Gizmo Zone

Panasonic announces 2007 line of plasmas

Panasonic has announced pricing and availability for it’s 2007 Plasma HDTV lineup. The lineup includes 1080p models in new 50 and 58-inch sizes, as well as a surprise with a 42-inch 1080p model which will be priced around $2500 and released in June. The 42-inch TH-42PZ700U has a 1920×1080p resolution, Built-in NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners, 3 HDMI inputs and a slew of new additions.

Panasonic has gone and bulked up the whole line, upgrading the PZ700U and PZ750U series adding a couple new ways to calibrate the TV perfectly, 3 HDMI jacks, and a “special” new paint job that has a black chrome look to it. All this comes at a price as the TH-58PZ750U will be retailing at around $5,500 when it hits stores in June.

One feature I thought was interesting was the addition of SD card slots to the whole line, but the PZ750U models bring that one step further with the ability to play H.264 video off of the cards. This is a great feature and a much appreciated one for people like myself, too lazy to convert the video and burn it to DVD.

Samsung High-resolution LCD Mobile Display that Automatically Adjusts Brightness

Samsung announced that it has developed a 2.1” LCD panel for high-end mobile devices that will provide qVGA resolution and comes equipped with sensors designed to adjust brightness to optimize ambient lighting. Screen brightness is automatically adjusted to enhance readability under any lighting condition. Designed for use in high-end mobile phones, PDAs and portable media players, the new Samsung panel also has a temperature compensation sensor embedded in its LCD driver IC that maintains a steady operational mode regardless of any temperature change in the surrounding environment.

The Samsung panel consumes 20-30 percent less electric power than other displays with the same size and resolution. Samsung’s LCD Business is planning to produce the new 2.1” qVGA LCD with ABC capability in the second half of this year.

Technovision 205-inch Luxio LCD TV unveils at CeBIT 2007

If I had a big fat bonus this year, I would definitely blow it on the new Technovision 205-inch Luxio LCD TV. It has a big killer screen for those who love to watch F1 babes or MTV videos up close. You’ll need a crane to fix this thing to your wall for sure.

TV obsessives take note: the fine folks at Technovision unveiled a 205-inch Luxio LCD TV at CeBIT. (And to think people were drooling over 108-inch TVs at CES earlier this year.) You may well need to move into a bigger house just to be able to fit all 8.3 x 15 feet of the TV. The Italian manufacturer didn’t specify how much the TV would cost, but I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that you’ll need a job that pays a little more than minimum wage in order to afford it. Count me out, then.

Apple TV to Ship on March 20?

Rumors have always been associated with a big product. Earlier Apple iPhone was engulfed in a fire of rumors and now it’s the turn of Apple TV.

According to some recent rumors Apple is expected to ship Apple TV on March 20 and the product will be available on the 26th.

The rumor has gained some heat as Apple has reassured their fans with confirmation E-mails that the product will be shipped on the 20th.

Now let’s gear up to see if the product is worth the wait or not.

Desktop LCD Flat Panel TV & DVD Player All-in-One

The Desktop LCD Flat Panel TV is no more than 3-inch thick with the DVD payer side-mounted, and includes a compact swivel base. It features a small screen measuring only 8-inch.

Other features include a remote control and AC adapter, and a SD/MMC slot for memory cards for you to view slide shows of your favorite photos.

The Bathroom TV

Life will never be the same again if you have a 10.2-inch Bathroom TV installed in your bathroom.

Features for a bathroom TV:

• Telephone function by making use of the speaker phone
• Waterproof monitor and remote control
• High performance flat Color LCD

Now if only it had a touch-screen display or voice-activated functions, that would be even great.

Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition

Matrox Graphics has launched another solution which allows you to connect up to three monitors to your workstation, computer or laptop. It is designed for graphics professional and gaming enthusiasts. It provides a maximum resolution of up to 3840×1024 (triple 1280×1024).

The latest in Matrox’s series of Graphics eXpansion Modules (GXMs), TripleHead2Go Digital Edition is an external multi-display upgrade device that connects via the dual-link DVI or analog output of your system and can support both analog and digital monitors. This device comes handy in many working areas such as Mechanical CAD, 3D Visualization, and Digital Content Creation & Animation. Using surround design functionality, it enables users to examine multiple views of a design or project and simultaneously view important information that needs to be accessed quickly.

Hard-core gamers will also benefit from Surround Gaming as it involves expanding supported 3D games across three displays and provides for a greater in-game field of view. It increases gamers vision and gives more of an advantage to gameplay as users can see more of the game; outside of their normal view without having to pan from left to right.

The Matrox TripleHead2Go Digital Edition will be available in Q2 2007 at a cost of $329.

Tenbuno: A Monitor with Two Screens

Owning the world's biggest multi-monitor setup is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Tenbuno has launched a dual-screen monitor setup that according to me should be easy to afford.

The system also puts an end to all desk space woes. The system features a 19-inch main panel and a small 8.4-inch panel that is mounted on the head of the main display.

The secondary monitor has a maximum resolution of just 800 x 600 pixels so that is best to display your RSS feeds.

The system will debut in Korea in May. The company has not yet disclosed the price of the system.

Samsung develops World’s Slimmest LCD Panel for Mobile Phones

Samsung has developed the world’s slimmest LCD panel measuring only 0.74 mm in thickness. In the recent trend for slimmer mobile phones, manufacturers are increasingly reducing the thickness of compact LCD panels. The latest panel is a 2.3-inch model with a resolution of 320 x 240. It features a luminance of 300 cd/m2 and a gamut of 70% NTSC. Samsung has adopted frame technologies called “high-strength brick type bezel” and “multilayer hemming bezel.” to avoid degradation in strength and durability due to the reduced thickness. Samsung was issued 10 patents for its frame technologies in and outside Korea.

Samsung SDI announced that it has established the mass production technology of the thin panels, while completing the development of the 0.74 mm thick model. Initially, volume production of 1.29 mm thick panels is slated for launch in the second quarter of FY2007. This is about 0.4 mm thinner than the 1.7 mm thick panels currently under mass production by Samsung SDI.

‘Zenview Powerscape Ultra HD’: World’s Biggest Multi-monitor Setup Offers 12,000,000 Pixels

You all must have seen some good multi-monitor setups, but I can bet that none of that would be as huge as this one.

This amazing setup has been made by combining a 30-inch monster with four other 20-inch displays.

The device offers whooping 12,000,000 pixels. It is even HDCP complaint.

Detailed specifications of this monster display are:

• Five LG.Philips LCD panels on dual desk stands
• Central panel input: digital DVI (HDCP ready)
• Secondary panel inputs: Digital DVI and Analog D-sub connections (each panel)
• Width: 73.2″ (bezel); 76.2″ (bow); 70.0″ (base)
• Depth: 25″ (total); 9″ (at center)
• Height: 21.7″ (on standard poles)
This according to me is a must have display though the $4,999 price tag makes it only for the rich.