Hasta La Gadget!

The way LCD price fixing lawsuits keep popping up and settling in short order, you’d think they were going out of style. The latest motley group to face a reckoning includes AU Optronics, LG and Toshiba, the combination of which has agreed to pay a total of $571 million to eight separate American states to either avoid the the legal wrath of a class action lawsuit or to pay an outstanding fine. Allegedly, the trio kept LCD prices artificially high between 1996 and 2006, hiking the prices of PCs and TVs in the process. There’s a slight twist here: while keeping the display builders honest is the primary goal, the class action status will net some direct rewards for the public. Americans who claim to have been wronged in the scandal can get “at least” $25, which goes a lot further towards buying an LCD than it did six years ago.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

AUO, LG, Toshiba pay $571 million to settle LCD price fixing lawsuit, broken record keeps skipping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon’s next-gen Kindle faces manufacturing delays because of its new e-paper illumination system, insiders in the production process are whispering, potentially pushing availability back into September. At fault is the front light system Amazon is reportedly implementing to improve low-light ebook readability, DigiTimes‘ sources claim, as the company takes on Barnes & Noble’s NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight.

Previously, Amazon had been expected to bring the new Kindle to market at the beginning of Q3 2012, pegging retail availability as early as this month. However, supply chain sources say the retailer has frozen shipments of select Kindle components, indicating a shut-down as the fault is worked through, with that process potentially taking July and August to complete.

Ereaders like the Kindle and NOOK using e-paper displays from manufacturers like E Ink differ from traditional LCD screens in that they lack a backlight. Instead, they reflect ambient light back out through the display, meaning they are easier on the eyes and can be use even in direct sunlight – in fact, the screen only gets clearer the stronger the light directed upon it.

However, that also means that in low-light situations, the e-paper displays can be tricky to use, especially given such panels generally have worse contrast levels than LCD or OLED. One solution is front-lighting, where an LED light source on top of the e-paper screen creates artificial ambient lighting.

Amazon is yet to confirm the new Kindle, though the company is also believed to be working on a smartphone and a larger Kindle Fire tablet as it challenges Google’s Nexus 7 among other devices.

Next-gen Kindle suffering screen-light setbacks tip insiders is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Feeling nerdy? Good, because the folks at DisplayMate have put together quite the comparison of the three different AMOLED displays featured in the Samsung Galaxy S, II and III smartphones. While the study places an emphasis on quantitative measures — and thus leaves more subjective qualities out of the discussion — the comparison is nonetheless an insightful look into the progression of Samsung’s AMOLED display technology. Curiously, some elements remain unchanged, such as color gamut, which is 138 percent of the sRGB standard across all displays and is to blame for images that appear over-saturated. In terms of color temperature, DisplayMate reveals that while Samsung is trending closer to a white of natural daylight, even the Galaxy S III — which measures 7,900 K — is still far too bluish in comparison to an ideal 6,500 K.

Believe it or not, but there’s one area that DisplayMate suggests is subtly worsening over time, and that’s light reflection. The issue is nearly moot, however, as the 5 percent reflectance of the Galaxy S III is but a small shift from the previous iterations, and what’s more, this remains among the lowest reflectance in the industry. We’d be fools to try and summarize all of DisplayMate’s findings, but if you’re curious to learn more — and we hope you are — be sure to hit up the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Galaxy S, II and III pitted against one another in DisplayMate shootout originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 01:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RationalCraft brought its surreal Winscape virtual window to market when the Wii was virtually the only game in town for affordable motion tracking. Microsoft’s Kinect has certainly changed the rules of the game since then, so it’s almost natural that a fourth-generation Winscape has just launched to make use of the much more sophisticated sensor. For a start, there’s no need to dress like Flavor Flav anymore: the camera can recognize anyone, even passers-by, without an oversized necklace. The larger-than-life footage used to generate the window effect has been given its own bump, too, and the app can now handle 4K video as long as the Mac underneath (sorry, Windows folks) is powerful enough to drive it. For those who truly want to be disconnected from reality, there’s even six-display support provided it’s all hooked up to a Mac Pro and a pair of three-output Radeon HD 5770 video cards. RationalCraft’s software is free to try out now, although the requirement for at least two big TVs, a Kinect controller and a fast Mac should say all there is to know about the practical cost of pretending the Golden Gate Bridge is visible from inside a living room in Cleveland.

Continue reading Winscape virtual window makes the leap to Kinect in 4K-capable, 6-screen glory (video)

Filed under: Displays

Winscape virtual window makes the leap to Kinect in 4K-capable, 6-screen glory (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hot off the heels of the more modest Wacom Cintiq 22HD’s introduction, the outfit has announced a new version of its 24HD pen display as well. Labeled the 24HD touch, the upcoming offering adds multi-touch functionality to the company’s 24-inch input device — just as the name would suggest. The added features don’t stop there. A touch-enabled 24HD also touts an improved display that shows 1.07 billion colors while covering 97% of Adobe’s RGB gamut and implementing RGB backlighting that improves on-screen color rendition. Similar to the sans-touch offering, you can expect to utilize Express Keys and Touch Rings to customize your workflow for maximum efficiency in addition to the touchscreen. When the 24HD touch hits shelves, it’ll play nice with Windows 8 and will work just fine without installing drivers. In order to customize those pricey multi-touch commands, though, you’ll need the requisite software.

If you splurged for the regular ol’ 24HD, we can understand your frustration. However, Wacom says that it intended for the touch model to be released at the same time as the pen-only version, but the development took a bit longer than anticipated. Part of the reason for the delay was the extra time needed to perfect features like palm rejection in the kit’s software. The peripheral company also hopes that software developers will take the gesture tech and create features that will showcase its full range of potential — your move, Adobe. Itchin’ to snag one already? Well, you’ll have to wait until sometime in August to get your hands on this model and be prepared to shell out $3699 for the pen display ($1100 more than the previous release). Need a bit more info before emptying your savings account? Hit the PR button for all the particulars or take closer look in the gallery below.

Continue reading Wacom outs the Cintiq 24HD touch, adds multi-touch controls and more to its largest pen display

Filed under: Peripherals

Wacom outs the Cintiq 24HD touch, adds multi-touch controls and more to its largest pen display originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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