips addition that sees coloured light spewing from the sides of the TV. On this high-end TV it’s the no-corners-cut Ambilight Spectra XL that does the job, with twice as many LED - compared to previous versions - strung across both the sides and the top of the TV, cunningly sending light relating to the changing hues on-screen across the wall behind.

Though the 46PFL9706 isn’t just about light. As well as being one of relatively few Phillips TVs to feature active shutter ‘3D Max’ tech - most of its stable boosts ‘Easy 3D’ a.k.a. Passive 3D - this flagship TV is one of very few screens available that uses Direct LED backlighting.Tthat means 224 clusters of LED lights used right across the back of the LCD panel. This allows for local dimming, which means segments of the lights can be switched off, to improve black levels.

Compared to the much more common - and, yes, often slightly slimmer - edge LED system employed by the likes of LG, Samsung, Sony and Sharp, where light is provided only from the sides of the screen. Direct LED backlighting usually results in much more convincing contrast, with mixed brightness scenes – such as a movie sequence where a character sits in a gloomy room while bright light is visible outside through windows – so much more convincing.

Set-up

The first Philips TV to be endorsed by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), the 46PFL9706 boasts a full suite of picture processing tweaks, including Philips’ Perfect Pixel HD.

Elsewhere on this range-topper is a Freeview HD tuner, basic PVR functions if you attach a HDD via USB, four HDMI inputs, streaming from a connected PC or Mac, and playback of files from a USB stick.

One disappointment is Smart TV. Sure, this Wi-Fi (or Ethernet) powered online hub brings the BBC iPlayer into, err, play, but there’s little else here to get excited about. Slightly hamstrung by a lack of speed and also by a somewhat drab grid-style design. There’s also a web browser that’s helped, though not by much, and certainly not enough, by Philips’ MyRemote app for iPhone and Android.

Picture

The 2D appeal of the 46PFL9706 is a black and white affair. Seriously, we've not seen blacks this deep, or whites as pure and brilliant as on this hugely advanced LED panel. Add that to some enviable detail and natural colours and the pictures are something akin to groundbreaking.

This is a Philips TV, so there is the brand's usual concentration on advanced processing, something that can introduce an unnatural look. The solution is to simply switch off tech like HD Natural Motion and Perfect Natural Motion (PNM), though they're both worth experimenting with if you've not already passed judgement on the especially fluid and free pictures they create from Blu-ray discs. In our opinion, these modes can sometimes add distracting fizzing and a somewhat forced, false look and feel. Freeview, however, is worth looking at with PNM enabled.

Noticeably brighter than most active shutter 3D TVs, this and other features that make the 46PFL9706’s 2D performance so exhilarating play a different role when watching 3D Blu-ray. Here, that intense brightness and high level of detail leave no hiding place for imperfections, and in sequences with significant depth effects we did notice some ghosting. Still, it's not an endemic problem and occasional 3D viewers (are there any other kind?) shouldn't have a major problem. There's also a rather hit and miss 2D to 3D conversion mode.

Sound

In all this excitement about the 46PFL9706’s reference grade pictures and an enviable hit list of features, it's worth noting that the main body of the TV doesn't have any speakers. Shock, horror, etc. For a long time, Philips TVs have been alone in offering a relatively powerful, bass-heavy soundstage complete with rear woofer and front tweeter, but at last the company’s design engineers have succumbed to our never-ending thirst for slimmer and slimmer TVs, and banished audio altogether from the main body of the TV.

However, those designers have done a fine job in fitting the 46PFL9706’s desktop stand with said speakers. Yup – just strap-on the stand on the undercarriage, and we're almost back to where we started; loads of low-frequency sound and plenty of detail.

Of course, this odd array does pose a question for wall mounters, and although the desktop stand can actually be used as a bracket – thereby supplying sound from behind the TV – that 39mm depth will be ruined. We’d suggest a separate home cinema if you want to go down the on-wall route.

Whether Philips’ range-topper will end up in your hands is doubtful unless you have over two grand to spare, but the sheer innovation on board the 46PFL9706 - and its general rarity value - makes it a stand-out performer. It’ll be too expensive for most of us, but if it’s a sign of trickle-down tech to come, we’re all in for a treat.

Verdict:

Philips 9000 series has been at the top of the telly tree for some years, but with this Moth Eye marvel it leaps up any few more branches.

Remarkably adept with contrast and brightness in all ambient light conditions, and producing bright active shutter 3D pictures that are, on the whole, impressive, Phillips has produced a high-end choice that will suit both discerning living rooms and those after a centrepiece for a home cinema.

Tags: Televisions Philips Home Cinema Philips 46PFL9706

Philips 46PFL9706 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

With so much announced at CES 2012, making sense of exactly when all of that gadgetry will arrive for the good people of the world to enjoy is a bit of a mess. So, we've created a master calendar for you - a bit like a Cliff Richard one we were given for Christmas where the Peter Pan of Pop is pictured in a set of dungarees with a pitchfork over his shoulder, only much better.

Before we start, just a touch of explaining to do. For those not in the know, tech companies and retailers tend to work in quarters. Saying a product is going to be released in Q1 for example, gives a bigger release window for something should any issues arise, which they often do. This way customers, traders and producers don’t get too irritated if dates slide.

So what does each quarter contain? Well, if you haven't "done the math", as the folk in America say, Q1 covers January to March, Q2 is April until June, Q3 July to September and Q4 October through to December. So, want to know what’s coming and when? Just scan below to find out. This list is by no means comprehensive, CES is just too big for us to grab everything, but all the majors are represented.

A

Acer Aspire S5 - Q2?

Acer’s second go at the Ultrabook game features clever hybrid HDD and SSD storage. The S5 is also extremely light at 1.2kg and just 15mm thin, an Ultrabook through and through then. Read more

Acer A700 - Possible March

Easily one of the most potent tablets we have seen so far, it had the show floor rather excited at CES with a 1080p display and a quad-core processor. The A700 represents the future direction tablets are going to take, with massive portable power wrapped up in the thinnest possible package. Read more

Acer Iconia Tab A510 - No date

The younger brother to the A700, the A510 still features a quad-core Tegra 3 processor but lacks the full 1080p display of its brethren. Still no slouch on the screen front however, sitting at 1280 x 800. Read more

Asus Transformer 700T HD - No date

With the same spec sheet as the Transformer Prime, this is already a pretty powerful tablet, Asus has just gone and upped the screen res to 1080p. Using full WUXGA resolution on a 10.1-inch display, the tablet will arrive with Ice Cream Sandwich and an 8 megapixel camera on the back. Read more

B

Bang and Olufsen Beolit 12 - Next two weeks

Part of a new sub-brand within B&O known as B&O Play, the Beolit 12 is about portability and quality, whilst looking as stylish as the company's usual products. Read more

C

Canon G1 X - February

What do you get if you cram a DSLR quality sensor into a portable compact? The Canon G1 X, that’s what. One of the longest running prosumer compacts available, the G series carries a pedigree quite unlike any other camera. Read more

Canon Legria HFM52 - April

Canon’s tiny Legria camcorder features 32GB of built in storage and a 10x zoom system. There is a lot packed into the pocket-sized Canon normally reserved for top level hardware including a proper HD CMOS sensor. Read more

D

Dell XPS 13 - Mid March

Dell’s XPS 13 is one of our favourite Ultrabooks set for release, in part due to the fact that it has a carbon fibre base, which is just cool. A lot is taken from the MacBook Air’s umm ... book, which is by no means a bad one when it comes to the world of portable laptops. Read more

F

Fujifilm X100 Black - February

Retro has always been cool. Even in the 19th century people were sporting the wares of the 18th, enjoying vintage sextants or whatever gadgetry was put to use back then. The X100 draws on this philosophy, but this time round it comes in black, instantly making it 100 times cooler. Read more

Fujifilm X-Pro 1 - No release date yet

Like the X100, the X-Pro 1 is another high-end compact system with vintage looks. Behaving slightly like Canon’s G1 X, the X-Pro 1 is a full interchangeable lens system with one of the most exciting viewfinders in photography right now. Read more

Fujitsu Arrows - No release

Like swimming? Like tablets? Well the Fujitsu Arrows is the one for you. Capable of being dunked in a bucket of water whilst keeping its 1GHz processor ticking along nicely, the Arrows is one of the toughest tablets available. Read more

G

GoPro BacPac - February

Controlling a GoPro has normally been quite a clunky affair. Stuck with just two buttons to setup and manage the whole camera, it has been nigh on impossible to manipulate the cam with it mounted. The BacPac changes this by adding wireless functionality. Read more

H

HP Envy 14 - March

Sure it isn’t the thinnest in the Ultrabook in the pack, but despite needing a possible trip to fat camp, it packs more tech than most. HP Beats Audio fun is thrown in, as is a decent Core i7 processor and 1600 x 900 resolution screen. Read more

HTC Titan II - No release date

The HTC Titan was one of the Windows Phone highlights of last year, it looks like the sequel could do the same in 2012. With a whopping 16 megapixel sensor and vibrant 4.7-inch display, it is one of the best WP7 handsets we have seen. Read more

Huawei Ascend P1 - End of march

Huawei came out of no where with this one, claiming the World’s thinnest handset title with the Ascend P1. Plenty of excitement on the spec sheet, including a dual-core processor, the Huawei could be a rather nice surprise. Read more

J

James Bond Blu-ray - Pre-order

After ruining our James Bond VHS collection in a rather nasty incident involving Sunny Delight, we are glad to be seeing our favourite spy make an appearance in 1080p. Like Star Wars of last year, it will be the first time we have seen a movie franchise this classic spin up our Blu-ray players and blast out our 5.1 systems. Read more

JVC GY-HMQ10 4K camcorder - No release yet

What comes after 1080p? At first we imagined it to be something like the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then we realised it was 4K, which whilst not being an interplanetary space trip, is still pretty impressive. Imagine making something really really sharp, then making it sharper. This JVC camcorder can record like that. Read more

K

Kinect for Windows - February

We are still yet to see how exactly Kinect will incorporate itself into Windows, although we imagine a lot of it will be using Windows Media Centre. The release of the developer SDK in February should hopefully mean we see it used for something better. Read more

L

Lenovo K800 - 2nd half 2012

The Medfield smartphone was the first time we were to see an Intel processor in a handset. Using Atom technology, no one knows how quick the handset might be. We will have to wait until it gets itself launched for us to truly give the Intel tech a whirl. Read more

Lenovo IdeaPad S200 - June

So much Lenovo fun to be had at CES in 2012. The S200 is a maturation of netbooks, in pink. Think of it as the logical direction the conventional laptop would take but squash it down to 11.6-inch MacBook Air size. Not anywhere near as thin, but just as powerfull, the S200 is quite a laptop. Read more

Lenovo X1 - No release date

Lenovo’s X1 is a relatively new idea in laptop town, featuring two different processors to power two separate operating systems. The Qualcomm dual-core processor lets it boot up a Linux OS speedily for quick web browsing.?Read more

Lenovo S series IdeaPad - June

Lenovo went Ultrabook mad at CES, releasing two different series of the super slim laptops. The first, the S series, use dual-core processors and 32GB SSDs. Read more

Lenovo Y series IdeaPad - April

Like the S series laptops, the Y series IdeaPads are small and light, but feature a more multimedia-centric approach to design. They feature proper GPUs and a more hefty audio setup. Read more

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga - Second half 2012

The IdeaPad was Lenovo’s odd ball at CES, featuring a rotating hinged design that let you turn the laptop into a rather miniature electronic tent. Extremely light and with a bright glossy display, it could be a rather interesting laptop and tablet alternative. Read more

LG 55EM9600 TV - No date yet

Like Samsung, LG has upscaled its OLED efforts from last year and brought out an ultra-slim, ultra-bright OLED TV which at 55-inches and a rumoured $8000 is sure to be the reserve of the audio visual elite. Read more

LG Ultra Definition - Q4

CES is usually about televisions and this year was no exception. The LG Ultra Definition had us particularly excited. Partly because it is 84-inches in size, but mainly because it can run 4K2K resolution content, which from what we have seen, looks crazy good on a display this size. Read more

LG Z430 - Before March

Even LG couldn't keep itself away from the world of the Ultrabook, taking on the likes of its super size Korean competitor Samsung with the Z430. The real buzz with this one is its ability to take up to 500GB of SSD storage. Read more

M

Motorola Defy Mini - No release yet

Motorola is now a Google owned company, so you would expect to be seeing Android behaving its best on the company’s handsets. The Motorola Defy Mini is a budget phone from the leading handset manufacturer and should at launch please many of those avoiding the realms of the HTC Wildfire S. Read more

Motorola Motoluxe - No release

A beefy low end offering from Motorola, the Motoluxe has plentiful screen estate and a rather decent resolution. Savings are made via the 800MHz processor but other than that, there is really little else to indicate it's a budget phone. Read more

N

Nokia Lumia 900 - March

Nokia looks to have turned it all around right at the end of 2011 with the Lumia 800, easily one of the design highlights of the year. The Lumia 900, the bigger, bolder, American cousin to the same handset, should impress just the same. Read more

Nokia Lumia 710 - February

The value for money Windows Phone 7 handset that comes complete with all the potency of its bigger Lumia 800 and 900 brethren. Set for release with a decent selection of different colours, this will likely become the go-to budget WP7 handset of 2012. Read more

P

Panasonic DMC-SZ7 - March

Compacts need to be compact. The DMC-SZ7 adheres to this rule nicely, being just 21mm thin. The size sacrifice doesn’t mean a specs loss, there is full 1080p video and a 25-250mm zoom lens sat on the front. Read more?

