Toshiba starts integrating DVD into small-screen displays
Want to watch a movie in bed? Cooking programs in the kitchen? Pilates videos in the den? Toshiba America Consumer Products has announced a new line of LCD TV/DVD combination products, which are intended to be used in any room in the house.
Screen size include 19, 22, and 26 inches, all with a 16:9 aspect radio. All the TVs will meet Energy Star 3.0 certifications. The current 15-inch television will continue to be sold.
Vizio adds IPTV connectivity to its HDTV line
Continuing the move toward integrating the Internet with televisions, Vizio has announced Connected HDTV, a technology platform that it said will be integrated into its displays shipping this fall.
The technology, which has both wired and wireless connections built in, will use a customized remote control that will give viewers access to Internet content without interrupting the TV program they are viewing.
Just how fast is Facebook growing?
Facebook may have become the Internet's second most popular destination after Google, according to recent statistics. But that's if you're willing to believe that the social site is essentially acquiring a small state every day.
By any measure, the social networking site Facebook is becoming a phenomenal success. The BBC reported that it accounted for one in every 22 online visits on Christmas Day, according to Internet research company Hitwise -- up 69% from the same time in 2007 and with an overall market share of 4.65%, making it the second most popular site after search engine Google.
DivX finds its way into another HDTV, in a likely IPTV move
Samsung has announced that its first DivX Certified flat-panel high-definition televisions will be available in March. The company announced a licensing agreement with DivX last year.
DivX is digital video technology that lets users create and watch content, and only a few years ago was relegated to the task of making ripped videos smaller on PCs' hard drives. But since that time, the company has made a surprisingly reliable video compression format, at least for IPTV. Having the Samsung HDTVs certified by DivX means consumers can play back high-quality DivX video on their displays.
$200 Blu-ray price point now matched by Vizio
Vizio has announced its first Blu-ray disc player, also supporting BD-Live content and also priced at $199.99.
The VBR100 Blu-ray Player uses 1080p and upconverts from 720p and 1080i -- unlike Memorex', which also upconverts from 480p. Vizio promotes its unit's "super slim" dimensions of 17 X 11 X 2 inches. Memorex has not yet revealed the size of its player.
First word on Toshiba's eco-friendly netbooks
Toshiba has released two ultraportable notebooks intended to be ecologically friendly -- but they're not ultra-low-price.
The R600 comes in two models, the S4201 for $2,099, and the S4202 for $2,999. Each has a 12.1-inch screen and starts at 2.4 pounds. The S4201 comes with a 160GB hard disk, while the S4202 comes with a 128 GB flash disk. They both include an optical disc drive and support WiMAX.
Memorex Blu-ray tests the $200 price point
Following the prediction before the holiday shopping season that prices for Blu-ray players would fall further into the $150-to-200 range, Memorex has announced its MVBD-2520, a Blu-ray player for $199.99.
The device, due to ship in early summer, includes Profile 2.0 or BD-Live via an Ethernet port, enabling consumers to download extra features and online bonus content, as well as firmware updates. It uses 1080p but can convert up from 480p, 720p, and 1080i.
MicroSDHC capacity to grow yet again
For people whose phones are crammed full of photos, music, video, and other space-intensive content, SanDisk has announced a 16 GB microSDHC card.
Phones from vendors such as Nokia, Google, and Samsung use microSDHC cards. (Similar cards are also produced by Nokia and Toshiba.) The card comes with a MobileMate Micro Reader that plugs into a USB 2.0-compatible port, which makes it easier to put data onto and take data off the card.
Lexar tries to make USB thumb drives fashionable
For those who like to make a fashion statement with their solid-state memory -- as well as for those who keep losing the caps on the darn things -- Lexar has announced two new families of USB drives that don't have removable caps.
JumpDrive TwistTurn has a rotating case (really, "JumpDrive SwitchBlade" would probably describe it better, but that name probably didn't test well), while JumpDrive Retrax clicks in and out like a ballpoint pen. Each model comes in multiple sizes, with colors mapped to the size: 2 GB in white, 4 GB in red, 8 GB in blue, 16 GB in gray, and 32 GB in black.
Toshiba to show off 3D you can take with you
Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd. will be previewing 3D technology on handheld 3-inch and 9-inch LCD displays that don't require special glasses to work.
The technology works by integrating a 3D film with the backlight modules of small- and medium-sized LCD displays that use Optically Compensated Bend (OCB) mode to deliver clear, true autostereoscopic viewing. Left and right eye images are focused sequentially into the viewer's eyes, allowing for full resolution of the display panel, the company said.
Motorola puts a green jacket on a carbon-neutral handset
In the latest attempt to assuage consumers into buying more new stuff by telling them it's good for the environment, Motorola has announced a cell phone that it says is made out of recycled water bottles and is carbon-neutral.
"Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation," reads a company statement this morning announcing the company's new Motorola W233, dubbed the "Renew." "The phone has earned Carbonfund.org's CarbonFree Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment."
Microsoft claims Xbox 360 sold 8 million more worldwide than PS3
Once again just before CES week, Microsoft is claiming victory in the game console race, at least against rival Sony PlayStation 3. And once again, veteran analyst Sharon Fisher pores over the numbers.
When I was a kid, I used to love word problems. You know, "Sally is 6 years older than Jane, and Jane is twice as old as Margaret. If the ages of all three add up to 21, how old is each girl?"
New HP Pavilion notebooks go for style, go with AMD
HP has had a reputation for delivering sturdy, competent, but unexciting hardware without a lot of pizzazz in the marketing department. As folks used to say, if HP was selling sushi, they'd market it as "cold, dead fish."
Well, somewhere along the line, Hewlett-Packard appears to have swallowed a marketing person, because the press releases for their new line of Pavilion notebooks -- including a competitor to Apple's slimmer-than-slim "Air" -- all gush about how stylish they are.
McAfee to acquire network security provider Secure Computing
In an attempt to give it a bigger presence in the enterprise network security market, McAfee announced today that it was acquiring Secure Computing Group for $465 million, or $5.75 per share plus $84 million for outstanding preferred stock.
Part of the attraction of Secure Computing is that it offers little overlap with existing McAfee Inc. products, said Vimal Solanki, vice president of worldwide solution marketing for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company. Users can expect to see a suite product for network security similar to McAfee's Total Endpoint Security and Total Protection for Data, he said.
Circuit City CEO resigns amid more looming bad news
Presaging dismal second quarter results for next Monday, Circuit City said today that its chairman, president, and CEO Philip J. Schoonover was stepping down, to be replaced by a retail turnaround artist named to the board in June.
James A. Marcum, who has served as vice chairman since August 18, has now been appointed to serve as acting president and chief executive officer.
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.