Jan 07
Panasonic thinks that you want to personalize your TV with a home screen populated with widgets. They also think that you want to draw on the TV using a gigantic pen. Seriously. More »
Jan 07
LG’s 65-inch 4K display, eyes-on
Posted in: Today's Chili 
With Mobile World Congress about a month away, there wasn’t a peep about new smartphones at today’s LG press conference. The company was all about TV — well, TV and smart appliances, we guess. But we couldn’t help but be enamored with the giant TV sets, the company showed off once the curtains were drawn back at the end of the press conference. The most eye-catching of all, clearly was the 84-inch 4K display which downright dwarfed the LG rep standing to its side. Sitting just off to the right was the newly announced 65-inch model, which, like the 55-inch OLED that spent the show on-stage, looked like a relatively modest proposal sitting next to such a behemoth. Of course, these are 4K TV sets that we’re talking about here, so we use the word “modest” as loosely as humanly possible.
The set maintains the impressive life-like quality of its elder sibling (showing off massively detailed cityscapes) of course, but compared to incredibly sleek and shiny OLED sets that we saw early, the 4K seem a bit on the thicker side. Though, as with the OLED, LG’s clearly focused on making the the bezel as imperceptible as possible here. The 4K models are propped up by a shiny metal stand emerging from their center.
Gallery: LG 65-inch 4K TV eyes-on
Myriam Joire contributed to this report
Filed under: Home Entertainment, LG
Jan 07
Sharp announces second screen support on iOS and Android for its SmartCentral HDTVs
Posted in: Today's Chili 
We’re here at Sharp’s CES 2013 press conference, that it’ll release a SmartCentral second screen and remote control app for its Aquos TVs. The service will offer split-screen TV and web browsing support, and users will be able to “flick” photos and videos from their mobile device to the TV, presumably in a similar manner to Sony’s Throw. The company is also announcing support for Netflix’s second-screen control, previously seen on the PlayStation 3 and a wallpaper mode that’ll help your HDTV blend into your wall covering.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD
Jan 07
Sharp just announced that it’s joining the 4K party this summer, with a 60-inch set that goes on sale this summer. More »
Jan 07
Look at the big TVs. They’re thin! They’re bright! They’re “smart.” They’re Sharp’s LED TVs, and they’re coming your way this year. More »
Jan 07
ASUS Qube announced at CES: Google TV arrives with on-screen cube interface
Posted in: Today's Chili 
While the FCC may have already punctured ASUS’ surprise, at least the company’s now made it official. ASUS‘ first Google TV device is coming and will arrive with 50GB of WebStorage cloud space and access to over 100,000 movies and TV shows through Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. It’ll arrive with its own “Qube interface,” unsurprisingly featuring a three-dimensional tetrahedron that rotates for access to your content. There’s also motion-sensing remote control support for gaming and other apps, while anyone with an Android phone will be able to download ASUS’ Mobile Remote app and steer from there. No word yet on pricing or a launch date — ASUS won’t be hosting a press event this week, but we’ll be pounding the CES floors for more details.
Continue reading ASUS Qube announced at CES: Google TV arrives with on-screen cube interface
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, ASUS
Jan 07
Sharp announces new 6-, 7- and 8-Series AQUOS LED TVs as part of 2013 lineup (update: pricing info)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Despite not having the best of years, Sharp has still managed to make its presence felt in the television market — namely by introducing plenty of AQUOS TVs in recent months, including that 90-inch LED beast we saw back in June of 2012. Today, the Japanese electronics maker is looking to increase its efforts on that front, with the firm adequately choosing this year’s CES as the platform to unveil its new lineup of 60-,70- and 80-inch LED televisions in the 6-,7- and 8-Series. For starters, the entry-level 6-Series will boast 1080p capabilities with AQUOMotion 240 (120Hz) as the main driving tech behind it, while the higher-specced (and presumably more expensive) 7- and 8-Series are set to carry the same resolution features (sorry, no 4K here) but with Quattron “color intensification” and AQUOMotion 480 and AQUOMotion 960 technology inside both. Smart and 3D features can also be found in all of Sharp’s novel TV models, which should pair nicely with what the company’s calling “striking new slim designs.” All in all, Sharp is kicking off the new year with about 18 new AQUOS LED TVs — and for those interested in learning each model name, the presser after the break should help do just that.
Update: We have just received pricing information from Sharp, and it looks as if the cheapest model will start off at about $1,500 for the 60-inch LC-60LE650, while the most expensive HDTV is set to be the 80-inch LC-80LE857 with a hefty price tag of $6,500 — both of which will be available in February and April, respectively. In addition, Sharp today also announced its new SmartCentral platform, which will be a one-stop hub for the now-accustomed smart TV applications like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu and Facebook. You’ll find more pricing and availability information for the other models inside the updated PR past the jump.
Gallery: 2013 Sharp AQUOS TVs
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Sharp
Jan 07
Griffin is announcing that it’s pairing up with Aha by Harman to add the latter’s ABBA-named audio service to the features offered on its iTrip Auto car transmitter. Download Aha Radio from the App store and connect your smartphone to the device, and the iTrip will automatically find a free FM band and pump over 30,000 different audio stations over your whip’s speakers. The iTrip can be picked up for $60 and the software can be snagged down at the source link.
Continue reading Griffin adds Aha by Harman to its iTrip Auto in-car FM transmitter
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Transportation, Software
Source: Aha by Harman (iTunes)
Jan 07
The ASUS line of Vivo devices is growing today with another Windows 8 tablet, the ASUS VivoTab Smart Tablet. The Smart Tablet packs an Intel Atom Z2760 dual-core processor, powering the same 10.1-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution IPS display found in its brethren. And that 10.1-inch screen can handle five of your fingers tapping all over it all at once, should you need to. Protecting that screen is a brand new “TransSleeve” keyboard, which does triple duty as a cover, keyboard and stand, “all rolled into one.” It’s quite like the Microsoft Surface Type Cover, albeit with full-on physical keys and a touchpad for mousing around. An 8-megapixel camera sits out back while a 2-megapixel faces the user, and there’s NFC functionality built in as well. ASUS isn’t giving out a price or release window for the VivoTab Smart just yet, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the newest Vivo entry on the show floor as CES 2013 kicks off this week.
Continue reading ASUS outs VivoTab Smart Tablet with Type Cover-esque keyboard cover
Jan 07
Walmart’s For-Pay Blu-ray Ripping Is Now Slightly Less Annoying, Still Way Overpriced
Posted in: Today's Chili
If you’re looking to convert DVDs and BluRay discs to a digital format and want it to be easy, but not too easy, and definitely not free, Walmart has the service for you. They’re automating their Disc-to-Digital service so you can get UltraViolet versions of movies you’ve already bought. More »
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.