Pure Sensia 200D - Q1

Pure has a pretty potent radio, if there is such a thing, with the 200D. Like an enigma machine from the future, it has a full size touchscreen that lets you control all your music listening needs. Read more

Panasonic VT50 - No release yet

Carrying a hefty plasma shaped crown for Panasonic, the VT50 will become the company's top television in their line up. It also looks damn smart as well. Read more

R

Razer Project Fiona - by end of year

Tablets might have more cores than a set of bins at an apple tasting, but without a properly powerful desktop processor will never be able to run PC quality games. Enter Razer’s rather mad Project Fiona, which uses proper graphics and Intel Sandy Bridge processors in a tablet. Read more

S

Samsung 55-inch Super OLED - Second half of 2012

Oh OLED TV how we adore you. So bright and beautiful with such rich colours, you burn our eyes with your glory. It isn’t going to be cheap, but there is no doubt this OLED display is going to be one of the best screens of 2012. Read more

Samsung Series 5 - Out soon

Samsung has kept its cutting edge position in the Ultrabook market with the Series 5. A highly desirable piece of kit, it has all the usual SSDs and Sandy Bridge processor. Things get interesting with the 14-inch model that comes with a 1GB AMD graphics card inside, a first for an Ultrabook. Read more

Samsung Series 9 900XB - No release date yet

This is the Ultrabook to go after, if it is indeed an Ultrabook. Think of it like the Windows equivalent to a top spec MacBook Air. It is one of the thinnest, lightest and best designed laptops set for release in 2012. Read more

Sony Bloggie Live - February

Flip died a bit of a death in 2011 leaving a significant gap in an admittedly dwindling market. Sony kept it interesting with the Bloggie Live, which can send video straight from camera to the Internet. Read more

Sony HX8 - No release date

A slightly mad television from Sony but an exciting one none the less. The definition of Wii-mote/childproof, it features a massive Gorilla Glass screen giving it a bezel free look. Read more

Sony Xperia Ion - Q2

An exciting one for the Americans, the Ion is to show up on AT&T with a 720p display and best of all, a 12-megapixel Exmor-R sensor. Looks like 2012 could be the year for the smartphone super camera. Read more

Sony Xperia S - March

Notice the lack of Ericsson in the name. The Xperia S is going to be Sony’s major punt into the smartphone landscape in 2012. Complete with HD just about everything, it is a flagship phone that Sony can be proud of. Read more

T

Tamaggo camera - Q2

The Tamaggo camera lives up to its Japanese name, which means egg, behaving like a 360 degree blob shooter. An unusual take on the standard shooter, the Tamaggo could mean an interesting shift for photography in 2012. Read more

W

Windows 8 - October

The new Windows OS is set to arrive in October, bringing a lot of the design lessons Microsoft has learned from its Windows Phone 7 handset. The Metro UI is looking smart already and will likely be perfectly suited to tablets when Windows 8 arrives. Read more

Z

ZTE Nvidia Tegra 3 tablet - No date yet

Ice Cream Sandwich and a quad-core processor? One a value for money tablet … yes please. This ZTE could be the tablet that brings Android tablets into the big game alongside Apple’s iPad. Read more

Tags: CES2012 Televisions Phones Mobile phones Cameras Compact cameras Camcorders

2012 Gadget Calendar: When you can get that new device from CES? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:32:00 +0000

So here's the question: Is the picture above taken by us in Washington, DC, or did we take it merely watching a television 2400 miles away in Las Vegas?

The answer amazingly it is the latter. It is just a picture on a TV at the world's largest consumer electronics trade show.

The TV in question is the Sharp 8K4K LCD, the world's first 8K television first announced at IFA in Berlin in September 2011 and on show in America for the first time at CES?in Las Vegas.

We first saw the Sharp 4K8K television last year and were blown away by the quality of the visuals on show. However, we have now had a second chance to enjoy the crisp picture quality like you've never seen before.

This?Sharp?85-inch monster has a resolution of 7680 x 4320. That's around 33 million pixels - 16 times more than your Full HD TV boasts (1080p is 1920 x 1080). It has a luminance of 300cd/m squared and you're looking at a graduation of 10 bits for each RGB.

If you don't really understand the technicalities, let us make it simple for you. This TV has a picture so crisp that you'll almost feel like you are looking through a window rather than watching something that has been recorded.

The bad news of course is that currently nothing is filmed at this level of resolution quality. However that will change.?And change quicker than you think.

The BBC has confirmed that it will be shooting some of the Olympics in Super Hi Vision (as it is known) later this year and show the results via three 15-metre high screens around the country, at the Beeb's own Pacific Quay building in Glasgow, the National Media Museum in Bradford and of course Broadcasting House in London.

And, as you might have guessed we weren't at the shuttle launch, or know those couples snapped either.?

Tags: Televisions Sharp Sharp 8K4K LCD CES2012

Is this picture taken in real life, or is it just a picture on a TV? originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:40:00 +0000

The very best gadgets of CES 2012 is what we bring you at Pocket-lint, but this page right here is even better. It's the best of the best, the best-est, the tip top, the A-No.1 As far as the hottest gadgets of world's largest consumer electronics trade show goes.

Throughout our time in Las Vegas this year, the team will be updating this page with the devices that really catch our eye. So, if we think something has a bright future, is highly original or just gets our geek juices flowing for some unknown reason, you'll find it here. These are the hottest gadgets of CES 2012 and the ones we think you should be taking notice of.

?

Acer Iconia Tab A700

We all went "ooh" when the?Acer Iconia Tab A200 was officially announced earlier back in December but then went "boo" when we found out it was a Tegra 2 machine and not a much anticipated Tegra 3 flavoured one.?But our Kal-El Iconia expectations look set to be met with the Ice-Cream Sandwich-packing Acer Iconia Tab A700 now confirmed as a quad-core device.

The Android 4.0.1, 10.1-inch tab boasts a Full HD 1080p resolution and what appears to be SIM, micro-USB, micro-HDMI and audio jack fun too. There's a camera on the back, purportedly a 5-megapixel one that can shoot HD video, but we couldn't get that confirmed. Read more | Hands-on

?

Fujifilm X-Pro 1

Take the hugely successful retro-styled, APS-C sized sensor camera that is the Fuji X100, give it a mount for interchangeable Fujinon lenses and you've got yet another red hot gadget from CES 2012.?The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 is a 16-megapixel machine with the added benefit of Fujifilm's now familiar EXR technology.

In terms of glassware, it's reported that the X-Pro 1 will get three prime lenses - an 18mm F/2, 35mm F/1.4 and 60mm F/2.4?macro. The other thing to note about the X-Pro 1 is that it offers a hybrid viewfinder similar to the highly acclaimed one in the X100. Read more

?

Griffin Twenty

The heat from the Griffin Twenty is all about the fact that it can turn any speakers into AirPlay ready ones saving you the chore of having to upgrade if you want to stream your music around your house. The new gadget uses an Airport Express to capture the AirPlay stream, decodes it, then sends the lossless, amplified sound through any speakers connected.

The Twenty comes equipped with a power connection and mount for Airport Express and features a 2.1 channel sound system with 20W output per channel, as well as offering users the chance to plug in a powered subwoofer with an automatic active crossover at 80Hz. Hands-on

?

Lenovo X1 Hybrid

A clever idea from Lenovo makes for a laptop that can provide far greater battery life for day-to-day tasks than a normal, Windows-based PC. For things like surfing the net, watching video or writing documents you just put Windows in to sleep mode, and switched to a Linux-based OS.

The system works using not just an Intel CPU, but also a dual-core Qualcomm processor too. Using a processor like this obviously cuts power consumption enormously, and while you won't be able to run games and other Windows applications, it's ideal when you need a bit of stamina from your laptop.

It's nice and slim too, making for a laptop that has all of the advantages of a Windows-powered computer, but with some additional benefits too. Hands-on

?

Ion Audio Guitar Apprentice

iPad owners will, no doubt, have been waiting for this for some time. It's just amazing it's taken this long for someone to invent a guitar shaped case for the iPad. Of course, the idea here is that you can play guitar on your iPad, whilst looking like some sort of idiot at the same time.

The good news is, for a modest 65 quid, you do get a bit of kit that, when linked to an Ion application, can teach you how to play the guitar. It does this with lights that illuminate where your fingers need to be. Is it a serious tool, or a money-wasting gimmick? We'll investigate when it eventually launches in the UK. For now though, at least it takes pretending to be Slash to a whole new level. Photos

?

Huawei Ascend P1 S

Had you read this article yesterday, we might have been telling you about a different phone here. But the current champion in the "world's?slimmest?phone" stakes is the Huawei Ascend P1 S, which is a lot?thinner?than that?clumsy?name. But, with a depth of just 6.68mm, it certainly is a tiny little thing.?

There's a 1.5Ghz dual-core TI processor here too, and 1GB of RAM, so it's diminutive size shouldn't mess up its performance at all. The phone will also ship with Android in its Ice Cream?Sandwich?flavour, which is a relief, as a phone this slim deserves a full-fat OS. Hands-on

?

LG 55EM9600 OLED TV

OLED TVs are something of the tech industry's unicorn. They're exciting, but pretty much mythical. Until now that is, because LG is finally showing of a 55-inch TV, beating the previous record set by Sony of 11-inches in a production model.

What's more, the asking price of $8000 (?5188) sounds like a bit of a bargain to us. Although it's not cheap, compare it to the launch prices of LCD and plasma TVs, and it stacks quite favourably. And with OLED offering super-fast refresh rates and amazing colour, this could be the start of something very exciting.

Of course. OLED has a lot of quirks too. Panels are said to have a short lifespan, and their vivid colour might look good on demo loops, but how will it look showing an episode of Eastenders? Hands-on

?

Sony Xperia S?

Sony might have some troubles at the moment, but in phones it seems to have finally cracked the winning?formula. The Xperia S proves this by rocking up at CES with a 720p HD screen, 1.5GHz processor and built-in storage of 32GB. It also has a little bit of clear plastic that makes it appear as if it's in two pieces.

But design gimmicks aside, we have a lot of love for this phone already. It looks stylish, cool and subtle. It's also likely to be one of the first phones to do away with the Sony Ericsson name. It is not, however, going to be one of the first phones of 2012 that has Ice Cream Sandwich but an upgrade is promised this year. Read more?

?

Nokia Lumia 900

Considering the Lumia 900 might not come to the UK, we're still as excited as children on Christmas day about it. Many of the things we'd change about out 800 have been tweaked on the 900. Gone is the USB flap, added is a new, wide-angle video camera on the front and the screen is just that little bigger and sexier.?

It's a 4G LTE phone too, which means super-fast surfing where those networks are in place. Happily, the UK and Europe should start seeing support for these speeds soon, but until then, the main advantage of the Lumia is just for the Americans - explaining why it's on sale there, not here. Hands-on

?

Panasonic VT50?

Since the Pioneer Kuro went the way of the Dodo, we've missed having an ultimate plasma TV to drool on. The good news is, Panasonic continues its quest to bring Kuro technology to its Viera screens. Last year's VT30 was already one of the best TVs we've seen, and the VT50 looks even better. You'll be able to get this TV in both 55- and 65-inches so you might want to start clearing space now.

There is THX 3D certification, a stunning one-piece glass design and a new kind of remote that is designed for the new "smart" TV features that are common on new TVs. You'll also get built-in support for Skype, Netflix and YouTube, which should help when there's nothing good on the telly. Read more

?

Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook

If you could marry a laptop, then we have a feeling that we'd tie the knot with the Dell XPS 13 in a rush wedding in Las Vegas. Sure, it might only last a few years, but we'd have a blast thanks to that carbon fibre and aluminium body. It's got brains, as well as looks too, with a choice of i5 and i7 processors 4GB of RAM and a choice of 128 or 256GB SSD drives.?

The XPS 13 will be available from March, and while it's not the first Ultrabook we've seen - we've been around the block you know - it certainly looks like the prettiest yet. Hands-on preview

?

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Ultrabook

As names go, the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga Ultrabook has to be one of the worst yet. Sure, it's not as bad as the model numbers that come stamped on some TVs, but as a clumsy pile of nonsense it's right up there. But that hasn't put us off this?intriguing?machine. It's an Ultrabook, with all that involves, but it also has a twisty screen that allows it to be used as a tablet too.?

Let's be honest here. It's not going to upset the iPad apple cart too much, is it, but as an idea for a different kind of Ultrabook, it's a pretty good one. Lenovo has form here too, it's done laptops that convert in to tablets before, and they're always pretty decent. Hands-on

?

Samsung's transparent smart window

Look at your window. Now look at the Samsung smart window. Now look back at your window, and cry at how boring and low-tech it is. The idea here, is to turn glass surfaces in to information points, and places for you to watch video as well as maintain your privacy.?

Samsung says, you won't be able to see on from the other side, so people who enjoy being naked in the privacy of their own home need not worry. Like all concepts, this is doubtless a long way off, but we can't wait. Read more

?

iPro wideangle lens for iPhone

The camera on the iPhone is very good but there's always room for improvement, or room even for a little more picture. Which is where the iPro comes in. It gives you a choice of two lenses. One a normal wide-angle and the other a fairly extreme fisheye.

The kit is $200 in the US, but it's expected to be available globally soon. Hands-on

?

Intel Medfield Atom Android smartphone?

Intel has been left out of the smartphone market, and that must hurt. After all, it's used to being king of the processors and suddenly it's being overtaken by the likes of Qualcomm. Our first impressions were good, the phones seems powerful and there's a lot of potential here.?

Of course, most users won't care what processor powers their phone. Do you know what's in your handset?running?the show? But even so, it brings more competition, could help speed phones up and should certainly drive prices down. Hands-on

?

JVC?GY-HMQ10 4K camcorder

4K production isn't new, certainly this is how digital cinema has worked since it first started. But for a home camcorder aimed at normal people, costing just a few thousand pounds, it's quite an advance.?

JVC says editing and watching 4K footage is straightforward, although you'll need a quick computer. The camera shoots to SD cards, so storage is cheap, and if you want to step down to 1080p, that's no problem either, as the advanced optics mean you'll get superb quality. Read more

Tags: Audio Phones Televisions CES2012 Laptops Tablets Gaming Cameras Features

Hottest gadgets at CES 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Imagine a world of see-through monitors, windows that are interactive, and car windscreens that relay all the information on the screen rather than the dashboard beneath it.

Now imagine that, rather than being the stuff of science fiction movies and pipe dreams, the technology that will allow this to become a possibility is going into production in just 20 days.

At CES in Las Vegas Samsung is demoing a new touchscreen display technology that is see-through.

Dubbed the Samsung Transparent Smart Window, the transparent touchscreen LCD tech can fit a window any size up to 46 inches and deliver a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels allowing full interaction at the same time.?

Users will be able to supply content via HDMI or USB, and in our demo it reproduced video perfectly quickly jumping between different menu options like checking travel details, the weather, what was on television, or even just using it as an expensive blind to block out light.?

There is no word on price or where we will see this next, but the possibilities are endless thanks to our love of glass.

One such possibility as we overheard during our demo at CES is in submersibles where you want to move the instrumentation out of the way of a glass viewing area. That's really niche, but imagine car designers being able to remove the dashboard of your car altogether, or Minority Report style computers that are just sheets of glass rather than the big bulky monitors that you have in your office at the moment.?

