Samsung 8500 Series Local-Dimming LED TVs Have a Sweet Base

Source: Matt Buchanan, (Gizmodo)

Yeah, the 8500 series is Samsung's first set of LED-backlit LCDs with local dimming this year and has the Yahoo widget engine for streaming video, but all I really care about is that awesome looking blue stick holding it up.
I mean just look at it. It's from the future or something .
The obviously 1080p set is using white LEDs, along with local dimming, unlike say, Sony's which use tri-color LEDs for better color. You can cue up the usual so-great-they're-meaningless measurements you get with LEDs though: 7,000,000: 1 contrast ratio, 2ms, Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation, and an Ultra Clear Panel that "works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room's ambient lighting." But it is only 1.6 inches thick.
There are two models, the 46-inch class (45.9 inches) set for $3600, and the 55-inch class (54.6 inches) for $4500, both out in September.

SAMSUNG INTRODUCES STYLISH NEW LED HDTV THAT DELIVERS EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY, CONNECTIVITY AND INTERACTIVE FEATURES
Joining Samsung's Award-winning LED TV Line, 8500 Series Offers Consumers Supreme HD Experience

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. – July 30, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveiled the flagship model of its expanded LED HDTV lineup with the all-new 8500 Series. The new HDTVs combine the award-winning picture quality and thinness of Samsung's previous LED HDTVs, with the latest networking and interactive features, to provide an ideal option to all TV connoisseurs.
"For consumers who are looking for the ultimate HD centerpiece and high-level performance in their home theater, the Samsung 8500 Series delivers break-through quality and design," said John Revie, senior vice president of Visual Display Marketing, Samsung Electronics America.

"The 8500 Series underscores Samsung's dedication to providing a full range of HDTVs that not only achieve the highest levels of picture quality, but also provide unique and immersive entertainment experiences through our Medi@2.0ä suite."
Samsung 8500 LED HDTV Series Pricing and Availability- Price: 46-inch class: $3,599.99 / 55-inch class: $4,499.99- Availability: September 2009

Picture Quality and ControlWith Samsung's innovative use of white LEDs as a backlight source, the 8500 Series is capable of a stunning 7,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for extreme detail and image depth. Its Wide Color Enhancer Pro ensures that colors are consistently vibrant, while Samsung's Ultra Clear Panel works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room's ambient lighting. The 8500 Series is also compliant with the latest Energy Star® v3.0 ratings, and includes an optimized energy savings mode that adjusts the backlight and picture quality, without sacrificing the overall viewing experience. Additionally, its "Natural" mode optimizes picture settings to model the brightness advantage of LCD displays and the cinema-like richness of plasma displays with any content.

The 8500 Series incorporates an ultra-quick 2ms panel response time, combined with Samsung's latest version of its Auto Motion Plus™ frame interpolation technology that has a true 240Hz refresh rate to significantly improve playback of fast-paced content. Going beyond the three standard Auto Motion Plus™ presets, users can also separately adjust the levels of judder and motion blur reduction for superior picture control.

Connectivity and ContentThe new 8500 Series features Samsung's Medi@2.0ä suite, allowing users to access content from more sources than ever before. The Internet@TV - Content Service, developed in association with Yahoo!, provides onscreen access to popular web-based content from Yahoo! (Flickr, Video, News, Weather, and Finance), USA Today (Sports), Twitter, YouTube, and others. The widgets-based interface and scrollbar are activated with the push of a button, and run along the bottom of the screen for easy browsing of the latest programs and content available.

Even after purchase, consumers will be able to use a growing library of widgets, as the widget development kit is available for other content providers to develop new offerings. Samsung's Medi@2.0ä suite provides wired and wireless DLNA compatibility to enjoy photos, music and videos from a networked PC right on the television. Pre-loaded photos, artwork, games, and recipes are also included for entertaining, and two USB 2.0 connections can be used for playing a plethora of video, photo, and audio files from portable devices, including external hard memory.
Designed to Stand OutMeasuring at just 1.6 inches deep and featuring Samsung's Touch of Color™ (ToC™) bezel, the 8500 Series provides consumers with style and flexibility in an HDTV. Additionally, both the 46-inch and 55-inch models come with a built-in tuner and an array of multimedia connections. Samsung's innovative, ultra-slim wall-mount solution (sold separately) makes installation akin to hanging a picture frame, by reducing the gap between the TV and the wall to a mere 0.6 inches – a major improvement over traditional mounting systems.
Samsung Electronics America's press releases, video content and product images are available at www.samsung.com/newsroom.

