ASUS G50 prototype with additional 4.3-inch Tegra-based PC

We have a few more details on that prototype ASUS laptop we caught on video last night. Essentially two computers in one chassis, the modified M50 sports a separate Tegra APX-based 4.3-inch touchpad PC below they keyboard, for an effect somewhat reminiscent of (but nothing like) good ‘ol SideShow. More than a second display, Tegra’s “system on a chip” architecture allows for lightning fast boot times and excellent picture quality — and since it runs off the same power source as its Atom-based host, the little guy should get up to 12 hours battery life when playing back video.

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ASUS G50 prototype with additional 4.3-inch Tegra-based PC originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG to produce 15-inch OLED panel this summer

LG to produce 15-inch OLED panel this summerHas your $2,500 XEL-1 display already started to show a case of the dimming blues? If so, and if you can go without seeing Cookie Monster in his natural hue for a few more months, you may have another OLED replacement option after this summer. LG is indicating it will begin producing a 15-inch panel in June of this year. No word on whether it’ll match the Sony’s 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, but it will offer a higher resolution of 1,366 x 768, and LG is pledging a 30,000 hour shelf life. We’ll see about that.

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LG to produce 15-inch OLED panel this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netgear announces 3G mobile broadband wireless router for 802.11g’s on the go

Netgear didn’t go for any fancy-schmancy new form factor with its 3G mobile broadband wireless router, instead opting for the standard shell we know and love. Nine different Sierra and Novatel 3G modems are currently supported, and just plugging one into the USB 2.0 slot will provide you web access via either ethernet LAN or 802.11g. Usual amenities like WEP / WPA encryption are here, and it includes both AC and 12V DC adapters. The router is due out this month for $130. Anyone up for a World of Warcraft campfire LAN party?

Read – List of supported 3G USB modems

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Netgear announces 3G mobile broadband wireless router for 802.11g’s on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung CES roundup — P3 PMP, new plasmas, LCDs, even appliances

A ton of Samsung news just went out, including the P3 PMP, Series 6 / 7 LCD TVs, and Series 6 / 8 plasmas, but in order to keep our front page sensible during CES we’re going to be linking out to the individual posts from roundups like these from now on. Hit the read links for all the good stuff!

Read – Samsung stuns with 6000, 7000 and 8000 Series LED LCD HDTVs
Read – Samsung’s Series 6 / 8 plasma HDTVs are well connected
Read – Samsung properly introduces Series 6 / 7 LCD TVs
Read – Samsung gets official with P3 PMP at CES 2009
Read – Samsung’s DVD-H1080 looks like a large pebble, plays DVDs
Read – Samsung delivers HT-BD7200 / HT-BD1250 Blu-ray HTIB systems, HT-BD8200 BD soundbar
Read – Samsung trots out BD-P4600 / BD-P3600 Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players at CES 2009
Read – Samsung’s CES household appliance lineup: everything but the kitchen sink

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Samsung CES roundup — P3 PMP, new plasmas, LCDs, even appliances originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio Connected HDTV directly streams Netflix movies

Move over LG, Vizio is now the second manufacturer bypassing the set-top box and doing Netflix streaming straight to the TV. Apparently just one of Vizio’s “key content partners” expect to browse your queue via customized remote over wired or wireless connection when the new lineup hits retailers later this year. Looks like someones putting in work on that goal of enabling streaming to all US households.

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Vizio Connected HDTV directly streams Netflix movies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung BD-P3600/P4600: Super-Slim, Wall-Friendly Blu-ray Decks

Samsung’s latest two BD-Live Blu-ray decks are design conscious to the max—one is a wall-mountable 1.5-inches thin (BD-P4600) and the other is a low-profile, sleek tabletop deck (BD-P3600), and both stream Netflix and Pandora.






Nice to see some creativity in the BD player zone—the wall-mountable 4600 especially, which reminds me a lot of Naoto Fukasawa’s awesome wall-mounted CD player (now if only you could watch the Batman logo spin with no door). And on top of Profile 2.0, (via ethernet or USB slots which can accommodate and included wi-fi dongle) and Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD HR/MA decoding and audio bitstream output, both decks will stream Netflix Watch Instantly or Pandora radio. They’re available the first half of 2009.

SAMSUNG’S LATEST AWARD-WINNING BLU-RAY PLAYERS OPEN UP A NEW MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE PORTAL

BD-P4600 Delivers HD Entertainment for the Whole Family in Contemporary Style;
BD-P3600 Satisfies Home Theater Enthusiasts with Superior Sights and Sounds

LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader
and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveiled the world’s first
wall-mountable Blu-ray player, the BD-P4600, as well as the new standard for Blu-ray
performance and versatility, the BD-P3600. A 2009 CES “Best of Innovations” Award
Winner, the BD-P4600 unites a plethora of multimedia features in a svelte, first-in-class
package. The enthusiasts’ choice, the BD-P3600 promises top-notch video playback,
comprehensive audio decoding, and unprecedented networking capabilities for an
immersive, theater-like experience. Both players set a new direction for the Blu-ray
category with wireless networking, access to video and music streaming services, such
as Netflix and Pandora, as well as sleek designs. Samsung’s new Blu-ray players will
be on display at Booth #11033 during the International Consumer Electronics Show,
which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, January 8 -11, 2009.

“Samsung is heralding a new direction for the Blu-ray industry with the BD-P4600 and
BD-P3600,” said Reid Sullivan, vice president of Audio/Video and Digital Imaging
Marketing at Samsung Electronics America. “The BD-P4600 makes it easier than ever
to bring Blu-ray into the living room with its unique, wall-mountable design, while the
BD-P3600’s comprehensive specs place it on the short list of even the most discerning
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– more –

home theater consumers.”

