Hasta La Gadget!

This week the folks at Printing in Motion and their sister-company Spreengs are letting the world know that you may be seeing a very thin video screen in your Valentine’s Day card thanks to them. In addition to adding very small screens to greetings cards, Printing in Motion works with groups like Mercedes to add displays to brochures for high-powered vehicles. Spreegs concentrates on the consumer end of the spectrum, making it their mission to create the greatest greeting cards on earth – all through a simple USB interface!

Founder and CEO/Chairman Anthony Kory spoke this week about the two services saying “we are all used to looking at videos, marketing information and more on a computer screen. It works, but we have lost the satisfying feeling of holding something in your hand.” He continued, noting “we wanted to bring back that satisfaction by using technology in a very personal way.” According to Kory, the reaction most often shown by users that open a card or brochure with their video technology inside is a mix of surprise and wonderment. They often exclaim that they didn’t know such technology existed in the first place!

Above you’ll see a presentation video made by PIM to show the options available with their service – high quality video and sound onboard. It’s also clear that PIM is able to work with interactive buttons and implement their display solution on most any product – even inside a gift box! Below you’ll find Spreengs, the sister-company of PIM, in business to offer up traditional greeting cards and invitations with this innovative thin screen solution.

Spreengs are “the first customizable video cards ever”, so say the creators of this solution for your next-level invite or greeting. You’ve only to import video into your computer from your camera to your computer then transfer the video to the card you buy from Spreengs. This card can be re-charged and changed as many times as you want. You’ll be getting a simpler card than you’d be able to get if you were a massive company working with PIM, but there it is – a lovely simple solution that’s both easy and rather nice to work with!

This next-generation video solution will be shown at CeBIT here in 2013, and we’ll be there too! Stay tuned for the March 5th through 9th set of CeBIT events to see the whole trade show straight from SlashGear in our lovely CeBit 2013 tag portal!

Valentines cards gain video screens in Printing in Motion/Spreengs joint effort is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Dell’s UltraSharp displays still have a certain cachet among sticklers for quality, most of all at the high end — so today’s release of three advanced models might as well be a bonanza. The 24-inch U2413, 27-inch U2713H and 30-inch U3014 (above) once more center on PremierColor and the visual accuracy to match. Even the two smaller displays have a 12-bit processor that helps their LCDs reach 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color space and all of the sRGB space, or enough of the spectrum to eliminate most rude surprises with photo work. What else is new? Dell hasn’t divulged full details of the screens themselves, but there’s now a single-display arm and a dual-display stand to get just the right placement. Like what you see — or rather, what you will see? The U2413 and U2713H should be available now for $599 and $999 alongside the $149 arm and $169 stand, while the range-topping U3014 is due “soon” for $1,499.

Update: We reached out to Dell for more details, and the updates are substantial — all three displays bump up to a 2-million-to-1 dynamic contrast ratio, an increase in Adobe RGB color gamut coverage (up from 96 percent), a more adjustable height and support for DisplayPort daisy chaining. The two larger screens also add Mini DisplayPort.

Filed under: Displays, Peripherals, Dell

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Source: Dell

This month we may very well be looking at the first market-ready glimpse we’ll have of the Samsung Galaxy Q, a dual-display smartphone-like device tipped by the manufacturer more than once before. The clues are lining up with MobileGeeks showing a GL Benchmark result that they suggest is the final straw on the pile that’ll topple the whole mess in for a Mobile World Congress 2013 reveal. This device will be appearing in some capacity or another soon, bringing with it a 1080p set of two displays that fold out into one – is the world ready for such an oddity?

Though we were less than enthusiastic about the dual-display Kyocera Echo when we first saw it way back in February of 2011 – the technology that allows such a concept to be more of a real-world possibility for actual user-friendly working has come a long way since then. Now Samsung is up to bat with a smooth no-break display that spans both halves of this device – fold out with delight!

The keys to the puzzle that is this device’s appearance work as follows: this device was given its first solid details back in October of 2012 with a note that Samsung would release it in early 2013. The images provided of this device thus far have each been from the FPD display show in Tokyo that took place in late 2010 and once again in May of 2011 where the hardware was a very early concept mockup. The GL Benchmark results appearing this week show the code-name of the device (GT-B9150) along with a change in specifications from 720p (tipped with the original release window info) to 1080p – much more realistic for 2013 and forward.

