Hasta La Gadget!

Alongside the slew of 90-inch TVs, Sharp also used this year’s IFA to show off something a little less glamorous. Its IGZO technology (that’s indium gallium zinc oxide, kids) was developed in conjunction with the Semiconductor Energy Laboratory. According to Sharp, the displays “have a significantly higher translucency [compared to traditional LCD TFT displays]. This improvement means that smaller or fewer LEDs are needed for the backlighting.” The result is less power consumption for high-res displays and higher sensitivity on touchscreens, with far less noise to contend with.

The company plans to create three panel sizes to start: 10-inch (2560 x 1600), seven-inch (1280 x 800) and 32-inch (3840 x 2160). Sharp was also demoing a prototype seven-inch tablet (which you can see in the gallery below) alongside the displays. The representative we spoke with wouldn’t reveal anything about specific products the company plans to produce using the technology, but did tell us that we can expect to see some IGZO products in 2013. Check out an explanatory video after the break.

Continue reading Sharp’s IGZO low-power, high-res display technology gets its time to shine at IFA

Filed under: Displays, Tablets

Sharp’s IGZO low-power, high-res display technology gets its time to shine at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 07:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony didn’t exactly go out of its way to talk up the new HMZ-T2 during its press conference the other day at IFA, never actually mentioning it on stage. The device did, however, pop up in a small corner of the company’s show booth. The reason for the silence is pretty clear, when you get down to it — not a lot has changed here. Really, the T2 is just a minor update to a first generation product, most of its changes revolving around making the admittedly slightly uncomfortable wearable a bit easier on your head. It’s 100 grams lighter than its predecessor and features improvements to its adjustable parts.

The head pad is larger and can be moved to better fit your head, the strap can be adjusted at a number of points and the sliders beneath the 0.7-inch OLED monitors can be adjusted independently from one another. Oh, and while there are Virtualphone built-in, there’s also a headphone jack, so you can bring your own pair. All in all, we have to say it did feel a bit more comfortable than the set we tried on for the first time roughly this time last year. The headset also features different viewing modes, including 24p True Cinema for slower paced movies and Clear mode for action scenes, as well as Auto Color Temperature to help improve the picture.

All told, however, it’s not much to write home about — if you were thinking of picking up the T1, this guy is certainly an improvement. If you’ve already got one to call your own, however, it’s probably not worth the upgrade when it hits later this year.

Continue reading Sony HMZ-T2 3D display, heads-in (video)

Filed under: Displays, Wearables, HD

Sony HMZ-T2 3D display, heads-in (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wearable displays have jumped in attention over the past twelve months, with the arrival of Google’s Glass driving interest, but Sony continues to push virtual big-screen entertainment rather than augmented reality. The HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer was a quiet surprise at IFA, replacing last year’s T1 with a more compact, lightweight version using a pair of 720p HD OLED screens to create a virtually vast individual screen. Read on for our hands-on first impressions.

Where wearables like Google Glass focus on overlaying digital data on top of the virtual world, Sony’s headset hopes to take you away from it. The two OLEDs are enclosed in a white and black plastic visor – you can see your feet below you, but nothing ahead of you – and though they’re each only 0.7-inches diagonal, the effect is of watching a considerably larger screen at a distance of several feet.

The first struggle is getting it to fit. Perhaps I have an unfeasibly large head, but getting the adjustable strap – which pulls on like a baseball cap, from back to front – to sit snugly but still allow the visor to sit in my eye-line proved tricky. You also need headphones, either a set of in-ear buds plugging into the HMZ-T2 itself, or a separate pair of cans that you put on secondly. There’s a padded piece that rests against your forehead, and while we were able to ignore it initially, we could imagine it might get uncomfortable after watching a full feature film.

Once you’ve actually got it on, though, the result is impressive. The screens may be 720p not 1080p, but you don’t notice at that distance: the overall effect is of crisp visuals that are bright enough to be clear but not so much as to hurt your eyes. Meanwhile the 3D effect is excellent: none of the shimmer or shudder that you can suffer using regular 3D TVs.