To show what's possible beyond the window, Samsung was also showing off the technology with a smaller monitor. The same screen technology can be used to create smaller screens with higher resolutions. In this example it measured 22 inches and offered a higher resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels.

And if you are worried that others will be able to see what you are doing from behind the screen. Don't. Samsung says that the technology comes with a privacy screen that works like a one-way mirror.?

According to Samsung, the future looks see-through.

Tags: Televisions Samsung CES2012

The Samsung Transparent Smart Window makes sci-fi movies a reality originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:17:00 +0000

When you buy a new shiny Panasonic VT50 plasma, the company's new flagship?television,?you also get the new "touch pad controller", but what's it like? We tracked down the new remote control on the Panasonic stand at CES in Las Vegas to find out for ourselves.

The half egg-shaped device is clearly designed for couch potatoes of the highest order. Without doing anything, apart from moving your thumb, you can navigate the new smart TV features, change channel, scroll through menus as well as type fairly quickly when it comes to searching the Internet - no mean feature seeing as it hasn't got a keyboard.

The main focus of the Panasonic?Viera Touch Pad Controller is a large circular touch sensitive area at the top of the device that is a trackpad.

Moving your finger around the circular area in the same way you would an old iPod lets you scroll through the menu system on the TV, and the whole process is very intuitive - thank you Apple.

To help you get around the lack of a keyboard, Panasonic has designed its smart TV to help you whenever possible.

Whether it is automatically remembering your 27 most-visited websites, in a similar way to the Google Chrome browser on your computer, or automatically offering you suggestions via Google search to save you typing the full word, it should have you covered.

Once you've found what you want you can use the remote to fire up the TV's browser and the trackpad turns into a trackpad to control a standard mouse pointer.

It is as responsive as you would expect, but having a circular track area and a rectangular screen is never going to work as effectively as we would like.

At any point you can press the x button on the remote and it takes you straight back to the main TV stream on the television, and for those that just like Channel Up and Volume there are dedicated buttons.

Simple and effective, Panasonic has worked out a way of creating a remote control that offers plenty, but just isn't as daunting as Sony's Google TV offering.

Tags: Televisions Panasonic Home Cinema CES2012

Panasonic Viera Touch Pad Controller pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:45:00 +0000

Like LG, Samsung has used CES to unveil a 55-inch OLED TV, to similarly awestruck eyes. Pocket-lint managed to get some time with the set and we can safely say that this is the future of television technology.

The Super OLED TV has an amazingly thin bezel and seemingly thinner waistline, yet that matters little in the grand scheme of things. LED TVs these days are getting thinner and thinner, and leave a very slim footprint when wall mounted, but as good as they are, they can't hold a candle to the picture quality of this Samsung display.

Dynamic and overblown show floor colours and contrast aside, you can immediately see the benefit of the OLED technology the moment you clap eyes on the black levels. As each pixel has its own light source, the blacks on this set are astonishing. Forget the Pioneer Kuro, the black levels are as pitch as the night with no stars, or the bowels of a coal mine.

Sadly, we didn't get to look at much of the set's other talents, but the brief Full HD demo video leaves an impression that lingers in your eyes. Picture performance is, quite simply, stunning.

When it is released in the second half of this year (as told to us by a Samsung spokesperson), the Super OLED TV will be mightily expensive, but we still reckon early adopters will take the plunge; if only for bragging rights. And, by then, we are promised that the set will also include all of Samsung's other new television and Smart Hub features that grace its 55ES8000. There will be Smart Interaction - voice and gesture control, plus face recognition - and much much more.

However, for now, we're happy to simply bask in its radiant image mastery and wait. We certainly won't be able to afford one. Yet.

Tags: Samsung Televisions Home Cinema Samsung Super OLED TV CES2012

Samsung 55-inch Super OLED TV pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:15:00 +0000

The 2012 TV line up from LG isn't just about screen technology. One of the most interesting things that the company is up to in the AV space is in developing how we might want to control our sets from now on. Like Samsung, LG is now all about gesture, voice and simply waving your arms.

The first, more obvious, part of the experience is with the LG Magic Remote. Previously, consumers have been able to use the thing as a pointer, much like a Wiimote, but now you can talk to it as well. While we're not convinced that voice control is entirely relevant in TV watching, it was hugely impressive that the system managed to figure out what we said correctly in five out of our five attempts, in our plummy English accent and in a packed, noisy conference centre.

Much like voice entry on Android phones, the Smart TV platform offers you the choice of hitting a little microphone icon next to text entry fields, and on the soft keyboard, to take up the voice option at which point you have to talk to the Magic Remote as if it were a microphone.

As impressive as that was though, what we found more stunning was the hands-free control system as supplied by LG's version of the Kinect sensor which you can plug in as an accessory to your telly. It takes some getting used to but it's a one hand operation with your palm open to move around a pointer. Once you've found something you want to select, you close your hand into a fist and open it again to effectively click it.

Much like a computer cursor, you can also keep your fist clenched and use the system to drag and drop as well as pan through menus. It's not fully ready at the moment but the added ability of turning up and down the volume by moving your hand in circles will also be joined by switching channels by waving to one side or the other.

It's not perfect yet. Indeed, it may never be, but it's certainly interesting and fun to use. Quite whether the novelty would ware off in the long term is another thing.

Tags: Televisions LG LG Magic Remote CES2012

LG Magic Remote and Kinect-type sensor pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:57:20 +0000

It was only back at the end of October 2011 that Canonical's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, outlined his plans to stretch the Ubuntu ecosystem out beyond just computers and onto screens everywhere. We've already seen this in action on mobile phones with the Ubuntu One apps but at, CES 2012, the company has announced possibly its boldest step of all - Ubuntu TV.

Learning from the mistakes of Google, Canonical is ditching the idea of any kind of browser at all maintaining that free searching the web has got nothing to do with a "10 feet back experience". Instead, it's all about a content access experience with Ubuntu One the system behind it to make it work.?Indeed, whether you're accessing via a web browser, a desktop app, a smartphone app and now a TV platform, it's your cloud-stored files, photos, music, videos and films that you'll be streaming.

For the purposes of Ubuntu TV, you'll get a little more thrown in too through a TV tuner and apps as well. There's nothing specific designed just yet but then the demo of Ubuntu TV in Vegas this year is just that - a demo. One of the reasons Canonical is here is to strike the deals with the content providers on the video side as well as convince the device manufactures that it's a platform worth building in to TVs and boxes the world over. Music access it already has covered with the Ubuntu One Music system.

Regardless of who the videos belong too though, there is still just one universal search to find it all and, in order to help cut down on text entry time, Ubuntu TV also has the capacity to learn your viewing habits and behaviours to predict what it is that you'll be looking for. In fact, although nothing has been finalised, Canonical want to steer clear of any kind of on-screen keyboard or hard version on a remote control at all. Neither gesture nor voice control are popular either. Think more along the lines of apps to convert your tablets and smartphones into remotes and second screens instead.

The added advantage of that, as explained by Canonical, is the idea of individual profiles. If your Ubuntu TV is controlled by an app on your mobile phone, then it can sign in using your Ubuntu One credentials, rather than anyone else's, with the system then able to provide suggestions and programming tailor made just for you and not a mixture of everyone who happens to live in your household.

Naturally, there's still some distance to go in terms of the search for the manufactures and content providers as well as a few final decisions in the development of the platform as well. There also needs to be a process of education of the Ubuntu app-making community on how and what to write for TV. From what we've seen though, there's a lot to get excited about here. It's a crowded market but Ubuntu does have the advantage of a burgeoning, well-designed and free ecosystem in the shape of Ubuntu One to back it up. It's yet another step in proving that Ubuntu isn't just for people on Linux. We look forward to seeing where this one goes.

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions Set top boxes Smart TV Canonical Ubuntu Ubuntu One Ubuntu TV CES2012

Ubuntu TV pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:33:39 +0000

CES is always the time when Panasonic announces its new, top of the range plasma TV. And this year, the screen it's promoting is the VT50. There are two possible models, one is the 55-inch P55VT50 and the other is the 65-inch P65VT50.

Both sets will have the company's "infinite black ultra panel", which should offer some of the most impressive black levels ever seen on a plasma TV. Well, apart from the Kuro, of course. But Panasonic does get ever closer to the Pioneer standard with every passing year. A specially-designed filter prevents external light getting in and messing up the image too

When you buy a VT50 you also get the "touch pad controller". This device is designed to make navigating around internet-based content a little bit easier. There are some hard buttons too, for accessing Netflix and Skype, which is quite a telling sign of where TVs are heading as a technology.

Panny is also boasting 24,576 steps of gradation, which should mean that images with subtle tonal changes between shades are properly represented. This is crucial, especially in plasmas, as the first generations of screens look dreadful because of poor gradation.

Also new are Panasonics 8-train speakers. These are very thin, but offer a lot of power and a wide and clear soundstage. There is also a 22mm thick subwoofer at the rear, which helps provide low-end sounds and give the TV a nice wide sound. This is great news, because all too often thin TVs have dreadfully weedy sound.

The TV is also THX 3D certified, and is capable of converting 2D to 3D. 24p 3D is also smoothed, using Panasonic's new "3D 24p cinema smoother" which also must get some credit for being the clumsiest name for anything ever.

Panasonic also seems to have pulled out all the design stops. The Kuro might have been the best?performing?plasma of all time, but it was never a looker. Panasonic has a single piece of glass here, which gives the VT50 a style and beauty that is sure to impress those who see it in shops.?

Tags: Televisions CES2012 Home Cinema Panasonic Panasonic Viera P55VT50 Panasonic Viera P60VT50

Panasonic announces the new VT50 flagship plasma originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Sony has launched its 2012 Bravia lineup which delivers four new TVs; not only do they feature Sony's X-Reality, X-Reality PRO and 3D technology for some pretty detailed pictures, but the HX8 model gets a huge sheet of Gorilla Glass for a bezel-less look.

The models include the HX853, HX753, EX653 and the EX553.

Starting with the design-led HX853, there's a huge range of tech on board to keep even the most particular TV-tech head happy. It boasts X-Reality Pro, Motionflow XR800Hz, Dynamic Edge LED with Local Dimming and is of course Full HD and 3D compatible; and being an internet TV has Wi-Fi built in. There are also 4x High speed 3D panels and true to its ambitions of having innovative design it features a monolithic aspect along with the aforementioned Gorilla Glass.

Similar in spec the HX753 gets most of the above, but with X-Reality rather than X-Reality Pro and Motionflow XR400Hz the rest of the specifications are as above. Screen sizes for these two headliners come in at 55-, 46- and 40-inches, with the HX7 coming as a 36-incher as well.

The EX653 is the lowest spec Full HD TV in the lineup coming with X-Reality, Motionflow XR100Hz, Freeview HD and Built-in Wi-Fi. Bringing up the rear is the basic second-room model, the EX553, which has a slim design and is HD-ready.

No details of release or pricing, but we'll update story when we hear more.

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions Sony Sony Bravia Gorilla Glass CES2012

Sony HX8 Bravia TV tops 2012 range with massive Gorilla Glass screen originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:20:00 +0000

Sony has, as expected, announced some new Google TV-enabled products, but not an integrated television like the one available in the US last year.

The two devices, one a network media player, the other a Blu-ray deck, each include a?remote control that comes complete with a touch pad, keyboard with back light, microphone for voice search, and a 3-axis motion sensor that can be used to play games.

Coming in black, the Sony NSZ-GS7 hooks up to the Internet and your TV and, essentially, adds connected TV style features to a set that might not have those features integrated. The NSZ-GS9 is similar but also includes Blu-ray playback.

"We were the industry’s first to launch ‘Google TV’ platform products in 2010. By leveraging our Sony Internet TV know-how, we will offer new products with enhanced user experiences to more customers," said Ben Law, category marketing manager, Sony UK. "Furthermore, we will create new value in home entertainment by strengthening the compatibility of Bravia TV as well as mobile devices."

Both devices will be launching in the US and UK with a "phased launch". The actual release date and pricing details are yet to be revealed.

Tags: Sony Home Cinema Televisions Google TV Sony NSZ-GS7 Sony GSZ-GS9

Sony Google TV plans include NSZ-GS7 network media player and NSZ-GP9 Blu-ray deck originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

The Samsung ES8000 LED Smart TV, which will be available in screen sizes up to 75-inches, has a raft of new features that the consumer electronics manufacturer believes will revolutionise the way people interact with their televisions.

Coming with an integrated camera, not only will the set offer out-of-the-box video conferencing abilities, but is has a face recognition engine that will allow users to immediately access their own customised Smart Hub (applications, etc) without having to make any commands. Additionally, the TV has both voice and gesture control systems, which work in a similar way to the Xbox 360 Dashboard and Kinect controller.

For example, should you want to change channel, you can simply tell the TV to do so, or if you're browsing or searching for content, you can swipe your hand in the air to scroll through options.

The ES8000 also has a dual core processor, which allows the system to multitask. Viewers can potentially pause a basketball or football match and access Twitter, then go back to the content application without having to load it from scratch again.

Samsung is calling its final major new feature Smart Evolution. It essentially centres around a slot on the back of the set which allows an owner to slot a new module (containing a more powerful processor, new chipsets, etc) each and every year, thereby allowing the TV to be as up-to-date as newly launched models, and compatible with more advanced applications and the like.

The South Korean giant also claims that because?"[it] makes its own components, it is the only one that can make this happen" - weighty words indeed.

The TV range will also sport the company's proprietary cloud service Allshare Play. It allows an honour of another Samsung device, such as camera or Galaxy smartphone, to upload pictures from their device automatically to the service, which will then be playable on the TV without the need to store the content locally.

Samsung is also bringing Media Hub, the movie and video service currently found on its Galaxy smartphones and tablets ranges, to the TV platform, and will allow an owner to start watching a film on one device and continue on another, including the telly.

The ultra-slim bezel from last year's 8000 model returns, but is now accompanied by a U-shaped desktop stand. Many of the new features will also be found on the E8000 series plasma TVs too.

There are no price details at present, but Pocket-lint will be going hands-on with the sets when we visit the CES trade show in Las Vegas tomorrow.

Tags: CES2012 Samsung Televisions Home Cinema Samsung Smart TV

Samsung adds Kinect-style features and upgradeability to its 2012 TVs originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:30:28 +0000

Angry Birds is coming to Samsung Smart TVs soon. The games of the world-renowned and hugely successful casual game franchise will be available to download through the company's Smart Hub and rendered in Full HD.