2TB Time Capsule Arrives for $500, 1TB Drops to $300

Source: Mark Wilson (Gizmodo)

Apple has just announced a new, 2TB Time Capsule that's available today for $500 (the former price of the 1TB). So the 1TB drops to $300 (the former price of the 500GB).

First LG Chocolate BL40 Official Shots Don't Surprise, Still Stun

Short of price, release date and carrier(s), there's not a whole lot that hasn't been leaked about LG's comically long next generation Chocolate, the BL40. But somehow, these first official shots are still enticing. I mean, look at it.




Shock and mystery, I suppose, are at the core of the BL40's appeal, at least until someone actually gets to try one. For everything we do know, and can see reconfirmed here—the featurephone OS, the 5-megapixel camera, the 21:9 screen, the forward-facing videocalling sensor—there's a less tangible thing that we don't: How does it feel in your pocket? Your hand? How well does browsing work? How does this phone deal with video that's not encoded for silly-wide display? And until we find out that LG hasn't discovered clever and/or magical solutions to these potential issues, ogling is the order of the day.

Source: John Herrman (Gizmodo)

Sony X-Series Walkman Review: Why, Sony? Why?

The Sony Walkman X-series is Sony's premium flash-based portable media player, packing Wi-Fi, noise-cancellation, a redesigned UI and a gorgeous OLED touchscreen. But can it compete with the reigning champ, the iPod Touch? In a word, no.
That's not to say it isn't an impressive player in its own right. It handily beats the Samsung P3 and the Cowon S9, but I'm left wondering who would pick this up instead of a Touch. But if Sony were to stick this UI into one of their Sony Ericsson Walkman musicphones, they might have something powerful indeed.

Physical
The X-series is a very sleek player, similar in size to the Samsung P3 and significantly narrower and shorter than the iPod Touch, though ever so slightly thicker. It's designed with an unusual aesthetic: The sides of the player are this odd sort of rough, glittery metal, similar to unfinished granite, and the back and front bezel are black glass with little shiny sparkles in them, like a granite countertop. It's a nice-looking player, certainly, and it feels very solid in the hand. I just don't totally get the granite thing—it's not spectacularly eye-catching.



On the front of the X-series is the screen, an unbelievably responsive 3-inch OLED capacitive touchscreen, and a large "Home" button underneath the screen, much like the iPod Touch. The screen is crystal clear, the sharpest picture I've ever seen on a PMP—it lives up to the promise of OLED. Viewing angles are limitless, and touch response is great, without any lag at all. Unfortunately, that glass front and back are awful fingerprint magnets, though being glass, it does seem to resist scratching fairly well.

The right side hosts the noise cancellation switch and a surprisingly cheap-feeling volume rocker. The top has the headphone jack and the pleasantly firm play/pause, track forward and back buttons, while the bottom edge is home to the proprietary USB jack. Interestingly, the hold button is a giant semicircle switch on the back of the player—it seems weird, but I actually love how easy it is to reach and how solid it feels. The numerous hardware buttons make it a very nice player to control in the pocket, despite mostly being touch-based player.

The X-series is one of the only PMPs with built-in noise canceling, but it only works with the included earbuds. Fortunately, said earbuds are excellent for freebies, and the noise cancellation worked perfectly on my noisy Chinatown bus ride between Philly and New York City. Noise canceling does slaughter the battery life, though, draining it twice as fast as regular playback. When you're trying to drown out the kind of crazies who take the Chinatown bus, you'll be glad it's there.

Audio quality is a hallmark of Sony's PMP line, and the X-series does, in fact, sound great. It includes a customizable five-band equalizer for audio dorks and some nice sound enhancers like DSEE. On the other hand, you're limited to the lossy codecs Sony supports (MP3, WMA, WMA-DRM, AAC), so it may not be a good choice for serious audiophiles.

