Hasta La Gadget!

Originally envisioned last year as a 4k x 2k monstrosity, Toshiba’s ZX900 Cell TV has been humbled slightly for its market debut. Still, the processing power is what’s really on display here, and Toshiba claims that it’s packed 143 times the processing power over existing televisions. That processing makes way for Toshiba’s Resolution+ upscaling, a 480Hz frame rate (completely ready for 3D), and some home media server capabilities as well. The centerpiece is the Net TV applications, which include Netflix, VUDU, CinemaNow and Pandora, and there’s 802.11n WiFi and 1TB of HDD for streaming and storage. There’s also mention of video phone capability, but it’s unclear if has a built-in webcam (doubtful) or if you’ve got to bring your own USB number. Unfortunately, the biggest draw of this TV in its Japanese incarnation is its eight tuners, and for whatever reason that special distinction has been removed from this US version. The 55-inch and 65-inch displays use KIRA2 LED-backlit displays with 512 zones of localized dimming, and just in case this was wasn’t enough, the sets have built-in Wireless HD and to connect the Cell-packing set-top box to the display wire-free. Of course, once you involve a set-top box you’re kind of nullifying some of the magic of building a TV “with a Cell processor,” but we’ll let it slide. Just this once, Toshiba. Both TVs will be out “later this year” for an undisclosed, sure-to-be-huge price. A press release is after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba introduces ZX900 Series 55-inch and 65-inch Cell TVs for the US

Toshiba introduces ZX900 Series 55-inch and 65-inch Cell TVs for the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Whoa — Ralph de la Vega just announced that AT&T will have not one but two webOS devices in the first half of 2010! And… that’s all we have for now, but you know we’re digging for more. Stay tuned, friends. Stay tuned.

Ralph de la Vega: AT&T launching two webOS devices! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re at the AT&T presser here at CES, but it looks like we know what to expect: the carrier just announced that it’s launching five new Android devices in the first half of 2010, including devices from Motorola, Dell, and HTC. The Moto device is described as having a “unique form factor,” and running Blur, so we’re guessing that’s the Backflip, and Dell just announced that’s it’s bringing the Mini 3 to the US, so that’s that. That leaves three devices for HTC, and our guess is at least one device with a keyboard and one without — AT&T says they’ll have an “exclusive” device, but that could mean a familiar phone with a new name and a tweaked case. We’ll see — and damn, things just got a lot more interesting in the Android game this week, don’t you think?

Continue reading AT&T finally goes Android, confirms Dell, HTC and Motorola on board

AT&T finally goes Android, confirms Dell, HTC and Motorola on board originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re in place to see what Toshiba’s got for us this year. We’re figuring Cell TV is a must (banners around the LVCC make that obvious) and 3D is a given but we’re wondering if an updated Blu-ray player, or another sighting of last year’s Media Center Extender TV that never appeared are in the card. Just a few more minutes until 10 p.m. pst when we find out for sure.

Continue reading Live from Toshiba’s CES press event

Live from Toshiba’s CES press event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While devices dedicated to DTV or bulked up for DTV have rarely struck our fancy, there’s something pretty compelling about this new Tivit unit, for whatever reason. A bit like a single-minded MiFi, the device pulls in Mobile DTV video and then pumps it out over WiFi to a single device at a time. Based on how you’re accessing it, the Tivit might appear just as a web page of channel listings to choose from, or in a fancier custom-built app on the iPhone, but to all of those devices it streams h.264 video at a pretty good quality. We tested it with the iPod touch, and while the 20 second channel change times were a little frustrating (they claim they’ll be able to get it down to 8, and that it’s Apple’s fault), everything else worked flawlessly. We had a bit less luck with the Droid, due to what appeared to be a missing codec on our end; we’ll have to investigate further. Perhaps the best part is that there’s no additional power drain on our primary device, though remembering another USB charger at the end of the day might get annoying. All in all we wholeheartedly support an effort such as this to bring new content to our existing phone, laptop and desktop screens, and if they can sell this for the $90 to $120 suggested price range unsubsidized, we might just be looking at Mobile DTV’s best shot at life yet. There’s video after the break of the thing in action.

Continue reading Tivit Mobile DTV to WiFi device hands-on: it works!

Tivit Mobile DTV to WiFi device hands-on: it works! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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