The announcement was made by Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, who had a conversation with an on-screen Angry Bird as part of a whole range of new app teases for later this year.

As well as Angry Birds, a number of content deals have been made which we shall see the fruit of shortly, including the acquisition of the rights to stream 3D converted versions of Battlestar Galactica, the most recent science fiction series (rather than the 70s/80s one), through Samsung's Media Hub service.

The company also announced that in just two years, the number of developers developing applications for Samsung's Smart Hub have risen from 500 to 25,000.

Tags: Samsung CES2012 Televisions Gaming Samsung Smart TV Samsung Smart Hub Angry Birds Rovio

Angry Birds coming to Samsung Smart TVs originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:55:39 +0000

Samsung has unveiled what it claims to be "the world's largest commercialised OLED TV". The 55-inch Super OLED display was wheeled out during the company's CES press conference in Las Vegas, and we have to admit that it looks simply stunning.

As well as feature a single glass sheet Super OLED panel, which negates the need for a colour filter by each?OLED pixel unit consisting of RGB sub-pixels and emitting its own light, the new TV will be available later in the year to buy, although when we asked a Samsung spokesperson on the price, we got a sharp intake of breath.

The TV also features the company's new Smart Interaction; a voice and gesture control, and face recognition system that is a standout addition to Samsung's 2012 TV range. Plus, it will sport a cleaner, jazzed up Smart Hub, a dual core processor for multitasking and is 3D ready.

But it is its picture quality that wowed us on our initial look. We'll get closer to the TV when CES starts for real tomorrow, but we can already guarantee that it's going to be the talk of the town.

Tags: Televisions Samsung CES2012 Samsung Super OLED TV OLED OLED televisions

Samsung 55-inch Super OLED TV coming this year originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:36:49 +0000

Sharp has gone super size with its screen technology at this year's CES announcing displays that go all the way up to 85-inches and boast 8k resolution. Sure they might not be aimed at the average consumer, but judging from Sharp's press conference the company is going for the large screen TV market in a big way.?

The LC-80LE844U?240Hz 80-inch panel is penned as Sharp's flagship display for 2012. The 3D boasting LED tv packs 250hz refresh rate which Sharp says will virtually eliminate screen blur. It also includes all of the smart tv functions found in other top end Sharp models. Built in apps like Netflix and YouTube will also be present.?

Moving slightly down the size scale is Sharp's 60-inch lineup, which is to include more than 20 models. All will feature Quad Pixel Plus II technology to enhance lines and edges in pictures as well as Quattron tech for better colour rendition.?

Not a lot else exciting from Sharp at its CES show this year. Short of the 8k mega TV it looks as if they are set to become a more high end consumer brand, focussing on the more expensive side of television. There is a new?XV-Z30000 3D projector set for release but that is about it on the Sharp front. No pricing or release dates as of yet we're afraid.?

Tags: Televisions CES 2012 Sharp

Sharp goes big on TVs at CES originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:13:05 +0000

LG has unveiled its Ultra Definition 3D TV at CES 2012 which the company claims is the world's largest 4K2K set around in the added dimension.

At 84 inches, it's actually smaller than?Sharp's 8K4K monster from IFA and features a lower pixel count (with a 4K2K resolution of 3840 x 2160),?but the Sharp set wasn't compatible with 3D content.

The 3D technology itself is of the passive kind, which LG refers to as Cinema 3D, and it's seriously impressive to behold at such high resolution on such a large panel size. When the images pop you get a wonderful sense of the detail as it floats about in the air before your eyes. Despite having four times the pixel count to an ordinary HD set, however, that doesn't make all of the 3D rendering perfect.

The faster motion and some of the background images aren't up to the same level of detail from the demos that we saw but this might well be down as much to the source material as anything else. All the same, the difference between LG's normal HD 3D and the UD version is marked enough to make the upgrade tempting when it does come around and what really helps the 3D effect even further is the reduction of the bezel size down to just 1mm.

Beyond the picture itself, the UD TV will come fully loaded with LG Smart TV platform, and all the apps you can get with that, as well as the ability to control the depth of the 3D effect and something that LG refers to as 3D Sound Zooming which allows you to play with the soundscape too. The Magic Remote has also been updated to feature voice recognition as well as gesture control.

There's no word as to whether the 84-inch UD TV will arrive in the UK but it's expected to hit the US in the last quarter of 2012. While there's no 4K2K resolution broadcasts and programming to enjoy Stateside currently, the telly will upgrade and convert a 1080p signal. It's also expected that 4K2K Blu-rays will arrive in 2013.

Tags: Televisions LG Home Cinema LG 3D UD TV Ultra Definition CES2012

LG 3D Ultra Definition TV pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:37:44 +0000

While there were TVs a-plenty and a few fridge freezers thrown in too, it was the 55-inch OLED TV that was the star of the LG press conference at CES 2012.

The officially titled LG?55EM9600 OLED TV was swarming with international press the minute the curtain over its super bright Full HD panel was pulled off and for very good reason indeed. As one would expect of this panel technology, the pictures are simply stunning. Crisp, sharp, incredibly colour rich and with the inkiest of inky blacks, it's mesmerizing to gaze upon.

Naturally, we have to take what's been shown with a certain pinchette of salt with the classic case of demo videos of flowers and trees always designed to be as kind to the panel as could possibly be but, all the same, you'd be hard pushed not to dream about this if you ever laid eyes on it.

The faster images showed no blur nor judder that you might expect from LCD/LED technology and the associated slower frame rates and responses but even the physical dimensions of the thing make you draw as much breath as the picture quality does. At just 4mm in thickness, it's almost hard to resolve in profile unless you're looking for it.

There's currently only plans for a 55-inch model which should be arriving in the US in the last quarter of 2012. According to LG, the price has not been set but the thinking is a figure of around $8,000.

"Its still very much a niche product for us," said John Taylor, VP Public Affairs and Communications of LG Electronics USA, "the price really makes it so. Our focus is on LED for this year but we'll see what happens in the future. Even the original HD TVs were more expense than this when they first arrived."

Tags: Televisions LG OLED OLED televisions CES 2012 LG 55EM9600

LG 55EM9600 OLED TV pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:45:00 +0000

LG has gone and scaled up its OLED television experiment announcing a beefy 55-inch display at this year's CES. According to LG it is set to be the thinnest, largest and brightest television on offer.?

The display was shown off as a final reveal during LG's CES press conference. Whilst we were only given a brief look at the screen, even from a distance its pretty clear how good the television looks.?

The 55EM9600 OLED TV features a 4mm thick bezel, which is so thin it gives the impression that the screen is simply floating. The bezel also only adds around 1 mm to the panel from the front, which is quite unlike any television other manufacturers have produced, bar Samsung. With so much shaved off the bulk, the whole thing only weighs 7.5kg.

Things like Smart TV capability and all the other niceties of LG's flagship panels can also be found inside the display. There is also a clever fourth white pixel added to the usual RGB system used by conventional TVS. LGs explains that this should help reduce costs and will hopefully mean the flagship OLED television will gradually become a more affordable product.

As far as the panel specs go, the LG?55EM9600 boasts a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio - 50 times greater than that of most LEDs - and a response time of 0.1 milliseconds for crystal clear motion rendering.

Expect a late 2012 release for the new OLED TV which we unfortunately don't have a price on yet. Pocket-lint will have more on the television from our team on the ground at CES later.?

Update: We have a pricing rumour for the set, with whispers at CES stating it is to come in at around $8000.?

Tags: Televisions LG OLED OLED televisions CES 2012

LG goes big on OLED with 55-inch TV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

Netflix has sent its services live in the UK this morning bringing with it the largest online video streaming library currently available. Priced in at ?5.99 per month, it means unlimited access to a vast selection of content ranging from everything from Top Gear to Twin Peaks.

The service has only been available for a few hours and as such we have only so far had a chance to play with it on a few different devices. In theory, should you own all the tech, you can watch Netflix on Blu-ray players, TVs, phones, tablets, games consoles and computers. At the moment we have Netflix running on an Xbox 360, iPhone and iPad and our Macbook Air, all of which have had no issues with setup from launch whatsoever.?

As we've not used the US service, it's hard to tell how similar the two will be. That said, it's nice to see a lot of UK television on Netflix from day one on its British launch. Short of browsing through Netflix's entire library, we can't give you a full list of exactly what UK content is available. Standout titles that jumped out at us are things like The Inbetweeners and Peep Show as well as Doctor Who and BBC wildlife documentaries like Wild China.?

The Netflix experience actually varies quite a bit across different devices. On the computer running through the Chrome browser Netflix is very simple and easy to use. Once you sign in you are asked to tell the service what sort of films you are interested in so it can create recommendations for you. This can be made better by rating films using Netflix's five star system. We found the more rating we did, the clearer the recommendations came. Streaming is virtually instant on a decent web connection and a lot of content runs in HD. We found very little artefacting and the ability to resume watching from where we left of instantaneously was very nice indeed.?

On the iPad is where Netflix feels particularly swish. Like the desktop version, you can browse titles by covers and then tap whatever you want to watch, opening up a streaming video. The categories tab on the left behaves slightly like the Facebook and Twitter app, choosing individual genres just repopulating the home screen with different movies. It is very simple and clean to use and makes navigating through titles extremely quick. We would like to see more than just a simple 'more like' option below movies you tap on, but the desktop recommendations offering mostly fixes this. We also noticed you can stream video on different devices at once which is great for families who want just one account for a whole household.?

The iPhone version rather?predictably?behaves like a squashed down iPad equivalent. The lack of screen real estate means that films are well, like watching video on the iPhone ... not the best experience. All this is made up for by the ability to stream content over 3G. It means access to movies and tv shows on the bus on a level that the iPhone hasn't seen before. We really like this about Netflix and the iPhone.?

On the Xbox Netflix is like a lot of other streaming apps on the console. It is particularly fast, quicker than things like 4od and YouTube, which makes it a much more enticing experience than things like the Xbox's Zune app. We like the way the video starts running straight way and allows you to click through and find out more about the movie you are watching without it stopping play.?

From our brief play Netflix looks to be like the streaming service the UK is waiting for. Lovefilm now has a major contender to worry about, particularly in the content department, which from the looks of it Netflix already has grabbed the title.?

?

Tags: Televisions Streaming Netflix Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 iPad iPhone

Netflix UK pictures and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:41:25 +0000

Fancy Skype on your TV? Well come March you could have just that with the Samsung inTouch TV accessory. Basically it'll sit on top of any HDTV you might have lying around and enable you to view and be viewed by your Skype buddies.

And it's not only Skype functionality that the inTouch brings to your TV, as you'll be able to browse the web and connect with YouTube as well. The camera system also has Wi-Fi built-in along with 720p high-definition video and a range of pre-loaded apps.

So what you're getting here is an alternative to buying a web TV, something which may well appeal if you've only just splashed out on a new internet-free goggle box, but want some internet action.

"While internet connected HDTVs are now common, not every household gets to experience this fun and interactive feature, especially if they have an HDTV purchased just a few years ago," said Mike Palazzolo, vice president sales and marketing, consumer video monitoring and security products, Samsung Techwin America. "With the inTouch camera system, Samsung is now bridging the gap between this experience and those consumers who own HDTVs without networking capability."

You'll also get a QWERTY keyboard bundled in to make navigation nice and easy, however despite its "palm-sized" dimensions it does look a little chunky, so be prepared to make some space on your sofa.

Specs for the device include a tilt range of -30 degrees - 0 degrees, which should give the camera decent flexibility when used as a stills camera as well as when using Skype and there's also a integrated USB port so you can insert you own images and uploading to Facebook shouldn't be a problem either.

The webcam is of the 3-megapixel variety and, for those that care, the UI is a skinned version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Samsung inTouch will be available March 2012 and will retail for $199.99.

Read

Tags: Samsung Samsung InTouch Televisions Webcams CES2012

Samsung InTouch brings Skype and Internet to your TV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:38:32 +0000

Lenovo plans to unleash an Android 4.0 powered television at CES, making it the first set in the world to use Google's new operating system.

The 55-inch television, on top of using Google's latest OS, also packs cutting edge tv tech. The display is a Full HD 3D IPS panel and is powered by a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm?Snapdragon APQ8060 processor to keep Android ticking over nicely. There is also 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage available for all your app related niceties.?

The spec sheet on this television reads more like a top spec smartphone than something you would expect in your living room. Stuff like voice control and a 5 megapixel camera for video chat add to the Smart TV functionality.?

Completing the televisual package is HDMI and USB 2.0 connectivity as well as an SD card slot and Wi-Fi. Lenovo has also integrated its suite of cloud services into the display as if it didn't already have enough functionality.?

What has us really excited is the IPS element of the panel, which like Apple's iPhone and iPad, will translate to extremely good viewing angles and colour rendition. Haven't not yet had a play with the tv we can't be sure exactly how it handles Android apps. We will have more on the display when CES proper kicks off tomorrow.?

Tags: Televisions Lenovo Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich CES 2012

Lenovo to announce first ever Ice Cream Sandwich powered TV at CES originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:27:19 +0000

The International CES 2012 is now upon us and Pocket-lint is on the ground in Las Vegas, ready and poised to bring you all the action as it happens. But what will be at the biggest consumer electronics trade show this year to get us all excited about the months ahead in the gadget arena?

Pocket-lint will be covering the event live from the city of sin for the next week bringing you around the clock coverage of all the latest news, our impressions of the latest gadgets, interviews, features, photos, and everything in between.

So what can you expect from Pocket-lint?

All the latest announcements from the world of consumer electronics, live coverage of all the keynotes on Monday, photo galleries and First Look reviews, exclusive stories and the low down on what's what as it's happening from all the exhibitors at the show right through to Friday.

You can follow all the news from in a number of ways - via our dedicated?CES 2012 page, via our CES 2012 RSS, and finally the whole site via Twitter.

Here are the products that we know or expect will be at the show in Las Vegas:

Phones

CES isn't traditionally a platform for launching a new smartphone, with the mobile phone industry preferring Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February as the place to launch their flagship devices, however that won't stop some companies launching handsets either destined for Europe or the US.

This year we are expecting the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD, an update to the Arc launched at CES last year, as well as a handful of other smartphones too from the company. We also get to find out whether the company opts to launch them under the Sony, or Sony Ericsson?moniker.

