Engadget’s Paul Miller takes the ultra-thin Adamo XPS notebook PC for a spin. Some highlights of the video:
Paul admits he isn’t sure who the Adamo XPS is for but shows that Dell has some design and engineering ‘chops’ when it comes to notebooks. I’m afraid you shouldn’t be spending too much time on the Adamo XPS’ keyboard: with an upward slant you will certainly feel more pressure on your wrists. I would rather have design focused on usability while maintaining a sense of aesthetics. Source: Engadget
PRAD is reporting that Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray thinks Apple may enter the TV market with its own set in 2011. Munster further postulates that the TV from Apple will not be merely a display device but also function as a DVR, game console and a connection hub for Macs and iPhones/iPods via a wireless connection. The iPhone and iPod would, of course, be used as remote controls and game controllers. A new Apple TV with digital recording capabilities (requiring a video input port) is also soon to appear in the next few months. Munster also forecasts a TV subscription model from Apple called an “iTunes TV Pass” for US$30-40/mo. He also thinks 6.6 million Apple TVs will sell in 2009, more the 3x in 2008. What Munster is mustering up seems to be a pipe dream and goes against design principles based on delivering a focused experience for different products.
If Apple decides to build a TV it will merely be a display, an awesome display with plenty of sex appeal, but merely. I’m not sure if you could even call it a TV since it won’t have TV tuners. The extremely simple TV will be a display for the Mac, the iPhone, the iPod, the Apple TV and any other video source like a Blu-ray player, satellite, cable, etc. Unlike other TVs the resolution will be considerable: I’m thinking 4K2K considerable. Since Apple uses IPS technology for its high-end offerings, the TV set will most likely continue with that trend if it is a LCD TV at all. Wireless connectivity? Most likely. Wired connectivity? Of course. The TV from Apple will be designed to offer an amazing “lean back” experience so I agree with Munster: the iPhone or iPod touch will be used as a remote control.
The T9 HD from Ramos is a 4.3-inch PMP with a 800 x 480 resolution. Supported video formats are: AVI (Xvid, DivX), RMVB, MKV (H.264), VOB, MPG, FLV. Via the TV-out port the T9 HD can playbck 720p video. Source: Akihabara News
Samsung‘s N510 is a 11.6-inch netbook powered by NVIDIA’s ION LE graphics. The 11.6-inch LCD sports a 1366 x 768 resolution. Additional features include: 1.66GHz Atom N280, 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, a motion-activated 1.3MP webcam, and a 7-hour 6-cell 5900mAh battery. The N510 weighs just 3.1 pounds. Connectivity options include: Fast Ethernet, WiFi BGN, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, VGA, HDMI, Headphone, Mic, USB 2.0 (3), SD/SDHC/MMC. With NVIDIA’s ION LE graphics the N510 should provide significantly more performance than typical netbooks. Source: Samsung [Image Source: Laptop Reviews UK]
Corning expects fourth quarter revenues to be around US$1.41 billion and Street consensus of $1.36 billion in the first quarter of 2010 according to The Wall Street Journal. Peter Volanakis, CEO of Corning, stated that the company has about $3 billion in cash and looking to for acquisition targets. Corning purchased Axygen BioScience, a laboratory equipment manufacturer, in September for US$400 million from American Capital. Axygen was integrated into Corning’s life sciences segment. He also mentioned that LCD glass remains very tight in the fourth quarter. Source: The Wall Street Journal via Briefing.com, StreetInsider.com
Here are Black Friday deals from Newegg:
The 60-inch 1080p plasma TV from LG sounds like an incredible deal. Source: Newegg via ZDNet
Samsung and LG Display have plans to build TFT LCD manufacturing plants in China. The South Korean government worried that key engineering know-how would leak to Chinese competitors. Now the government seems very likely to approve of Samsung and LG Display’s plans. The Chinese government is also eager to have both companies set up shop and is reportedly offering them enticing incentives. Locating LCD panel manufacturing capabilities in the middle of what is expected to be the largest LCD TV market in the world becomes a strategic advantage: closer ties with China-based LCD TV integrators, lower cost of distribution, and faster reaction to market conditions. Samsung plans to build a LCD fab in Suzhou while LG Display is eying Guangzhou. The South Korean government is expected to make a decision next month. Source: The Chosun Ilbo
On November 24, 2009, HannStar and LG Display signed a patent cross-license agreement covering TFT LCD technology that is effective retroactively to January 1, 2009 and last until the end of 2013. HannStar is one of few LCD manufacturers that make use of IPS technology to produce large-size TFT LCD panels. The other two are LG Display and IPS Alpha. Source: DIGITIMES
The X-Slim X430 from MSI is a 14-inch notebook PC with a 1366 x 768 resolution powered by an AMD Athlon Neo X2 CPU and ATI’s Mobility Radeon HD3200 running Windows 7. Other specs include 2GB RAM, 320GB/500GB hard drive, 1.3 megapixel webcam, Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi BGN, HDMI, VGA, SD slot, USB (2) and an optional Blu-ray drive. Battery options include four or eight cells. The X430 is quite light for a 14-inch notebook at just 3.3 pounds. Source: MSI via Hot Hardware, Engadget
LG‘s GW880 is an Android-based smartphone sold by China Mobile on the TD-SCDMA network. The GW880 sports a 3.5-inch 800 x 480 touch-enabled LCD, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, and mobile TV capability. China Mobile has an app store and the GW880 is approved for that. Source: Akihabara News
DisplayBlog is written and produced by Jin Kim. Subscribe via RSS.