User Interface

The home screen has a familiar grid of icons, including Music, Movies, Photos, Podcasts and some more intriguing Wi-Fi-based apps like Slacker, YouTube and Browser. Navigating through lists of artists, songs and albums is very similar to the iPod Touch style with a grab-and-flick interface, though a fast flick leads the list to cycle through a lot faster than the touch, almost like there's less virtual friction, and we'd say it feels just a hair less exact.
At the bottom of the Now Playing screen, there are four icons I've decided to term Back, Navigate, Web, and Options. The icons themselves aren't very literal: The Back icon is a bulleted list, and Navigate is a magnifying glass, so it's slightly confusing at first. But once you touch it, it becomes very clear what each button does, and I had no problems after that.
The "Navigate" button is great: It'll bring up a list containing Artist, Album, Songs, etc that'll let you jump right to that list without having to hit the Back button four times. The iPod Touch doesn't have anything like it, and now I wish it does. The Web button is also really cool: It brings up a screen that'll let you search the track name, artist, or album with Yahoo or YouTube. The Yahoo search brings up hits like Wikipedia and AllMusic, and the YouTube search immediately brings up a ton of music videos, live concert footage and more to watch on the player. Pretty cool stuff. Oddly, the X-series will prompt you to re-connect to a wireless signal every time you try to do one of these searches, and though it remembers your password, it's still annoying.
The X-series also includes an FM radio, and it's worth mentioning because it's one of the stronger FM tuners we've seen in a PMP. It's not like it'll change the way you think about radio, but it does as good a job as you could ask.

Web Apps

The YouTube app is really great, quite similar to that of the iPod touch or iPhone except with a classy sheer black skin to match the X-series' aesthetic. Videos load quickly and are very clear and watchable, provided you've got a solid Wi-Fi connection.
Slacker is another hit for the X-series, giving access to either the free or paid versions of the Pandora-like service with the same skin as the rest of the UI. It's super fast to load and sound quality is excellent.

Unfortunately, Sony's only two for three on the web app front, and the most exciting of its new features is a major fail: Its internet browser—NetFront-based, like PSP and Sony Ericsson—is completely unusable garbage. All text entry is done via an infuriating T9 interface (why not just rotate to a landscape QWERTY? There's plenty of room!) that's inexact and totally unhelpful. It requires you to type in "http://www." before every URL. Even if you've got the patience to sit there for ten minutes to type "http://www.gizmodo.com/", the browser can only manage those dinky mobile sites without totally freaking out. Browsing full sites is an exercise in futility, as the two zoom buttons don't always work, you can't navigate before a site has fully loaded and tapping links is inexact and frustrating. Basically, it's worthless as a web browser, which is a huge disappointment. This image pretty much sums up the X-series web browsing experience



Desktop Software

The X-series has both a MTP (Windows-only) and a UMS (shows up as a drive, compatible with Mac and Linux as well), though UMS must be switched on before each connection. That means it'll work with most any media player, save iTunes. Sony's "Media Manager" software is included, but it's pretty awful, very archaic and difficult to use, and won't convert video unless you pay for the "Pro" upgrade. That last part is a real killer for the X-series' video capabilities.
Speaking of video conversion, you'll be doing a lot of it, since the X-series only supports a few video codecs and none of the common pirate formats (Matroska, XviD) are included, unlike the pirate-friendly Samsung P3. I used Cucusoft and was able to get a few MPEG-4 videos onto the player, but your average user will definitely have trouble figuring it out. None of the WMVs I tried would work, and I never was able to get a great-quality video on to test out what the OLED screen can really do. iSquint for Mac does work, but the quality, while totally watchable, is disappointing: On an OLED screen like this, you want to be blown away by video quality, and I wasn't.

Audio codec support is disappointing too, considering the X-series' stellar audio performance: The only lossless format is WAV, which nobody will use due to its massive file size. Besides the preferred lossless formats, more niche codecs like OGG aren't supported either. The player has incredible capabilities, yet Sony cripples it by limiting its compatibility—they could have courted the audiophile market, but 320kbps mp3 files can only sound so good.



Price and Conclusion

The X-series, according to Sony, is a premium gadget and thus commands premium prices—coincidentally the same prices as the iPod Touch. The 16GB version costs $300, with the 32GB going for $400. The difference is that the iPod Touch comes with a massive App Store for boatloads of new features, not to mention an accelerometer, a web browser that won't make you long for the days of WAP, tons of accessories, and software that actually works. The X-series just can't compete with that.