But it is not just Sony (Ericsson) launching phones. Nokia?will be at CES too with the company expected to announce the launch of the Nokia Lumia 900?for the US market. It, if leaked specs are to be believed, a 4.3-inch AMOLED screen version of the Nokia Lumia 800?launched in the UK in November. Our sources suggest this won't however be coming to the UK anytime soon with Nokia focusing efforts on the 900 in the USA first.

Samsung?is bound to have a bevy of new phones littered around its stand and rumours suggest the US will finally be getting the Samsung Galaxy Note supposedly on AT&T.

Elsewhere we are expecting new phones from LG, Huawei, and?HTC, as well as an array of current models sporting Google's new Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich?operating system.

Tablets

You may just think that there is only one tablet to concern yourself with, but that's not what the rest of the industry thinks, and it will continue to show the love for the form factor at this year's CES 2012?in the usual style.

At CES?in 2011 we counted over 26 tablet launches and that was just from the major manufacturers we wanted to tell you about. You can expect the same level of confusion this year around with everyone trying to tweak their offering.

The ones to look out for will be from Acer - the Acer Iconia Tab A200 (and possibly the A700 as well), and?Asus?with?the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime with Ice Cream Sandwich. Asus?might also possibly be showing a 7-inch Asus Transformer Prime Mini?too.

We are also expecting a Toshiba tablet, new models from Viewsonic and an array of developer devices from?Nvidia?(Tegra 3) and Qualcomm?(S4). Both will be showing off the next-generation of what is possible even if the actual devices themselves aren't ready for showing.

Laptops

CES?used to stand for the Consumer Electronics Show (according to the organisers it is now just CES) and that means laptops too. This year LG has already confirmed that it will be launching a new ultrabook model - the?LG Z330 and Z430 Ultrabook duo?- as well as some more boring "work" models too boot.

But LG isn't the only company looking to change the way we work. Asus, HP, Samsung, and?Dell?are all promising new models as well. Expect everything to be thin, expect everything to be deemed an ultrabook even if it isn't, and expect you to look at your current model, or worse the one you got for Christmas, with the usual disdain that you'll see on any kid has seen a better version of the toy they already have.

Powering it all will be Microsoft?and we suspect that most stands, be it on the show floor or behind closed doors, will be showing off what their devices look like with Windows 8?due out later in the year.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will be delivering a keynote at the show and all the money is on him detailing Windows 8 ahead of the public beta expected in February. It's the last time Microsoft is attending?CES?so expect it to want to go out with a bang.

Cameras

The world of cameras used to have their moment in the sun later in the year at an event called PMA. No longer. Last year the organisers of PMA decided that there wasn't enough product launches at CES to be lost in the battle for centre stage so decided to merge their event in with CES. The result is that we'll see lots of camera launches at CES, or as we've been told by the organisers the 2012 International CES.

The ones we know about include launches from Panasonic, Olympus, Samsung, Sony, and Fujifilm. We also expect Casio to be announcing a new camera or cameras and would have thought Kodak would be on that list too, but given the recent issues it is having (bankruptcy) we now very much doubt it.

Televisions

When CES first started the main focus was around televisions and while TVs still play a big part in the show the focus has moved away somewhat to the greater gadget good.

Still that doesn't mean there won't be new TVs vying for attention in the hot halls of the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

LG has already confirmed that it will be showing off its shiny 55-inch OLED television that is just 5mm thick as well as a 4K screen and its LG Google TV?set top box that will be launching in the US in 2012 and the UK in 2013.

Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba are also expected to have new models at the show offering all the latest whizz-bangs, 3D, 4K, and streaming services galore.

Roku, a company that makes streaming boxes, has a different idea to how we should be consuming television and has launched a set top box in a USB stick that you stick into your TV to stream a number of services like Netflix.

Everything else

Aside from the major categories we expect there to be plenty of everything else in between. Whether that is cube shaped mice from Logitech, crazy iPhone docks from all on sundry and bizarre Android powered beer openers or iPad cases you just know that buried in a booth somewhere at the back of the Las Vegas Convention Centre will be the gadget you think you've always wanted, but in reality would never get it out of the box.?

Tags: CES2012 Phones Tablets Laptops Televisions Home Cinema Sony LG Samsung Apple Google HTC Sony Ericsson Lenovo HP Toshiba Asus Acer Nokia Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD Nokia Lumia 900 Viewsonic Nvidia Qualcomm Dell Microsoft Windows 8 Fujifilm Nikon Olympus Canon Kodak Casio roku Features

CES 2012 preview: we're here originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:32:00 +0000

If you are reading this at home, stop two seconds, look at your TV (if you're on the sofa) and see how large the black frame around your television is. Holed up in our hotel room in Las Vegas writing this and looking at the one we've got, it is a shocking 10cms thick.

Now look down at your fingertips and imagine a bezel (that's the frame) surrounding your TV being less than the thickness of the white bit at the end of your fingernail. Impressive right?

That's what LG?has just announced its latest TV will have when it goes on show at CES in Las Vegas this year: a 1mm bezel virtually eradicating that black border around its flagship TV altogether. ?

Dubbed the Cinema Screen Design, LG will show off a new flagship television that has a bezel that is just 1mm in a move that LG believes will create a more optimal and comfortable environment for?immersive 3D viewing. How? By removing physical obstructions to allow greater immersion of 3D effects.?

"The 3D experience is still evolving and we at LG intend to push the limits of what 3D can deliver," said Havis?Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. "With our 2012 Cinema 3D Smart TVs,?we have been able to take a significant step forward, thanks to a series of new and upgraded 3D features led by?the Cinema Screen?Design."?

But it isn't just about a thin border. The new models will also use similar technology to that introduced by Sony last year. Called Dual Play, two users along with special Dual Play glasses, will be able to see two entirely different full images, as opposed to the?traditional split screen.

No word on pricing or availability, however with the show starting on Tuesday we won't have long to wait to get our hands on the new TV to bring you the lowdown of what's what. ?

Tags: Televisions CES2012 LG 3DTV

LG Cinema Screen TV reduces horrid black border to just 1mm originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:42:00 +0000

Eric Schmidt made it clear that 2012 would be the year to watch out for Google TV and now we have some more details from both LG and Google on what is to come.

LG has confirmed that it will be introducing and demonstrating Google TV at its press conference on 9 January, with an eye to launching for the US market in 2012 and the UK in 2013.

The details are thin on the ground at the moment, however LG says that the TV will feature its Cinema 3D technology and also offer its NetCast-based Smart TV platform, so we can expect this to be a fully-featured high-end TV.?

There will also be an Android-based, LG-designed, Magic Remote Qwerty, adding a keyboard to LG's Magic Remote which offers Wii-like control of your TV. The Magic Remote also recently received voice control, so it looks like a mighty tool in TV control.?

Elsewhere, Google has announced the line-up of Google TV partners to watch out for at CES and through 2012. Joining LG are Samsung and Sony. Sony has been involved with Google TV since 2010, but the interesting point for Sony is that it looks like it will be expanding outside the US in 2012. Will it be first to launch in the Google TV in the UK? Perhaps.?

Also on the list are Marvell, MediaTek and Vizio. Google boasts that it has more than 150 apps designed specifically for Google TV, along with the thousands of Android apps that you could also add into the mix.?

Pocket-lint will be out at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, so we will be bringing you all the news on Google TV, and whether it will be crossing the Atlantic as the picture becomes clear.

And yes, that's a mock-up image above.

Read

Tags: Televisions Google Google TV LG Samsung Sony Smart TV CES2012

LG confirms Google TV, UK launch planned for 2013 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:50:00 +0000

Apple is said to be struggling to come up with top-tier content for its Apple TV project, if a report from USA Today is to believed, the article citing an anonymous Apple employee and two television industry sources who claim to have the inside knowledge.

The paper suggests that Apple is facing a "major roadblock" in its bid to secure content, meaning its plans? to deliver an "? la carte" TV service may be in jeopardy. If the Apple television, coined iTV by some,? is to get off the ground this content is seen as vital in persuading customers to stump up the cash to establish Apple at the heart the living room.

However, it looks as though there is still plenty of time for Apple, as further speculation would lead us to believe that the panels for the future television have not yet been sourced.

The Apple employee is also reported to have given a rather glib statement relating to the possible size of the Apple TV, as USA Today states: "Apple is said to be looking at a 42-inch or larger LCD TV with built-in Wi-Fi. Inside the locked-down studio of Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design at Apple, there's a slick 50-inch TV, according to the source who worked at Apple."

That differs wildly from the Digitimes source over the Christmas break that suggested Apple would be gunning for a 32- or 37-inch set targeting the second TV domain rather than going flat out for lounge or living room purchase.?

The rumour also tallies up with the news from the Daily Mail on Wednesday that?Apple was looking to bid for Premier League football?rights against Sky, EPSN, and Al Jezeera.?

Read

Tags: Apple Rumours Televisions Home Cinema Biz

Apple TV said to be struggling for top-tier content as 50-inch set rumoured originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 08:35:00 +0000

The start of a new year means the chance to get excited about another batch of gadgets that will come our way over the next 12 months.

There will be hundreds of gadgets, loads of phones and tablets, and even more cameras to tickle our interest. This time next year you might have a completely different phone than you do now, a new games console, or even a new computer.

While some are still hidden from us waiting to appear like a jack-in-the-box we already know some that will be gracing the shop shelves in the coming months ahead.

Here at the start of the year are the ones we are waiting for:

PlayStation Vita

Due out in February in the UK and the US, the PlayStation Vita will be Sony's return to the handheld space in an attempt to fend off the continual rise of the smartphone and the tablet. But will a dedicated 5-inch handheld gaming console be enough to tackle the Samsung Galaxy devices and Apple iPads of this world? Sony certainly hopes so and we get to find out in a month's time.?

Read more on the PlayStation Vita

iPhone 5

iPhone gossip dominated 2011 and there is nothing to suggest that it won't dominate proceedings until Apple reveals an iPhone 5, possibly in September 2012 - the rumours have already started.

If the fanboys felt cheated out of the new device with the reveal of the iPhone 4S, imagine how they will feel if Apple skips 2012 altogether. Remember there was a 16-month launch cycle between the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Ouch.

Read more on the iPhone 5

iPad 3

The iPad 2 was launched at the start of 2011 and the year before saw the launch of the iPad in 2010. Taking that launch pattern as gospel, we should see an iPad 3 launched and in shops in the first couple of months of 2012.

In reality Apple has, of course, said nothing, confirmed nothing, and acknowledged nothing.

Still, that hasn't stopped rumours flowing out of "those familiar with the matter" and "sources close to the product" as if it was champagne at a New Year's Eve party.

If you are to believe all the gossip, Apple will launch a third iPad, called the iPad 3, that will have a faster processor and higher resolution. If you really believe everything you read, and we recommend you don't, there will also be a 7-inch version too.

Read more on the iPad 3

Samsung Galaxy S III

The Samsung Galaxy S II was one of the biggest phones of 2011 winning numerous awards, including Phone of the Year in the 8th Pocket-lint Gadget Awards, and ending up in many people's pockets.

Since then Samsung has launched the more powerful Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Google. That combined with the launch of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich, means that the Samsung Galaxy S II is now looking old. Rumours have it that the SGS III will be faster, quicker, and more powerful than you can possibly imagine.?

Expect a February Mobile World Congress 2012 reveal.

Read more on the Samsung Galaxy S III

Ultrabooks

Intel is throwing a lot of weight behind the MacBook Air challenger and with plenty of support from Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Lenovo and others like LG and HP. Expect there to be plenty of Ultrabook announcements over the next 12 months. Your next laptop is going to be thin.

Read more on Ultrabooks

Apple TV

Not that Apple TV, but the other one, currently dubbed iTV. If that doesn't make it even more confusing then here is the lowdown.

Apple is, if rumours become true, expected to launch a television that has the power of its Apple TV set top box within, which should revolutionise the television industry the same way it changed the mobile phone market. The bonus, however, is that Apple already has an army of users with devices (iPhones and iPads) eager to connect via AirPlay.

The TVs, currently rumoured to be 32 or 37 inches in size, might also have Siri support so you can talk to your TV, with it possibly moving into your kitchen before gunning for your living room in 2013.

Read more on Apple TV

Nintendo Wii U

Shown off at the E3 gaming trade show in LA in June 2011, The Wii U is the follow-up to the hugely successful Wii console and hopes to revitalise Nintendo's fortunes in 2012.

The console promises to be more powerful than the current Xbox 360 and PS3 as well as include a tablet-like controller.?Nintendo has said that the Wii U will be launched some time in 2012.?

Read more on the Nintendo Wii U

Windows 8

Expected at the tail end of 2012, Windows 8 will promise a wrath of new features and excitement for Windows users on their PC.

From the early public preview, that has already been made available, expect a two-pronged computer and tablet attack. 2012 is the year Microsoft tries to crack the tablet market once again.

Read more on Windows 8

Windows Phone 8 (Apollo)

We've already started to hear rumblings of Windows Phone 8 and the new features it will add. If, like other product life-cycles, Microsoft follows suit with updates to its mobile phone operating system, we will see an announcement in February with a roll out of the new features to the general public in October 2012.

Even better, with a new OS will come new phones from the likes of Nokia, Samsung, LG, and HTC hopefully.

Read more on Windows Phone 8

Kindle Fire in the UK

The Kindle Fire has already launched in the US, but could 2012 see the launch of the colour tablet from Amazon in the UK? Rumours suggest so, but it is also worth bearing in mind that Amazon took over 2 years to get the Kindle from the US to the UK.

Sadly, Amazon hasn't officially said when or if it will be launching the Kindle Fire internationally.

Read more on the Amazon Kindle Fire

Asus Transformer Prime

Due to go on sale in the next couple of weeks, if not days, the Asus Transformer Prime is the follow up to the Transformer Prime launched in 2011.?

The Honeycomb (Asus have promised it will be getting an Ice Cream Sandwich update) tablet packs a powerful punch with its Nvidia quad-core processor and means it will dominate proceedings for the rest of the year when it comes to Android tablet competitors.?

You can read our review of the new Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime?when we got to play with it extensively in 2011.?