The BD-P4600 and BD-P3600 include BD Live™ (Profile 2.0) and Bonus View (Profile
1.1) support, Full HD 1080p Blu-ray playback with DVD upscaling, and total HD
soundtrack support. Standard CD playback, with support for JPEG photos and DivX
videos, ensure even more entertainment value with the BD-P4600 and BD-P3600.

A New Era of Functional Design
Samsung’s newest Blu-ray players continue the trend of stylish and décor-friendly
electronics, with new versions of Samsung’s groundbreaking Touch of Color™ (ToC™)
design and touch sensitive controls. The BD-P3600’s traditional set-top form is just over
two inches tall, and comes encased in deep black with charcoal gray highlights curving
along the outer edges. The wall-mountable BD-P4600 is just 1.5 inches thin with a
piano black design infused with ruby highlights, and finished with clear, prism-like
edging. If wall-mounting is not an option, an integrated stand lets the BD-P4600 be
placed on a table at a 25 degree angle.

Cutting Wires Without Cutting Back on Entertainment
Both the BD-P4600 and BD-P3600 can wirelessly connect to the latest Blu-ray features
when the included 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi dongle is connected to one of the players’ two
USB 2.0 ports, or via the traditional wired Ethernet connection. The two players can also
instantly stream more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix and Pandora
music services (subscriptions required), to deliver an ever-expanding library of
entertainment into the living room without having to leave the house. And with 1GB
internal flash memory, both players can access the latest BD Live™ and Bonus View
Blu-ray features out of the box, leaving the USB 2.0 ports for wireless networking and
memory expansion duties when needed.

Speedy Control and Upgradeability
Samsung’s newest Blu-ray players improve traditional disc loading time to begin fast
playback and can eject a disc in a single second. The players’ touch sensitive controls
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help to create a seamless experience that is pleasing to see, hear, and ultimately, use.
To keep consumers updated with the latest features and improvements, Samsungs BD-
P4600 and BD-P3600 also can easily access upgrades wirelessly via the included
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi dongle, through the wired Ethernet connection, by connecting a USB
drive, or with a CD / DVD / BD.

Total Full HD 1080p Video and HD Soundtrack Support
Samsung’s BD-P4600 and BD-P3600 promise Full HD 1080p playback of Blu-ray discs
and crisp upconversion of standard DVDs through the HDMI 1.3 connection. For a true,
Hollywood-quality experience, both players can internally decode the latest high-
resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks, including Dolby Digital Plus™, Dolby
TrueHD™ and dts-HD HR / MA®. The BD-P3600 can also output any of the
soundtracks as a bitstream through its 7.1-Channel analog audio outputs, or as an
uncompressed PCM signal, for consumers desiring the best cinematic sound with an
older A/V receiver.

Sharp gets with the Profile 2.0 program with the BD-HP16U & BD-HP22U

Many thought that Profile 1.1 players should’ve died last year, but that just wasn’t the case. But those internet content lovin’ fools can finally get behind Sharp’s Blu-ray players. At this point Sharp realizes that with all the Blu-ray players available, you gotta do something special to get noticed, so Sharp is striving to make its players work better with its line of TVs by automatically putting configuring the display the optimal viewing setting — like dot by dot. The only thing that distinguishes these two players from each other is that the BD-HP22U will be out in May, includes 2GB of USB memory, and retails at $299, while the BD-HP16U is due in March for $229.

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Sharp gets with the Profile 2.0 program with the BD-HP16U & BD-HP22U originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung gets official with P3 PMP at CES 2009

Samsung’s P3 has been official in other parts of the globe for awhile now, but the outfit has decided to wait until CES to make it so here in the States. As anticipated, the PMP arrives with its “evolutionary” EmoTure user interface, 4/8/16/32GB of internal storage, haptic feedback, a 3-inch WQVGA display, DNSe 3.0 sound enhancement technology and a Music Hot Touch Key that enables users to instantly access favorite music features / selections without having to wade through multiple menus. The device itself is just 0.39-inches thick, and it also boasts a voice recorder, FM radio and Bluetooth support. Check it sometime during the first half of this year in matte black / matte silver motifs.

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Samsung gets official with P3 PMP at CES 2009 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s DVD-H1080 looks like a large pebble, plays DVDs

While Samsung‘s design may be changing in the Blu-ray player department, its latest DVD player pays homage to last year’s DVD-F1080. The all new, very pebble-like DVD-H1080 touts the company’s Touch of Color design, weighs just over two pounds and is only marginally bigger than the DVDs it will one day play. As expected, the deck features 1080p upscaling to go along with the USB host function which adds support for DivX, MP3 and JPEG files. There’s nary a word on price, but it should be landing at your favorite (and least favorite, for the record) retailer in the first half of 2009.

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Samsung’s DVD-H1080 looks like a large pebble, plays DVDs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp delivers Blu-ray-packing BD-series Aquos LCDs for the US

Credit Sharp for still coming through a few surprises, sure you knew 32- and 42-inch Aquos HDTVs with built-in Blu-ray players, but they filled out the line with the 37-, 46- and 52-inch variations previously seen in Japan (no 26-inch love?) Built around the latest Superlucent ASV panel for reduced glare and bright, crisp picture quality, they didn’t forget 24p support on the HDMI jacks, just in case you still want to plug another Blu-ray player in. No price, but with ATSC and QAM tuners plus RS-232C inputs, for a TV in a locations where a connected player doesn’t make sense, these aren’t a bad option when they ship later this month (32-, 37-, 42-inch) or in February (46-, 52-inch.) Press release is after the break.

Continue reading Sharp delivers Blu-ray-packing BD-series Aquos LCDs for the US

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Sharp delivers Blu-ray-packing BD-series Aquos LCDs for the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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