The X-series is a really solid player: The form factor is nice, the screen is incredible, sound and video quality are as high as these things get, and it comes with built-in noise canceling. If it were $50 cheaper, I'd have no hesitation about recommending it over the Samsung P3 and Cowon S9, but if you're spending at that level, you'd be buying the wrong machine if you chose the Sony.
On the other hand, we do see a successful future if Sony put a phone version of this up against Nokia's XpressMusic. It could never be a smartphone, not in this shape, but it could be a great music-based dumphone.

Sony understands that PMPs can't just be PMPs anymore: basic iPods aren't selling like they used to, and the Touch is part of a mobile computing platform. But to just stuff in some Wi-Fi features without thinking about software expandability or even a usable browser—that's not going to cut it these days. Sadly, despite all the things the X-series does right, it's emblematic of Sony's current slide into muddled mediocrity.


(+) Beautiful and responsive OLED touchscreen

(+)Great size

(+)Nice extra features like noise canceling and YouTube

(+)Excellent sound quality

(=)UI is sometimes unclear, but has more options than iPod Touch

(=)Battery life is above average but not thrilling

(-)Web browser is complete garbage

(-)Frustrating T9 text entry system

(-)Limited audio and video codec support, and video conversion is a pain
Too expensive

Source: Dan Nosowitz, (Gizmodo)

Nokia N86 arrives in Malaysia

Source: Wern Shern (Lowyat.net)

Earlier today, we stopped by the Islamic Arts Museum for the launch of the new Nokia N86 8MP. This launch comes barely a day after Nokia Malaysia released two new models to the local market - the business centric E52 and the 5739 Xpress Music - and should keep all hardcore Malaysian Nokia fans satisfied till the Finnish phone makers release their next batch of mobiles in about two months time.The Nokia N86 was built with a strong emphasis put on photography, so much so that this 8MP camera phone has even been bestowed (according to the press release) with the title of Nokia’s best mobile imaging device. But if that’s not enough recognition for you, then the TIPA Award for Best Mobile Imaging Device in 2009 that’s tucked comfortably in the N86’s belt should do the trick.

Understanding that a high megapixel count alone does not ensure quality photos, Nokia has enlisted the use of a wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens along with some noticeable changes to the camera software. Users can now take ultra-wide panorama shots (click on the image below for full sized view) with just one simple step, as well as take sharp pictures of fast-movie targets thanks to a fast mechanical shutter and Automatic Motion Blur Reduction.

The N86 also comes with some subtle touches to its finish that make it look more upscale, such as the use of a hardened-glass 2.6-inch OLED display, sleek metal trim around the bezel, and a handy (and programmable) kick stand at the back of the phone. N-Gage gaming capabilities, A-GPS with geotagging features, HSDPA connectivity, 802.11b/g connectivity, and a 3.5mm stereo headphone plug round off an impressive roster of functions on the N86.Available in two colors - black and white - the N86 retails for RM1880. The full feature list of the Nokia N86 8MP is available here: http://tinyurl.com/l4jvhp. More pictures from today's event are available after the jump.

Ipoh Touch Killer

Source: Huei (Lowyat.net)


There are tons of of ‘iPhone killers’ on the market - we’ve seen other vendors making similar interfaces and trying to be better - but Creative is trying to kill the iPod Touch instead with the recently revealed Creative Zii Egg Plaszma. An Android-powered device with a 3.5” display, the Zii Egg comes with an internal memory of 32GB and is expandable to 64GB with a SDHC memory card. With GPS and Wi-Fi, it also supports Flash Lite, and it can play 1080p format videos. Priced at USD$199 without tying customers up to with any particular telco (since it's not a phone), the Zii Egg isn't available in the US yet. I wonder when or if they’ll ever bring it in to Malaysia. The design isn't very appealing though, and they should probably work on that before trying to compete with Apple.