Tags: Phones Tablets Televisions Samsung Apple Amazon Nintendo Nintendo Wii U Amazon Kindle Fire PS Vita Sony iPhone 5 iPad 3 Samsung Galaxy S III Apple TV Ultrabooks Windows 8 Windows Phone 8 Microsoft Intel Features Asus Asus Transformer Prime

11 hottest gadgets to look forward to in 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:25:00 +0000

LG is to use the forthcoming CES trade show in Las Vegas to unveil, what it claims is, the world's largest 3D Ultra Definition TV. At 84-inches it's actually 1-inch smaller than Sharp's 8K4K monster, debuted at IFA in September, and features a lower pixel count (with a 4K2K resolution of 3840 x 2160),?but the Sharp set wasn't compatible with 3D content.

Certainly, LG believes that it will turn a few heads at CES: "LG is pushing the limits of home entertainment innovation with this 3D UD TV,” said Havis Kwon, president and CEO of LG Electronics Home Entertainment Company. "We are bringing together all our Smart TV and 3D knowledge in the 3D UD TV in order to demonstrate to the CES audience that LG is committed to being the world’s leading brand for immersive home entertainment in 2012 and beyond."

At present, while it also features LG's?Slim and Narrow Bezel Design and Smart TV infrastructure, there's no indication when this may become a fully-fledged consumer product - after all, gaining access to 4K2K content outside of Japan is tricky - but at least it's ready to roll out as and when there is demand for such a thing.

There's certainly no need to worry that the Full HD TV you bought over Christmas will soon be obsolete.

Tags: LG Televisions Home Cinema LG 3D UD TV Ultra Definition CES2012

LG to unveil world's largest 3D Ultra Definition TV at CES 2012 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:17:51 +0000

Apple iTV is set to revolutionise broadcast television if the Cupertino giant has its way, according to analysts Shaw Wu and?Sterne Agee. They firmly believe that the company will want to offer internet-based paid subscriptions and offer customised channel lineups, effectively going head-to-head with Virgin Media and Sky in the UK.

Essentially, the system will work like Talk Talk TV (nee Tiscali TV) - the service that is still active to existing subscribers, but no longer accepting new signups. All TV programming will be streamed via the Internet, effectively giving the viewer complete control over what channels they require as part of their subscription.

Obviously, this would require a decent broadband connection and licensing deals with all of the stations that are available, but if enacted would become a unique proposition (being built into a TV set from the get go) and would give Apple a jump over other set manufacturers:

"This is obviously much more complicated (than current offerings) from a licensing standpoint," said Wu in a statement to investors. "And in our view, would change the game for television and give AAPL a big leg-up against the competition.

"Today, iTunes has a rich library of movies and TV shows but it is mostly for downloads and only movies are available for rentals (TV shows once were but were terminated in August 2011)," he added. "What's missing is live broadcast television."

In the US, it has already been revealed that Apple approached CBS for a?potential streaming TV deal, but the network declined, favouring to license its own content. The UK may be an even harder nut to crack, considering governmental involvement in broadcasting in general and the BBC specifically.

It also remains to be seen what Apple will call its offering in the UK, with broadcaster ITV willing to go to battle over its name and brand identity. It is unlikely that the tech company will localise names, as it's not in its nature to so, so we'd expect the final moniker to be different globally (iTelly, anyone?).

If it is to sort out licensing deals and the name, Apple will have to get a wriggle on if it's to meet the rumoured Christmas 2012 release date.

Read

Tags: Apple Televisions Home Cinema Apple iTV

Apple planning custom channels on iTV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:21:32 +0000

It's the end of the year, but before we get too excited about what's to come next, lets take a breather, let those mince pies break down and glance back at 2011.

In the big wide world at large, the US finally tracked down Osama Bin Laden, Manchester United were crowned winners of the Premiership making the club the most successful in English League history and the UK voted firmly against the Alternative Vote in the first nationwide referendum in years.

Meanwhile, this is what was going on in technology and on Pocket-lint's pages.

Year in Review:

?

Twitter injunctions

After a month of madness on the social networks over a certain footballer who couldn't actually be mentioned in the newspapers and yet everyone knew who he was and talked about it quite blatantly, breathe, Twitter and Google both agreed to hand over the details of anyone in the future on their services that were in breach of such court orders. The upshot since has been that, effectively, we're all newspapers now. Read more

Dellz

Dell refreshed its upper end range of laptops, and indeed eventually it's lower ones too, by adding the letter Z to the name. Fortunately, the ?899 starter price tag on the Dell XPS 15Z pictured below also meant a top end engine room, integrated side speakers and all the mod-cons including Bluetooth 3.0 and as many ports as you can think of. Read more

Spot the difference

The tech habits of the Prime Minister became all very clear in May when Misses Cameron and Obama posed for a photo in the cosier parts of 10 Downing Street. Among other spots were his and?hers Apple iPads and an old Sky box. No iPad 2. No Sky HD.?Read More

More reasons not to lose your phone

Despite the hard economic times, Google was keen to put money matters first in May 2011 when it launched the contactless payment Google Wallet system. Arriving first in America, as usual, the NFC-based system encourages users to add their credit card and bank details into a mobile phone app which can then transmit the required payment details locally at point of payment. We're still waiting to give it a whirl in Blighty. Read more

Gmusing

In yet another bold move from the Big G, the company announced another US-only (for now) service, this time taking on the world of digital music. Music Beta by Google allows user to store and stream their tunes to wherever they are given access to a mobile phone/web app and a little internet connectivity. We managed to go hands-on for a taste of what might come to the UK one day soon.?Read more

Size zero

Asus unveiled the UX-series of ultra-slim, ultra-sleek laptops which later became part of the Intel Ultrabook brand once the next generation Sandy Bridge processors arrived to go in them. At 17mm thick at the thickest and just 3mm thin at the thin bits, the UX laptops weighed in at just 1.1kg.?Read more

Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels decided to create a life size version of its track and send driver Tanner Foust on a record breaking 332ft jump. Personally, we think it's a bit of a cheat that the car had any kind of engine power but there you go. Impressive nonetheless. Read more

Wood, you believe it?

Sadly not available in the shops, designer Michael?Roopenian came up with this beautiful concept for a classically non-beautiful area of technology. The Engrain wooden keyboard and its ripple effect was created by sandblasting a solid plank and then sectioning it up into keys. Quite how it feels when touch typing is another thing. Read more

Nexus Tab

Google I/O 2011 was a chance for the developers of the world to head over to San Francisco, exchange ideas with other coders and listen to talks on new APIs as well as how to work with what's already there on Android and on any of Google's other platforms too. It was also a chance to walk away with a free piece of kit which, this year, was a brand new, pure Honeycomb version of the old Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Not bad. Read more

Like, really?

A couple in Israel liked Facebook so much that they decided to name their new baby daughter after the famous thumbs up button. Like Adler's name didn't go down wonderfully well with friends and family of parents Lior and Vardit but these are the new icons rather than biblical names, apparently. Read more

75 inches and counting

The tech calendar just isn't right if no one has shown off a world beating TV at some point. May 2011 was the turn of Samsung to award itself biggest 3D LED set ever invented with the arrival of the 75-inch Samsung D9500 aka the 75 Premium Smart. It shattered the previous record by a whole 3 inches. Read more

R2-BBQ

Another clever clogs in the form of Philip Wise managed a rather nice hack job all of his own. With May the start of the outdoor meat grilling season, he took his rather bog standard 55 gallon Ugly Drum Smoker and gave it a custom job Naboo style. Read more

Sorry

2011 was a terrible year for Sony but nothing quite captured the moment better than this photo of when the very top executives of the company bowed down in apology to the world in a ritual known as ojigi after the security breaches in April which led to the loss of thousands of personal details of users of the PlayStation Network. Read more

When dreams come true

Pieces of cheese? Sails on the horizon? The answer is none of the above. What's pictured below is, in fact, the KEF Blade which the hugely popular home cinema kit manufacturer described as its most ambitious speaker to date when it made what once was a concept into reality, in May, after popular public demand. Now all that public need is ?20,000 for a pair. Read more

Mega Maker

In one of the very best pieces of fancy dress we've ever seen, a gentleman over at the Maker Faire 2011 came up with a way to become a head in a jar. While it looks great, the idea of spending the party underwater and barely able to speak does sound a little on the nightmarish side though. We wonder how long he actually kept it on for.?Read more

To Boldy go

Pocket-lint took a trip over to Florida in May to the annual BlackBerry World event. As well as the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, the Bold 9930 and the Bold 9900 were also on display, the latter of which is pictured below. Lovely handsets but is good design enough for RIM to hold off the rest of advancing smartphone market? Read more

Domesday Reloaded

The BBC dug up and republished the data of the 1986 Domesday Project for the modern day web. The information, as recorded onto LaserDiscs at the time, includes a census of Britain as recorded by the local communities themselves as well as accounts of days in the life of hundreds of school children across the country. Read more

...and...action

After much chitter chatter about the idea and general fear from broadcasters the world over, YouTube launched its movie rental service taking what once was the bastion of home movie moments another step towards respectable video legitimacy. That said, the library of films hasn't exactly been Oscar gold. Read more

?

Pocket-lint on prime time

Probably the biggest event for Pocket-lint in 2011 was our appearance on the number one popular TV show on the BBC that is the Apprentice. Three of the team got to grill the contestants as they presented their apps each designed and developed in under 24 hours. Our response? A pick of the nose, a nod of the head and the words "1.7 million, actually". Read more

Whoops

Motorola had US mobile network Verizon to blame for an all too early and all too official leak of the hotly anticipated refresh of the hit Android smartphone in the shape of the Motorola Droid X2. The story was just one of hundreds of leaked news hits of the year in the field of mobile phones and tablets.?Read more

Tags: Tablets Phones Gaming Sony Google Twitter Laptops Digital music Facebook Televisions Features Year in Review

Year in review 2011: May originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Apple is reportedly getting ready to start building an Apple TV Television for launch in the third quarter of 2012 claim sources involved in the supply chain.

"The supply chain of Apple will start preparing materials for iTV sets in the first quarter of 2012 in order to meet Apple's schedule to launch the new display products in the second or the third quarter of 2012, according to industry sources," reports DigiTimes in Taiwan. "Instead of a form of set-top box (STB) like the Apple TV launched in 2006, Apple's new products will be full TV sets, the sources added."

According to the site, which hasn't the best track record reporting Apple rumours it has to be said, the new televisions will come in 32-inch or 37-inch sizes initially.

Rumours that Apple was building a television rather than just another set top box started when details appeared in Steve Jobs' biography after it went on sale in October following the death of the Apple CEO.

According to biographer Walter Isaacson at the time "He [Jobs] very much wanted to do for television sets what he had done for computers, music players, and phones: make them simple and elegant."

Isaacson continued: "‘I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use,’ he told me. ‘It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud.’ No longer would users have to fiddle with complex remotes for DVD players and cable channels. ‘It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.’"

Read

Tags: Televisions Apple TV Apple

32- and 37-inch Apple iTV coming in time for Christmas 2012 say sources originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:12:00 +0000

LG has revealed that the world's largest OLED TV - the 55-inch OLED TV first announced at IFA in September will be shown at CES in January next month before going on sale at some point in 2012.

LG new Display’s 55-inch OLED TV panel, which grows on the company's previous efforts, will comes with a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 and a wider color gamut than that produced by LCD panels says LG.

“Our objective has always been to actively define and lead emerging display technology markets,” said Dr. Sang Beom Han, CEO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. “Although OLED technology is seen as the future of TV display, the technology has been limited to smaller display sizes and by high costs, until now. LG Display’s 55-inch OLED TV panel has overcome these barriers.”

As previously, no need for a special light source, means LG Display’s 55-inch OLED TV panel is super thin measuring half the thickness of your mobile phone (5mm).

The new TV will go on show at CES 2012. Sadly LG hasn't said how much the new TV will cost, but expect it to be expensive.?

The 31-inch model shown off in Berlin last year went on sale in March and costs ?6,000. LG's 15-inch OLED costs around ?1,500.

So a quick spin on the Pocket-lint abacus leads us to believe the 55-incher will cost a minimum of ?20,000. Better get saving those pennies.

?

Tags: Televisions LG OLED OLED televisions CES2012

LG 55-inch OLED TV welcomes in New Year originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:54:00 +0000

Personal TV is here. Sort of. If you're the type of person who endlessly fiddles with a TV's settings mid-movie to howls of abuse from your co-habitees - largely to undo others' ruinous work, obviously - Toshiba's 37UL863 might just be the TV for you.

Using face detection tech from a built-in camera, this lounge-friendly 37-inch LED TV saves preset picture parameters and other customised info, instantly loading them whenever you slump in front of it. Customised settings can include login details and various tweaks in Toshiba Places, a newly refreshed online hub of ‘smart’ TV that offers several, err, places for video, photos and social media accounts.

We’ll come on to the success or otherwise of these two features, but know that the 37UL863B's other features together make-up a thoroughly advanced TV.

HD and edge LED

Edge LED-backlighting is key to its success, though just as important is its Freeview HD tuner which should be de rigueur in 2011, though missed off some of Toshiba's other offerings this year. And, for free-to-air satellite fans, Freesat HD - an increasingly hard to find add-on, and one that’s strangely not trumped-up in the 37UL863B’s marketing.

Freeview HD is treated sumptuously, with a thoroughly comprehensive electronic programme guide giving broadcast information across multiple channels at once while the current channel continues underneath. It’s helpful, too; the set even produces a message that reads thus: ‘A higher quality version of this service may be available. Do you wish to change channel to this service?’, which is a slightly wordy way of saying ‘Fancy watching a HD version?’. Of course we do, though an upscaled version of Cash in the Attic wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for.

USB recording

We quickly found the USB recording option, which makes it possible to record live broadcasts - as well as set timers for recordings - straight to a hard disk linked to the 37UL863B via USB. Doing so doesn't exactly create a PVR-like environment, but it does also bring "+" features like pause/rewind live TV.

Better still, all this trickery is operated by a surprisingly sleek remote control. Longer and more slender than most, it features an aluminium slider that clicks into place to cover the pause/FF/RW and number buttons, making operating the top controls - principally the directional buttons and the channel and volume rockers - much easier. It can be slid down to rest on the bottom, exposing the number keys, but can’t cover the top buttons. It’s a nice feature, though it’s made more useful by the remote’s long design, something that without the slider would be difficult to operate with one hand.

For those who refuse to use anything without a touch-sensitive screen, the Toshiba TV Remote App is available for smartphones. We attempted to use it an iPhone 3GS, but it wouldn’t link up with a TV despite it being on our network. Perhaps it needs an iOS5 refresh?