Controls are hidden on the lower side of the headset, though they’re quite small and – since you can’t actually see them when you’re pressing them – could do with being larger for more straightforward navigation. A dual display switcher, meanwhile, allows for two players to game on the same console, one using the TV as normal and the other seeing their own personal view through the HMZ-T2.

Sony HMZ-T2 hands-on:

Sony isn’t talking price yet for the T2, though its predecessor came in at around $800. That gets you a big TV for home viewing or a couple of tablets for on the move, though the latter are never really going to provide the same visual experience as the former. The HMZ-T2, however, might well prove a sufficient alternative, and that’s before you get into the possibility of hooking up computers or other devices to take advantage. Expect it to hit shelves later in 2012.

Sony HMZ-T2 hands-on is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Fancy a wickedly wide 21:9 aspect ratio LCD that’s more than a touch larger than what you’ll find on that unique Toshiba Ultrabook? It looks like LG’s got you covered, with its 29-inch EA93. We spotted a half dozen of the ultra-wide IPS displays during a preview of the show floor at IFA, and were able to grab a few frames. You need to see this LCD in person to get a feel for just how wide it really is — with a 29-inch diagonal panel that’s incredibly short and squat, you’ll be compromising quite a bit of desk real estate in order to add some horizontal pixels.

From booth materials, it seems that LG is promoting this product as a multitasking solution — the format is well-suited as a replacement for dual-monitor rigs, letting you view several windows at once without adjusting your eyes vertically. We already had a solid grasp on the EA93’s specs, which include a 2,560 x 1,080-pixel panel, a four-way split screen feature and plenty of inputs, including two HDMI ports, DVI Dual Link and DisplayPort, though the product placard also revealed USB 3.0 connectivity and 7-watt stereo speakers. Pricing has yet to be confirmed, but if you’re prepared to add such a device at any cost, we’d suggest clearing some desk space now — these are set to ship in November.

Filed under: Displays

LG EA93 21:9 aspect ratio 29-inch LCD spotted on IFA show floor (eyes-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just what are Samsung Electronics up to these days? I know that their parent arm, Samsung Electronics, must still be mulling over the fine which they were slapped with concerning their legal battle with Apple that concluded recently. Well, just to take your minds off things for the moment would be Samsung Electronics’ latest introduction of an LED square display as well as a transparent display, and I think personally, I am far more interested in the latter than the former as it has a more science fiction feel to it.

Well, the recent announcement at IFA 2012 in Berlin will showcase the availability of innovative 1:1 ratio LED square display (UD22B) and transparent display (NL22B), further accelerating the South Korean company’s leadership in the commercial B2B display market for the second half of 2012. Let us take a closer look at the distinctive 1:1 ratio square display from Samsung in the first place right after the jump, shall we?

For starters, it is touted to support unlimited configurations while opening up new potential for creating immersive visual experiences. Sporting a 5.5 mm bezel-to-bezel measurement that delivers seamless installation as well as digital loop out in order to produce a single image across up to 100 displays, Samsung’s 21.6” square display enables commercial users to explore limitless possibilities – whether they are involved in designing artistic video walls or otherwise.

As for Samsung’s maiden attempt at commercializing their first ever All-in-One transparent display, this 22” piece of modern consumer electronics which goes by the model number of NL22B is a radically new kind of product, where it is available as an all-in-one showcase which will be able to launch a new era of possibilities in digital retail design. Sporting a thin LCD panel on the front of the transparent display, it enables images and animations to dynamically interact with the merchandise within the showcase, all the while allowing passers-by to view the product without missing a beat.

All three of the remaining sides are made of protective tempered glass which are enclosed by a sleek metallic frame, delivering a rather uppity appearance for the NL22B.

Press Release

[ Samsung Electronics introduces LED square display and transparent display copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]