Samsung Electronics’ Cannes plasma display panel (PDP) TV is the culmination of the company’s many display enhancement technologies such as: Ultra DayLight, Natural True Color, and Real Motion Studio. The Cannes PDP TV features a contrast ratio of 1000:1 in a bright room and a much improved 15000:1 in dark rooms due the its Ultra DayLight technology. PDP TVs have typically suffered in bright ambient environments with low contrast ratios where colors are washed out. The Natural True Color technology processes color at 18-bit, improving color fidelity while the Real Motion Studio technology improves sharpness for facial outlines and on-screen textual information.
Samsung chose the name Cannes for the Cannes International Film Festival, or Festival De Cannes. This year the Cannes Festival will be held from May 16 – 27. The company has promotional events planned including the invitation of lucky customers of the Cannes PDP TV. There seems to be three Cannes models: 42″ HD, 50″ HD and 63″ Full HD. Prices for these PDP TVs are as follows: 42″ HD for 2.1 million Korean won (around US$2234), 50″ HD for 3.4 million Korean won (around US$3617) and finally the 63″ Full HD for a cool 9.0 million Korean won (around US$9575).
Source: AVING
Sharp is introducing five AQUOS R Series LCD TV models on March 10, 2007 in the Japanese market. The five R Series include a 42″, 46″, 52″, 57″ and a 65″ LCD TV and all of them feature a 120Hz frequency that is double the normal of 60Hz resulting in better on screen performance with less motion blur. Contrast ratio is 3000:1. All five support Full HD 1080p. The LCD panel is of the Advanced Super View (ASV) type with a brightness of 450 cd/m2, viewing angles of 176-degrees and a pixel format of 1920 x 1080 enabling the LCD TVs to show 1080p. The backlight is the normal CCFL type so no color gamut improvements there.
The model names correspond to the size: 65″ is LC-65RX1W and the 57″ is LC-57RX1W and so it goes with the three other sizes. The 65″, 52″ and 46″ models will be introduced on March 10, 2007 while the 57″ and 42″ sizes will be introduced a month later on April 16. The larger 65″ and 57″ models will have a monthly production rate of just 1000 units. Sharp seems to think the 46″ will be the most popular as it is producing 5000 units per month with the 52″ being the second most popular and making 4000 units per month. I would think the 42″ would be the most popular, but Sharp is only making 3000 units per month. Usually the cheaper models are the most popular and the 42″ sizes are now becoming quite the standard. I’m sure Sharp knows a thing or two about what is popular, so I will leave it at that. But my bet is on 42″.
Source: Sharp
Finally, Canon has come out with the PowerShot TX1. It’s function is very similar to Sanyo’s HD1 in that it is capable of recording video in 720p or with a pixel format of 1280 x 720. (The HD1 only takes pictures at 5.1 megapixel.) I have never really liked the aesthetics of Sanyo’s HD1 so I welcome Canon’s TX1. Although the TX1 seems to have a nicer design, the TX1 doesn’t quite do it for me in the looks department. But more important than looks is function in this case.
The TX1 uses a 7.1 megapixel 1/2.5″ CCD image sensor to take 7.1 megapixel images and 720p video at either 30 or 15fps. The idealists among us might have wanted to see a 1080p video capability; that might be in the works. While recording video, it is possible to take a full scale image. And video can be continuously recorded up to 4GB, which sounds like a lot but at 720p/30fps taking up so much space it only results in 13 minutes. Dial it down to 640 x 480 at 30fps and you’ll get 30 minutes worth of video with 4GB. The TX1 is quite affordable for what it is at $500. Additional features include a 10x optically image-stabilized zoom (35mm-film equivalent 30-390mm f/3.5-5.6), a 1.8″ LCD viewfinder with 115,000 pixels, and 80-1600 ISO settings. The images are processed by Canon’s Digic III, which is faster, results in better image quality and gives longer battery life. You can store the images and video on SDHC cards.
I think I can finally ditch my digital camera and camcorder for the TX1. The USB 2.0 port is used to offload all that wonderful media. You can find extensive information about the TX1 at Digital Photography Review.
Sony’s IMX017CQE is a high-speed image sensor that is only 1/1.8″ in size and outputs an amazing 60fps with a 6.4 megapixel format. 6.4 megapixels at 60fps equals to 384 megapixels per second! What does this mean? With this single chip, not only can you take 6.4 megapixel images, which would be good enough for all but the professional-level photographers, you can also take really high-definition video. Imagine a small digital camera that takes HD video better than most video camcorders much bigger and more costly. My curiousity is in how the sensor is able to manage heat. With 60fps the chip will be generating quite a bit of heat. And heat is a bad thing that causes all sorts of image/video quality problems. I hope this sensor is for real because I can finally look forward to a single image/video capturing device with really great quality.
Sony’s 1/1.8-inch high-speed CMOS sensor outputs 60fps – Engadget
The HTC Advantage X7500 sports a 5″ touchscreen LCD with a pixel format of 640 x 480 and features a 3 megapixel camera, a second camera with 640 x 480 capability, Bluetooth 2.0, TV output, GPS with TomTom, a 8GB hard disk and a miniSD expansion slot. The HTC Advantage X7500 is rated to last 8 hours and will be available in Europe in March via T-Mobile and with the Ameo name.
A bit different than OQO or Sony’s approach to a ultra-mobile computing device, the HTC Advantage X7500 seems foremost a smartphone that has been increased in size and functionality. I am surprised to see a 8GB hard disk and the 5″ 640 x 480 touchscreen looks great. I would think the typing experience would be a bit top-heavy and the unit might be a tad large for thumb-typing, for some. I really hope the price is affordable at a sub-$499 price.
AVING USA – Global News Network