Sockets and inputs

The 37UL863B’s ins and outs are rather generous, with four HDMI inputs and two USB slots - one of each placed on a side panel – and with component video in tow, too. Audio is via analogue phonos (two sets) or optical digital audio, with a headphones jack also on the side panel. Also there is a common interface slot for adding subscription TV to the Freeview tuner, and a composite video input.

Probably the most important connections though, are its Ethernet LAN and built-in Wi-Fi. Smart TV is an area that Toshiba has lagged behind in for the past couple of years, but it's got its act together just in time; more than a quarter of all TVs sold this year can connect to a network. Still, the refreshed Toshiba Places won't please everyone.

Toshiba's smart TV

It’s easy enough to use, though a touch too busy in look - and suffers from the opposite problem regarding content. We weren’t able to get through to BBC iPlayer or YouTube from the dedicated VOD screen, though these two icons are also on the TV’s main user interface and both worked fine when accessed from there.

Besides, there’s little to get excited about in Places, which comprises the kind of ‘extra’ features no one really wants. Viewster, Box Office 365, Dailymotion, Aureo, Meteonews. It’s all a tad underwhelming.

The same could be said of the personal TV function, which as well as not being that useful unless you’ve got a load of different logins in Places, doesn't recognise faces all that well. It’s a good idea though, and one we expect to see returning next year in an improved second-gen guise.

Networking and USB playback is a disparate experience in that the file formats handled aren’t the same, though we did manage MKV from a USB thumbdrive and AVI via DLNA from a netbook.

Picture and sound quality

The 37UL863B proves a great all-rounder with both Freeview and Blu-ray, and offers a nice smaller option for living rooms keener on restrained, plasma-like richness rather than the eye-popping brightness of most LCD TVs. Here, the colours look natural and brightness is toned-down nicely. ‘Cinematic’ is probably how best to describe its images, something that prompts us to recommend this to film fans, despite its immaculate behaviour with Freeview, too.

Don't buy the 37UL863B expecting reference-level picture from Blu-ray, because you’ll be slightly disappointed by the occasional motion blur, light spillage from the LED-driven backlight, so-so contrast, and lack of detail in black areas of the image. But in terms of price, size and tech, the 37UL863B is on the money.

Sadly, that’s more than can be said for the speakers despite a ‘spatial’ surround sound mode that is at least a diversion from a lacklustre audio performance.

Verdict:

Armed with Wi-Fi, an almost plasma-like richness and BBC iPlayer, the 37UL863B will do a sterling job in living rooms looking to upsize and get online - and on a budget.

Nicely priced and with a slinky remote in tow, this 37-inch Edge LED doesn’t ever approach ultimate picture perfection, but remains a good value attempt at a TV with extras. It’s also one of the few TVs around with a Freesat HD tuner, which is here on top of Freeview HD.

Tags: Televisions Toshiba Toshiba 37UL863

Toshiba 37UL863 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:01:31 +0000

Whether or not you’ve been impressed by 3D enough to have it at home, would you seriously consider buying a big, expensive TV that couldn't flirt with the third dimension at all?

Panasonic has taken this quandary of modern times, and thus designed a plasma to suit. Measuring 50-inches in the diagonal and boasting online features galore, the ST30 doesn't come with any 3D glasses.

Optional extras

That explains the low price, then. Unfortunately the 3D glasses needed for this active shutter 3D plasma screen cost north of ?100. The add-ons don't stop there, either. Despite the inclusion of Viera Connect, an enticing mix of on-demand fare from YouTube, BBC iPlayer, Acetrax, Viewster - and even a selection of games – the ST30 has only a wired option for connecting-up to a broadband router.

A WiFi dongle is available for lodging at one of the set’s two USB slots, but that’ll cost you another ?70-or-so. Oh, and did we mention Skype? To satiate your desire to make video – in HD, no less - calls to friends will cost another ?100+ for a Panasonic-made kit.

Happily, you can say a great big ‘no thanks’ to all of this frippery and enjoy an increasingly rare breed of TV; a cut-down, bare bones, and rather brilliant plasma from a big brand, which does what it needs to - and a little more besides - for a reasonable price.

Strong in all the right places

Core duties are completed with the minimum of fuss. For starters, there’s a Freeview HD tuner that seems essential on a Full HD screen as big as this. It's not got a very attractive EPG in tow, but it works fast and simple recordings can be made to a hard disk over USB.

While watching we did wonder if, indeed, a tuner sporting those paltry few HD channels is strictly necessary, for the ST30 upscales standards definition very well. Detail drops, of course, but some resolution enhancer circuitry manages to smooth jagged edges and keeps the picture noise to an absolute minimum.

2D Blu-ray also shines, and though we’re not convinced it matches-up to a similar-sized LCD TV in terms of crystal clarity, there’s a smoothness and rosy colour palette that could only come from a good quality plasma. Contrast is good, for sure, though Panaosnic’s GT30 and VT30 plasmas do better; shadow detail can be on the low side, though there’s no arguing about the deepness of those blacks.

Optional 3D is solid

Over to 3D and the ST30 also does a sterling job. It may be an optional add-on, but there’s no way part of its fee isn't going towards making sure 3D is up to spec, should you choose to make use of it.

It’s not always comfortable to watch; fast action sequences can cause headaches as picture elements whizz around your eyes and cause flicker. Judder is also more apparent than on 2D, but for most Avatar we had few problems – and the panoramic shots around Pandora were gorgeous. Donning those specs deepens black levels a tad too far for our liking, but colours fly from the screen, without the brightness problems of most LCD TVs.

Sounds fine

Audio is nothing special, but when is it ever on a flat TV? But Viera Connect most definitely is. It’s one of our favourite smart TV hubs now it’s got BBC iPlayer built-in, and though it does have a ‘euro’ feel to some of its apps, we can see a bright future for Viera Connect. Better looking than rival platforms and faster to respond to the remote - not to mention the Viera Remote smartphone app - all it needs is Lovefilm and more VOD-based services to succeed. And we love its expanding marketplace that comes complete with paid-for games like Asphalt 5.

All awesome stuff, but there are some disappointing omissions. Some will hate losing a Freesat HD tuner when compared to higher-ranking, pricer Panasonics, others the plain chassis design, or the 3D/WiFi/Skype accessories.

What we disliked most was the lack of DLNA networking. We managed to play a host of video files from a USB stick shoved in the ST30’s back connections panel, including MKV and AVI types, but it’s not possible to have them stream from a PC or Mac. That expensive WiFi dongle is purely for Viera Connect, then. It’s a corner cut too far or on otherwise well judged attempt.

Verdict:

If you can't decide if 3D is for you or not, Panasonic’s latest giant plasma is the ideal starting point. While you save up for 3D specs, the ST30 will wow you with colourful, and sharp images from Blu-ray, Freeview HD and digital files via USB.

It lacks the finery of pricier plasmas from Panasonic, and the cost of accessories can mount up, but as it stands this is a good value plasma that will be an upgrade far enough for many living rooms after a cinema-like experience.

Tags: Televisions Panasonic Panasonic TX-P50ST30 Home Cinema Plasma televisions

Panasonic TX-P50ST30 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:01:56 +0000

Can't decide whether to invest in a 3DTV? Acer's HN274H, a 27-inch PC monitor that uses an active shutter 3D system might be the perfect stop gap.

Although hardly a good-looking design, with a gloss black chassis that's a tad grating, this 1920x1080 pixel resolution panel can display all the detail from a Blu-ray disc.

But surely this PC monitor can’t host a watchable 3D movie? Actually, it can, and then some. Designed primarily to supply 3D graphics to those using 3D applications or playing 3D games at a desktop, the HN274H comes prepared for anything – with a nod to Nvidia’s 3D Vision format, which isn’t supported by 3DTVs.

Connection options

A VGA and D-sub port on the rear panel is par for the course, as is a HDMI input, but the HN274H goes into 3D overload by fitting an extra two HDMI slots onto the side. All are HDMI 1.4-compatible, so can be attached to all manner of 3D devices.

Used purely as a PC monitor, the HN274H does a decent job, with an exceptionally bright screen and plenty of detail. The only issue is a tight viewing angle, which sees contrast drain from dark areas if you watch from the wings – and contrast isn't great to start with.

3D magic

The magic comes when you attach it to a 3D source. In our test we pumped-in Avatar from a 3D Blu-ray disc, and the results were awesome. We did notice the odd jagged edge, but the all-round picture is detailed enough to convince. Don the specs - Acer puts a single pair of rechargeable (via USB) active shutter 3D glasses in the box - and the perception of contrast skyrockets. The effect of active shutter specs on lowering brightness is well known on 3DTVs, and it's arguably even more noticeable on this small screen, but here it’s a good thing. With brightness lowered and more convincing blacks on show, it helps bring a sense of realism to 3D movies primarily by bolstering the colour palette, and partly makes up for the small screen size.

It's not the smoothest 3D picture we've seen - let’s not pretend that it would do battle with a 42-inch Panasonic 3D plasmas - but it’s very involving, comfortable to watch, and with some excellent and clean depth effects.

A 100Hz screen that claims a response time of just two milliseconds, the HN274H is nevertheless not quite quick enough to prevent the odd blur. As for crosstalk and ghosting, which plague many a bigscreen 3DTV using similarly backlit-LCD panels, the HN274H manages to swerve that particular 3D nasty.

Sit too close to the screen and the pixels become visible, and the picture becomes less involving. Less immersive than big screens it may be, but we're pretty impressed by the HN274H 's 3D performance. That said, the HN274H is clearly designed as a desktop PC monitor for general use and 3D gaming, where realism isn’t as important as total immersion.

Dreadful sound

One drawback is the built-in audio. The HN274H 's speakers are so weak that we're instantly drawn out of the involving 3D images from Avatar. We don't mean weak as in treble heavy or bereft of bass, we mean tinny, thin, despicable sound.

If at all possible switch the source to picture-only over HDMI, and route an audio cable from whatever source you use – be it a PC, Blu-ray player or a games console – to a separate sound system (even small desktop speakers would be preferable).

Verdict:

Best used in a bedroom where a PC monitor and a TV screen will be one and the same, Acer's HN274H is well-connected and makes both an excellent desktop upgrade and a great option if a 3DTV would be too much of a stretch.

Although the gloss black design won't excite and there is a viewing angle issue, the screen is capable enough both as a PC display and with a 3D video or games source to consider if a full-blown 3D home cinema is out of reach.

Tags: Monitors Televisions Home Cinema Acer Acer HN274H

Acer HN274H 3D monitor originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:01:53 +0000

This is a last minute bargain for anyone wanting to invest in a flatscreen TV for a bit of HD Christmas movie action. And it's Ebuyer Express, via Ebay, that is offering up the LG 25-inch widescreen LED TV for ?169.99 - no it is not the biggest goggle box on the block, but it's a decent price for something that should deliver a very decent picture.

Specs include response time 5ms, mega contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 and a built-in TV tuner. It is optimised for various digital broadcasting formats such as MPEG4, DVBC, DVBT, FHD and more. And it also plays media files without a PC through its USB port.

The deal doesn't appear to have a time limit on it, and the site states that if you're really keen you can order before 8pm 21 December and you'll get delivery on 22nd.

Read

Tags: Televisions LED TVs LG Credit Crunch Christmas

Credit Crunch Christmas: LG 25-inch LED FULL HD TV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:37:36 +0000

Don't you sometimes yearn for the simple life? A time when firmware upgrades weren’t a daily chore, when internet-based VOD was just a theory, and when a TV could be operated by those over forty?

Panasonic has taken the ‘less is more’ approach to its latest entry-level TV, no bad thing in theory, but perhaps even stretch it a little too far. 3D? You’ll not find that here. But surely some home networking or online video? Nope. What about a couple of lovely USB slots? Nada!

Picture quality

What this 32-incher does have, however, are a couple of upgrades you wouldn't have found on a similar TV a few years ago; edge LED backlighting and a Freeview HD tuner. The latter has an Ethernet LAN port in tow - part of the Freeview HD spec, but it doesn't do anything exciting.

The edge LED panel used by the TX-L32E3B is of the IPS Alpha variety, which should give us some decent contrast and a smooth picture. Except it doesn’t; switch the TX-L32E3B on and the picture appears to suffer not only from relatively poor contrast - we’re talking a sheen of blue-ish, gray-ish tones where there should be jet black - that’s not nearly as dynamic as we’d hoped for, but also some motion blur.

That’s a shame, since the rest of the picture - is this case, Frozen Planet on Freeview HD - seems incredibly natural in terms of colour, something that’s helped by a lot of detail. When those polar bears get going, however, the camera movements bring a sheen of blur across the arctic that renders a good portion of that Full HD detail pointless. Switch to Blu-ray and it’s a similar story.

To be fair to the TX-L32E3B, its picture is always watchable, something that’s largely due to a virtual lack of processing circuitry. There is CATS (contrast automatic tracking system) to ignore, as it tends to make panel brightness rather twitchy. And a resolution enhancer - almost alone in the ‘Advanced Settings’ picture menu - to twiddle with for DVDs. However, the TX-L32E3B is probably best left on one of its preset picture modes, with cinema or true cinema - the latter a touch brighter - the main candidates.

Poor audio and Viera Tools

There are some strange decisions elsewhere. Probably the most annoying is the poor audio, which stem from what is probably one of the TX-L32E3B’s biggest surprises considering its budget status - its 41mm depth. Trouble is, the 10W stereo speakers strapped to its undercarriage don't have nearly enough room to create much in the way of audio, with a treble-heavy, thin soundstage emanating from them.

Viera Tools, a shortcut on the excellent remote control that normally leads to a Panasonic TV’s central functions, here merely points you in the direction of music, video and photo files stored on a SD Card. That’s right, folks - there’s a SD Card slot instead of USB gadgetry. Clearly aimed at those with a digital camera, though not necessarily a computer, the TX-L32E3B was able to play JPEG photos, MP3 music and both MP4 and MPEG files in our test There was no AVI or MKV support.

Elsewhere in the E3 Series are 37-inch and 42-inch models, though we'd seriously consider upgrading to Panasonic’s E30 Series, an only slightly dearer range that benefits from Viera Connect online platform that includes access to BBC iPlayer – something that’s sorely missed on this otherwise living room-friendly option.

Verdict:

The TX-L32E3B tries the ‘less is more’ approach, but fails. Not because it misses off flashy features, but primarily because it misses off access to BBC iPlayer, which we now consider that a living room staple.