The video you see above is just about the earliest Samsung foldable display demonstration in the universe, all the way back from 2008. This should be seen as a very VERY loose concept demonstration/suggestion of what might be coming later this month. A whole lot has changed since back in 2008. Check out the original announcement of Samsung’s YOUM brand as well for more timeline action on the origins of this display technology.

Samsung has also been tipped to be pushing around 6 new smartphone devices at Mobile World Congress 2013, mind you. Last year we saw devices like the Samsung Galaxy Beam – an interesting smartphone, to be sure, but much more on the niche side of the release spectrum than a wide-release hero phone sort of deal. Samsung will quite likely be showing off tablets and smartphones outside their Galaxy S lineup, saving the big announcement for the Samsung Galaxy IV for a separate singular event.

This device has been tipped to be coming with two displays at 5.3-inches each that fold out into one single larger display. Previous reports suggest a dual-core 1.7GHz Exynos 5250 processor inside alongside 2GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel camera on the back, 2 megapixel camera on the front, and a 3500 mAh battery. Inside we’ll likely be seeing Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean and the whole amalgamation would make a lot of sense as a limited release as sort of a “test-phase” release before wide adoption.

Stick around our Mobile World Congress 2013 tag portal for more information as it appears, and make sure you’re down for Samsung’s announcements especially. We’ll be at MWC 2013 from then 23rd through the rest of that week, so keep it tuned to SlashGear!

Samsung Galaxy Q folding smartphone tipped for MWC 2013 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

VESA, the Video Electronics Standards Association, has announced that it has released an updated DisplayPort Dual-Mode standard. The new standard supports the next-generation of Dual-Mode DisplayPort enabling personal computers and cable adapters to support new functionality and resolutions. The updated standard allows for several refinements that improve interoperability including a higher data rate for DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable adapters.

That higher data rate means that the adapters can now support HDMI 1.4 resolutions including 1080p 3-D 60 Hz, Ultra HD at up to 30 Hz, and 1080p with deep color. The DisplayPort was created as one port to rule them all. The port can connect directly to displays that have DisplayPort connectivity.

However, the DisplayPort can also be used to power HDMI, VGA, and DVI displays using adapters. VESA has also updated the Dual-Mode Cable Adapter Compliance Test Specification version 1.1. Manufacturers are required to use that new test specification if they’re going to use the DisplayPort logo with a Dual-Mode cable adapter.

Before the Dual-Mode standard was offered, cable adapters using Dual-Mode were limited to a TMDS clock rate of 165 MHz. That rate supported resolutions of up to 1080p at 60 Hz and 24 bits of color. The new specification supports a clock rate of up to 300 MHz.

[via VESA]

VESA unveils new Dual-Mode standard supporting 4K resolution and more is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Flexible display specialist Plastic Logic has cooked up a new, weatherproof and permanently-connected display that aims to keep public transport users up-to-date while remaining vandal resistant, as the company’s technology gradually makes it out into the mainstream. The ZED (Zero Energy Display), produced in partnership with signage specialist SERELEC, is expected to show up at bus stops and tram stations in Q2 2013, pairing two 10.7-inch monochrome Plastic Logic panels into a display with clear outdoor visibility and super-frugal power consumption.

In fact, since the Plastic Logic screens only require energy to change what they’re displaying, not to maintain an image, the two firms say the ZED can be entirely solar powered. That, coupled with integrated 3G and/or GPRS, means replacing traditional paper timetables needn’t require a significant infrastructure roll-out, just a secure mount and a nearby solar panel with a good view of the sky.

The ZED measures under a centimeter in thickness, and achieves IP54 ratings for resistance to water and other substances. It’ll work in temperature extremes of -15 degrees centigrade to a toasty 50 degrees, and the companies will also be offering it with an optional front-light illumination system.

According to Plastic Logic, color versions of the ZED are in the pipeline – the company has already developed and demonstrated the technology – which will then mean colored metro lines and other information will be clearer. Exactly how much it’ll cost for cities to replace their paper boards with the ZED is unclear, though being able to offset that upfront installation price with reduced staff keeping printed timetables current may help sway things in the plastic panel’s favor.

Plastic Logic titillates travellers with always-accurate digital timetable is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.