Microsoft and Yahoo challenge Google: Bing it on

Source: The Star Online


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft finally persuaded Yahoo to surrender control of the Internet's second most popular search engine and join it in a daunting battle - taking on the overwhelming dominance of Google in the online advertising market.
A 10-year deal announced Wednesday gives Microsoft its best shot yet to show its new search technology, Bing, is as good as or better than Google's. Microsoft also hopes to use Yahoo to divert sales from Google, which generates more than $20 billion a year from ads.
Gaining access to Yahoo's audience would instantly more than triple Bing's U.S. market share to 28 percent.
That's still a far cry from the remarkable 65 percent of U.S. searches handled by Google, according to the research firm comScore Inc.
By joining forces, Microsoft and Yahoo are betting they will be able to focus on their respective strengths.
By turning over responsibility for search technology to Microsoft, Yahoo can concentrate on sales of billboard-style advertising on the Web - and figuring out how to keep luring traffic to its Web sites, which already attract more than 570 million people worldwide every month.
While the agreement shapes up as a potential boon for Microsoft, it was greeted in the stock market as a letdown for Yahoo.
Just 14 months ago, Microsoft dangled $9 billion in front of Yahoo in an attempt to forge a search advertising partnership, only to be rebuffed. Yahoo had also turned down Microsoft's $47.5 billion bid to buy the entire company.
Yahoo has been struggling so badly since then that Microsoft isn't paying any money in advance.
Instead, it will give Yahoo 88 percent of the search ad sales made on its Web site, above the usual commission of 70 to 80 percent.
By spending less on its own search technology, Yahoo expects to boost its annual operating profit by about $500 million - but not until 2012, when the two companies expect to have all the pieces of a complex technological puzzle in place.
"I think a lot of people are kind of looking at the numbers and seeing a lot of question marks where they expected to see exclamation points," said Scott Kessler, a Standard & Poor's equity analyst.
Yahoo Inc. shares plunged $2.08, or 12 percent, to $15.14 as investors expressed disappointment over the absence of an immediate windfall. Microsoft Corp. shares gained 33 cents to $23.80 while Google Inc. shares shed $3.61 to $436.24.
It took Carol Bartz, Yahoo's chief executive, just six months to strike a deal with Microsoft - something that neither of her predecessors, Terry Semel and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, seemed interested in doing.
"This move makes up for a lot of the stupid mistakes made by the preceding administration," said technology analyst Rob Enderle, who thinks Yahoo will be able to devote more energy to developing services to compete with online hangouts like Facebook.
Shortly after her arrival, Bartz made it clear she was willing to farm out Yahoo's search engine for "boatloads of money" as long as she thought the company would still get adequate information about its users' interests.
Bartz predicted the deal will enrich the company over the long run.
"This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo, our users, and the industry," Bartz said.
Yahoo will have limited access to the data on users' searches, which yield insights that can be used to pick out ads more likely to pique a person's interest.
The value of that information is why Microsoft wants to process more search requests.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer could barely contain his excitement as he gushed about finally getting Yahoo on his side - something he has been trying to do for at least three years.
"I am very enthusiastic," Ballmer said in an interview.
"This is what I have basically been saying for the past 18 months: The world will be better served for consumers, advertisers and publishers, and there will be more competition for Google, if we can somehow figure out how to get Microsoft and Yahoo together in search."
Antitrust regulators plan to review the agreement to make sure it doesn't lessen competition or compromise the privacy of people who use the search engines.
Google tried to stop Yahoo from falling into Microsoft's camp. Last year it formed its own proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo, only to be forced to retreat after U.S. antitrust officials threatened to sue.
Microsoft helped spearhead the campaign against a Google-Yahoo partnership. Now many people, including Ballmer, expect Google to try to turn the tables on Microsoft by opposing its Yahoo deal.
"There has traditionally been a lot of competition online, and our experience is that competition brings about great things for users," Google spokesman Adam Kovacevich said. "We're interested to learn more about the deal."
Advertisers will probably support Microsoft because a stronger player in the search market should protect them from potential abuses by Google, said Kevin Lee, CEO of online marketing specialist Didit Inc.
"If there's only one choice in search, that's just an uncomfortable position to be in," Lee said.
Like Yahoo, Microsoft has invested billions in search technology during the past decade. Yet it remained a distant third in market share while its online losses piled up.
Microsoft is counting on Bing, unveiled last month, to turn things around.
Bing has been getting mostly positive reviews and picking up slightly more traffic with the help of a $100 million marketing campaign. Analysts believe the successful debut pushed Microsoft to reopen negotiations so it could expose its search engine improvements to a wider audience.
While Microsoft and Yahoo await government approval of their partnership, there is no doubt Google will try to increase its lead by upgrading its own search engine, said Danny Sullivan, editor of the online newsletter SearchEngineLand.
Already, Google is going after Microsoft's bread-and-butter business of software for personal computers. It's working on a free operating system for inexpensive PCs, a move that could threaten Microsoft's Windows.
"Google is very paranoid about Microsoft," Sullivan said. "They are always trying to figure out what kind of 'evil' thing Microsoft is going to do next."