Kudos to Panasonic for packing a Freeview HD tuner is this well built yet remarkably slim budget offering, but some picture foibles and odd omissions make this Edge LED set feel like a lost opportunity. There are better value options available for most of us, though the tech-afraid will love the TX-L32E3B.

Tags: Televisions Panasonic Panasonic TX-L32E3B

Panasonic TX-L32E3B originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Active shutter or passive 3D? Expensive glasses and awesome detail, or cheap glasses and a slightly softer image? Can't make up your mind? Don’t worry, neither can Philips, which is why its forever delayed 2011 crop of 3D TVs are divided between the two technologies.

This 42-inch Edge LED TV in the brand's 7000 Series sports Easy 3D - Philips' name for passive tech - as opposed to its Max 3D-toting brethren, but it's no poorer for it. Surprisingly for a TV using cheap-as-chips 3D specs there are only two pairs in the box, though a few trips to your local 3D cinema ought to solve that little problem.

Good specification

Generosity abounds elsewhere, with Wi-Fi fuelling a Smart TV platform called Net TV, a deliciously high-end looking metallic finish, and Ambilight, Philips' patented system that creates a halo of light around the TV that changes according to the dominant colours on the LCD panel.

We do love Ambilight. Forget slimness, brushed aluminium surrounds, and flashy remote controls; flatscreen TVs were made to give wow factor, and that's exactly what Ambilight does. It's a gift that keeps on giving, too, since Ambilight can be used in its Lounge Light mode to add soft lighting to a room. And for those with odd coloured walls, the 42PFL7666’s ‘wall colour adaptive’ option changes the colour of the light so it appears to be normal on almost any colour wall - there are 24 choices in a virtual palette. Meanwhile, Ambilight can be used in various degrees of separation, as well as in several moods including Fresh Nature (green), Hot Lava (a red-pink), Deep Water (blue) and Bright Light (white).

Still, a lava lamp from IKEA would be cheaper, so there's got to be more under the 42PFL7666's hood.

Network activity

The engine room is Pixel Precise HD, a suite of processing gubbins including HD Natural Motion and a 400Hz anti-blur mode, but what we're really interested in is Net TV. Once a network connection wizard has walked us through the steps for connecting via wired or wireless - we chose the latter for extra reliability, but still consider the former absolutely essential on any ‘smart’ product - we're up and running.

The TV does possess the BBC iPlayer, in its usual guise, but in terms of genuinely engaging apps, it's elsewhere rather thin on the ground. That said, it's always good to see YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Picasa make an appearance, not to mention movie streaming from Acetrax and web radio from TuneIn.

Other less inviting apps include Cartoon Network and HiT Entertainment - largely on-demand kids’ programmes - Viewster, MeteoNews and a raft of Euro-centric news channels such as France24, TV5Monde and Euronews, as well as CNBC (US business news), CineTrailer, Funspot, Vimeo, Daily Motion and iConcerts (an actually quite engaging online archive of live gigs). There’s also a link to an online app shop, which contains downloads for the likes of TomTom - on a TV?! - Ebay and some more weather apps.

What Net TV doesn't have - unlike similar, and much more polished, online platforms from the likes of Sony and Samsung - is an app offering the latest 3D movie trailers and showcase footage.

There is a web browser, which has been part of Philips’ smart TV experience for some time, though it's never been executed particularly impressively, and that remains the case on the 42PFL7666 - it’s just so slow to operate from the remote.

That remote control is otherwise good, but there's also an app for phones and tablets - Android as well as iOS-based. What we love about MyRemote, however, isn’t its TV controls, but its novel Slideshow feature, which instantly puts photos stored on a smartphone onto the TV’s screen, with no set-up needed. Apple TV owners may balk, but it’s the kind of feature we can see being used a lot by owners of this TV - it’s just a shame that it doesn't extend to music and movies.

Picture and sound

The 42PFL7666 can record from its Freeview HD tuner to a HDD as well as play digital files over a network or from a USB stick. Two of those features are powered by a brace of USB inputs in the TV’s side, which is also home to an SD card slot, ostensibly for storing purchased video downloads from various Net TV apps, a Common Interface slot and a sole HDMI input.

Nearby, in the same connections panel is a rear-facing RGB Scart, a set of component video inputs and associated analogue audio-ins, and an oddly-placed headphone jack. Just below are three HDMI inputs (one of them Audio Return Channel-compatible), a VGA D-sub 15-pin PC input, an RF aerial connection to power the Freeview HD tuner, and a wired Ethernet LAN port.

Also down here is an optical digital audio input for routing audio to an AV amplifier, though integrated audio is one of the 42PFL7666's major strong points with speakers are among the most powerful available on the TV market. This has been the case for some time on Philips TVs, but it's great to see the unique combination of two rear-firing woofers and two forward-facing drivers that together create a 28W soundstage. That’s at least double what most TVs can muster, and should be enough for most content.

They sound great – full, bassy and with plenty of detail – and the onscreen action isn’t bad, either.

Blu-ray and 3D

Blu-ray is spotless, sharp and smooth, with the only real issue being a slight lack of contrast. Easy 3D, meanwhile, turns in a performance that's best described as 'good value'. Anything close to the camera stands out impressively, although there is almost always a slight shimmer around it. Like any kind of 3D, slow motion shots with very obvious depth affects do look impressive, but as soon as the action hots-up it can all get quite confusing; a splash of water in the direction of the camera in The Ultimate Wave: Tahiti brings an almost nonsensical 3D image that our brain just isn't quick enough to process. At least the use of passive 3D glasses means there are no headaches or eyestrain.

Overall, Easy 3D is indeed all about sacrificing ultimate detail, relative to active shutter 3DTVs, but that won't matter a jot to watchers of Sky's 3D channel, which doesn't broadcast in Full HD anyway.

The viewing angle is about normal for an LED TV of this size; that is to say, if you watch from the wings there is a definite draining of darkness from the opposite side, though it's only truly obvious when you're watching a very dark picture. It’s also good to see an even backlight on a LED TV; many big name brands’ efforts are stained with light leakage. It’s indicative of the high build quality obvious in almost every aspect of the 42PFL7666.

Verdict:

It’s more highly polished on the outside than in, but this good value Edge LED TV has a new passive 3D system that's as easy on the eye as on the wallet. As well as using cheaper 3D specs and offering the unique Ambilight system, this telly exudes quality across the spectrum though lacks the refinement of other 'smart' TV's apps and user interfaces.

Tags: Televisions Philips Philips 42PFL7666 Home Cinema

Philips 42PFL7666 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:54:28 +0000

Pocket-lint has teamed up with Philips to bring you the chance of winning a Philips 32-inch 7000 series TV as part of our Pocket-lint Xmas Spectacular.

Enjoy fantastic pictures, sound and Ambilight on the Philips 32PFL7605 TV. The 32PFL7605 offers a formidable combination of features - including LED backlighting, Ambilight technology, Pixel Precise processing, NetTV plus superb build, materials and a slim, stylish design.

The on-screen pictures are kept at their prime by Philips advanced Pixel Precise HD picture processing engine which ensures pin sharp and accurate pictures, while for motion, the HD Natural Motion system and a 100Hz panel result in on-screen images which are both judder and blur free, no matter how fast the action.

Of course, sound is just as important as the pictures and, as with all Philips TVs, the TV leads the market. Despite the slender size the sound is involving and room filling, using rear firing woofers to provide the bass and deep notes with forward firing, hidden tweeters providing the higher frequencies and detail.

For the icing on the cake the set includes Ambilight, a feature that once experienced is impossible to live without. By projecting light from the sides of the TV on to the wall behind, it creates an ever changing, immersive glow behind the TV, which draws you in and creates the most immersive viewing experience.

All you have to do is follow Pocket-lint (@Pocketlint) on Twitter and then retweet this or any story with the hashtag #plxmas. The competition will last just 24 hours after which a winner will be drawn on 17 December at 11am. The winner will be announced on Twitter.

So what are you waiting for? By this time tomorrow you could be sitting in front of a brand new Philips 32-inch 7000 series TV.

This competition is now closed.?

Congratulations to @mattuhh on winning the Philips TV!

Tags: Televisions Home Cinema Philips Competitions Pocket-lint

The Pocket-lint Xmas Spectacular - Day 11: Win a Philips 32-inch 7000 series TV originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Samsung’s flagship plasma TV represents a delicious compromise. It’s got the second best online dimension, after Sony’s Bravia Internet Video platform, which is too often strapped to TVs with lacklustre 3D pictures. And the second best 3D performance, losing out to Panasonic’s plasmas, which are the best performers, but are blighted by a content-light online service.

We’ll leave this 51-inch plasma’s 3D dimension alone for a while - it’s an optional add-on, with no 3D glasses in the box - and concentrate first on why Smart Hub is becoming irresistible.

Interactive rules the roost

Highlights on the home screen include links to the BBC live streaming news channel, the BBC iPlayer and Lovefilm, the latter being especially good to see, despite the fact that the postal DVD service has yet to digitise many of its must-have titles. Kudos to Samsung’s software designers, who have somehow managed to squeeze not only a live TV preview box (complete with sound) and a video search facility that works independently of source, but also clickable shortcuts to some of the TVs other functions.

The lower half of the screen includes, by default, links to a list of TV programmes recorded to a HDD via USB, videos, photos, and music stored on a USB stick or a PC/Mac on the same home network, a dedicated AllShare button, the Freeview HD or Freesat HD tuners - it’s one of few TVs that have both the UK’s free-to-air tuners inside - and a web browser. That's quite some selection, and it sees Smart Hub growing from a separate interface for online video to full mastery of the TV’s functions as a whole. And we haven't even mentioned the second screen. Scroll across and you'll find links to Cartoon Network, Facebook, Google maps, Picture Box, Google Talk and Skype - though the latter requires a separate?CY-STC1100/XC webcam accessory from Samsung, which costs around ?100.

Something we did notice however, is that Twitter and YouTube are buried in a third screen, where they should really take the place of redundant apps earlier in the mix, such as Exercise TV, Samsung Imaging and Daily Motion. Samsung's interactive features are really only hampered by slow loading times.

Good hardware

Hardware-wise this 3D plasma is on the money. Four HDMI inputs nestle next to a brace of USB ports, one of which can be hooked-up to a hard drive for making recordings from either of the sets integrated TV tuners. The PS51D8000’s only compromises in terms of connectivity come from proprietary ports for both an RGB Scart and component video (and associated analogue audio inputs). Both are easy enough to hook up using supplied adaptors, and allow the connections panel to be especially well organised and above all slim enough to let the PS51D8000 compete with LED TVs in terms of its depth - remarkably it's only 37mm fat.

In terms of the plasma panel itself, the PS51D8000 comes replete with Real Black Filter, part of what Samsung calls its 3D Hyper Real picture processing engine, as well as a Cell Light tweaker.

Set-up

We found the experience of manually attaching the TV to its stand fiddly and frustrating, but the rest of the process is pure plug and play.

Switch-on the PS51D8000 for the first time and we immediately enter the aptly-named Plug & Play menus, a carousel of dynamically designed black, blue and grey screens that take us joyfully through set-up of web services and AllShare DLNA as well as downloading any software upgrades that may have accumulated since you'll set was made.

Then it’s on to a simple selection between home or store as the location - the latter being an exceptionally bright set of picture parameters that help this plasma to compete in the brightness stakes with competitors’ (and Samsung’s) much more luminous LED TVs.

With analogue free-to-air signals switched-off in our area, and without a satellite dish nearby, we tuned in digital Freeview HD channels, which took around three minutes.

The business-like, but beautiful blend of nuanced, shadowed, and 3D sky-blue, yellow and white graphics look especially stunning on the jet black background - though the visually arresting plasma richness of the colours is certainly helped by the sheer size of the screen.

Picture and sound

After attaching a 3D Blu-ray player, the PS51D8000 prompts us to press the 3D button on the remote. What follows isn't reference-level 3D, but it’s darn good; stable, judder-free 3D that’s swimming in contrast, depth effects and detail without too many video nasties.

There’s a touch of crosstalk and double images crop-up, for sure, but it’s a good deal more impressive than most 3D TVs. Using Samsung’s Explore 3D app, we watched some awesome showcase 3D footage including Grand Canyon Adventure, Dinosaurs Alive!, The Ultimate Tahiti Wave and Niagara Falls, as well as a bevy of Red Bull-sponsored sporting events and a host of big name 3D movie clips and trailers. What a shame there are no 3D specs in the box.

Switch to 2D and the good work continues, but true black is suddenly nowhere to be seen, which takes the gloss off colour, too. Still, Freeview HD is still thoroughly impressive in terms of detail, and standard definition channels are always clean and watchable.

The PS51D8000’s viewing angle is a lot wider than most LED TVs we've tested of late, though its arguably even narrower if you view the screen from higher or lower up on the vertical axis - something that you'll only notice if you hang the TV too high on a wall, or position it too near the floor.

Those worried about screenburn can set this TV’s Pixel Shift feature to create a moving screensaver after as little as 10 minutes of a static image.

Sound, meanwhile, is a notch or two above most TVs, with some bass audible from the stero 10W speakers across the PS51D8000’s bottom.

Verdict:

Svelte and with decent audio and a versatility that extends even to impressive 3D, this 51-inch plasma makes for an excellent value home cinema screen.?It might not be up there with the very best from Panasonic’s arsenal of 3D plasmas in terms of ultimate quality, but at this price nor should it be. And in other regards, like the often brilliant Smart Hub in particular, it appears the more polished affair.

Tags: Televisions Samsung Plasma televisions Samsung PS51D8000

Samsung PS51D8000 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:03:00 +0000

Christmas isn't Christmas without a few very important additions. First off, Jesus is pretty much an absolute must, and second a huge amount of TV/movie consumption.

The first is easy, as you can simply nip down to your local church for a bit of Christmas worshipping - and it is free. To get the most out of Christmas TV, however, you may need to splash the cash, which is where our Credit Crunch Christmas comes in.

This Currys offer, sent to us by HotUkDeals.com, is for a Samsung 51-inch Full HD 3D plasma TV and it is an absolute steal if you have a spare ?600 in the bank.

Although still a wad of cash, the ?599 price tag is still pretty good value as you'll be getting 600Hz frequency, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio along with 4x HDMI and a Freeview HD tuner.

Read

Tags: Samsung Televisions Credit Crunch Christmas 3D televisions

Credit Crunch Christmas: Samsung 51-inch Full HD 3D plasma originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:58:00 +0000